Paul Random

Remembering the Remarkable Life of NBA’s Junior Bridgeman

Basketball fans of a certain age will remember Junior Bridgeman, an NBA basketball player who spent the majority of his 12-season career with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Born Ulysses Lee Bridgeman, Jr., the Indiana-native-turned-Louisville, Kentucky legend averaged 13.6 points per game and gained a reputation for being a reliable “sixth man” – a steady force who could step in, score and regularly deliver for his team.

But Junior, who passed away suddenly last month at the age of 71, had an even more remarkable post-playing career – a rare professional athlete who peaked following his retirement from the NBA.

To be sure, it was his devout and dedicated faith in Jesus Christ that framed and informed his entire life and career.

At his memorial service, his brother Samuel spoke lovingly about growing up in their Christian home where their parents sang in the church choir. The boys sang in the youth choir. His father, known as “Deac” for his ordained status as a deacon, told and taught Junior and Samuel three main things:

  1. “You’re going to be too busy to get in trouble.” The boys stayed active in school, sports, church and the community.


  2. “If you don’t go to college, prepare yourself for manual labor.” The Bridgeman boys’ father ran a janitorial service, and both Junior and Samuel worked with him before school.


  3. “If you ever get arrested, pray I don’t come to get you.” While a loving father, the Bridgeman’s dad was no-nonsense and had little tolerance for disobedience.

Raised with strong faith and solid morals, Junior somehow went from not being able to afford the $1.25 membership fee to join the Boy Scouts to a Forbes’ estimated net worth of more than $1.4 billion.

The former NBA standout did it the old-fashioned way – by saving, investing, and working. He never earned more than $350,000 a year playing basketball.

Traded to the Milwaukee Bucks as part of a deal that sent Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Los Angeles Lakers, Bridgeman became intrigued that Bucks’ general manager Wayne Embry, once an NBA player, owned McDonald’s franchises.

In time, Junior invested in Wendy’s, even working at the stores he purchased to better understand the business. Fans would feel sorry for him, thinking he was destitute. He grew his portfolio to over 500 stores, along with over 100 Chili’s, Coca-Cola bottling facilities and even Ebony and Jet magazines.

As a public acknowledgement of his strong Christian faith, Junior named his company “Manna” after the miraculous food that God sent to the Israelites each morning during their 40-year journey in the desert. He led Bible studies and eventually hired a chaplain for the company. When the minister was interviewing with him for the job, he asked the billionaire what he saw as his main responsibility.

“Just take care of my people,” Bridgeman told him. “We’re in the people business.”

The former NBA star saw the integration of his faith and business as natural and a necessity. A pastor friend said Junior believed, “Only when you mix your business with your religion do you prove religion and improve your business.”

Junior was committed to using his resources to help and encourage others.

“If you can’t look back over your life and see where you’ve helped someone, a group of people, a number of people make their lives better, if you can’t do that, then however many years you’ve lived I say you’ve just lived in vain. You’ve missed the mark,” he once reflected.

For Junior, Jesus’ words in Matthew’s Gospel were a life verse: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37).

“There will always be more than enough people to tell you what you can’t do” or why you will fail, Bridgeman said. “I think you have to listen to all of them, but don’t make them the true compass of what you’re trying to do and the true compass of your life.

“You have to look within yourself and determine, ‘Is this something I’m really dedicated to doing and that I want to see happen?’”

When he passed away, his family, which included Doris, his wife for over 50 years, daughter Eden, and sons, Ryan and Justin, said, “Junior’s generous spirit and unwavering faith were a guiding light to all who knew him. While we grieve his passing, we take comfort in knowing he is at peace in his heavenly home, reunited with loved ones who have gone before him.”

Image credit: X.

Are Liberal Pastors Hiding in Conservative Churches?

“There are pastors in this denomination who do not believe in the bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ,” said my pastor, Dr. Jim Singleton.

That statement didn’t come from the pulpit but rather from inside a leadership meeting back around 2010.

The Presbyterian Church (USA) has been theologically sliding for decades, a tragic trend that has triggered a mass exodus of both members and entire congregations.

To be sure, the decline hasn’t been isolated to one denomination. The American mainline Protestant drop has been in the headlines since many of us were children. Demographic shifts and suburban spread are often cited as reasons. But the main driver of the decline has been churches very deliberately deviating from or outright denying the truth of God’s Holy Word.

