When the stadium lights dim and the cheers fade, where does an athlete's sense of self go? Todd Doxon, former quarterback sensation turned pastor, joins us to recount his remarkable journey from the gridiron to the pulpit. Our conversation meanders through the valleys of personal struggle and ascends to the peaks of spiritual enlightenment, providing a raw and revealing look at the metamorphosis of an individual who once lived for the roar of the crowd but now thrives on the power of faith.
Embarking on a pilgrimage through the realms of mentorship and identity, we uncover the profound influence of guidance and community on a person's life trajectory. Todd opens up about the mentor who helped him find his bearings in a world post-NFL, and we discuss the ripple effects such relationships have on self-worth and life direction. With Todd's narrative as a backdrop, we examine the challenges and rewards of supporting those battling addiction and the critical role of purpose and belief in overcoming adversity.
In the ever-evolving sphere of youth sports, we analyze the move from school fields to club teams and the implications for young athletes and their families. Todd shares his experience in shaping the next generation through FCA sports academies, where athletic prowess meets Christian values. We also contemplate the shifting focus of club sports and the potential of these platforms to forge leaders with integrity. Tune in to this stirring account that transcends the playbook and delves into the heart of what it means to lead a purpose-driven life.
When the stadium lights dim and the cheers fade, where does an athlete's sense of self go? Todd Doxon, former quarterback sensation turned pastor, joins us to recount his remarkable journey from the gridiron to the pulpit. Our conversation meanders through the valleys of personal struggle and ascends to the peaks of spiritual enlightenment, providing a raw and revealing look at the metamorphosis of an individual who once lived for the roar of the crowd but now thrives on the power of faith.
Embarking on a pilgrimage through the realms of mentorship and identity, we uncover the profound influence of guidance and community on a person's life trajectory. Todd opens up about the mentor who helped him find his bearings in a world post-NFL, and we discuss the ripple effects such relationships have on self-worth and life direction. With Todd's narrative as a backdrop, we examine the challenges and rewards of supporting those battling addiction and the critical role of purpose and belief in overcoming adversity.
In the ever-evolving sphere of youth sports, we analyze the move from school fields to club teams and the implications for young athletes and their families. Todd shares his experience in shaping the next generation through FCA sports academies, where athletic prowess meets Christian values. We also contemplate the shifting focus of club sports and the potential of these platforms to forge leaders with integrity. Tune in to this stirring account that transcends the playbook and delves into the heart of what it means to lead a purpose-driven life.
Hello and welcome to the Kingdom coaching podcast, where we discuss the world of club sports through the lens of Christ. I am your host, micah B. Hey, hey, hey, what's going on everybody? Thank you again for tuning into the Kingdom coaching podcast. Blessed to be bringing you a very fun and an action packed episode today. My guest sitting down with me today once was the star starting quarterback at Iowa State, went from that to playing for the New York Jets, back to Iowa State where he worked as a part time pizza delivery and part time drug dealer and then went on back to the NFL and then became a Christian and now serves the Omaha community as the pastor of Love Church. Please welcome to the podcast, pastor Todd Doxin. Welcome to the podcast, todd.
Speaker 1:Love it, let's go, thanks for the invite, yeah, okay, so tell me about this juice. It's not just regular orange juice. Okay, so that's the first topic, that's right.
Speaker 2:Orange, lemon lime, yeah. So every year the church does that three, three week fast. So we kind of just challenge everybody beginning of year to pray the prayer Lord. What are you inviting us into in the season? Dig deeper, yeah. And so that's part of my three weeks is interweaved in there as a little juice.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's a little little more PC than I thought it was going to be.
Speaker 2:I was like open, it was like gin and juice or something you know like Todd's rolling in three, three PM little day drinking.
Speaker 1:So that makes way more sense. Yeah, way more sense. So nice, so do you? Do you drink coffee at all?
Speaker 2:I do, yeah, but I'm not the weirdo like overload guy. He's giving me a black cup of coffee. I don't need the Foo Foo. How about you? I've recently kicked it. Did you really?
Speaker 1:So I've been trying, been trying to for a while, just because I got so dependent on early on where I would just drink so much like a pot of day and I just, you notice, I'd get kind of twitchy if I didn't have enough stuff like that and I got onto. Have you heard of athletic greens? Athletic greens, yeah, like A G one. It's like all your greens, all the nutritional greens, in a powder form. Oh wow, and so that that's like the trendy, super expensive version. So the but you version I use is they sell it as shields, but it's VPN, strong greens and strong reds, yeah, and so it's got all your greens.
Speaker 1:And then I take it a red supplement as well too, but it gives me sustained energy throughout the entire day.
Speaker 2:Interesting. Yeah, I'm going to steal that dude, it's good.
Speaker 1:So my pre-workout, that's my pre-workout. I don't do creatine anymore. I take I do collagen when I'm done working out. I just put that in like my mushroom tea. So like me hearing me myself say that I sound like a hippie.
Speaker 2:You know, it's just like you are hippie. Let's be honest, bro. Come on, Micah, you are.
Speaker 1:So it's it's crazy, you know, but yeah, you'll have to check it out, though. It's really good stuff. It tastes pretty good too.
Speaker 2:Does it? Yeah, that's the big thing, man, if it doesn't taste good it looks a little funky.
Speaker 1:It looks dark green. You know dark green obviously, and my wife can't get over the the look of it. But the greens got a like lemon taste and the red has like a strawberry taste. Oh, that's cool.
Speaker 2:So it's uh just tell your wife to close their eyes.
Speaker 1:I was like you can just put it in a you know, in a glass that you that's not clear. Yeah, there you go, like she's like, it's mental. I'm like, okay, well, you got, you got to get over that, so yeah, but anyways, okay, so that was, that was a little well, a little little fun bit there. So, um, todd, um, I know a little bit about your story. When we met last, you, you know, opened up to me a little bit. I know a lot of other people know a lot about your story. Um, why don't, why don't you kind of walk us through early life? Or, todd Doxon, as, as an athlete, I know from from what you told me you, you didn't grow up as a Christian, right, okay, so sports were a big part of your life from from start to finish. So let's, let's start early childhood for you, what, what that looked like, so, and we'll just, uh, we'll roll.
Speaker 2:I actually was thinking about. My childhood was amazing, but I would tell you, when I was seven, my parents divorced and that was for sure a shattering time of my life, particularly in identity, and I speak about this a lot because at that point, as a young boy, you're, you're being formed of who you are. And now, all of a sudden, when that happened, I really dove into athletics and that's how I got. You know, I don't know, affirmation recognition, and you know, for whatever reason, that that just was my thing and and and really continued on all the way through high school. Yeah, went to Iowa state, you know, played football and baseball, uh, zoned in on football.
