Without Jesus Inspiration Shirt

July 27, 2015

When I took the Head Football Coach job in 2012, I was speaking with a coach that was retiring after serving his team for 30 years. During the conversation, I said to him " Coach, if you could give me one piece of advice as a first year head coach or if you could go back do something different as a coach, what would that be?" His reply was amazing and it changed my coaching approach. He says,

"Coach. Over the last 30 years, God allowed me to be in front of and lead a lot of players and coaches. I'm afraid that on Judgment Day, I'll have to stand in front of God and he'll ask me 'How many of them did you tell about me?' ."

I had always considered myself to be a believer of Jesus Christ, but that moment resonates with me and the way I interact with all of my students, players, and coaches. It reminded me of a bible passage that I was taught as a child (The Great Commission) .

After Jesus Christ's death on the cross, he was buried and resurrected on the third day. Before he ascended into heaven, he appeared to his disciples in Galilee and gave them these instructions:

Matthew 28:18-20
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (NIV)

INSPIRATION
Three years later, I took my first group of students to the Fellowship of Christian Athlete's football camp at Georgia Southern University. Many of the kid's decided that they wanted to dedicate their lives to being followers of Jesus Christ. As a result, some of the senior students decided that they wanted to end each practice by reciting The Lords Prayer.

About 4 months later, I was called into the office and told that a parent complained that I was "praying with the kids" (Even after the same parent's child was allowed to attend FCA camp for 3 days and 2 nights). I was reminded of "separation of church and state". As a result, I was put in a situation where I had choose to 1) Stop sharing the Good news of the Gospel because man's law says that the church and state should be separate or 2) stand by my belief and do as God instructs us all to do.

I CHOOSE JESUS !!!!!!

WITHOUT JESUS, I'M NOTHING.