365 Christian Men | 365 Christian Men

April 3. John Jasper. John was baptized one morning and preached a funeral service that same afternoon. Being a man of reason and courage, he defied the laws of Virginia that forbade slaves to learn to read and write. More than a century later, that same state recognized John’s achievements and honored him as a “Strong Man … in Virginia History.”

On this date in 1865, John secured his freedom from slavery.

John started a church in 1867 with just 9 members, and within 34 years, its membership had increased to more than 2,000.

John never let slavery define him or limit him, either before the Civil War or after. Where others saw obstacles, John saw opportunities. Can’t hold services unless white men attend? Fine, preach to those white men and maybe God will convert them. No formal training in hermeneutics? Fine, preach from the heart, with conviction and faith. God’s Word is what’s important here.

Just before he died, John told those gathered around him that he was “looking for further orders.” He understood, better than most, what it meant to be a slave of Jesus Christ.

If you over-focus on the problem, you might miss the opportunity.

In the tobacco factory of Richmond, Virginia, John Jasper worked sixteen-hour days. He often said he was the best man at his job. But on July 4, he struggled to focus on his work. Suddenly, conviction of his sins gripped his heart. In desperation he cried out for mercy from God. Immediately, the struggle vanished.

Jasper told his boss Samuel Hardgrove what had happened, and the boss scandalized the whole room. He came over and shook Jasper’s hand, said he was happy he’d found the Savior, said Jasper’s Savior was Hardgrove’s Savior, and he understood.

Then Hardgrove told him to take the day off, go home and tell his family about Jesus, then go through the factory and tell all of them, too.

Later, Jasper liked to say Jesus called him to preach, but Hardgrove had commissioned him, too.

But being a slave limited what Jasper would be allowed to do. He knew that, and he made up his mind that he wouldn’t focus on what he wasn’t allowed to do. Instead, he’d make the most of the opportunities all his limits created.

Slaves were not allowed to be educated, so of course, Jasper could not read. But he knew God had called him to tell the truth about Jesus.

One of Jasper’s friends was not optimistic and challenged Jasper: how would he preach when he couldn’t read or write? Jasper said he intended to brag on Jesus.

And Jasper did; his sermons consisted of what he’d heard until a pastor took Jasper aside and told him he must learn to read his Bible for himself. With the help of that pastor, within seven months Jasper taught himself to read the Bible.

Jasper spoke at a funeral at the Old African Baptist Church of Richmond. With his arms pointed toward the sky, Jasper pictured the deceased with a smile on his face as he entered heaven. The men of the church were mesmerized. They wanted him to be a regular speaker at their church in Petersburg.

But Jasper could preach only when his master allowed—after the 16-hour-long work days. So Jasper bargained—if Hardgrove would allow Jasper to preach on the fourth Sunday of every month, the church would pay Jasper a dollar, and he’d give it to Hardgrove. Deal.

The next obstacle was that Virginia law forbade slaves to organize, so Jasper could preach only when a white minister or a committee of white men were present.

Jasper considered this an opportunity to preach to white men, who would otherwise not attend. As an added benefit, the presence of the white men discourage trouble from any prejudiced people, who wanted to disrupt the services.

One Sunday, after the choir finished singing, Jasper stood rigid gazing toward heaven with his eyes wide open, and he prayed. Then he opened his Bible and read from Revelations 6: 2. The congregation listened intently as Jasper described the Lord Jesus standing with his bow and arrow outstretched preparing to conquer his enemies.

Then Jasper asked the congregation if they wanted to be one of the multitude crowning Christ King. It’s said he didn’t preach long before, “The critical white people were stirred to the depths of their souls and their emotion showed in their weeping.”

Even Jasper’s most skeptical critics described him as being like John the Baptist, “a man sent from God.”

Jasper could say as the Apostle Paul did, “Now I want you to know, brethren that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known,” (Philippians 1: 12–13, NASB).

What are some obstacles that seem to be stifling your progress? If you over-focus on the problem, you might miss the opportunity.

Benning, Laura. “William E. Hatcher (William Eldridge), 1834–1912: John Jasper: The Unmatched Negro Philosopher and Preacher. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, c 1908.” Documenting the American South. Accessed July 30. 2020 https://docsouth.unc.edu/church/hatcher/summary.html

Croft, Wayne E., Sr. “John Jasper: Preaching with Authority.” Preaching: Leading the Church, Proclaiming the Word.com. Accessed July 30, 2020 https://www.preaching.com/articles/past-masters/john-jasper-preaching-with-authority/

“John Jasper.” Virginia Changemakers. Accessed July 30, 2020. https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/changemakers/items/show/12

Ray, Thomas. “John Jasper—Unmatched Orator.” Baptist Bible Tribune. July 25, 2013. http://www.tribune.org/john-jasper-unmatched-orator

Day, Richard Ellsworth. 1953. Rhapsody in Black: The Life Story of John Jasper. Valley Forge, Pa. : The Judson Press.

