Mark Atteberry - The Samson Syndrome: What You Can Learn from the Baddest Boy in the Bible

PRAISE FOR THE SAMSON SYNDROME

I could not put this book down. Every page was riveting. Why? Because I saw myself on every page. And you will too. This book will change your life. Start reading immediately.

PAT WILLIAMS
Senior Vice President of the Orlando Magic and Author of How to Be Like Mike and Unsinkable

The Samson Syndrome is clear, biblical, practical, and packed with perspective. Mark Atteberry helps us see the Samson in ourselves... and take conscious steps to become the men Christ wants us to be.

RANDY ALCORN
Author of Safely Home and The Treasure Principle

There is some Samson in each of us. Mark Atteberry very clearly helps us realize the downside of our strengths. My prayer for each reader is that we will be... big enough to admit our mistakes... smart enough to profit from them... and strong enough to correct them.

JOHN C. MAXWELL
Founder of The INJOY Group and New York Times Best-selling Author of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

Mark Atteberry has written the ultimate textbook for men. He covers every issue every one of us faces every day. Warning: if you read this book you will never be the same.

JERRY COLANGELO
Chairman and CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Phoenix Suns

How many books have you read that help you identify your weaknesses and then leave you hanging and feeling depressed wondering what to do about them? Not this one! Mark Atteberry, in his book The Samson Syndrome, helps target those issues and gives great practical suggestions to work through each. Im truly impressed with this book! Although written for men, women can also benefit greatly from Marks insights and applications. A must read!

BOB RUSSELL
Senior Minister of Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, Kentucky

Based on the story of Samson, Mark Atteberry lays out a map of hazards to avoid as you walk through life. If you want to fulfill all of your God-given potential, read this book.

REP. DAVE WELDON
U.S. Congress

So many good, strong men start out their walk with God full of promise and great intentions. Why, then, have so many of them fallen and cant get up? Why do they feel like walking failures, duped by Delilahs of deceit over and over again? Mark Atteberry reveals the secret to a man staying strong (or getting up quickly when he falls) by taking us into the minds of both biblical and modern-day Samsons: with profoundly gleaned insight into what not to do. Men will love the compassionate yet confronting tone of this book, the stories that reveal where we really live, and the tragic fate that awaits the strong man who chooses to walk alone. Men, dont leave homewithout reading this book. Your wives and kids will love you for it.

BECKY FREEMAN
National Speaker and Best-selling Author

2003 by Mark Atteberry

All rights reserved. Written permission must be secured from the publisher to use or reproduce any part of this book, except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scriptures marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission (www.Lockman.org)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Atteberry, Mark.

The Samson syndrome : what you can learn from the baddest boy in the Bible / Mark Atteberry.

p. cm.

ISBN 0-7852-6447-7 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-8499-2194-0 (rpkg.)

ISBN 978-1-4185-2951-2 (eBook)

1. MenReligious life. 2. Samson (Biblical judge) 3. MasculinityReligious aspectsChristianity. I. Title.

BV4528.2 .A88 2003

248.842dc21 2002152470

Printed in the United States of America

14 15 16 17 18 19 RRD 6 5 4 3 2 1

FOR MY FATHER, DOUG ATTEBERRY.

THANKS, DAD, FOR SHOWING ME WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A STRONG MAN OF GOD.

CONTENTS

THERE WAS NOTHING SPECIAL ABOUT THE PACKAGE. IT WAS a plain manila envelope stuffed with about 250 sheets of paper. The top sheet was a cover letter asking me to read the manuscript of a new book called The Samson Syndrome and consider writing a blurb for the cover. The authors name was Mark Atteberry. I didnt know him but was struck by the fact that he pastors a church here in the Orlando area. It was 5:00 P.M. I had a few minutes. I decided to read a few pages and then head for home.

The next thing I knew, my phone was ringing. It was my wife, Ruth, asking when I was coming home for dinner. I looked at the clock and was stunned to realize that it was 7:20. For more than two hours I had been spellbound by this amazing book.

Why?

For one thing, its so well written. It has that perfect balance of depth and warmth that every writer strives for. And its loaded with wonderful stories that are both touching and humorous. I felt as if I was reading Swindoll or Lucado. I kept thinking, who is this Mark Atteberry guy and where has he been?

But there was something else. As I turned page after page I kept getting the feeling that this man had been reading my mail! Again and again I saw myself reflected in his words. They touched me deeply. They convicted me. They led me to some important, life-changing truths.

For some reason, Samson is one Bible character who hasnt gotten much attention over the years. After reading The Samson Syndrome, I realize what a tragedy that is. As Mark Atteberry shows us, Samson has a lot to say to the strong men of any generation.

I have always believed that the true measure of any book is changed lives. On that basis, this book is destined for greatness. Its going to change many lives, and one of them could be yours. I encourage you to read it, enjoy it, and spread the word.

Oh, and one more thing: I predict you wont be able to put this book down, so dont start reading right before dinner.

PAT WILLIAMS

SR. VICE PRESIDENT, ORLANDO MAGIC

PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN FASCINATED BY DARING adventurers who live on the edge. How else do you explain the phenomenal success of James Bond 007? Ian Flemings British superspy is the hero of over twenty films that have earned over a billion dollars worldwide. Every Bond film features dangerous villains, exotic weaponry, ingenious gadgets, fast cars, and even faster women. But its all in a days work for the coolest secret agent of them all, who, at last count, has saved the world twenty-three times and has yet to get his hair messed up.

This book is about a man in the Bible who was so Bondlike in his attitude and lifestyle that one wonders if he might have been part of Ian Flemings inspiration. Samson, whose story is told in four chapters of the book of Judges, was young, strong, good-looking, cocky, courageous, and an incorrigible ladies man. He had a nose for trouble, a knack for hair-raising escapes, and more girlfriends than Radio City has Rockettes. If Samson were alive today hed be a superstar athlete or an action-movie star. Or hed be a Navy SEAL or a world-champion prize fighter. Hed be on the cover of GQ or Sports Illustrated. Hed be surrounded by popping flashbulbs and adoring groupies.