Speaker 2:My first team in the NFL was the New York Jets. Went to training camp there, pulled a hamstring, uh, built, built ourselves the big tuna at the time. He put me on waivers man and he said, todd, you had a great can't. You know you're having a great camp, we don't. But we don't keep rookie free agents. They get hurt. That was just their policy. Sure, and you know it was. It was shattering for me because, again, I grew up in this place where, um, that was who I was, that's what I live for, and it was all about how you look, what you have, what title you have, and I'm like dude, I'm going to the NFL, I'm going to prove to you. And there was always this insecurity. I had to prove something to my dad. I had to prove something to you know, was he?
Speaker 1:out of the equation.
Speaker 2:No, my dad was, I'm telling you he's a great dude, but it doesn't like there's something that shifts away. You know, that's why I got created male, female, to do it his way. There's a way that works. And again, no shame. I talk about how my parents. They both got remarried to a wonderful people and, uh, I have a amazing relationship with all of them to this day. So I don't talk in a disrespectful way with that, but it's, it's just part of it, because what happens is there's a, there's this deep insecurity in you. You don't even know it's there, right and so. And then you know, seventh grade, I remember trying out for a gladiators select basketball team and the dude afterwards, after the you know the workout all weekend long he's like Todd, you had a great workout, great, I love it. He said, but you're too small. That was a little dude, you know. Yeah, and you were. You were held. I was probably. Let's see here what grade was that?
Speaker 2:Sixth grade, fifth, I forget what grade, but so so think about seven year old boy yeah, dad bounces, yeah you. What did I do? Like he's gone? So you're not enough. You know, I don't know. Let's call it middle school, pre middle school. You're too small. Yeah, I get dumped by, like in my in my life the hottest girl in school and ninth grade. So it's like these are interesting Cause I look back there, pivotal points in my life where I was finding I was like who am I? I'm not good enough, I'm not tall enough, I'm not good enough, and so I'm going to prove to you that I'm worth something, and so I've funneled all that energy into athletics.
Speaker 2:Well, that's great If you're having success. What happens when that's taken away? Yeah, so that was taken away. Now, you know, I go back to Iowa state I was. I played as a true freshman and I had one year left of school. So I get cut and I'm like you know, I was the starting quarterback. I'm going to the NFL and all of a sudden I'm back in Ames, iowa, working for a sandwich store, real, real hotspot, you know like delivering sandwiches to sororities and fraternities and dorms and people are like wait.
Speaker 2:I thought like what are you doing here?
Speaker 2:You're back Talk about humbling and I got, tragically, I got involved in drugs and dealing drugs and just chaos really. Yeah, and you know, I was doing things that I would have never dreamt of. Yeah, and I wasn't. I wasn't a born again Christian growing up, but I it's not like I didn't believe in God, it wasn't like I was some horrible person, but I was entering into this lifestyle that was just not me. And one night I'm out delivering, you know, a sandwich and a bag of weed and God just got my attention. Man, it's late 97. My cut it was as if God was in my car. He's like yo, look at yourself. I don't know if he said yo, but I mean that was that, was that's my kind of guy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly, exactly.
Speaker 2:Like, look at your life. Yeah, you know, if I, if you continue down this road, it's incarceration, unplanned pregnancy, it is disease, you name it, or you finally say yes to me and watch what I'll do with your life and man, that was my, my, my, my solid appall. I call it acts nine experience and the lights went on and it was a pretty radical conversion. Yeah, at that point and you know, it was a week or two later the Patriots called, they flew me up to Foxboro, signed a contract, they sent me to NFL Europe and Amsterdam of all places and that was my struggle.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no kidding. Yeah, let's see how you went to Sodom and Gomorrah. And exactly, yeah, that's exactly.
Speaker 2:But by God's grace, as I mentioned to you, Kurt Warner signed with the Rams at the same time and our coach got us together. We were roommates in training camp in Atlanta and then roommates in Amsterdam and for the first time I saw a fierce competitor.
Speaker 2:He was a solid Christian dude, yeah Mary, with a couple of kids, and I saw a picture of what I've always wanted. Yeah, oh, you could be a Like a competitor. As a Christian, you can, like, actually have fun in life. I didn't know that. I thought you become a Christian your life's over, turning your cool card, you can't compete. Kurt was everything but that and to this day you know we'll text back and forth he was the best man of my wedding. To this day I just thank God for him, and not if I don't have that Four months season with him who knows where.
Speaker 1:yeah, today, I mean that's completely God ordained right. That's, that's just wild. I mean it's, it's funny. I mean I'm sure you you saw it in the moment, but like looking back later you were just like man, that was God sovereignty, just protecting me and just you know, that's huge.
Speaker 2:That is, that is huge you know, when you're that young in your faith, I've seen so many people genuinely they really want to do the right thing but in a weak moment make a couple of bad choices, they get out of bounds and next thing you know they're right back to the same life. And to have you know Kurt, it's like a bumper in my life and it was during camp, you know.
Speaker 2:I mean, he's waking me up before before two days, yeah he's like yo, we're gonna get up, work out together when you know we're gonna. We're gonna go to practice where you lunch together. At night we had a like a team Bible study he led. You know, before we get, before we go to bed, we're on our knees. He's teaching me how to pray. I mean, this is every day. You know, that's the challenge I have as a pastor. It's I get people for 90 minutes max. In fact, I probably got them for half of that tension span, tension span wise, absolutely, and yet there's like make disciples.
Speaker 2:That's why we've always brought people into our home and and they live with us. You know, yeah, because of what Kurt did for me, and we started a program called 180 for men coming out of addiction that have given their Life to Christ. They live in the house for four months and your house not my house.
Speaker 2:Okay we bought a house. Well, they did for years, okay, when we were raising our children. Our boys are 21 now and their ones married. They're out of the house, but as we were raising the children, we brought in over 30 people during that time To live with us, for could have been a month, could have been a year. Yeah, that's awesome. But giving away what God gave to us.
Speaker 1:Oh, absolutely through curtain. Yeah, I mean because you, you got to give to them what, what God had given to you, through curtain, that's just, it's exactly right. I mean that that's so big right because so many times people bless us like that and I think we often miss opportunities to be a blessing. That you know that, that we received. That's exactly right, that is like Genesis 12.
Speaker 2:Isn't it what he tells Abraham, like I'm gonna bless you to be a blessing, yes, same idea.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely yeah, no, that's, that's really neat. So I'm, I'm curious from a mental aspect on. So you, you get cut from the jets, yeah, and you come back to Ames and you start doing stuff you never did before. Can you? Can you pinpoint, like you know, like a cognitive decision? It's like you know, I'm just gonna be a drug dealer. This sounds like a good, a good option.
