I’m
no fisherman. I dabbled when I was
younger. I caught some flatfish off the beach
at Ramsgate with my Grandfather and was very excited about it. I think they were flounders, but it was a
long time ago now. Truthfully that was probably the pinnacle of my fishing
career. Other attempts consisted of
boring days with little or nothing to show, unless you count a little skill
with sticklebacks and a small net on a pole!
Mind you the photograph accompanying this blog shows a more recent
success!
Despite
this abject failure at fishing I know, like so many people know, that the
method of fishing one should use depends on the type of fish you are trying to
catch. So shark fishing requires
different equipment and methods to fishing for trout. Fly fishing is different to
Spearfishing. Line fishing can happen in
a variety of ways and styles, and Netting is different again.
Jesus
called his first followers and said “Come, follow me, and I will send you out
to fish for people” (Matthew 4:19). This
was put in a way they could understand since some of those first followers were
fishermen. Different fish require
different fishing techniques. Different
people require different ways to reach out to them with the good news of
Jesus. Sometimes this is a very gentle
one to one conversation, being alongside someone, building a relationship with
them over a long period of time, and sometimes what is required is reaching out
with challenge offering a point of decision.
When the good news of Jesus is heard there is no one way of response but
instead God draws people to himself in a variety of different ways.
This
week Billy Graham died. I was privileged
to share in some of his ministry in the United Kingdom when he held big rallies
and also privileged to see him in a slightly more intimate setting of a press
conference. I found him a humble and gracious
man who sought to be a servant of God. It would be wrong to characterise Billy
Graham’s ministry as only large rallies, but these did form a great portion of
his ministry and many people over the decades responded to the call to follow
Jesus that he offered. Of course some of
those who will have responded will have turned away eventually, perhaps having been caught up
in the moment. The parable of the Sower (Matthew
13:1-23) makes it clear that Jesus knew this would be one result of reaching
out with God’s Kingdom. It is not confined to evangelistic rallies. However, there
are so many in the churches across the world today who can point back to an
initial commitment to Jesus being made at a Billy Graham Crusade.
Such
crusades became very unpopular in Britain for a while. Some people still argue that they do not “work”
(whatever that means). But I want to say
that different fish require different forms of fishing. I want to thank God for all that he did
through Billy Graham. I want to say that
we should not dismiss means and methods of outreach, mission and evangelism,
maybe just because they do not appeal to us and our inclinations. Instead we should celebrate that God reaches
out through the followers of Jesus, who he calls to fish for people, in a
variety of ways.
Today
I celebrate that Billy Graham has been one of those fisher folk and I pray for
many more.
