Advice from Marlyn Schwartz

Have you ever met someone who bleeds Jesus? From their conversations in church, to their interaction with the mailman, every word out of this person’s mouth drips with divine grace and Christian love. One person who fits that very description is a man by the name of Marlyn Schwartz, a retired business owner and prominent member of our small Adventist community. Being a wealthy, Godly, older gentleman, Schwartz shares some of his secrets for life, spirituality and success.

Schwartz graduated from Union College in 1956. “Back in the 50s,” he said, “We had a shortage of teachers due to the war. Because of that, they started a summer program that got us certified to teach K-12 grade.” According to him, he took that program right out of high school, taught for a while and loved it so much he came to Union to study education. “After Union I went to Platte Valley which led me to construction and then business.” The world of business would be Schwartz’s home for the next 50 years and it led him to some of his greatest mission opportunities, one of those being the Racquet Club.

Schwartz acquired the Racquet Club from several failed investors who never managed to launch it off the ground. Luckily, Shwartz was a hard worker and with a lot of help, he turned 10 small tennis courts into a multistory fitness club with a booming membership. There was one catch: he wouldn’t open on Saturday. “It was never an option for us really,” he said. “My upbringing you know, I never even thought about it. People would ask, well get mad really that we wouldn’t open the one day a week that fitness clubs are really supposed to be open.” Mr. Schwartz however, wouldn’t budge in his convictions to keep the Sabbath holy, even after being bribed by a friend who, according to Schwartz, offered to open the club for him Saturdays and send all proceeds those days to the Maranatha project. “I love Maranatha, it is such a great corporation and I’ve been on so many projects with them. But you can’t fool God; you know He knows, and if you obey Him He will bless you.” Marlyn says. And God did bless the Racquet Club. For 35+ years God blessed expansions, opened doors and healed injuries.

So what is Schwartz’s advice for young people wanting to succeed how God wants them to? “Make God a part of your life, all of your life, and God will lead you where you need to go.” Another piece of advice he gave was to interpret the fourth commandment in full instead of in part. “God said not only to rest on the seventh day, but to work the other six. If we don’t put in hard work during the other six days, how will God bless us?” Schwartz continues to be part of our community and works hard even into his retirement. By following his example, our generation can become one that also bleeds Jesus.

By Sophia Jaquez