Dennis & Barbara's Top 25 All-Time Interviews

A Life Worth Living (Part 1) - Elisabeth Elliot
A Life Worth Living (Part 2) - Elisabeth Elliot

FamilyLife Today® Radio Transcript  

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A Life Worth Living

Day 2 of 2

Guest:            Elisabeth Elliott

From the series:       Jim Elliott – "He is No Fool"

Bob:                This week on FamilyLife Today we are commemorating events that took place 50 years ago; events that shook a nation.  Here is Elisabeth Elliott.

Elisabeth:      One day in October of 1955, Nate Saint flew into our station to tell us that he had discovered the Auca houses.  Within a very short time, Ed McCully, that politician from Wisconsin; Jim Elliott from Oregon; and Nate Saint instituted a program of dropping gifts to those Indians with the hope that they would be able to break down their hostility and prepare the way for an attempt to reach them.  You can imagine our excitement, our trembling, the prayers that went up.

                        And on the evening in January of 1956, just before these men left to go into the edge of Auca territory – by this time they had been joined by Roger Youderian and Pete Fleming – they sang together that hymn – "We Rest on Thee, Our Shield and our Defender."  A week later they were all speared to death.

Bob:                And welcome to FamilyLife Today, thanks for joining us on the Wednesday edition – Wednesday, January 4th.  Our host is the president of FamilyLife, Dennis Rainey.  I'm Bob Lepine.  This Sunday, January 8, commemorates the 50th anniversary of the martyrdom of those missionaries in rural Ecuador, and, I don't know, do you remember where you were the first time you heard the story of those five missionaries?

Dennis:          Bob, I was almost eight years old in Southwest Missouri, and I do not recall hearing about it as a little boy.

Bob:                It did make the news.

Dennis:          It did?

Bob:                It was in "Life" magazine and other periodicals.  But you didn't hear about it until later in life?

Dennis:          I heard about it finally in college, and it was through reading Elisabeth Elliott's book, "Through the Gates of Splendor," and, for me, as a college student, to get that book and have it be such a page-turner – I had just given my life to Christ, and I think what made it compelling reading for me, as a collegian, was that I was 20 years old, I was looking at life with eyes that were alive to the spiritual work of God in human beings' lives, and I had freshly given my life to Christ, and His Lordship of all the areas of my life, and so here is a couple, Jim and Elisabeth Elliott, who had given their lives to Christ and his Lordship, and Jim Elliott gave his life, literally, was martyred for his faith, and then Elisabeth, his wife, went into that tribe after he had been murdered by them to love them, speak with them, learn their language and customs and ultimately share her faith in the Gospel and his forgiveness with them.

Bob:                That book that you mentioned, "Through Gates of Splendor," is a book that God has used over the years in remarkable ways to not only tell the story but to talk about what it really means to live with Christ as Lord, and I think it's probably stirred the hearts of a number of people who have ended up involved in world missions in some foreign field, carrying on the legacy of Jim Elliott and Nate Saint and the others who were killed on the beach on January 8, 1956.

Dennis:          And I'm glad, Bob, there's now been a full-length feature movie that has been made called "The End of the Spear," that's going to be released here in a couple of weeks.  It's a great movie.  You and I have seen it together and, personally, I think what's going to happen as this film comes out is the very thing we've been talking about here – I think there's going to be a generation of young people who see this story and who, all of a sudden, start evaluating their faith.  

                        Now, I think adults are going to do the same, but I think there's going to be a generation of young people in youth groups, in junior high, high school, and college, and they're going to evaluate what they're living for and who they're living for.  And as a result, I think we're going to see a fresh crop of missionaries head to the world.  At least that's my prayer as this film comes out.

Bob:                You were in the audience in Kansas City in 1983 when Elisabeth Elliott addressed a crowd of students who had assembled there for an event that Campus Crusade was sponsoring called "KC '83," and she talked about those five young men, who were all in their 20s.  They were at the beginning of their adult life, and they had headed off to the field.  She described their lives, and I think what she did was she painted a picture so that everyone in the audience could go, "That could be me."  

                        We wanted our listeners to hear how she described the lives of those five men who were martyred that day 50 years ago this week.

Elisabeth:      Once upon a time, before you were born, there were in Ecuador, a tribe so-called "savages."  Not very much was known about these people.  They were naked, they used stone tools, and they killed strangers.  Nobody had ever gone into their territory and come out alive.  Missionaries had been praying that God would enable them someday to take the Gospel to these Aucas, but it had never happened, and it wasn't until 1956 that the first Operation Auca was attempted.

                        Five young American men banded together to do this.  I want to tell you a little about who they were and how they got there.  First, there was Nate Saint from Philadelphia, one of the founders of the Missionary Aviation Fellowship.  He inaugurated the program of jungle flying in the Eastern jungle of Ecuador.  Pilots who have watched film footage of some of Nate's landings on those canyons of green trees in the jungle have said that it's impossible.  Nate was a genius; he was a rather slightly built blond guy with a terrific sense of humor; a creative imagination; and an almost fanatical discipline and caution as a flyer.

                        Then there was Ro...

A Biblical Look at Aging (Part 1) - Howard Hendricks
A Biblical Look at Aging (Part 2) - Howard Hendricks

FamilyLife Today® Radio Transcript

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What Retirement is NOT

Day 1 of 2

Guest:                           Dr. Howard Hendricks

From the Series:         What Retirement is NOT

________________________________________________________________

Bob:                There are challenges associated with moving into the retirement years.  Many of us have never thought that far ahead.  Here is Dr. Howard Hendricks.

Howard:         Retirement has four major problems attached to it, the first of which is income – the financial component; the second of which is health – the physical component; the third of which is housing – your living arrangements; but the fourth and the most important is purpose, meaning, an interest in life.  And the fascinating thing to me, and all of the research proves it, is we're making tremendous progress in the first three, but substantially none in the fourth, because it's the least recognized, and it's the most neglected.

Bob:                This is FamilyLife Today for Tuesday, January 18th.  Our host is the president of FamilyLife, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine.  Have you started yet thinking about your purpose and your plan for your retirement years?  Stay tuned.

