We were in a classic old cemetery in the English countryside. The headstones that populated the graveyard told the stories of the people who used to populate the village. As I read one stone I thought, “This is someone I wish I could have known.”

His name was William. I couldn’t make out the last name. He died in 1855. He was described as “An acceptable local preacher in the Wesleyan Methodist connection.” We were in the graveyard of an Anglican church. Anglicans and Methodists didn’t always get along. Sometimes the Anglicans viewed the Methodists as a breakaway movement that was taking people away from their congregations. William must have earned some respect from the Anglicans to be called acceptable and accepted to be buried in the Anglican cemetery.

Our culture can get quite lavish with its praise. We are tempted to long for more than to be acceptable. Not many of us, however, are extraordinary in the eyes of the world. William was a Wesleyan, part of a movement named after an iconic figure of church history: John Wesley. Not many John Wesleys come along. Most of us are like William.

The Bible says, “Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are,so that no one may boast before him” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29). God delights in using those who are acceptable.

William was described as a local preacher. I expect he didn’t strive to make a name for himself throughout the British Isles. He cared about his local community and served the people there. He didn’t long to be somewhere else. He loved and served the local community in which God had placed him.

“An acceptable local preacher” may not seem like an impressive title to the world, but it is a high and noble calling. Whether we’re a preacher or a plumber, a farmer or a firefighter; being acceptable and local is a good thing. We don’t have to be impressive or extraordinary. We find joy and peace in the promise that we are acceptable to God by faith in Jesus.