Speaker 2:Or was it a great question?
Speaker 1:No, like I'm just yeah, I'm just curious, it's really it's really, it's a really good question.
Speaker 2:I'm glad you asked that. So a couple things coming to mind right away. One when I was playing something. Let me. Let me go back. This might be interesting for you to hear. Yeah, I started drinking probably in it's called the seventh grade. We, yeah, spend a night at a buddy's house. We drink whatever, not know, not having any clue what we are doing. Wake up the next day, yeah, you know, peeing on yourself and being all you're all messed up, and we would do that all the way through high school. My freshman year of college, all the senior football players would take me out, get me drunk, mm-hmm. One night I remember was after the season, my freshman year at Iowa State were at like a fraternity party and I showed up late in my I don't know I should. It's probably 11 or maybe even been midnight. I Show up to this party, everybody's sloshed and I'm like, do I look that dumb, like all these idiots? Like, yeah, you know when you're drunk, you, you don't know how you know?
Speaker 2:You know, yeah, so I show the silver and I'm like, all right, that's uncool. So I literally Left the party, went to the rec center, shot hoops the rest of the night, stop drinking. No, I'm not a Christian at this time.
Speaker 2:Yeah cold turkey. Yeah Well, the problem was there are a couple homies on my team. They're like yeah, you shouldn't drink, you get a hangover, but you need to start smoking weed with me and I'm like, all right. So I Say that to say throughout the I don't know how would I say it throughout the rest of my college career it was more recreational, none too crazy, yeah.
Speaker 1:But when you weren't scarface, you weren't sitting behind a desk, you know, facing a pole pile of coke, exactly, yeah, you know so we, you know we experiment with different stuff, but you know, but you have to show up the next day.
Speaker 2:You're working hard. So here's the problem, though when that structure was out of my life, when that goal was out of my life, with that sense of purpose was gone in my opinion, because that's what I was living for. Yeah, that's when the recreation turned into Chaos. Okay, and it was really quick, it turned. It turned south quick.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, that makes sense, it's. It's funny, um, so did you ever play football when you were high?
Speaker 2:That's a really good question. I lifted weights that never, never play an actual game or practice.
Speaker 1:No because I remember in high school my members a freshman looking back now, this is crazy. We would take handfuls of ibuprofen and Like four or five no-dos and yeah, dude, right, looking back like this, is ibuprofen like numbed you up and then no, and then no dose, like gave you, like just that, that kind of that edge jack.
Speaker 2:I think the closest we ever got was rip fuel. I remember taking rip fuel before practice back in the day. Okay, that would get you jacked. Okay, you were, you were in essence pretty.
Speaker 1:I knew some guys that would toke up before games yeah, I can't and couldn't do that. They played so well and I just I was like I don't understand it. Like it was like the joke in my hometown that if you were a pothead you were a good athlete. Like that was just kind of like they kind of went hand in hand you know what's funny about that.
Speaker 2:Think about this this is interesting when you were a kid maybe you're like me, you're so wired and so amped for the game. Yeah, maybe like taking a couple puffs, we're kind of chilly out a bit Maybe maybe that's what it was, I don't know, but we'd always joke about that.
Speaker 1:I'm just like what is that? But my dad was a cop and I knew if I smoked weed, I wasn't ever worried about going to jail, I was worried about living, you know. So I didn't.
Speaker 1:I'll stay alive at this point? I wasn't. I wasn't a christian in high school and I, I didn't drink because my dad mipped all my friends. And so, oh man, and can you imagine? So, as a freshman in high school, my dad's mipping the seniors and so, as I'm going through two days, oh no, yeah, no, it was bad. I mean, like those seniors were just killing me, man, just like your dad mipped us my anger out on you, Dude.
Speaker 2:it's like it's not me. Look, it's my dad.
Speaker 1:They don't really care. They can't assault a police officer, thinking this all to son. So that was so, uh, yeah, but looking back, it's uh.
Speaker 2:Tuffing you up.
Speaker 1:It's a little bit, a little bit, okay. So, um, you fast forward a bit, meet Kurt Warner. He shows you, I mean well, you become a christian first, yeah. And then Kurt shows you, well, he disciples you, more or less, that's right, okay. So, pick, pick me up from that point on. So you, you, you move on from Kurt. Um, you guys go your separate ways.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so basically in in europe. Uh, I blow out an mcl. Come back rehab. Go to the new willing patriots training camp pulled, my other hamstring got cut. Come back for my last semester at Iowa State. About a month into the semester I get a call from my agent. He says, hey, good news, the dolphin's called, they're gonna fly 10 guys down. They got one practice roster spot. I'm like, oh, my goodness, let's go. So and I had been staying in shape, decent shape, went down there, had a great workout. I was the one guy they signed To the practice roster. I was on practice roster one week. The next week they activated me. I played the rest of that 98 season and it's just phenomenal, man. I mean I remember Again. That was my dream. Yeah, what was interesting. I grew up here in Omaha, nebraska, played in the kwaa football league and my team was the dolphins.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's cool and so.
Speaker 2:Dan marino was always my idol yeah and you got to play with him and so I literally walk in the locker room and they put me right next to dan and it's it's the first couple weeks he has a private skybox at the Ice arena down there for the Panthers and he's like hey, todd, why don't you come with me, my family to one of the games? I'm like I remember showing up going. This isn't real right.
Speaker 1:I'm eating filet mignon with Dan marino watching the darn florida panthers. I'm like come on, oh dude, that's wild.
Speaker 2:So but, but even more so talking about the sovereignty of god, Some guy invited me. I was. You know I'm a midwest kid. I'm like living my best life, rent a convertible. My off day I go to the beach. You know I'm chilling. Some guy comes up to me. I had one of those. If you remember those old school WWE bracelet yeah.
Speaker 2:So this cat, he's like working the beach and I wasn't laying out on this. This like what do you call it? Like a beach chair? I didn't know you had to pay for. He's like hey, that's you know. Five, ten bucks, whatever. He said.
Speaker 2:By the way, I noticed the, the bracelet. Um, are you a christian? I said, and I kind of gave him my cliff notes. Yeah, so that's cool. He said, uh, do you have a church that you go to? So I just got down here. I work on the weekends. Do you have anything on the during the week? He's like yeah, you got to come with me till our Wednesday night. We have a Wednesday night service. Yeah, so it's some random guy. He could have been an axe murderer, for all I know. I showed up to this, this warehouse church. I rolled in this church called Calvary Chapel, fort Lauderdale Never seen anything like it. It was, yeah, full band, rock band. The pastor gets up. The guy's cracking jokes, but he's he's teaching the bible. Like, right, I don't forget what book we're in, but let's just say we're in glacial's. He's giving Paul wrote to the glaciers. He's teaching through the actual book and connecting it with real life, expositional preaching, you know, with that real life application. I never experienced that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it changed me.
