One Sunday evening, Jim Edwards, our former minister to young adults, illustrated a sermon point with a story about a hitchhiker. Jim said that when he was a college student making a long drive back to school in the Northwest, he picked up a hobo. As they zoomed along the interstate, the hobo kept seeing things along the shoulder.

"Look!" he'd shout. "There's an old coat. Stop so I can pick it up." Next he saw a tire iron, a shoe, and a screwdriver. He had an eagle eye for junk.

Jim, however, didn't stop. When the hobo finally got out of the car, he said, "You're sure missing a lot of good stuff along the road."

During the rest of his drive, Jim wondered how the man could have seen all those things at freeway speed. He finally concluded that in life you see what you're looking for.

I've found his conclusion valid, especially in measuring the results of a ministry or activity at church.

If you're like me, you want to see your involvement make a difference. You want to see the ministry become ...