William E Hatcher, LL.D. 1908. John Jasper: The Unmatched Negro Philosopher and Preacher. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company. Pg.45

Day, Richard Ell

sworth. 1953. Rhapsody in Black: The Life Story of John Jasper. Valley Forge, Pa. : The Judson Press. Chapter 10, Pg.74

Roper, Gary Lee. Antebellum Slavery: An Orthodox Christian View. 2009. USA.

Story read by Daniel Carpenter

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April 2. Mark Palm. What young boy doesn’t dream of flying an airplane? Mark Palm is no exception.

But young Mark had a second passion, and that was to help people. In August of 2000, Mark founded Samaritan Aviation, a ministry that provides flight-related medical services to people who live in the remote jungle regions of Papua New Guinea. It took him 10 years to raise enough money to buy his first float plane—a flying ambulance—but on this date in 2010, Mark made his first Samaritan Aviation flight.

Since then, he has added three more planes to his squadron. Hospital trips used to take 5-7 days by canoe. Now those trips require just one hour by air. From complicated pregnancies to cases of severe dehydration to routine broken bones, Mark and his team serve and encourage people that the rest of world often overlooks. And they do it for free.

Think you can’t make a difference? Anyone can help someone.

Mark Palm wanted to make a difference. He was a third-generation aviator, and he dreamed of seeing the world through a career in the military or commercial aviation. He looked for opportunity; he saw needs.

At age 16, a youth trip to Mexico to give people roofs sparked an idea—go where no one else had gone. At age 19, Mark first visited Papua, New Guinea. When he returned to the United States, he met Kirsten.

On their first date, Mark shared the desire of his heart—to serve people no one else could. The Southern California girl from the big city didn’t run away. Instead, she said she’d share his dream. Mark proposed marriage. Kirsten said yes. They said I do. And for ten years, they struggled to do what seemed impossible.

Mark found odd jobs to support his family, while he learned skills he’d need as an aviator—engineering, navigation, mechanics. Success came neither quickly nor easily, but his labor of love built the imaginable. Mark founded Samaritan Aviation (SA). He and Kirsten and their three children moved to Papua New Guinea, ready for SA’s first flight.

Good Friday, April 2, 2010 marked the first medical mission in the only floatplane on the 700-mile long Sepik River—a call to help a pregnant mother.

In heavy labor, Antonia had one hope. Without help, her baby would die, and the mother might die, too. With a nurse onboard and a medical team waiting at Boram Hospital, a grateful woman gave thanks for her healthy son—and named him Mark.

“Life in Timbunke Village made me understand the needs,” he says. “Flooding, sickness, lack of medicine, lack of access—the things that are normal for us don’t exist here.”

Over the eight years that followed, Mark expanded SA from one flight crew to a team of four pilots and six families to serve some 220,000 villagers—almost half the population of Papua, New Guinea. They turned what would otherwise be a weeklong canoe trip into a 45-minute flight-for-life.

Delivering more than 100,000 pounds of medical supplies to 20-some aid stations, Mark and company also provided vaccinations that reduced infant mortality, midwife training, and hands-on education for better nutrition and hygiene.

Mark realizes that not everyone will go to remote places as he and his family did. He believes anyone can make a big impact anywhere. “It starts with small things. Look around your neighborhood.” Mark is convinced the mission field isn’t only in on foreign soil; it may be as close as the yard next door.

“I am convinced that my God will fully satisfy every need you have, for I have seen the abundant riches of glory revealed to me through the Anointed One, Jesus Christ” (Philippians 4:19 TPT).

How will you use your gifts? Think you can’t make a difference? Anyone can help someone.

https://www.themanual.com/culture/samaritan-aviation-mark-palm-interview/.

https://samaritanaviation.org/organizer/president-mark-palm/.

https://samaritanaviation.org/.

https://www.falconfieldairport.com/my-community/falcon-field-stories/samaritan-aviation.

Story read by Blake Mattocks

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April 1. Jack Wyrtzen. Jack was not always Jack. He was originally dubbed Caspar, but high-school classmates showed him the wisdom of an immediate name change. So Jack—not Caspar—was less than respectful of Christianity. Early encounters included mocking a Bible teacher at the YMCA and a fist-fight at the Methodist Church. Young Jack was a member of the National Guard band, but there he joined in the physical persecution of a Christian member.

In 1932, Jack committed his life to Christ, and he took off. He never finished high school, and he was never ordained, but he preachedin Times Square and City Hall Park, establishedrescue missions, and foundednumerous prison ministries.

Eventually, Jack focusedon youth and young adults, and workedwith Youth for Christ before he established Word of Life International.On this date in 1944, Jack spoke about Jesus at Madison Square Gardens.

For more than 50 years, Jack led Word of Life ministries. He pioneered evangelical radio and television, hosted rallies and cruises, and created Bible institutes, clubs, and family camps, that shaped the lives of individuals and families for years to come.

Being respected often starts with being real.

As a boy Jack Wyrtzen had a bad temper. After he became a Christian, it didn’t magically disappear, even though God called him to preach. Soon after he was saved, Jack married. The man preached nine times on his honeymoon!