Shortly after arriving in Colorado Springs in the late 1990s, I began attending First Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of our city. It was led by Dr. John H. Stevens, a longtime pastor who had arrived in the late 1960s. A dynamic preacher dedicated to the faithful teaching of the Bible, the three morning services were regularly filled. Extra chairs were often pulled out.

Dr. Stevens retired in 2004, and Dr. Jim Singleton became senior pastor. It’s difficult to follow a legendary figure, but Jim deftly accomplished the challenge. His teaching was inspiring, convicting and engaging. Like John, he was always faithful to the Scriptures.

Ordained as an elder, I began attending monthly session meetings. In addition to typical church business, we began talking about grave concerns with the church’s denomination – Presbyterian Church (USA). While these issues had been bubbling up for years, our congregation was largely unaffected thanks to pastors holding the line and remaining true to biblical doctrine.

But Dr. Singleton had developed a relationship with numerous other conservative pastors over the years and had been navigating a rising discontent and frustration across the denomination. They formed what became known as “The Fellowship of Presbyterians” and began dreaming and discussing the formation of a new denomination.

Jim Singleton was warning about heretics within a dying denomination and helped us work through plans to break away from the PC(USA). It was also where he shared about the wolves in sheep’s clothing (my words, not his) – the pastors he knew who were concealing their true beliefs in order to keep the peace – and protect their pensions.

The First Presbyterian Church of Colorado Springs congregation eventually voted to leave the PC(USA) and join the newly formed Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians (ECO). There are now nearly 400 congregations in the denomination – many of whom transitioned from the PC(USA).

Even given significant theological differences, many Christians struggle with leaving a church congregation in which they’ve been long established. It’s more than just loyalty. It could be family history. The late Dr. Adrian Rogers used to say that Christians would tell him in reference to their now liberal church, “I can’t leave. My parents are buried in the cemetery behind the church!” Dr. Rogers would tell them, “Listen, if they could get up and move, they would!”

At the same time, even conservative denominations are not immune from liberal infiltration. Search committees review sermons, ask questions, and check references. But it’s not a one-and-done process. Instead, it should be an ongoing conversation. Ministers are not immune from pressures and cultural persuasion. Accountability and support are critical components of any successful pastorate.

Pastors who might conceal their more progressive or liberal opinions from the pulpit to keep their jobs is a sensitive and highly volatile concern. If you have such suspicions, you should meet with your pastor and talk it through. What might seem like theological liberalism today might well be a misunderstanding. It could be a lack of confidence or a reluctance to offend. In turn, our encouragement might go a long way. Said Dr. Billy Graham, “When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.” 

This hour calls for strong and courageous pastors who will unapologetically proclaim the truth of God’s Word. Ours is a confused world that’s reeling and hungry for guidance. Our pastors hold an oversized role and responsibility to help lead the charge and show how Jesus Christ can revolutionize and redeem the culture. 

Image from Shutterstock.

‘Land of Lincoln’ Looks to Bully Homeschool Families

Homeschool families in Illinois are currently pushing back on a bill that threatens their parental autonomy and rights.

As currently proposed, the “Homeschool Act” or HB 2827, requires parents who want to educate their children outside of the traditional system to sign a “homeschool declaration form” – or face jail time. It would also demand that parents doing the teaching have a high school diploma or GED. State officials would reserve the right to inspect and critique curriculum. 

The “Land of Lincoln” is one of a dozen states known for steering clear of any meddling with homeschool families. While 38 other states do require parents to sign a declaration to educate in their homes, none of them have criminalized those who do not. Illinois would be the first.

Those behind the bill claim oversight is necessary to ensure the proper education and personal protection of the state’s students.

“It is an empirical reality that abuse and neglect occurs in homeschool settings, and that abusive caregivers can deliberately exploit the cover of homeschooling to isolate children — not educate them,” claimed Jonah Stewart, interim executive director of the Coalition for Responsible Home Education (CFRHE).

“While research has yet to settle the question in terms of rates of abuse by school status, all children deserve protections from abuse,” he added.

There is actually no evidence that children being homeschooled are at any elevated risk of abuse. 

