Rip Tide: Michael Maldanis
The next man on the list rivals my dad with his ability to relate to people. God has graced Michael (or Moldy or Moldyanus, a little gross but funny) with the ability to meet people where they are and make anyone feel welcome and comfortable with his presence. He started mentoring me and some close buddies of mine when we were 18 and even though he was 10 years older than us, he never treated us as if he were superior to us in any way. He was the first person to teach/propel me to follow Jesus. Most people up to that point in my life had taught me about God and faith but Moldy pushed me to go after God through Jesus on my own. In line with the old proverb, he did not catch my fish, only feeding me for a day; instead he taught me how to fish and fed me for the rest of my life.
Tell Me the Answer!
Moldy had assigned us a passage of scripture to read. We were supposed to read Philippians 3:7-11 and then discuss the next time we sat down together. As we went over the passage, we discussed what we had seen in the first couple of verses and even learned from Moldy that the word “rubbish” in verse 8 was a harsh greek word for dung. The bible sort of just cussed and we loved it. But as we went through the verses, all of us (me and my buddies) had no idea what to make of verses 10-11. It was confusing so we asked Moldy. His response was not what we were used to. He responded with, “what do you think?” To which we shot back, “I do not know, that is why I am asking you.” But he wouldn’t budge. He told us to go read it and think through it ourselves. I do not think he ever told us his take on the text and he did it in love. We left wondering and questioning its meaning because he was creating learners of Jesus, pursuers of the One who had saved us.
No One is Perfect
Throughout my time with Moldy, he never acted as if he had anything figured out even though, deep down I wanted him to be that way. He would always remind me of his inadequacy and that sin so easily enticed him in the same way it did me. He was no different than me, just a little further down the path. I did not want this at first. I wanted him to be superman and show me that one day, when I got older, I would have everything figured out like he did. But his honesty and humility before God proved to be the best medicine for my soul. I always felt accepted by him, never ostracized. So often when I get the opportunity to counsel someone through a difficult area in their life, I literally think about how Moldy used to deal with us because we always walked away closer to healing. We always walked away knowing that we were not alone in the sorrow and that was a great comfort.
Conclusion
All of us who were mentored by Moldy that summer look back on that time together as monumental in our walk with God. We had been told who God was all our lives but we had a man who was not afraid to leave us in limbo. A man who trusted that the Spirit of God inside of us would lead in our time of confusion. This time with Moldy impressed on my heart the necessity of giving people what they need for the season they are in. Sometimes people need to be taught the truths of God explicitly, sometimes people just need to be listened to, sometimes people just need to hang out and laugh, sometimes people need to know they are not alone and sometimes people need to be left wondering with more questions than answers. Mike did all these things for me and they will not easily be forgotten.
