Podcast: 365 Christian Men

December 16. Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell was a politician and Puritan. He believed men could go directly to God without a go-between, and he was willing to defend his belief with his life. 

In the 1600s, civil war broke out in England with the Parliament fighting against the King. Cromwell led the Parliament Army. The King believed in his “divine right for absolute authority” and used his station to try to eliminate the Puritans from England. The King and Parliament wanted control of the army. Like any civil war, it was hideous—a country’s people fighting their own. 

On this date in 1653, Cromwell became Lord Protector of England—the title one uses to say “I am in charge” when the authority of the king has been denied. Cromwell’s side won, and he lived to fight many more battles. His army loved him, Puritans like John Owen and John Milton supported him, and foreign rulers admired him. But many saw him as harsh, and the Royalists still hated him. Eventually, Cromwell died of malaria. 

Two years later, the King’s men dug up Cromwell’s body, hanged it, cut off its head, and hoisted his head on a pole at Westminster Hall. Today’s story is about one of the battles of the civil war. 

The duty to protect the vulnerable goes beyond all boundaries. 

In the Battle at Marston Moor, 4,000 sons and brothers and fathers and uncles died. The King’s soldiers and the Parliament’s soldiers lay together on the battlefield. 

And when the battle finally ended, a few parents and siblings picked their way among the bloody bodies across the field of battle. They searched for their dead; they wanted to bring them home. It had been a hard-fought victory. 

With those families, Cromwell—a leader on the Parliament’s side—walked that field. 

He thought of his nephew. During the battle, young Walton had been hit by cannon fire. Medical help had arrived, but failed to save the boy’s life. Cromwell would have to write to his sister and brother-in-law. He would have to let them know Walton had died with dignity. 

Stepping around a body, Cromwell noticed a young woman ahead, stepping carefully among the fallen. She searched each of the faces. Clearly, she was looking for someone. This was no place for a young woman. Didn’t she know the battlefield was a gruesome place to be? 

And it was dangerous. Despite the military presence, looters still polluted the fields. And if she were related to the King’s men … the victorious Parliament might count her an enemy. 

He hurried toward her. Whether friend or foe, for her own safety, she had to get off this battlefield. 

As he got near, she must have felt his presence for she looked up. And she looked panic-stricken. 

But he raised a palm to her and showed what compassion he could in his face. He saw her panic dissolve into grief. Overwhelming loss. 

Poor child. Cromwell asked her name. 

She was called Mary. Wife of Charles Townley of Lancashire—a member of the King’s Army and from a prominent Catholic family. The people Cromwell’s side had defeated in battle the previous day. 

Though he knew the awful answer, he asked about her business at the battlefield. 

She was searching for Charles’s body. 

Cromwell listened to her intently, and he recognized the kind of sorrow she had. That was all he needed to know. The woman could not bring her Charles back, and many of the dead had already been buried. She risked her life just being there, especially with her connections to the King. 

Despite her bravery, he gently urged her to seek the safety of her home. Not only would she find the close-up view of the horrors of war traumatizing, but she could easily be attacked or killed. He implored her to think of her own safety, to return to the family who needed her, especially now. It didn’t take long to convince her to go home. She complied and turned back to find the road. 

But Cromwell would not let her go alone. Vagabonds and looters threatened even outside of the fields. So, he called for one of his own troopers, one he trusted, to escort her back and make sure that no one would harm her. The trooper arrived, mounted her on his horse, and set off. 

Cromwell didn’t tell her his name. There was no need to frighten her. Would she have accepted his help if she knew he was one of the leaders of Parliament’s armies? He didn’t know. Nor did it matter. What mattered was that she got home safely. And when his trooper returned to confirm Mary’s safe return, Cromwell was satisfied. Too many had been lost in the Battle of Marston Moor, but at least one life could be saved. 

“A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling” (Psalm 68:5 NIV). 

Think of someone you know who may lack a protector. How can you be there for them? The duty to protect the vulnerable goes beyond all boundaries. 