                        And welcome to FamilyLife Today, thanks for joining us on the Tuesday edition.  Whenever you hear that voice, whenever you hear Howard Hendricks' voice, you've just got to get a big grin on your face, don't you?

Dennis:          I do, and the reason is he's one of those men who has marked my life over the past – well, I go back all the way to 1970 when I first started slipping into his class as a college student and then as a new staff member on Campus Crusade for Christ staff.  I'd slip in the back of the class at Dallas Seminary …

Bob:                You mean you weren't enrolled or anything?  You just snuck in and listened to what he was …

Dennis:          Shhhhhh – they'll probably want to charge me.  They got my tuition later on.

Bob:                You enrolled, and you took – you said you majored in Hendricks.

Dennis:          I majored in Hendricks and got everything he taught in one year, and, folks, if you have ever had a great teacher, you know that great teachers can really mark your life, whether it's a coach, a professor, a Sunday school teacher – they really can impact you.  And Dr. Howard Hendricks who was, for a number of years, the professor of Christian education at Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas – "Prof" as he was known – really is – he was the finest teacher I've ever sat under, but he was more than just a professor.  He was a man who understood how to motivate men and women.

Bob:                Do you remember what it was the first time you heard him teach where you said, "I want to hear more?"  He's a compelling speaker, he's very winsome, but there must have been something about what he was saying or the way he was expressing himself that caused you to go, "This is a man I want to hear more from.  I want to learn and grow."

Dennis:          He had the goods.  In all my years at Dallas Seminary, I took five classes from him – not a boring class.  Now, I want folks to think about that – that's a lot of classes.  He was on the edge; he had the message; his wife authenticated his message; and he knew how to challenge and motivate young men who sat in those classes back then; now, young ladies as well, are being motivated by him.

                        But he became a good friend.  In fact, we were just laughing the other day when I did a conference with him, and it's one of the great honors of my 34 years of ministry to have teamed up with him now on a couple of occasions for some conferences for Dallas Seminary.  But we were just talking at one of those conferences – I set a record for the most number of laymen brought to his class when I was a student.  I'd bring them in from the highways and the byways and the hedges.

Bob:                So you used to sneak in and then, once you enrolled, you started sneaking other guys in?

Dennis:          I brought other guys in.  I want to show you how to drink water from a fire hydrant, and Dr. Hendricks is, indeed, a fire hydrant.  And you and I both know, I ran across a series of messages that I'd never heard him give.  It was actually a lectureship sponsored by Dallas Seminary a number of years ago on aging.  And I first said, "You know what?  I want our speaker team that speaks at our Weekend to Remember Marriage Conferences to hear this series," and then I thought, "You know what?  I want you, as a listener, to hear this."  Because I don't think most of us have a very good perspective about aging and retirement and some of the issues we're going to face as we grow older.

Bob:                Now, listen, some of our listeners are in their 30s.  Do you think this is going to apply to them?

Dennis:          Oh, absolutely.  You know, in fact, if you go to the book of Ecclesiastes, I think it's chapter 12, the author says, "Remember God in the days of your youth," and then he goes on to describe old age.  It's kind of like, now wait a second, you're talking about old age, but why do you exhort us to remember God when we're young?  Well, I think the answer is your understanding of walking with God today as you're young will determine who you become when you're an elderly man, an elderly woman.  And I'm kind of on a little bit of a crusade and a soapbox about wiping out crotchety, gripey, complaining old men and bitter old ladies.  You know, I think we've got enough of them.  I think if anybody ought to have a smile on their face, it ought to be those of us who grow old with Jesus Christ.

Bob:                Well, this week, we're going to hear one of the three messages that Dr. Hendricks shared with the FamilyLife Weekend to Remember conference speaker team on the subject of aging, and he was really talking about retirement, which he says is not a biblical concept in the way that most people think about retirement.  Let's listen tog...

A Biblical Look at Aging (Part 1) - Howard Hendricks
A Biblical Look at Aging (Part 2) - Howard Hendricks

FamilyLife Today® Radio Transcript

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What is Retirement?

Day 2 of 2

Guest:                            Dr. Howard Hendricks

From the Series:         What is Retirement?

________________________________________________________________

Bob:                Pastor Rick Warren has referred to life as a dress rehearsal for eternity.  Howard Hendricks says that's a perspective we need to maintain even in our retirement years.

Howard:         C.S. Lewis said it – "Hope means a continual looking forward to the eternal world."  It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is.  If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next world.  It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this world.

Bob:                This is FamilyLife Today for Wednesday, January 19th.  Our host is the president of FamilyLife, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine.  There is still a lot of eternal work that needs to be done, even in the retirement years.

                        And welcome to FamilyLife Today, thanks for joining us on the Wednesday edition.  I know there's still a few years before you and Barbara hit 65, but …

Dennis:          Yes, I was thinking about you, too.  Are you and Mary Ann ready for retirement?

Bob:                We're still – we're much younger than you.

Dennis:          I was thinking, have you thought about early retirement?

Bob:                Are you trying to suggest something?  Pick up your check on the way out the door?

Dennis:          You know, there are some people who, if they heard that, and you know I'm kidding 100 percent, but if they heard those words, that would be chilling words – to hear your boss say, "Have you ever thought about early retirement?"  And the reason is, they don't know what they'd do, because they're not sure what they're about today.  And I think, as never before, we, as followers of Christ, need to be on a mission that transcends what we do at work.

Bob:                That's right.  We're listening this week to a message from Dr. Howard Hendricks, who spoke to the couples who speak at the FamilyLife Weekend to Remember conferences.  We asked him to come in and help us think ahead to that time as we grow older when we'll face retirement, and we've got some young couples who speak at our conferences – couples in their late 20s and their 30s, but they were taking notes just like everyone else was taking notes, as Dr. Hendricks laid out a game plan for us to think ahead to that time when we may slow down a bit, because our body does slow down; when we may have less vocational work to do.  But it's not a time to just sit on the porch and rock.  It's a time to have a new focus and a new mission.

