Legacy Youth Ministry Resources

Illustration texts

Index to a Person's Character

The best index to a person's character is (a) how he treats people who can't do him any good, and (b) how he treats people who can't fight back. --Abigail Van Buren (1974)

Character as a By-Product

Character is a by-product; it is produced in the great manufacture of daily duty.? -- Woodrow Wilson

Measure of a Man's Character

The measure of a man?s character is what he would do if he would never be found out.? -- Lord Macaulay

Fire Department Comes Through

Often we think we know someones motives or character based on an incident, but have actually missed it completely. A fire started on some grassland near a farm in Indiana. The fire department from the nearby town was called to put the fire out. The fire proved to be more than the small town fire department could handle, so someone suggested that a rural volunteer fire department be called. Though there was doubt that they would be of any assistance, the call was made. The volunteer fire department arrived in a dilapidated old fire truck. They drove straight towards the fire and stopped in the middle of the flames. The volunteer firemen jumped off the truck and frantically started spraying water in all directions. Soon they had snuffed out the center of the fire, breaking the blaze into two easily controllable parts. The farmer was so impressed with the volunteer fire department's work and so grateful that his farm had been spared, that he presented the volunteer fire department with a check for $1000. A local news reporter asked the volunteer fire captain what the department planned to do with the funds. "That should be obvious," he responded, "the first thing we're gonna do is get the brakes fixed on that fire truck." ? Copyright 2002 Steve Miller - All Rights Reserved

Garth Brooks on Character

Quotes from Garth Brooks: Country Music sensation Garth Brooks says that his music is a gift from God. It comes to him easily and he loves it. But according to Brooks, "Now I'm finding that it's not the most important thing in my life. When I look in the mirror, I see a guy full of flaws. I see the promises he made that he hasn't kept, and I know it's time he kept them." Rader, Dotson, "Why He's Coming Home" Parade Magazine, December 16, 2001, p. 4-5.

Martin Luther King and Courage

A Life Story A Prophet for America - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta on January 15, 1929. King's roots were in the African-American Baptist church. He was the grandson of the Rev. A. D. Williams, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist church and a founder of Atlanta's NAACP chapter. His father was Martin Luther King, Sr., who succeeded Williams as Ebenezer's pastor and also became a civil rights leader. Martin followed in his grandfather and father's footsteps to become a pastor in Montgomery, Alabama. It was during his pastorage in Montgomery, that Rosa Parks, on December 1, 1955, refused to obey the city's rules to give her seat to a white man. Five days later black residents launched a bus boycott and elected King as president of the newly-formed Montgomery Improvement Association. As the boycott continued during 1956, King gained national prominence as a result of his exceptional oratorical skills and personal courage. His house was bombed and he was convicted along with other boycott leaders on charges of conspiring to interfere with the bus company's operations. Despite these attempts to suppress the movement, Montgomery buses were desegregated in December, 1956, after the United States Supreme Court declared Alabama's segregation laws unconstitutional. Subsequent mass demonstrations in many communities culminated in a march on August 28, 1963, that attracted more than 250,000 protesters to Washington, D. C. Addressing the marchers from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, King delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" oration. Following is a paragraph from that speech: "I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together." (for complete text of this message go to: http://web66.coled.umn.edu/new/MLK/MLK.html) During the year following the March, King's renown grew as he became Time magazine's Man of the Year and, in December 1964, the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Despite fame and accolades, however, King faced many challenges to his leadership. Because of his convictions, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. paid a tremendous personal cost for the way he lived out his values. While marching in Chicago in 1966 to promote open-housing in that city, a man who marched with him said, "Those cherry bombs that the counterprotesters would set off when we were marching -- Dr. King would jump a mile when they went off," said Dr. Quentin Young. "I could see he was really scared, but he never wavered. That to me was real heroism." Dr. Martin Luther King's message was from the Scriptures. And he applied them to his fight for equal rights, often conflicting with the leaders in the movement like Malcolm X who were promoting violence as the solution to racism. Dr. King preached the same message as his own hero, Jesus. "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that," said King. "Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." Copyright, 2002 by Cheryl K. Miller. Sources: MLK website and Chicago Tribune.

M.L. King on the Measure of a Man

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

What Lies Within Us

Title: What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

No Greater Virtue Than Cheerfulness

There is no greater everyday virtue than cheerfulness. This quality is in man among men is like sunshine to the day, or a gentle renewing moisture to parched herbs. -- Thomas Carlyle

Goodness as an Asset

Goodness is always an asset. A man who is straight, friendly and useful may never be famous, but he is respected and liked by all who know him. He has laid a sound foundation for success and he will have a worthwhile life. ? Herbert N. Casson

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