365 Christian Men

February 23. Justin Martyr. About 100 AD, Martyr was born in Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom of ancient Israel, a city of Gentiles and mixed marriages.  Even as a boy, he wanted answers for life's big questions, and he wasn't finding them among the Stoics and other philosophers.  But one day he met a man who knew Jesus. Martyr listened. He […] The post Justin Martyr, Rome, Philosopher...

February 22. Scott Schwinn. Scott is like many men. He cares about his wife. He cares about his children. And he cares about being a man he can admire. These strong values rarely go untested, and Scott is no exception there either. When the test came, Scott had a choice to make. Here's what happened.  It's […] The post Scott Schwinn, US, Businessman first appeared on 365 Christian Men .

February 21. George Latimer. Around 1820 in Virginia, a stonemason named Latimer and a young woman, who was owned by his brother, had a son named George. George Latimer. And though his father was white, and George had his name, he was considered mere property. And he was treated like property.  He was a house servant until he was sixteen. […] The post George Latimer, US, Paperhanger first appeared...

February 20. Jake Peavy. In June 2002, Jake played his first professional baseball game with the San Diego Padres. During his career, he played for the Chicago White Sox, the Boston Red Sox, and the San Francisco Giants.  When he was seven years old, Jake devoted his life to God. He once said: "[God is] the reason that I believe I'm […] The post Jake Peavy, US, Pro Athlete first appeared on 365 Ch...

February 19. Fred Rogers. Rogers was a puppeteer, writer, producer, and ordained minister. At his ordination, the Presbyterian Church asked him to use television to minister to children and families. On this date in 1968, the premiere episode of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood aired, and it ran on PBS from 1968 to 2001.  Rogers produced, wrote, and hosted the TV program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. He ha...

February 18. John Bunyan. John was a 17th Century Englishman—a preacher and an author. He wrote more than sixty books, mostly about preaching, the Christian life, and the struggles Christians encounter.  He felt compelled to preach about Jesus Christ at a time when men were not allowed to preach without a license from the government. And John went on preaching.  It led to […] The post John Bunyan,...

February 17. Benjamin Carson. Ben grew up in Detroit (with a brief stint in Boston), and as risk-factors go, young Ben was rich with them. He was Black, in poverty, from a single-parent family, with a mother who couldn't read and had to work multiple jobs to keep food on the table. But that hard-working woman made a habit of going to the […] The post Benjamin Carson, US, Pediatric Neurosurgeon fir...

February 16. Jonathan Goforth. Goforth was the first missionary from Canada to go to China with his wife. He became the most well-known missionary revivalist in the early twentieth century and changed the way missionary work was accomplished in China.  In 1900, the Boxer Rebellion broke out. A group called the "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" comprised huge numbers of violent villagers...

February 15. Pat Boone. In the 1950s and 60s, Boone was a popular singing star—slash—heart throb, second only to Elvis Presley. On this date in 1970, Boone portrayed evangelist-to-the-gangs David Wilkerson in the movie: The Cross and the Switchblade.  At the time this introduction is being written in 2020, Boone is still going strong. He created his own record company: The Gold Label, which featur...

February 14. Frank P. Lytle, Jr. Although he lost his hearing when he was one, "Frank was a follower of Jesus and a leader of men." So reads a line on Abilene Christian University's webpage for the Frank & Lois Lytle Family Endowed Scholarship—which Frank's son created out of deep respect for his parents.  Frank served as a church deacon and in many deaf […] The post Frank Phillip Lytle, Jr, US, D...

February 13. Alexander Duff. Just when Duff was finishing his education, the Church of Scotland was preparing its first mission, which would be based on education, and they appointed him superintendent of a new mission school at Calcutta.  Writing about whether he ought to go India or stay in Scotland, Duff said: "with the Bible in my hands, I cannot see how her soul in […] The post Alexander Duff...

February 12. Janani Luwum. In 1977, Uganda roiled with fear. In 1971, Field Marshall Idi Amin violently overthrew the elected government and named himself President. He was known as the Butcher of Uganda, and his nickname was The Machete. During his reign, he massacred hundreds of thousands of civilians. In 1972, he ruthlessly drove all Indian and Pakistani citizens out of […] The post Janani Luwu...