Hood, Edwin Paxton. Oliver Cromwell: His Life, Times, Battlefields, and Contemporaries. New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1883. Accessed January 16, 2019. https://archive.org/details/olivercromwellh01hoodgoog. 

Morley, John, M.P. Oliver Cromwell. New York: The Century Co., 1900. Accessed January 16, 2019. https://archive.org/details/olivercromwellby004057mbp. 

Story read by Chuck Stecker 

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 

March 1. John Quincy Adams. Adams was a man of integrity with his mind made up to use whatever skills and talents he had to serve the country that loved. 

One evening early in 1821, a certain politician visited Adams and let him know that he was being considered as a candidate for the presidency. 

“To one thing, however, I had made up my mind,” Adams said. “I would take no one step to advance or promote pretensions to the Presidency—If that office was to be the prize of cabal and intrigue, of purchasing Newspapers, bribing by appointments or bargaining for foreign Missions, I had no ticket in that Lottery. … I will devote none of my time to devising laws to increase my own patronage, and multiply canvassers in my favour. …” 

Of course, he did become the sixth President of the United States. And that prestigious office didn’t change him. He refused to play politics and make deals. Today’s story tells how that went. On this date in 1841, twelve years after he left the presidency, Adams persuaded the US Supreme Court to free wrongly-imprisoned men, men who had been kidnapped and were to be forced into slavery. 

Even when we’re defeated, God has a plan. 

When Adams was elected President of the United States, he believed he had reached the pinnacle of his career because his single-minded goal had always been to serve his country. And what better opportunity could there be? 

But on every proposal, he battled Congress. They refused to support anything he wanted to do, and they brought the government to a halt. His term ended, and when he ran for re-election the voters trounced him. He wrote: “The sun of my political life sets in the deepest gloom.” He had set out to serve his country, to use his skills for the good of the people, and he had failed. 

But soon, some men asked Adams to run for Congress. His wife and his son were mortified; they wanted no more public humiliation. But Adams saw only an opportunity to serve his nation. 

He accepted the call on two conditions: he would not affiliate with any political party, and he would run without campaigning. If the people wanted him to serve, they would elect him. 

And they did. 

Nine consecutive times. Eighteen years in the House of Representatives. 

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28 NASB). 

Adams detested slavery and what it did to human beings, and he wanted it abolished. This caused his Southern colleagues to disdain him. 

Instead of assigning him to Foreign Affairs, in which he had extensive experience, they put him on the Committee of Manufactures—a sphere he knew nothing about. To keep him from bringing up slavery on the House floor, they instituted the “Gag Rule” and forbid the mention of the word slavery in House proceedings. 

But Adams had purposed to serve his country, and he wasn’t going to let his opponents stop him. He learned House rules and circumvented the Gag Rule. Into the House record, he read citizens’ petitions for abolition. He read them constantly. And he read them loudly—over his opponents’ loud protests. 

Adams investigated manufacturing issues until he discovered the economic tie between cotton manufacturing and slavery, and he used that to strike a major blow against slavery. 

After years of battling slavery, seventy-four-year-old Adams argued before the Supreme Court for the acquittal and freedom of kidnapped Africans, who had mutinied aboard the ship Amistad. 

Summoning all his mastery of language and law, combined with his firm belief that slavery was “a sin before the sight of God,” his impassioned speech persuaded the Justices, a majority of whom were slaveholders themselves, to his point of view. The Africans were returned to their native land, free. 

In the Amistad case, Adams told the Justices his hope for each of them was that they would “be received at the portals of the next life with the approving sentence, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of the Lord.’” 

Have you ever seen a defeat turned to greater opportunities for you to serve and glorify God? Even when we’re defeated, God has a plan. 

Unger, Harlow Giles. John Quincy Adams. Boston: Da Capo Press, 2012, p. 256. 

Hogan, Margaret A. “John Quincy Adams.” Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. Accessed September 26, 2018. https://millercenter.org/president/jqadams.  