Speaker 2:I was like sure, this is church.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So you know, fast forward many, many years later. That's what type of church we lead to this day. Yeah, and you know, by the way, I don't know, it was a year or two later, I meet my wife. We're working in serving in youth ministry as volunteers. We show up to the first volunteer night and there she is, and six months later we were married.
Speaker 1:So that's cool.
Speaker 2:God's sovereign hand here I am thinking it's about Living your earthly dream right. He's like I'll throw that in there, but really, yeah, I'm trying to really get you positioned for your Destiny. That's really gonna make kingdom impact.
Speaker 1:Dude. Yep, I get it. Yeah, it's so funny we can go through so much of our life, even as is mature and christians, in thinking that we've got kind of got the bull by the horns, we've got to figure it out. Oh, this is, this is what God has in store. And then, five years ago, byron's like wow, I was way off. Like we're pretty much meteorologists, we're just guessing, and uh, you know, but we get to keep our jobs even when we're wrong.
Speaker 2:So that's, that's the beauty of gracious, isn't?
Speaker 1:it, dude, it's, yeah, it's, uh, it's. It's definitely crazy. So. So I want to. I want to jump back to your childhood, okay, when, when you, you mentioned your, your parents got divorced and that's when you started to put your, your identity into into athletics. You know, getting that, wanting that affirmation from from coaches, from other male figures probably.
Speaker 1:That's right, absolutely. And so Were there any coaches in your life that, positively or negatively, were driving you along Like we're telling you? You know, like, todd, like this is. You know, because I say often it's one of those things that we often tell our kids and our athletes, sometimes unconsciously, that their identity is in a sport, when that's all we talk about. You know, as mentors to these young boys, if we're spending more time talking to them about, hey, you know, what kind of route was that? You know, like, how much reps did you put in? Did you win? You know, like, if all of our conversations revolve around that thing, unconsciously we're telling them that that's their identity. And so I'm just, I'm just curious if you had anyone like directly tell you like, hey, this is, this is your identity, todd, point blank. Or like if anyone was kind of spurring you along unconsciously I mean it's, it's.
Speaker 2:I know you're a great question. Honestly, man, I think for the most part I had phenomenal, well-intentioned men who were passionate about the particular game that they were coaching me in and were dynamite people. I don't recall ever having a born again believer. That was a crazy competitor that could combine both. It's kind of like the handbook on athletic perfection that we were so big on. You know, and how do you maximize what God's given you, right and man, if he's given you that leg ability, man, to the glory of God, let's maximize that stewardship to bring him more glory and honor. And so I never had that concept.
Speaker 2:If I'm really honest, I will tell you my high school football coach just finally retired coach, but Tito, I billed her North and he I'll. I'll just tell you a story to give you a kind of an idea of how much he believed in me. He, he said so my sophomore year, never forget it. I'm at, I'm in the gym, it's the off season, and him and a couple other coaches used to play some of us players and pick up like two on two or three on three, but half core basketball. It's so fun. And I remember after one one time he looked at me and said God, I just want to let you know um you're going to. You're going to play on Sunday, someday, and the context you got, so I didn't even play football my freshman year, my sophomore year I didn't even play.
Speaker 2:I played, I was a baseball guy baseball basketball and I was like I don't want to play. Well, my sophomore year, my my friends made me come out because their quarterback left and went to Texas. He moved to Texas so, like dude, you have to come out. So I'm just picture a gangly, you know just, I just grew a ton. I think I'm probably six foot and one 30. I mean, I'm just gangly. I have no idea how to throw a football.
Speaker 2:That's my sophomore year and after the season. He says that to me. I'm like what this guy is prophetic. How does he see this? That's why I didn't see, not even remotely close in me. Yeah, but I tell you that and I tell him to this to this day, god spoke to you, through you, in such a profound way. I never would have believed that. My my parents never said that. My college coaches never said that. Yeah, my high school coach spoke destiny to me.
Speaker 1:What, what does? What does he say to that?
Speaker 2:When I say that to him he's hilarious man, he's like it's all that Catholic education docs he's. He's one of. He's one of my favorite human beings on the planet.
Speaker 2:He's hilarious and but he what I loved about. There's so many things I loved about him. He was always for us. He always had our back. He was, he was making us believers. He deposited confidence in us. Yeah, he was the most unassuming. He didn't need the things of this world, it was all about relationship and kids. And I told him I'm like man, I, I'm a Christian, I I get pretty attached to the world. I get I get too caught up in the things of the world. Yeah, and he's just been a huge influence in my life. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, that's cool, I can. I can appreciate that Cause, like I remember there was one time you know Scott Beckin hour.
Speaker 2:Love Scott. Scott Beckin hour.
Speaker 1:Legend, great dude. So in college I just had my first kid. Scott was teaching a class and it was like one of those intensive classes where it's like you get like three or four credit hours in a week but it's like eight hour classes. And we had just had our kid kid that weekend and I go to go on a class Monday and like Todd, I mean, you know he, you know Beckin, I could see he's like dude, what's wrong with that? I was like we just had a kid. He was like wait a minute. I was like last night and he was like dude, go home and go get some sleep. And so, awesome dude, you know, great guy.
Speaker 1:But it was in that class. We were talking and he asked everybody, who has been the most influential person in your life? You know, who taught you how to be a Christian? And and I thought about that and I told him, I said the person who's taught me how to be the best Christian wasn't even a Christian at that time. Yeah, yeah, you know, cause it was my dad. Yeah, my dad. You know exemplified humility, you know love, grace, all the, all these things. I mean he, he's not perfect, you know. And there's.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of baggage of my dad and I still have but he exuded, especially, you know, when I was a young boy, like, looking back, like he wasn't like a Christian, but he exuded all these characteristics that Christians you know Christians should have and a lot of Christians that I knew didn't have, did not have there's a disconnect.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and so I remember telling that to Beckenhower and he kind of sat back in his chair and was like I've never heard that one before. I was like that's true, but like that's just the truth for me at that at that point, like there was men in my life like you that were just, you know, they were men of character, you know, men of purpose, like their yes was yes and their no was no, and you know so crucial to have that investment, yeah, so that's yeah, that's really neat, did you?
Speaker 1:so? Yeah, they didn't have like no, they did this. So the the dolphins team you played for as a kid, would that be like modern day select football?
