Three Celebrity Men of Faith Share Testimonies at "Manly Night" for Men
"As I looked around the room, it hit me like a brick wall: here are a bunch of guys who have more money than they could ever spend, who have more fame than they ever wanted, had every toy you could possibly dream of, all in the palm of their hands. It became obvious to me that they were all miserable, absolutely miserable, simply because we're all born with a God-shaped hole and we can't fill it on our own. Someone needed to tell them and I decided it would be me." –Former MLB Catcher, Mike Matheny
(Wildwood, Mo.)—Reaching out to men, both Christian and non-Christian, the West County Community Church in Wildwood, Mo. has started a "Manly Night." Most recently, the group invited "up-and-coming star" of the motocross circuit, Brad Bennett, former St. Louis Cardinals catcher Mike Matheny and former St. Louis Rams offensive tackle Grant Williams, to share with the group.
By the end of the night, according to a report in Baptist Press News, at least 20 men had accepted Christ, with dozens more making other decisions. All of the invited speakers shared their testimonies.
Bennett recounts how motocross "hero" Steve Wise led him to make a decision to follow Christ. "[He] told us how he was left empty when his life was just about riding and about what it meant to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That really caught my attention as a kid who never grew up in church or thought about spiritual things. I was hanging on every word and the Holy Spirit was speaking to me."
Today, Bennett is serving in a full-time ministry featuring his motocross skills. "Why did I take a different path?" he asks. "Because God had truly changed my heart."
For his part, Williams shared that he grew up knowing the principles and stories of God, but "they didn't impact his life because he was lacking a personal relationship with Jesus."
After a series of poor choices and disappointments in his career, where he thought he was "above the law," Williams eventually lost his place on the football team and was barred from ever setting foot on his college campus again. All of that changed one night at a party when, he says, "Finally, as a senior in college, I gave up control, stepped back and gave my life to Christ."
"For the first time, I realized that wasn't the most important thing," he said.
In his turn, Matheny is quoted as saying he grew up in a "strong Christian home," but changed radically after attending a revival service. He says he heard a voice ask him, "Who is Jesus Christ to you?'" That night, said Matheny, his parents led him to accept Jesus Christ as his personal savior.
"I was a coward with my faith," he said, looking back at that time that he played baseball for the University of Michigan. "I can't imagine how many people needed someone like me to stand in the gap and be a witness, to be a man, but I wasn't. Looking back it makes me sick that I just sat there and basically denied Him."
During his first game in the minor leagues playing for the Milwaukee Brewers, he was invited to attend a church service. Notes Koonce: "It was then and there Matheny decided to step to the plate—not just as a baseball player, but as a Christian, and make baseball his mission field, from the 20-hour bus trips to the filthy locker-rooms. For his first game in the big leagues, he arrived at the clubhouse three hours early."
"As I looked around the room, it hit me like a brick wall: here are a bunch of guys who have more money than they could ever spend, who have more fame than they ever wanted, had every toy you could possibly dream of, all in the palm of their hands," said Matheny. "It became obvious to me that they were all miserable, absolutely miserable, simply because we're all born with a God-shaped hole and we can't fill it on our own. Someone needed to tell them and I decided it would be me."
