Power lifters bring strong message to LightHouse
Breaking a baseball bat requires 400 pounds of pressure.
Keith Nelson bench presses 450 pounds.
The Louisville Slugger didn’t stand a chance when he propped the bat on his knee. In about 60 seconds, it was in two pieces.
Nelson and his teammate Brad Hornback are part of Lifted in Faith, a power and strength team on a mission. They visited the LightHouse this week to talk about bullying and to share their faith with the kids.
“We break baseball bats and tear phone books as a platform to share the good news of Jesus Christ,” Hornback said.
The tactics are effective. Children cheered, cringed and stared in amazement as the men showed off their strength. Hornback bent a half-inch piece of rebar holding it in his mouth while the crowd grimaced, and Nelson paused to tease the kids for their stunned expressions after he tore a license plate in half.
Amid the show, the message was just as powerful. Nelson spoke about the epidemic of bullying in schools.
“We classify bullies as cowards,” he said. “It’s not cool picking on folks and laughing. You should be a positive influence to everyone.”
Bullying can be combatted, he said, with teamwork and standing up for each other.
The team has been together about four years and they have travelled as far as Africa to share their message with schools, prisoners, and church groups.
“God orchestrated and put this together,” Hornback said. “We never thought it would get to this.”