I had one of my former students who I reconnected with on Facebook several years after he had graduated from the program.
He now had a son. He told me that he was trying to be the kind of dad that he saw me be to my son, Josh. I was taken aback.
Not for one moment had I ever stopped to think about students watching the relationship between me and my son. I knew they were watching me, but I had not stopped to consider the particulars of what they were observing.
At that time we lived in a house next to the TC center so my son was constantly around the center and the students. My son grew up in Teen Challenge. He loved the students and was often trying to encourage them, even at the age of 6 or 7. I never stopped to think that the students were observing how we were interacting. I was leaving a legacy and did not even realize it.
I am sure that the impressions I left behind were not always positive. But nonetheless whatever I communicated by my words, my actions and my attitude is my legacy. My legacy is not my job, my duty, it is who I am. That is a thought provoking, challenging and emotional consideration. I am greatly humbled as I ponder it.
The theme for the 2017 Regional Conferences and for many of the 2017 newsletters is “Connect to the Legacy”. When we think of legacy, we most often think of the past, and that is good. We want to anchor ourselves and our ministries to our foundational values and beliefs.
But as you contemplate Legacy consider this: The past is the past and all we have is the present. As Gandalf once said, “All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to us.” (Sorry, my nerdy side slipped out.)
You are leaving a legacy, for good or bad, with your students, with your family, with your friends….. What will be your legacy?
Discuss – Evaluate – Execute:
- Ask the Holy Spirit to help you examine yourself.
- What are your personal core values?
- Does your behavior align with those core values?
- If you were to ask our friends, family and even our students what they thought your core values are, what would they say?