Dennis:          It is, and this message is a part of a three-message series we're offering here on FamilyLife Today on the whole aspect of growing old and thinking through the aging process biblically, and I think there is a need for us to do that.

                        Dr. Howard Hendricks was my professor at Dallas Theological Seminary where he's taught for over 52 years.  Now, think about that – he's had a job there for a long time.  He is still teaching there.  He and his wife Jeanne have four children.  I think they have eight grandchildren, and he is a great man and a great friend.

Bob:                Well, let's listen together.  Here is part two of Dr. Hendricks' message on getting ready for retirement.  

[audio clip]

Howard:         I'd like to share with you five principles, but I want to underscore for you every one of them has a danger inherent in it.  Number one, retirement requires intensive prayer and planning and preparation.  It is hard to come up with the statistics, but if you talk to people who are specialists in the field of geriatrics, they will tell you this is virtually nonexistent, and I would say, "Well, maybe that's just true of the pagan community and culture."  I could only wish it were true.  

                        I spend all of my time in the Christian community, and I’m here to tell you the preparation is in the algebraic minus quantity.  There is a passage of Scripture that I hear, in my judgment, perverted.  It's found in the Book of James, chapter 4 – now, listen, you who say today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a time, a year, there, carry on business and make money.  Why, you don't even know what will happen tomorrow.  What is your life?  Here is the key – your life is a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  You've got a little slice of life in which to make your impact for Christ, and often this is said to be a prohibition against planning – nothing further from the biblical truth.  Look at the last part – instead, here is your option, you ought to say if it is the Lord's will, you will live and do this or that.  As it is, you boast and brag and all such boasting is evil.  Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.  What an indictment.  Not of lack of planning but of planning with presumption that I'm going to do this or that in my retirement and that is guaranteed and no thought of the will of God.

                        That's why I say you need to begin by discarding the secular concept of retirement that prevails in your culture, and you need to replace it with the understanding it's not what do I want for my retirement – what does the Lord of my life want for my retirement?  How does He want me to spend those bonus years, which are priceless?  And planning, I am discovering, is a form of spiritual discipline.  Most of us don't plan to fail, we fail to plan, and that's particularly true in the area of retirement.  What's the danger in this?  The danger is the danger of unrealistic expectations.  They're either false or they're shifting or they do not exist and, in any c...

Wisdom from the Wizard of UCLA (Part 1) - John Wooden
Wisdom from the Wizard of UCLA (Part 2) - John Wooden
Wisdom from the Wizard of UCLA (Part 3) - John Wooden

FamilyLife Today® Radio Transcript

References to conferences, resources, or other special promotions may be obsolete.

Growing Up With Wooden

Day 1 of 3

Guest:                    John Wooden

From the series:   True Success:  A Personal Visit with John Wooden

Bob:                It was the 1920s in rural Indiana.  The Depression had not yet rocked America.  John Wooden was a young boy growing up on a farm, a high school student who loved basketball but who was about to meet the real love of his life.

John:              I noticed this one little gal, and I didn't know, but she had noticed me, too, but I didn't know that.  Somehow, on the first day of classes my freshman year, we happened to be in the same class, and I knew right then, and we knew we were going to be married by the time I got out of high school, and August 8th it would have been 70 years since last August 8th, we would have been married.

Bob:                Today you'll hear the first part of a conversation with a man who grew up to be one of the greatest coaches of all time as we talk about his faith, his family, and basketball.  Stay tuned as we talk with Coach John Wooden on FamilyLife Today.

                        And welcome to FamilyLife Today, thanks for joining us on the Wednesday edition.  I can't help but smile as I listen to that excerpt from our interview with Coach John Wooden.  Of course, a lot of people are smiling right about now because this is the time of the year when March madness really takes over.  There is a lot of basketball ahead for us.

Dennis:          Semis are this weekend, Final Four on Monday.

Bob:                It's got to bring back lots of memories for you from your college days, doesn't it?

Dennis:          Well, high school.  You know, going back to high school, Bob, those were my glory days.  My college days, I had several splinters.

Bob:                Sitting on the bench, huh?

Dennis:          I got the 15th uniform out of 15 in college.  I learned what it was like to be a substitute.

Bob:                But your team almost went to the Final Four, didn't it?

Dennis:          Well, not THE Final Four.  We almost went to the Junior College National Championships in Kansas, and I'm trying to remember where in Kansas.

Bob:                But that's like the Final Four for Junior Colleges, right?

Dennis:          Oh, yeah, absolutely.  In fact, I started that game – the last game of my college career, I started.

Bob:                You poured in what – 15, 20 points?

Dennis:          Now, wait a second – hold it, just one second, because they put me on an All American.  This is a true story.  The coach had watched me.  It was the only game I started in my college career, but my coach was so impressed with me never quitting and just staying out there and being tenacious – he started me.  And he put me on the quickest guy I've ever played against.

Bob:                Man-to-man defense.

Dennis:          Man-to-man defense, and did you know, when I left the game in the first half – I played about six or seven minutes – I had scored more points …

Bob:                … than the All American, and the reason was this:  He was so fast and I was so slow, he would fake three or four times, and by the time I had taken his first fake, I was back to where he was really going.  And so I would post up underneath the bucket, and the guy didn't like to play defense, and I'd post up on him and score.  And so when I left the game, I had actually scored more points than him.

Bob:                Now, some of our listeners are wondering what are you talking about Dennis' glory days of basketball on FamilyLife Today?

Dennis:          Because we really don't have anything else to talk about.  No, that's not true.  We have a guest today – well, Bob, a dream of mine, and I sent you a note one day.  I said, "Bob, you know, one of the people I would really like in all the world to interview for FamilyLife Today and for our listeners and give them a glimpse of what a great human being he is, what many have described as the greatest coach of any sport of all time – Coach John Wooden."  Now, there are a number of our listeners who have no idea who John Wooden is, but a ton do. 

Bob:                Coach Wooden coached the UCLA Bruins back in the '60s and the '70s.

