Take 5 Minutes to Save a Life for Eternity
Leaders don’t always comprehend the impact they can make in brief encounters.
I had my five minutes with such a leader.
I met Pastor Charles Green in 1971 at the church he and his wife, Barbara, founded on Read Road in New Orleans east. I met him because I sat next to his son, Michael, in our choir at Marion Abramson High School. Our choir sent 19 singers to the Louisiana All-State Choir that year. I remember Michael’s big bass voice, and I knew, even at age 17, that he was a special man.
Michael and his wife, Linda, are pastors of LifeGate Ministries in Metairie and Mandeville, Louisiana. I haven’t seen him since graduation from Abramson. I’ve kept up with his music career and still have his first LP.
I distinctly remember the day Michael and I went to see his dad at Word of Faith. I remember that our choir was going to sing at the church and we were sent to take care of something. I know now it was a divine appointment.
Pastor Charles Green had a very effective ministry with young people from the high school. He has helped thousands of students for over 30 years. I was one of them and he didn’t even know it until recently.
I can’t recall exactly what he said to me but I know it was a seed that grew in me until I was saved at the age of 19. I have never forgotten that one encounter with him. The only reason I cannot forget him is that he made such a significant spiritual deposit into my life. Why else would I remember one moment in time from 1971 with such clarity? I can only conclude that the meeting was a Spirit-led appointment.
I saw Pastor Charles 35 years later at the Memorial Service for Oral Roberts. I was serving as the Dean of the College of Business at the time. I saw Pastor Charles in the aisle just before we were seated.
I didn’t know then that Charles Green served on Chancellor Robert’s Board of Regents and was chairman of the advisory board. Was it a simple coincidence that I would be sent to ORU 35 years after a meeting with this pastor?
When I saw Pastor Charles, I knew him at once. I told my wife I HAD to talk to him. I wanted his autograph in my Bible or something. I introduced myself as if he should remember me. How could he have remembered one kid among the thousands he helped? But when I shook his hand, I knew with great recall that he was the one sent to gather me into the kingdom. My grandmother, Opal, was my Lois and never ceased to pray for me.
But Pastor Charles Green was the one sent to speak into my life.
A few weeks ago, I was with Charisma founder Steve Strang and learned he has been friends with Charles and Michael for many years. Today, I serve at Charisma because Pastor Charles planted a seed.
Leaders do what they do without many opportunities to learn of the impact of their work. I’ve been ministering the gospel for over thirty years without Pastor Charles Green’s knowledge. His impact on me has hopefully impacted the young people I’ve met along the way.
Leaders, we can’t miss an opportunity to stop whatever we are doing and introduce someone to Jesus. In the middle of the day, in the middle of the week as we walk our path, we will find appointments sent just to us.
The impact of one chance meeting can impact generations. Thank you, Pastor Charles Green. God bless Harvest Ministries to the World.
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Today’s Scripture
Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor” (1 Cor. 3:8).
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