As I drove to the monthly drill of the U.S. Army reserve in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I never dreamed that this would be a special weekend — one which would change the course of my life.
It was 1960 and I had just completed my first year of teaching at John Adams Junior High. I had probably learned more than my students. I was still a green country boy just removed from Weatherford, a town of about 3,000 at that time. The enrollment at Southwester was around 1700, as I recall.
I had grown spiritually a great deal in college, largely through the activities of on organization called the BSU or Baptist Student Union and the local church. But socially and emotionally I was still wet behind the ears.
On Sunday of the weekend drill, a Chaplain was available for those who would like to attend church services. A handful of us gathered in a small room where the chaplain led us in a Bible Study. During the service he mentioned something about seeking the will of God; which too often we depended on what others thought rather than seeking the heart of God.
It was not a dramatic or new idea, but somehow it struck me with unusual force. It was not the first time I had struggled with God’s plan for my life, but to this point I had not found peace. Following the weekend I found myself constantly coming back to that statement and the possibilities that God might be calling me into some kind of ministry. I couldn’t sleep or get any peace or relief.
I knew I had to get it settled. I wanted to be sure it was from God and not just a desire to get out of the classroom of junior high students. After weeks of frustration and misery, I found myself in the office of the Russell Patrick, the Bible teacher of the University of New Mexico, Baptist Student Union. He listened as I poured out my heart. After a while he said simply, “Jim, it sounds like God is leading you into some kind of ministry, and whatever it is, you need to prepare.”
I walked out of that room feeling the weight of the world had dropped off my shoulders. It was the assurance that I needed. My course was set. I had already signed a contract to teach another year, and I needed the money to begin what would be a 4-year graduate study at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. It will always be remembered it as one of the greatest days of my life.
My only regret of that whole experience is I never made contact with that Chaplain to thank him for being faithful to his duties in sharing that service for a handful of young men. When he got home it is likely his wife asked him, “How did it go at the armory today?”
He probably said, “Oh, nothing unusual, just a few guys showed up for chapel.” I never made contact with Russell to share what his counsel meant to me. I’m so sorry about that. Now, 61 years later and 37 years ministering to college students, a jail and truck stop ministry, I never doubted that decision to follow God’s leadership.
Obviously, there have been some tough times but the good times and joyful memories have far outweighed any pain that was experience. We need, in today’s troubled world, to ask God, the Lord of the harvest, to call out more laborers into the harvest. That is one of his commands. And by the way, don’t forget to thank those who have helped you on the way.
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