Then he worked for the Merchant’s Fire Insurance Corporation to support his family, but still he preached—every noon hour, almost every night, weekend, and vacation. But telling others about Jesus didn’t conquer his temper.

As a kid it was normal for Jack to kick things. When people upset him, he let them have it. Now that he followed Jesus, he knew his behavior damaged other people—and himself. He didn’t want to act like that anymore. But a few months after he was saved, his boss, Jenkins, an atheist, mocked everything Jack said about his new-found faith and the Lord he’d come to love.

The men had put in extra hours, and Jack and his boss were tired. And there was more work to do. Jenkins had mocked Jack before, but this time he didn’t let up. Then Jenkins took it too far. Jack’s temper flared. He swore at Jenkins. Used God’s name to lash out. When he did, it was like he’d put a dagger in his own heart. He went to the men’s room and cried like a bellowing baby.

“God,” said Jack, “I guess I’m a Judas Iscariot, I’m a phony, I…I’ve denied you.”

But as he sat in the bathroom, he thought about the verse his friend Bill had told him to memorize. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 NKJ). The Holy Spirit used it to speak to Jack, and sitting there, all alone and crying in the men’s room, he prayed, “God, You said if I confess it. And God, I’m a…I’m a stinker, I’ve used Your name in vain, I’ve cursed, and yet, You’ve said You’ll not only forgive me, but cleanse me.”

Jack sat a moment in the forgiveness God offered. The first Scripture Jack memorized was the “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB).

Jesus had made him a new creation. He wanted to live like the person God had remade him to be.

Jack knew what he had to do. He wiped his eyes and returned to his boss. “Mr. Jenkins, I just want to apologize,” he said. “You must think that I’m a big phony, using the name of my Lord that I’ve been talking about in vain and doing this and that.”

Jenkins started at him. Finally, he spoke. “You know, now I’m beginning to think that you’re for real.”

For the next nine years Jenkins was Jack’s boss. He never chose to follow what Jack taught about Jesus, but if anyone mocked Jack, his religion, or the fact that he preached, Jenkins was the first to defend Jack.

Are you a new creation? What do you do when you don’t act like it? Being respected often starts with being real.

This story told by Jack during an interview of John Casper “Jack” Wyrtzen by Robert Shuster, October 5, 1991, Billy Graham Center Archives, Collection 446—Jack Wyrtzen.

https://www.biola.edu/talbot/ce20/database/jack-wyrtzen

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March 31. Franklin Graham. Franklin—the son of American evangelist Billy Graham—is a well-known evangelist, missionary, and author. He serves as president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief organization.

Franklin has conducted evangelistic Festivals (formerly called Crusades) across the US and in forty-nine other countries. He meets with world leaders and encourages people to engage in civic opportunities in their own locales.

His own heart is with people affected by war, poverty, and natural disasters. He says, “I have been called to the slums of the streets and the ditches of the world.”

On this date in 2019, Franklin’s organization, Samaritan’s Purse, finished their seventh annual Operation Heal Our Patriots—a retreat held at an Alaskan wilderness lodge and designed to minister spiritually, emotionally, and physically to wounded veterans and their spouses.

Here’s today’s story.

The fight for identity is real; be your own man.

Franklin Graham wanted to create his own path through life—aside from his famous father and, therefore, aside from Jesus.

He was a mischievous boy, but that turned into pure rebellion, and he enjoyed testing the limits. “My mother was going to insist that I got up in time to get to school at a proper time,” Graham said. “So I started locking my door so she couldn’t come in, and she started sliding firecrackers under the door.”

And with the rebellion came consequences. “Instead of getting my esteem from achieving within the system, I got my thrills and identity from challenging the system,” Graham said. This behavior led him to be expelled from high school and kicked out of college. His childish defiance had turned into a lifestyle that was a far cry from his dad’s reputation as a global gospel preacher.

Growing up in a faith-filled house, Franklin had always believed God existed. He just wanted to run his own life. He thought that drinking heavily, smoking, and anything else that brought him pleasure would be much more fulfilling, but the further he ran, the emptier he felt. “I realized for the first time that sin had control over my life. Franklin Graham was not in charge, but sin was. And there was absolutely nothing I could do in my own power to overcome it.”

But, on his birthday in 1974, he had just finished a trip to Switzerland with his father when his dad sat him down, looked him in the eye, and said, “I want you to know that your mother and I sense there is a struggle for the soul of your life. And there is no halfway. Either you’re going to have to accept Jesus Christ and what he says and obey him and follow him, or you’ll have to reject him. There is no middle ground.”

Those few words stuck with twenty-two-year-old Franklin as he traveled across Europe, bottle of scotch in hand, his mind replaying the conversation with his father over and over again.

He was running hard from the one thing he knew that could bring him back to the man he was made to be.

A few weeks later, one night in Jerusalem, instead of his normal nightly routine at the bars, Franklin stayed in his hotel room reading through the Gospel of John. “When I came to the third chapter, I read not that Jesus told Nicodemus he had to be born again, but I also grasped that Franklin Graham had to be born again as well.”

