This Series of Blogs provide vignettes of the early pioneers of The Muscular Christianity Era -  Faith-Sport Integration who laid the foundations for the Modern Day Sports Outreach Movement

ROBERT ROSS MCBURNEY - INSPRIATIONAL ANECDOTES
TRANSFORAMTIONAL ENCOUNTER - From its inception in 1852, the New York YMCA had always closed its doors for Holidays. McBurney was first employed by the Y 10 years later and made a decision to open the doors of the Y on the Christmas of 1863.  He did so because he was experiencing a personal sense of loss, loneliness, homesickness and grief.  He had only recently learned of his own father’s death in Ireland and his own feelings of emotional longing made him believe there may also be some other poor soul who found himself alone and in need of companionship on such a special day.

As if on cue, a young sailor from England appeared and McBurney opened the Y to the young homesick lad.  He shared dinner with the young fellow who being thus embraced by McBurney proceeded to pour out his heart to his newly found friend.  The young man related what a wild and wayward son he had been and he even produced a letter from his father in which the father stated how much the son had disgraced him.  As could be counted on with McBurney, the conversation was steered towards the young man giving his life over to Christ and before the lad left, he had indeed determined to do so. This new Christian came to the Y every day his ship was in port, but after the ship sailed to its next destination and McBurney never again heard from him.
 
TEN YEARS LATER - During an international evangelical alliance meeting held in New York, two English delegates came to the Y for a tour.  As McBurney led them through the building and came to know their names, he recognized his one guest’s name to be the same as the young sailor boy who had visited on Christmas day ten years earlier.  McBurney inquired if the English delegate knew of the young lad.  McBurney’s inquiry piqued the gentleman’s interest and he proceeded to ask McBurney a number of questions concerning the lad.  After receiving sufficient information he finally confessed the young man in question was in fact his son.  He further related to McBurney the sad news of his son’s death, having been washed over board at sea.  However, he stated he would be eternally grateful to his tour guide for leading his son to Christ, because his son had never caused him another moment of grief.   He further explained since that Christmas day conversion his son’s life had completely turned around.  Since that decision for Christ the doors of the YMCA remained open every Holiday as a beacon to any wayfaring and lost soul.

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TRANSFORMATIONAL ENCOUNTER #2 - A similar story concerned another young man who walked into the Y just to get out of inclement weather.  Upon entering, he was impressed with the overall warmth with which he was received.  One of McBurney’s young assistants was the first to welcome the young man and quickly introduced him to McBurney.  Before long, the young man shared that while raised in a fine Christian home in England, he had drifted away from all that he knew to be right and true.  Within minutes, in typical McBurney fashion, the visitor was invited to make things right with the Lord and the three dropped to their knees, where the wayward son prayed to receive Christ. 
 
A CHANGED LIFE LEADS TO A CHANGED WORLD - This young man left with a new found faith and purpose for his life.  He stayed in touch with McBurney through the years, keeping him informed as to his progress. He completed missionary and medical school and subsequently spent the rest of his life as a career medical missionary.  He never forgot McBurney, and regularly sent monthly reports of his mission work back to the man who had warmly received him on that blustery night years before.  Had it not been for that night and for the invitation to bow before the Lord, an entire population would have been bereft of the medical and spiritual help they so desperately needed.  Just a few days before he passed away, McBurney gratefully read the last communiqué he would ever receive from his missionary friend.
 
SOURCES CONSULTED 
The Life of Robert McBurney by Dr. Lawrence L. Doggett, 1925.  Dr. Doggett was the President of Springfield College where the YMCA training school was held.
 
My Life with Young Men by R. C. Morse, 1918.
 
Robert Ross McBurney - a Memorial,  Ed. by R. C. Morse.

