Inspire, Summer 2012

allowed me to mentor and disciple Eric through Bible study, and he often spent time with our family and traveled with me in ministry. He got to see and do “life” with me and my family. God continued to use sports in my ministry in unique ways. We had the joy of starting a church in Austin, Texas, as the result of a neighborhood basketball outreach with teens and university students. Nearly 100 young men went through that program, and, today, some of them serve as elders in that church. While in Austin, I also had the opportunity to lead a Bible study with the University of Texas football team. During his junior year, Eric came down from Cedarville to lead that study one night, and it was great to reconnect. Going Pro While serving in Austin, ABWE asked me to start a ministry for professional athletes. Bev and I moved to Philadelphia where God miraculously opened doors for me to begin working as a chaplain for the Philadelphia 76ers (basketball) and the Philadelphia Flyers (hockey). I also worked with the National Football League and, on occasion, Major League Baseball. In 14 years of ministry, the Lord had me conduct more than 600 chapels and numerous Bible studies with professional athletes. It was a joy to see many come to Christ and also to disciple and spiritually coach them. During these years of ministry, ABWE began having us minister to many of our missionaries at home and overseas. We began to see that many of our own missionaries had never been formally discipled. There was a clear need to come alongside many of these dear servants of Christ to share both spiritual and relational coaching principles in our meetings and seminars. Many expressed a desire for this to happen in their lives, and in 2006, Coach Ministry was born. Life coaching is different than discipling, because a life coach is in it for life with the one he mentors. Although all of the 15 men I mentor today have passed me in many ways, and that’s the goal, the need for coaching is essential, no matter an individual’s status or success. Team Ministry My wife has a passion for mentoring as well, and she travels with me to many countries and across the states when I speak at conferences for missionaries and pastors. While there, Bev and I spend one-on-one time with individuals and couples, listening and encouraging them. This is the majority of our ministry, but there are two other elements. One is hosting missionaries and pastors in our Colorado home. We delight in offering a kind of free “bed and breakfast” where they can relax and unwind and also seek counsel, if they wish, and encouragement to renew their ministries. A third part of our ministry is my writing. In addition to my books, I write a weekly online devotional called “Speaking to the Heart.” As more people are becoming aware of this ministry, Bev and I have begun holding “coaching seminars” to reproduce ourselves, or at least what we’re doing, so it can reach further into our ABWE family. Who would have thought an athlete with no intention of ministry would ever be in such a position? Only God could do this, and I am thankful for how He has used Cedarville in my life. Rev. Bruce McDonald ’69 is the founder of ABWE’s Coach Ministry and has authored three books. Bruce was inducted into Cedarville’s Athletic Hall of Fame for baseball and basketball in 1984, and he was named an Athlete of Honor in 2009. Bruce and his wife, Beverly (Hare) ’72, reside in Woodland Park, Colorado. You may contact him at bmcdonald@abwe.cc . Man-to-Man by Eric Mounts ’81 The term coach has evolved over time. Once an exclusive term related to sports, its meaning has broadened into leadership and mentoring. Bruce McDonald ’69 has been a coach to me since my days at Cedarville. At the start of my freshman year on the basketball team, I asked if I could wear Bruce’s jersey number. He was on deputation with ABWE at the time and helping out with the basketball team. I didn’t know the University had retired his number. I was only told, “that number is not available,” but Bruce was. He brought me into his discipleship group, and he has been coaching me ever since. It all started over Bible study, some one-on- one “death matches,” and a genuine affection shared by a godly older brother in this great eternal cause. In the last 35 years, I haven’t faced one major crossroad without huddling up with Bruce. I still take to heart a lesson he shared on the seven aspects of a vertical relationship with God. Bruce and I are very different, but I yearn for his intimacy with our Lord. I have experienced the renewal of his Rocky Mountain home retreat and sat in his study while he spoke into my heart. One morning as day broke, I heard some terrible singing coming from his deck. There he was with his iPod and ear buds, hands raised up and voice going forth. I experienced again what explains his influence — Bruce not only sings to God, he walks with God! His mantra still rings in my ear: “It is not what God does through you, but what God does in you that will give your life influence.” Thanks, Coach! Dr. Eric Mounts ’81 is the senior pastor of Bible Center Church in Charleston, West Virginia. He was inducted into the Cedarville University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986 and was named an Athlete of Honor in 2009. You may contact him at emounts@biblecenterchurch.com . Above: The McDonalds (left) open their Colorado home as a retreat for missionaries and pastors. Left: Bev (Hare) McDonald ’72 often travels with Bruce for ABWE’s Coach Ministry. Eric Mounts ’81 (left) has enjoyed being mentored by Bruce for many years. CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY 15