A MISSION MINDED CHILDREN’S TALE

THE
FOOLISH FISHERMAN
BY ANN DUNAGAN

ADAPTED FROM THE MISSION CLASSIC,

“THE FISHLESS FISHERMAN” BY JOHN M. DRESCHER
Once upon a time in a quaint little village

lived a funny old man

in a simple seaside cottage

who called himself:

the Fisherman.

Every morning, the Fisherman awoke

to the sound of seagulls circling outside

over the sandy shore.

Opening his shutters,

he breathed the misty salty air

and admired the glorious sun

glistening on the gulf

of the horizon.

“Ah, yes!” he pleasantly sighed,

“What a lovely day it looks like it shall be

to faithfully fish for my Master.”

 Looking into his wardrobe,

the Fisherman

wondered what he should wear.

He paused a moment

and admired the handsomely hand-carved halibut

so creatively chiseled onto the

wardrobe’s driftwood drawers.

The funny old man then

selected with care

his fisherman clothes for the day.

He chose:

his favorite fishing shirt

(the one with the rainbow trout upon the pocket),

his rubber fishing pants

(the ones with the orange suspenders),

his warm woolen socks,

and his trusty green galoshes.

 He glanced into his fish-shaped mirror and

donned his fisherman’s hat.

And then – with perfect pride –

the old man picked up his

Fisherman’s Guide.

Standing at attention,

with head forward and galoshes together,

the Fisherman held the precious book to his chest.

And then – with a perfect pledge –

(and he was quite proud of himself to be able to

say the whole verse without looking)

the Fisherman faithfully quoted the words of the

Fishin’ Commission:

“Like Fisherman-fathers before me, and

Grand-fisher grandfathers ‘fore them,

I will carry on our fishin’ tradition.

I’ll live as a fisher of men.”

And it was all very good.

 Then, straightening his bow-tie

(because as everyone knows, all true fishermen must always wear a tie!),

the funny old man gathered-up his things,

locked-up his cottage, and began to

walk up the road.

He enjoyed the “slosh-slosh” sound-of-his-galoshes

as he trudged through the puddles of the village.

He enjoyed the “swish-swish” sound-of-his-rubber-pants

as he strolled along the sandy seaside coast.

He passed abandoned fishing boats

and long-neglected nets.

He passed a beach, a lake, and a stream.

He passed a forgotten creek.

He looked across the waters and

imagined the distant sands.

He gazed across the horizon and

dreamed of far-away lands.

 He thought about fish, and

he prayed about fish;

and today, he was nearly certain that

he even saw

a fish,

jumping in the sea!

The Fisherman could hardly wait

to share his exciting report!

For today was Sunday,

and as was his weekly custom,

he was headed to the Clubhouse

for a meeting.

And oh, how the old man enjoyed these times, as he

gathered with all the fishermen and

all the fisherwomen, and

all the fisher-youth, and

all the fisher-children

of the village.
 Every week,

they sang about fishing,

and they learned about fishing,

and they talked about great fishing tips

from their timeless

Fishing Guide.

And every week,

at the climax of the meeting as the Club would conclude,

they stood together

(side-by-side and arm-in-arm).

And then – with perfect precision –

they quoted their

Fishin’ Commission:

“Like Fisherman-fathers before us, and

Grand-fisher grandfathers ‘fore them,

We will carry on our fishin’ tradition.

We’ll live as fishers of men.”

And again, it was all very good.

 But there was something quite strange,

and in-fact, rather odd.

For not one of these faithful fishermen,

or fisherwomen, or fisher-youth, or fisher-children

had ever tried to

fish.

* * *

Except for one time,

(and I think it was very long ago).

* * *

A famous fish-story has often been told of

one fervent fisherwoman

(who was so tremendously challenged by the urgent need to fish)

she did something that shocked

her whole Club:

 She actually decided

to fish.

She went down to the water and

sat down on the dock.

And then – with perfect pursuit –

she put her fishing line down

into the water.

And, lo-and-behold, this

fervent fisherwoman caught

two fish!

When she shared her report at the next Club meeting,

everyone was amazed.

In fact,

they were all so amazed,

and so impressed,

they knew she was “called”

to help others.
 So they sent her

to other Clubhouses, and

to Fishing Conferences, and even

to a Great College of Fishology

(where she was introduced as a remarkable fisherwoman

with considerable experience).

And for quite some time she was kept rather busy,

with big responsibilities, and

very important things

to do.

But she became so busy, and

so great,

that she never again could

find the time to

fish.

***
 Slosh, slosh, slosh, slosh.

Swish, swish, swish.

The Fisherman trudged towards town.

With a pole in his hand and a hat on his head,

he looked towards the beach and the waves.

And then all of a sudden,

he stopped . . .

. . . as a very strange thought filled his mind.

He put down his pole,

and his net,

and his hat,

and he knelt by the ocean shore.

Could it be?

Was it right?

How could it be true?

Yet somehow, the strange thought did make sense.

 For deep in his heart,

the Fisherman felt the Master Himself

asking a simple – but serious –

question:

“Are you really a fisherman

if you’ve never tried to

fish?”

***

With his head bowed low and his

hands clenched tight

the Fisherman’s eyes filled

with tears.

For he knew he had been foolish,

and he knew he had

to change.
 Then he lifted his face and he

turned towards the sea,

as he saw something coming

towards shore:

It was a very simple man (with a boy and a girl)

in a very simple boat . . .