That night, Franklin found what he was so desperately searching for—belonging and rest. His days of running were over. That one conversation had changed his life forever. “I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. My years of running and rebellion had ended … It was finished.”

“For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17 NLT).

When somebody challenges you with the truth—especially somebody close to you—are you willing to listen and accept it? The fight for identity is real; be your own man.

“Operation Heal Our Patriots.” Samaritan’s Purse International Relief. Accessed September 5, 2020. https://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/about-operation-heal-our-patriots/.

“Profile: Franklin Graham, Evangelist.” Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Accessed September 5, 2020. https://billygraham.org/about/biographies/franklin-graham/.

“Franklin Graham: The prodigal son comes home.” CNN. Accessed October 14, 2020. http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/shows/graham/profile.html.

“Franklin Graham on the Emptiness of Running from God.” Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Published April 20, 2016. http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/shows/graham/profile.html.

“Franklin Graham: The hell-raising evangelist’s son.” CBS news. Published April 20, 2012. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/franklin-graham-the-hell-raising-evangelists-son/

Story read by Daniel Carpenter

Story written by Abigail Schultz, https://www.instagram.com/abigail_faith65

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March 30. Charles Simeon. Simeon was an Anglican pastor at the Holy Trinity Church in Cambridge (England) for fifty-four years. His entire ministry was at this church, but his influence went much further.

He mentored young men who wanted to become pastors and taught them that sermons should humble the sinner, exalt the Savior, and promote holiness. At the time of his death in 1836, roughly one-third of all the Anglican pastors in England had been his students.

Simeon trained missionaries, too. He formed the Society for Missions to Africa and the East, founded the London Jews Society, the Religious Tract Society, and the British & Foreign Bible Society. Young men from his church took the gospel all over the world.

Simeon was a thorough-going Anglican who worked “tirelessly to reform Anglicanism” so that it would produce committed disciples who took the gospel seriously. He created the Simeon Trust, an organization that purchased the right to appoint evangelical clergy to parishes. To this day, Holy Trinity Church is a focal point of evangelicalism in England.

Simeon had an amazing ministry, but it almost ended before it began. This is today’s story.

Faith requires enduring the obstacles, not expecting them to disappear.

Growing up, Simeon was rich, shallow, and a fancy dresser. And when he first started college in Cambridge, he didn’t really know the Lord. But when the Bishop told him he was required to take the Lord’s Supper, Simeon knew enough to know it was a serious thing to take Holy Communion without repenting.

When Simeon did turn to the Lord, the Lord met him. The Lord Jesus saved Simeon, changed his life. Now the lack of fellowship at Cambridge was blatant. So, Simeon wanted to preach the gospel there.

He finished his education and was certain God had called him to Cambridge. After a good word from his father to the bishop, Simeon was hired as the new pastor at Cambridge. And he was ecstatic.

But when he arrived at Trinity to start his new role, he found out the people of the congregation didn’t want him. Not him and certainly not his evangelical preaching.

Mr. Hammond, the parish curate, was who they really wanted. He was familiar, popular, and had been in the church awhile. The people signed a petition saying that Hammond had already been hired as pastor and sent it to the bishop.

Simeon felt heartbroken. Wasn’t Trinity the place he was supposed to be? All he wanted to do was God’s will, but God’s will suddenly seemed cloudy.

Distraught, Simeon wrote a letter to the bishop and said he wouldn’t go against what the church wanted. But he arrived at the post office too late to send the letter.

This gave him time to reflect. And he remembered his burning desire to preach the gospel at Cambridge. He knew God had told him to go there.

The parishioners even lied to the bishop and said Simeon had agreed to leave. But the bishop wrote Simeon and offered him the position again and said—no matter what else happened—Mr. Hammond would not be the pastor.

The next day, Simeon preached his first sermon at the church.

But still the parishioners fought him. They went so far as to lock the pews to keep people from sitting. Some stopped coming to church and tried to get others to stop, too. They refused to let Simeon visit or minister to them. They even locked the doors of the church so he couldn’t establish a Sunday-evening service.

Simeon tried to make peace and added chairs to the church at his own expense. He rented other rooms so he could minister to people there. But his congregation continued to fight. Simeon turned desperately to God and prayed for the matter to be resolved.

Simeon preached only on Sunday mornings. During his services disruptions happened, and people had to stand in the aisles to keep the peace. Other people threw stones at the windows! As for the chairs Simeon had added, the churchwardens threw them out of the church.

Months of opposition became years. But eventually peace crept in, and as time wore on, the opposition wore out.

After an entire decade, the congregation finally started to calm down, and within twelve years, Simeon was able to fully preach at the church. He slowly gained a following. His steady, determined kindness prevailed.

In the end, Simeon served the people of Trinity Church for more than fifty years.

“And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful” (2 Timothy 2:24 NIV).

Do you have a dream? How can belief and action work together to help you achieve it? Faith requires enduring the obstacles, not expecting them to disappear.

