On 3/23/95 - 3/24/95 Eddy Chance, Larry Dowden, Ken Farmer and I hunted hogs at the Brush Country Bowhunting Ranch near Sabinal. This was our first FCS archery only hog hunt. We hunted an evening and a morning. Eddy and Larry hunted together and Ken and I hunted together. During the first hunt the ranch hands recommended to Ken and I that we hunt at a relatively open area that was surrounded by heavy brush and trees. There was a lot of hog sign so we agreed to hunt it. We put out several bags of corn in the open area and on the dirt road that led to the area. Our hope was that the hogs would follow the trail of corn down the road to get to the more heavily baited area.
After putting out the corn we set up behind some low brush and waited. After a couple of hours of relative quiet we were jarred by a sound that neither of us had heard before. It kind of sounded like a the clicking sound that a dog makes when it walks on a hardwood floor, except this sounded like a pack of dogs. The sound got louder and louder and then we saw them - a large herd of pigs! They had done exactly what we hoped - following the trail of corn to our kill zone. The sound that they were making was the sound of their teeth as they sucked in and chewed up the corn. They were sucking it up like four legged vacuum cleaners!
One of the rules of the Brush Country Ranch is you are allowed only one hog for your money. That being the case, Ken and I decided that our one hog each was going to be a big one (Eddy and Larry made the same decision). Unfortunately the hogs seemed to know that rule. Only the little and medium sized hogs came into our kill zone. The larger hogs hung out at the edge of the brush until it was too dark for us to see our sight pins. They were very reluctant to join the feast.
During my many years of hunting hogs I have come to respect their intelligence (they are said to be smarter than dogs). Big hogs and other big animals don't get that way by accident. These hogs had probably seen brothers and sisters killed by going to the corn too early. They knew that the corn meant danger and waited until the threat was nullified.
Exodus 3:1 – 4:17 recounts the story of Moses’ calling by God to lead His people out of slavery in Egypt. Moses saw a bush that was burning but not being consumed by the fire. He went to investigate, not knowing that he would encounter God. The Lord introduced Himself and told Moses about his new change in vocation. Moses really had no desire to go back to Egypt, where he was wanted for murder. He was very reluctant and began to put up objections.
His first (in 3:11) was “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt ?” (I’m not adequate). God set Moses straight but he still tried to get off of the hook. In verse 13 Moses asked, (paraphrased) “Who are you?” God answered him. In 4:1 Moses asked (paraphrased), “What if they reject me?” God answered him. Moses then tried the “I’m not a good speaker ploy (in verse 10). In verse 12 God said, “Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” In verse 13 Moses threw his final card on the table, saying (condensed), “…O Lord, please send someone else to do it.”
Sadly many of us haven’t learned from Moses’ mistakes. We think that we’re not knowledgeable enough to teach or a good enough speaker. Or we think that there are people who are more educated, wiser, or just plain better. We are plagued by self-doubt and a lack of confidence. So we sit on our hands whenever a church leader asks for someone to fill a position, both long and short term. “They’ll get someone to do it,” we say to ourselves. Sadly this attitude is why 20% of Christians do 80% of the work in the church.
For many years I had dreamed of having an FCS class at my church – Great Hills Baptist (formerly Allandale Baptist). We had over 30 men who were both Great Hills and FCS members. I thought that we could offer a unique class that could tie Christian principles in with the passions that these men shared. I talked to a few FCS members who were occasional teachers about this idea but it was not met with great enthusiasm.
My family then moved to another church when my wife joined the staff there. We served there for over five years. We came back to and re-joined Great Hills in 2006. Once again I explored the idea of starting an FCS class. Once again none of our occasional teachers were very interested in the idea.
Finally God said, “Why not you?” My answer to Him was I was too busy being the FCS president as it was and if I added this duty I wouldn’t do anything well. He said, “I will make a way.”
I committed to start a class and we kicked off on 2/4/07. Since that time God has added two additional FCS officers, which has lightened my load and enabled me to be both the FCS president and the director/teacher of the FCS class.
During my 31 years of being a Christian one of the greatest truths that I have learned is that God is much more interested in our availability than he is in our abilities. Once again I had to relearn that truth. The Lord made it clear to me that if I would make myself available to Him, He would give me the time to prepare and the ability to teach.
Has the Lord been calling you to serve Him in a new capacity? Has He made His will known to you? Have you answered Him? If you haven’t, I encourage you to not be like reluctant like Moses and me, wishing for someone else to do what God has called us to do. Step out in faith and say, “Yes Lord, your will be done.”