The August 2019 issue of Christian Standard magazine features cover story and several articles about Robert Coleman. Robert Coleman’s books Master Plan of Evangelism and Master Plan of Discipleship have strongly influenced my ministry. The Evangelism book has now sold 3.1 million copies and translated into 105 languages.

Mr. Coleman lives a block from our friends Gary and Marilyn Hansen in Wilmore, Kentucky. That opened the door for me to accompany Gary and Mr. Coleman to their Saturday morning men’s gathering and then chat with this apostle of evangelism for the rest of the morning. Quite an experience.

Jerry Harris, the publisher of Christian Standard, wrote:

“Robert Coleman (now 91) is a very tall, stately, well-built man, standing maybe six foot five. He has a full head of thick white hair, piercing eyes, and a smile that lights up a room. His stature reminds me of David’s word in Psalm 1: ‘That person is like a tree planted by streams of water which yields it fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.’”

Now, I have a different view of Psalm 1. It is not the text for a speaker at a retirement event.

Willson Contreras is the All-Star catcher for the Chicago Cubs. A reporter asked him what his #1 goal was. Contreras replied, “To be the best catcher in baseball.” The writer said Contreras pushes himself, places himself in growth situations to fulfill that goal. He is not passive or just waiting for it to happen.

Psalm one is not a paragraph in a biography. Want to be a fruit yielder? Want to produce a flourishing leaf? Want your life to prosper? Hang out next to the water—streams or wells.

©2019 D. Dean Benton     https://deanbenton.org

“The water I give will be an artesian well within gushing fountains of endless life” Jesus (John 4:14).