Do you remember the chastising remarks that old people once gave to you like, "One day when you grow up, boy, you will understand."  Or maybe you heard it this way, "You don't know anything until you're thirty!" 

Today I got a chance to hang out with a few ministers who have all played a part in my development.  It was encouraging to sit at the table with this fine team men.  One of them, my former pastor, I called a few months back. I called Pastor Paul in Mount Washington, KY and told him how much more I respected him now that I have sat in the seat that he has sat in for years.  I admire him, and other ministers in a way that I hadn't previously.  I didn't know about the sleepless nights, the constant feeling of pressure, or the tremendous weight of being the mouthpiece of God.

Pastor Paul and I talked frankly about leadership, vision casting, and contentment.  Every time I get around a minister who is paces ahead of me I realize, "There is wisdom after experience."  The old sayings that I despised about wisdom coming with age is becoming more and more true.  God has sent me seasoned men who love me, who want to see me succeed, and who will talk honestly to me about ministry.  I may not have recognized it before, but I stand on the shoulders of so many men who have sacrificed greatly so I can succeed in ministry.

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