And yet, and yet…

In the past year, I’ve begun serving as an Adjunct Professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. In particular, I’m serving in teaching the Church Admin and Leadership class. It’s been a wonderful experience thus far.

SWBTS holds a lot of history for our family. My wife’s dad and grandfather both served for decades at the seminary, guiding and building up the facilities of the campus. I spent my days pursuing a Master of Divinity degree at the school, surviving on microwave taquitos, coffee, and Snickers bars. I courted my wife when she still lived on campus, with our first long conversation happening out on the steps of the Music building.

On this occasion, something else caught my eye. As I was walking to teach my class, I walked down a hallway that had a series of portraits on the wall. One of them (not pictured) was of a man named Dr. Jimmie Nelson.

Dr. Nelson was the head of the Field Education Department at the school and also served in various capacities in the preaching faculty. He was a part of the seminary for a very long time. And even after he retired, he continued to serve in an adjunct capacity at the school and in a series of interim pastorates.

I didn’t know Dr. Nelson as a professor. I knew him as the interim pastor at my church growing up.

More than that, I knew Dr. Nelson as the man who was preaching when I first felt my calling to vocational ministry.

I was a sophomore in high school, and Dr. Nelson was preaching a sermon that included his experience of preaching in Communist Romania. He related that one of the days he walked to go and preach at a local church. As he approached the building, he observed very few cars in the parking lot. He was a bit discouraged, but committed still to go and preach the Word.

But when he entered the building he was shocked.

All of the seats of the sanctuary were filled. People were standing in the aisles, seated in every available space. These people had walked from miles around because they were hungry to hear the gospel.

In that moment listening to this man 60+ years my senior recounting an experience from behind the Iron Curtain, my heart burned. I knew that I wanted to do that, to be one of those that brought the Word to those hungering and thirsting for meaning in a cold, passionless world.

Walking across his portrait in the hallway where I would teach other young ministers struck me. I thought about the hallway of my life and the portraits of mentors that would hang there. I would think about Jimmie Nelson, Brent Phinney, Kyle Davis, Johnny Derouen, Richard Ross, Rick Johnson, Matt Wood, Bruce Tankersley, Israel Nandamudi, Mark Yates, Jeph Holloway, Allan Thompson, Mike Dean, Drew Erickson, John Lee, Gary Dyer, David Procter, Don Guthrie, David Fletcher, Steve Alberts, and more. I’m humbled by how these men and more have invested in my life and my ministry.

It makes me wonder about the hallways my face will be in.

That’s the wonderful thing about our interactions with others, especially those that we have the privilege to mentor. We all have hallways that take us to the places we’ll lead. There are faces and lives and voices and hearts that whisper us along our way. And God uses these hallways to see his Kingdom move forward.

Sometimes we may wonder about influence and if Jesus will use us. We long to leave an impression, to share the signs and wonders that God lays on our hearts. We wonder what difference we’ll make.

Friend, it may be that your greatest influence will be the hallway. Your name and writings may fade into the background, but the affection, care, and love with which you build others up may lead the way for the footprints of others. We may not leave behind mansions or monuments, but if we build hallways for the Kingdom? What a privilege.

It may not be students. It may be for your family. It may be for your friends. It may be for your coworkers. It may be for people whose names you’ll never know.

Simple kindness and love build hallways fuller than we’ll know.

Signs and wonders y’all.

²⁶ And when he [Paul] had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. ²⁷ But Barnabas took him [Paul] and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. Acts 9:26-27