When I was a kid, I loved "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom." It was on television every Sunday evening. Each week Marlin Perkins and Jim Fowler, intrepid explorers and zoologists, could be found in exotic locations like the Serengeti or the Amazon in search of rare or dangerous species. Inevitably, they would fight them. And that was why I watched.

Jim, Marlin's younger and more physically formidable colleague, always found himself in a scrape of life-threatening potential. Undoubtedly, Marlin mixed it up a bit when he was a younger man, taking down a beast or two of his own. But by the time I was a viewer of the show, Marlin was in his seventies and didn't do too much beyond narrate.

Now this was good wildlife television. It was the 70s. And as I recall, there was little pretense of engaging the animals at close quarters for the betterment of either them or the environment. It was just so we could watch and see who could win: Jim or the gorilla? Jim or the wildebeest? Jim or the ...

And it was always Jim. But just barely.

Evidently, I was not the only one who watched this show because Marlin Perkins' narration entered into the popular culture of my generation: "I'll sit here in the Land Rover while Jim wrestles Colombia's giant anaconda ..." or "I'll hover here in the helicopter where we will have an excellent vantage point to watch Jim as he puts a tracking device in the ear of an African bull elephant." Marlin was always so calm. It sounded so easy. But the camera told a different story as Jim dodged lethal snakes, angry hippos, and predatory beasts of every kind.

I think most of us felt a little sorry for Jim. No junior colleague ever had it tougher. I mean, which is worse: "Get me some coffee" or "give a suppository to that angry Kodiak bear"? (And if we didn't feel sorry for him we were, at least, morbidly fascinated.)

Over the years, I have known a lot of people who take a Marlin Perkins approach to ministry. Others do the heavy lifting of investing time, energy, prayer and resources while they watch from a safe distance. Inevitably, they are full of advice and quick to criticize. Indeed, they are often the sharpest critics. Meanwhile, the ministry equivalents of Jim Fowler take all the risks. Every serious Christian I know, be they in professional ministry or not, has to contend with such people.

Where are you engaged? Do you hover in the helicopter or do you get your hands dirty?

Oh, and for the record: Jim Fowler is the toughest man I ever saw.

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