October 27. Billy Sunday. Billy grew up in a log cabin in Iowa, where ten members of his family—including his father, died before Billy turned ten. His mother had to send her remaining children to live in the Soldier’s Orphan Home. But thanks to the love of his brother and Billy’s love for baseball, he still became a star.
With the Chicago White Stockings in 1883, Billy struck out his first 13 at-bats. But by 1890, with the Philadelphia Athletics, he was batting .261 and had stolen 84 bases. By this time, he had already been a Christian for 4 years, and he left baseball, took a two-thirds cut in pay, and became a preacher.
Until Billy Graham, Billy Sunday preached to more millions than any other preacher, and he had led about 300,000 people to the Lord. Not everyone liked him, but he wasn’t out to please people.
He said, “I’m against sin. I’ll kick it as long as I have a foot. I’ll fight it as long as I have a fist. I’ll butt it as long as I have a head. I’ll bite it as long as I’ve got a tooth. And when I’m old and fistless and footless and toothless, I’ll gum it till I go home to Glory, and it goes home to perdition.”
On this date in 1935, Billy preached his final sermon.
God designs your gift; you discover and develop it.
Ever heard of Billy Sunday?
You might have heard about his eight-year stint in professional baseball; he played for the Chicago White Stockings (now the Cubs), the Pennsylvania Athletics, and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Billy wasn’t a great hitter, but he stole bases like no one ever had.
Billy was fast. God made Billy fast.
Billy could have used that speed to make a great deal of money and live a comfortable life as a professional baseball player. But he chose to use his gift to speak up for the Lord. Because of this courageous choice, when people hear the name Billy Sunday, they often remember a preacher whose defining characteristic was speed. But could God use “speed?”
In church?
God designed that gift. He can use the gift. No matter what kind of gift.
One day when Billy and some other baseball players were walking around Chicago, a woman approached them and invited them to the Pacific Garden Mission. Billy started attending, and on one of those Sundays he asked the Lord to take over his life. A year later he accepted a job in the Chicago YMCA as an assistant secretary at $83.33 per month—and sometimes this arrived 6 months overdue. Billy rejected a $500-a-month baseball contract so he could serve Christ.
Soon Billy began preaching the Word of God. At first, he was subdued and acted like someone he wasn’t. But soon, God showed Billy that the gift of speed he had used in baseball games was exactly what Billy was to use in his preaching. His athletic ability was perfect for the way he preached.
Billy would “impersonate a sinner trying to reach heaven like a ballplayer sliding for home and illustrate by running and sliding the length of the stage. Every story was a pantomime performance.”
His style made people curious. Soon he was filling up revival tents and campaigns across the country. His reputation for theatrics grew. He would charge back and forth, drop to his knees, jump, wave, and flop on the ground, all to preach Jesus.
Billy was also a wordsmith. His turn of phrase, speedily delivered, God used extensively as another way to grab the audiences and usher them into the Kingdom of God. Each of the following were phrases he had used in his sermons:
“You can find everything in the average church today from a humming bird to a turkey buzzard.”
“Some persons think they have to look like a hedgehog to be pious.”
“Some people pray like a jack rabbit eating cabbage.”
“Going to church,” he said, “doesn’t make a man a Christian any more than going to a garage makes him an automobile.”
Billy’s popularity grew. His antics made the people curious. What was he doing? They marveled at his agility and energy. As they were captured by his actions, they listened to his words. And because of the power of the Word of God, thousands came to Christ.
Billy Sunday became a preacher out of love for the Father. He wanted to serve God.
“Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank” (Proverbs 22:29 NIV).
How can you maximize your God–given skill today? God designs your gift; you discover and develop it.
Elllis, William. “Billy” Sunday The Man and His Message. Philadelphia: The John C. Winston Co., 1914. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/50586/50586-h/50586-h.htm.
Taylor, Justin. The Gospel Coalition. “What Was It Like to Hear Billy Sunday Preach?” Published August 3, 2016. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/evangelical-history/what-was-it-like-to-hear-billy-sunday-preach/.
Keller, Paul. NEWSLETTER of the North Manchester Historical Society, Inc. VOLUME XIII, NUMBER 1. “Life of Billy Sunday.” Published February, 1996. http://www.nmanchesterhistory.org/more-billy-sunday.html.
Would You Like to Learn More About This Man?
“Nowadays we think we are too smart to believe in the Virgin birth of Jesus and too well educated to believe in the Resurrection. That’s why people are going to the devil in multitudes.”
~Billy Sunday
“To know what the devil will do, find out what the saloon is doing,” he said repeatedly. “If ever there was a jubilee in hell it was when lager beer was invented.”
~Billy Sunday
Story read by: Nathan Walker
Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter
Audio production: Joel Carpenter
Editor: Teresa Crumpton, https://authorspark.org/
Project manager: Blake Mattocks
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