Poor

Ron Wade is one of the shepherds at Highland.  About fifteen years ago when a campus minister asked Ron if he would start a ministry to Asians in Memphis, he said “Yes.”  About four years ago when the Highland church asked if he would serve as a shepherd, Ron said “Yes.”  About two years ago when we needed to restructure our leadership so elders had more time for shepherding and were less involved in administration, we asked Ron to outline a plan.  He said “Yes.”  About a year ago leaders at HopeWorks asked if Ron would become their new director.  Ron said “Yes.”  But several months ago, Ron told me he needed to learn how to say “No.”  He was too busy.  He had too many demands on his time.  And so half-jokingly and half-seriously, when I would see Ron in the hallway at church services I would mouth the word “No.”  Each time we saw each other, I would mouth the word “No.”  It’s still a struggle, but he’s learning.  When I emailed him earlier last week to ask if I could have his permission to tell this story about him this morning, he replied “No.”  But he explained he was just kidding.

Read More »The Yes That Makes Possible the No (Mk. 1:21-39)