When I was a kid, my friends and I used to play baseball in the backyard. Along with baseball came tons of talk about how different baseball players swung the bat, made catches, slid into bases, or whatever. Then we would practice to play like them. I remember practicing swinging a bat like Pete Rose and sliding into bases head first during ball games. It seemed like the best way to become a better ball player. When I grew up, I began to do the same thing in my professional life. The first pastor I ever worked for had a mix of strengths that I admired. He taught me a great deal about ministry work, engaging with people, working through challenges in ministry, and all manner of other lessons. There is rarely a day that goes by that I don’t apply something I learned in that job. I watched him and learned. In many ways, I am still the awkward kid in my backyard trying to slide headfirst into second base. In the decades of work that have followed, I have made it a point to identify talented individuals and learn from them. Daily I find myself applying lessons learned from behavior specialists, managers, pastors, and others. My work here bears the influence of those professionals and the things I learned from them. I imitated their way of approaching the world. When I arrived in town, I spent a lot of time talking to people about the community and its servants. There are several people I hope to emulate in my work. Most of us are lucky enough to encounter heroes in our lifetimes. Many of them are coaches, teachers, bosses, pastors, or mentors. We usually appreciate their efforts, respect them, and speak highly of them to others. After all, their work changed us for the better. I believe that we should take it a step further. The people who make those around them better should be imitated because it can make us into the sort of people we look up to. Paul instructed the church in Corinth to “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.” Sometimes it’s hard to imitate or emulate the work of Jesus, but Paul offers a happy medium. We can look for those who are like Christ and be like them. If you stop and consider what sorts of people you admire in life, you will likely identify common traits, things like selflessness, hard work, always learning, or whatever. If you admire those things in others, it is valuable to learn how to be the same. There are lots of reasons for this, but one of the best is that if we see virtues in others and admire them, it is a strong indication to us what we hold in high regard. To aspire to be virtuous in these ways is to aim to be a better person. The next best reason for this sort of effort is because our kids and those who admire us will be inspired to be like us. My son wants to be like me. This means I have to be better so he can have a better model to follow. This is a challenging way to live because it means looking for others with humility and seeking after better things. It requires that we grow and change for the better. There is nothing simple or easy about either proposition. Still, in doing so we can become the kind of folks that make others want to be better people. That is a blessed way to live.
