By PAUL LORENZ
paul.lorenz@mcleansborotimesleader.com
McLEANSBORO — Greg Mead wants kids to know that someone cares about them.
And if he has to rip apart a few phone books in the process, so be it.
Mead is a member of the Mike Hagen Strength Team, an organization that helps local churches by sharing the Gospel message and reaching people for Jesus Christ.
And though the Strength Team steers clear of outright Christian evangelizing during their school programs, Mead presented a talk on peer pressure Friday at Hamilton County High School that — combined with a few attention-grabbing feats of raw strength — seemed to reach its audience.
“Every day, teenagers are giving up on their life,” Mead said. “There’s never a time to give up on your life.”
Mead himself, he told the students, came from a pretty rough background.
“My father was a criminal,” he said. “He was in the Mob, he was a drug dealer, he went to prison.”
But “everything you are was given to you to make something specific out of your life,” he said.
Peer pressure, he explained, is “when someone around you exerts force — pressure — to do something that messes up your life.”
He told a story about two high school friends who “wanted to accomplish things in their life, but they also wanted to fit in.” The two went to a party where “everyone was drinking, everyone was smoking weed, and they gave in.”
The two left the party, one of the friends said he was too drunk to drive. The other, who was equally drunk, said, “I’ll drive.”
Their car veered off the road down a hill and crashed, fatally crushing one. The other friend survived, but was left with not only physical scars but the emotional scars of “having helped his friend leave this earth.”
But their story doesn’t have to end that way, he told the teens.
“If you will make good choices, you can make anything you want out of your life,” he said.
Homepage
Related Photos
-
Paul Lorenz
Show of strength
Strength Team warns kids about peer pressure
- Homepage
-
Karol Brown, Kay Mayberry, Bernadine Drone and Phyllis Parr (clockwise from left) were among the participants at Hamilton County Homemakers Education Association's Cabin Fever Day, held recently at the county courthouse.
-
HEA has Cabin Fever Day
Several Hamilton County Homemakers Education Association members took part in Cabin Fever Day held recently.
- Tree of Lights tops $20,000 mark
- Mystery photo
-
HEA has Cabin Fever Day
- Sports
-
-
Lemmons, Foxes ground Eagles
Hamilton County Fox senior CJ Lemmons poured in 25 points Friday night to lead his team to a 68-55 victory over archrival Eldorado.
- Lady Foxes second at Eldorado Classic
- Foxes stop slide with pair of wins
-
- Obituaries
-
-
Wayne Roberts
Wayne Roberts, 62, McLeansboro, passed away Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, in his home.
- Henry Asa Overbey
- Wilma Davis
-
- Opinion
-
-
Don’t balance state’s budget on our backs
This week I'm heading back to Springfield for the 2012 session of the General Assembly.
- Unconventional plays invigorate oil and gas industry
- Candidate: Schools, small business need legislative support
-
Don’t balance state’s budget on our backs
- Features
-
-
Remember When? Dad had regular calls from Sloans
I enjoyed a trip to McLeansboro over the New Year’s holiday and met up with Geneva Sloan Nipper and her sister, Hattie, at McDonald’s.
- Remember When? Tie-On Roofing did business on square
- Remembering old movies, former neighbors
-
Remember When? Dad had regular calls from Sloans
Staff Removed at LA School During Abuse Probe
Eastwood in Super Bowl Ad 'Compassionate'
Stranded Fishermen Rescued From Bay of Green Bay
Analyst: Outside Troops Won't Intervene in Syria
Murder Trial for Ex-U.Va. Lacrosse Player Begins
NY Giants Touch Down Victorious
Police: Father Planned Deadly Fire for Some Time
US, UK Pressure on Syria; More Homs Violence
Raw Video: Mass Killer Wants Medal, Freedom
Few Answers in Death of Sons of Missing Utah Mom
Court Strips Contador of Tour De France Title
Runaway Goat Leads Police on Wild Chase
And the Winner for Best Super Bowl Ad Is...
Romney Latest Poll to Join Let-me-explain Club
Blast Kills Husband of Missing Utah Mom, 2 Boys
Obama: US, Israel Will Work Against Iran Nukes
Romney Picks Up Decisive Win in Nevada Caucuses
