By Richard Prow ~ rpcrosswords@gmail.com

If someone said the word pastor or reverend, what is the first image that comes to mind? You would more than likely think of someone older with slightly graying hair. You probably imagine that same person dressed in a nice suit accentuated with a corresponding tie. Clean cut and polished would be good adjectives to help see a clearer picture. Well spoken and well liked would be qualities helping describe your imaginary man of the cloth. A person formally trained with a seminary degree rounds out the profile.
Arguably the greatest preacher who ever lived, save Jesus, was John the Baptist. John was completely unlike what most of us would picture for a preacher. He was fairly young; somewhere in his early thirties. He had no pulpit for which to place his three point sermon outline. His sanctuary was the barren wasteland of a desert. His “Sunday” clothes would be comparable today to a burlap sack and flip flops. He would by no means be considered polished; the man ate bugs covered in dipping sauce.
Even still, people came by the hundreds and thousands to hear the man speak. They not only listened, they responded; flooding the waters of the Jordan River for baptism after committing to leave their sordid lives behind.
The secret to John’s successful ministry was simple. He was a man full of the Spirit of God who had an unquenchable desire to point men to the Son of God. His goal was not to acquire a good relationship with the town heavyweights. He had no longing to be on cable or the cover of GQ. He required no certificate from a fine university to hang on the wall of his cave. He simply set his life’s work on bringing men into an encounter with the living God.