Recently, I was listening to one of R.C. Sproul’s older teaching series Heroes of the Christian Faith. A few weeks later, I read Jeff Robinson’s excellent article “How to have Ministry Heroes without Plagiarizing Them”. That got me to thinking about the heroes in my life.
Growing up, my heroes tended to be sports figures. In baseball it was Mickey Mantle, in football it was O.J. Simpson and in basketball it was Wilt Chamberlain. Although these men achieved great things on the field or court, looking back at them now, their character left much to be desired (though Mantle did come to saving faith very late in his life). In high school my hero was Doug Collins, who played basketball at my hometown Illinois State University and would become an Olympic hero and the number one draft choice in the 1973 National Basketball Association draft.
One of the definitions of “hero” from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is “a person admired for achievements and noble qualities”. Robinson in his article states that “Scripture certainly gives warrant to have heroes, to study and emulate men and women of the faith whose lives are so marked by humble, courageous Christ-honoring character and grace-enabled skill in living the Christian life.”
Before looking at my heroes, I want to set some ground rules around people that I am not going to include. First, Jesus would be my top hero (of course). I’m also not going to include my parents, siblings, or my wife Tammy, though they would certainly make the list as well. Given those qualifications, here are people that I consider to be heroes in my life, some of which I know well, and some I don’t: Continue reading →