ENCOURAGER

Keep Paddling Until You Reach the Other Shore
By Keith Helms - Battalion Fire Chief (retired) Charlotte Fire Department
Many years ago, I served under a Battalion Chief who told
me that he planned to stay actively engaged as a fire
service officer until the very end of his last day on the job.
He said that he wanted to keep paddling until he got to
the other shore. Too many firefighters take a different
approach. They feel that their many years of service have
earned them the right to “take it easy” or “coast” in the
latter years of their service.
T h e y
s t o p t r a i n i n g o r t h e y
reluctantly take part if they
are given a direct order.
These coasters become
less and less effective in
doing their job. As officers,
they tend to seek the easy
answers as opposed to
the right answers. They
w o u l d r a t h e r a v o i d
conflict than to strongly
lead their crews. When
their last day finally
a r r i v e s , t h e o t h e r
fi r e fi g h t e r s g l a d l y
w e l c o m e
departure.
t h e
As an older firefighter who
is retired, I realize that I need to be aware of the
same problem in our Christian service. Many believers
reach retirement age for their careers and they begin to
withdraw from active ministry. They slowly begin to take
their oars out of the water and they become content to sit
on the sidelines and watch others do the work. As
Christians who are serving Christ in the fire service, we
need to purposely take a different approach. We should
continue to serve in whatever opportunities that the Lord
provides. Also, we should continue to train through the
consistent study of God’s Word. The need to grow
spiritually does not stop, no matter how many years we
live in this world. While it is ok to be called a retiree as a
firefighter, we should never retire from our service for
Christ to a lost world.
I have had the privilege of seeing someone keep their oars
in the spiritual waters. Wayne Detzler has shown me how
a believer can and should keep working until the end of
this “tour of duty”. I have never witnessed Wayne ceasing
to hunger for a deeper understanding of God’s truth and
wisdom. His passion to disciple believers (especially
firefighters) has never wavered. Just like the Battalion
Chief who inspired me to keep paddling in the fire service,
Wayne continues to inspire me to stay engaged
in ministering to the
fire service. My
hope is that you
and I will never
be accused of
coasting in our
service for Christ.
If you have been
coasting, then put
your oars back in
t h e w a t e r. Yo u
haven’t reached the
other side yet.
P h i l i p p i a n s
3:12-16 N o t
that I have already obtained this or am already
perfect, but I press on to make it my own,
because Christ Jesus has made me his
own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have
made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting
what lies behind and straining forward to what
lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the
prize of the upward call of God in Christ
Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think
this way, and if in anything you think
otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.
Only let us hold true to what we have attained.