LEAD October 2021 | Page 50

Phil Wa

Purpose You

“ I can ’ t believe it !”
That was my thought as I walked into a church auditorium where I was to speak moments later . Seated near the back of the room was an old friend , someone who was one of my best buddies when I was in my early twenties . Even though our lives interacted a few times , this was the first time that I had seen him or talked with him in 20 years , at least .
Sitting in a restaurant , we said to each other several times , “ It ’ s so great to see you !”
As we waited for our food , we took time to fill in the blanks for the years we had been apart . We talked about our kids and our grandchildren . It
was encouraging to know that , for him , life was good .
Butch and I first met after we worked in a youth camp together . Late at night , sitting outside a cabin , we shared our dreams and our hopes . And we prayed together , asking our Heavenly Father to help us be faithful and godly men .
I already knew by our first meeting that God was calling me to preach , to write books , and to lead conferences to help people grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ . By my twentieth birthday , I had an organization to fulfill that purpose and was aggressively moving forward to make it happen .
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