“Charles Simeon: Evangelical Mentor and Model.” Christianity Today. Christian History. Accessed September 5, 2020. https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/pastorsandpreachers/charles-simeon.html.

“Charles Simeon.” Five Minutes in Church History. August 7, 2019. https://www.5minutesinchurchhistory.com/charles-simeon/.

Simeon, Charles. Carus, William, ed. Memoirs of the Life of the Rev. Charles Simeon, M.A.: Late Senior Fellow of King’s College, and Minister of Trinity Church, Cambridge, with a Selection from His Writings and Correspondence. London: Hatchard and Son, 1847. Accessed October 14, 2020. https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=XO0oG2caEFMC&hl=en&pg=GBS.PA1.

Moule, Handley Carr Glyn. Charles Simeon. London: Methuen & Co. , 1892. Accessed October 14, 2020. https://archive.org/details/charlessimeon00moulgoog.

Story read by Blake Mattocks

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March 29. John Wooden. John is best known for his phenomenal success as the coach of the UCLA Bruins basketball team. But he was also the first person to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in two roles: player and coach.

John defines success, both on and off the basketball court, in terms of discipline, patience, and humility: “Talent is God-given,” he said. “Be humble. Fame is man-made. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.”

John began playing basketball on his family farm, after he was done with chores and schoolwork. He played in high school and college, and then taught high school English and served as coach for several high school sports.

On this date in 1975, John announced his retirement from UCLA. He had coached there for 27 years, and his teams had won 10 national titles. Here’s today’s story.

The littlest things can make big things happen.

The “Wizard of Westwood” didn’t have any magic potions, but man, could he win games!

In one twelve-year period, John won ten NCAA championships. High school and college, he coached athletes for forty years.

Picture this: UCLA freshmen show up at their first basketball practice with the legendary John Wooden. They’re geeked. They know it’s going to be a tough workout. They know they’re going to learn the John Wooden ways. They know they’re going to be champions.

But the Assistant Coach tells them to go to the locker room, sit, and wait.

And there they sit. After a few minutes, the boys quiet down. The locker room door opens.

Heads turn; necks crane.

Into the crowded locker room, John strides and pulls out a chair and sits and pulls off his shoes and socks.

Players look at each other. They’re thinking: Is this guy nuts?

Finally, John explains that the first lesson is how to properly put on their shoes and socks.

Some players’ faces crinkle. Some look confused. Some tense up.

“We were shocked,” champion Bill Walton said. “Coach told us that learning how to put on your socks and shoes properly was the initial lesson for everything we’d need to know for the rest of our lives.”

John instructed the players to sit in a circle and take off their shoes and socks. On Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s first day of practice, he mumbled, “What are we? In kindergarten?”

John announced that anyone who didn’t want to sit in a circle and pull off his shoes and socks—could leave.

Abdul-Jabbar sat in the circle and pulled off his shoes and socks.

With great patience and attention to detail, John went through the putting-on process. He taught that the athletes must pull the sock up without folds and creases because—if they didn’t—wrinkles would pop up. And if wrinkles popped up, they would cause blisters. And if the player got blisters, he would lose playing time. And if he was good enough and lost playing time, the coach might get fired.

This was a weird coach, the guys thought. He was all right.

John then taught the players how to lace up their shoes—the correct way. Pull the laces tight and even. Double-knot your shoestrings, so they don’t come unlaced in a game. So you don’t fall on your face.

Before they could play varsity ball as sophomores, they had to master the fundamentals as freshmen. They were expected to tuck in their shirts. They were sent for haircuts. And when they returned to practice, John might send them back for another visit with the barber. The players had to learn that the little things they do now determine what happens in the future.

ESPN named John Wooden “Coach of the Century.” Not of the year or of the decade. Not Coach of a certain sport. Just—Coach of the Century.

Jesus said, “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much” (Luke 16:10 NASB).

Are there little things in your life that need attention? Little things make big things happen.

“About Coach Wooden.” Success Presents. Accessed September 5, 2020. https://www.thewoodeneffect.com/about-coach/.

Wooden, John, and Steve Jamison. Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections on and Off the Court. New York City: Contemporary Books, 1997.

D’Amelio, Tony. “Bill Walton: Learning to Lace My Shoes was a John Wooden Success Lesson.” D’amelio Network Speaker Management. Published July 11, 2017. http://blog.damelionetwork.com/sports-motivational-speaker-bill-walton-learning-to-tie-shoes-was-john-wooden-success-lesson-for-life.

Wooden, John, and Jamison, Steve, Wooden A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections on and Off the Court . New York City: Contemporary Books, 1997.

Story read by Chuck Stecker

Would You Like to Learn More About This Man?

John got started in basketball in a barn. He and his three brothers Maurice, Daniel, and William—played with a homemade basketball and a bottomless tomato basket for a hoop.

“Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.”

~John Wooden

“Young people need models, not critics.”

~John Wooden

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March 28. Rick Warren. Wisdom. Hope. Encouragement. Vision. Pick any or all of these words to describe to Rick Warren and you will be right.

