Popular Christians Who Left Us Too Soon

Birth, life, and death – it’s the circle of life. No matter who you are or what your life goals may be, you cannot escape the cycle. Some people have a shorter time span than others. Either way it’s important, as Christians, to take our valuable time here on earth and make the most out of it. Therefore every opportunity you’re given, make the most out of it. Every time the Lord blesses you with a platform to speak on it be loud. Whenever you’re blessed with the means to spread blessings among others, take the time to do it.

Celebrities and high profiled figures that follow Christianity are given the same circumstances. They use their gifts to make the lives of others better. By doing all of that, they’re able to not only be good Christians and spread the word about their faith but they’re also able to change the world with their talents. Unfortunately, as we mentioned everyone’s time is limited. There have been a great deal of Christians from the beginning of time to recent years who have greatly impacted the world and left a lasting mark within society. Whether they were born into Christianity or found God later on, these Christians have left a lasting impression that will forever influence others that come across their works. Find out which popular Christians left us too soon and have forever changed the world.

Mickey Rooney

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He was born as Joseph Yule Jr, but you probably know him as the talented Mickey Rooney. He was an actor of film, television, Broadway and radio. Rooney’s career spanned over nine decades – he appeared in more than 300 films and was one of the last stars of the silent film era. Rooney’s personal life was highly controversial for many years because of his eight marriages and six divorces.

In interviews, during his later years, Rooney said that he became a Christian after meeting what he believes was an angel. The angel was a busboy at a casino coffee shop in Lake Tahoe. The busboy said, “Mr. Rooney, Jesus Christ loves you very much.” Those simple words changed Rooney and led him to find redemption within his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. On April 6, 2014 Rooney died of natural causes in his sleep at the age of 93. Rooney is survived by his wife of 37 years from whom he was separated, eight surviving children, two step children, 19 grandchildren and a number of other great grandchildren.

Johnny Cash

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The legendary Johnny Cash was a singer, song writer, actor and author. Cash is arguably one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century and has sold over 90 million records worldwide. Even though Cash’s music is primarily within the country music genre, his songs have been embraced by the rock and roll, blues, folk and gospel realms as well. Cash struggled with alcoholism and drug addictions for a great deal of his life. Fame and stardom got the best of him and other elements of Cash’s childhood haunted him for many years. He found true love with his soul mate June Carter.

Throughout his struggles, Cash pronounced himself as a devout Christian. He penned the Christian novel Man in White and has openly discussed his outspoken support for Christianity and his Lord and Savior. Throughout his struggles to stay sober and find a deeper meaning for life, Cash credited God for always standing by his side and forgiving him for the sins he committed. There is no doubt that Cash influenced a great deal of inmates serving time, average people that listened to his music and other musicians that he encountered and spoke with word of Christ to them.

Reggie White

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Reggie White was a professional NFL football player that played the defensive end position. White played for 15 seasons and is still to this day one of the most awarded players in NFL history. He played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers, and Carolina Panthers – in fact in 2000, he came out of a one year retirement and started all 16 games for the Panthers. After the 2000 football season, White went back into retirement. White was a highly respected player with 221.5 sacks, which makes him one of the all-time sack leaders. Overall he was named All-Pro for 13 of his 15 seasons of professional play.

Throughout his life, White stayed true to his Christian beliefs and in his free time worked within various ministries – in fact, White was an ordained minister and was nicknamed the Minister of Defense. Despite a lot of controversy that circled around White’s strict Christian beliefs, he stayed true to his basis of Christianity and was known for being very outspoken about his faith.

Bettie Page

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Bettie Page is often referred to as the Queen of Pinups – her jet black hair, blue eyes and bangs have influenced images of pin up models for years. As a model, Page was often in the middle of highly controversial topics within the media. Making a living off of her good looks, it’s not surprising that journalists would write articles and feature images of Page in compromising situations. Page was one of six children who grew up in Tennessee. Her father abused her and two of her sisters. When her mother left her father, Page was sent to live in an orphanage for three years.

Page devoted herself to Christ and lived her life as a devout Christian up until her death. In the 70s, Page received a lot of backlash because of a perceived psychotic break where she reported hearing voices talks about angels and devils. Above all Page did a lot for the major modeling profession. Despite her body shape, she made huge strides within the industry and crossed barriers that troubled others. She did a lot of great missionary work for Reverend Billy Graham and tried to make efforts for others to accept individuals who struggled with mental illness like herself.

Stuart Scott

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Stuart Scott was a sportscaster and anchor on ESPN. His hip-hop style and popular catchphrases aided him in becoming one of the most well-known and respected figures of the sports’ media industry. In 2007, Scott was diagnosed with cancer. After going into remission, Scott was diagnosed again in 2011 and 2013 with cancer. He died in 2015 at the young age of 49.

Scott’s ideals and journalism style appealed to a younger audience. He was one of the few African American personalities who was not a professional athlete within the sports’ media industry. However, Scott’s versatility and down-to-earth nature made him relatable and ultimately changed the entire dynamics of sports broadcasting. He didn’t speak in perfect grammatically correct and prepared sentences because that wasn’t relatable and isn’t how the average person speaks – and viewers loved it! While Scott didn’t speak loudly about his Christian faith, he had expressed on more than one occasion that he was a Christian. In the February 2010 issue of ESPN Magazine, Stuart talked briefly about his Christian beliefs. The topic of Tebow’s use of Bible verses on his eyelids was of discussion. Stuart said, “Dave, if that what you want to do, I don’t care. But Tim and I and billions of other believers in the world know you’d be wrong. I’ve seen the workings of God many times in my life, like when my two daughters were born. If you don’t believe in God, watch a child be born. Then if you still say you don’t believe in God, that’s okay. The thing is, I think He’ll watch over you anyway!”

They Leave a Legacy

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The list could go on. There are a large number of Christians within history that made an ever-lasting impression on all of us. Not only have their works influenced a lot of people, these popular Christians have used their time on earth and made the most out of it. Celebrity or not, these Christians knew that they had the power through Christ to use their talents to influence others and make a true impact. There is no doubt that our generations and other generations that come will remember these popular names and use their achievements as a source of inspiration to make a lasting impression of their own.

Next time you’re feeling down or in a rut, take time to look at what these great Christians have accomplished and how they’ve overcame obstacles and struggles to make a true difference within the world. Anything is possible if you have Jesus Christ on your side.