Legacy Youth Ministry Resources

Illustration texts

Insurmountable Barriers and Weakness of Purpose

?There is really no insurmountable barrier save you own inherent weakness of purpose.? Ralph Waldo Emerson

Having a "Why?" Bearing a "How?"

?He who as a ?why? to live for can bear almost any ?how? Nietzsche

World Makes Way

?The world makes way for a man who knows where he is going.? Ralph Waldo Emerson

Great Minds Have Purposes

?Great minds have purposes; others have wishes.? Washington Irving

Aimless Lives

I am appalled at the aimlessness of most people?s lives. Fifty percent don?t pay any attention to where they are going; 40 percent are undecided and will go in any direction. Only 10 percent know what they want and even all of them don?t go toward it. (Katherine A. Porter)

Something to Be Enthusiastic About

We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about. Charles Kingsley

Marilyn Manson on Purpose in Life

There's more to life than success. Some reach success but go for it in such a way that they lose what's dearest to them. Shock rocker Marilyn Manson wrote in his tour diary, dated September, 1997 in Brazil, "I've gotten everything that I wanted. We're the biggest band in America. We've got platinum albums. We got the Rolling Stone cover that Dr. Hook never managed to get. But I've managed to destroy and lose everything that I've loved along the way." (Written by Steve Miller, Copyright April 25, 2002. Source: Marilyn Manson in his autobiography, The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, Regan Books, 1998, p. 269.)

Supreme Importance of Going For It

?You?ve got to get to that stage in your life when going for it is more important than winning or losing.? Tennis Champion Arthur Ashe

Using One Finger for His Glory

Corrie ten Boom suffered in one of Hitler's death camps for hiding Jews in her home. But God spared her life and she spent her years serving Jesus, often roaming the world to spread God's Word. One night found her in Lithuania, a part of the former Soviet Union, before the fall of the Iron Curtain. Although it was dangerous to follow Christ, many faithfully served Him. Tonight, under the cover of darkness, she would visit one of them. After climbing the steep stairs to the one-room apartment, she found the saint she'd been seeking, an old lady who's body had been terribly twisted by Multiple Sclerosis. Propped up by pillows on a small sofa, she acknowledged my kiss on her cheek by rolling her eyes upward toward me and giving me a smile. Her atrophied neck wouldn't allow her to even turn her head to face me. In Corrie's own words, "She raised her right hand, slowly, in jerks. It was the only part of her body she could control and with her gnarled and deformed knuckles she caressed my face. I reached over and kissed the index finger of that hand, for it was with this one finger that she had so long glorified God." You see, each morning her elderly husband would wake up with praise on his lips. He'd care for her needs, feed her breakfast, and prop her up with pillows on the couch. Then he'd place an old typewriter on a table in front of her and supply her with cheap yellow paper. From this humble work-station, she'd set that one finger to work typing -- all day and far into the night. Imprisoned in a crippled body, her sharp mind translated Christian books into Latvian, Russian, and the language of her own people. She typed books of Great Christians such as Billy Graham, Watchman Nee, or Corrie's own books. But she did more than type. According to her husband, "she prays for these men every day while she types. Sometimes it takes a long time for her finger to hit the key, or for her to get the paper in the machine, but all the time she is praying for those whose books she is working on." Corrie's thanked her for her incredible work and filled her in on the lives of the authors she'd never met, but had faithfully prayed for. As Corrie fellowshipped with this dear, crippled saint, she couldn't help but cry inwardly to God, "Oh Lord, why don't You heal her?" Her husband must have sensed Corrie's question, so he responded, "God has a purpose in her sickness. Every other Christian in the city is watched by the secret police. But because she has been sick so long, no one ever looks in on her. They leave us alone and she is the only person in all the city who can type quietly, undetected by the police." Corrie rejoiced as she thought of God blessing this great warrior. At a later time, Corrie received a letter from the warrior's husband. Early one morning she had gone to be with Jesus. Yet, he was glad to report that she "had worked up until midnight that same night, typing with that one finger to the glory of God." (Rewritten by Steve Miller. Source: Corrie ten Boom, Tramp for the Lord, Fleming H. Revell, 1974, p. 175-177.)

Metallica Drummer Catches the Vision Early

In the 1970's Pro tennis player Torben Ulrich landed five passes to a Deep Purple concert for a night out with his friends. When one backed out, he brought his 10-year-old son Lars instead. Totally impressed with the band, Lars and his friends became "Deep Purple" in his bedroom, using a broomstick and tennis rackets for guitars and a table soccer game for the keyboard. Lars made a cardboard-box drum and played it with a set of paint stirrers. At 13 his grandmother bought him his first drum set. Eventually he met James Hetfield and bassist Ron McGovney to form a new band that they called Metallica, which became one of the most respected bands ever. The point? The seeds for his future were planted early, at the age of 10, when his dad took him to a concert. That early impression changed the course of his life. Never believe the myth that we as youth ministers are simply keeping kids off the street. The words we speak to kids and the experiences with give them can impact the lives of young people forever. (Written by Steve Miller, Copyright April 26, 2002. Source: Metallica: the Frayed Ends of Metal, by Chris Crocker, St. Martin's Press, New York, 1993, pp. 16,17.)

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