Podcast: 365 Christian Men

December 15. Jerry Falwell, Sr. In the middle of his sophomore year in college, Falwell Sr. believed in Jesus. “I wanted to study the Bible and prepare myself for whatever God wanted me to do,” he said later. “My heart was burning to serve Christ. I knew nothing would ever be the same again.” 

He switched to Bible college, became a pastor, and founded a Baptist Church with a congregation of 35 people. A week later, on this date in 1956, Falwell Sr. broadcasted the first episode of “Old Time Gospel Hour.” 

Over the years, the church grew to a congregation of 24,000 and included a day school and support for missionaries. 

In 1979, Falwell Sr. also founded the Moral Majority and encouraged politicians to “reverse the politicization of immorality in our society.” He supported voluntary prayer in public schools, opposition to abortion, and military strength. 

Evangelist Billy Graham said about Falwell Sr., he had been “a close personal friend for many years. We did not always agree on everything, but I knew him to be a man of God.” Here’s his story. 

When faith requires you to take a stand, sometimes you must stand in the spotlight alone. 

Like he did every Saturday morning, Falwell Sr. sat at Lee Bacas’s shoe-shine service, where soft-spoken Lewis worked. Their conversation always centered around the two men’s walks with God. 

“I heard your sermon on television last week, Reverend,” Lewis said, like he always did. “I sure do like the way you preach.” 

“Thank you, Lewis. How are you and the Lord getting on?” Falwell Sr. asked. 

“So good, the Lord is so good,” Lewis said. 

But it was clear Lewis wanted to say something more. He stopped polishing, looked up at Falwell Sr., and lowered his voice. “Say, Reverend, when will I be able to join that church of yours over on Thomas Road?” 

The question hit Falwell Sr. hard. No Black man had ever asked to join his church. And deep lines of segregation still plagued the South. If Falwell Sr. allowed Black people into his church, what would happen? 

For one thing, he would be crossing into political territory. For a long time, he believed politics should be kept separate from church matters. For another thing, some families had already left his church over other racial matters, like when he had hired a Black pianist, and when he allowed all children, not just white children, to participate in a church summer camp. But could there ever be a good reason to keep godly men and women from joining his church? Jerry couldn’t weigh the matter in an instant. So, he said nothing. 

“I don’t want to cause you trouble, Reverend.” Lewis went back to buffing a shoe. “But I sure do like the way you preach, and one day I’d like to join Thomas Road, myself.” 

The gentle request shook Falwell Sr., and he wrestled with the situation for weeks and then months. Ultimately, he kept coming back to the same answer: no matter what people thought of him, and no matter how political the matter was, there was no way he could face God while shutting the door against fellow believers. 

Soon Falwell Sr. had his opportunity to act on this conviction. Shortly after the assassination of Doctor Martin Luther King Jr., a Black family applied to join Falwell Sr.’s church, and under Falwell’s direction, the church board unanimously accepted them. 

When Falwell Sr. went to get his shoes shined, he told Lewis about the new church members. 

“I guess it’s time for me to come visit, too.” Lewis’s eyes glistened with tears. 

From then on, Lewis and his family, along with hundreds of others, who now saw the door open for them, visited and joined Falwell Sr.’s church, and the pastor never regretted that decision to take a stand for his brothers and sisters in Christ. 

“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘no’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:11–13 ESV). 

Today can you take a stand for your convictions, no matter how unpopular or political they are? When faith requires you to take a stand, sometimes you must stand in the spotlight alone. 

Falwell, Macel. Jerry Falwell: His Life and Legacy. New York, NY: Howard Books, 2008. 

“History.” Thomas Road Baptist Church. Accessed April 17, 2019. https://​trbc.org/​history/. 

“Jerry Falwell Biography.” Biography.com. April 2, 2014. https://​www.biography.com/​personality/​jerry-falwell.  

Mark, David and Adelle M. Banks. “Jerry Falwell, Architect of Religious Right, Dies at 73.” Christianity Today. May. 15, 2007. https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/mayweb-only/120-23.0.html. 