Rick is the founder of Saddleback Church and one of the leading pastors in the US. He is a well-known author of books whose purpose is to help Christians, whether those Christians are in the pew or in the pulpit.

Rick also initiated the PEACE plan, a global mission whose goal is to fight “five giants”—illiteracy, pandemics, poverty, self-serving leadership, and spiritual emptiness.

On this date in 2014, Rick hosted the Pastor’s Conference on Mental Health. He is a mentor to many other pastors and the founder of the Purpose Driven Alliance (a global alliance of pastors) and of Pastors.com, an on-line resource for pastors.

Here’s today’s story.

Divine appointments often take the cooperation of others. Be the other.

When God called Rick Warren to full-time ministry, he was a young man in his twenties, and money was tight. Rick and his wife Kay didn’t jet off to Hawaii or Paris.

Instead, they “got away” in a little trailer owned by Kay’s parents in Arizona. For one trip to see the Grand Canyon, Rick and Kay piled into their twenty-five-year-old station wagon.

Along the way, the dreaded red-and-blue flashing lights appeared in Rick’s rear-view mirror. Time to pull over. He knew he hadn’t been speeding or breaking any other rules of the road. Yep, the police officer had pulled him over to let him know he and his wife were in danger.

“Sir, your left rear tire is so bald it’s going to blow any time,” the police officer said.

But they were in the middle of nowhere, and there was no tire shop to be found; the nearest gas station was thirty miles away. Rick and Kay decided to roll along until they reached the gas station. They hoped and prayed the tire would hold up. Driving slowly. Praying.

Finally, they pulled into the gas station. But the attendant told them he had no tires for sale. So Rick did the logical thing. He filled the clunker’s gas tank.

He tried to figure out what to do about the tire. Another car pulled up on the other side of the pump, and a man got out, and the two began to make small talk. It turned out that other man was a Christian, too, and he was on his way home after a trip to Seattle.

Rick told him, “Well, since you’re a Christian I’m going to ask you to pray for me. I have to get a tire.”

“Wait just a minute … let me check,” the man said. He walked to the back of his own station wagon. He pulled out a tire, and it fit perfectly on Rick’s car!

The man explained God told him to buy that tire when he had left for his trip, even though it didn’t fit on his car. He had carried it all the way to the Grand Canyon and up to Seattle. He had no idea why God had said to do so—until he pulled into this gas station.

Rick was amazed at the man’s obedience to God and equally amazed by God’s provision. But God promises to clear a path for us and provide for our every need. The way God holds up His end of the deal is always mind-blowing.

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it” (Psalm 81:10 NIV).

Think about how God has provided for you in miraculous ways. Are you living differently as a result of that? Divine appointments often take the cooperation of others. Be the other.

“Our Pastor.” Saddleback Church. Accessed September 4, 2020. https://saddleback.com/visit/about/pastors/our-pastor.

Ellis, Mark. “Faith and Obedience: Rick Warren’s bald tire story.” God Reports. Published December 11, 2018. http://godreports.com/2018/12/faith-and-obedience-rick-warrens-bald-tire-story/.

Ritchie, Erika I. “Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren is focused on keeping religion relevant 40 Years after his first Easter service.” Orange County Register. Published April 19, 2019. https://www.ocregister.com/2019/04/19/saddleback-church-pastor-rick-warren-is-focused-on-keeping-religion-relevant-40-years-after-his-first-easter-service/.

Story read by Daniel Carpenter

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March 27. Art Hallett. Musician, songwriter, software engineer, worship leader, teacher, preacher—all these words describe Art.

He currently serves as Director of Prison Ministries for Evangelism Explosion International (EEPM). He also founded Hallett Prison Ministries and speaks at churches across the country and internationally.

On this date in 1984, Art became a member of the Sarasota Baptist Church—where he has faithfully served as a commissioned missionary. Here is his story.

Sometimes we’re set up to sit down, to be set free, to answer the hard question.

The music in the club made it hard to hear anything. Seventeen-year-old Art had to ask the two pretty girls to repeat their question.

“Do you want to come home with us?” they yelled louder.

He couldn’t believe it! It must be true what they say about girls swooning over any guy in a uniform. He had joined the Army just a month before, and this was happening?

“Sure thing, I will!” Art grabbed a girl with each arm.

They piled into a Volkswagen and drove to a house.

Art was surprised When a young man opened, the front door, Art was surprised to see him. But the man seemed to be expecting them. He greeted Art and introduced himself as a youth pastor.

Before long, Art realized this was some sort of religious setup. The girls brought unsuspecting Army recruits over to the house, and their youth pastor delivered a gospel presentation.

Slick, thought Art.

The youth pastor asked Art to sit down. He shrugged and sat. He felt comfortable enough in religious meetings. He could deal with this and hang out with the girls later.

But the youth pastor seemed more interested in a conversation with Art than preaching a sermon. He brought up some hard questions, and it forced Art to think.

“Why would God let you into heaven when you die?” the youth pastor asked. “Who is Jesus to you?”

The man talked about how God loved Art, that God wanted a relationship with him, that God would change his life.

