by Dale Reeves
Story Pastor
“Dream big dreams and pursue those dreams with courage, optimism, and perseverance. Commit yourself to making the world a better place. When it comes to the end, I want to be known as a difference maker.”
Those words could have been spoken this past Sunday by our lead pastor, Brad Wilson, as he kicked off our six-week teaching series entitled, “Dare to Dream.” If you missed that teaching, you can check it out here. We’ll be talking about dreams for our church and our individual lives in this series from God’s Word. And, every week at Christ’s Church, we talk about being “difference makers!”
The quote above is actually from Pat Williams, basketball Hall-of-Famer, best known for co-founding the NBA’s Orlando Magic, where his most celebrated first draft picks and trades included Shaquille O’Neal, Moses Malone, and Penny Hardaway. He also served as general manager for the Philadelphia 76ers, Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, and Orlando Magic. In 1996, Pat was named as one of the 50 most influential people in NBA history. In 2012, Pat received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. As one of America’s top motivational speakers, he addressed thousands of executives in organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies and national associations to universities and nonprofits.
Recently, Pat Williams died at the age of 84, after battling multiple myeloma for thirteen years. While my family was on vacation in Florida for a few weeks, I was able to attend Pat’s memorial service at First Baptist Church, Orlando, Florida. A pastor and writer friend of mine, and coauthor with Pat, Mark Atteberry, commented, “It was truly a beautiful service. Not very many humans would be deserving of a service like that, but Pat was.”
A Difference Maker
Pat was an avid reader and a prolific writer. He authored over 100 books in his lifetime, and I was fortunate to be able to meet him on several occasions while I worked as an acquisitions editor for Standard Publishing. Pat was so well-known across our country and the world, so, Why would he even write for Standard? I asked myself several times. He told me he had to keep writing to support his many children. Pat and his wife Ruth have 19 children, including 14 adopted from four different countries (South Korea, Romania, Brazil, and the Philippines), and he was “Poppers” to 21 grandchildren.
One of the books Pat wrote for Standard Publishing is called Happy Spouse . . . Happy House: The Best Game Plan for a Winning Marriage. It can be ordered here. Pat and his wife Ruth wrote this book to encourage couples to be the BEST leaders, lovers, and listeners they can be (BEST = Blessing, Edifying, Sharing, and Touching) based on what we read in God’s Word. In his years in the sports industry, Pat had seen many marriages and families that were doing well, and many that were dysfunctional. He had a passion for keeping God at the center of the home.
One of Pat’s other passions was developing great leaders in the church, great leaders in the business world, and great leaders in the home. I had the pleasure of working with him on his title, The Leadership Wisdom of Solomon: 28 Essential Strategies for Leading with Integrity. That book can be found here. Just as King Solomon led Israel into its Golden Age, God calls leaders today to lead with biblical principles in our high-speed world that is in desperate need of leaders who shepherd with honesty and integrity.
At Pat’s memorial service, I heard Buddy Dyer, mayor of Orlando, share these words: “Pat Williams was one of a kind, someone who was passionate about everything that he did and a friend to every person he met. His impact went well beyond sports.”
His pastor for over twenty years, Dr. David Uth, talked about where Pat sat in their church auditorium every week, and how he was a lifelong learner, always having a book under his arm at church where he could multitask while still being able to recount the details of each week’s sermon. Pat donated more than 20,000 books from his personal library to the church, which is now known as the “Pat Williams Leadership Library.”
Dream Big Dreams
The CEO of the Orlando Magic, Alex Martins, spoke at Pat’s service, as well as many other well-known figures in the sports world who all talked about Pat’s incredible legacy of faith and family. There was a video greeting from former Magic superstar Anfernee Hardaway in which his former player talked about how Pat always brought out the best in everyone, and was one of the kindest people he had ever met. He was accessible to fans and reporters, often pacing in the rear of the news media area during games. Current forward for the Magic, Jonathan Isaac spoke, sharing how the life he lived had challenged him as a man and a husband. He said, “A truly amazing man with a heart of gold. I know without a doubt that he passed knowing Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. A full life, lived well!”
Another person shared that while he had been eating a meal with Pat at a restaurant, Pat took an interest in their young college-age server, and found out what he was studying in college. After leaving a nice tip for the server, Pat simply wrote with a pen on a napkin that he left for the college kid, “Dream Big!!”—with several underlines beneath it.
Pat could speak those two words to people often because he was constantly dreaming big dreams himself. He served in the United States Army Reserves for seven years, completed 58 marathons (including 13 Boston Marathons), hosted three weekly radio shows, climbed Mt. Rainier, didn’t retire from his role as the Magic’s senior vice president until 2019, and recently had led the effort to bring Major League Baseball to the city of Orlando. One of Pat’s interns remarked at his celebration of life service, “We always wondered how Pat could get so much accomplished in a day. We thought the man never slept. But I’ll tell you a little secret. If you would go into his office about 2:00 pm, you would find him curled up under his desk taking his afternoon power nap.”
Pat once said,
“The older you get, the longer-range goals you need. Because when you stop setting long-range goals, that’s when the dying begins.”
As I drove away from the memorial service that afternoon and headed back to the beach to rejoin my family, I thought to myself, Pat was a great man. It’s amazing all he accomplished. I haven’t done hardly anything with my life!
Pat is survived by his wife “Ruthie,” 19 children, and 21 grandchildren. His grandchildren spoke of him driving several hours to watch them compete in their sports such as baseball and soccer. And, even as he watched from the stands and cheered for them, he always had a book under his arm.
Pat proved to me that you can have huge dreams, run with the big dogs, be known worldwide, and still be generous, kind, and humble—always seeking to lift others up and make a difference in their lives. I have several handwritten notes I received from Pat that I treasure.
May God call you to dream big dreams, and may you pursue those dreams in his power and for his glory!! He is the God of possibilities.
“Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20, AMP).