David Ring (born 28 October 1953) is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

evangelist Evangelist may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a com ...

and motivational speaker who has

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be p ...

. Ring has, since 1973, challenged thousands of people with his signature message: "I have

... What's your problem?" He currently resides in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

, with his wife and four children.

Early years

David Ring was born in Jonesboro, the seat of Craighead County in eastern

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the ...

, the son of

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christianity, Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe ...

pastor Oscar Newton Ring. Ring's father died in 1964.

Cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

took his mother four years later. Ring was hence an

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

at the age of fourteen. Depressed from the combination of losing his parents and the difficulties of his disability, Ring dropped out of

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

. Ring specifically struggled with losing his mother, the only woman he believed would love him. According to Ring, he attempted to commit suicide many times over the course of the following two years due to his depression. With the encouragement of his sister, however, he gave his life to

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

in 1970 and returned to Liberty High School in

Liberty, Missouri Liberty is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Missouri, United States and is a suburb of Kansas City, located in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States Census the population was 30,167. Liberty is home to W ...

, where he graduated in 1971. Ring earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree from

William Jewell College William Jewell College is a private liberal arts college in Liberty, Missouri. It was founded in 1849 by members of the Missouri Baptist Convention and endowed with $10,000 by William Jewell. It was associated with the Missouri Baptist Conven ...

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

in 1976, where he was a member of

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly known as Lambda Chi, is a college fraternity in North America which was founded at Boston University in 1909. It is one of the largest social fraternities in North America, with more than 300,000 lifetime members a ...

fraternity. His new signature message is "I have cerebral palsy, but cerebral palsy don't have me." His now famous catch phrase (concerning Christians who make excuses regarding their faith) is: "I have cerebal palsy and I serve the Lord with all that is within me, what's your excuse?"

Ministry

Ring has been a guest on '' The Old-Time Gospel Hour'', ''

The 700 Club ''The 700 Club'' is the flagship television program of the Christian Broadcasting Network, airing each weekday in syndication in the United States and available worldwide on CBN.com. The news magazine program features live guests, daily news, con ...

'', and at Bill Gaither's Praise Gathering. He has written one book ''Just As I Am: The Life of David Ring'' in 1994. Ring describes gospel musician

Mike Speck Mike Speck is a Gospel musician and ordained minister from Lebanon, Tennessee. Together with his wife, Faye, and daughter Melody VanNus, Speck tours with a Gospel music trio called the Mike Speck Trio. Speck has performed as a guest artist in mi ...

as his "best friend in the whole world". Ring has been featured on broadcasts such as

John Hagee John Charles Hagee (born April 12, 1940) is an American pastor and televangelist. The founder of John Hagee Ministries, his ministry is telecast to the United States and Canada. Hagee is also the founder and chairman of the Christian-Zionist org ...

’s ministry ''Cornerstone'' and

James Dobson James Clayton Dobson Jr. (born April 21, 1936) is an American evangelicalism, evangelical Christian author, psychologist, and founder of Focus on the Family (FOTF), which he led from 1977 until 2010. In the 1980s he was ranked as one of the ...

’s ''

Focus on the Family Focus on the Family (FOTF or FotF) is a fundamentalist Protestant organization founded in 1977 in Southern California by James Dobson, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The group is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizatio ...

''.Premiere Speakers Bureau, ''David Ring'', "I have Cerebral Palsy – What’s Your Problem?"

References

External links

David Ring's Home PageThe Best Motivator Official Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ring, David 1953 births Living people 20th-century Christians 21st-century Christians American evangelists American motivational speakers American people with disabilities People from Nashville, Tennessee People with cerebral palsy William Jewell College alumni People from Jonesboro, Arkansas