WWUMD?

Do you have any heroes in your life?  Now of course there are those who are famous and bigger than the everyday norm, some of mine are; Martin Luther, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr..  But real heroes surround us everyday.  They are the firemen who rush into a blazing house to save those who cannot help themselves.  They are police officers who walk the line everyday to keep our society in a form of order and not chaos.  They are teachers who do not receive proper pay or respect as they provide the education that springs forth other heroes such as doctors, lawmakers, soldiers, and scientists.  Yes we have a lot of heroes to be thankful for.

But one of my greatest heroes was a man most have never heard of, Rev. Marvin K. McElhannon, my uncle.  My uncle Marvin went to be with the Lord in 2007 after sixty plus years of preaching the gospel.  He never pastored a large church, never wrote a book and his name isn't well known outside the fellowship of Assembly of God churches in Oklahoma.  Yet he will always be a hero to me.

When he was still a young man he lost his left arm in a silly everyday accident.  He didn't allow that to hinder a ministry that touched many lives.  When he passed the funeral program beautifully said "Who would have thought a one armed man could reach so far?"  That is why he is heroic.

As a pastor I often see many things I do not like.  People inside and out of the church don't always treat each other as they should.  They believe their motives are pure and so they go ahead with behavior that hurts others.  I know because this pastor has hurt others when I had nothing but good intentions.  We're all fallable (1st John 1:8 "If we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves").  On the other hand whenever someone hurts me I have a tendency to try and defend myself.  It may be normal but it isn't exactly saintly and it is a habit I want to overcome. 

In this regard I want to be like my hero, my uncle Marvin.  As a pastor in a small town he was the man!  He never offered his wisdom or even his opinion unless asked.  If someone said something hurtful or hateful he would try to ignore it, laugh it off, or bring a solid word of correction without any rancor and then he would forgive immediately.  That's worthy of imitating.

WWJD was a Christian campaign that had a lot of merit.  Before taking action we were encouraged to ask ourselves "What Would Jesus Do?"  Allow the moral and spiritual character we know from the Word of God to guide our decisions.  That works on so many levels, but I've found in ministry there are some situations and behaviors I cannot imagine what Jesus would say and do.  That's when I ask myself WWUMD?  What would Uncle Marvin Do? 

Please don't think this is some kind of idol worship, that I have elevated my late uncle to a god-like status.  Not at all.  Rather I use my memories of how Marvin would deal with situations and people as a guide when I face similar problems.  I remember how his close relationship and humility gave him wisdom.  God really values humility in His servants (Galatians 6:3 "The man who thinks he is something when he is nothing, deceives himself"). 

Already I see this paying dividends in my current pastorate.  I no longer preach on what I'm going through, but what I've already come through.  I am learning not to say a word when someone says something critical or ugly but sleep on it and try to consider what their motivation for such behavior was.  It's working. 

In 1st Corinthians 11:1 Paul said "Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ", and that's what we should all do.  If you battle the flesh (and we all do) to be all the Lord wants you to be remember an example of Christ from your life that can serve as your Paul.  A good example always directs us to follow Christ.  We learn what Jesus would do by seeing what they would do.  Who knows, maybe one day when someone is facing a struggle of their own they might ask the Lord what would YOU do in this situation.