Five strong men and a skillful road manager from Dallas will wrap up a five-day crusade in Opelika tonight. The time is 7:00 o'clock and the place is the old Lowe's building on Pepperell Parkway. They tell me they have saved the best feats of strength for their final performance, a night of "world record" demonstrations.
Since Wednesday night they have been crushing cinder blocks by the dozens, demolishing huge blocks of ice, lifting tree-trunk sized logs, and bending steel bars with their teeth and hands. Impressive, to say the least.
But more important has been their presentations in area school assemblies to more than ten thousand boys and girls. They have been well received in 19 elementary, middle, and high schools of our community and surrounding towns. School authorities are to be commended for their gracious hospitality to these men who are indeed excellent role models for young people. The power team plan is simple. They use their unusual strength to get your attention. Then they share their positive message of hope.
Their message is to families, but more especially to children, youth, and college students. In the schools they have invited boys and girls, as well as their teachers and counselors, to not allow alcohol, drugs, pornography, and illicit sex to ruin their lives. Some of the power team members have shared convincing personal stories of the pain of growing up in families that were torn apart as the result of alcohol and drug abuse.
"We must find a way to stop the blood of our children from running down the halls of our schools," team leader Brad said in one of his impassioned talks. Listeners quickly understand that these men are on a mission -- to help people catch a vision of how to live responsible, productive lives free of the devastating abuse of drugs and alcohol.
They describe their message as one of hope. With all the energy they can muster, both in feats of strength and in passionate speaking, they try to inspire children, youth, and adults, to become "dream makers" instead of "dream breakers." With no hesitancy they urge their audiences to have faith in God and to believe that he has a wonderful plan for every person.
The power team crusade has been made possible through the extraordinary cooperation of many businesses, organizations, churches, and individuals of our area. My telephone has been ringing constantly as people have called to offer assistance in dozens of ways -- from setting up chairs to cleaning up after each performance.
When all the dust has settled, and the power team has gone on to another town with their inspiring message of hope, I believe many homes in our area will be better places for children to grow up and become useful citizens. Many boys and girls will have a poster of the power team in their bedrooms to remind them of the men who inspired them to choose the high road of living. Parents will have an easier time helping their kids to understand the dangers of drugs, alcohol, pornography, and fornication. Many young people will not soon forget the incredible feats of strength performed by strong men whose lifestyles are equally strong examples in a hedonistic culture that touts immorality as acceptable behavior.
The power team crusade was an unusual event. A lot of hard work behind the scenes was necessary, requiring many people to work together. But most things that are worth doing require a lot of hard work, and this project was worth the effort.
Hundreds of people, young and old, will agree, for their lives will never be the same since the power team came to Opelika.