For the next few weeks, I will share stories about specific men who have inspired me in my development as a husband, father, and pastor. I am indebted to men like this who continually pour their experience into my life with nothing to gain. This week, meet Aaron–a mentor and friend.
Aaron served with a campus ministry for years at the University of Florida. He had taken a grassroots ministry and developed a team of people and students that made that campus ministry one of the trendsetting and benchmark ministries for the organization. He is now in a secular vocation, sensing God’s call to one day be involved in missions in the 10-40 window. His wife and kids are wonderful people that I love being around.
Zachary was in 6th grade when I took over my first post as a Jr. High Pastor. There were a handful of students that first Wednesday night, and Zach stuck out to me as a leader. I decided that he would be one of the students I would focus on, hoping to encourage him to grow in his faith and lead his friends to do the same. When Aaron heard about my intentions, he offered to take me out to eat sometime so we could get to know each other. The only issue was that I was in college and Aaron had to be at work early in the morning, meaning we had to meet at the crack of dawn at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant called Guthrie’s.
I was late. He was gracious.
The food was terrible and greasy, but our conversations were worth every penny I spent at that place. I would vent about things, and he would walk me through my struggles with identity and questions. Aaron would provide a listening ear, ask tough questions, pray with me, and challenge my perceptions of leadership. To this day, he is the first person I call when I am faced with a difficult decision in ministry, relationships, and family. He has helped me grow spiritually, teaching me to read the Scriptures, memorize them, and continually consult the Holy Spirit for wisdom, guidance, and direction.
Aaron’s greatest contribution to me was in the way he showed me what a God-honoring marriage is to look like. He helped me see the complexities and beauty of marriage by inviting me over to have dinner with his family and to see how he loved and served his wife and kids after a busy day at work. He modeled what an Ephesians 5 marriage could look like.
Aaron also taught me how to see my primary ministry as my family, and not my church. He continually challenges me to think about my family first in every situation, and creating margin and boundaries in my life to ensure that my priorities rest first in Christ, then my wife, daughter, family, and ministry. I have seen how much of my ministry is patterned after the way he takes care of his family and that a lot of the boundaries, rules, and margin that we create in our household are reflective of his ministry to Stacey and me.
My prayer is that God would give you an Aaron. If you have one, thank him or her. If you don’t, ask Jesus for one.
Collin Outerbridge is one of the pastors of Vista Church in Orlando, FL. He provides oversight to local and global mission, student ministries, and MissionCity-Vista’s Church Planting Initiative. For more information, check out www.vistachurch.com or www.collinouterbridge.org.