February 11. John Clough. On this date in 1858, Clough was baptized into the family of Christ. He grew up to be an American scholar and farmer and then a missionary to South India.  In 1877 and 1878 Clough worked tirelessly in famine-relief work and with the Ongole mass movement—a welcoming into the body of Christ of people who have been outrageously oppressed by the religious, social, […] The pos...

February 10. Ben Mueller. Ben holds an MBA and has a stellar record as Chief Financial Officer, Controller, and International Financier. But one of his biggest achievements happened at a weekend event with The Crucible Project.  A men's Crucible Weekend is like a retreat designed to challenge men to look at what is and is not working in their lives. It's an opportunity to discover new […] The post...

February 9. Olaudah Equiano. As a child, Equiano was sold into slavery to a captain in the British Empire's Royal Navy. Later, a Quaker trader bought him. Equiano became the man's clerk, and he learned about Jesus. On this date in 1759, Equiano was converted to Christianity and was baptized.  Eventually, in 1766, by skillful trading and saving all he earned, he purchased his own freedom. In time h...

February 8. Athanasius. Athanasius, whose nickname was "Black Dwarf," was a theologian, a church leader, and an Egyptian political leader. If he had lived in the twenty-first century, instead of the fourth, we would call him an influencer—maybe Chief Influencer.  For forty-five years he was Bishop of Alexandria, and his congregation included all of Egypt and Libya. During that time, he was exiled—...

February 7. Tony Dungy. On this date in 2007, Tony became the first Black head coach to win the Super Bowl: the Indianapolis Colts versus the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI.  The same year, Tony released his memoir: Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life, and it reached number one on the hardcover nonfiction section of the New York Times Best Seller list. Toda...

February 6. Lou Bloss. Lou is a man with wide-ranging experience. He is a US Army veteran and an award-winning journalist, who has published everywhere from minor-league baseball news to Christian devotionals to a how-to-write textbook. Lou owns Lou Bloss Media, which provides marketing, advertising, and publishing for the restaurant industry.  And Lou is a man with a great sense of humor. He […]...

February 5. John Calvin. Born into a devout Catholic family, Calvin was sent off to study philosophy and law. By the time he was twenty-four, he embraced Protestantism and worked for changes in the Roman Catholic Church. He wrote The Institutes of the Christian Religion, a foundation of Protestant systematic theology. And he wrote commentaries on every book in the New […] The post John Calvin, Fra...

February 4. James Cash Penney. Penney built his life on the value of honesty—and it paid off, literally.  When he was 26, he scraped together enough to buy his first dry goods store: "The Golden Rule." Within a decade, he owned 30 more stores. Today, there are 850 JC Penney stores in the US and Puerto Rico. And when he died, he left a personal […] The post JC Penney, US, Businessman first appeared...

February 3. Mel Trotter. On this date in 1900, Mel was appointed Superintendent of Grand Rapids Rescue Mission. He ran the mission for his forty years and helped start sixty-seven other Rescue Missions across the country. Here's how his story started.  What seems impossible with men is entirely possible with God.  Mel pushed open the door to his little house—what was […] The post Mel Trotter, US,...

February 2. Wilfrid Barbrooke Grubb. The biographer said that Grubb considered obstacles mere "straws to be brushed aside" and … "his appearance conveyed an impression of physical endurance and great strength of character."  As strong as his character was his desire for the good of his South American parish—the notorious Chaco region of Paraguay. There in the wild, Grubb established the first miss...

February 1. Josh McDowell. For more than fifty years, Josh has brought instruction and encouragement to youth, families, churches, leaders, and individuals. He's an everyday-language man, who helps prepare people for the life of faith and the work of the ministry.  Josh has delivered about 27,200 talks to more than 25,200,000 people in 126 countries. On this […] The post Josh McDowell, US, Evangel...

January 31. John Bradford. Bradford worked hard and rose fast. He started in service to Sir John Harrington and became responsible for handling King Henry VIII's money and went on to become Deputy Paymaster of Henry VIII's forces when they besieged a city on the French coast of the English Channel.  When Bradford became a Christian, he was ordained to be a travelling preacher. He sold all 'his cha...

January 30. Bubba Watson. Bubba is a real-life champion, a PGA champion, a multiple-major champion with victories at the Masters Tournament in 2012 and 2014. On this date in 2011, he won the Farmers Insurance Open.  Bubba earned a scholarship to the University of Georgia, and he helped lead the Bulldogs to an SEC Championship.  After he gained some fame, […] The post Bubba Watson, US, Pro Golfer f...