“Old Time Gospel Hour.” IMDB. Accessed April 17, 2019. https://​www.imdb.com/​title/​tt1401837/.  

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

December 14. Bryan Howard. Bryan is a man who serves Jesus with his whole life every day. Where he works, the students and teachers call him Mr. Howard. By his work, his example, and his speech, he calls them into the Kingdom of God. 

On this date in 2017, Bryan won top honors as Math Coach. 

Risk opening up about your experience. It could be the opening someone needs. 

Bryan Howard had a couple of important jobs, and both involved middle-grade kids. Principal Howard guided kids at school, and he led at the local church’s Bible Club. 

In the sanctuary that day, Principal Howard noticed Brandon, one of his middle-school students. And this was the second or third Bible Club meeting Brandon had attended. Mr. Howard grinned. Like other eighth graders, Brandon was willing to listen to anyone (even Mr. Howard) talk for a few minutes—if it meant he would get to play for the church’s basketball league. 

The basketball league drew kids who otherwise probably wouldn’t be there. But it seemed as if Brandon and Mr. Howard lived worlds apart. 

Brandon had been in the principal’s office a few times, and not to talk basketball. If things didn’t change, Brandon’s consistent misbehavior was certain to land him in the county’s alternative school. 

Mr. Howard had tried to get through to Brandon, but the boy couldn’t see how Mr. Howard could ever understand his situation. And Brandon had created an image of the kind of kid God would like. He figured God only liked someone just like Mr. Howard. 

And Brandon would never fit that image. He had tons of badly packed baggage from his past, and his present circumstances weren’t anything to make a kid smile. His grades were under the scum at the bottom of the pond, and now he and his parents faced truancy court because of his poor attendance. Mr. Howard had asked God to help him get through to Brandon before it was too late. 

So at that Bible Club meeting, when Mr. Howard saw Brandon in the audience, he grinned. God was answering his prayer. 

Mr. Howard openly shared about having come from a broken home. He told how—before his parents finally decided to separate—he had often felt torn between them. His dad drank heavily, and neither of them attended church. 

Mr. Howard said that when he was a young teen, to escape his situation, he started smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol.  

Hmm. Maybe Mr. Howard and Brandon weren’t so different after all. 

After the separation, because the dad often worked late, Mr. Howard couldn’t bear coming home to an empty house. He usually stayed out late with his friends and went home when there was nowhere else to go. That pattern continued—until the night he found his father lying dead on the bedroom floor. The man had suffered a fatal heart attack. 

For months, Mr. Howard blamed himself for his father’s death. If only he had come home earlier, maybe he could have gotten his father to the hospital in time. The what-ifs tormented him to the point of attempting suicide. 

Luckily, one of his friends intervened. And this was the turning point. He faced the reality that trying to escape his pain through drugs and alcohol only increased the hurt. 

That’s when he decided to turn to the Lord for help. God showed him great mercy. And Mr. Howard experienced the amazing grace of God in his own life.  

He begged the audience to realize that God uses real-life, flawed people to show off His acceptance, forgiveness, and grace. 

Brandon gripped every word. It was as if Mr. Howard were telling Brandon’s life story. He often felt the same way. 

The Scripture pierced Brandon like a knife. Maybe he did have wrong ideas about God and the people who follow him. Could he put his past behind him like the principal had? He decided to ask Mr. Howard if they could talk, and this time he would listen. 

“Be merciful to those who doubt” (Jude 1:22 NIV). 

Risk opening up about your experience. It could be the opening someone needs. 

Story based upon an interview with Bryan Howard, 2019. 

Story read by Joel Carpenter 

December 13. David Ring. For nearly 45 years, David has shared his story of hope with more than 100,000 people a year. He speaks at high schools, colleges, military bases, hospitals, churches, and corporations. 

He and his wife Karen have four children and two grandchildren. ​His life has not been easy, but it has been full and productive. David says, “God took my greatest liability, and made it my greatest asset.” Here’s how it happened. 

We throw away broken things; God treasures them and puts them to work. 

