Mentored by many, changed forever by those who served like Christ
By Dean Collins
When I started college the first time I was 17. That same August I completed a summer job as a worship leader and lifeguard at a camp in Lake Wales, Florida called Lake Aurora. The week before I began college I started a job as the weekend youth minister at a church an hour away from the University of Central Florida, then known as Florida Tech. The elders at the church in Melbourne, Florida, along with the young senior minister, Don Sewell, took me under their wing and invested in my growth as a Christian and as a young leader.
Freedom and unity
It was in this church at age 17 I was introduced to the writings of a Christian named Leroy Garrett. He had been a professor at a handful of universities before finishing his teaching career at Abilene Christian University. While his academic pedigree is impressive, he never came off as pretentious or impressed with his own brilliant mind. He published a small monthly journal that the elders of the church encouraged me to read, which I did. It was in reading this monthly publication that I discovered two themes that have been a part of my faith journey ever since then: freedom in Christ and the critical nature of unity.
Leroy Garrett. See Digital Commons @ACU
Leroy Garrett earned his PhD from both Harvard and Princeton after completing his early college education at a small Christian university called Freed-Hardeman. Sometimes smaller private Christian universities are criticized unfairly as not being real or legitimate, and yet they often produce scholars who earn their advanced degrees at leading academic institutions. But I digress.
I was 20 when I met Leroy (he insisted on being called Leroy) at a retreat where I was the worship leader and he the main speaker. I even had the chance to do an hour-long interview with him for a church history class I was taking at the time. His wisdom and his understanding of Scripture and his vast knowledge of church history strengthened my focus on the topics of freedom in Christ and the importance of Christian unity as critical to the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
Service, not status
Eugene Peterson’s rendering of the first 3 verses in Romans 15 grabbed me and reminded me of my encounters with Leroy Garrett. “Strength is for service, not status” is a wonderful reminder of what those stronger in the faith, maybe more educated as well, must remember and practice. We do not become more spiritually mature for the sake of impressing others but rather to serve others.
Peterson’s translation continues this way: “Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, ‘How can I help?’ That’s exactly what Jesus did.”
As I think about my late teens and early 20s, I remember several men and women of faith who clearly practiced the teachings of Scripture and in particular many principles the apostle Paul was teaching in the later chapters of Romans. These men and women who were older, wiser, and spiritually grounded chose to serve and mentor me without flaunting any status. They chose to follow the example of Christ and encourage a young man from a fractured family and no resources. Their Christlike service to me changed me forever.
Lord, today we confess that our tendency is toward clinging to our status, our titles, and even our Bible knowledge or church membership when what you call us to is surrender. Forgive us for the times we have acted with superiority instead of following the example of Jesus in laying down our lives for others. Thank you for your trustworthy word that is a lamp for our feet and lights our path. We pray that as we follow you we will come together in unity, spreading your love to those who live in darkness. We ask that through your Holy Spirit we would well up with hope and that through our service others will discover that same hope we have in Christ, In his name, amen.
Your time with God’s Word
Romans 15:1-13 MSG
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