Got Your Back - Thanks Matt
Over the past several years, I have become convicted more and more that as a man of God and a minister, it is better for me to give another brother or sister in Christ the benefit of the doubt rather than to assume the worst I may have heard about them. I have also become convinced that there is NOTHING better than a friend that has got your back when you need it. After 21 years in ministry, there is a short list of men that I know would get my back in any circumstance (to defend my honor against a false accusation AS WELL as rebuke me if I had allowed sin or pride in my life). From time to time I like to honor them here. One such example is Matt Orth, who has no idea I am doing this, and if he did, would probably ask me not to. Oh, well. There is no need for me to go into great detail here, but a little less than a decade ago, our ministry, Crossroads, went through a most difficult and trying time. Sin was uncovered and as usual when sin is involved, it was a long and drawn out process that followed. We were all young and idealistic and learned great lessons as a result of how things played out, but in the middle of the storm, we begged God for deliverance and learned most of all to trust His providence. During this time, there were days I prayed that I would die in my sleep. I was 27 years old, newly married, and quite naive. I felt isolated and alone and it seemed that the truth was eluding everyone but a handful of people. We were begging God for justice, reconciliation, forgiveness, restoration, anything but the endless pergatory of not knowing what the outcome would be. Toward the end of the ordeal, a meeting had been called, and I would have preferred to receive 34 Ric Flair chest-chops in a row than to sit through what awaited me. Right before we walked into that meeting, one of our staff at Crossroads came up to me, put his hand on my shoulder, and said, “Clayton, I got your back.” Those words stuck. He sat beside me in the meeting, spoke up boldly for the truth, and offered the kind of support that I needed desperately in that moment. He was there through the duration of the ordeal, and even after it ended, he helped pastor me as a shepherd and friend. He is still with me this day and still has my back. He is my pastor and is the ministry director for Crossroads Worldwide. He has proven his integrity and strength time and time again, and I trust him. He is loyal to me as a man and a friend, but his first love and greatest loyalty are to the Lord Jesus Christ. I hope that you can have a Matt Orth in your life, because when you don’t know what lies behind you lurking in the dark, someone like him will be there to get your back. But don’t wait til you need someone to get your back. You get theirs first. They will be glad you did. I preached for Matt today on Father’s Day while he took a Sunday morning off. What an honor to have him sitting right up front, to break bread with him and his family after church, and to know that there is a man of God in my life who loves the gospel, the Word, his family, and Christ above all things. So take the opportunity to set the tone among your brothers and sisters. Be the kind of person who gives honor by getting someone’s back when they can’t. After all, the greatest love anyone can ever show is to lay down their life for a friend. Follow the example of Christ and be there for the ones you love.