7-Year Old Ben Gets It

Two weeks ago I had the privilege of speaking to over 4,000 Texas A&M Aggies at the Go! Missions Conference in College Station. I’m still amazed that roughly 10% of the student population would brave rainy weather to worship with Charlie Hall and be invited to join God’s great plan for every tribe, tongue, people and nation. 60 missions organizations showed up to recruit volunteers for service, lending credibility to the claim that this public university set in the Brazos valley is among the world’s greatest missions sending bases.

While in town I got to spend an entire day with two old friends. Brian Fisher pastors one of the partner churches who sponsored the missions conference. Guff and his family currently serve as missionaries in Greece, following a decade of doing life together with our family in East Asia.

As we shared enchiladas and stories around the Fisher’s dinner table, Brian asked his son Ben to explain leadership to us. Ben’s a strapping young buck who just turned seven. Without the slightest hesitation, Ben replied:

“Leadership is like a conductor who waves his arms and keeps time for the symphony orchestra. This is different than bossing. Bossing is when he tells every musician ‘do this, play that, do it this way.'”

Note to Ben: Call me in ten or twelve years. I’ll have a job waiting for you.