Eddie Howard

I conducted my first spiritual interview. I hadn’t really considered interviewing Eddie until Brandon mentioned it at camp. I asked Eddie two major questions: (1) What did he mean when he called himself a “rescuer,” (2) how do you know what your role should be in a ministry? These might seem unimportant or at least kind of drab when you consider all the other questions I could have asked him, but these two questions for me represented that last six or so months of my troubling thought life. Without getting too much into where I’ve been and what I’ve been thinking, Eddie provided some great insight into my life and helped answer some questions I had a deep longing to find answers to.

When I asked Eddie what he meant by being a rescuer he told me that by nature he seeks out the hurt and hopeless and tries to minister to them. He told me he was drawn to the “bad” kids when he was involved in youth ministry or the kids that needed a lot of attention. One of his lessons in “leading through leaders” came when he was faced with responsibility of over 300 kids in the youth group he helped start. He told me he couldn’t even begin to get to them all so he was forced to train 7 guys to help with about 50 kids each. A few of those guys didn’t make it but the majority of them did. But every time he would go to visit, say the ninth graders (who he had mentored two years earlier) they didn’t really even remember who he was. At first this change of pace made him pretty sad, but when he saw how much better they were doing because of the better quality attention they had been given by the guy he mentored he soon realized the power of leading through other leaders – that is the power to “rescue” so much more than you can do on your own. I could relate to everything he was saying in terms of being a rescuer; my friendships often suffer, because I’m off looking for the next person I can help, a person who needs me. When I communicated that to him, he told me it probably was a result of insecurity, particularly the type that has to “prove themselves” as an effective minister to both themselves and others in order to feel valuable. I was like “no way, not me.” Then later I was like “okay may-be.” That suggestion linked with the principles of Experiencing God has made me question my true reliance upon God to determine who to minister to and how to do it.

When I asked Eddie about knowing your role he simply said you ask God where he wants you and go with it. It’s part identifying your abilities, part identifying your passion and mostly asking God where he wants you. I told him I primarily thought of it as a promotion ladder. Those who do the “field work” are on the bottom and those who “train trainers” are at the top. He didn’t seem to agree with that idea, nor do I now that I consider it. God calls, we don’t seek to be promoted; besides promotion in Christ’s kingdom is always downward.