And if homeschooling is so detrimental to a student’s academic success, why do studies show that those who are educated at home regularly achieve higher scores and outperform their traditionally schooled counterparts?

The Illinois legislation is either an ignorant attempt to solve a problem that doesn’t exist or an aggressive power grab by government officials to control what students, who are otherwise outside their reach, are being taught.

Illinois state Representative Travis Weaver strongly opposes the onerous and invasive legislation.

“My colleagues on the other side of the aisle that would say homeschooling is growing, and that’s how we need to regulate it. I totally reject that,” Weaver said. “That’s a false, misnomer of a lot of Illinois politicians that when things are good, it’s time for the government to step in. Homeschooling is a massive success.”

While educating children in the home dates back thousands of years, the modern-day movement took off in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In fact, Focus on the Family founder Dr. James Dobson is often credited for popularizing and normalizing the practice in Christian families by talking with advocates for it on the Focus daily radio program.

Like many Christian parents then and now, Dr. Dobson believed that mothers and fathers were best equipped to teach their children, and also equipped to pass along the values and principles of their faith, especially if a local school system was hostile to fundamental truths being shared in the home.

Homeschooling exploded during the COVID pandemic, and while many of those children have returned to traditional classrooms, it’s estimated that 3.7 million students (or 6.7%) are currently being educated at home.

Will Estrada, who serves as senior counsel with the Home School Legal Defense Association, calls the Illinois legislation a form of harassment.  

“Our single goal is to defeat this bill,” Estrada told National Review.

“It would be the first state where homeschool freedom has gone backwards. It would disproportionately harm vulnerable communities, low-income families, single parents who are homeschooling their children, minority communities.”

Because of Illinois’ liberal legislature, opponents of the bill face an uphill climb to defeat it. But last month, over 8,000 homeschool supporters descended on the state capitol to protest the proposal. Despite the avalanche of opposition, HB 2827 was voted out of committee by an 8-4 margin. 

Abraham Lincoln, who lived in Illinois for 31 years beginning in 1830 right up until the presidency, attended formal school for only a year. The rest of his education was self-directed and based in the home. It’s a shame that many of the same legislators who rightly hail the 16th president are failing to acknowledge that his greatness was fueled by the very type of education they now seem to want to discourage and make more difficult for families and their children.

Matt Walsh and a Call to Wake Up a Weary World

Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh was in California yesterday to testify before the state Assembly Arts, Entertainment, Sports and Tourism Committee.

Conservative California legislators have proposed two bills (AB 89 and AB 844) designed to protect women’s sports from men masquerading as females.

Assemblyman Bill Essayli, who drafted AB 844, invited Walsh to advocate on behalf of the legislation. If passed and signed into law, it would require students to only play on teams and use school facilities that are consistent with their biological sex.

That such commonsense legislation is even necessary points to the troubled times we’re navigating as a country.

Walsh, who famously engaged the public with the provocative and popular documentary, What is a Woman? spends no time wondering if his comments poke the proverbial bear. He’s of the mind that truth is more important than people’s feelings, especially the deceived or antagonistic.

Here’s what he told the committee:

Allowing men into female sports teams and into their bathrooms is incredibly unsafe.

You must keep men out of women’s sports and out of their facilities for the simple reason that they are men. Men are not women. A man who claims he is a woman is still not a woman. So why shouldn’t men play in women’s sports? Because they aren’t women. It isn’t true. We shouldn’t allow men into women’s sports for the same reason we shouldn’t go around claiming two plus two equals seven. It’s just not true. It’s a lie.

The man who identifies as a woman is either deluded and confused, or he is a crossdressing fetishist looking to play out his fantasies in public. In either case, the claim that he’s making, the claim to womanhood is not true. And compelling women to take part in this untruth, is evil, perverse and predatory.

If you would use the force of law to compel young girls to use a changing room with a boy, you are yourselves, are predators. Transgenderism is a lie. It is such a deranged lie that mankind has ever invented. In a free country, nobody should ever be forced to participate in a lie. As lawmakers, you have an obligation to the truth. It is a truth that I know you all recognize because every human who has ever lived on earth recognizes it – that men are men, and women are women, and it is that simple.

