Through the years, the Lord has opened many wonderful doors to preach the Word of God to hundreds of thousands of people, in over 20 nations; in over 130 foreign mission trips; and all over this country in churches, prisons, drug rehabs, homes…etc. But God has also graced me with the tremendous privilege of passing on the baton of truth, in the personal discipleship of approximately 30 different men, through the years. I am thinking of a letter that I just received from Dr. Jason Allen. Jason was recently elected as the 5th president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. But I remember Jason, as a newly converted college student in Mobile, 16 years ago. God had given him an insatiable appetite for the Word of God and a passion for the things of Jesus Christ. Our precious Lord gave me the blessing of discipling him and about 12 other young men for a few years. Most of those young men were college students; although there were a few of them who were men who were already in the workforce. They would show up at our home, every Friday morning at 5:30! We would study the Word and pray together! Some of them would join me on different ministry opportunities. It is amazing to see what God has accomplished, not only in Jason’s life, but also in the other men who would meet with me on those Friday mornings. All but 4 of those young men are now pastors of local churches; and Jason is now the president of a Baptist seminary with over 1,400 young disciples studying for various types of ministry! They now have been given many tremendous opportunities to pass this Baton on to others.
Even in these days, I am away from home, traveling all over this globe, a little over ½ of every year; but every Friday, unless I am out of the country, I am discipling a young man named Tim! It is a joy to watch Tim grow in sanctifying grace and intimate knowledge of our Savior and Lord! My desire is to continue to take every opportunity to preach the Word of God to the masses. But I also do not want to neglect, as a priority in my life, to spend quality time, priority time and consistent time, investing God’s truth and my life into the lives of younger disciples, who will be faithful to pass the baton of truth to others also! This is exactly what our Lord and Savior modeled for each of us; and this is exactly what He is calling us to do, in this great commission!
Someone passed the baton of truth to you! You must not drop the baton! Every believer should have spiritual children; grandchildren; and even great grandchildren in the faith! Oh, dear brothers and sisters, don’t even consider the possibility of dropping the baton! You are not in this alone!