Ken Blanchard, speaker, tells the story of going on a safari and following the steps of David Livingstone…the man who changed Africa.

When we went to Zambia, he flew into Livingstone, the only city there with an English name. He asked the guide why they didn’t get rid of the name when they became Zambia.

He loved us and cared about us. He stopped slavery here. He was a wonderful human being. He died there and they took his heart out. His body is in Westminster Abbey but his heart was there.

The same guide took Blanchard on a museum tour and it described they trek of Livingstone in Africa. The curator of the museum told them this museum – before we became Zambia was called “the Livingstone Roades Museum. After we became Zambia, we took Rhodes off the name. When asked why? He explained Cecil Rhodes was self-centered. He did it all for himself and made millions off of us. He lied and did it all for his own benefit…not ours. He
wanted his name on everything. David Livingstone wanted his name on nothing.

Isn’t it interesting that it’s his name they kept. HE WAS A SERVANT LEADER.

Are you a serving leader or self-serving leader?

Should you find it hard to get to sleep tonight;
Just remember the homeless family who has no bed to lie in.

Should you find yourself stuck in traffic; don’t despair.
There are people in this world for whom driving is an unheard of privilege.

Should you have a bad day at work;
Think of the man who has been out of work for the last three months.

Should you despair over a relationship gone bad;
Think of the person who has never known what it’s like to love and be loved in return.

Should you grieve the passing of another weekend;
Think of the woman in some third world country,working twelve hours a day, seven days a week, for $15.00 to feed her family.

Should your car break down, leaving you miles away from assistance;
Think of the paraplegic who would love the opportunity to take that talk.

Should you notice a new gray hair in the mirror;
Think of the cancer patient in chemo who wishes she had hair to examine.

Should you find yourself the victim of other people’s bitterness, ignorance, smallness or insecurities;
Remember, things could be worse. You could be them!!!

Now it came to pass that a group existed who called themselves fishermen. And lo, there were many fish in the streams and lakes throughout the surrounding area.

Week after week, month after month, and year after year, those who called themselves fishermen met in meetings and talked about …

• The call to fish.
• The abundance of fish.
• How they might go about fishing as an occupation.

They declared that fishing is always to be the primary task of fishermen, but they never fished!

These fishermen built large, beautiful buildings for local fishing headquarters. The plea was that everyone should be a fisherman and every fisherman should fish. One thing they didn’t do, however, was fish.

In addition to meeting regularly, the organized a board to send out fishermen to other places where there were many fish. The board was formed by those who had great vision and courage to speak about fishing, to define fishing, to promote the idea of fishing in far-away streams and lakes where many other fish of different color lived. Also the board hired staffs and appointed committees and held many meetings to …

• Define fishing.
• Defend fishing
• Decide what new streams should be thought about.

But the staff and committee members did not fish.

A speaker bureau was provided to schedule special speakers on the subject of fishing. After one stirring meeting on “The Necessity of Fishing,” one young fellow left the meeting and went fishing. The next day he reported that he had caught two outstanding fish. He was honored for his excellent catch, and he was scheduled to visit all the big meetings to tell how he did it. So he quit his fishing in order to have time to tell about the experience to the other fishermen. He was also placed on the Fisherman’s General Board as a person having considerable experience.

Now it’s true that many of the fishermen sacrificed and put up with all kinds of difficulties. Some lived near the water and bore the smell of dead fish. They received ridicule of some who made fun of their fishermen’s clubs and the fact that they claimed to be fishermen, yet never fished.

They wondered about those who felt it was of little use to attend the talks about fishing. After all, were they not following the Master, who said, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fisher of men”? (Mark 1:17)

Imagine how hurt some were when one day a person suggested that those who didn’t fish were not really fishermen, no matter how much they claimed to be. Yet it did sound correct.

Is a person a fishermen if, year after year, he never catches a fish? Is one following if he isn’t fishing?