Skip to main content
In tribute to Paul Martin Kuck
A Steel and Velvet Model for Business Leaders

The last extensive post explored who is our brother. I understand that most people are not theoretical, but practical. They want to know how this type of commitment looks in daily life. How does commitment to ministry in the City look and can it be accomplished. My friend and brother, the late Paul M. Kuck, founder of Regal Marine Boats in Orlando has shown us how.

Carl Sandburg, speaking of Abraham Lincoln before a joint session of the Congress, said: "Not often in the story of mankind does a man arrive on earth who is both steel and velvet, and who is as hard as rock and soft as drifting fog, who holds in his heart and mind the paradox of terrible storm and peace unspeakable and perfect."

Paul Kuck was such a man. His resolve and tenacity were like steel. Concerning the bottom line, he was focused. Yet, his heart was soft for the things of God and for the defenseless and disenfranchised.

Paul founded Regal (www.regalboats.com<http://www.regalboats.com/>) in 1969 and struggled at first to make the business survive. Then, he did the unusual. He determined to help those who could never repay him. He played a key role in the beginnings of Prison Fellowship with Chuck Colson. His passion for saving lives led him to serve on the board of CareNet, a consortium of crisis pregnancy centers throughout America. In addition, Paul supported Frontline Outreach for 30 years and was instrumental in recruiting me to Orlando. He once told me that when he realized that all he had belonged to God, he dedicated himself to fulfilling not his own agenda, but God's.

Here was a man who built a worldwide business in the luxury boat industry while serving in prison ministry, the pro-life movement and urban ministry. Yet, if anyone had an excuse for not getting involved, it would have been Paul Kuck. In addition to operating a struggling business, he had never been to prison, had no personal connection to abortion, and didn't live in the urban area. In fact, Paul had grown up in the small farming community of New Knoxville, Ohio where there were no black and Latino people.

But God shaped Paul's heart to reach out and serve his brothers. The same will happen to anyone who is willing to let go of excuses and earnestly ask God to reveal His desire for their life's impact.

In his lifetime, Paul and his wife Carol gave untold sums to ministries and immersed himself in God's call. In the process, Regal Marine grew to a multimillion dollar enterprise with distributors worldwide.

Here is the practical application: God created only one Paul Kuck, but your life is no less significant. God has put a passion in your heart to reach those who could never repay you. You, too, can be a business leader and have real impact in ministry. The question: Will you answer God's call? When you do, watch Him work in ways you never thought possible.

Two passages from Proverbs should serve as motivation:
"A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself
be refreshed. ~ Proverbs 11:25
"He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord and He will reward him
for what he has done." ~ Proverbs 19:17

I ask you to continue to pray with me that God's will be done in our community. And please share your thoughts, article topics, and/or questions. Thank you in advance for praying and fulfilling your unique role in bringing God's Light to the City. Be blessed!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Note of Thanks from Arto Woodley

A Note of Thanks From Arto Woodley "I can no other answer make but thanks, And thanks, and ever thanks..." --Sebastian, Twelfth Night , Act 3, scene 3 Thank you for all of your gifts, service, prayer, support and love. You have helped equip hundreds urban young people at Frontline Outreach over the past sixteen years. In January Bishop Allen Wiggins and I successfully launched the Strategic Alliance with Frontline Outreach and Hope Center West. The Alliance added new board members affiliated with Hope and added new team members to manage the daily operations of Frontline Outreach. Since we have completed the transition process I have moved out of my role as President of Frontline. I will complete my term as a White House Strong City Strong Communities Fellow serving Mayor John Linder ( http://www.gmfus.org/programs/urban-and-regional-policy-program/strong-cities-strong-communities-fellowship/chester-pennsylvania/ ) and finish a doctorate in Higher Ed...
Post a Comment
Read more

Am I My Brother's Keeper

You’ve heard the question, but do you know its original context? These words—am I my brother’s keeper?—were spoken by Cain, firstborn of Adam and Eve. Cain spewed them when asked by God, “Where is your brother Abel?” This same dialogue could occur with today’s average Christian in Central Florida. If asked “Where is your brother?” we too could be caught trying to cover ourselves in a philosophical debate. But what if we would consider God’s question honestly? In Orlando there were 49 murders in 2006. Thirty-four slain were black. What is the universal Christian response to this record-breaking murder streak? Is it benign neglect? Or claims like this one: “That’s what happens to ‘those people’”? As followers of Christ, are not “those people” our brothers and sisters? 1 John 4:21 says, “And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” Orlando’s murder rate is just one issue that challenges the body of Christ in this region. Until we rightly identify our br...
1 comment
Read more

A Tribute to Momma

A Tribute to Momma Mother's Day provides the opportunity to pause and meditate on the value of good mothers. The role of mothers has been under attack over the last few decades. It has not been enough to be a mother. Expectations has forced women to become a hybrid man/woman both carrying on a professional life, raising and nurturing a family. For many women like my mother working was a necessity not purely a professional pursuit. It has been eight Mother's Days since I last gave Momma her last card. She along with my grandmother were the defining women in my life. Not so much because of what they provided materially, but rather the spiritual and life lesson they imparted. Yesterday, I spoke to a group of young women receiving their ten year pin for being Girl Scouts. I noted that the whole world is in search of women who embrace their roles as leaders and who are prepared. My mother was such a woman. Never living outside of the inner city she influenced and dev...
1 comment
Read more