Andy Benes discusses pitfalls of success at Men's Breakfast

Before dawn broke in Cape Girardeau, 250 men gathered at Ray’s Plaza Banquet Center for the third annual Men’s Prayer Breakfast.

The event was arranged not by a business or organization, but by “nine guys from different churches across the community,” said Marc Harris, president of Chap Arnold Insurance.

“These men have a passion to keep prayer on the forefront in their family, community and businesses,” he said.

Harris said there were at least 16 pastors in the audience, indicating the camaraderie among different churches.

The program began with James Bolin, executive director of Mid-America Teen Challenge. Bolin, a pastor, spoke of the power of prayer and for those he encounters through Teen Challenge. Carlos Vargas-Aburto, president of Southeast Missouri State University, read the poem “If” by Rudyard Kipling.

Former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Andy Benes was the featured speaker. Before the program, he said he saw the prayer breakfast as “a good opportunity to be with a big group of guys, share my faith story and mix in a little Cards baseball.”

Benes’ playing career spanned 14 years. He played for four Major League Baseball teams, including the Cardinals from 1996 to 1997 and again from 2000 until his retirement in 2002. He also represented the U.S. in the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.

It was not Benes’ first trip to Cape Girardeau. He has spoken for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Teen Challenge and the First Pitch Dinner for Southeast Missouri State University’s baseball program. But Monday morning, he had a specific focus.

“Men need to be around men,” said Benes before his presentation. “They tend to get isolated in their work, and they all tend to struggle with the same things.”

This is his opportunity to provide encouragement and to push men to live their Christian faith, he said.

Onstage, Benes first talked baseball, particularly focusing on the fast-rising Chicago Cubs.

“It’s hard being on top. It’s always easier when you’re chasing,” Benes said. “And the Cubs are going to see something different, with people chasing after them.”

Benes spoke about what it means to be a champion, how he lost sight of that and the pitfalls of success in his field.

He brought his Olympic gold medal and his World Championship ring. But though he had accolades, recognition and fame, he had demons to hide.

“I was selfish and had addictive behaviors,” Benes said.

But those behaviors, he said, aren’t always obvious to others.

“You do it when no one’s watching. Do it in the dark. Outside my house, I looked good. Inside my house, I was a sorry state,” he said.

His wife recognized this and frequently would call him out on his behavior.

Referencing a verse from the book of Matthew, Benes said, “A crash was coming; my life was built on the sand.”

After his baseball career ended, his wife told him if all the people in St. Louis thought he was so great, he should move there.

“‘They’ll find out that you don’t care about them, you only care about yourself,’” he quoted her as saying.

So Benes temporarily moved out of his home and in with his parents.

After attending a basketball game his daughters had played in, everyone went their separate ways. He found himself in a moment of weakness, sobbing in his car, when he realized, “I loved sin more than my family, more than God.”

And that was his turning point.

“I am now a champion for Jesus,” Benes said. “They’re not going to trade me or release me.”

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