My home church is doing a sermon series called Heroes, based on little-known characters in Hebrews 11. Maybe that is what sparked the recent hero blog-storm. I have not seen the TV show or heard the preaching series, but here are my current Top 10 heroes:
1. My wife. Anyone who could put up with me and follow me all over the world for 25 years is automatically elevated to hero status.
2. My Dad. West Texas tough. Hard-working. Self-made. Old-school discipline. Successful in business, but still made his kids top priority. Not a religious bone in his body. But, met God at the end. I am who I am—for better and for worse—because of him.
3. My Mom. World’s kindest person. Vowed to stick with the tough Texan “for better and for worse” and did.
4. Ron Musselman. The legendary Presbyterian youth pastor who led me to the Lord and taught me how to follow Jesus.
5. Filipino missionaries. They serve in some of the most difficult and dangerous mission fields on the planet—Afghanistan, China, Vietnam, Middle East . . . and they do it with a smile.
6. Youth Pastors. Volunteers or paid staff, these men and women are on the front-lines. See also, #4.
7. Campus Missionaries. Whether they are serving in a hostile war-torn nation, or on a hostile post-modern campus, they are heroes.
8. Church Planters. Toughest start-up job in the world.
9. Kid’s Ministry Volunteers. Most important volunteer job in the world. (THANKS!)
10. Compassion Ministry Workers. Whether they are caring for orphans in Africa, providing educational assistance in Manila, feeding the hungry in North Korea, teaching inner-city kids in America, or providing free medical care in Kabul—the hundreds of Every Nation compassion ministry staff and volunteers are true heroes.
Who are your heroes?