A friend and colleague, Mike S, recently wrote to me, “I enjoy reading your thoughts on leadership and know you have dealt in the past with how a leader sets an example, acts and lives, but I was wondering if you have considered the topic I will call ‘how a leader starts’. This topic intrigues me because I am about to start something new and the timing is appropriate.”
I am starting a new role as well so this is a great moment to explore the subject of ‘In the beginning’. In a series of posts I will outline some of my thoughts as I start this new role. The last blog was about “ask questions” this one was going to be about “setting priorities”. However, last week was interrupted by the death of two important men in my life. A man named Jack Johnson, a second father to me and my best friend’s dad and Bill Taylor, my wife’s father who has meant much me.
So, I am taking a time out from the blog and instead I want to share with you an excerpt of some comments I made at Bill’s funeral service. I was honored to have the family ask to speak on their behalf.
Bill Taylor was a man. Thomas Carlyle the eighteenth century Scottish essayist who wrote extensively about various heroes who have walked the earth said, “Show me the man you honor, and I will know what kind of man you are, for it shows me what your ideal of manhood is and what kind of man you long to be”.
Now, I don’t claim to be the man that Bill Taylor was, but Carlyle’s words ring in my ears as I think about my ideal of manhood and why I honor Bill Taylor, because he is the man that I and many others long to be. What words describe that ideal? When you talk to his family and friends you keep hearing these words to describe Bill Taylor; Bravery, Courage & Strength.
These words are evident in the stories that they tell about Bill; particularly how he battled a raging melanoma to stand by his daughter Whitney’s side as she got married. Bill had Bravery, Courage & Strength. But, it was a fourth word, Love that made him the man we all knew. It was Love that made Bill Taylor a complete man.
You see, Bill Taylor was a transformed man. Those of us around him saw him grow in wisdom, stature and compassion over the last quarter century. Bill Taylor was a man transformed by two things; first, his own “Road to Damascus” moment, but most of all transformed by Love; the love of his wife Sarah Taylor. Sarah Taylor completed Bill Taylor.
For those of you that do not know the reference to “Road to Damascus” it is about Saint Paul’s transformation from Saul to Paul, Acts 9:3-6 reads,
As Saul neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul why do you persecute me”? Who are you Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
It was in that moment faced with a new truth, that Saul became Paul and the greatest persecutor of Christians became the most prolific church planter, apostle and teacher of the early Church
We all have our Road to Damascus moment, where a truth confronts us and everything that happens next is different. For Bill it was twenty-three years ago; he received what for most people would be a death sentence. He was diagnosed with melanoma and given six months to live. Well Bill proceeded to teach all of us what Mark Twain said, “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” Fortunately for Bill, by the time he got this diagnosis he was married to Sarah Taylor and her love gave him the power to live fully; though the love of Sarah, Bill had no fear of life.
Easter and Christmas are some of my best memories. Bill and Sarah gathered their entire family around them and even those not in their immediate family. Once you got to know Bill and Sarah, you were going to spend at least one Christmas or Easter at their house.
And in those moments, when they thought no one was watching, maybe one of them was opening a gift, or handing a plate to the other, hiding an Easter egg or just picking up wrapping paper, you would see a glance, a wink or a touch on the arm and through those moments you could see love.
You could see the love that same Saint Paul tells us about in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres.
This is the type of Love that connected Bill and Sarah
Bill was a man. To describe Bill you have to use the words Bravery, Courage & Strength, but the greatest of all was Love.
One last story – Bill’s name, once he became a grandfather, was a great word picture of everything that was Bill. His name was Growl. He got the name from one grandchild and it was changed by another. His grandson Will Shootman gave him this name after arriving home from Italy. We had lived in Italy for a while and Will began to learn to talk in Italy. On final approach to the airport back in the States, I tried to teach Will to say, “Gramps”. But as he ran to his beloved grandfather, the only words that came out were “Growl”. Bill wore that with a badge of honor for 10 years until his granddaughter Honore renamed him. Out on his land one day, little Honore came up to Growl and shyly said, “Growlie, can you take me out on the lake?” Bill said, “What if I do not want to be called Growlie?” And Honore replied, “But that is what you are – you are my Growlie.” That was Bill – the full measure of the man – He could be both Growl and Growlie
In closing, I am reminded of a scene in the movie, The Lord of the Rings, a great story about the triumph of Good vs. Evil and the promise of Everlasting Life. In a pivotal scene, Frodo the little Hobbit is dejected after many terrible things that have happened. He is with Gandalf, the Brave, the Courageous & the Strong.
Frodo: “I wish none of this had ever happened”
Gandalf: “So do all who live to face such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us”
I know at this moment, Bill is in the presence of God, and as we sit here together, feeling like Hobbits and say to ourselves, “I wish none of this had ever happened” Bill, who taught us how to live with Bravery, Courage, Strength & Love is looking down at us saying, “So do all who face such times, but that is not for them to decide. All you have to decide is what to do with the time God has given to you”
Bill – we love you and we honor you and we will use our time well.
And for all of you that took the time to read this, thank you for honoring Bill Taylor and I challenge you to use your time well.
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