Monday, February 10, 2003
Monday, February 10, 2003
I will meditate on your precepts, and fix my eyes on your ways.
The other man was Dawson Trotman. Trotman was bright, artistic, and highly articulate. He
was a man who loved a challenge. At age 27, with only one year of seminary and one year of
Bible school behind him, Trotman set up the Navigators, an evangelistic organization that
stresses total commitment to Christ. Trotman wasn't without his detractors. He suffered vicious
verbal attacks but carried on anyway, fully believing the promise "Great peace have those who
love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble."
Both Baron and Trotman died before their time. Baron was in his mid-thirties; Trotman was in
his early fifties. But they died in strikingly different circumstances. Trotman drowned while
attempting to save a girl's life at Schroon Lake, New York. He left behind him an organization
that even today ministers powerfully worldwide with a staff of more than 2500 people.
Baron, on the other hand, met death far less gloriously. Toppled from leadership by drinking and
shabby financial dealings, and separated from his wife and children, Baron died in a third-rate
motel on the western edge of Amarillo, Texas. He left nothing. Two men--with similar gifts and
opportunities. One kept his eye on heaven.
(Psalm
119.15
NRSV)
John Haggai tells about two men who were contemporaries. The first, Clifford Baron, was one of
the greatest orators America has ever seen. One respected pastor called him, "the greatest
preacher since the apostle Paul." Audiences everywhere were spellbound by his messages. At
age 25 Clifford Baron had touched more lives, influenced more leaders, and set more
attendance records than any clergyman his age in American history.
Dear Jesus, guide me so that I will always keep my eyes on you. Amen.
