My name is Bernard Hess Booth “Doc” Hall, Jr. (just call me Doc, please). I attended North Georgia Men’s Walk to Emmaus #42 and sat at the Table of Mark.
The first time I said those words was almost 31 years ago. Of course, I fumbled through them, being so excited and exhausted at the same time. The Closing at my Walk was overwhelming, as I stood there trying to be eloquent and inspiring… and I was neither.
But I understood later that none of that mattered! I was embarking on MY Fourth Day—every day for the rest of my life—trying to live the example of Jesus Christ I had seen embodied by the entire team that weekend. I was excited, empowered, and fired up spiritually and emotionally! I couldn’t wait to go to the next Gathering. I was like my grandchildren anticipating their first trip to Disney.
My Sponsor couldn’t take me to the Gathering, so I went alone. Walking in, I saw some people looking at me as if I didn’t belong. I sat alone over to one side of the Sanctuary and sang along and listened to the Fourth Day witness and the Clergy’s Sermon. Honestly, I was beginning to wonder why I had come.
At the end of the service, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Roger. Roger had been a servant on the background team on my Walk, and we spent a little while conversing during the break on Saturday afternoon. The relief of seeing someone I knew must have been evident on my face as he began walking me around and introducing me to… well, everybody! Today, I could tell you very few names of people I met at that Gathering — there were just too many. But Roger mentored me into finding a home amongst my Emmaus brothers and sisters. Over the next couple of years, we served together several times, and he continued to mentor me into the Fourth Day Lifestyle. I even had the privilege of serving on the Walk when he was the Lay Director.
It was this mentorship and the “in-pouring” of many others in the community over the following years that helped me discern a call to the Ministry and the years of study and work that were necessary to see the fruition of that calling. It was the support of my Emmaus Community that sustained us, my wife Karen and I, in our adoptions, as well as the emotional problems and obstacles that can occur when adopting older children. The prayers for discernment and guidance helped and nourished me as I found the ministry position of my dreams and calling, and I have been blessed to serve in that position for over eleven years. I thank God for the mentorship and support my Emmaus brothers and sisters have given me and my family in the last 31 years. And I pray that God would help me to give back, even just a portion, of what has been poured into us!
I can imagine many of us can remember that person who mentored us into this Fourth Day Lifestyle. It may have been your Sponsor — yes, I am still close with my Sponsor, but at the time…his time was not his own. Like me, it may have been someone else you met along the path we trod. It may have been someone in your Reunion group…, or not. It may have been someone you served with along the way and now you are great friends.
How many people have you mentored into a Fourth Day lifestyle? I believe this is more important than just sponsoring. Walking next to someone for as long as it takes to help them find their footing and even learn to run. I have a video of a mentor running next to a blind runner in a 400-meter track race. Step by step, they are side by side through the curve of the track — and then they get to the last straight away. If you watch closely, you can see the blind runner begin to take the lead and almost run away on their own. That is how we mentor!
I have a song in my playlist that I listen to regularly. Find Your Wings by Mark Harris. This song speaks to me about my hopes and dreams for my children and grandchildren, yes, but it also speaks to my hopes for every person in the Emmaus Ministries and every person in the Fourth Day Movement. The following words are the chorus and the bridge.
I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage
To dare to do great things
I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots,
And help you find your wings.
It's not living if you don't reach for the sky
I'll have tears as you take off
But I'll cheer as you fly.
Friends, dream with courage; do great thing in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ; and most of all… reach for the sky and ‘fly with Christ!’
De Colores in YOUR Fourth Day!
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