Executive Director's Report

Lieutenant General Bruce L. Fister, USAF (Ret.) Executive Director, Officers' Christian Fellowship

I have been Executive Director of Officers' Christian Fellowship for just over four years. It is time for me to give a report to the membership, not about OCF, but about me, as the Executive Director.

When I began here with Melissa as executive director, I knew that the Lord didn't need me or anyone else to do His work, but that He would work through us in OCF. I also believed that there was a particular assignment the Lord had for me as executive director. Each executive director is chosen by the Lord to bring special talents to the ministry, and in my case I thought it was to provide leadership and vision. As I reflect over the past four and one-half years, I think the real reason Melissa and I are in this position is so the Lord can shape us into an image more like Jesus Christ.

There are three areas where the Lord has worked hard on me during my tenure as executive director. They are prayer, patience, and personal faith.

Prayer has been an important part of my relationship with the Lord for many years, but it wasn't until I became executive director that I regularly applied prayer to my daily work. I still occasionally find myself charging off on a project or leaving home in a rush while forgetting to ask for His guidance first. The Pray Discover, and Obey process really does work, and I have found it particularly important for major projects, or in work with the council. But because prayer is the foundation of OCF, the Lord has shaped me into a fuller life with Him as I apply this discipline. Jesus said in Luke 11:10, "…everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." There have been many times since I began my work with OCF that I have asked and received, searched and He showed me His way, or knocked and a pathway was illuminated.

Patience, many times, is not a general-officer virtue. For example, on many occasions the Lord has given us a plan, but I was stretched to have the patience to let His plan evolve. I recall our first major effort to develop the OCF Strategy, God's plan for the future of OCF. It took over a year and the final version was entirely different than what we thought was the Lord's original intention. But I learned how to let His plan evolve through the work of our council. Peter said, "Our Lord's patience means salvation . . ." (2 Pet. 3:15). If the Lord is patient in this greatest of matters, can't we wait on Him in those of lesser importance?

Personal faith has been a necessity for everyone on the OCF staff. For me, I had to believe that He would provide in the many circumstances in which I found the ministry. Faith that God would identify His people for His work was one important area. Through our field staff selection process, we placed our entire faith in Him to show us who would be His couple for positions that required filling over the past four years. Finances remain another important area that required faith. We needed to know that He would not only provide through His people, but that He would guide us in being good custodians of His resources as well.

The last area of personal faith hit home hard. In Hebrews 11:6 it says, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Over the last few months I had been praying that I would have a closer walk with the Lord. He answered that prayer when I was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma in February. The end of my chemotherapy treatment is near. This process has brought me closer to Him and I am thankful for these circumstances. I have seen Him work in my life and the lives of neighbors, family, and others around the world who are praying for me. Generally, this disease is controllable, but without cure. However, Melissa and I are optimistic that we are in the middle of His will and that He will provide as that will is carried out. Perhaps the Lord developed my prayer life, patience, and my personal faith for just this time. May the glory and honor be to Jesus, our Lord and Savior.