The famed Presbyterian preacher Clarence McCartney was once driving across Chicago with popular politician William Jennings Bryan. They passed the Chicago Coliseum where in 1896 Bryan won the nomination of the Democratic Party as their presidential candidate. He made a speech on that occasion in defense of the gold standard and closed it by saying, “You shall not crucify mankind upon crosses of...
Bernice Washington, a businesswoman, author, and motivational speaker was one of five children raised by her sharecropper father who worked in a Louisiana cotton field.
One of the great lessons of life he taught her happened when a schoolmate said to her, “Bernice, you are poor; your brother is poor; your sister is poor; in fact, your entire family is poor.” This pronouncement over her...
Former heavyweight boxing champion of the world and preacher George Foreman paid an unexpected visit to our church. I asked him to share his testimony in three minutes – that’s how long a round is in the ring.
He told our people, “A man once asked me, ‘How can you be a preacher and a boxer at the same time?’ I told him, 'Here, hold my Bible and I’ll show you.'”
That’s what the w...
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor/theologian who was executed by Adolph Hitler for participating in a plot to kill the Führer. In a biography of his life, he describes Christ as a man “for others.” Then he reminds us that the church, as the body of Christ on earth, is a community in which Christ dwells and like Christ himself, exists “for others.” In other words, we are not here...
I have an old root in my backyard that just won’t die. Every spring I chop it back, and in a few weeks new shoots sprout out of it. Bitterness is like that. It dies hard. But we must kill it out of our lives completely or it will kill us. (Hebrews 12:15)
In a conversation with his soon-to-be-wife, the British reformer William Wilberforcer alluded to the difficulties he encountered in P...
Christian author Jill Briscoe tells of going into a child’s room once and seeing a poster on the wall showing a little boy after a football match. At the top it said, “I quit.” And the little boy's body language was saying it all, sitting dejected and alone on the bench. But on the bottom of the poster was a cross and in little letters it said, “I didn’t.”
When I feel like quitting, I i...
Years ago, Milton Jowers, Athletic Director of Texas State University and one of the winningest football and basketball coaches in America became a Christian. When he came forward to confess his faith in Christ he said to me, “Preacher, don’t put me on the bench. I want to get in the game.”
Some Christians have been sitting on the bench so long that they have an ingrown shirttail. Are y...
We begin our lives with great hopes and aspirations about our careers, our marriages, our children. Then something happens. Our career goes south, our marriage goes sour, our children go awry, and our dreams are shattered.
If that’s happened to you, hang on to hope.
Meadowlark Lemon, the old Harlem Globetrotter star, said, “The most useless statistic in sports is the halftime sc...
One of the greatest blessings of life is a Christian home. It is a source of strength and help for all of life. An essential ingredient in a Christian home is a family altar. You cannot have a Christian home in the fullest sense of the word without it.
What is a family altar? It is not a piece of furniture or a place. It is an event. It is a time when the family joins together for worsh...
Knute Rockne was one of the greatest football coaches ever. In his 13 years at Notre Dame, his teams won 105 games, lost 12, and tied 5. He never had a secret practice. In fact, he sometimes put up a sign for visitors that said, “Secret practice. Come and bring your notebooks.”
On one occasion when an Army scout missed a train connection and didn’t get to the Notre Dame game he was to cover, Rockne obligingly sent him the plays he planned to use against the West Point men. He explained his actions by saying, “It isn’t the play that wins; it’s the execution.”
All great coaches agree: champions are made by majoring on the fundamentals – blocking and tackling. They execute well. Teams seldom win by trick plays or gimmicks.
The same is true of life. Tricks and gimmicks will seldom get you to the top in any endeavor and can never keep you there. Major on the basics in all of life – work hard, honor God, be honest, kind and helpful to others, and go to church regularly.