Chuck's E-Newsletter
People, People, People
June 2009
Dear Friends and Partners,
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After God, people are next on my list of priorities. My family is first and after that, I am all about people. I get so excited and try to welcome each new person into my life with the love and kindness of God. I believe that each encounter is divine and that no creation of God should perish, and desire that all would come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
This summer my wife and I will celebrate twenty-five years of marriage. In her own words, here's Vickie's experience with a husband who loves people –
My first glimpse of how many friends Chuck Watson had came as we were planning our wedding. I had requested his list of names for the wedding invitation list. I waited and waited and waited. This was not like him to be this late. Each time I asked about it, he responded, 'I'm working on it. It's almost done.'
After several weeks he showed up at my door one night proudly bearing the finished product—a computer print—out of 1,100 family units! My image of a nice church wedding was fading away. This man was planning a convention, not a wedding!
As calmly as possible, I questioned him, 'Is there any way you could at least cut the list in half? Maybe you could invite the closest of your friends instead of everyone you know?'
He assured me that these were people he considered close, but that he would do his best to shorten the list. We added my friends to the computer list, and he promised to work at bringing back a shorter slate.
A week later, he brought the new print-out over, apologetic and yet proud that he had shortened it to seven hundred family units. 'That includes both of our lists so I really did cut out lots of names. But this was a painful process for me,' he explained. I still could not imagine anyone having that many people so close to them, but I was starting to get a clearer picture of the volume of people in this man's life.
Several days later as I worked my way through the list of names, I noticed that he had marked through the name 'Mrs. Chester Austin.' This was interesting.
I called him and questioned him about it. 'Vickie, I know you teased me about not even knowing who some of those people were since there were so many names. I must admit that you caught me on that one. I do know her, but I admit that I couldn't remember who she was. So you will see that I did mark her off.'
'Honey, Mrs. Chester Austin is my grandmother!'
It became a precious story to me of who this wonderful man Chuck really was. There were five hundred people at the wedding and fifty in the wedding party, and that was only the beginning of a life filled with wonderful friends. (excerpt from MIRACLE HEIDI—When Doctors Couldn't... God Could!)
I am learning, the closer I get to Jesus, the greater my capacity to enlarge my circle of love and find room for more people in my heart. I have learned that people come before projects and stuff and even church traditions in my busy schedule.
JESUS Film Harvest Partners is all about telling people around the globe about JESUS, in over 100 countries with 360 teams! Your prayers and support make this people ministry possible.
Whether you are meeting someone for the first time, or greeting someone at your church, or sitting next to someone on the airplane, or whatever the situation, representing the heart of God to love people is why we partner together. I hope you don't have to reduce your wedding list or anniversary list—just love people into the Kingdom of God. You will spend eternity with them.
Blessings,
Chuck Watson
chuckwatson@JFHP.org
817-427-4900