The new kid just kept walking—if you could call it that. Even watching him walk up to the bus stop was painful. He was hunched over so far that he looked like a question mark missing its dot. It was as if David Ring were dragging his cerebral-palsy-racked body against its will, towing the weight of the world behind it. Other kids were a little freaked out. 

“What’s wrong with him?” 

“Is he some kind of retard or something?” 

“Hey retard, can’t you walk straight?” 

“What’s the matter? Retard got your tongue?” 

David was angry at the world and angry at God. He had declared war on life and everyone around him. As he staggered down the hall toward his next class, another student followed him, imitated his slurred speech and his stumbling walk. Everybody laughed. 

David entered the classroom, and his English teacher asked if he had his homework. 

“No, I ate it.” 

She corrected him. “You mean your dog ate it.” 

“No, I mean I ate it before you would have a chance to eat it.” 

David didn’t want to live any more. Taking his seat, he thought … just another day of torment. The same as yesterday and all the days before that. He just wanted it to end! 

When David got home, his older sister asked, “David, why don’t you go to church tonight? You know that God loves you.” He started to ignore her, but this time he decided to go. 

David stumbled into the church that evening and took a seat in the back. He would just put in his time and leave. But that night Jesus changed David’s life—forever. 

The next morning—in David’s body—a new person walked into school. Going down the hall David didn’t walk any more smoothly, but he was all smiles and said “Hi” to everyone. His classmates didn’t recognize him. 

After school, his psychology teacher reached out to him. “David, what happened to you?” 

He poured out his heart. 

She told David everyone needed to hear his story. “What this world does not need is another person who sounds like everyone else,” she said. And in time, David grew and became ready to tell his story. 

Ms. Myers arranged for a voluntary all-school assembly. She posted flyers: COME SEE THE BOY BORN DEAD. 

When the day of the assembly finally arrived, students and teachers came voluntarily to listen to someone speak to them. 

David could feel the silence. He got out of his seat and limped to the podium. As he took his first step, the gym erupted in cheering and clapping. He was overwhelmed. 

They were all there. The same kids who had been tormenting him. But after that day, his new smile brightened the hallways, the kids had started to get to know him. He had become the most popular boy in school. 

At the podium, he waited for the roar to end. 

“I—I was—born to lose. I was born dead. When I was born, I was a still-born baby. I was a dead baby. I was a blue baby. They put my body on a table in the corner and left me for dead for eighteen minutes. But it’s not over until God say it’s over.” 

“One night, I went to church. I didn’t want to go to church. I’d been to church, and I knew God didn’t love me. If God loved me, why God take away momma? Why God picking on me? God don’t even like me. But that night, … I found out that God does love me—and has a wonderful plan for my life. … I’m not okay, but that’s okay. God loves me just the way I am.” 

David paused. “We throw away broken things, but God don’t. God uses broken things. God saw a dead baby, and God brought that dead baby to life. And if I can live, I promise you can live, too. I have cerebral palsy … what’s your problem?” 

“Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed” (Deuteronomy 31:6, 8 NRSA).  

Lamb, Joni. “The Boy Born Dead, David Ring.” Son of God—Jesus Christ. Date Accessed: August 30, 2020. http://sonofgod49.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-boy-born-dead-david-ring-joni-table.html. 

Peterson, Scott and David Ring. A Story of a Champion. Dr. Scott Consulting, 2010. 

Ring, David, David Wideman and John Driver. The Boy Born Dead. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2015. 

Ring, David. I Am Second. White Chair Film, 2013. Date Accessed: August 14, 2020. https://youtu.be/rUEjnpeN-Is. 

Story read by Nathan Walker 

Story written by Thomas Mitchell, http://www.walkwithgod.org/ 

December 12. Alexander Mackay. When Mackay was three, he read the New Testament, and at seven, he read Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. His father taught him geography, astronomy, and geometry. From eleven on, Mackay got interested in engines, blacksmithing, and the trades, and then mathematics, photography, and even shipbuilding. But when he was sixteen, and his mother died, he threw himself into the Scriptures—and the direction of his life was set. 

