Wednesday, June 13, 2001
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Wednesday, June 13, 2001 |
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A hero of faith By REV JOHN HATCHER Had lunch today with one of the great shepherds of Fayette County. He's not a pastor of a mega-church (probably would not want to be), but his ministry has served the test of time like more than 20 years after founding the North Fayette Baptist Church. He's Dr. Jim Willis, one of the most secure and likable ministers one could know. Life, however, continues to perfect him. He and his wife, Terry, have been faithful to raise their wonderful children in the ways of the Lord and have given extraordinary care to Ben, a severely handicapped young man who has brought great joy into their lives along with fervent prayers for grace. Now, Pastor Willis faces cancer. He's one of the few men who has breast cancer. I remember him telling me of the humbling experience of waiting his turn in a room full of women for diagnostic testing. He went through the same ordeal as they. But today, you never could tell it, sitting across from lunch with him. Sure, he went ahead and shaved his hair off. He never had that much. But a little can be a lot, if you know what I mean. He sat there handling his cancer much like he handled his son Ben. With joy and with a sense that he was not placed on earth to moan and groan, but to encourage and lift up. Imagine that! He's the one with cancer and he's encouraging me, whispering sweet thoughts of love and appreciation and esteem into my ears. Wow! Did cancer do that for him? No! Cancer just becomes the context in which we see what a person is really like. Last week, following his most recent chemotherapy, his blood count was very, very low. He wanted to get up and go, but just didn't have the energy. But ministry must go on. He had arranged for someone to preach at his church, but could not find anyone to preach at Christian City where his church has ministered for years. So, guess who dressed up his low blood count and went out to minister to folks who probably felt better than he: that's right, a Fayette shepherd Jim Willis. I know we ministers have our bad apples and sometimes we are the bad apples. But, at times, there comes along a Jim Willis who redeems a whole bunch of us bad apples by his consistency in ministry, his love for the Lord, and his integrity before the witness of Biblical faith and all the heroes of faith. Jim, Hebrews 11, in my book, has another verse and it has your name on it. Thank you for showing the rest of us the way when there seems to be no way. You are a genuine article, a hero of faith.
The Rev. Dr. John Hatcher is pastor of River's Edge Community Church in Fayetteville. |
