A Pastor’s Legacy
"He sat with me for the whole day after Ray died," my mother-in-law, Sue, told me this morning.
She was telling me about a new church she is attending. She was so impressed that the three pastors greeted her on the way in and on the way out. Her criteria for a church became clear to me. She wants a pastor who cares about her. This was modeled by her now-retired pastor, and she wants to reclaim this kind of relationship.
She said, "Pastor Dell was there when Ray took his last breath. He prayed for Ray just before and right after he passed on. Then he stayed with me all day. He waited until the funeral home came by to take Ray away."
Ray had a rough life.
He was born in Sweden. His parents emigrated to the United States and settled in Chicago. He grew up on the southside in a tenement basement apartment with the plumbing exposed in the ceiling. He left home at sixteen and joined the Merchant Marine during WWII. He eventually made his way into the army for the Korean War. He was stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, where he taught mountain climbing and skiing to the recruits headed to North Korea. From there he joined Nielson and traveled the US with his young wife, Sue, and their first child, Linda.
I love the stories of how Sue used the dresser drawers in the motels as a crib. They didn't have much but made ends meet. Then with their second child, Christy, it was time to get off the road. An opportunity came up with a new franchise called Manpower. The idea of temporary help was a novel concept at the time. The founders of Manpower wanted to expand nationwide. They chose the franchising model. Ray bought Denver and became a small business owner.
Ray went to school at night to learn bookkeeping and other small business skills. He built that Denver franchise into a profitable and successful franchise for Manpower. He was hard-working and innovative in designing his service offering. But his secret of success was the love he showed to the day laborers he placed. He had a rough life, and he cared for people who had a rough life.
I say he had a rough life because I could see the scars from his childhood. He lived as a man who felt he didn't deserve to be loved. He loved but just couldn't trust the love that was returned. When I went to visit Kathy before we were married, I remember his saying to her as he prepared to go to his room for the night, "Come kick your father good night."
In his late sixties, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. During his long battle with this disease, he began to go to church. He went because Sue wanted him to go with her. There was a tiny Lutheran church right around the corner from their house. And that's when they met Pastor Dell.
Pastor Dell was a true pastor of his flock.
He loved each and every one of the people who attended his church. He knew he was there to love them and lead them. Ray saw this, experienced this, and could not stay away. I believe it was the first time he experienced unconditional love and believed it.
Over the next year, Pastor Dell loved Ray right into the arms of Jesus. Ray attended regularly. This led to one-on-one meetings with Pastor Dell and eventually a precious friendship. Ray agreed to be baptized and began his new life as a disciple of Jesus. Shortly after this, Ray died.
When Sue was telling me about this new church and the pastors, this story of Pastor Dell couldn't help but come out. This is the kind of pastor she wants. A pastor who loves her enough to know her. A pastor who is involved in her life and the lives of her loved ones.
I am telling you this story because I realized the importance of a Pastor Dell. I saw the evidence of his legacy sitting across from me at the breakfast table. The way Sue talked about how he was the answer to her prayer in bringing Ray into a personal relationship with Jesus. And even now, at ninety years old, she is looking for his replacement in her life.
I also realized from this conversation that Ray and I have a lot in common. I also find it hard to accept people's love. Somehow I am undeserving. It is easier to give love than to accept being loved. But until I can accept the unconditional love of God, I will always struggle to love unconditionally. Simply stated, I can't give what I don't have in the first place.
But Pastor Dell was that man. Look at his legacy. He accepted the love of God and passed it on. A wonderful life lived following Jesus.