World Service - a History of the Foreign Work and World Service of the Young Men’s Christian Associations of the United States and Canada by Kenneth Scott Latourette, Association Press, New York: 1957.
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This blog is an excerpt from a future book: "Surrounded by Witnesses"  by Dr. Greg Linville   All rights reserved.  For any reproduction right, including copying, computer reproduction, etc. contact:

Dr. Greg Linville at CSRM International C/O The World Outreach Center 5350 Broadmoor Circle N. w. Canton, Ohio – USA 44709 or glinville@csrm.org
 
Other blogs and articles on Local Church Sports, sports theology and ethics written by Dr. Greg Linville and other local church Sports, Rec & Fitness Ministers are archived at: http://www.csrm.org/blog/

This Series of Blogs provide vignettes of the early pioneers of The Muscular Christianity Era -  Faith-Sport Integration who laid the foundations for the Modern Day Sports Outreach Movement

MODELS FOR LOCAL CHURCH SPORTS MINISTERS GLEANED FROM THE LIFE & MINISTRY OF ROBERT ROSS MCBURNEY
A. One of the key ingredients to McBurney’s success was he remained single his entire life - a life solely devoted to ministering to young men.  Because he had no family commitments he was able to pour all of his energies into his ministry.  In addition, being single enabled him to live on a lower salary, with no concern for caring financially for any dependents.  While singleness is not a pre-requisite for Sports Ministry it can not help but be noted being single was crucial to this Scotch-Irish immigrant’s accomplishments.
 
B. The second reason McBurney was successful was due to the quality of his relationships with influential people.  These relationships were crucial to the financial underpinnings of McBurney’s ministry.  One cannot read more than a few pages of Doggett’s biography on McBurney without recognizing how much money was raised by this incredible man.  This ability is often looked upon as being less spiritual than other gifts, but it is indispensable when it comes to building a viable ministry.  Without adequate funding McBurney would have had no buildings and without the buildings the Y would have had much less prominence and exposure and without this prominence there would have been far fewer opportunities to share Christ.  Sports Ministers who desires to reach more people for Christ must recognize they will need to raise money.  Moreover, Sports Ministers need to understand the funding for their ministries will be generated by their personal integrity and by the quality of their relationships.  People who know people of means will be willing to solicit funds for ministries if they believe in the person and the ministry.  McBurney was surrounded by influential people who believed McBurney was their friend and who believed in what McBurney was doing.  He and his ministry had integrity and results and therefore he had the money he needed.
 
C. Another key for McBurney was his keen political mind.  He was able to assess the needs of young men and then create a vision for programming which would meet those needs.  He was also particularly adept at assessing and interacting with the nuances of the political, social, economic and religious communities of his day.  He was personally involved in his community and knew how to positively manipulate things for the sake of the gospel.  The personal relationships he nurtured through the years which were mentioned in point B, not only supplied the financing the YMCA needed, but they also opened doors whatever doors were necessary for the ministry to go forward.
 
D. The fourth ingredient in McBurney’s success was his administrative skills.  He knew how to supervise men and how to administrate facilities and ministries.  The New York City YMCA of the late 19th century was able to expand because the leader was a capable administrator.  A Sports Minister’s program in a local Church, or a Para-Minister’s clubs, huddles and activities will only increase to the level the minister can capably oversee it organizationally.
 
E. Another imperative ingredient for growing a Sports Ministry is leadership.  McBurney was a master at developing leadership.  This included being able to identify, recruit, train, support, deploy and supervise his leaders.  This ingredient may be the most vital McBurney possessed.  For it was the men McBurney surrounded himself with who ensured the overall success of the Y. 

McBurney like Williams before him was a keen evaluator of men and he too managed them well.  Not only did he choose quality men, but he had a unique insight into how to select men who were skilled and highly qualified with gifts complimentary to his own.  His scribe, R. C.  Morse, penned the historical documents of the Association and was also the major source of the YMCA’S written communication.  He was chosen out of family who had authored books and who created the Morse code.  Robert Weidensall was the missionary who rode the trains throughout America spreading the message of the YMCA.  Wherever Weidensall got off a train it seemed he planted a new branch of the Y.  Vanderbilt, Brainerd and Dodge were the men who held the keys to the purse strings and public relations.  Whenever a community contact or a financial shot in the arm was needed, these and other prominent men came to the aid of the Y.  It could be said there was not one single YMCA Secretary in the 1800's who had not been influenced in some way by McBurney.  His example demonstrates a ministry will only grow if it has a trained, supported and well deployed leadership force.
 
F. Buildings are magnets.  Facilities naturally attract people.  Any Church, camp, YMCA or other Sports Ministry which wants to make an impact should consider a building program which will meet the needs of the people in the ministries community.
 
