Something Spiritual Sports
Focusing people on Christ through the testimony of Christian athletes and coaches. Support this podcast
Something Spiritual Sports
From Bases to Bibles Brayden's Story
What transforms a lifelong baseball player into a compassionate mentor? Join us for an enlightening conversation with Brayden from Western High School in South Florida as he recounts his inspiring evolution from athlete to coach. Brayden reveals the deep fulfillment he finds in guiding young athletes not just in sport, but in life lessons, often using his newfound Christian faith as a cornerstone for his coaching methods. He shares touching anecdotes, such as advising a student in JROTC with scripture, and his aspirations to establish an FCA chapter to further instill peace and purpose in students' lives through the gospel.
Lastly, we celebrate the athletes who leverage their fame to glorify Christ, spotlighting the exemplary faith and positive influence of Tua Tagovailoa and Tim Tebow. Their stories, alongside CJ Stroud's, underscore the importance of using one's platform for good, especially in spreading messages of faith. Our discussion circles back to the essence of God's love, highlighted by the Bible verse 1 John 4:8-9, and the joys and trials of committing fully to faith. This episode promises to be an uplifting exploration of faith, mentorship, and the powerful role sports can play in spiritual and personal growth.
So today I have Brayden with me from Western High School in South Florida, and this is his story. So, brayden, how long have you been coaching baseball?
Brayden McDonald:Honestly, it's only been about a month, but I've been playing baseball ever since I was three years old. It's something I love doing, and I grew up and I played travel baseball. I played a lot of tournaments. I played high school baseball for four years and then I ended up just wanting to pursue education and go college for that graduating and then I just missed baseball so much. I wanted to come back to, uh, my alma mater, my old high school, and I just wanted to coach these kids and, yeah, just get them better so what do you like most about coaching baseball?
Zach Evans:what's your? Why do you like it so much?
Brayden McDonald:um there, there's nothing like connecting with the kid on a on a personal level and being you know, tell them that you're here for them and that if there's any questions about life in general, just to come and just ask and feel safe doing it. There's nothing better than telling a kid to do something that's going to better him mentally or physically, them applying it and then seeing them do better. It's just probably the most satisfaction you can get, isn't it?
Zach Evans:And how do you use your platform? Playing baseball and also coaching baseball, baseball and also coaching baseball.
Brayden McDonald:How do you use that platform to bring glory to god and how you use it to like you use it as well as to share the gospel with these kids so it is an amazing because at first, when I was getting into you know the coaching, I I had just been saved, I had just been baptized and I just had dedicated my life to Christ and at first I thought I was going to have to go out of my way to help these kids. You know, with you know the gospel, with you know advice, that I gained from God, the word. And what's crazy. It's crazy how God works, how he just sends these kids to you. I didn't have to go out of my way in order to do these things. Kids would just come up to me with their problems or how they were feeling, or, and it's just Jesus was speaking through, and Jesus was just the word that I had read, and just, it was so easy to talk to these kids and help them out.
Brayden McDonald:And I was. I was basically telling them, you know verses, without even telling them it's from the bible. Um, and they'd be like, okay, awesome. And then I would just be like no, it's, it's from the bible, like yeah, god's word right there, yeah, and they and they just start to ask more questions about it. And that's when I can give them, that's when I can spread the gospel and luckily I've been able to be in contact with Doug Notman and with FCA and you know we'll be able to start, hopefully, god willing, fca at Western High School Baseball and I'll be able to share more of the gospel, more of the good news, and help these kids just come to Christ and just there's no other peace that you can find other than finding it Christ.
Zach Evans:And I'd love to hear maybe some of the scriptures, like what are some of the scriptures you?
Brayden McDonald:So today specifically, it's awesome that you bring that up, because today I had a kid. So, as I told you earlier, before we started this, I had a kid in JROTC come up to me and he told me he informed me that he was dropping the class JROTC. And I asked him why? And he said dropping, uh, the class jrotc. And I asked him why? And he said because the lieutenant is tripping. He was like because the lieutenant is is so strict on me and he's expecting all these things out of me. And I go, you know, that's, that's for a reason that he's doing that, right, you know, it's out of love. And he was like, yeah, but it's too much.
