[To follow The Ewellogy, please click on Leave a Comment above, fill in your name and email, and check the box: Notify me of new posts by email. If your comment is, “Notify me,” it won’t post publicly. If you don’t start to receive the blog by email right away, please write to me at bob@ewell.com, and I will see that you get on the list.]

We’re still enjoying the teaching of Chaplain Dan Holcomb at Spring Canyon. “Disciplines of a Warrior” resonates with a lot of the things that I teach (of course—we all have the same book!). What’s sad, and I discussed this with Dan, is that he’s been in ministry 41 years and just discovered these principles about 4 years ago.

I’m reminded of an incident when I was on church staff back in the early 2000s. I invited Rich, a Navigator friend of mine, to do a one-day seminar which included instruction on daily time with God. In attendance was a couple in their 60s, the wife in a wheelchair. About a year later, Rich came back for another seminar, and the husband came up to Rich and said something like:

Rich, I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate your coming last year, especially the teaching on how to have meaningful fellowship with God. My wife really enjoyed putting that into practice and experienced many meaningful times with God. She has since gone to be with the Lord.

On one hand, this is a great story. I’m ecstatic the lady was able to have meaningful fellowship with God before she died. On the other hand, I’m sad. This couple was in their 60s. Her husband was a Licensed Local Pastor (lay pastor in their denomination), and, like Dan, they were just learning what should be the basics of the Christian life. As Dan has said, “What’s wrong with this picture?”

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ… (Ephesians 4.11, 12, ESV)

One day he was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said, “Master, teach us to pray…” (Luke 11.1, ESV)

Jesus came to them and said, ”…Go and make disciples of all nations,… teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28.18 – 20, NIV)