Speaker 2:Uh, no, it was more like just how would you? How would you connect it? I think nowadays they have like feeder programs for like the. Millard schools or.
Speaker 1:West side, or whatever.
Speaker 2:That was more like it. I think they formalize that back in the day it was. It was the same type idea, but kids were going to different schools and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1:Was it tackle or worth a flag?
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, it was. It was tackle since third grade. Yeah, I mean yeah same, yeah Better, yeah Better, bring your your egg.
Speaker 1:Yeah, In back of the day we called it I think it was midget football. Yeah, I don't think you can call it that now because like yeah, it's, it's, it's done, not PC, but yeah, I remember like on the forums it said midget football and I remember signing up and we were little Peewees and midgets yeah dude, it was. It was a thing and it's just no one.
Speaker 1:No one thought twice. But again, my dad had a pickup full of eight of us in the back of the back of the pickup and we were driving to practice. Yeah, you know, so many things have so many things that have changed, you know, and that's you know. That's definitely a question I've I've asked since I've been out of the football game, played in high school and I wasn't good enough to play professionally so I wasn't going to waste any time playing for an NIA, nia school, I mean, you know. But I asked the question, you know, for guys that are coaching high school now, and I'm curious, get your thoughts on this If, if, if, a parent's coming up and they got a kid who's, who's agile, he's athletic and he loves football, how crucial is it to introduce tackle and and at what age?
Speaker 1:It's a really good question, because I got I've got different responses and the one that I heard that I liked the most was wait as long as possible, wait until high school, and I and I scratch my head with it cause I'm just like, okay, but like the physicality of football is, I think it's so, is so crucial, but at the same time I, you know, I think to myself the noggin can only take so many hits before some screws come loose.
Speaker 2:Believe me, you're talking to one right now, bro.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure, cause I mean nowadays I my son he's not in select football and so I don't know that world a whole lot. But I was talking to somebody recently and it's not uncommon to play three, four games a week of tackling. I'm just like, oh, like this isn't baseball, like this is full contact, and a lot of times you're tackling, you're just throwing your body. There's not good form, and so I would.
Speaker 2:I would personally lean towards what you just said. I probably wouldn't go that far. I'd say probably middle school. But it's weird. I think my experience was my experience, you know, and and I think the other thing is being wise about who your child is there's some kids, man, that they. You just got to sense the spirit and be like yo. I think this kid needs to be longer, you know, maybe high school time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, some kids are just scrappy and they it's actually a good outlet for them, you know wrestling football physical stuff. Some kids develop earlier too. Yeah, that's part of it. You know, like you said, it's like I've I've known kids where they develop when they're 15, 16, 17. Yeah, and so you're putting them in when they're just all stretched out and they don't have any muscle to protect those bones.
Speaker 1:That may not always be the best, but I mean, I was that kid, I was six foot when I was 12, you know, just like a bean pole man, and so when I got hit I was an easy target because I was huge and it just it hurt everywhere, everywhere. Yeah, it's funny looking back, Like I wasn't a phenomenal football player, but I remember like some of my favorite moments were squaring off against guys who played D one and whatnot. And I remember playing against. It was Josh Mueller. He played for the Huskers in like the early 2000s and he was a. I think he was like junior when I was a sophomore or senior and he was. He went to Columbus and like squaring off against guys like that. He was like six, six, like two, 20. And I was like six one, one, 50.
Speaker 1:Cause we both played tight end and D end, so like every play we were squaring off and just like getting murdered and so fun. Yeah. And I remember trying to tackle him one time and he's like drug me, you know, just like I'm trying trying.
Speaker 2:I'm giving him my best.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I know it's, but that that development aspect you can't rush it.
Speaker 2:There's. There's something, and I don't. I might be taking us on a rabbit trail, but there's something. I was just had this thought recently.
Speaker 2:The game of football has so much leadership development within it and so much character development in it. It's one of the reasons why I absolutely love the game of football the team concept, the consistency, the humility, the embracing, uncomfortable. Yes, coach, yes, sir. When you get beat out, how do you react? How can I bring my best every single day? How can I serve the team? How can I? There's something about, you know, I'm a left tackle, I'm not the quarterback, or I'm the quarterback and not the left tackle, but so there's so many concepts, I think, in the game of football that I love that a lot of times we overlook and so there's a lot of development.
Speaker 2:One of our boys, you know, has been at Iowa State for the last four years and the way I look at it is like you know he's a walk on, you know he's didn't get a lot of run, got some on teams, but I'm like he's been in leadership college the last four years. You gotta wake up at. You know, at a certain time and a lot of times that's early You're gonna go lift weights and get pushed to the brink. You're with your teammates and you're competing while you're puking. You don't. Maybe you're sick, you don't really feel like it, they don't care. So there's all these things that are developed within a young man during those crucial years that I've seen, even with leading a church and you know leading, having businesses and different things that we've done. When you add people to your team that have gone through athletics and you know military and different things, it's interesting, as you over the years and again I should make a generalization, but those, those formative years like that are crucial and you learn so many, so many key character qualities.
Speaker 1:No, I agree and I like how you said football is. I mean, it's the direct correlation between a football team and the body of Christ. I use that analogy.
Speaker 2:A lot right.
Speaker 1:It's just everybody wants to be the quarterback Okay, that's fantastic, right. Who's gonna block for him? Like, okay, everyone wants to be the head of Christ Okay, who's gonna be the neck? Like you know, it's just like you gotta understand. You know, if every person does not execute their assignment to the letter, the team fails.
Speaker 2:Well, that's the greatest. When Paul talks about the body right, like, okay, you've got the hands, you've got the feet, you got one of our pastors at Calvary Chapel back in the day you talk about, you know well what if you're like the big toe, well, you're always covering me up and I don't get any recognition or I'm the lung.
Speaker 2:You know it's like. Well, try to take away the lung out of the body. And that's the same idea. I remember one time I ended up from the NFL. I went to the XFL and then to the Arena League and I was in Atlanta. I said no excuse me, it's Carolina and started first 10 games. Matt Nagy was my quarterback. We were having a blast. Our coach gets fired, matt and I get benched the next week and the defensive coordinator takes the job. The first thing he does, he benches Matt and I. So I went from. They called it it's funny they called it the OS, the offensive specialist in the arena football. Let's it do this like running around as a receiver catching a bunch of touchdowns is so fun.
Speaker 2:So I went from that. I get benched and the Joker around the locker room. I went from the OS to the HS, the holding specialist.
Speaker 1:Imagine how humbling it was as the starting receiver.
Speaker 2:Now, the only thing you're doing after they score a touchdown you hop over the little like you know the little wall you know the padded wall. I just like tried it and I'd hold for a field goal. And then I didn't run back and hop over.
