Unknown

On our honeymoon, Rachel and I went whitewater rafting. We were in a raft with one other man and his young son. The kid had a hard time sitting still and he nearly took out my new bride's teeth with his paddle at one point. I debated the morality of a pastor baptizing a child by knocking him out of an inflatable raft into a raging river. My practical side prevailed and the boy finished the run down the Nantahala safely in the raft.

Anyway, his father has had a profound impact on my life and I don't even know the man's name. We had a conversation while traveling down the river and he discovered that I was a youth pastor. He was Methodist or Presbyterian or something so we talked a bit around church and God and the like. When we arrived at our destination, I shook his hand, said nice to meet you and fully expected to never see him again. He had already walked out of sight and I had moved on to the next thing when he returned and walked straight to me.

This man, whom I had known for only a couple of hours, said something that has stuck with me to this day. Almost 12 years later I can clearly remember his words.

"Believe God and do what you want to do."

These words have played a part in carrying me halfway across the country to start a church. They continually inspire me to be stretched. This small statement helps me to make God bigger in my everyday life.

Influence can often come from places that we don't expect. Pay attention.

Peace.