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 | Jonathan’s Resource Ezine |
Weekly Resources, Ideas and Articles from The Source for Youth Ministry
Tuesday, June 20, 2000
| In This Issue |
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| Finishing Strong: A Tribute to Bill McKee |
June 20, 2000
Two weeks ago I said good-bye to my grandfather . . . one week ago I went to his funeral.
Bill McKee was my grandfather. Last week we celebrated the legacy he left behind. My grandfather finished strong. One of my relatives, Mike stood up at his funeral and shared the story of when he first met my grandfather. It was in the early 70’s at a good sized church in Los Gatos, CA. Mike shared how he, a drug-using hippy, walked into the church and the first person to notice him was Bill McKee. My grandfather walked over to him and sat by him and made him feel welcome, eventually, getting him involved in the church. Many people shared stories of my grandfather’s love and service to God over the years.
As we all shared about Bill McKee’s legacy- we were proud to testify that he finished strong. He made a commitment to Christ when my father was a little boy and raised a family that has been anchored to Jesus Christ since. It’s a sad fact that not many of us will finish strong.
The following is an edited excerpt from Steve Farrar’s book Finishing Strong:
You’ve heard of Billy Graham. But what about Chuck Templeton or Bron Clifford? Have you ever heard of them?
Billy Graham wasn’t the only young preacher packing auditoriums in 1945. Chuck Templeton and Bron Clifford were accomplishing the same thing ? and more. All three young men were in their mid-twenties. One seminary president after hearing Chuck Templeton preach on evening to an audience of thousands, called him “the most gifted and talented young man in America today for preaching.”
Templeton and Graham were friends. Both ministered for Youth for Christ. Both were extraordinary preachers. Yet in those early years, most observers would probably have put their money on Templeton. As a matter of fact, in 1946, the National Association of Evangelicals published and article on men who were “best used of God” in that organization’s five-year existence. The article highlighted the ministry of Chuck Templeton. Billy Graham was never mentioned. Templeton, many felt, would be the next Babe Ruth of evangelism.
Bron Cliffordd was yet another gifted, twenty five year old fireball. In 1945, many believed Clifford the most gifted and powerful preacher the church had seen in centuries. In that same year, Clifford preached to an auditorium of thousands in Miami, Florida. People lined up ten and twelve deep outside the auditorium trying to get in . . .
Graham, Templeton, and Clifford.
In 1945, all three came shooting out of the starting blocks like rockets. You’ve heard of Billy Graham. So how come you’ve never heard of Chuck Templeton or Bron Clifford? Especially when they came out of the chutes so strong in ?45.
Just five years later, Templeton left the ministry to purse a career as a radio and television commentator and newspaper columnist. Templeton had decided he was no longer a believer in Christ in the orthodox sense of the term. By 1950, this future Babe Ruth wasn’t even in the game and no longer believed in the validity of the claims of Jesus Christ.
What about Clifford? By 1954, Clifford had lost his family, his ministry, his health, and then . . .his life. Alcohol and financial irresponsibility had done him in. He wound up leaving his wife and their two Down’s syndrome children. At just thirty five years of age, this once great preacher died from cirrhosis of the liver in a run-down motel on the edge of Amarillo. His last job was selling use cars in the panhandle of Texas. He died, as John Haggai put it, “unwept, unhonored, and unsung.” Some pastors in Amarillo took up a collection among themselves in order to purchase a casket so that his body could be shipped back East for decent burial in a cemetery for the poor.
In 1945, three men with extraordinary gifts were preaching the gospel to multiplied thousands across this nation. Within ten years, only on of them was still on track for Christ.
In the Christian life, its not how you start that matters. It’s how you finish.
John Bisagno has been pastoring First Baptist of Houston for a number of years. When John was just about to finish college, he was having dinner over at his fiancee’s house one night. After supper, he was talking with his future father-in-law, Dr. Paul Beck, out on the porch. Dr. Beck had been in ministry for years and that was inevitably the subject toward which the conversation turned.
“John, as you get ready to enter the ministry, I want to give you some advice,” Dr. beck told the younger man. “Stay true to Jesus! Make sure that you keep your heart close to Jesus every day. It’s a long way from here to where you’re going to go, and Satan’s in no hurry to get you.”
The older man continued. “It has been my observation that just one out of ten who start out in full time service for the Lord at twenty-one are still on track by the age of sixty-five. They’re shot down morally, they’re shot down with discouragement, they’re shot down with liberal theology, they get obsessed with making money . . . but for one reason or another nine out of ten fall out.”
The twenty-year-old Bisagno was shocked.
“I just can’t believe that!” he said. “That’s impossible! That just can’t be true.”
Bisagno told how he went home, took on e of those blank pages in the back of his Scofield Reference Bible and wrote down the names of twenty-four young men who were his peers and contemporaries. These were young men in their twenties who were sold out for Jesus Christ. They were trained for ministry and burning in their desire to be used by the Lord. These were the committed young preachers who would make an impact for the Lord in their generation.
Bisagno relates the following with a sigh: “I am now fifty-three years old. From time to time as the years have gone by, I’ve had to turn back to that page in my Bible and cross out a name. I wrote down those twenty-four names when I was just twenty years of age. Thirty-three years later, there are only three names remaining of the original twenty-four.”
In the Christian life, it’s not how you start that matters. It’s how you finish.
I’m proud to have a grandfather that finished strong. I pray that I will follow his legacy, anchored to the rock Jesus Christ.
| Steve Farrar |
Alright already. I know most of you prefer video recommendations, but I have to recommend this book I gave you a peek at above. Finishing Strong comes from Steve Farrar. Steve is passionate about helping make marriages last. He speaks at Promise Keepers and marriage conferences nationally. When I heard him speak, he got a standing ovation because all of us wanted to hear more. If you want someone to come and speak about leadership, families, marriage, or our commitment to Christ, Steve is your man! If you want a copy of Finishing Strong, they’re pretty hard to find. You can call his office, Men’s Leadership Ministries and order them for about $10. (409) 774-4298
Jonathan McKee
Jonathan McKee is the author of over twenty books including the brand new The Guy's Guide to FOUR BATTLES Every Young Man Must Face; The Teen’s Guide to Social Media & Mobile Devices; If I Had a Parenting Do Over; and the Amazon Best Seller - The Guy's Guide to God, Girls and the Phone in Your Pocket. He speaks to parents and leaders worldwide, all while providing free resources for youth workers on TheSource4YM.com. Jonathan, his wife Lori, and their three kids live in California.