Speaker 1:That was my job.
Speaker 2:But I loved it because even that, okay, gabba's saying what's this, what are you gonna do? How are you gonna show up at practice? The kid, damien Gross, who took your job. He's a phenomenally gifted athlete. Will you lean in and help train him? Will you give away? Will you get your defense ready by going to scout team and the receiver and they are in the league? I'm a scout team player in the arena league. How do you handle that and those type of things, man, I had no idea what that was doing, developing like you know what A1 mentality audience of one. I'm part of a team. It doesn't matter what position I'm in. I'm called to bring value to that team, no matter where they put me.
Speaker 1:So okay, I'm curious. So I know you played at Iowa State. You grew up in Omaha. Are you a Husker fan at all?
Speaker 2:I am a. How do I say this? I'm a Tom Osborne fan.
Speaker 1:Ron Brown fan.
Speaker 2:Eric Crouch is one of my good friends, so I'm more. That's kind of how I am in the game in general, Whether it's college or NFL. I followed coaches and athletes that I'm connected with.
Speaker 1:So did you watch any Husker games this year?
Speaker 2:I'm trying to think of. I caught some highlights of some.
Speaker 1:So Jeff Sims was like the going into this season. He was going to be like our guy, I mean.
Speaker 1:Amigo is named. A meal after him in Lincoln. It was a big deal, right. And then he just he didn't show up. I mean, he just didn't show up, right.
Speaker 1:And so we went through two or three other quarterbacks and the thing that I loved about Jeff I don't know who he is as a person, where he stands, as a, you know, man of God or not, but every, every game, even when he was hurt, I saw he was. He was full padded up and anytime Hartburg come off the field or whoever we had and there is a quarterback, he would be right there with his arm over the quarterback pouring into him. And it was Sims, his last year. I mean, this was his last year. He could have gotten an end of the portal and gone somewhere else, he could have done something else, but he was thinking of the team and I just saw that and like that was huge to me. I'm like I don't know who you are, but like I want to get to know you, because that right there shows leadership, shows quality, shows character and so and again, you know it just.
Speaker 2:And you move on in life and think about it if you're a business owner, you're organizational leader and you have a guy like that on your team who her, not her plan, not plan is bringing that to the team that's give me that all day long.
Speaker 1:You could build a team around that person. And so that's that you know. Whatever Jeff does, he's going to be a winner. I mean when I saw that I was like dude, this guy, he, you know he got a lot of crap because he wasn't before.
Speaker 2:And I was like dude, it's part of it, yeah.
Speaker 1:But I was like you're going to do some good stuff, man, so that was that's cool.
Speaker 1:I love it, yeah. So club sports I want to talk a little bit about that. I know that wasn't a thing when, when you played football. It is now, and I'm also curious from like a pastor give me a pastor's perspective and like a athlete, slash coach as perspective on on club sports. You know it's, it's manifested into something so much bigger than I think anyone could have ever thought it was going to be. I mean a multi-billion dollar a year industry. I know last year it grossed almost, it was almost as much as the. It was more than the Major League Baseball Association. It wasn't far, far below the NFL, like youth sports in general, like it was gosh. It was like $22.8 billion, unbelievable Last year. What a girl grossed in. And it's just, you know.
Speaker 1:I saw another crazy number where it was like 40 of like the 44, oh no, it's oh sorry, 54 points. 56.4% of American youth are going to play sports this year and it's about like 40, like 44 million-ish around that and and so like. Of that number is like 38,. 39 million are going to play through club teams rather than campus teams. It's insane. I mean, kids aren't playing through campus like they used to. You know it's because the reality is scouts don't go to as many high school games as they used to because if they can go to a tournament and watch, you know, you know half a dozen teams and a matter of two days More efficient. Yeah, it just is so like. So I get that, but again it's manifested into this deal where, you know, 20 years ago, if you wanted to play D1 or professionally, you know there weren't these, these sharks out there. I mean, I hate to say that there weren't these sharks out there that were trying to, you know, weave deception and to to make a dollar. There were people out there that were trying to help, and some bad people for sure. But now it's. It's so hard for parents to navigate that you know, you know, I, I, I have a son who has high aspirations for baseball, very gifted and, and I'm seeing all this stuff. That's just the it's.
Speaker 1:It's the common theme in the baseball world is if you want to play D1, you have to play. Select the ball from a young age. You need to be on a major's team. You need a pitching coach, you need a hitting coach. You got to do all these things. You need to play 60, 70 games in the summer you need to play fall baseball, you need to do all these things, and I, just I, I sat back and I, I, I want to look at it from a 10,000 foot view and I'm just like I don't know if this is the right answer. And you know, I know every sport, you know every sport is different. Every, you know culture is a little different in that, in that aspect Football, I know I need to, you know, kind of get versed up a little more on it. You know from from the club side of things.
Speaker 1:But it's so interesting to me just how many parents are like like myself, are just confused. They want the best for their kids. Yeah, christian families, yeah, their kids are gifted, yeah, and the reality is tournaments exist on weekends. Yep, that's never gonna change. I mean, I've heard Christians say, well, we were, we're just gonna boycott Sundays. I'm just like, okay, if that's your personal conviction, fine, don't put that on everyone else because exactly, yeah, it's never gonna go away. Much like alcoholism, prostitution, it's not gonna go away. So it is, much as you want to turn a blind eye to something that you may think is inherently evil, it's not gonna go away like that. And so I just we're. We're kind of stuck in that middle ground. We and we, we want the best for our kids, you know, we want them to to surpass us and so. So I'm curious. So, from from a dad's perspective coach, athlete, pastor, give me all these different perspectives of you know give me the answer.
Speaker 2:You're making me like I. I literally have like a five-point sermon right now, so I'm trying to Get it going right now. To simplify, okay, let me start with this the the from the big picture of the big picture. Idolatry is idolatry. Mm-hmm, god said you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. Yeah, that's number one.
Speaker 2:So anything that we put above that is idolatry. It doesn't matter if it's, if it's you, sports, if it's money, business, you know sex, you name it. So I Do think that there is definitely a struggle in our culture with idolatry when it comes to sports in general, and I'll be the first one to admit that at times there's a place in my heart that takes, you know, and there's this interesting tension. God gives us all things richly to enjoy, but he also wants to make sure that we're not losing our minds and putting everything else first. So For me, and when our kids were young I'll give you an example blaze, our son that was very much Loved to the game of football. We were blessed with a great head coach, just a bunch of good dudes around him that were coaching, and For us, it was our conviction that on Sundays or, excuse me, every weekend, you're just at church. We're putting God number one. It doesn't matter what's going on, yeah, we're gonna be there.
Speaker 2:That was just our personal conviction and again, I love what you said. It's not we're legalistic, put in on everybody else, right it was for us.
Speaker 2:We wanted to model what it is. He's always gonna be number one in finances and time and worship. Yeah, not that we were perfect, but that was our. That's how we did it. And I remember they had a big game on a Sunday. He had missed a couple games, not nothing, it didn't really. We were far enough back then. It wasn't too crazy. And I remember one time there was a huge game and the head coach, who's a Christian, comes to me. He's like, hey, man, we need blaze tomorrow. He's like, can I take the kids to Saturday night church if I find another church? And I'm like, absolutely yeah. So Again I. That was my conviction. Okay, fast forward now.
Speaker 2:Some of my best friends have kids, are super gifted in youth select football right now. Yeah, and we're having it's a little bit different conversation, and the conversation we're having now is it's just not going away. How do we go and actually pastor and infiltrate youth sports? Yeah, you know, I'm thinking of one of my best friends, he. He had the invitation to be the head coach of this youth football team, ridiculously gifted kids. He's a very successful business guy, just great, steward, amazing dude, and what he? What does he do? He invests in those kids and pastors, the kids. And yeah, he's a light to a lot of the parents.
Speaker 2:And you know, I think about Jesus. Jesus would be right in the middle man Like it is. What's the Jesus way? He's infiltrating the world. Yeah, he said be sent into the world, yep. And so I'm not a big fan of the Christian bubble. I'd rather go mix it up and try to model who Jesus is love unconditionally, bring value, being a blessing, pray for people, encourage them through tough times, model what it can look like to be a crazy competitor.
Speaker 1:But a.
Speaker 2:Christ follower, yeah, in in the marketplace and in youth sports, and he's done such a marvelous job and and so that's where I mainly coach. Now I kind of that's kind of my mentality. I do caution, though I do because if my kids are growing up and it's fun in youth sports and and entertainment and that can become our God. Let's be honest, and When's the last time I was Intercal, part of a faith community? Yeah, and bringing value and showing up and serving, and you know, I I do caution and to credit this, this really it's one of my best friends, his wife, his children. They're. They have an interesting mix of very active in serving.
Speaker 2:They'll go serve at a shelter. They're always when we do outreach opportunities are involved, but there's a couple of times a month during that season. They they're watching online, they're at a tournament, they're coming home from driving home from a game or whatever, and but they're making that commitment to stay Involved during they're in groups. They're serving. We'll be at their place for a prayer group tomorrow night, you know just so. I think there's a way to do it. Yeah, it's just more difficult, yeah the long-winded preacher answer is more difficult.
Speaker 1:No, that's, that's your day of my day, if I'm honest, oh it is, but, like I think you said, you know, be careful. I mean you, you need to tread lightly going into it. I mean you need to go into it eyes wide open. Yeah, you know, and it's, it's not gonna go anywhere. It's it's always gonna be around. And you know something that I kind of, you know, had to sit back and ask myself and it kind of launched me. You know, an fca to kind of start something new that we're gonna do in March.
Speaker 1:And you know my son, he, he's a one-sport athlete. He won't. I mean, he, he did flag football this last year and it was through a church organization and it did not go well for him. He's a highly competitive athlete and when he plays with people who don't match his intensity, I'd be the same way, yeah. And so I was like that was his one shot football. And I was, I was pissed, yeah, because I was like, well, great, because now he's like, no, I just want to play, play baseball now. And so I was like, ah, maybe I'll get another shot, I don't know, whatever, and at the end of the day I'm not gonna force it, and so, very good. Let me add this real quick Sorry to interject, you're good.
Speaker 2:One of the things that I would if there's a parent listening to this. I was trained in this question, this prayer, really that's it's a bigger question, but I was like it's a bigger question, but I always challenge parents. Have you prayed about it? And here's the prayer lord, what are you inviting us into in this season? Yeah, such a powerful question, because it's not well. What did the pastor tell you, or what did your friend tell you, or what, what your feelings tell you? Yeah, if there's an honest Position of god, you know, in this season, when it comes to you, sports, education, where we live, what job I have, um, what, what group I'm supposed to be in, what part of the church I'm supposed to serve, at like, if I'm asking that question, if I'm a married couple and I'm doing it together as a family, lord, what are you inviting us into? Yeah, it's. We say it this way pray and then obey, and that's the freedom that we can have with different people having different convictions. Now, obviously, the bible, you know, has some Some pretty clear things.
Speaker 1:So you know outside of that but.
Speaker 2:But there's some gray and for me to take gray and make it black or white and force it on someone I don't that's, that's legalism.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's lame, is what it is. It's lame christianity.
Speaker 2:But again, lord, what do you invite us into in the season? I would challenge people to pray that and then, and then, obey what that looks like.
Speaker 1:No, I love that. And so that's actually how we got into select baseball. And so we my son played one year rec One of these, competitive one to play higher, and we came into a mox. I was still cowboying for a living as we drove in. It was an hour or so into town and you know, and he told me the schedule and I told my son he was nine years old at the time and he was mature for his age and I told him I said if we're gonna do this, we're gonna treat it like a ministry. So we're not just gonna come in, we're not just gonna come in here so you can play baseball. There's kids out there that I saw during the tryout coaches that we need to be a light to. There it is man. And so that was day one for me. I was like that point on I was like we have a way, way, way bigger calling.
Speaker 1:But you know, somewhere along the line I got a little distracted because my son, super motivated. I mean this kid, he's homeschooled and so when he gets done with his work he just works out, he works himself out and he's just super. I mean I'm a parent, I mean we're all biased, but I mean, he's an outstanding athlete and I started asking myself, how much time am I talking to him about Jesus during the week? You know he loves God. He prayed for his team Every single game, luster, he led his team into prayer. But I asked myself from a parent, from a mentor's perspective, how much time am I spending working on developing his, his spiritual character, rather than his actual physical attributes? And that was humbling for me because I was like, okay, god, I think I'm out of balance here. That's so good, it's good awareness.
Speaker 2:It was tough, yeah. It takes humility to admit that and then make adjustments.