Art was really listening to the man now. This was different from anything Art had heard before.

Turning to the girls on the couch, Art asked, “Hey, I have a question now. How come you picked me?”

There had been lots of guys at the club that night—better looking guys, others who would have been safer to get into a car with.

Guys who would have treated the girls with a little more respect, Art thought, feeling ashamed.

One of them answered, “We just asked God to show us who He wanted.”

Art blinked away sudden tears. God had set up this whole thing? For him!

Art went back to the base eager to share the good news of his faith with his buddies. But their reactions stung him.

“Ha! You’re one of those holy rollers now!”

“Religious freak!”

Art didn’t know any Christians. He didn’t even own a Bible.

Throughout the years that followed, Art made small compromises until he had pushed his relationship with God almost out of his life.

“I had all the bells and whistles—a high-power job, money, cars … and a whole lot of conviction!” he said. “God just wouldn’t let me go. He kept sending people into my life to point me back to Him.”

At work one day, when Art’s colleague Derek invited him to a church meeting, Art said, “Sure. Why not?”

Art drove to the church, bringing along his beautiful girlfriend Jill. He was looking forward to some good gospel music.

It was hot and muggy that evening, and the fans inside the church weren’t doing much.

The music ended, and a man on the stage was speaking; but Art could only hear the questions God was asking his heart.

“Do you remember My love for you? Will you follow Me?”

Art had been AWOL long enough from the life God had for him. Smiling in defeat, Art said, “I’m yours, God.”

Surrounded by mentors from Dereck’s church, Art’s faith in the God who loved him grew strong. Now, Art is active guiding others to Jesus—those new to faith and those who need to be brought back.

“And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him” (2 Corinthians 5:18 NLT).

Are you as close to God as you need to be? Sometimes we’re set up to sit down, to be set free, to answer the hard question.

“Arthur Hallett.” EE Prison Ministries. Accessed September 3, 2020. https://eepm.eeprisonministry.com/what-is-eepm/28-arthur-hallett.

Story based on an interview with Art Hallett on August 2, 2019.

Story read by Nathan Walker

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March 26. Loren Cunningham. Loren could be a wealthy man if he wanted to. He is an “accomplished author and a world-renowned public speaker.” But he donates his book royalties to Youth With A Mission (also known as YWAM), which he founded. And he doesn’t charge a speaking fee or ask for an honorarium.

Loren grew up in a family with limited financial resources. Yet his parents gave 30% of their income to foreign missions. That example set the stage for Loren’s own generosity and for the financial policy of YWAM. Missionaries with YWAM do not receive salaries. They trust God to provide for their needs.

On this date in 1972, Loren, his wife, and their 2 children introduced a plan for a floating mobile school of evangelism. But that wasn’t the first school that Loren founded. Now, YWAM is more than 60 years old and has more than 18,000 workers. The parish is global.

Here’s today’s story.

Want a farm? Buy a milk can.

I want to give you a farm.

Those few words from God seemed out of context for Loren. Having grown up in the busy city of Los Angeles, farms and livestock were not familiar to him. He had never even thought about having a farm. Having a farm was so far out of his area of expertise, he started to wonder if he had heard God clearly.

Loren had heard God speak directly to him before, and it had always turned into something incredible. He had already asked God where his first ministry school should be stationed, so if God wanted to give Loren a farm in Switzerland, he would welcome it.

Everything he felt called to do in this mountainous countryside was falling into place. This new word from God was obviously another aspect of this ministry that they needed, so Loren sat in a quiet space and asked God for more. For confirmation.

Loren was directed to a specific book of the Bible, a chapter, and a very specific verse. Flipping to James, Chapter Two, verse 26, he found it. “Faith without works is dead.”Hmm. This was going to require action.

The next day, Loren went to see a farm that was being auctioned, and he bought some barbed wire, a milk can, and hay wagon. He saw the items and knew he needed to buy them; he was walking in obedience—God was going to provide a farm. After Loren bought the items, his students from the ministry school wondered what he was up to.

They asked why he had bought a hay wagon, and he simply told them, “God is going to give me a farm for YWAM.”

Curious about this, one of Loren’s students JoJo asked what that looked like for them, since they were a part of YWAM.

He told her to go seek God and see what you get.

Being obedient, she took the week and prayed about what God was saying about the farm, and by the end of the week her confidence soared. She knew the school was getting a farm. She told her parents her thoughts and what Loren had done as an act of faith by buying farm items; she was convinced this was happening.

A few weeks later, JoJo’s father was chatting with a Swiss local, when the man struck him with these words, “I have this farm, and God told me to give it to a mission. Do you know a mission that needs a farm?” Awestruck by the words that had just come out of the man’s mouth, JoJo’s father exclaimed, “YWAM! They bought a hay wagon in faith!”

This wasn’t just any farm, it was a place where thousands would be filled with the knowledge of the Bible, live in the presence of Jesus, and be given the tools to go to other nations and spread of love of the gospel.

