I Love My Dad!

[Paul Worcester]

I Love My Dad!

 

There are so many reasons I love my Dad John Worcester but I wanted to quickly list 7 of them here.

1. My Dad is a man of integrity.

I have seen my dad consistently make hard choices to obey Jesus. One thing I learned from him more than any other is to fear the Lord. (Proverbs 1:7) Dad lived like God was real by the way he used his words, actions, time and money. This helped motivate me live with integrity also.

2. My Dad is passionate about serving Jesus.

My dad is one of the most passionate men that I know of about advancing the cause of Christ. He serves Christ with a diligence, courage and humility that is inspiring. He has done the hard work of planting over 10 churches (I lost track of the exact number) and has trained 1,000 of others to plant churches and make disciples. He has given up much to serve Christ and God has used him in great ways! You can read about some of the ways God has used him and get church planting resources here http://churchplanting.net/about-us. My Dad is not what you would call an emotional guy but when he talks about lost people in his city and compares them to “Spiritual POW’s” his eyes tear up. My dad’s passion to serve Jesus is shown most by his diligent actions.

 

3. My Dad does what God tells him to do no matter what the cost.

I have seen over and over my Dad lead our family and take risks to follow Jesus trusting him to provide. We moved to plant new churches every few years growing up and I loved it! It was a new adventure every time! I think the fact that we had a loving family helped a lot. One example that really impacted me is the time God called our family to move to Russia to help train church planters after the fall of the “iron curtain.” For some reason my Dad was not accepted as a missionary with the mission board that would have provided a nice salary and perks. This was obviously very hard but he decided to go to Russia anyway and raise our support! I have learned a lot by watching my Dad’s example of doing whatever God tells him no matter what the cost.

 

4. My Dad is a learner.

It is very rare to have family time together and my Dad not have something to share about what he is learning from the Bible. He usually has a cool illustration to draw up as a way to explain the biblical concept. He reads hundreds of other books besides the Bible but always seems to be talking about what he is getting from the Bible. Reminds me of what people said of John Wesley “He was a man of one book.” My dad has been planting churches for over 30 years and told us last year “I feel like I am just getting into Church planting” because he is learning so much. I want to be a life-time learner of the Bible like my Father.

 

5.  My Dad loves me and my family.

I remember my Dad always being there for us. He showed love to us by spending time playing sports with us and being at almost all of our sporting events. He often kept his office at home and was always available for us to interrupt him. He took time with our family to have family meetings where he taught us the Bible. My dad still loves me and takes time to invest in my life. I remember when David and I left for college my dad cried like a baby! ☺ I love that my dad has shown me that he loves me.

 

6.  My Dad tells me “I am proud of you.”

I am so glad to have a Father that has the vision and integrity to say “I am proud of you” and that it really means something. He wouldn’t say it if I was living foolishly. He would say “I love you” but probably not “I am proud of you.” It is one of the most meaningful things to be encouraged and affirmed by my Dad.

 

7. My Dad is full of grace and truth (like Jesus!)

John 1:14 says Jesus was “full of grace and truth” and I have seen these qualities also in my Dad. I have always known that I can be completely honest with my Dad about anything and he will accept me. I have been able to share deep struggles with my him and he has helped show the grace of Jesus in the midst of these struggles. He is also a man of truth. He “shares the truth in love” (Eph 4:15) and believes that “He who rebukes a man will in the end gain more favor than he who has a flattering tongue.’ Proverbs 28:23 He loves people enough to correct them when they are in sin. I have grown so much from my fathers loving correction.

 

There are many other reasons I love you Dad. I wanted to write down these thoughts for the world to see, to honor you and hopefully inspire others to be the kind of Dad you were to me. I hope to love and lead my son Owen the way you did with me. You are a great example and I am proud to call you my Dad.

 

I Love You!

Paul

[John Worcester]

Thanks so much Paul.  So much to live up to.  Pray for grace that I will finish well.

Love,

Dad

[James Nored]

Thank you, Paul! It was great to learn more about your dad and his godly example. And I love to hear of people who have planted churches. And he planted so many. No wonder you are who you are today.

Thank you so much for sharing, Paul!