Story read by Chuck Stecker 

Would You Like to Learn More About This Man? 

See The Diaries of John Quincy Adams https://www.amazon.com/​Diaries-John-Quincy-Adams-1779–1848/​dp/​1598535218/​ref=sr_​1_​1?_ie=UTF8&qid=1538080723&sr=8–1&keywords=john+quincy+adams. 

September 10. Thomas Cranmer. Cranmer was a leader of the English Reformation, and he was the Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of two kings and a queen of England.  

Cranmer loved God and was sincere in his beliefs. His story is one of hope for people who sometimes make mistakes. On this date in 1533, Cranmer became godfather to the then-future Queen Elizabeth. 

When success gets you slander, stand firm in the truth. 

When Cranmer became the Archbishop of Canterbury, he suddenly faced a slew of accusations. People started rumors saying he wasn’t educated enough to be in such a high position in the country and the Church. 

One time, in an alehouse in Yorkshire, England, a fellow priest had been gossiping among his neighbors. No doubt enjoying the attention, the ability to make his neighbors laugh, and the pleasure of being “in the know,” the priest claimed that Cranmer had as much education as a gosling. 

This was not the land of free speech, and in that time and place that kind of talk landed the gossipy priest in prison. Worse, after eight or nine weeks of punishment, what the priest had said was reported to the Archbishop. 

Cranmer didn’t seem at all threatened by the priest’s idle talk, but the Archbishop was eager to put the rumors to rest. He got the priest out of prison, invited the priest to the palace, and offered to let the priest quiz him. The gossipy priest could now get proof of just how ill-educated Cranmer was. 

The priest accepted the invitation (it being a time and place one did not turn down the invitation of an Archbishop). He met Cranmer in the garden of Lambeth Palace, where the Archbishop was sitting under a vine, waiting. Right off, brother-to-brother, Cranmer asked why the priest had said such hurtful words about him. The priest, eager for an excuse, admitted it was probably the drink at the alehouse that had caused him to do it. 

Cranmer listened with respect. And he allowed that enough drink could loosen many tongues. But now that the priest was there, he could finally learn the truth about how educated Cranmer was. “You may oppose me, to know what learning I have,” Cranmer said. “Begin in grammar if you will, or else in philosophy and other sciences, or divinity.” 

But the priest knew he couldn’t question anyone in those areas. “I have no manner of learning in the Latin tongue,” he replied. He knew only English. 

Cranmer nodded. There would be no questions in Latin, nor would the priest be quizzing him in such worldly matters. Perhaps a Bible quiz would suffice. Surely, as a priest, he would know the Scriptures, and Cranmer used the opportunity to quiz the priest instead. 

Cranmer asked if the priest had read the Bible. 

Of course. He was a priest. He nodded. “Yes—that we do daily.” This would not be so bad, the priest thought. 

“Who was David’s father?” Cranmer asked. 

The priest stood still. “I … cannot surely tell, Your Grace.” 

“Who was Solomon’s father?” 

The priest answered that he didn’t really look at genealogies. 

By this time Cranmer had already proven that his own education wasn’t low or poor. The King wouldn’t have appointed him to be Archbishop if he weren’t prepared. 

Cranmer looked to the priest, scolding him gently as a fellow minister, who wanted to make sure his brother learned his lesson. “God amend you,” he said, “and from henceforth, learn to be an honest man, or at least a reasonable man.” 

The priest nodded again, and obviously felt very sorry. He had been wrong to spread such a false and hurtful rumor. 

The Archbishop sent the priest—not back to prison—but to his home. 

“So also the tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do. A great forest can be set on fire by one tiny spark.And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is full of wickedness, and poisons every part of the body. And the tongue is set on fire by hell itself and can turn our whole lives into a blazing flame of destruction and disaster” (James 3: 5-6 TLB). 

Have you ever faced slander or gossip from people who didn’t celebrate your success? How might you deal with words meant to hurt you? When success gets you slander, stand in the truth and find peace. 