And the question before you is just as simple. The question is this: Will you side with the truth, a truth so basic that every toddler understands it, or will you disgrace yourselves by denying it? That is your choice to make.

Matt Walsh is right. Truth sets us free (John 8:32) but is suppressed by the ungodly and unrighteous (Romans 1:18). Because of that, we’re commanded to speak it when given an opportunity to do so (Zechariah 8:16).

Walsh and others are trying desperately to wake up a weary world. “Culture War” fatigue is real. People grow tired of the fight, the constant sparring and push back, especially on the most basic of things like the existence of two genders and the sanctity of every life.

Sadly, Walsh’s testimony and other pleading fell on deaf ears. Both bills were killed.

Tim Goeglein, Focus on the Family’s Washington, D.C. liaison, was at the Supreme Court Plaza on Wednesday morning. He was there to observe the pro-abortion throngs protesting ahead of oral arguments concerning whether South Carolina and other pro-life states can remove Planned Parenthood from state Medicaid programs.

“Their zeal and passion are from a demonic pit,” observed Goeglein. “My grandmother once told me that she heard the Germanic voice of Hitler shouting through the radio, and that, even though she could not understand the language, she knew it was of another realm.”

Some Christians are checking out of the battle. They may not agree with the radicalism, but they would prefer to live a quiet and peaceful life. So they ignore the news and merrily live in their bubble. As believers, we have no such luxury. We’re called to engage, advocate, defend, and support God’s agenda.

As Christians, we’re called to duty. That includes shaking our fellow believers from their slumber. If even half of those who claim Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior would stand up and speak up, our culture would be transformed overnight.

Image credit: Matt Walsh / X

Seeking God’s Wisdom in a World Full of Fools

Many historians trace April Fools’ Day back to 1500s France and the introduction of the Gregorian Calendar. It seems some of the French were unaware of the change and continued using the old Julian calendar, including celebrating the new year on April 1 instead of January 1.

Their ignorance earned them the nickname of being “April fools” – and thus the tradition of concocting hoaxes on the date was born.

Nobody wants to be considered a fool, but as sinful and fallen people, we do foolish things all the time.

The Bible pulls no punches when it comes to warning us about the folly of unwise and reckless behavior. In Scripture, fools deny God’s existence altogether or outright ignore His teaching, spend little or no time discerning His perspective and seem either disinterested or oblivious to the short or long-term consequences of their worldly behavior.

In other words, ours is a world full of fools.

Yet with the rise of social media, never have so many been given a platform to broadcast so broadly their foolishness.

From mainstream media to academia to entertainment and science, we’re bombarded with both overt and covert inanity.

Solomon noted, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7). James wrote, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach and it will be given him” (1:5).

America has been embroiled in a destructive cultural revolution for the last six decades. At its beginning in the 1960s, we were told we needed to be liberated from the strangleholds of its religious roots. Restricting sex to marriage was called oppressive and regressive. Enduring our way through marital discord was called cruel and abusive. Divorce was called freeing, hence the introduction of no-fault filings.

Elites began preaching on the benefits of smaller families or on the freedom of no children at all. Contraceptives were to unshackle couples from the burdens of sleepless nights and strained bank accounts.

Freedom to experiment sexually then led to rampant and reckless sexual perversion. Homosexuality was relabeled by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) from a disorder to just another social choice. Cultural acceptance soon followed.

The widespread understanding of just two genders, male and female, held for thousands of years. It’s only in recent years that the inconceivable and foolish idea that gender is a choice, a social construct, began to emerge. This madness has resulted in heartbreaking consequences ranging from sexual abuse to the violation of private space to the stealing of well-earned athletic achievements.

Over the years, abortion has evolved from a criminal enterprise to the government and society funding and financing it. A child’s right to live has been long ago surpassed by a woman’s right to choose.

It’s all stupidity, idiocy, irrationality and illogicality. 

But it’s not surprising.

God saw it all coming, which is why Solomon warned, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice” (Proverbs 12:15).

The world’s folly and fools are found in everyday headlines, on social media, in movies, sadly, serving in elected office, even running and teaching in America’s schools. 

Conversely, we can find the antidote to this foolishness by turning our hearts and minds over to the Lord, by seeking His wisdom, obeying His rules and following His instructions.

Image from Shutterstock.