This farm was the first of many bases in YWAM that would disciple young people and send them out to the poorest of the poor. This base was, and still is, the mother base of the global ministry, and it all began with a few words. “I want to give you a farm.”

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing from the Word of God” (Romans 10:17 NKJV).

Is there something you need to step out in faith on? Want a farm? Buy a milk can.

Lambert, Sean. “60 Years of Faith for Finances.” LorenCunninham.com. Accessed September 4, 2020. https://www.lorencunningham.com/articles/60-years-of-faith-and-finances.

Ellis, Mark. “Stories of faith from a faith-filled panel.” GodReports. Published January 9, 2019. http://godreports.com/2019/01/stories-of-faith-from-a-faith-filled-panel/.

Steffen, Markus and Anita. “Welcome to YWAM Luasanne.” YWAM Lausanne.” Accessed October 14, 2020. https://www.ywamlausanne.com/about-us-in-lausanne/.

Story read by Peter R Warren, https://www.peterwarrenministries.com/

Story written by Abigail Schultz, https://www.instagram.com/abigail_faith65

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March 25. Thomas Clarkson. Clarkson was headed for a promising church career. The son of a British clergyman and teacher, he entered Cambridge University to prepare for ministry. While there, he wrote an essay against slavery that changed not only his life, but the lives of countless others.

Clarkson worked with William Wilberforce, the British abolitionist, to gather evidence against slavery. Their tireless work over the course of 20 years paid off. On this date in 1807, Parliament passed the Slave Trade Abolition Act. That act paved the way for the complete abolition of slavery in the British empire in 1833. This is today’s story.

Recognizing a need is often God’s call for us to do something.

Clarkson was twenty-four-years old when he won a writing contest on an essay that explored whether it was lawful to buy and sell human beings.

After he accepted the award, on the road back to London, he couldn’t stop thinking about the greed and the arrogance and the lack of respect for humanity that drove people to kidnap and sell other people.

He had entered the writing competition to get attention, but his research changed his life. How could it be right to “own” fellow beings—each of us created by the same all-powerful God? ^⁠

Something had to be done. Now.

He thought more and more about the horror of being ripped away from your parents, from the life you knew, crammed into the rat-infested hold of a ship for weeks at a time, and taken on a dangerous journey.

Slaveholders could afford to let a lot of their cargo die; they had a terrific markup. The man or woman or girl or boy got dumped in an unfamiliar land and became another person’s property to use any way he wanted.

He recoiled from the brutality of slavery and felt driven to see enslaved people everywhere set free. He wanted the evil business stopped.

Clarkson got so agitated about the atrocities being done to human beings, he had to stop, dismount, and pace. Finally, grief overtook him.

“I sat down disconsolate on the turf by the road-side,” he wrote, “and here it forcibly occurred to me that something should be done to put an end to such cruelties.” ^⁠

Someone needed to do something—he was sure about that. But he had heard little public discussion about the evils of slavery. Nobody talked about it. He mounted his horse and continued his journey, no closer to a solution than before.

Weeks passed, and still Clarkson couldn’t shake the desire for somebody to step up and take on the cause.

The thought of doing something himself had crossed his mind, but he was only twenty-four. What could he do? Yet the moral question swirled in his mind: how could a Christian nation allow such horrors to continue?

The public had to be told, had to be educated. Perhaps his essay could do that small thing.^⁠

That November, 1785, Clarkson translated his essay from Latin to English. He added information he had learned since writing it, and he tried to write in a way that would impress the reader with the need to do something.

From this moment forward, he dedicated his life to eradicating slavery in Great Britain. He wrote books and smaller works to educate people about what human beings were doing to human beings. And he got the plan of a slave-ship named Brookes and hired someone to draw an image of how the slaves were packed in. Depending on weather, the voyage could last six-to-thirteen weeks. Clarkson published the drawing and took copies of it with him when he spoke in public.

For 61 years—from the day of his commitment to the day of his death—he spent his money, his time, and his health on behalf of enslaved people. He travelled a total of about 45,000 miles to spread the word and to build and encourage a network of anti-slavery societies—people ready to do something about the evil. Together they delivered 777 petitions to Parliament and demanded the end of the slave trade.

In 1807, Parliament outlawed the slave trade^⁠. In 1833, the Slavery Abolition Act ended slavery altogether in Great Britain. ^⁠

“I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:4 NASB).

What issues grieve and consume you? Is God calling you to a first step to deal with that? Recognizing a need is often God’s call for us to do something.

“Thomas Clarkson (1760–1846).” BBC History. Accessed September 3, 2020. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/clarkson_thomas.shtml.

Brogan,Hugh. “Clarkson, Thomas (1760–1846).” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Accessed January 15, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1093/ref: odnb/5545.

Thomas Taylor, A Biographical Sketch of Thomas Clarkson, M.A. London: Joseph Rickerby, 1839. Google books. Accessed January 14, 2019. https://books.google.com/books?id=9hdKAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false.

Story read by Daniel Carpenter

Would You Like to Learn More About This Man?

The drawing Clarkson had made of slaves crammed in the slave ship Brooke.

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