Dennis:          Well, actually, he started coaching in 1948.  That's what most people don't realize is.  He didn't build that national championship dominant team in the '60s and '70s.  He built it in obscurity beginning in 1948 throughout all the '50s and early '60s before he won his first national championship in 1964.

Bob:                And after he won his first one, then he won his second and his third and his fourth and his fifth and his sixth.  Over a 12-year period he won 10 national championships.

Dennis:          That's right, including winning 88 games in a row before they were knocked off at the Houston Astrodome, and I remember watching this game as a young man, where Lew Alcindor was playing against Elvin Hayes, and Houston beat them 71-69, and the Astrodome had, like, 49,000 people in it.  It was nationally televised.  It was an event, and there are few coaches that could claim the accomplishments that – in any sport – what he has accomplished.  But in basketball, he is the ultimate.

Bob:                Well, we're going to hear a little bit about that game and about a lot of other games as we talk with Coach Wooden over the next few days.  A while back, you a...

Wisdom from the Wizard of UCLA (Part 1) - John Wooden
Wisdom from the Wizard of UCLA (Part 2) - John Wooden
Wisdom from the Wizard of UCLA (Part 3) - John Wooden

FamilyLife Today® Radio Transcript

References to conferences, resources, or other special promotions may be obsolete.

Coaching Pressure

Day 2 of 3

Guest:                    John Wooden

From the series:   True Success:  A Personal Visit with John Wooden

Bob:                A basketball tournament is a test.  It's a test of a team's skill and a coach's savvy.  But long before the players ever show up on the court, it can be a test of an individual's character as well.  At least it was for Coach John Wooden in 1948.

John:              I had one black player on my team, and they wouldn't let them play in the tournament, and I wouldn't go without him, because he was a part of the team, and finally they reluctantly said that he could come, but he couldn't stay in the hotel where the teams were staying.  He could have his meals there, providing we would take them in a private room.  So I refused the invitation and wouldn't go.

Bob:                John Wooden, who would go on to be come one of the greatest coaches in basketball history, but he was a coach who was known as much for his character as for his basketball prowess.  Stay with us for a conversation with the Coach, John Wooden on FamilyLife Today.

                        And welcome to FamilyLife Today, thanks for joining us on the Thursday edition.  You know, this would make one of those great trivia questions that pop up on those sports talk shows from time to time – who was the Indiana Rubber Man?

Dennis:          Mm-hm.

Bob:                Now, you know and I know, because we had a chance to talk to the Indiana Rubber Man, but I wonder how many of our listeners know that a man who is considered today to have perhaps been the greatest coach of all time in any sport, Coach John Wooden of the UCLA Bruins, was once one of the great players in basketball – both in college basketball and then in semi-pro basketball.

Dennis:          That's right.  He is one of two that are in the Basketball Hall of Fame, both as a player and a coach.  The other is Lenny Wilkinson, I believe, and, of course, we talked yesterday about Coach Wooden and a little trip Bob and I made out to Southern California to interview him.  He slipped into the studio with Bob and me, and you need to hang with us today and tomorrow, because at the end of tomorrow's broadcast, I'm going to tell you a cute story about Coach Wooden autographing a book for me.  

                        Because I did play ball, as Bob mentioned yesterday, in college.  My average was just about the same as Coach Wooden's, in fact – no, it really wasn't.

Bob:                A little less than average is what's your average.

Dennis:          Yeah, I was less than average, no doubt about it, but he was an All American, as you said, Bob, but he was more than that.  He was a man of, I believe, a simple faith in Jesus Christ and in God and who lived out his commitments to his players, to his family, and to his wife, Nellie, and you're going to hear some touching moments about how this man fulfilled his marriage covenant with his wife.

Bob:                Coach Wooden has been known throughout the years as a man of great integrity, great character, and a great molder of men, and if you ask him what he did, he says, "I was just a teacher.  I've taught boys how to play basketball."

Dennis:          Yeah, in fact, he almost went into teaching, which is interesting.

Bob:                We'll hear about that today.  This is taken from a conversation – an extended conversation – that we had with Coach John Wooden not long ago.  Here is Dennis with Coach Wooden.

Dennis:          A story that you tell that I want you to share with our listeners came at the conclusion of your first year at Indiana State University, where you won the conference title, and you received an invitation to play in the NAIA Tournament, but you turned them down.  Why?

John:              We had a pretty good year, the first year, and the NAIA Tournaments played in Kansas City – 32 teams then – and I had one black player on my team, and they wouldn't let them play in the tournament.  So even though this was – of the 12 men on the team, he played the least of all, he didn't get to play very much, and I wouldn't go without him, because he was a part of the team.  So I refused the invitation and wouldn't go.

                        Now, the next year I had everybody back on this team, exactly the same team, no one came in and beat anybody else out, and so the next year we had a good year, and were invited again, and I refused again, and finally they reluctantly said that he could come, but he couldn't stay in the hotel where the teams were staying.  He'd have to stay someplace else.  He could have his meals there, providing we would take them in a private room.  I said no, I wouldn't do that, but I was persuaded by the NCAA and his parents that we should go; it might help.  So we went, and he stayed with a minister and his wife and came into the hotel from the game.  He didn't get to play very much at all, but that was the first black player that had ever played in that tournament, and I think a few years later an all-black team won.  So we sort of opened the door a little bit.

Bob:                You undoubtedly had some players – when you came back and told the team we've been invited to the tournament but we're not going to go because they won't accept this one player – there had to be some guys going, "Coach, I want to go to Kansas City, I want to play on the team.  Let's just go along with their rules."  Didn't anybody raise their hand in protest?

John:              I don't think anyone protested.  Some would have liked to have gone, yes, but they didn't.  I knew these men, and most of them I'd had in high school before, and they knew how I felt about things, and there was no problem.  They caused me no problem there.

Wisdom from the Wizard of UCLA (Part 1) - John Wooden
Wisdom from the Wizard of UCLA (Part 2) - John Wooden
Wisdom from the Wizard of UCLA (Part 3) - John Wooden

FamilyLife Today® Radio Transcript

References to conferences, resources, or other special promotions may be obsolete.

