Usually, people brought up in a conservative Christian home like I was would feel convicted for playing a game of cards. Yesterday, I felt convicted for
not doing so.
Waiting for a flight home from Springfield, Missouri, I was trying get some work done by plowing through e-mails and making phone calls. Sitting behind me at the gate was a rather loud and unnaturally happy group of young people--probably in their late teens or twenties--who complimented me on my socks, asked me where I was headed and invited me into a game of Old Maid.
I declined as graciously as one can decline such an invitation.
After all, I'm a grownup. I've got a job, right? Downtime in an airport is for catching up on work, not playing card games or meeting new people.
Well, someone else
did have time for a game of Old Maid. Soon after I declined the invitation, John Palmer, general secretary of the Assemblies of God, walked into the gate and quickly made friends with the young people sitting behind me. 15 minutes later, he was getting beaten at Old Maid. 20 minutes later, he had memorized their names, was posing for a group photo and had exchanged Facebook info with them.
There's a reason that John was a very effective pastor for 32 years and will likely be an equally effective leader in his role at the AG headquarters--and it has nothing to do with his ability to plow through e-mail or make phone calls.
I've had the privilege to meet, interview and even share meals with some fairly well-known leaders like Jack Hayford, Rick Warren and Tommy Barnett--as well as some not-as-famous-but-just-as-effective pastors of smaller churches.
They all share a common characteristic: they love people,
and they get the job done.