Mason, Arthur James. Thomas Cranmer. London: Methuen & Co. 1898. Internet Archive. March 19, 2019. 

Nichols, John Gough, editor. Narratives of the Days of the Reformation: Chiefly from the Manuscripts of John Foxe the Martyrologist; with Two Contemporary Biographies of Archbishop Cranmer. Westminster: The Camden Society, 1859. Internet Archive. March 19, 2019. 

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

Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter 

Audio production: Joel Carpenter 

Editor: Teresa Crumpton, https://authorspark.org/ 

Project manager: Blake Mattocks 

© 2020, 365 Christian Men. LLC. All rights reserved. 

September 9. Oswald Jeffrey Smith. At an RA Torrey conference Oswald became a Christian at age 16. About 14 years later, he founded The Peoples Church in Toronto in 1928. On September 9, 1928, he preached his first service to an audience of 2000. 

Several missionary boards turned him down, saying he was too physically frail for the mission field. 

But Oswald lived in the power of the endless life of Christ and served eighty years in the ministry, preached more than 12,000 sermons in 80 countries, and wrote thirty-five books. His life didn’t go the way he had plan, but it did go. Here’s his story. 

Hearing “no” could lead to an unexpected “yes.” 

Oswald grew up in a small, country town. A sickly boy, his parents and doctors questioned whether he would reach adulthood. He was absent from school on and off, and eventually missed two entire years of school. 

But Oswald defeated the odds, and at 16, went to Toronto to hear an evangelist preach. He listened to that evangelist, and his heart was caught. That’s what he wanted to be. And he didn’t want to be only an evangelist; he wanted to be a missionary. He wanted to travel to places God wanted him to and tell anyone he could about the gospel. 

With his trip to Toronto stamped in his heart forever, he decided that was the place to be. So, when he turned 18, he moved there and started attending evening classes at Toronto Bible College, his longing to be a missionary burning strong inside. 

Finally, when the doors opened, he applied for an appointment in the mission field through the church. On the precipice of his dream coming true, excitement brewing inside, he was told “no.” He had been too weak and sick when he was a young boy, they said. He would never be suited for the mission field. 

Oswald struggled with the rejection and disappointment, but he wouldn’t give up. If God had put this in his heart, God would be faithful to bring it to pass. 

Oswald took a job selling Bibles door-to-door for the Bible Society. It was a way to make money and allowed him to travel a bit, meet new people, and talk to them about God and His Word. 

He was so good at selling Bibles that the Bible Society sent him to Vancouver, some thirty miles away. Meeting this person and that, he made his way up the coast, making contacts with a variety of people and local pastors. Sometimes he would make a call to a lumber camp or to a home in the middle of nowhere. All the while, he spoke to these people about God, His Word, and the truth written there. 

Traveling farther and farther through the country, he wound up near the native people. He preached to them and sold them Bibles. It was there that a Methodist missionary noticed Oswald and asked if he would be willing to stay through the winter as his associate and minister to the Indians. 

Oswald said, “Yes.” 

It wasn’t the way he thought it would go. He had thought he would sign up at the church and take an assignment in the mission field and in an orderly fashion, off he would go. No. God took a different route. A longer route, an out-of-the-way route. But the destination was the same. 

“The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his ways.” (Psalm 37:23 NKJV)   

What disappointments are you dealing with? Hearing “no” could lead to an unexpected “yes.” 

Hull, John D. “Oswald J. Smith.” Online Encyclopedia of Canadian Christian Leaders. Accessed June 27, 2020. https: //www.canadianchristianleaders.org/leader/pauline-vanier-2–2-2/ 

“Osward Jeffery Smith, Pastor, Evangelist.” Believer’s Web. March 17, 2003. https: //believersweb.org/view.cfm? ID=130 

Story read by: Nathan Walker 

Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter 

Audio production: Joel Carpenter 

Editor: Teresa Crumpton, https://authorspark.org/ 

Project manager: Blake Mattocks 

© 2020, 365 Christian Men. LLC. All rights reserved.