Businessman or Indiana Jones? by Ken Williams

A day in the life of a young man seeking identity and direction.

Nancy, my wife, placed a plaque on the mantle over our fireplace that quotes Oscar Wilde, “be yourself, everyone else is already taken!” In Psalm 139 the psalmist states he was “handcrafted” by our Creator. He didn’t comprehend God’s infinite imagination but knew his works are wonderful. I agree. I have come to know a variety of people in my 79 years of life and have witnessed something intriguingly unique, wonderful, in each person. One such person was a young man that shared a commercial flight with me. He was seeking to discover who he is and what he wanted to do in life. His family and church gave him some insight by preparing him to take over his uncle’s business.

He was preparing but was undecided.

I boarded my 6:00 a.m. flight from Rochester, NY to Atlanta, GA. My neighbor for the flight had been drinking all night “having fun” with friends after a week of training at Kodak Inc. He prepared to get some much-needed sleep, so I started reading the book on ministry coaching I brought. He must have glimpsed the word “coaching” on the cover and sat up. He asked, “Are you a coach?” I didn’t think he’d be interested in an explanation about ministry coaching so I simply replied, “yes.” Then he asked, “So what kind of team do you coach?” I explained that I don’t coach an athletic team, but I do ministry coaching. He appeared a little amused and asked, “O.K. so how does this work?”

So, how does this work? I considered he had been drinking all night and might only be amusing himself, but I decided to share in the fun. I explained that to see how it works he would need to consider and answer two open-ended questions I would ask him. He agreed. Next, I explained he would need to respond by sharing the first thing that popped into his mind. He agreed so I asked, “If money were no object what you would do?” He immediately responded, “Oh, that’s easy! I’d organize and lead people on expeditions studying the flora and fauna along the Amazon River.” I expressed my respect for his adventurous spirit, but he laughed and said, “I’m drunk and I’m pulling your leg.” I chuckled with him, but, to my surprise, he asked, “So what’s the next question?” Having fun or not he was learning fundamentals for ministry coaching and his apparent enthusiasm was interesting.

I wondered what he would come up with next, and asked the second question, “If success were guaranteed, what would you do?” Without hesitation he replied, “I’d organize and lead expeditions in our solar system studying our planets and their moons.” I smiled and said, “O.K. you’re drunk and you’re pulling my leg.” He agreed but then surprised me again by asking, “So what does this tell you about me other than I’m drunk?” Pulling my leg or not, I wanted him to hear what I heard, consider it, and let me know if he agreed.

I shared what I heard and then asked him a question, “Even though you are drunk and intending to pull my leg, your two responses have things in common. First, both responses were about risky adventures. Second, both responses involve leading and teaching others. This may indicate who you are and what you would like to pursue. What do you think?” He paused and then questioned that his quips could have revealed that much about himself. He said he needed time to consider if he really felt that way. He continued by saying he was from California and had been in Rochester to gain some technical training from Kodak Inc. that would prepare him to take over his uncle’s business. He said this would be a secure career, but it wasn’t a choice he had made.

By the time we landed in Atlanta he had volunteered he felt obligated to accept his uncle’s business. I avoided the discussion about family and church influence but encouraged him to consider his responses. We deplaned, I looked for a place to eat, and he went to a bar. I didn’t know we were on the same flight to Ontario, CA but seven hours later we bumped into each other while retrieving our luggage. He thanked me for the time together and said the questions and his responses got him to thinking whether he wanted to be a businessman or “Indiana Jones.”

I prayed for him that he would discover who God made him to be and how he could best serve Jesus and his fellow human beings. An eternity of giving and receiving lay before him as one of God’s handcrafted children.

Ken and Nancy Williams served for some 25 years in pastoral ministry, and then almost another 20 years serving and mentoring other pastors.  With the heart of a pastor Ken continues to write and blog from upstate New York where he and Nancy live close to their grandchildren.