When famous African explorer Henry Stanley challenged any brave Christian willing to spread the faith and work hard—to come to Uganda, Mackay was all in. He would go to Africa as an engineer-missionary. He would tell King Mutesa about King Jesus. 

Mackay hacked a road 230 miles through a jungle so dense “a cat could scarcely creep along.” He traveled—land and river—for 700 miles, navigated a battered boat over Lake Victoria (an inland sea as big as Ireland), all the while driven by his fierce love for God and a bold determination. He created an alphabet for the local unwritten language and taught boys to read the Lord’s Prayer. Mackay translated Matthew’s Gospel into Luganda. But he didn’t see the success he hoped for. 

However, within 6 years of Mackay’s death, 100,000 people had been brought into close contact with the Gospel, and half of them could read it for themselves. Native Christians had built 200 buildings where they worshipped God, and they supported 200 native evangelists and teachers. There were 10,000 copies of the New Testament circulating—“and all this in the center of the thickest spiritual darkness in the world.” Here’s his story.  

Driven by a fierce love for God, a man is unstoppable. 

Alexander Mackay stood before one of the most powerful men in the African interior—King Mutesa, who ruled with ruthless authority. The king even called for human sacrifices to appease the imaginary gods. Would the king believe what Mackay had to say? 

Although the king’s dark eyes invoked a kind of primal dread, Mackay wasn’t afraid. He stared right back at the king—eyeball-to-eyeball and thrilled to share the message of hope in Jesus. 

“I am here, O King, to prepare a way for the coming of God’s Son, and I want you to join me in pointing the people of this land to the Lamb of God, who alone can take away the sin of the world,” Mackay announced. 

Mutesa listened with interest, but he wasn’t convinced enough to submit to Mackay’s message. The king did allow Mackay to hold Sunday services so he could hear more of what God’s Word had to say. 

In the beginning, Mackay had a remarkable way of influencing Mutesa for good. But one day, Arab traders appeared at court and gave Mutesa guns, ammunition, and yards of red cloth—in exchange for male and female slaves. 

Mackay stepped in and objected. He asked Mutesa if he was willing to sell his own people to be chained, beaten, whipped, and taken to other lands. Was he willing that others should laugh about him and say, “That is how King Mutesa lets strangers treat his children!” With this, and other challenging words Mackay appealed to the king’s manhood. 

Mutesa talked it over with his chiefs and decided his people would not be slaves—but all the same, Mutesa remained a slave to sin. He continued raiding other tribes and offering gruesome human sacrifices to appease false gods. In fact, sin seemed to increase more and more. 

Mackay wrote in his diary, “… Every crime and form of uncleanness is rampant in the country. Each day reveals fresh tales of iniquity, cruelty, and oppression.” 

When Mutesa died, his son M’wanga took over, and things went from bad to so-much-worse. 

Mackay didn’t give up. Until the day he died, he served Christ faithfully in Africa. 

“All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. … And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, … These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect” (Hebrews 11: 13, 32, 33, 39, 40 NIV). 

Do you believe the victory belongs to God? Are you willing to commit the hard times to God and not give up? Driven by a fierce love for God, a man is unstoppable. 

Note: Mutesa is also sometimes spelled Mtesa. 

Boone, Ilsley. The Conquering Christ. Boston: Bible Study Publishing Company, 1910. 

Harrison, Eugene Meyers. “Alexander Mackay: Road-Maker for Christ in Uganda.” Missionary Biographies. Date Accessed: August 14, 2020. https://www.wholesomewords.org/missions/biomackay.html. 

Lambert, John C. “Alexander Mackay, The Hero of Uganda.” Missionary Biographies. Date Accessed: August 14, 2020. https://www.wholesomewords.org/missions/biomackay7.html. 

Mathews, Basil. “Alexander Mackay: Fighting the Slave Trade (1878).” Missionary Biographies. Date Accessed: August 14, 2020. https://www.wholesomewords.org/missions/biomackay13.html. 

