A tattered first printing of the million-selling book Maximized Manhood by CMN founder Edwin Louis Cole features a picture with Pat Robertson. Pat was instrumental in launching this ministry. He was a champion for ministry to men.
Most people know Pat as a famous broadcaster who pioneered Christian television around the world. Others know him as an evangelist, humanitarian, and businessman who built enormous compassion ministries, a major university, as well as businesses and ministries. His family knows him as a loving husband, dad, and grandfather.
All of us saw Pat as a passionate pursuer of the Lord Jesus Christ. We probably all have friends, as I do, who walked forward to a TV set to receive Christ because of Pat’s passion in “shouting from the rooftops” the name of Jesus.
He was remarkable, a true statesman for the Gospel, Yet Pat’s greatness is not only found in the legacy of all that he accomplished in his life. His greatness is also found in what he helped others to accomplish.
The true greatness of a man’s life is not seen in how he achieved his dreams – but in how he helped others achieve their dreams.
Pat was not intimidated by other men’s dreams, He reveled in them. When my father, Ed Cole, told Pat his dream of ministering to men. Pat encouraged him and opened The 700 Club call centers as a base on which to start the ministry. Later, Pat supported the ministry financially.
Years later, when we were rebuilding the ministry for a new generation after Dad’s passing, Pat encouraged us, supported us financially, and went on record to endorse us, which you see above.
What a man does in his lifetime is history. What he puts into motion is legacy.
Because Pat Robertson championed the visions of others—humbly and unselfishly—he has a multitude of legacies tied to his own.
When my dad was sick during the last ten months of his life, we sent a fax to Pat. He was on a family vacation, but he immediately stepped away and called Dad, prayed for him, and told him again how proud he was of what Dad had done.
Pat’s words are – “Ed did not build monuments, he built men.”
And that’s what Pat did – he built men and women who built ministries that, by the power of God, transformed the lives of millions of people.
I am so very thankful for Pat Robertson. So thankful he told my dad, “Ed, go for it. You have my support.” That depth of generosity is a huge part of Pat Robertson’s enduring legacy … because generosity never dies.
A grateful ministry, a grateful son,
Paul Louis Cole
