Simple plan
The ’80s are retro
In 1984 Ronald Reagan was president, every adult male I knew
wore a mustache, the Apple Macintosh went on sale, and Michael Jackson was
actually cool. The median household income was just over $22,000, Dallas was
the No. 1 television program, and the Summer Olympics was the stage where Carl
Lewis won four gold medals and the world was introduced to synchronized
swimming.
Things seemed much simpler in 1984. But that probably has
more to do with the fact I was only 14 years old. A quick scan of the headlines
from that year confirms this: Reagan orders Marines to withdraw from Beirut;
Soviet Union boycotts the Summer Olympics; Indian Prime Minister assassinated;
Toxic gas leak kills 2,000 … the list goes on. As the old saying goes, “The
more things change, the more they stay the same.”
Currently more than 6 billion people live on this planet.
Experts say more than 155,000 people die each day. That’s a sad reality. Even
sadder is that many of the people who die each day don’t know Jesus as their Savior.
To help lower that number, we offer this special edition in
time for the 2008 Olympics. Here you’ll read the faith journeys of amazing
athletes, such as sprinter Asafa Powell, basketball star Tamika Catchings,
runner Dan Browne and diver Laura Wilkinson. Without a doubt, each of these
athletes possesses athletic prowess and God-given talent. But 24 years from now
will you really care if they won gold during the 2008 Summer Olympics?
Probably not.
To be honest, we really don’t care about the medals either.
Our hope in sharing their stories with you is that they will inspire you to
follow Jesus right into an eternity with God.
If that’s of interest to you, read on — it’s a simple
plan and no mustaches are required.
Kirk Noonan
E-mail your comments to tpe@ag.org.
