“There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who enter a room and say, ‘There you are’ and those who say, ‘Here I am.'” The quote isn’t original with me. It’s attributed to various people of history.
I would put Leighton Ford (1931- ) in the “There you are” category of people. I’ve only met him once, a few years ago at a meeting I attended in Charlotte. We sat next to each other at dinner, and I vividly recall his engaged demeanor. He was well into his 80’s after a distinguished ministry as an associate to Billy Graham (he also married Billy’s sister Jeanie!) and highly respected in circles where I travel. He kept deflecting our dinner conversation away from himself to ask more about me. His active listening skills were in sharp contrast to most leaders I’ve met along the way.
When Leighton wrote his life story in 2019, it was no surprise that he titled it A Life of Listening. He wrote about the moment he decided to give more serious attention to listening. “When I was young, I remember speaking with several well-known leaders. After my conversation, I realized that I knew everything they did, but they knew nothing about me. That’s when I resolved to become a better listener.” Leighton left the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in 1985 to mentor a new generation of Christian leaders. Just as Billy Graham invested in him in earlier years, so Leighton resolved to help younger leaders learn to lead more like Jesus.
Mentoring requires careful listening. So does the daily practice of prayer as we seek to listen to the Word in Scripture and God’s still, small voice in our souls. A prayer from Leighton: