Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise (Deuteronomy 6:4-7, ESV).
You never know what you might discover once you peek behind the public persona of a PGA player. Andrew Putnam may not be a household name, but with a glance behind the curtain, we see a “salt of the earth” guy!
Not only was he a two-time winner at Pepperdine, he was also a three-time All-American. With two Web.com victories to his credit, he graduated to the PGA Tour.
In ten years on the PGA Tour, he has one win, four second-place finishes, one third-place finish, 14 top-five finishes, and 23 top-ten finishes. This guy can play!
Andrew is currently ranked 76th in FedEx points and 131st on the OWGR list, and he is “trending” for 2025. Once you get the inside scoop on Andrew, you will love this soft-spoken man!
When we hear his story, nothing is more special than realizing that he accomplished all this while juggling a growing family—Andrew is married with three kids!
Other players struggle with the demands of family and competing on the Tour. Still, Andrew’s story is unique in that he is committed to “keeping God #1 and leading his family to follow Christ.”
Andrew’s strong commitment to his family is an echo of previous generations. He grew up with great role models in his parents and grandparents.
He admits he was “born on second base,” meaning he had a head start on understanding what living for Christ means. Growing up in a Christian home, attending a Christian school, and observing his parent’s and grandparents’ commitment to Christ made a significant impression on his life.
Although, he admitted, “I had to own the faith for myself.” In other words, just because his family believed in Jesus didn’t mean he would automatically enter God’s kingdom. He understood that he needed to commit his life to Christ personally.
As a young man, he occasionally felt jealous of his classmates’ “crazy” conversion testimonies; eventually, he discovered he wanted his three kids to have “boring” stories of personal commitments to Christ.
Andrew’s desire to lead his family in God’s ways is quite noble and, in some ways, out of the ordinary. However, it should be obvious that we have seen the tragic breakdown of the traditional family across America for decades.
From almost every angle, the nuclear family is under siege—a mother and father living together in enduring love, guiding their children through the ups and downs of adolescence, and teaching them the things of Christ are rarer than one might think.
Study after study, sadly, shows that young men and women, even those raised in church, reject the faith once they land at college. Ultimately, a commitment to Christ falls to the student, but the parents’ lifestyle frames a child’s perspective and convictions.
Training your children or grandchildren in righteousness doesn’t guarantee that they will grow up to follow Jesus. Just as a wayward child running away from all that is right and good doesn’t mean they can outrun Jesus.
The only way forward is to lead one’s family by example and teach the next generation about the “deep, deep love of Jesus.”
For many, it might seem too late to make a difference in your children’s or grandchildren’s lives. Perhaps you are saying to yourself, “My children are grown and have families of their own; I missed my opportunity.”
Throw that thought aside. It’s never too late for Jesus to intervene. He specializes in the most challenging cases. Our Great Shepherd knows how to find lost sheep!
Prayer: Lord! We pray without ceasing for those who have wandered from the “ancient paths.”