G. McBurney exhibited a rare ability to stay on course.  Even rarer was his ability to know what his personal mission in life was and rarer still was his ability to know how to accomplish his personal mission through the corporate mission of the YMCA.  In order for a Local Church Sports Minister to be effective he or she must know themselves - their gifts, abilities, positionings and callings - and then they must know how to stay focused upon accomplishing the ministry God calls them to.
 
H. Sports Ministry will only be effective when the Bible is the very foundation of the ministry and when Bible Study is a major focus of the ministry.  Two major goals of ministry should be to get non-believers into a Bible Study which is geared towards leading people to Christ and to get believers into Bible Studies which disciples them.

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This blog is an excerpt from a future book: "Surrounded by Witnesses"  by Dr. Greg Linville   All rights reserved.  For any reproduction right, including copying, computer reproduction, etc. contact:

Dr. Greg Linville at CSRM International C/O The World Outreach Center 5350 Broadmoor Circle N. w. Canton, Ohio – USA 44709 or glinville@csrm.org
 
Other blogs and articles on Local Church Sports, sports theology and ethics written by Dr. Greg Linville and other local church Sports, Rec & Fitness Ministers are archived at: http://www.csrm.org/blog/

This Series of Blogs provide vignettes of the early pioneers of The Muscular Christianity Era -  Faith-Sport Integration who laid the foundations for the Modern Day Sports Outreach Movement

McBURNEY’S LAST DAYS
McBurney had always been an outdoor enthusiast with fishing being one of his greatest loves, but though an active man, he suffered physical debilitation during the last year or two of his life.  Many believed his ill health was worsened and even caused by the incredible work load he assumed.  He died at age 61 on December 27th, 1898.
 
McBurney’s wishes for his funeral were two-fold.  He desired it to be of the greatest simplicity with only congregational singing and his good friend Cephas Brainerd be invited to speak to young men, recruiting them to engage in both association (YMCA) and personal work for the leading of men to the Savior.  His request was honored except for the simplicity requirement.  This was made impossible by the shear number of men who wished to speak words of praise, thanks and honor to the man who had so influenced their lives.  This was alluded to by Bishop Henry C. Potter, of the Protestant Episcopal Church when he paid tribute to McBurney by stating: “what hosts of young men and of older men there are today who have come to believe in the fatherhood of God, because, first of all, they learned to believe in the brotherhood of Robert McBurney.”[1] 
 
Months later, many of these “hosts” gathered for a separate memorial service for Association workers which was held in April of 1899.  It consisted of dozens of intimate fellow workers who shared with one another their personal experiences and reflections of the departed friend.  It was through those gathered that McBurney’s principles and focus lived on.
 
SUMMARY OF MCBURNEY'S LEGACY
L. L. Doggett wrote in his introduction to McBurney’s biography the following description of McBurney.  It is a warm and touching description which accurately portrays a man which should be an example and model to anyone engaged in YMCA work or in a broader context of Sports Ministry.
 
"Another thing as pre-eminent in this man’s life as his dominating love was the ever-present, ever-ready, concern he had for men’s salvation.  It was hardly possible to come into personal contact with McBurney without feeling his interest in one’s eternal welfare.  On every hand he made it his business in an engaging and tactful way to establish such relationships as would impress men with this interest.  He took advantage of every slight occasion to this end and in a direct and really loving way he made a personal impress upon thousands of young men.  His cordial, earnest greeting, his hand, his look, the few words he spoke, however brief or inconsequential otherwise the interview, lifted the life he touched.  Multitudes of young men owe to his efforts their personal
salvation, and hundreds of others have been led by him to devote themselves to the Ministry or the Secretaryship of the Young Men’s Christian Association."

While all that Doggett has related about McBurney’s ability to love, his relational gifts and his great desire to extend the kingdom of Christ, is true, he also realized the man had his shortcomings.  However, as the following quote by Doggett illustrates, it seemed that McBurney even turned his character flaws into positives.
  
"His chief failing, an occasional brusque, over dominant way, native to his Scotch-Irish character, was often turned to account for the deepening of attachments between himself and his friends, for even out of brief misunderstandings grew reconciliations which more clearly showed the fervor of his love, and which more strongly welded others to himself."
 
