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Sports Illustrated reported that Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, and Alex Rodriguez spent the New Year’s holiday weekend at the same Bahamian resort. For those of you who do not eat, sleep, and dream sports, you should know that these three are among the richest and most talented professional athletes. Rodriguez, for example, will be paid $250 million for playing baseball. Jordan, now a sports executive, ranks among the highest paid in any endeavor. Woods has parlayed his golfing abilities into a multimillion-dollar enterprise.

I imagined myself at the same resort and wondered what it would be like to sit down with each of them over a cup of coffee and ask them some questions. “Tiger, how do you account for your breathtaking drives? How do you manage your incredible fame and reputation?” “Michael, tell me how you learned to shoot long jumpers. How did you learn to cover the 13 feet 9 inches from the foul line to the basket in one leap and earn the title, Air Jordan?” “Alex, where did you learn your smooth-as- whipped-cream fielding skills? Where did you learn bat control?”

Pure fantasy, I’ll admit, but wouldn’t you jump at the chance to talk one-on-one with talented athletes like Woods, Jordan, and Rodriguez? Of course, if sports isn’t your bag, my idea will fall flat as a tortilla.

But wait. What if I could talk with three great missionaries of the past? Who would they be and what would I ask them? What about David Livingstone, Jim Elliot, and Amy Carmichael?

“David, where did you get your vision for Africa? What kept you going through seemingly impossible obstacles? What was the toughest thing you ever faced and how did you handle it?”

“Jim, how did you catch missionary fever at Wheaton College? Why was your missionary enthusiasm so contagious? What factors did you weigh before you launched your Auca mission? Why did you think it was worth putting your life on the line for the sake of a few hundred people?”

“Amy, what compelled you to give everything to save exploited Indian women? What obstacles did you overcome and how did you do it? How did you overcome the notion that women weren’t worth saving? What did it cost you to stake out this new mission? What does it take to be a pioneer like you were?”

This was so much fun that I dreamed another Q&A fantasy. What if I could sit down with three contemporaries? Who would I pick and what would I ask them? I picked Bill Bright (Campus Crusade for Christ), George Verwer (Operation Mobilization), and Loren Cunningham (Youth With A Mission). They all pioneered what rate as major innovations in world evangelization.

“Bill, you not only sent people around the world, you sent the Jesus Film around the world. Why? Did you think it would really work in a variety of cultures? What would you say was the single most motivating idea you ever had?”

“George, you started with a student team passing out tracts in Mexico. How did you turn this into a worldwide mission? What obstacles stood in your way? How did you overcome them? How do you keep up what looks like a draining speaking schedule?”

“Loren, why did you think youth could make a difference in world missions? What was the genius of your idea when you started YWAM? Did you ever think it would develop into a worldwide organization? Why did you start incorporating social services with evangelism? Why do you think so many people have been attracted to YWAM? What keeps you going now?”

There it is, folks. Those are my fantasy interviews. Pick your elites and dream up your questions.

February 16, 2001