Brayden McDonald:And he was also a part of the football team, so he was doing jrotc. He's a part of the football team, so he was doing JOTC. He was a part of the football team and he was kind of I knew he was conforming to the worldly society values and like partying and just not really caring about. You know, and I don't judge because of that I was once in that stage too, where all I cared about was my image instead of his image, um, and so I showed him this verse uh, the narrow, the narrow way, the narrow path. Is that a revelation, so that one is in? Okay, here it, here it is, it's Matthew 7, 13. The narrow way Enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction. And there are many who go in by it, because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to light, and there are few who find it. So when I explained to him, I explained to him 13, I said do you understand? Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction? And I told him that verse and I said what do you think that mean? And he was like he told me something that was true, I forget what it was, but it wasn't exactly what up. And I just went, you know, doing what everybody else is doing, where everybody else is going, the partying, the drinking, the girls, all that type of all those type of things. Everybody you know conforms to that, goes down that path and it's easy, right. But the narrow way, where you're not following anybody else that's doing that, is going to be difficult.
Brayden McDonald:I was kind of trying to relate it to him dropping the jrotc class, you know, because, right, it's discipline. It's hard to do, um, and anything that's hard to do is work. It's worth pursuing, yes, it's worth. It's worth pursuing because at the end you'll find peace, you'll find that you're proud of yourself. And I explained to him that verse and while I was explaining it and talking to him, he was just quiet looking at me and I knew he understood, I knew he got it, um, and I really I'm going to pray for him tonight. Um, it's just, it's just an amazing thing to be able to do that and for them to understand and almost know that they're going to somehow apply to their life or just always remember it, and as long as you just plant the seed, um, and he, he, did say he was a believer of Jesus as well, um, so hopefully that helps him out a lot.
Brayden McDonald:That was just today's instance. I've already had, I've had people come up to me and be like what book are you reading? The students and I'd be like I'm reading the Bible. And they're like, oh, no, I know it's the Bible, but which book? Oh, wow.
Zach Evans:And I'm like, oh, this is awesome, so your students are very hungry.
Brayden McDonald:Yes, yes, yes. And a public school too. It's not it's amazing.
Zach Evans:Yeah, it's you know, it's funny enough. It's funny enough. I help out with a club, coral Springs Charter and you'd think these kids were like Bible scholars. They're like this one kid like uh, mark, he pointed it out to us or to me, and this kid was like oh yeah, this is kind of like in daniel, oh wow, and he was like and we're like, and we're like how the heck did you know that? Yeah, like I was like, it was like what he's like?
Brayden McDonald:this kid's going to be a pastor, so yeah, it's an amazing feeling to see the younger generation, especially now that technology is getting bigger and a lot of worldly things are becoming more easily accessible. It's amazing Younger generation Talk about Christ.
Zach Evans:Yeah, you know it's funny. It's like it's in I think it's in Revelation, I don't remember where, but basically it talks about I think I could be wrong, but I believe it talks about like, in end times, people will be very hungry for Jesus, you know, like, because it's like it's like the last hurrah before christ returns. And me personally, I believe we're definitely in those time. We know we're in those end times kind of period, especially with, uh, you got covid, you got um, you got these wars going on, you got you got the, the homosexuality. You have all these, the, all the depravity and all the sin and everything, and I feel like, and I think people are gonna be kind of a war away and, um, people are gonna come to christ even before it's too late, you know and and the best part about, about.
Brayden McDonald:Obviously that's not a great thing, but the best part about all of that is that all sins besides one are equal. Right, they're all. They're all equal in god's eyes. So it's right, it's everybody has a chance to be redeemed. Everybody, every single soul, has a chance to be redeemed. All right, and it's just knowing that, um, because of god, um, and because of jesus, it's just, it's. It's an amazing thing to know you're never too far away. You can never fuck there's a verse and I forget which one it is but you can never pluck or take someone, no matter what it is out of god's hand.
Zach Evans:Yeah, I got seen yeah, but no, no, no death, nor why you people, nor anything you can separate us from the love of god that yeah nothing.
Zach Evans:So I know the verse you're talking about. Yeah, I can't really think of it offhand, but it's a that's a really good um, um so. So do you have a mentor like? Do you have a mentor like someone you look up to? Or does arch church sports see anything like? I don't know if you like grew up with a certain coach or certain father figure or your dad or your mom or something like someone you look up to, where it's like like they, kind of they uh, they're like a christ uh role model kind of thing.
Brayden McDonald:Christ role model, yeah, so, so it's. What's crazy is I used to have a bunch of role models, um, but when I came to christ, I realized not, um, but so they were world leader. Yeah, yes, and I, I had known that, but not in the way that I know now. Um, I knew they did some things that were bad, and I would always think, you know, as long as we're good people, yeah, that's the biggest line, I think that's uh, it's a lot of like, I know, like catholicism kind of teaches that and um, that's a big lie.
