Br. Steve Hight, our former vice president at Evangelistic Faith Missions, has recently accepted the pastorate at Faith Mission Church in Bedford, IN. We will deeply miss his high level of involvement at the mission, but we are thankful that he will still be working for EFM on a part-time basis.
EFM had a special lunch this past Thursday in Br. Hight's honor. We missionaries were asked to share a few thoughts about Br. Hight, and I would like to post the thoughts that I sent. I'm doing this because Br. Hight is one of my heroes. These thoughts aren't flattery, they are reality!
1. He is my friend. It is not everyone who is blessed to have a boss who is first and foremost your buddy.
2. I have an open invitation to "dump" on him. There are very few people with whom I would share my deepest, darkest secrets, but Br. Hight is one of those people. I have shared intimate things with him and he has always been there to lend a listening ear. He has never complained when I have called him late at night to talk about something that was bothering me. And once you do "dump," he always give you good advice.
3. He is one of the most level-headed Christians I know. It is easy for a Christian to go either too far right or too far left, but in my book Br. Hight is as dead center of a Christian as they come.
He will go out of his way to help you. Br. Hight, it means a lot to have someone who is more than willing to drive ten to twelve hours one way to speak for ten minutes at your commissioning service.
4. He has a great sense of humor, even when it comes to alarm clock, electric shower heads, mother-in-laws, and things like that.
5. He is short. It is too bad that all that chocolate didn't help with the vertical growth...
I mentioned that Br. Hight has a great sense of humor. Below is a recent exchange between the two of us that gives a good example of the good, enjoyable working relationship that I have with Br. Hight.
He wrote...
Rex2,
Bless U.
Great comments
Showing good sense.
Thanks for your "write"
To Steven E. Hight.
I wrote...
You're crazy! Missy says that you must have too much time on your hands now that you are a pastor. :)
He wrote...
Hmmmm. I guess I'll just have to be serious all the time so as to appear busy and officious. No more joking!! That's an order!!
I wrote...
Yea right! I'll believe it when I see it!
He wrote...
No more joking
No more poking
No more chuckling
Just keep buckling
Down to working;
Hey, no shirking!
Can't be funning;
Must keep running.
Blowing bubbles
Just brings troubles.
So I wrote a note to some fellow missionaries expressing my "grave concerns" about Br. Hight's leadership and shared the exchange with them. I said that I was having "second thoughts" about Br. Hight being over us.
Br. Hight wrote to the people to whom and had expressed my "concerns" and said...
I can't deny
The things I've said
Reported by
That young red-head
From Costa Ricker.
I just will say,
since he did flout
My kindly words,
"So toss me out!"
I'll eat a Snicker.
I'll play racquetball
All through the fall;
And turn up the heat
In wintery sleet
And let the rest of you bicker.
(Please pardon the varied rhyme pattern
And somewhat irregular meter;
I was caught a little off-guard
By the report from that Tico Tweeter;
You can see that he's quite a kicker!)
So I ended with...
I must admit, I must be kind,
Dear Br. Hight has quite the mind!
I won't him-haw, I will shoot straight,
Our great leader just has that trait.
That trait to take, without much thought,
My true concerns, and make them naught.
So I will say, from deep within,
You have to join when you cannot win.
