Lebanon Road’s 2011 theme is “Greater Things.” To see an introduction and video to this theme, click here. Each Thursday, we are highlighting an area in which we are striving for greater things. ————————— One great thing about Lebanon Road is the emphasis we have on Bible school. For many years, Lebanon Road has written our own curriculum, and has had many aids available to teachers. While there is always room for improvement, our Bible school program is tremendous. As a parent, I am blown away by how much my children (ages 5 and 4) learn, due to the great teaching they receive each week! Recently, another tool was added…

For an introduction to this list, click here. For previous parts to the list, click on the numbers: 50-46 , 45-41 , 40-36 , 35-31 , 30-26 , 25-21 , 20-16 , 15-11 , 10-6 —————————- Before revealing the top five, let me say a couple of “thank you’s.” First, a huge thank you to Joey Sparks, Jeremiah Tatum and Matt Reaves for helping to compile this list. While we had a lot of fun, their input was essential for this list to be diverse and well thought-through. Further, big thanks go to Joey Sparks and Jeremiah Tatum for writing several of these “blasts” in the list. As you can…

For an introduction to the list, click here. For previous parts of the list, click on the numbers: 50-46 , 45-41 , 40-36 , 35-31 , 30-26 , 25-21 , 20-16 , 15-11 —————————– 10. Byron Nelson wins 11 consecutive PGA events Many sports fans may be familiar with this record because of its exposure during Tiger Woods’ recent decade of success, during which he enjoyed winning streaks of five, six, and seven wins. Tiger will likely surpass Sam Snead’s career wins record, and may still have an outside shot at Jack Nicklaus’ 18 majors. But his best win streak still came up five wins shy of Nelson’s streak. He’ll…

For an introduction to this list, click here. For previous posts, click the numbers: 50-46 , 45-41 , 40-36 , 35-31 , 30-26 , 25-21 , 20-16 —————————— 15. The single-season wins record by a pitcher (Old Hoss Radbourne with 59 wins in 1884 ; Jack Chesbro’s modern record of 41 wins in 1904) Pitchers are used in a completely different way in today’s game, even when compared to early teams from the modern era, which began in 1900. This transition of purpose ensures mathematically that the record will never be approached. When Chesbro set the modern record, he started 51 games and appeared in 55. He recorded 48 complete…

For an introduction to the list, click here. To read previous posts, click the numbers: 50-46 , 45-41 , 40-36 , 35-31 , 30-26 , 25-21 —————————— 20. Oklahoma wins 47 consecutive Division I football games Oklahoma’s 47-game winning streak lasted from 1953 into 1957. It bested the previous record (39) by eight games, and contained three consecutive undefeated seasons and two national championships (’55, ’56). Coach Bud Wilkinson’s teams averaged almost a 29-point margin of victory over the streak and recorded 23 shutouts. Only 20 of the 47 wins came at home in Norman. Most top teams today play a 2-to-1 home-to-away ratio. OU only played in two bowl games…

For an introduction to the list, click here. For previous parts, click on the links: 50-46 , 45-41 , 40-36 , 35-31 , 30-26 ——————————- 25. Wayne Gretzky wins 9 Most Valuable Player awards Not only is nine MVP Awards an NHL record, but it’s also the professional sports record for all of North America. Gretzky won all nine over the course of ten seasons. He won eight of them consecutively. Being voted on by the media, this record is naturally a little subjective. But, upon further consideration, that fact may make it more remarkable. It takes a special player to stay in the good graces of the media and impress them in the…

To read an introduction to the list, click here. For previous posts, click the links: 50-46 , 45-41 , 40-36 , 35-31 ———————- 30.Rickey Henderson steals 130 bases in a single season Rickey Henderson–baseball’s “Man of Steal”–was one of my favorite baseball players to watch. But he established this single-season record one year before I was born (1982). Henderson had 84 steals by the All-Star break in ’82. The 84 mark has only been eclipsed during an entire season 16 times since 1900, and not at all since Henderson last crossed it in ’88. Vince Coleman of the St. Louis Cardinals came closest to the record in 1985 with 110. The highest…

Lebanon Road’s 2011 theme is “Greater Things.” For an introduction and video to the theme, click here. Each Thursday, we are highlighting a different area in which we are striving for greater things. ————————– It’s an event that many congregations have dropped from their calendar, but one we are just adding on! We have not had a Gospel Meeting at Lebanon Road in several years, but one of our goals for 2011 specifically mentioned reviving that event and using it as a way to both (1) encourage our members, and (2) provide an event to reach out to others. Last week in our “Greater Things” post, we told you about…

For an introduction to the list, click here. For previous installments click the following links: 50-46 , 45-41 , 40-36 ———————————- 35. Barry Bonds is intentionally walked 688 times in his MLB career The Career Intentional Walks record was re-established every year from 1955 until Hank Aaron retired in 1976, recording 293 IBBs. Bonds broke the record in the 1999 season, then preceded to obliterate it by 395 walks over the remaining eight years of his career. Bonds’ lead in this category is so astounding that adding Aaron at #2 (293) and Willie McCovey at #3 (260) together is 95 walks short of Bonds’ record. Bonds also holds the single-season…