The Pyramid of Success

Day 3 of 3

Guest:                    John Wooden

From the series:   True Success:  A Personal Visit with John Wooden

Bob:                There are a lot of skills in life that, according to Coach John Wooden, are more important than being able to hit a jumpshot or sink a free throw in the middle of a basketball game.  One of the character qualities that Coach Wooden tried to instill in all of his players was the quality of poise, which he defines as being comfortable with just being yourself.

John:              The person who has poise is not acting, they're not pretending, they're not trying to be something they're not.  They are themselves, therefore, they are going to function in whatever they're doing near their own particular level of confidence.  There will be no fear, no trepidation at all.  They'll function near their own particular level of confidence, because they're not pretending, they're not trying to be something they're not.

Bob:                This is FamilyLife Today for Friday, April 4th.  Our host is the president of FamilyLife, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine.  Before you sit down to watch the games this weekend, you ought to hear what The Coach has to say.  Stay with us.

                        And welcome to FamilyLife Today, thanks for joining us on the Friday edition.  How does this work?  This is April, but this is the end of March Madness.  So is this just kind of a spillover?  Technically, is this April Madness that we're going to experience?

Dennis:          I think it's March Madness without aspirin – there's been no cure, Bob.

Bob:                Tomorrow, of course, are the semi-finals in college basketball, and then Monday night the championship game in what's called The Final Four, and it's all over the papers and all over the TV, and it's even here on FamilyLife Today, although we're not talking about this year's Final Four.  We are talking with a man who has been there year in and year out.

Dennis:          He really has – Coach John Wooden coached UCLA to 10 national championships out of 12 years.  What a great man.  I just remember watching, as a young lad, his championship teams – the first year he won, 1964 – Gale Goodrich helped win that national championship.  He came back the next year and scored over 40 points in a game, and it's funny how you can remember those things as a kid, but basketball was a very important part of my life, and I think parents need to pay attention to their children's athletics.  Not just for their performance and whether or not they win the championships but the kind of coaches they have, the kind of influence that they have on them.

And, Bob, you know, you were there when I received a phone call from the Washington Post asking me for my opinion if a parent should be informed if their daughter is going to play for a coach who is a lesbian, and they were wanting to know what I thought about that, and my ultimate point was character does matter, and a person's sexual practice and sexual preference are a reflection of his or her true character.  And Coach Wooden grew up in a family where he learned character, and he raised a family where they had great character.

In fact, his daughter was in the room where we were interviewing him, and she was smiling so big during this interview, and she told us later it was one of her favorite interviews she's ever heard with her daddy who, at the time, Coach Wooden was 91 years of age.  And she was just beaming, because we were drilling down deep around the stories that surrounded their family.

Bob:                You had asked him about regrets from coaching and yesterday we heard him share some of those regrets, and then you turned the conversation and asked him about any regrets at home.  Here is our interview with Coach John Wooden:

Dennis:          I know something that I heard that you did that you don't regret, and that was spanking your daughter one time when she was in the fifth grade.  You're laughing.  You think it was the right thing?

John:              Yes, I think it was the right thing.  

Dennis:          Tell us about it.

John:              Well, she had wanted very much a wristwatch, and I couldn't get the wristwatch at the time.  I had one coming for her.  I got her – and we got a cameo ring that we thought was very pretty and very nice, and when we gave it to her, we had some guests there – some friends – and she wanted the wristwatch.  She took that cameo ring and threw it, and she went to her room in a hurry with me after her, and I spanked her.  I think it's the only spanking that Nancy ever got from me.  I spanked her.  But what hurt her a lot is I made her march back in and apologize to our friends, and I think that hurt her worse.  I didn't hurt her too much on the spanking.  I remember that.  That's the only time.

Dennis:          You were married for 53 years before Nellie's death.

John:              Correct.

Dennis:          It's my understanding that you have a tradition on the anniversary of her death – something that you're doing on a regular basis in honor of her.

John:              Oh, I write her a letter, mm-hm.  We, Nan and Jim and I go to the cemetery, and we write her a letter.

Dennis:          Just a letter expressing your heart, your love, your appreciation for the 53 years you shared with her?

John:              More than that – there were several years before, you know, and still – still.

Dennis:          She was a soulmate.

John:              Indeed.

Dennis:          How so?

John:           ...

Daring to Hope (Part 1) - Katie Davis Majors
Daring to Hope (Part 2) - Katie Davis Majors
Daring to Hope (Part 3) - Katie Davis Majors

FamilyLife Today® Radio Transcript  

References to conferences, resources, or other special promotions may be obsolete.

Leaning on Jesus

Guest:                        Katie Davis Majors

From the series:       Daring to Hope (Day 1 of 3)

Bob: In the midst of pain and suffering, even those with deep faith find themselves asking questions and wondering, “Why?” Here’s Katie Davis Majors.

Katie: We know we’re supposed to say: “God is in control. God’s plan is better,” but what about when we are not feeling that? What about when we are not seeing that? I think another thing God really showed me was that He hurts when I hurt. He desires to comfort me, because He understands my pain.

Bob: This is FamilyLife Today for Monday, December 18th. Our host is Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine. We’ll hear from Katie Davis Majors today about how Jesus becomes real when we walk through the valley of the shadow. Stay with us.

1:00

And welcome to FamilyLife Today. Thanks for joining us. We’ve got a hero back in the studio with us today.

Dennis: We do. I don’t think we’ve ever had a guest introduced by their 14-year-old daughter, but that’s what we’re going to do here on the broadcast. I, first of all, want to welcome back Katie Davis Majors, married now for how many years?

Katie: Almost three!

Dennis: Almost three. You’ll hear more about that in a moment. 

My wife Barbara also joins us on the broadcast. Welcome back, Sweetheart.

Barbara: Thanks! It’s a delight to be here.

