Uncle Barry

In my book, “A Hole in My Soul” which focuses on the importance of mentoring, I talk about the importance of mentors in our lives. Mentors help us to find our way, mentors help us to discern what is the best way, mentors help us to avoid destructive possible ways that might seem good or even right but are not the best for you.

In that book, I talk briefly about one of my first mentors. My uncle Barry Batson who

embraced my brother and myself after the trauma imposed on my mom and us from my abusive, alcoholic, womanizer father.

Uncle Barry was a tall man who became one of the most famous policemen in Chicago during the 1960’s and 70’s. That’s right, a real “Chicago PD legend”, as a matter of fact because of his work with inner city youth on the west side of Chicago, they named a street after him.

When Dr. King would come into town, my uncle would be asked to be one of his

bodyguards. He was a man of high integrity who also was not afraid to speak his mind, and boy did he with two knuckleheaded boys, my brother and myself all the way up and including when we would become men. As a matter of fact, I still remember as he was in the hospital many years later, he was

still mentoring me by his life as well by the way he would die, witnessing on his floor in the hospital to the nurses about Jesus unashamed of the gospel of Christ, an indelible impact on me and literally hundreds of other young men and women by his willingness to invest in the next generation.

Whether you are a famous policeman like my uncle or just the average person living life, you also can have an indelible impact on those around you. Allow me to share with you four things that I saw that my uncle did that we can emulate that will allow you and I to also have such an impact on those around us for eternity.

1. Uncle Barry was a person of high integrity. What you saw in public was who he

was in public. He did not believe in taking shortcuts.

2. Uncle Barry was a person who spoke directly to you. One of the gravest sins in

our churches today, are believers in Jesus Christ, who do not follow the Apostle

Paul’s instruction to “ speak the truth in love” and as a result injure fellow brothers

and sisters through slander or simply allowing their brother and sister to continue

in behaviors or attitudes that impact not only their relationships with other

believers but their testimony to the world.

3. Uncle Barry was sold out to his family. Not only did he work hard providing for his

family working for many years not only his full time very stressful job as a

Chicago policeman, but he would also work part time security jobs to provide for

the needs of his family. As a boy and then as young man seeing this, it makes an

indelible impression on me even to this day.

4. Uncle Barry was not a perfect man, but when he committed his life to Christ, he

was sold out for the Lord. His example even amid a 20-year battle on and off with

cancer has been an inspiration for me who have also gone through a similar

struggle.

Mentors help us to find our way, mentors help us to discern what is the best way,

mentors help us to avoid destructive possible ways that might seem good or even

right but are not the best for you.

How about you? If you want some practical help on how you can become a mentor

and invest in the next generation go to my website

www.turnaroundministryleader.com and purchase my A Hole in My Soul.