Made a believer by cancer, he preaches prostate gospel

January 27, 2003

Made a believer by cancer, he preaches prostate gospel
___By Jeffrey MacDonald
___Religion News Service
___NEWBURYPORT, Mass. (RNS)--When Bradley Sell answered a calling at age 42 to become a Southern Baptist preacher, he unloaded a sometimes jarring message on the pew-sitters of New Bedford, Mass., simply because, in his words, "hell is real."
___Five years later, in September 2000, Sell's doctor delivered the preacher a wake-up call of his own. He had advanced prostate cancer, never before detected, and would surely be dead within two years.
___Confident of his own salvation but facing numbered days on earth, Sell rebuffed friends who urged him to take a cruise or lavish vacation, saying he had no interest in such things. Instead, he resolved to be a tireless messenger.
___But for some audiences, he would offer a message unlike any he'd delivered before. This one would be called, "beat prostate

Southern Baptist pastor Bradley Sell has become a tireless evangelist of the gospel and of prostate screening for men.

cancer with early detection."
___"If I had had the (prostate screening) test eight years ago, I wouldn't be dying today," Sell said in an interview. "I now have a reason to bring my message to others. I have credibility, as someone who's going to be dead any day now, that I've never had before. Maybe that's where the urgency comes from."
___At 49, Sell has outlived his doctor's brightest scenario by five months. He reports neither pain nor fatigue nor fear of death. A healthy appetite and ebullient spirit provide fuel, it seems, for a speaking schedule that takes him across the state, anywhere he's invited to go.
___Just about every man who sells plumbing or heating supplies in Massachusetts has heard Sell's call to repentance for not demanding a regular screening test, or PSA exam. That's because Sell has worked in the industry since he cut his teeth fixing bathtubs in his teenage years.
___A part-time associate pastor at Haven Baptist Church in New Bedford, he served as executive vice president of the New England Wholesalers Association until, he says, he got fired in autumn 2000 after disclosing his terminal illness.
___Despite losing his job, he still wields considerable influence in the industry--enough to get stubborn, blue-collar stalwarts to the doctor's office.
___"At every physical, I have that simple blood test thanks to Brad," said Pat McCartin, a manufacturers' representative who lives in Lowell, Mass.
___Yet despite Sell's contagious zeal, some are more enthusiastic about his new message than others. Both the uncomfortable prostate topic for men and the emphasis on physical health rather than salvation have led, according to Sell, to mixed reviews in various circles.
___"When I speak to a group of firemen, some in the crowd will a lot of times say, 'Oh, is this the prostate guy?'" Sell said with a smile. And in Baptist settings, "just the word 'secular' (describing his prostate message) causes some of my crustier overseers in the Southern Baptist church to bristle."
___Sell has been undeterred in his new mission, however. He estimates having reached more than 5,000 men with his "secular message" through various media. And for all his effort in that direction, he continues to preach salvation through faith in Jesus whenever the setting allows.
___Every week, Sell spends at least seven hours in nursing homes, hearing confession, assuring forgiveness and leading people to faith in Jesus Christ.
___For this soft-spoken preacher, who makes no apologies for using what he calls a "fire and brimstone" approach, a passionate secular message is by no means an impediment to the gospel. On the contrary, he said, the secular message might be even more effective than an explicitly Christian one for igniting ultimate concerns.
___"I'm standing in front them, less than 50 years old, saying I'm going to be dead any day now. That gets their attention," Sell explained. "Even though my message is secular, people are driven to their spiritual roots when they think about not being here."
___

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