Dennis: Katie has written a book called Daring to Hope. Many of you probably heard about Katie, about a decade ago, when she wrote a New York Times best-seller, Kisses from Katie. It’s a story about her adopting a few Ugandan young ladies. One of those young ladies wrote the afterword for your book—I’m not going to read it all.

Katie: Okay.

Dennis: It’s really not fair that I don’t read it all! 

2:00

Her name is Joyce—she’s 14. Here’s what she said about her mom: 

Katie Majors is my mother. No mother is as brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous as my sweet, awesome mother!

Barbara: Sweet!

Dennis: You have really got her snowed; don’t you? [Laughter] That’s not what you say in your book—you talk about losing your temper and getting impatient; but somehow, she didn’t ever see any of those moments, I guess; huh?

Katie: She’s gracious! [Laughter]

Dennis: She concludes by saying this: 

I pray for my mom each day that God would continue to bless her life and use her to do incredible things. I love my mother because she brings glory to God, not only through her gifts, but also by calling out gifts and talents in others, including me. She speaks to us that we, too, can be used by God. 

3:00

He works through her to shine His light into the hearts of many. I admire my mother; and I pray that I, too, can live a life like hers, serving others first before myself. No matter what my mother goes through, she will tell you that it is okay; because God has always been with her. She teaches me that I can trust Him to be with me too.                                                      Joyce Liberty Majors, age 14

Bob: And a lot of listeners are going, “How do you get a 14-year-old to say things like that about their mother?” [Laughter]

Barbara: Exactly! [Laughter]

Katie: Yes; you’re going to make me cry at the beginning of this interview!

Dennis: Where did you find Joyce?

Katie: Joyce came to me when she was about five-and-a-half. She had lost both of her parents in the war in northern Uganda. She had been shuffled around since then in some pretty dangerous situations when she was brought to me. 

4:00

Dennis: She is one, now, of how many that you have become “Mom” to?

Katie: She’s one of 14 kids—13 through adoption and 1 that we just gave birth to about a year-and-a-half ago.

Dennis: And there’s a new dimension to your life that I hinted at earlier—the second love of your life—God being the first.

Katie: Yes; yes!

Dennis: Benji—tell us about Benji.

Katie: Benji! So Benji moved to Uganda about seven years ago. He was really—he had come on a short-term trip to volunteer at a special needs orphanage; but he was really burdened that there were a lot of ministries pouring into women, and a lot of ministries really helping out children, and not a lot of ministries pouring into men—discipling them and teaching them to be good fathers and good husbands. So, he came back, fulltime, just to disciple men and to encourage them in their roles as husband, father, [and] provider for the family. 

5:00

He has been doing that now for about seven years. 

We met when he first came to Uganda.

Dennis: Okay; I’m going to stop you there, because we’re going to tell more of this story on a later broadcast.

Katie: Okay; okay! [Laughter]

Dennis: Your book begins in your kitchen. 

Katie: Yes.

Dennis: It’s a place where relationships are made / miracles occur. I love it—you must have a little bit of a perfectionist in you—because you talk about mud, and red dirt, and footprints in the first couple of pages of your book that all 14 of these children that you’ve adopted have to track in there.

Katie: Oh, yes! [Laughter] I spe...

Daring to Hope (Part 1) - Katie Davis Majors
Daring to Hope (Part 2) - Katie Davis Majors
Daring to Hope (Part 3) - Katie Davis Majors

FamilyLife Today® Radio Transcript  

References to conferences, resources, or other special promotions may be obsolete.

God Shows Up

Guest:                         Katie Davis Majors               

From the series:       Daring to Hope (Day 2 of 3)

Bob: Katie Davis Majors says there are certain things that adoptive parents understand that bio parents just can’t fully appreciate.

Katie: What better way to clearly understand God’s heart for us than to bring a child, who is not biologically related to you, into your home and call them your own and believe that they’re your own? I now have adopted children and a biological child. I can say, with certainty, that my love for them is the same.

Bob: This is FamilyLife Today for Tuesday, December 19th. Our host is Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine. There’s a lot we can learn, as followers of Jesus, when we go near the orphan or those in need. We’ll hear more about that today from Katie Davis Majors. Stay with us.

1:00

And welcome to FamilyLife Today. Thanks for joining us. I was coming back from a trip recently—I was grousing about the poor condition of the airplane I was on. It was an older plane—seats were kind of hard and, you know, I was cramped up. I went on Twitter® and I just—[Laughter]

Dennis: Oh, you belly-ached on—

Katie: —to the whole world! 

Barbara: Oh! My goodness!

Bob: —belly-ached to the particular airline in question.

Dennis: Oh, really?

Bob: I called them out and said, “It’s time to upgrade your planes.” A friend of mine “tweeted” back at me and he said, “You need to fly to better destinations.” I “tweeted” back to him—I said, “There’s no better destination than home.”

Dennis: Ooh!

Bob: Yes. 

Dennis: There you go!

Bob: Yes; “Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home”; right?

Dennis: Well, I have to ask this; because she was snickering as you were telling that story. It’s like you don’t have any idea about the condition—

Bob: —what a bad airline is? [Laughter]

Dennis: Yes.

Katie Davis Majors joins us on the broadcast. Katie lives in Uganda. 

2:00

Can you tell us a story of a flight on an airplane in Uganda?

Barbara: Or even a road, maybe. Driving a car down a road is probably just as bad.

Dennis: Oh, exactly.

Katie: Yes; the only time that I get in an airplane in Uganda would be to fly overseas, so then the airplane isn’t terrible; but the condition of the roads is not great.

Dennis: Well, I think there’s no question that we’re spoiled, here, in America with all of our services.

Bob: I think you’re right.

Dennis: Katie is the author of a new book called Daring to Hope: Finding God’s Goodness in the Broken and the Beautiful. She is a mom to 14; a wife to 1, Benji, which is a great story in and of itself; and they’ve had a little boy of their own named Noah. 

This is a book about, really, finding God through the interruptions of life, what we would call an interruption. Bob was interrupted by the seat in his airplane. You were interrupted, one day, by a guy, who was on your doorstep, by the name of Mack. 

