By Scott Brown
Tony, a new believer in Jesus and vibrantly in love with the Lord, was nevertheless the worst student in our entire Bible school. Academics were not his thing, and he was hurtling toward failure in all his classes. That is, until Bob showed up. Bob was our New Testament teacher, beloved by the entire staff and student body for his gracious and sacrificial service. And one day, Bob became a missionary, his sole mission being Tony!
Understand: Bob had zero discretionary time. He was raising a family, homeschooling his children, working a job, serving in leadership at his church and teaching at the Bible school. But his heart went out to Tony, so somehow Bob tutored Tony nearly every day for the entire school year. At graduation, Tony not only received his certificate, he received a special Achievement Award for his amazing accomplishment.
So, why am I bothering you with this? Here’s the rest of the story: When Tony went forward to receive his special award, the crowd went berserk, cheering, yelling, clapping…and Tony was overwhelmed. He quieted the crowd in order to offer effusive praise for his mentor, Bob, but in his confusion he praised “Ken” (another teacher) and made no mention whatsoever of Bob! Oh no! Bob’s due praise was being misdirected! I happened to be sitting in the row right behind Bob so I could see every detail of his reaction.
He was grinning ear to ear and sobbing joyful tears, clearly unaffected by Tony’s error. In fact, I’m convinced that Bob preferred this outcome over the intended alternative!
That happened 40 years ago. In the years immediately following the event, I racked it up to a wonderful story about humility. But now that I’m a lot older and a little wiser, I now recognise something else about Bob. Sure, he was a famously humble guy. But what I witnessed that day at the graduation was Bob’s deep, settled resolve that God is sovereign, that there are no random events, and the outworking of His Providence has one singular objective in view: His glory.
My beloved brother, Michael Thomas, wrote a very kind accounting of my NZ odyssey, beginning with a seemingly random motorcycle ride in 2007 far from home, and ending 14 years later with a fully functioning ministry, staff and Board. Thousands of young Israelis were challenged to consider Yeshua, thousands of Christians were illumined to Israel’s divine role in God’s plan through ministries in local churches, and hundreds of Kiwi hosts were equipped and encouraged in their cottage ministries. Michael would dare to give me some credit for these wonderful developments, which I appreciate. But if you’ve sojourned in the Kingdom for a while, you know the truth: We really don’t bring a whole lot to the table! As Paul wrote to his Corinthian protegees:
“And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1 Cor. 2:3-5).
Many of those who are reading these words will have contributed to the massive body of encouragement, love and support that Margie and I received during “the NZ years.” You helped us discover deeper truths about the Body of Messiah, in particular, how desperately we need one another! You are missed but certainly not forgotten, finding your way into our private conversations almost daily.
Now living in West Virginia, USA, I am now assisting teams in various locations around the world who are planting similar “guest house ministries” for the purpose of bringing the Good News of Jesus’ salvation to Israelis abroad. Also it is my special joy to be involved in intentional discipleship with young leaders whom God brings into my life. And speaking of joy, I’m especially excited about watching CMNZ blossom under Michael’s capable Directorship and tucked under the sovereign governance of God. I have a funny feeling that the best years are ahead!