. . . FILLED WITH

FISH!

This man was not wearing the proper attire

for properly catching fish.

He did not have gollashes, or socks, or suspenders, and

did not even wear a bow-tie!

But the smile on his face beamed with radiant joy

unlike anything seen before.

And his children laughed as they unloaded fish

and they shined as they sang of

their Master.
 “We greet you dear sir!” said the simple young man

to the Fisherman there on the beach.

“My children and I have just come from afar.

We’ve been fishing in foreign seas.”

For a while, we enjoyed fishing right near our home, and

we did have fun catching a few.

But the Master Himself came and called us to GO and

‘Launch into the deep . . . ’

“So we did.”

“And oh, you should see the far-waters out there!

We’ve seen beautiful untouched seas!

There are oceans so-blue and so-crystal-clear

and deep pools so-teeming with fish!

We’ve seen fish of all colors and of every size, and

oh, the fish are hungry!”

“But the fishermen there are few.”

 And the children added,

“…and the fishing there is fun!”

The old man stared with his eyes opened wide

and his jaw dropped wider in awe.

For the more that he heard, the more he longed

to finally fulfill his dream.

For the Fisherman had really

always wanted

to fish.

And then – with a perfect plea –

the Fisherman heard the words:

“Come! Follow Me!”

***

So he went.
 And the Fisherman was

no longer foolish.

In the Bible Jesus Christ said:

“Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” and

“Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

(From Luke 5:4 and Matthew 4:19 NJKV)

A Note to Christian Parents and Teachers:

Many of us can recall singing the children’s chorus “I will make you fishers of men” with
Sunday school enthusiasm. Perhaps we’ve taught this chorus to our kids or we’ve
encouraged our children to memorize God’s Great Commission from Mark 16:15. But
how many of us have really instilled a true passion for world evangelism and a personal
responsibility for reaching the lost into the hearts of the next generation?

This classic “Fishless Fisherman” mission parable by John M. Drescher is hard-hitting

and challenging. It’s a satire, which by definition means, “sarcasm or ridicule in the
exposure of wrongful actions or attitudes.” The story exaggerates the truth in order to
prove a point, which in this case is the vital importance of sharing the Gospel of Jesus
Christ to those who do not know Him. Please know that I deeply love and respect the
importance of the local church. I also realize God does not call every believer to full-time
foreign missionary work. Even so, every one of us (including our children and us!) are
called to be full-time mission-minded Christians . . . with God’s heart for the world!

So let’s be fishers of men!

In His Love & Service,

Ann Dunagan

The Fishless Fisherman

A Classic Mission Parable
–By John M. Drescher

Now it came to pass that a group existed who called themselves fishermen. And lo, there
were many fish in the waters all around. In fact, the whole area was surrounded by
streams and lakes filled with fish. And the fish were hungry.
Year after year these who called themselves fishermen met in meetings and talked
about their call to fish, the abundance of fish, and how they might go about fishing.
Continually, they searched for new and better definitions of fishing. They sponsored
costly nationwide and worldwide congresses to discuss fishing and promote fishing and
hear about all the ways of fishing.
These fishermen built large, beautiful building called “Fishing Headquarters.”
The plea was that everyone should be a fisherman and every fisherman should fish. One
thing they didn’t do, however; they didn’t fish.
 They organized a board to send out fishermen to other places where there were
many fish. The board was formed by those who had the great vision and courage to speak
about fishing, to define fishing, and to promote the idea of fishing in far away streams
and lakes where many other fish of different colors lived. Also the board hired staffs and
appointed committees and held many meetings to define fishing, to defend fishing, and to
decide what new streams should be thought about. But the staff and committee members
did not fish.
Expensive training centers were built to teach fishermen how to fish. Those who
taught had doctorates in Fishology, but the teachers did not fish. They only taught
fishing. Year after year, graduates were sent to do full-time fishing, some to distant
waters filled with fish.
Further, the fishermen built large printing houses to publish fishing guides. A
speaker’s bureau was also provided to schedule special speakers on the subject of fishing.
Many who felt the call to be fishermen responded, and were sent to fish. But like the
fishermen back home, they never fished.
Some also said they wanted to be a part of the fishing party, but they felt called to
furnish fishing equipment. Others felt their job was to relate to the fish in a good way so
the fish would know the difference between good and bad fishermen.
After one stirring meeting on “The Necessity for Fishing,” a young fellow left the
meeting and went fishing.
The next day he reported he had caught two outstanding fish. He was honored for
his excellent catch and scheduled to visit all the big meetings possible to tell how he did
it.
So he quit fishing in order to have time to tell about the experience to the other
fishermen. He was also placed on the Fishermen’s General Board as a person having
considerable experience.
Now it’s true that many of the fishermen sacrificed and put up with all kinds of
difficulties. Some lived near the water and bored the smell of dead fish every day. They
received the ridicule of some who made fun of their fishermen’s clubs and the fact that
they claimed to be fishermen yet never fished.
They wondered about those who felt it was of little use to attend the weekly
meetings to talk about fishing. After all, were they not following the Master who said,
“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men?”
Imagine how hurt some were when one day a person suggested that those who
didn’t catch fish were really not fishermen, no matter how much they claimed to be. Yet
it did sound correct. Is a person a fisherman if year after year he never catches a fish?

Drescher, John M., “The Fishless Fishermen,”

Used with permission from the author.