3:00

You generally have taken care of girls, but this was a guy who needed help.

Katie: Right; yes. Mack was brought to me from one of the communities that we work in, by a social worker on our staff. She had found him, and he had been severely burned. His leg—you could almost see the bone, it had been burned so badly and so deeply. 

You know, I thought I knew Mack. He was the village alcoholic. He was the guy who was getting in my way on my way to Bible study—he was the guy who was yelling profanities, and I would cover my children’s ears. I had shrugged him off as an annoyance—as that kind of person. So, when she showed up with him—my sweet social worker, Christine—I kind of shook my head at her; but he was badly hurt, so we proceeded to three different hospitals. We were told all three times that his leg would have to be amputated, because it was so badly injured. 

4:00

The hospitals in Uganda, where we live, are pretty understaffed and very under-resourced. The doctor explained to me that his leg did have a chance if somebody could bandage it and dress it every single day; but he said, “My nursing staff here, with this many patients, we don’t have enough gauze, we don’t have strong enough antibiotics; we won’t be able to do this every day. If you’d like, I can show you how and you can do it at home.” I said, “Okay,” which is funny to me now. You know, sometimes, you wonder, “Okay; God, what?”—how did I…” / “I did?”

Barbara: “How did that come out of my mouth?” [Laughter]

Katie: I said, “That was fine”; but I did. We’ve been privileged, over the last many years, the house that we live in has a really simple guesthouse in the back—it’s really just a line of small rooms. So, we do have a place where it is safe to let other people live. They’re not inside our home, and so—

5:00

Dennis: Yes; that’s one of my first thoughts: “What’s a guy like this going to do in a house with so many young ladies?”

Katie: Right. So that’s why I felt safe about the fact that we had some good separation between our house and the guest home; and I have people like social workers on my staff who are able to come and help out with this sort of thing. 

But he stayed—he wasn’t actually allowed to come up to the main house—so I would go back there on the porch of his room every day and dress his wound. Slowly, he began to sober up; and this really gentle, gen...

Daring to Hope (Part 1) - Katie Davis Majors
Daring to Hope (Part 2) - Katie Davis Majors
Daring to Hope (Part 3) - Katie Davis Majors

FamilyLife Today® Radio Transcript  

References to conferences, resources, or other special promotions may be obsolete.

Serving the Hurting

Guest:                         Katie Davis Majors               

From the series:       Daring to Hope (Day 3 of 3)

Bob: As a single mother, a parent to 13 adopted children, Katie Davis Majors was surprised when a young man, also living in Uganda, began pursuing her. 

Katie: He asked me out twice; and it was in the middle of, I think, just a hard season for me personally. Both times I said, “No”; and the second time, I really said like, firmly, “No”—like, “Hey,”—

Barbara: “Don’t ask again now.”  

Katie: —“I hope we can still be friends; but if we can’t, it’s okay. We can’t—we can’t do that. No. No; thank you.”  

Bob: This is FamilyLife Today for Wednesday, December 20th. Our host is Dennis Rainey, and I’m Bob Lepine. How Katie Majors went from a firm “No,” to becoming Mrs. Benji Majors—we’ll hear that story today. Stay with us. 

1:00

And welcome to FamilyLife Today. Thanks for joining us. I want to meet Benji Majors sometime; don’t you?  

 Dennis: I do!  

Bob: I mean, I just want to meet the guy who was persistent and met a determined young woman and was determined to win her. 

Dennis: I want to hear the story of whether or not he went to Uganda in search of Katie Davis, author of Kisses from Katie. [Laughter] 

 Bob: I’m just curious about Benji. You told us earlier that there was a guy who was living out in the house behind your house. You called Benji and said, “Would you want to come disciple him?”  Benji said, “Sure.”  I’m thinking: “Yes; Benji wanted to take you out. I would have come and discipled him and say, ‘I’ll be there every day to disciple him if it gets me a little closer to you.’”  Do you think that was in the back of his mind?  

Katie: At that point, no; I don’t think so. [Laughter]  

Dennis: Are you sure though?  

Katie: No!  [Laughter]  

Barbara: Yes; that was a hesitant yes. So, yes; I think that’s right. 

2:00  

Dennis: Well, Katie is the author of a new book, Daring to Hope. She is now married. She is a mom of 14—13 of whom—a baker’s dozen of Ugandan little girls, who are becoming, even against Katie’s will, young ladies. They are growing up—

Katie: Yes. Isn’t that true?  

Dennis: —growing up on her here. 

I want to ask you my favorite question, but I’m going to ask you to wait to answer it—

Katie: Okay. 

Dennis: —until the end of the broadcast. Here is my question: “What’s the most courageous thing you’ve ever done in all of your life?”  Now, don’t answer right now—I’m going to give you a moment to think about it—but courage is doing your duty in the face of fear. 

I’ve got a sneaking suspicion, because of your book, Daring to Hope, that you’ve got a definition or two that comes from your book that you’d share with our listeners; but to get there, what I want to first have you do is tell us about the woman who had five children, who was dying of TB and HIV, who came to you. 

3:00

Her name was Katherine. Tell our listeners that story of how you cared for her. 

Katie: Katherine came to live with us when she became very ill. Her five children, under the age of ten, were sponsored by Amazima; so we were paying for their school. 

Dennis: Okay; let’s just stop here. Amazima is an organization you run in Uganda. 

Katie: Yes. We—our goal is really to disciple families and to empower the families to stay together. About 80 percent of children in institutions in East Africa actually have one living parent; and they end up institutionalized just due to financial poverty. Their parents cannot afford to pay for them to go to school, or to pay for their medical care, or to pay for their food; so they send them to these institutions. 

That was something that was very shocking to me the first year that I lived in Uganda, and I really desired to try to change the system. 

4:00

Through financial sponsorship of school fees, and some food, and some basic medical provision, Amazima works to keep these children with their biological family members; but of course, the heartbeat of our organization is really that, in doing that, we would form a relationship with these families and lead them to Christ. 

Dennis: Katherine was one of those moms who had experienced the care of your organization. 