Story read by Chuck Stecker 

Story written by Toni M Babcock, https://www.facebook.com/toni.babcock.1 

December 11. Ulrich Zwingli. Zwingli was born a few months after Martin Luther, and they both served in Zurich. They both were Catholic priests, and they both wrote lengthy theses detailing the errors they saw in the Roman Catholic Church. But they were acting independently. 

Zwingli said, “Before anyone in the area had ever heard of Luther, I began to preach the gospel of Christ in 1516 … I followed Holy Scripture alone.” 

On this date in 1518, Zwingli was elected stipendiary priest, and after he became a priest, he taught himself to read Greek so he could read the New Testament.  

Next, he bought a copy of the Latin translation by Erasmus, and he fell in love with the Scriptures. One of Zwingli’s biggest contributions to the Reformation was that he began a practice of preaching systematically through the Scriptures. The people were at last hearing the Word of God. Here is his story.  

Doing what is right is not always safe, but it can demonstrate God’s kindness. 

When Ulrich Zwingli arrived at the healing hot springs of Pfeffers, he was hoping for a much-needed rest. He had worked so long and hard in his first year of pastoring at Zurich, it led to exhaustion. It weakened his health. His co-workers had told him before he could help anyone else, he needed to recuperate. 

But only a few days at the hot springs had passed when a messenger showed up and handed Zwingli a letter. He tore open the seal. It was probably just a simple update. But no! 

The plague had come to Zurich! He suddenly found it hard to breathe. 

With shaking hands, he lowered the letter, and his body felt like he was made of molten lead. His friends, even some of his family, were still in Zurich … not to mention the thousands of innocent souls—ones he ministered to. They would need him. He had to get home to Zurich. He had to care for the people who were about to die. No one survived the plague. 

He hurried back to Zurich, but his home was deserted. The students who had been studying there were gone. The only person left was Ulrich’s younger brother, Andrew, and Ulrich ordered him to get back to where their family was at Wildhaus, away from Zurich, so he wouldn’t get the plague. It was terrifyingly contagious. 

Immediately, Ulrich went to work. With all the strength and compassion he could muster, he visited the homes of the dead and dying to minister to them any way he could. 

When the ill and dying saw him, they were moved by his kind demeanor and uplifting spirit. He reminded them that God was still there with them despite their suffering, and he comforted them. But Ulrich’s friends were worried he would catch the plague, too. “Perform your duty,” one of the friends said, “but at the same time be careful to guard your own life.” 

But Ulrich did not listen; he had his duty, the people needed him, and he continued to work long hours. Soon the plague claimed him, too. 

The disease hit him furiously, taking advantage of his already-weakened immune system, wracking his body with chills and pain. He was bound to bed, and the plague ravaged his entire body. He knew he was going to die. “Help, Lord God, help in this trouble! I think Death is at the door,” he wrote. “The illness increases; pain and fear seize my soul and body. Come to me, then, with Thy grace, O my only consolation!” 

Word spread quickly of the minister’s demise, and an already-suffering population felt despair that such a kind-hearted man was dying. Word spread to his family in Wildhaus, where totally distraught, Andrew sent a letter to Zurich begging for news. “Tell me in what state you are, my dear brother,” Andrew pleaded, but he got no reply. 

Rumors swirled about that Ulrich was dying. Overwhelmed with grief, his family, his friends, and the people he ministered to came together day and night to pray that Ulrich might be healed, despite the fact that surviving the plague was almost impossible. 

But they would not give up. Ulrich Zwingli had supported them in their time of need. Now, they would support him. 

They prayed when they heard no news. They prayed when rumors swirled that Ulrich had already died. They prayed when they didn’t know what else to do and all hope seemed to be lost. 

And suddenly, word came. The disease had been defeated. Their pastor was recovering and would survive. Almost half the population of Zurich had perished, but Ulrich Zwingli was spared. 

“I think I am already coming back!” Ulrich wrote in gratitude. The people rejoiced and praised God at their answered prayer, and word went to his family’s home in Wildhaus to spread the good news. Ulrich recovered, gradually gained back his strength and stamina, and returned to minister to the people who had prayed for him. 

“Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God” (1 Peter 5:2 NLT). 

When doing your duty is costly, where can you turn for support? Doing what is right is not always safe, but it can demonstrate God’s kindness. 

Blackburn, Rev. William M. Ulrich Zwingli: The Patriotic Reformer, A History. Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1868. Internet Archive. Accessed: February 18, 2019.  

Jackson, Samuel Macauley, ed. The Latin Works and The Correspondence of Huldreich Zwingli, Together with Selections from His German Works, Volume One 1510–1522. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1912. Internet Archive.  Accessed: February 18, 2019. 

Simpson, Samuel. Life of Ulrich Zwingli: The Swiss Patriot and Reformer. New York: The Baker & Taylor Co., 1902. Internet Archive. Accessed: February 18, 2019. 

Story read by Daniel Carpenter.  

December 10. Francis Schaeffer. On this date in 1930, Schaeffer pledged to give his life for God’s service. 

Eighteen years later, Schaeffer and his family became missionaries to Switzerland. Within seven years, he established L’Abri, a spiritual community which attracted thousands of followers in the following years. 

At first, the Schaeffers opened their home to visitors who wanted to talk about Jesus and philosophy. Visitors were called students, and they spent from a day to several months at L’Abri. Soon more houses opened in the area, and Schaeffer took on a staff, who were available to talk with visitors. After study time, students helped with cooking, cleaning, and household maintenance—based on Schaeffer’s belief that Christianity took in the whole of life. 

Schaeffer also wrote at least thirty-nine books. His How Should We Then Live? was so well-received, a documentary film series based on the book was produced, and the book served as the basis for ten major films. Today’s story focuses on Schaeffer when he first started college. 

To reach the stubborn, speak the language of perseverance. 

“Alright,” the bully told a still-bleeding Francis Schaeffer, “but only if you’ll carry me.” 

Schaeffer hadn’t expected to hear that. 

Moments earlier, the tall bully had thrown a can of talcum powder into Schaeffer’s face. The can clipped him above the eye, and blood dripped down his brow. The dispute wasn’t over a girl or money or even pride. It was over a prayer meeting. 

Schaeffer, then a 20-something first-year college student, had repeatedly invited the other student to attend a prayer meeting in his dorm. And the young man, agitated at Schaeffer’s persistence, finally snapped. He didn’t want to go. He didn’t want to pray. He didn’t want religion. 

Perhaps Schaeffer should have expected it. Or ducked. 

The college was a mixture of sinners and saints. Some of the young men wanted to party hardy. Others, like Schaeffer, wanted to spread the gospel. Confrontation was bound to happen. Given Schaeffer’s perseverance, it was a matter of how soon and how loud. 

Schaeffer’s dorm was infamous and had a reputation for mischief. Students brought their rifles to the building and tucked them away in the corners. They would use them to kill mice and to shoot out the light bulbs in the stairwell. Just for fun. 

The guys went out on Saturday nights and stumbled back after midnight, drunk and undeterred by the prohibition laws and college rules. 

They also relentlessly hazed the freshmen. If the freshmen disobeyed an upperclassman’s orders, they got spanked with a stick or paddle. Ministerial students like Schaeffer received the harshest treatment. He endured the beatings for a few weeks, but then broke the code by fighting back and pinning his tormentor to the ground. 

The hazing stopped. 

Professors rarely stepped foot in that dorm. Pre-Schaeffer, the Student Christian Association also wanted nothing to do with that dorm, though they organized prayer meetings in every other dorm on the campus.  

And then Schaeffer arrived. He was courageous and daring and even a little reckless. A year earlier, he had pledged his life to God’s service. 

He wanted to see men transformed by the gospel—no matter the cost. Even if his boldness for Christ resulted in insults. Even if it resulted in pain. Even if it resulted in a talcum-powder projectile to the head. 

After he was hit, Schaeffer didn’t punch the boy. At five-feet-six to the bully’s six-feet-two, that was a sound decision. Instead, Schaeffer did the unthinkable. He repeated the invitation. That’s when the bully agreed to attend … if Schaeffer would carry him. 

