Love this story of a truly great but humble man, as told by Doug Nichols
to Tim Challies:
It was a long time ago, in the summer of 1966, that Doug was working
for Operation Mobilization and was stationed in London during their big
annual conference. He was assigned to the clean-up crew. One night at
around 12:30 AM he was sweeping the steps at
the conference center when an older gentleman approached him and asked
if this was where the conference was being held. Doug said that it was,
but that just about everyone had already gone to bed. This man was
dressed very simply and had just a small bag with him. He said that he
was attending the conference. Doug replied he would try to find him a
place to sleep and led him to a room where about 50 people were bunked
down on the floor. The older gentleman had nothing to sleep on, so Doug
laid down some padding and a blanket and offered a towel for a pillow.
The man said that would be just fine and that he appreciated it
very much.
Doug asked the man if he had been able to eat dinner.
It turns out that he hadn’t eaten since he had been travelling all day.
Doug took him to the dining room but it was locked. He soon jimmied the
lock and found some cornflakes and milk and bread and jam. As the man
ate, the two began to talk. The man said that he and his wife had been
working in Switzerland for several years, where he had a small ministry
that served hippies and travellers. He spoke about his work and spoke
about some of the people he had seen turn to Christ. When he finished
eating, both men turned in for the night.
Doug woke up the next
morning only to find out that he was in big trouble. The conference
leaders came to him and said, “Don’t you know who it was that you put on
the floor last night? That’s Francis Schaeffer! He’s the speaker for
this conference! We had a whole room set aside for him!”
Doug had
no idea that he was sleeping on the floor next to a celebrity, that he
had told a man to sleep on the floor who had a profoundly important
ministry. He had no idea that this man had helped shape the Christian
church of that day, and really, the church of our day. And Schaeffer
never let on. In humility he had accepted his lot and been grateful
for it.
This attitude is one reason among so many others why
Francis Schaeffer will always be one of my heroes.
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