Speaker 1:It did, and so we're going to start doing this. We're going to start implementing what's called FCA sports academies, and what that looks like is like all throughout the country there's tons of academies where kids can go to get specialized training to work on their free throws, work on their backhands, work on you know this their special skills. I have not seen anything that works with Christian athletes to help them learn how to play the sport from a biblical perspective, at a high level. It's really good. I mean like there's camps, there's, there's, there's good tools out there and stuff like that. But as far as, like the Omaha Metro and our surrounding areas are concerned, I can't find anything. And so we're going to start something where we're going to have a weekly gathering and it's hopefully going to just like manifest and to just all these other little pockets in Omaha where we can have, you know, five or six baseball academies and football and soccer and so on and so forth. Because I see these, these kids we had some kids on our team last year the parents are Christians and you know, the question becomes I love my son, I love my daughter and they're extremely gifted and and but I don't know how and like they start getting good and start getting ahead on their shoulders. How do I, you know, for like a better word to bring them down a peg? You know how would I teach them how to play the sport from a biblical perspective? Yeah, you know. And, more importantly, you know, like I know, like I'm blessed my son's blessed that I'm I'm helping to coach him A time will come where I will not be on the coaching staff that he plays and he will have to be able to fend for himself from a Christian standpoint. And so the idea of this is to help kids understand how, how a Christian athlete needs to handle a coach who doesn't treat them in a God honoring way, what to do when your teammates are wanting you to do something dishonest.
Speaker 1:You know, I told the story earlier today. My son got picked off. Well, they called him safe and it was like two years ago. He was leading off base and jump back and you know he was tagged out. But they called him safe. My son stood up and told the umpire. He said no, I was out and I'm just like that's what I'm talking about and the and the you know the coaches were like what I'm like, that is integrity. Integrity, like how do we start instilling that in kids? Cause we're not trying to? I mean, yes, there's, there's always going to be professional sports. It's the point 001%. I'm not worried about them as much as I'm worried about preparing the next generation.
Speaker 1:You know it's it's just, you know, every, you know I tell us to people every once in a while I was like the next president of the United States may be on my team. I know it's a fat chance, but I'm like I, I cope with with, with that conviction of you know it may be the next governor, the next mayor, I mean people who are going to be the next decision decision makers for, for, for our, for our town, our state and our country and our world. And it's my job, it's your job, it's our job as, as parents, coaches and and, and quite frankly, christians, you know, to instill in them those, those critical thinking skills that point back to Christ and how Christ would handle these types of situations. And so that's right.
Speaker 2:It's two things coming to mind for me, and I love that you guys are doing that. So, man, kudos to you. I think the way we there's two made things. Number one you know we're a through the Bible church. I got challenged to read through the Bible in 2001 and that implemented that completely changed. We read it, you know, bible in a year. It was got like nine, 10 years in a row, and then we we changed it to Bible in two years and now Bible in four years, and that's all we do at the church. And then we have a Bible in a year challenge edition for kids, which is our kids curriculum.
Speaker 2:So our number one thing we're trying to do is get parents and children into their own Bibles every single day, the whole context of scripture.
Speaker 2:So at least you have a chance, right, like, if you don't have any type of biblical insight, how do I know how to compete as a Christian? Hey, and then B I, I took our kids, some of our young kids, when they were growing up, playing, playing sports, through a book called a handbook on athletic perfection by West Neil and I'm telling you, a game changing book as well, and then and then, just coaching, just just what my buddy's doing, like he's in it. So you know, when a kid has a meltdown, how do you handle that? You know, are you yelling at me, freaking out, are you? You know how are you coaching them the right way, just modeling for them? You know what it would look like to coach as a, as a believer, and so you know. I tell you it works. There's guys, there's kids that are just finishing their senior year of college, that I coached when they were Pee Wee football, and we're texting to this day.
Speaker 1:That's cool.
Speaker 2:And so longterm relationship, modeling what it is being for them, being there for them. It's worth it man, it's huge.
Speaker 1:I mean the, the, the youth is the future. You know, that's, that's just the reality of it. And from a simply from a numbers perspective, like less than 30% of youth in America identify as Christian and are active in a church less than 30%, Okay, I believe it. You know, 90% of kids go to high school. They're in public schooling, right, they're in some sort of schooling. 54% play sports, yeah. And so my thought is like there's, there's all these kids out there. You start changing them. You know, in athletics they go back and they're high schools and they change them from the inside out. Yeah, you know, because it's, yeah, it's, it's, it's huge. We just need to start thinking differently. And I know, you know, I've talked to other pastors and I've gotten some unhealthy responses. Where I'm anti, club sports is the answer I've gotten.
Speaker 1:Oh, boy, I'm like ooh like I wouldn't even say that, like that's, like not, not as a, not as a Christian, not as a pastor, like that's. You can't say like I'm, I'm anti bars, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm anti, I'm just like Jesus wouldn't say he's anti anything, except for his anti sinning.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean. Go into that equation and let's, let's get on mission man.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Not compromise our faith, but love unconditionally, model model Jesus, and care, care for the people that are involved.
Speaker 1:The world's changing. We, just you know we need to go along with it and you know, be that light, like as as. Jesus was as he encourages us to be. So that's right, dude. This has been awesome.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's fun, man. This has been a blessing. Thanks for the invite.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I appreciate it. Yeah, kind of be praying for you guys in your church and what you guys are doing, so welcome to the FCA family.
Speaker 2:I love it, man. I mean we didn't even talk about my time with coach Brown and Chris, I'm like man.
Speaker 2:it's only been an hour or so but let me finish with this Cause I again that was a crucial transition Cause I'm going from pro football to I don't know if I'm going into coaching, I'm not. I don't know if I'm going into ministry. Yeah, and that was a crucial year of my life that Chris and Ron Brian, the rest of the team, invested in me and believed in me, Once again believed in me, and I'll be forever grateful for my time with FCA. So I think you'll, you'll, you'll, have a blast.
Speaker 1:I love it. I mean, everyone's super cool and, like you know, the idea of club sports ministry is so new. But FCA is. Fca is seen to just it. It blow up and it's not going to change. It's not going to. It's going to change. It's going to get bigger. That's right, but that's it.
Speaker 2:And so, um well, you have. No, you have no problem with challenges and see your picture right there, like being on the frontier like being how just be a trailblazer and send it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, good stuff. Hey, I appreciate you, brother, let's go. Well, that's all the time we got for today's episode. Guys, again, huge shout out and thanks to Todd for taking time out of his schedule to sit down with me, share his story, share his story with you guys, and just have a conversation about the world of club sports and the direction it's going and the different things that we um, that we're doing and we're actively trying to to work towards to make it a better place for you and for us and everyone involved. So again, guys, you're a huge blessing to me in the podcast. You'd be an even bigger blessing if you would share it like it. Drop us a comment, let us know what you think, uh, but again, get it out there, share it. We're trying to get this out there, uh, for as many people as possible. We're really trying to to uh, to grow the awareness of this. So, again, you guys are a huge blessing. Go out there, be blessed. Let's go. Well, see you later. Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye.