I recently read the memoirs of Major Dick Winters, who is best known for commanding the Easy Company of paratroopers during World War II. After demonstrating stellar leadership of the company, Winters was promoted to a higher rank, which meant he had to leave the day-in, day-out life among the men he had fought beside through thick and thin. His comment on having to leave them gripped me:
“Leaving Easy Company was the hardest thing I had done in my life. Life in an infantry company is extremely intimate and the result is that men share their collective experiences each and every day . . . I was fortunate enough to have been a part of it, but the cohesion that existed in the company was hardly a result of my leadership. The company belonged to the men – the officers were merely the caretakers.”
The only way the mission of Easy Company could be accomplished was through their intimate care for one another. And, as Winters pointed out, it was the men of the company that made it what it was; the leaders were only intended to be caretakers. In the same way, the best way for us to be on mission with the Lord is to love and serve and care for one another well. The best part of Grace Church is our people, not our building or our programs or our music or our sermons or anything else. And our leaders, starting with me as pastor, are simply called to be the caretakers.
Winters later says that when leaving Easy Company he “was leaving the greatest group of men with whom I had ever served.” I possess the same sentiment for Grace Church - it is made up of the greatest group of people that I can possibly imagine. And it is my extreme privilege and joy to serve as a mere caretaker. The best part about Grace Church is the people.
Ben
monthly resources
Below are some articles I have recently found helpful:
Are You Having a Good Day?
Five Questions for Young Christians about Their Media Choices
That Book of the Bible You Don't Like and What to Do About It
Am I Sinning? Six Questions for Moral Gray Areas
New and Notable Christian Books for Children