Chapter 17
“You have a pride problem” announced our new acquaintance. I had only met our dinner guest a few days before this sobering rebuke. This was the beginning of another significant relationship that would have a deep impact on my life. Cecil Bean was the Navigator Representative for Ft. Campbell.
The Navigators are a Christian Organization dedicated to helping men and women know Christ and make Him known through one on one relationships. They train new believers in the basics of the Christian life and then help them pass them on to others.
Cec (as hundreds of men and women lovingly refer to him) was listening to me snivel about an Army Commendation Medal I had received that day. Turns out that the medal was borrowed from someone else and his name had actually been scratched out on the back. I was mad and mentioned how unprofessional the presentation was handled. Cec asked me what the medal was. I replied “an ARCOM.” He responded with his clarification, “No, what is it made of?” Looking at the medal I identified cloth and brass. He said, “you’re right and one day it will burn. You have a pride problem.”
I would spend years appreciating Cecil’s frank and unswerving commitment to biblical principles. Soon after our meeting my brother Mike and I moved into the basement of his home. For the next two and half years, my brother and I lived in Cecil’s home learning about the faith, family, life, and ministry. He would become my life-long mentor.
ARCOM – Army Commendation Medal
ToBeLikeJesus 