journeyman

Randy Rhode is a fellow that I’ve worked with for more than five years now, and in his trade he’s considered a journeyman, but more importantly to me he’s also one of my closest friends. He and I spent a couple of years hanging out Monday through Friday together. Some of them were good days, and some of them were merely so - so days but I’m where I am right now (in many aspects of my life) because of him, and I know that.

Randy is in a field management position with the company that we work with, and he does quite well at it I might add. Unfortunately, now that I work at our office location I don’t get to see him as often, and this I truly hate. He’s one of those dudes that just seem to make life better from simply being around him. If I had to describe him in one word it would be “Quality” for he’s all about doing everything in life with a quality effort. Ok, maybe his patented dance move of holding one leg behind him, while circling around wildly waving his free arm really sucks, but it’ll make you laugh out loud, yet everything else is “on-mark” with him. Family man, musician, poker player, apologetic, job foreman, true Christian, true friend – he’s right there with the best that I’ve ever met.

If you know Randy, then you know all of this to be true. He’s a journeyman in all aspects of life, not just in a business trade.

When I was at a point where I thought that I knew everything I wanted to know about religion and life, (yet was really down to a nothing-filled existence) Randy was placed in my life to point out my flawed ways, and he was really good at that as well. Too good! There were days when I drove home after working with him that I wanted to quit my job. I hated the thought of disappointing him with the lack of quality in my own work, or in my own life to be more exact. What I’ve found is that when you are around folks like Randy you either find a way to raise the quality of your own game, or you simply go looking for another team to play with - one that doesn’t expect so much of you.

Now days an occasional phone call or short conversation in passing is about all the interaction I have with him. Mostly we talk about folks and situations that need praying for, music or his two beautiful daughter’s (Karly and Kelsy) many, many activities. He most certainly has been a journeyman friend to me, and this I greatly appreciate.

In the past year I’ve developed more and more friendships with quality people like him - and in turn this has helped me to grow much more so than any period of my life. I believe this is exactly what God intended for my life all alone, yet I was too stubborn to accept it with out getting a big ol’ taste of what it was like to try it on my own. To truly learn and grow and mature we need to spend as much time with the journeyman type people as we can – for they will most definitely make a difference. They may not make it “easier” on us, but they’ll sure make a difference, and this I know.

I have a 3’ x 4’ quote board over my desk that is chocked full of truisms that I’ve hand-written in permanent marker over the past year and a half. Things that were thunked into writing by such notables as Dr. Martin Luther King, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Theodore Roosevelt, Johnny Cash, Zig Zigler, Voltaire, and George Carlin. On this board I’ve only included one item from myself, for even I know how shallow my thoughts are when compared to the likes of Johann Wolfgang Goethe, St. Francis of Assisi or Harry Emerson Fosdick, (all “journeymen” in their own right) but this is what I added.

“Perception is Power – right up until you are asked a question! Then knowledge will be found to be your friend, or just a mere stranger.”

When I was describing Randy Rhode I mentioned that he was an “Apologetic” which I didn’t even know the definition of until I met him. I found that in the religious context an Apologetic is not someone that goes around apologizing to everyone, but rather it is someone that considers it a worthy cause to defend the bible and biblical principles with knowledge of the truths in the bible. What I’ve also found is that there are many, many people that memorize and quote scripture, yet not as many who can maintain a meaningful conversation about a theological issue without letting their emotions take over. Most folks simply get defensive about their position rather than being able to defend their position with sound biblical truths. When asked about some current life event or circumstance that you’re dealing with personally many so-called scholars hang their hats on this verse or that, yet when challenged to expand - it becomes clear that their biblical knowledge rests in the early part of my statement and that is “Perception is Power.”

Perceptions don’t make journeymen, and journeymen don’t rely on fooling others through the power of perception. What I’ve come to notice is that real journeymen don’t seem to be too concerned about what other’s perceptions of them are – they simply stay focused on their craft. They don’t compromise their commitment to quality for anything, or anyone. I believe teaching, or preaching the full truth of God’s word should only be done by journeymen. Those that don’t allow personal opinion to circumvent their commitment to His truth, yet class rooms as well as pulpits are full of the lesser kind, and more sadly the pews and chairs are full of those that are willing to settle for this.

What I do know is that my life has far too few Randy Rhodes in it, but I’m searching! I’ve been rewarded from this search by having the honor of learning in one way or the other from such notable journeymen as Ronda Faull, Michael Card, Rick Blackwood, Neil McClendon, A.W. Tozar, Jesus of Nazareth, Joel Engle, Kent Keith, Robert Fulghum, Mother Teresa, Wayne Dunn, and Tom Coleman to mention just a few.

The thing that stands out the most for me, is that all of these have in common a commitment to learning, and passing on the quality lessons that they’ve learned in life through their the songs that they sing, writings they share, sermons they deliver, or simply by the way they live their life. Life lessons to be shared with others, for what more do we really have of value to give someone?

I like to think of my life as being a musical instrument that many gifted craftsmen have joined together in the molding and making process. I don’t want to have a first year apprentice or even someone that simply slept at a Holiday Inn Express last night influencing the work that is in progress. I want to end up being something that God is proud of, not others. For it is from He that all blessings flow, and to whom all praises should be offered.

I thank God for Randy Rhode, and all of the journeymen and journeywomen that God has developed and placed in the workshop that houses the project of my life. For I know that I would be an instrument of far less quality if it weren’t for the time and effort they have invested in the giving of themselves for others because of a much broader view of life than most of us ever envision. They have reached true journeymen status in life.

doug