Blog

by Jason DeZurik

“We can't have two sets of standards, one set for the dedicated young men who want to do
something ambitious and one set for those who don't.” -Bear Bryant



Years ago, I was blessed to be discipled by a man from northwest Ohio who taught me some very valuable lessons about life and how to become the man of God that God was calling me to be. I had heard many great things about this person and was told to get to know him for years but I just kept putting it off.



Years later, one day I decided to contact him and see if he would have time to teach and disciple me. After some time getting to know each other and meeting with each other, he said he could make the time. He told me to memorize all of 1 Corinthians 13 and then he would meet with me after I had accomplished that.

Once this was accomplished, he then told me to read a biography about General George S. Patton Jr. I must have had a puzzled look on my face because he asked me if I was confused. I said yes and he said, “Is it because I had you just learn about love and now I want you to learn about a man of war?” I said, “Well, yes.” He then asked me if I wanted him to disciple me or not. I told him I did and then he said, “You asked me to disciple you so you need to do what I am asking of you.”

That made sense to me, so I read the biography and also read about Germany’s General Erwin Rommel as well. The next time we met, this man who discipled me began asking me questions too because he had never read about Rommel and seemed genuinely interested in learning about the man. He then told me, “Now that you have learned about love and about Patton, you need to pick three people from the Bible that you think God wants you to emulate. Read all about them and learn to become like them in your decision making. Learn from their successes and their failures. Jesus Christ will not be one of your three but He needs to be the one you learn from the most. He is going to be the head of your Board of Directors for your life for your whole life.” So, I chose Nehemiah, Elijah, and the Apostle Paul. These are incredible men who not only did incredible things but made very difficult and sometimes not very popular decisions.



After I had read a bunch on these people, prayed for God’s direction, looked for wise counsel from Godly people, and learned from these men of the Bible and their successes and mistakes, my discipler directed me toward reading biographies of great men and women of history. He said, “You need to make your own Board of Directors for your life, choosing people that you want to influence you. You will always be expanding your Board the rest of your life.”



By doing this, he had seriously challenged me to grow up and mature and to become the man of God that He is calling me to be. In fact, I think it is something all of us can do.



My discipler even told me, “Sometimes you will have decisions to make in life that will require more from you than just a quick prayer or thinking about something. You’ll need to have a ‘board meeting.’” I asked, “What do you mean?”



He said, “There will be times in your life that you will need to sit down at a conference table or maybe even your dinner table and you will need to place all of these books onto the table and imagine these men and women are sitting down with you to help you make a decision. Place the Bible on one end of the table, you sit on the other end of the table, and place all of the biographies on each side of you in between the both of you. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide and direct you. Ask Jesus what would He do in this situation. Ask yourself what the three people you chose from the Bible might do if they were you in this situation. Then do the very same thing with everyone else represented at the table. When you come to Patton’s biography ask yourself, ‘What might Patton do if he were in my shoes?’ And so on and so forth. Have a ‘Board Meeting.’ After your meeting, make a decision and be confident in your decision. And it must all be saturated with love. If we get the love part wrong, what’s the point?”



I have needed to do this a couple times in my life, and I can tell you it has certainly changed my life for the better. I am also pleased to tell you my Board of Directors for Life always keeps expanding.



My Board of Directors for Life currently includes:


• Board President, Jesus Christ

• Nehemiah

• Elijah

• Apostle Paul

• General George S. Patton Jr
.
• Corrie Ten Boom

• Mother Teresa

• Lee Iacocca

• Calvin Coolidge



These are just a few of them. It has been a blessing to get to know these people through these biographies, and I challenge you to consider making your own Board of Directors for Life.

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