One last quote gives additional support to the point that personal evangelism was the purpose for which McBurney gave his life.  Describing McBurney in his comprehensive volume on the International work of the early YMCA, Kenneth Scott Latourette states:
 
"He was warmly evangelistic, had a genius for friendship, and through personal contacts won many to the Christian faith."[2]
 
Truly, Robert Ross McBurney was an exemplary witness for Christ and provides a wonderful model for the current day YMCA worker and Local Church Sports, Rec & Fitness Minister.  May his fervor for his Savior and his dedication to winning others to the Savior, be the heart cry and foundation of each and every Sports Minister and YMCA worker who may read this recapitulation of Robert Ross McBurney.
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[1]Doggett, p. 256.

[2]Kenneth Scott Latourette - World Service, p. 26.
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This blog is an excerpt from a future book: "Surrounded by Witnesses"  by Dr. Greg Linville   All rights reserved.  For any reproduction right, including copying, computer reproduction, etc. contact:

Dr. Greg Linville at CSRM International C/O The World Outreach Center 5350 Broadmoor Circle N. w. Canton, Ohio – USA 44709 or glinville@csrm.org
 
Other blogs and articles on Local Church Sports, sports theology and ethics written by Dr. Greg Linville and other local church Sports, Rec & Fitness Ministers are archived at: http://www.csrm.org/blog/

This Series of Blogs provide vignettes of the early pioneers of The Muscular Christianity Era -  Faith-Sport Integration who laid the foundations for the Modern Day Sports Outreach Movement

McBURNEY'S CORE VALUES - LEADING MEN TO JESUS
Robert McBurney said:

"The best thing for you and for me is to engage in earnest Christian work for the bodies and the souls of men.  We might discuss creeds till doomsday, and I do not think anybody would be helped by it.  It is touching men’s hearts and lives for Christ that is our business, since we both believe that we have been redeemed by his precious blood, and that today he is our advocate before the throne.  I would advise you to . . . come into heart-touch with men - lost men, men who are astray, and when you come to make effort to lead such men into right living, you will be more and more impressed with the fact that only by God’s spirit, and through a new spirit begotten in them by the Holy Ghost, are they to be really helped.[1]

Leading men to Christ was only the beginning for McBurney.  He believed the building up of a new believer to be a foundational aspect of Y work and was accomplished through Bible Study. (H)  He fully believed in the inspiration and authority of the Scriptures and taught them to men.  One of the most popular Biblical classes he taught was entitled “Conversations with Jesus.” His philosophy of Bible study was two-fold.  First, it should be practical in nature.  He believed that a strictly “critical” study of the Bible would not help the common man and therefore the mission of the association Bible study was to help men in their daily life.  His second philosophy of Bible Study was it was to lift up Jesus.  He wrote: “the more we lift up Jesus Christ to the gaze of men, the more assuredly will men be drawn to him.”[2]
 
Although McBurney was active in personally leading men to Christ and in leading association Bible Studies, he always believed and promoted the fact the work was to be done by young men for young men.  He believed the role of the Secretary was to stay in the background and push the members to the foreground.  He worked hard at training and directing others to do the work of the association.  He was to be the one who cast the vision and the one who supported those who did the work.  He believed the YMCA secretary was responsible for:
 
". . . the reaching of young men. He may have a model educational work, a good physical department, large meetings, and a thorough social atmosphere, but if he has not a band of workers who are personally reaching young men and winning them from sin to righteousness, from the world to the church of Jesus Christ, he is not fulfilling his responsibility.”[3]
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[1]Doggett, pp. 146f.

[2]Doggett, pp. 147f.

[3]Doggett, p. 244.
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This Blog is an excerpt from a future book: "Surrounded by Witnesses"  by Dr. Greg Linville   All rights reserved.  For any reproduction right, including copying, computer reproduction, etc. contact:

Dr. Greg Linville at CSRM International C/O The World Outreach Center 5350 Broadmoor Circle N. w. Canton, Ohio – USA 44709 or glinville@csrm.org
 
Other blogs and articles on Local Church Sports, sports theology and ethics written by Dr. Greg Linville and other local church Sports, Rec & Fitness Ministers are archived at: http://www.csrm.org/blog/

This Series of Blogs provide vignettes of the early pioneers of The Muscular Christianity Era -  Faith-Sport Integration who laid the foundations for the Modern Day Sports Outreach Movement

