Whatever He Had Was Real
Lead by Example
John Trent
Saturday, July 8, 2000
 1 of 1
Q. You grew up in a home with an absent father. Who filled the void for you?
A. Doug Barram. He was the Young Life leader at our high school. Right out of college, he weighed probably 225 pounds and was still in great shape from the years he'd played offensive tackle. He'd show up after school to watch our freshman football squad practice. He stood on the sidelines, patting us on the shoulder pads and small-talking his way into our lives.
What did you find attractive about Doug?
He was the warmest, gentlest, most loving man I had ever met. His huge arms smothered me when he hugged me.
How did Doug make an imprint on your life?
He gave an open invitation for any of us to hang at his house. For hours in his front yard we'd play "bull moose" football. Then we'd sit down and read the Bible, each with our own copy of a J. B. Phillips version he'd given us. He was the first man to read the Bible with me, to ask me what I thought it said, to pray with me.
I saw him kiss his wife, tell her he loved her. I saw him bundling up his kids at night, kissing them, wrestling with them, answering their questions, telling them stories, praying with them. I wanted so much to be around a man like that that every week or so I'd drive to his house and mow his yard, just to be there.
What brought you to faith in Christ?
During my junior year, Doug invited me and a few other football players to a film. It turned out to be religious, with an invitation afterwards. Something moved me that night. I think it was the cumulative effect of all the pictures Doug had been leaving in my life. It was Jesus I'd heard in Doug's voice, seen in his smile. I'd just never recognized Him in a six-foot-four-inch frame.
John Trent is a marriage and family counselor and president of Encouraging Words
Credits: Adapted fromChoosing to Live the Blessing (Westbrook, 1997)
Copyright © 2000 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity. For reprint information click here.
To sign up for a risk-free trial issue of Men of Integrity click here.
To order multiple copies of Men of Integrity for your men's group, click here.
Men of Integrity
Connect with God | Transform my Mind | Live by His Power
Relate Better | Make an Impact
Home | Archives | Contact Us
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Try an Issue of Men of Integrity
Free!
|
 |
|
No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders.
If you decide you want to keep Men of Integrity coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless.
Give Men of Integrity as a gift
Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
| 
share this page
RSS Feed
