Good Work, You did Your Job Well!

“Good work! You did your job well” (Matt. 25:23 MSG). That phrase reminds me of a story Joe Stowell told me about a time he met the president at the White House. Joe was president of Moody Bible Institute at the time.

He and a dozen or so other leaders were invited to the White House to meet George W. Bush. They each waited in line for their turn to walk across the room and shake his hand. While Joe waited, he rehearsed his greeting: “Hello, Mr. President, my name is Joe Stowell, president of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. . . .” Joe planned to go on to tell the president that they were praying for him.

Finally his turn came. When he reached the president, he extended his hand and began: “Hello, Mr. President, my name is Joe Stowell, president of Moody Bible Institute—” He got no further. The president smiled, slapped him on the shoulder, and said, “Way to go, Joe.”

He then turned his attention to the next guest as aides escorted a bewildered Joe away. Later in the day he shared the story with his secretary. By the time he returned to Chicago, she’d ordered a T-shirt and hung it on his chair. It read, “Way to go, Joe”—George W. Bush.

When he shared the story, we laughed, and then I offered this thought. “You know, Joe, you’ll someday hear similar words from the Supreme Commander of the universe. And they won’t be spoken casually or quickly. He will look in your eyes and say, ‘Way to go, Joe, you’ve done well.’”