“The Lord gave and
has taken away. Yet I praise His Holy
name." ~ Job 1:21
Once crowned the “Toughest Bouncer
in America,” (Yep there’s a $10,000 prize for that), Lawrence Tueraud grew up in
a 3-room apartment with his mother and 11 siblings on Chicago’s south side. He learned to be tough in school, where
children constantly ridiculed his mother's piety. He was suspended from elementary school 17
times for fighting to defend her.
Tureaud attended vocational high school
where he played football, wrestled, and studied martial arts. A college football scholarship was revoked for
fighting after his first year. So,
Laurence enlisted in the US army and served as a MP Officer. Once discharged, he tried out for the Green
Bay Packers but failed to make the team due to a knee injury.
Tureaud next worked as a bouncer
at the Rush Street’s Dingbats Disco. That’s where he created the persona of Mr. T, wearing
the gold neck chains confiscated from customers leaving them behind after a
fight. Along with controlling the
violence as a doorman in over 200 fights, Mr. T was mainly hired to keep out
drug dealers and users.
He won the “Toughest Bouncer”
contest two years in a row and gave the winnings to his church. Yes, that Mr. T - the one-time pro-wrestler,
A-Team operative and Rocky Balboa opponent.
The A-Team member and boxer
Clubber Lang in "Rocky III" has a new show, "I Pity the Fool."
He motivates workers to be better at
their jobs, reunites families who've grown apart, and helps inspire people to
be better human beings.
The show is dedicated to his Mom;
about how he loved and respected her; how she taught them to pray, thank God
for what little they had, and to actively live their faith.
Those beliefs drove him during
his battle with (ironically) T-cell lymphoma. He survived the mental anguish of chemo,
radiation and a crisis of faith by studying Job’s biblical lessons. “No matter what challenges confront me, I’ll
not turn away from God, because,” said Mr. T said, “God will never turn from me!”
Never known for his timidity, Mr.
T is definitely not shy about being a Christian. Today he uses his Twitter @MrT to almost exclusively promote thoughtful, scriptural
reflections.
Unlike many Christians on Twitter, he doesn’t tweet to insult culture, “take back America for God” or any such nonsense. No, while he once spent all his time pitying fools, now he seeks to bless and educate them with biblical wisdom stronger than his biceps and a commitment to spreading love, courage and hope.
“Father, give me strength today, not the strength to lift 500 pounds, but the power that my words might motivate, might inspire somebody, might draw someone closer to You. When they hear me, Lord, let them hear You.” Amen ~ Lawrence Tueraud
