A perky little Irishman who was a sergeant in the British Army for 19 years had served only during peacetime. Such service had not prepared him for the conflict and confusion which faced every man when the order came from headquarters: Move as quickly as possible to the coast; all troops will be evacuated at Dunkirk.

During a 24 hour period of time, he was terrified by a battle with German tank gunners dressed as Frenchmen (fifth columnists in action), an eerie night withdrawal under cover of a flock of sheep; then a long march in darkness, during which he lost his company. At dawn the little Sergeant was stranded with four other men in a gutted town.

men were young and were willing to accept his leadership - anything to get them back or course, help them find their direction. The Sergeant found a blitzed bakery and they soon were snacking on stale bread.

After trudging along for sometime, and once again out on the highway, they came upon another larger regiment led by a Sergeant. The little Sergeant confessed, "We're bogged down - the enemy has shifted all the road signs and we don't have a map." The friendly regiment Sergeant answered, "How about coming along with us. How many are there with you?"

On instinct the little Sergeant turned around and counted not four, but 24 men now trailing behind him from four different companies - Men who were lost and needed a leader.

Losing patience the little Sergeant turned and shouted, "Where did you come from?" The men did not answer but stood dumbly with the appearance and need of stray dogs. And so with his own strength drained, the little sergeant accepted the burden of leading these men.

With a professional soldiers' bitter pride, the little Sergeant thought, "I'll have to see them through this-what a bunch of Saturday night soldiers at that." And so the little party trudged off, each man knowing as little as the next.

If it had not been for the little Irish Sergeant, not one of these green kids would have made it to the coast. He found some chickens in a yard, plucked, cleaned and cooked them for his men. He taught them to duck beneath a topcoat when they lit a cigarette at night, to sleep in a circle, rifles ready, in case a fighter plane swooped low. And on and on they marched.

The road was hard to travel and often the little Sergeant wondered how much more he could take carrying this responsibility. Only by shear tenacity and much tongue lashing did the little Sergeant reach the beach with 14 out of his 24 charges. He had finally made it!

The story of the perky Little Irish Sergeant tells a deep truth about the hunger and need of leadership. We live in a world where men are lost - where men have seemed to have no direction. The road signs have been changed so many times, and where are the maps to show them the way to safety?

A man with direction, a strong fighter and still champion is an Apostolic Pastor who has weathered many storms, who has already fought many wars and won. And yes, he has lost some. There may have been times when a wrong turn was made but prayer and faith in God has put this champion back on course. He once again, with God's help, found his direction.

Some Pastors may have started in new fieldwork with only four. This is only a beginning. He keeps right on marching with a goal of heaven and a place of rest not only for himself but his followers. And one day he turns and finds a following of 24 or 240 or more.

The responsibility is great. He teaches his followers of the dangers of the night. He points out the enemy and helps them through many problems, whether natural business matters and family difficulties, or spiritual battles and education in discerning spirits and growing in grace and knowledge of the Lord.

He prepares food daily and feeds his flock. At first it was the sincere milk of the word. Then later it was meat, as each member grew. It was proper food and diet for each individual member of the church family.

And when he reaches the coast and is about to cross over Jordan into the promised land, he finds there are some missing who once followed him. But he did all he could to bring them all through. There were times of tongue lashing, times of instruction, times of feeding, times of admonishing as a father. There were times of rejoicing in a newborn child and times of crying when a loved one passed on.

This lesson can best be summarized by II Corinthians 6:4-10 when Paul said: "But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings; by pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left. By honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report. As deceivers, and yet true: As unknown, and yet well known. As dying, and, behold we live. As chastened, and not killed. As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing. As poor, yet making many rich. As having nothing, and yet possessing all things."

This is a picture of our Apostolic Pastors.