It has been my fortunate lot to have been with older people in my teenage years, and then all during my working life from the time I was a locomotive engineman to my long years in Christian ministry. As such, it has been my privilege to seek their wisdom.
When I was a teenager involved with the various youth and sporting programs at Canberra Baptist Church, the minister was the Reverend F P McMaster MBE, who was a man of unusual wisdom who imparted into my heart many lessons for life.
The Sunday School superintendents at that time were a couple who were godly people who expressed much love and care for me, a boy who stammered. I had similar mentorship from the Youth Group leader and the hockey club coach; two other godly men who were founts of wisdom. During the subsequent forty-five-plus years, I have not only stayed in touch, but acknowledged their part in my spiritual development.
Having left home in 1968 at age 16 to start as a trainee engineman on the New South Wales Government Railways, and then having been promoted through the system to become Acting Fireman, then Fireman and then Acting Driver and until; my own opportunity for a driver's appointment, I was always with locomotive drivers, who were, of course, older men.
Any young fireman willing to learn and moreover, listen, will take in a great deal of information from experienced drivers, for future reference. Some of these locomotive drivers had a way with words to communicate their life experiences, whereas others expressed equally deep wisdom through the way they dealt with confronting issues, and yet others just in the practical way they handled the train.
Now, it has fallen to me as on older Christian man to somehow express the wisdom of the Lord to the next generation of leaders.
The Apostle Paul explained to Timothy, a young minister: "You have heard me teach many things … teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others..." (2 Timothy 2 verse 2).
It is my honour and privilege today to be mentoring twenty young Comment writers as part of our Well-Being Australia ministry, Press Service International, which supplies media articles to Christian Today Australia.
Each of them, by writing his or her monthly article, has not only exposure to an Australian Christian audience, but through the weekly Wednesday international media e-mail to a world-wide audience.
This has given these young people a voice. It has given them an exciting challenge each month to come up with something fresh and dynamic; it is broadening their horizons, and their spiritual walk with the Lord is being enhanced.
Passing on what God has taught me to these young people who are hungry for the Lord, is the most wonderful experience in my ministry; even surpassing the other things I have done during the years such as the Australian cricket ministry, Olympic ministry, co-ordinating Australian Institute of Sport elite athlete "respite", being an occasional participant on the international speakers circuit, winning some awards for my service along the way ... and the rest of it.
My partner in my Well-Being Australia Mission, Delma, is a godly woman and many a young person has also spoken to her and found her wisdom of much benefit.
Together, in our Mission, we do not rely on our own idea of what is wise, but we try to follow Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."