Perhaps he thought Schaeffer was too weak. Maybe he figured Schaeffer wouldn’t try. 

But Schaeffer, still bleeding, used the same technique firemen still use today. He bent over, heaved the tall guy over his shoulders and upper back, and stood upright. He navigated precariously down the dark stairwell and into the meeting room, where he set the guy down. 

Schaeffer—persistent and patient—had won. 

“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13 ESV). 

How do you respond when others challenge or even mock your beliefs? To reach the stubborn, speak the language of perseverance. 

Duriez, Colin. Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2005. 

“Alumnus Francis Schaeffer and the Spirit of L’Abri.” History. Accessed August 14, 2020. https://www.cogito-hsc.org/​our-history/. 

Roberts, Mostyn. Francis Schaeffers. Bitesize Biographies Book 1. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Evangelical Press, 2012. 

Story read by Chuck Stecker 

December 8. Tim Tebow. As a quarterback for University of Florida, on this date in 2007, Tim won the Heisman Trophy—the first sophomore to ever earn that honor. He also won two national championships and went on to the NFL. 

Then he switched to baseball and signed on with an AA minor-league team. He used his football savings to upgrade the team’s meals and buy equipment for them. The next season he was called to the New York Jets. 

He founded the Tim Tebow Foundation and started a movement that has swept the nation. It’s called A Night to Shine, and it’s a local church-supported extravaganza for people with special needs. Churches staff the place with trainers, hairdressers, makeup people, and escorts. They dress up the guests of honor and treat them to an evening prom with all the trimmings. 

Tim said, “Being outspoken about my faith isn’t just something that I do; it’s who I am because my faith isn’t just a little piece of my life. It is my life.” 

Sometimes, the best way to stand up for what you believe is to kneel. 

Before he played baseball, Tim Tebow played football. Before his Florida-Gator years—when he led his college team to win two division championships, before the day he won the Heisman Trophy, before he began his professional-football career with the Denver Broncos and three other NFL teams, Tebow was a high-school sophomore who loved Jesus. 

The scent of the crisp autumn air mixed with popcorn and tangible excitement. Fans in green-and-white filled the bleachers. Friday-night high-school-football had begun. With more energy than a boatload of Red Bull, the cheerleaders led the crowd, and the Allen D. Nease High School football team took the field. 

The display of testosterone coupled with deep calls of “Let’s do this!” And the crowd yelled even louder. They could feel the win that was headed their way. 

Then one player put a little distance between himself and his teammates, and he knelt. On the field, in front of all those people, he knelt. He thanked God for the opportunity and his ability to play. 

And after the game—Tim knelt and thanked God again—an action that would become known in the NFL as “tebowing.” 

During his sophomore year, Tebow was brutally tackled early in the game. And after he got up, he limped a bit. 

“It’s just a bruise, toughen up,” the coach said. “He didn’t want to come out anyway, so I told him, ‘This is the stuff legends are made of. Keep going, keep going.’” 

As the game wore on Tim’s limp became more and more obvious. He hobbled through the fourth quarter. And as he ran twenty-nine yards for a touchdown to tie up the score, Tebow’s gait resembled a toddler tottering urgently to seize a toy. 

By the end of the game, Tebow could hardly stand. But he managed to kneel after the game and thank God for the opportunity and his ability to play. 

After the game when they x-rayed his leg, it showed a fracture—a jagged break. 

The God before whom Tim Tebow knelt is the same God who gave Tim enough strength and perseverance to play almost an entire game of football on a broken leg. And God gave Tim the perseverance that led him to play professional baseball after his football career ended. 

“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all you do be done in love.” (1 Corinthians 16:33 ESV). 

What do you believe in so much that you would stand for, even if others do not? Sometimes, the best way to stand up for what you believe is to kneel. 

Borden, Sam. “Backup to Starter to Phenomenon. Repeat.” New York Times. March 30, 2012. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/31/sports/football/mania-for-tim-tebow-rooted-in-big-moments.html.  