Zach Evans:Yeah, yeah, that's a big lie. Yeah, that's a lie from the pit of the path.
Brayden McDonald:Oh, yeah, as long as you're just a good person, you'll be fine.
Zach Evans:Because to God without Christ representing us all God sees is our sin, but when Jesus is there, he just sees Jesus. He doesn't see your sin, he sees Jesus. So it doesn't mean you won't keep on sin, I mean, it doesn't mean you're gonna not sin, but but that when you sin you're not, jesus is taking your place.
Brayden McDonald:Oh yeah, so but the role models though. The role models I would say so in my father is, you know, he's he's not religious, but I will say a lot of his attributes are very Christlike, ok, and he, he was able to raise me in a manner of to always be accountable for my actions, always treat others with respect, right, he would always tell me treat your neighbor like you would treat yourself, and that's okay. Once I got older I literally see that in the Bible I'm like, oh, wow, yeah, that's amazing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, always taught me to work very hard. So my biggest role model in my childhood was definitely my father. Okay, or my dad, I should say my dad was. He's an amazing man.
Brayden McDonald:And then, once I got into sports, really my role model definitely became my high school coach in my senior year. His name is onel garcia. Um, he's just he. He taught me how to be a better man and a better teammate. Uh, to my fellow teammates, and that was being happy for their success. Um, showing love. Um, never hating or judging somebody. Um, because who are you judge?
Brayden McDonald:not let's you be judged right, exactly, and the way that you judge you will be judged like it. Yeah, so it's, um, he was a very, very big. He's a very big reason why I am coaching right now. I learned so much from him, um, and just what it means to be a man, but also I don't know if he knows this, but a man, you know, a son of god, like just just uh, one of god's followers, uh, and he doesn't even know that the stuff that he put in me, um, yeah, it's, you know, obviously, jesus is the one that that put these.
Zach Evans:You know, your coach was a son of god, so he was a christian yeah, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah and then he, the way I got I was a little confused, just because I know you're talking about your dad, so I wasn't sure oh, yeah, yeah, so sober, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, um, yeah, no, my dad, yeah, so my coach was he's a christian.
Brayden McDonald:And just the way he doesn't even tell people, really, uh, that he won't come out and just say he's a christian, but the way he acts, the way he treats other people, the way he talks, you're like man. If you ask him, like why do you talk like that, why do you act like that, and he says he's a christian, you're like, oh, okay now.
Zach Evans:And you act like that and he says he's a Christian. You're like, oh okay, now I am. Well, sometimes I can just you can sometimes discern if someone's a Christian just because the way they treat people, the way they kind of talk to people, I'm like, cause I like I like getting the net, so I work at Publix too. So I times I'm like are you a Christian? And they'll be like, oh yeah, I'm a Christian. And I'll like like it's just really cool because it's like like it's like God, like God uses those people like I feel like to encourage you. Like, for example, this lady had, even in the waiting, god is still working and I had the.
Brayden McDonald:and I told her I was like I needed to see that shirt today and I was like that was a real blessing for me and uh, yeah, so it's a great message uh, even in the way God is working, all right, it's easy to feel he's always there, but it's easy to feel when you are, you know, lonely or alone, or you feel separated a little bit. Yeah, I feel like if you were to see that, right, you're like, oh, that's right. Yeah, right, yeah.
Zach Evans:Yeah, it helps you out, right Right, yeah. Okay, you talked about scripture, but do you have a favorite scripture and how do you relate it to sports? Or is there anything about that verse where obviously the bible doesn't specifically talk about sports, but there is references in there that you could potentially use towards being in sports?
Brayden McDonald:I do have them. So it's Galatians 5, 22 to 26. Okay, this is just, and I love this verse. But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law, and those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking. So, man, this verse is, I feel like it's just a how do you say it? It's just a very good reminder, a reminder, but it's also just a good like man, an encapsulating of of what it is to follow christ. Um, because, yes, you know, when you, when you have the spirit, you do. You know the fruits are you, you experience the fruits of love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness. You experience that. But also, in the middle of that says long suffering, which is like patient, it's patience and it's like, but you're it's, you're suffering like right you're waiting for something and you're like you, like you want it to happen.
Brayden McDonald:It's not happening or or somebody says something really mean to you or says something in an angry, just hate, hateful tone, and not you holding back and not saying something back. You're suffering. You're sitting there like I really want to say this thing but I'm not going to, and that is Christ working in you, yeah, and showing so. I think that's a big one is a lot of people you know. Sports nowadays has become very um, even the celebrations and the way players treat the opposing players Very disrespectful, um yeah there's not a lot of class, exactly which.
Zach Evans:So I don't know if you're aware, this is kind of perfect to bring up uh Tua. I don't know if you know what happened with Tua. He had another concussion and josh allen on the on the opposing team said we, our thoughts and prayers are with tua.
Zach Evans:And I love josh allen because, like, I don't know if he's a christian or not, but like the, the class and the acting and the, the class act and the respect for another fellow. It says not just an enemy football player, it's a fellow person, yeah, and I feel like there's gotta be and that's why I love. That's why I have problems not liking the bills, because I feel like they're just such a classy organization and they're always very like open about it and I like I love that because it's like they even they even gave like a bunch of money to tool when he first got the ocean. I do they raise money, yeah, and it's really it's a really cool and I and I have trouble not liking the bills because I feel like there's that they beat us a lot, but I like that.
Brayden McDonald:They're very classy and it's funny that you say that, that you have trouble not liking the bills, because, because I'm a Patriots fan. I've been ever since I was a lot younger. I was ever since, you know, I was born in 2001. That's when the I'm sorry, we can't be friends. I would understand, I would understand, but I probably did. Now, who has been the quarterback? I know these, yeah, and I find it's.
Brayden McDonald:I can't dislike the dolphin. I literally can't when he's the quarterback, because I've heard him talk about his fate, I've seen him walk in fate. Um, just do things that are just so amazing. Um, for kids, for his team, the way he talks about price, and it's very easy to not to dislike the rival team, um, but when you have somebody like that at quarterback, um, that talks about Jesus the way he does, um, man, I love Tua and honestly he's made me really respect and love. You know the Dolphins organization. Just, I'm praying for Tua as well. Um, I used to be a before I found Christ. I used to be a Tua hater. I used to be like, oh, he's not that good. Uh, he's, he's this, he's that, he's that. None of that matters really, because it really matters the platform, that that you have and how you use it to glorify Christ, but I didn't understand that well, another one.
Zach Evans:Another one is Tim Tebow. At Tim Tebow, he literally was such a good role model and he still is a great role model. He's just on a different platform, oh yeah, but he's one of the greatest to ever play and he's just such a model, christian, it's like you can't help but look up to him and want to be like him, you know.
Brayden McDonald:And I know, I think you may know this probably do you sound like a TV fan? Oh yeah, but he would have scripture written on his bladder like this yeah, john 3.16.
Zach Evans:And we were talking about the game where all the yards and everything oh, that was crazy.
Brayden McDonald:Yeah, and if you don't mind, I want to read that verse people that don't know. He loved john through 16. Yeah, it was um, for god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life, and that's just a great. I'm gonna highlight that right now. That is a great, great verse to have on you and to and to just put out into the world, especially to those people that do not believe in god. Believe in god. Yeah, that it's. It's almost like just a little bit of the gospel. That's gonna get you like that's like all right, all right, what is he talking about here? And it makes him not to look at into it more. But, right, he has done so much for you know, he's helping out with the sex trafficking yeah, he's doing a lot of uh stuff with um.
Zach Evans:He's doing a lot. I just saw on instagram he was doing uh like a speech for the pilot, for the political people, and it's really amazing what he's doing, because it's like I think he has a bigger platform now than he did, even in sports. I agree, because I feel like he's literally reaching. He does the special needs kids, he does the trafficking. He's got his hand in so many different things. It's amazing, that's a true. Many different things. It's amazing, that's a true follower. Yeah, it's amazing. So, yeah, he's my favorite athlete and I like Peyton Manning too. Yeah, so I love Peyton Manning.
Brayden McDonald:I need to make sense of my truth, because if there's anybody that For Christ.
Zach Evans:That's the guy, yeah, like, yeah, he's very, it's amazing, but but yeah, um, so, okay, so this is a good conversation. Um, I'm trying to, yeah, so what you call it. So, do you have a favorite baseball player? Is he a Christian?
Brayden McDonald:It all has to be Christian, but like, but yeah, so just maybe I got you yeah, I got you um, so my favorite player, um, like I said, I'm very, very new in in the faith, so I I'm sure I'm going to have.
Zach Evans:You seem like you've been following god forever, though oh, I've been searching for the truth forever. Yeah, because you're you. You seem like a christian that's been a christian for a long time. I'd say that is very big. Yeah, no, that's, that's what it's supposed to be. I appreciate that. Yeah, because you know, like you know scripture and you're like looking at scripture and you're like you seem like you've been doing this for a long time. So it's kind of cool. But sometimes with new believers, they're so hungry for god that's like they just seem like they've been a christian their whole life so I don't know, if you notice, I got a hair, I know, yeah, yeah, I mean I?
Zach Evans:I honestly I liked your hair, the one that's awesome, that's awesome.
Brayden McDonald:I've had people come up to me and be like oh man, why did you do that? Yeah, um and uh, one of the. So I was reading at our Bible study. This is very funny that you made that up, because at our Bible study I'm trying to find the. I think it's right here. It's so. Basically, we're at the Bible study and I get this. I'm with Steve and Joanne. We're conducting the Bible study.
Zach Evans:The one I go, the one I go, the one on tuesday yeah, yep, yep okay.
Brayden McDonald:So I'm there and we're studying whatever, whatever, and I see this verse. Joanne brings up this verse that says I'm gonna find it right here. It was basically saying um, do you not know that? This is me paraphrasing a little bit, but this is basically the message. Do you not know that a man having long hair dishonors really what? Yes, is it a bible? It's in the bible, but you're not gonna be. It's not a sin to have it. Because a little later in the verse it says this isn't, isn't it? Basically, it says we're not going to, it's not a huge deal, like, if you like really don't want to cut it off, you really don't want to do it, you don't have to. I felt as sick as Samson had long yeah, yeah, like it's not, like it's a bad thing. Like you said, you know new believers.
Zach Evans:I've been growing this hair out for a year, um, but I I don't know, I like the long hair, but I think you look better with that, with the shorter hair. I, yeah, yeah, I appreciate it yeah definitely a little cleaner. Yeah, um, because you don't look, not that it wasn't bad, you know, you're reminding, though a little bit is Sunshine From. Uh, I remember the time I was, like, you know, trevor Lawrence Yep, they called him Sunshine.
Brayden McDonald:Yep, yeah. Yeah, I had a couple people call me Trevor Lawrence. No, I think that is a compliment as well.
Zach Evans:And he's another strong person. I didn't know that. He's a very strong person, amazing. Yeah, I need to see what he did. Yeah, he played for Clemson and he was super on fire for God, yeah.
Brayden McDonald:I got to see some videos of him talking about Jesus. Right, I need to. Yeah, I'm all for athletes, especially because so many people watch them. It's such a great way to spread the word. Everybody's watching.
Zach Evans:CJ, stroudj, stroud, and then, oh my gosh, like he's, he's like the tim tebow, the yeah of the first thing he says, yeah, just, and I'm actually I'm a dolphins fan, but I was cheering. I'm cheering for the texans. Yeah, because I they never won a super bowl and I don't know if they've ever won the divisional round of the playoffs. I want to see them beat the Chiefs and win the trophy.
Brayden McDonald:Yeah, me too. Awesome to see because my Patriots aren't doing anything.
Zach Evans:Yeah, right, right, um, but yeah, so is there anything else you'd want to add or anything else you want to like bring?
Brayden McDonald:up. Or I would like to just add the one verse that really started my faith for me, um, that I've always remembered, um, this is this is really the only scripture that I have fully memorized, but I'm gonna pull it up anyways. Um, it's right here. It is 1 john 4, 8, 9 he who does not love does not know god. For god is's simple, but it's just so amazing because we have love inside all of us, no matter who we are, whether it's for a mom, sibling, dad, friend. It's basically saying you know God, you know him, you have the love inside of you, and he's the one that put that there. So you know him. Come to him now, experience what the love inside of you, and he's the one that put that there. So you know him. Come to him now, experience what he has to offer. And that was something I read my first, maybe couple weeks in reading the Bible, and that's stuck with me ever since. And I've been trying to find God for eight months and it wasn't until last month that I was able to just A part of you.
Brayden McDonald:When you're finding especially new believers that are a little later, like when you're 20, 21, it's hard to just be like I have to give up everything that I'm doing right now and just give it, put it all into his hands, like, and you struggle with that for a little bit, you really do. You're like I gotta stop talking to these people that are bringing me away from God. I have to stop drinking, I have to stop smoking, I have to stop all that to get closer, and it's like, and you're afraid of it, and then you do it and it's amazing, right, it's just the piece that you were searching for. I think it's raining. What is it not over here? Nice, yeah, right, but yeah, what the piece you're searching for is not in any woman, drug, alcohol, substance, not in anything of this world. It's in Jesus.
Zach Evans:Amen, yeah, that's true.
Brayden McDonald:That's true. That's all. That's how I like it right there. That's nice. I love it, thank God. Thank you so much for having me here, nice.
