Man in Full

I found myself sitting at the Dentist's office this week reading a month-old issue of Sports Illustrated.  Chris Ballard wrote a compelling story about a high school wrestling coach named Mike Powell.  Powell was a successful wrestler in High School and on the Collegiate level.  An injury forced him from competing in the Olympics, so he decided to start coaching.  But Powell wanted to do more than coach, he wanted to have a deep influence on the lives of the broken young men on his team.

Powell not only built a winning team he also inspired his students to be men, by modeling for them love, compassion and competition.  At the height of his young career, Powell became sick and nearly died.  The article highlights Powell's struggle to come to grips with his mortality and with his masculinity.

Tears came to my eyes more than once while reading this article.  The article shows a clear depiction of a 'Man in Full'.  Read the article and notice the parallels to Christian discipleship.