Katie: Yes; so we were in relationship with her and had known her for a few years through her children; and she just got sicker and sicker to the point where she wasn’t really able to take care of her children very well. She moved over to our house so that I could help her out with her children and, also, because our house is very close to the local hospital, and she needed a little more immediate access to medical care. We were just down the street from the doctor she was seeing. 

They lived with us for several months. I truly, really, believed that God was going to heal her of her illness—that she would become healthy and strong again. 

5:00

I had imagined it in my head—the happy ending, where she would move out with her children. 

We always throw a bit of a celebration for people who have lived with us for a season and get to move out on their own again. We’ve had many families, especially struggling single mothers, live with us over the years. We always have a big celebration when they become well, or they finally find a job, or their child is finally healthy enough, and they can move out. I really thought that that would be the case with Katherine and her fami...

Lessons From a Father That Was Always There (Part 1) - Crawford Loritts
Lessons From a Father That Was Always There (Part 2) - Crawford Loritts

FamilyLife Today® Radio Transcript  

References to conferences, resources, or other special promotions may be obsolete.

Modeling Integrity

Guest:                         Crawford Loritts                    

From the series:       Lessons from a Father Who Was Always There (Day 1 of 2)

Bob: Dr. Crawford Loritts is profoundly aware of how his life was marked and shaped by a father who was there. 

Crawford: My dad used to say to me as I was growing up—and particularly as I was facing difficult times and, maybe, I didn’t want to follow through on something; and I said I was going to do something—boy, he would pull me aside and say: “Son, all you have at the end of the day is what you say. That’s all you have. That’s all you have, and you better be good by what comes out of your mouth—integrity. If you say you are this, then it needs to be reflected in how you act.” 

Bob: This is FamilyLife Today for Monday, March 12th. Our host is Dennis Rainey, and I’m Bob Lepine. A lot of what Crawford Loritts understood about parenting came from watching a father who did the job well. We’ll hear more from him today. Stay with us. 

1:00

And welcome to FamilyLife Today. Thanks for joining us on the Monday edition. You know, we’ve often said that behind every great man, there’s a great woman or that we stand on the shoulders of others. I don’t know how often it’s been reflected on that behind great men and women are often faithful moms and dads, who did their job well and created a foundation for their sons and daughters to grow up in where those sons and daughters thrived. 

Dennis: You know, as you talk about that, I can’t help but think about our guest on the program today, who gave a message at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission’s Parenting Conference, back last August. I sat in the audience as I listened to my friend, Crawford Loritts, speak about his heritage that Crawford was given by his great grandfather, Peter, whom he described as a praying, singing slave.

2:00

Bob: Yes. 

Dennis: And he passed on a living faith that, now, resides in Crawford’s life and in, also, Crawford’s four children; and I think, soon, his ten grandchildren as well. 

Bob: Yes; Crawford is a friend of ours. He and his wife Karen have spoken at Weekend to Remember® marriage getaways for years. Crawford is also the pastor at Fellowship Bible Church in Roswell, Georgia, suburban Atlanta. He’s spoken around the world on a variety of issues, including marriage and family. His message, at the parenting conference you were attending, was a riveting message. In fact, we thought, “This is one our listeners need to hear.” So, today, we’re going to hear Part One of Crawford Loritts talking about lessons he learned on integrity from a father who lived it. 

3:00

[Recorded Message] 

Crawford: About 20 years ago, I wrote a book entitled Never Walk Away: Lessons on Integrity from a Father Who Lived It; obviously, it was about my dad’s incredible impact on my heart and life. In fact, next to Jesus Christ, my father has had the most important, strategic, wonderful influence on my life. Who I am today—so much of what I think, and how I feel, and how I act, and, particularly, my approach to my marriage and our family—has Pop’s signature all over me. 

You know, Dan Fogelberg wrote a song a number of years ago—a ballad. Part of the refrain of that song goes something like this: “The leader of the band is tired; his eyes are growing cold. His blood is in my instrument, and his song is my soul. My life is just a poor attempt to imitate the man. 

4:00

“I’m just the living legacy to leader of the band.” 

My father was a grandson of a slave. He was born in 1914—February 13, 1914. He was the youngest boy of 14 children. So, his grandfather Peter / my great grandfather was a slave. Peter, they say—my dad remembers him: “Peter lived to be an old man. Peter was a singing and praying man,” he said. Some of my father’s most vivid memories were seeing his grandfather rock back and forth on the old homestead there in Catawba County, North Carolina, a place called Newton Conover, where he would just sing and pray. 

Peter was an illiterate man—couldn’t read / couldn’t write—but he loved Jesus, and—get this—he passionately loved the Word of God. The story is told / the legend is—he would have his children and grandchildren read him familiar passages of Scripture over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over again. 

5:00

The old boy had committed a lot of that to memory. 

Here’s what I want you to catch. Despite the fact that Peter was a slave—and let’s not glorify slavery—families were intentionally broken up. When young boys reached about 14/15/16 years of age, they bought a high price—they were studded out, so to speak. It was not our most bright and shining moment—it created a whole lot of damnable things that we are still dealing with in our culture today. 

But despite all of that, I don’t know what happened to Peter. Peter developed a passion and a love for God and a love for his family. Because of his commitment to Jesus Christ and his commitment to his family, he forged generations of strong men, strong male leadership, and strong families. 

6:00

I stand here just humbled—I don’t take credit for any of this. I don’t know why I was born and raised in a household, where my dad showed up, and where he loved the Lord, and he loved his family, and he left his signature over us. Why wasn’t I born in a situation where he wasn’t there? Why wasn’t I born with huge deficits in my heart and life? 

And what I want to say today, and underscore before us, is that we—one of my great concerns where evangelicalism is going today is that—somehow or another, in our desire to become intellectually palatable, and acceptable in the marketplace of life, and to broker influences in the corridors of power, and to not be looked at as dumb and stupid Christians—part of my concern is that we are wandering away from the spiritual core of who we really are and the power that’s necessary and needed. 

7:00

Don’t...