Peter, Josh. “Tim Tebow not happy about ‘Tebowing’ being brought into national anthem protests debate.” USA Today. June 8, 2018. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2018/06/08/tim-tebow-kneeling-national-anthem/686533002/. 

Townsend, Mark. “Tim Tebow fires back at people misrepresenting ‘Tebowing’ photo as national anthem protest.” AOL. June 10, 2018. https://www.aol.com/article/news/2018/06/10/tim-tebow-fires-back-at-people-misrepresenting-tebowing-photo-as-national-anthem-protest/23455303/. 

Story read by Nathan Walker 

December 6. John Perkins. John was born on a Southern plantation, with no father and a mother who died when he was seven months old. She died of malnutrition—in 1930—in the United States. John went on to become janitor, welder, equipment designer, Bible teacher, civil-rights activist, and community developer, and he has written fifteen books. On this date in 2006, John published Let Justice Roll Down. 

He has spent 50 years leading demonstrations and filing lawsuits on behalf of Black Americans regarding equal pay, hiring practices, poor treatment of inmates, and voting rights, and he always champions forgiveness. 

At the time of this writing, John is 89 years old and still fighting against racism and for justice and forgiveness. About continued racism in the US, John wrote: “This is a God-sized problem. It is one that only the church, through the power of the Holy Spirit, can heal. It requires the quality of love that only our Savior can provide.” 

Out-love the people who live to hate. 

In the early seventies in the deep south—long after slavery had ended—bigotry and segregation persisted vigorously. But John Perkins and his supporters had made up their minds to change that. 

After some supporters attended a peaceful civil-rights protest in the streets of Brenden, Mississippi, they got into their cars and headed home. Suddenly the sound of police sirens broke their laughter. They pulled to the curb, lights flashed behind them, and officers approached their vehicle. 

One by one, the protesters were escorted from the car, arrested—and beaten without cause. The police stuffed the men into patrol cars and drove them to the county jail. 

Perkins, a local leader who had organized the protest, got word of what had happened, and raced to the jail to get his innocent friends out. 

But the Sheriff of Brenden was a member of the Ku Klux Klan and not at all happy about the uprising Perkins had started. So, when Perkins arrived at the jail, he met the fury of the local police force and was brutally attacked. The corrupt policemen dragged Perkins into the jailhouse. 

From the cold, concrete floor of the jail cell, Perkins cried out for mercy, as round-after-round of feet, fists, and clubs landed on his head, ribs, and groin. Perkins realized the same hate was rising in him, too. “I discovered that I hated them back, and I hated them as much as they hated me. I saw that I was a bigot, too.” 

Perkins told God that if He got him out of that jail alive, he would dedicate his life to preaching the Gospel. The Gospel would overcome the hate that he saw in them, and in himself. 

Days later, in his hospital room, Perkins was surrounded by the steady beep of a heart monitor, the chatter of nurses in the hall—and a staff of kind, white people. But he wanted nothing to do with them. 

“One of my Doctors was white. He would come and sit with me every night at the hospital until I’d go to sleep … I was out-loved by those people I needed to hate,” Perkins said. 

Through this first-hand experience with the power of hatred, Perkins had come to see its root—not as a racial problem—but as a spiritual problem. 

He realized we all need the Savior. We all need to be healed. Miraculously, Perkins was transformed by the Spirit of God and was able to sincerely forgive. He returned good for evil, and God filled him with a love for his enemies. 

“How satisfied you are when you demonstrate tender mercy! For tender mercy will be demonstrated to you” (Matthew 5:7 TPT). 

Is there an injustice you’ve encountered that could be overcome with God’s love? Out-love the people who live to hate. 

“Improving Race Relations: An interview with John Perkins.” Accessed August 16, 2020. https://youtu.be/fG5YNduwF-Y .  

 Perkins, John M. Let Justice Roll Down. Ada, Michigan: Baker Books, 2012.  

Story read by Nathan Walker 

Story written by Shelli Mandeville, https://worthy.life/