THE YMCA DAYS - THE 23RD STREET BUILDING DESIGNED TO ATTRACT YOUNG MEN
The first building McBurney built included a gym, library, meeting rooms and places for games. (C) Of the major YMCA buildings that were completed by 1869, McBurney’s 23rd street building came to define the four-fold work of the Y.  Compared to Ryde (England’s Association building, constructed in 1864 chiefly as a library); Moody’s Farwell Hall in Chicago (built in 1866 primarily as a hall for general evangelistic services and revivals); and the San Francisco Y building (built in 1869 and dedicated two weeks before the New York building) which included a gymnasium; the 23rd street facility, was the largest and best of them all.  It was specifically designed to carry out McBurney’s ambitious plans for reaching men for Christ.  While the San Francisco Y was similar, it was not nearly as large and grand, nor was it designed for the breadth of programming which McBurney had planned for his building. More than anything else it was this building which gave him a prominent position in America and as a result, people from across the country streamed to visit him in his “tower room” atop that first building.   It was an impressive building, but it was only the first in a long line of buildings which were to come and which would permanently ensconce McBurney as the master builder of the YMCA. 
 
McBURNEY THE ORIGINAL GENERAL SECRETARY - PROFESSIONAL SPORTS MINISTRY
When McBurney came on the scene, the Y was a totally volunteer led organization.  McBurney made history when he became the first hired employee of the Y.  More significantly he became the embodiment of what the ideal General Secretary should do and be.  Without question it can be stated that he single handedly defined what the General Secretary should be.
 
For many years McBurney served as the General Secretary for the New York City YMCA at its 23rd Street building.  During this time many other buildings and branches came into being as a result of his leadership.  This growth caused administrative and organizational problems and forced the Y to reevaluate its organizational structure.  R. C. Morse reported that the Y was greatly helped in solving this dilemma by McBurney’s recollection of a series of lectures on Church History given by Professor Roswell D. Hitchcock.  These lectures indicated that the 1st century Church growth was greatly enhanced by an episcopal based system of organization.  This recollection certainly influenced the Y and out of this evaluation grew the Metropolitan model of organization, which was modeled after the early Church and its episcopal structure.
 
McBurney spent the last years of his career as the Metropolitan General Secretary of the New York City Y and from this position could oversee the growth and maintenance of the entire organization.  Both he and the Metropolitan style of organization became the model for the YMCA in Philadelphia, Chicago, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Baltimore and many other cities.
 
McBURNEY THE BUILDER
McBurney was the epitome of the phrase: “build it and they will come" and his vision for acquiring recreational buildings was validated as the Y witnessed dramatic growth.  During this decade he added ten new "facilities." the membership of the New York City YMCA increased from 151 to 8,328, and moreover, it witnessed a daily average attendance of 5,670 members.  It was clear from the growth of the Association that not only was McBurney an avid builder, but he was also an excellent administrator. (D)

MCBURNEY THE DISCIPLER/REPRODUCER
To McBurney the essence of the ministry was the transmission of the gospel and he spent his life surrounding himself with gifted men he discipled for a life time of service for the Master. (E)   He fully believed the optimum mode of transmission was by young men to young men.  However, he also understood that an attractive recreational facility could greatly enhance a young Christian man’s chances of gaining an audience with his non-believing friend.[1]  Whereas George Williams perhaps saw the acquisition of Exeter Hall in London as the crowning achievement of the YMCA and the end result of so many years of Y work, McBurney understood that the facilities he bought and built were the means to the end of sharing Christ with young men. (F)   This truth continues to be obvious a century later.  Churches that build athletic facilities witness increases in their outreaches and memberships and likewise, YMCA’s see an increase in their membership upon the building of new facilities.  Simply stated, McBurney built recreational buildings to attract non-churched, non-believers so that he and his leadership team would have opportunities to share the gospel with them.
 
[1]For some inspirational anecdotes on the personal affects McBurney had upon the young men who frequented his 23rd street building consult the addendum which comes at the last installment of this vignette of McBurney.
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This blog is an excerpt from a future book: "Surrounded by Witnesses"  by Dr. Greg Linville   All rights reserved.  For any reproduction right, including copying, computer reproduction, etc. contact:

Dr. Greg Linville at CSRM International C/O The World Outreach Center 5350 Broadmoor Circle N. w. Canton, Ohio – USA 44709 or glinville@csrm.org
 
Other blogs and articles on Local Church Sports, sports theology and ethics written by Dr. Greg Linville and other local church Sports, Rec & Fitness Ministers are archived at: http://www.csrm.org/blog/