The L3 Leadership Podcast with Doug Smith
The L3 Leadership Podcast is focused on leadership development and personal growth. We are obsessed with helping you grow to your maximum potential and maximizing the impact of your leadership. We release a new episode every week to help you grow and develop as a leader. You will hear a mix of personal lessons from our Founder, Doug Smith, and conversations Doug has with world-class leaders from around the world. Doug interviews leaders like Pittsburgh Steelers Coach, Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Penguins Coach, Mike Sullivan, Tony Horton, Liz Wiseman, Brian Tome, John Mark Comer, Mark Batterson, Ryan Hawk, Nona Jones, Claude Silver, Ken Coleman, Christy Wright, Rachel Cruze, Mark Cole, and many more. Our hope is that you will not only learn great leadership lessons but that you will catch great leadership from the lives of the leaders that we expose you to.
The L3 Leadership Podcast with Doug Smith
Lessons Learned from Being the Pittsburgh Steelers Chaplain with Kent Chevalier
In this episode of the L3 Leadership Podcast, Doug Smith interviews Kent Chevalier, Chaplain of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Kent discusses his journey from a campus pastor to serving in the NFL, emphasizing the unique role he and his wife play in supporting players and coaches spiritually and emotionally.
00:00 Welcome Back, Kent Chevalier!
00:41 Role of a Chaplain in the NFL
02:00 First Year Experiences
08:06 Building Trust in the NFL
12:50 Leadership Lessons from Coach Tomlin
17:21 The Human Side of the NFL
28:15 Addressing Accountability Among Peers
28:39 Deflect the Glory Campaign
33:06 The Origin Story of Becoming a Chaplain
39:37 Do It Afraid: Embracing Faith Over Fear
44:15 The Importance of Community and Brotherhood
48:12 Encouragement for Church Leaders
53:30 Final Thoughts and Farewell
The L3 Leadership Podcast is sponsored by Andocia Marketing Solutions. Andocia exists to bring leaders’ visions to life. Visit https://andocia.com to learn more.
Connect with Kent: https://www.kentchevalier.com/
Watch the Full Episode: https://youtu.be/WCJm8MDH1jE
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SUBSCRIBE TO: @l3leadership @dougsmithlive
01) Ken Chevalier, welcome back. Thank you for the reminder to the L3 Leadership Podcast. When we started our first interview, thanks for reminding me, you were episode number 12. And at that time, it was called the Learning to Lead podcast. And I'll make sure I share the picture we were just looking at. We were babies. think that was 2012. You were a campus pastor at Northway. So fun times.
Kent Chevalier (00:10) That's right. Yeah, don't know, bro. You looked good. You look the same. Now you look at me and you're like, man, time has not been kind to him.
Doug Smith (00:25) you It's so funny, man. I think you look great. ⁓ hey, we've been friends for a long time, obviously. But those listening may not be familiar with you. currently serve as the chaplain of the Pittsburgh Steelers. And just tell me, like, what does that actually mean? I think people hear that and have no idea.
Kent Chevalier (00:44) Yeah, so Erica and I, get to do this together. So the way that we often describe it, Doug, is that think pastor of a church, but I'm not in a church building any longer. So I'm essentially a pastor who is in the NFL locker room. And Erica and I have the privilege of walking alongside coaches and their wives and their families. And we have the... come alongside players and their wives or girlfriends and their families. And so we just love to basically say like, she's the chaplain to all the ladies, I'm the chaplain to all the guys. And together we care for families, for anyone who would have us be their pastor. And so it's a privilege.
Doug Smith (01:32) Yeah, and you've been doing that, is this your five or six?
Kent Chevalier (01:35) So we just finished six, we're going into seven. Isn't that crazy, man?
Doug Smith (01:38) My goodness, I feel like every week we talk it's another year, man. It goes so fast. you know, I have the unique privilege of being your friend and have been able to watch you even journey to this position. I am curious, like I still remember and I want to talk about how you got there in a moment. you know, talk about that first year. Like what was it like the first time you actually, I don't know what your first experience was going to a camp or like a like, what is it like just walking into the NFL world as a pastor and chaplain?
Kent Chevalier (01:42) I know, I know it's crazy. Yeah, dude. So we had no category for this. Obviously a part of my story that I can tell later. one of the few of the players began to attend the church where I was pastor at Northway Christian Community. you know, so we started to get to know them and their families. But then when I got into this role, man, we signed on and boom, we were at training camp at St. Vincent College.
Doug Smith (02:11) Haha.
Kent Chevalier (02:36) And I had no category for what it is that I was about to experience. Dude, got to St. Vincent, didn't even know where I was going, didn't know where the camp office is. I was just told to show up and look for Coach Mitchell. And so I didn't even know who Coach Mitchell was at that point. Never had met him. And so I'm just asking around, can you show me to the camp office? Show me where Coach Mitchell is. So it was hilarious. So we did not have a category for what it was to be chaplains to a professional sports team.
Doug Smith (03:10) Yeah, and were you nervous going in? Like I know from the outside, you know, people hear this and man, it sounds very glamorous. Like, wow, that would be so cool. You get to go hang out with all these athletes who are famous and you know, what was that like?
Kent Chevalier (03:22) Yeah, so dude, mean, growing up in Pittsburgh, you know, our whole lives, of course, we're like, okay, how does this work? And so we're sort of fans at that point. But then very quickly, very quickly, you realize, okay, these are people just like anybody else. And they happen to be extremely talented at playing football, right? That's what they've got to got them to this level. But then you just realize, okay, they're normal people.
Doug Smith (03:33) Right, right.
Kent Chevalier (03:51) just like you and me, and you happen to be really good at something, God's gifted me for these certain things, and that's the same thing that's true about them. They're extremely athletic, right? So you just realize they're normal people. So very quickly, we realized going into this, people are people, and doing ministry in the NFL, while it's an extremely unique platform, the mission was the same, to come alongside and care for people in the exact same way that we had been doing for 22 years in the local church context. Now God put us into the business of the NFL and we're, of course, of course there's some differences, but it's extremely similar because people are people no matter where you go.
Doug Smith (04:23) Hmm. And so good. love that the people are people perspective and you've been at this for now for six seasons. And I'm just curious, you know, I've been able to see the impact that you're making, which is incredible. ⁓ and, even just, mentioned Erica, you know, came on board to work with you, people being people. These people also have wives and families, ⁓ that need help as well. What's been the most fulfilling part for you and Erica to be a part of the Steelers lives in, in Chaplin.
Kent Chevalier (05:09) Yeah, I mean, so if you think about it, man, so as they see us as their spiritual parents, if you will, or if there are if their coaches who are kind of in our similar age range, it's more like you're just you're walking along this faith journey together. And so I would say that as as each year the rookie classes come in and those rookies are getting, you know, with the NIL stuff that's going on, they're they're getting older as they're coming in. And some of them are actually coming in already married because they may have played now six years in the college, in the universities, right? And now they're coming with, they're already married. Some of them with kids already have. So I think the most fulfilling thing for Erica and me is to just be available. to those, because like we're not pushy with this. We're along-siders and we're going to make ourselves available to anybody who would essentially want to have spiritual parents, if you will, if they're players or hey, you're in need of community as you're brand new in Pittsburgh. So coaches who might be moving here and they don't have a category for things like we love to help on Hey man, here's where the grocery store is. Here's the best places if you're gonna search to live. Man, here's where we would suggest. And just to be able to make those connections. I know that you're the best connector in Pittsburgh, Doug. And so we just simply try to be that for people. So the most fulfilling thing for us is when people take us up on that and to just say, hey, we're here to help any way that we can.
Doug Smith (06:55) Yes.
Kent Chevalier (06:59) And when people actually reach back out to us and we can help people man, that's that's what we're here for we want people to know like we have nothing to do with with the game itself Like what your guy is paid for in between those white lines We have nothing to do with that and that takes a while to convince people of because as I say often like the the currents in the end in the NFL The currency in the NFL is trust. And they're trying to figure out if they can trust Erica and me because, and what am I gonna say to you that might get back to a coach? And we gotta convince people like, no, we're huge about holding confidence. So we're not gonna share anything that you share with us, but that takes a while to convince people. So we just love being available and helping people.
Doug Smith (07:30) Mmm..
Kent Chevalier (07:55) know that they can be cared for outside of the white lines, if that makes sense.
Doug Smith (08:01) Yeah. Well, this is huge. I wasn't planning on going here, but as you're saying, I'm just processing and, man, the sole subject of being trustworthy. And again, and again, I'm on the outside, but you hear athletes talk about all the time, how they can't trust anybody. Cause once you become rich and famous or, whatever, everyone wants something for you and no one actually just cares about you or your soul. Talk about building trust. It could be with individuals, but I think that's important for all leaders listening to this. You mentioned, you know, confidentiality and things, but does anything else come up for you in this subject of how do I build trusting relationships with people that I'm leading or trying to make a difference in their lives?
Kent Chevalier (08:36) Yeah, I think, you know, for us is just being available and showing up and not shying away from the fact that, you know, because we know that just the title chaplain, that that comes with some sort of whatever somebody thinks that might be. like when you hear the term pastor, everybody's got a picture of what that means. So you got to either overcome that picture.
Doug Smith (08:41) Wow, that's good.
Kent Chevalier (09:04) or you got to live up to that picture in their mind. And so, you know, we just want to make sure that people know to build trust. takes time, but in the NFL, there's not a lot of time. And so the more that we can show up consistently throughout a season without any strings attached. So we make sure that, man, we don't ask for anything. We do not because I get a lot of I get a lot of pressure, if you will, from. You know, maybe people in the city who are, hey, can you get a player to come in here? We don't do any of that. We don't try to connect them with, here's my friends, connect with them, ask for autographs, none of that stuff. We will never ask them for a thing. And I think that over time that has, we've been able to build that reputation of they'll never ask you for anything. They're actually, if they're going to ask you anything, it's going to be, how can they help you?
Doug Smith (09:51) Mm.
Kent Chevalier (10:02) So that's our goal. So if anybody's listening to this who like, do I earn trust quickly? Man, just do what you say you're gonna do in that, man, I'm actually not gonna come to you with favors and all this stuff. Man, I'm just gonna be true to my word of I'm here to serve you and serve you only, that's it. And if you wanna come along with me as I'm serving, then man, fire up. then I'll ask you to participate in serving, but man, I won't ask you for anything. So I think that, man, the short answer is be a person of character and integrity even when people aren't watching, because people are always watching and the cameras are always on, and you will be known for who you are when the camera's off, and people are watching for that. So the consistency of character
Doug Smith (10:56) Hmm.
Kent Chevalier (11:00) will lead to trust in, I think, any organization, but especially in the NFL.
Doug Smith (11:06) Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Everyone needs to listen to that last three minutes. Fantastic. And man, certainly doesn't just appeal to people in the NFL or apply. ⁓ man, that is a life lesson for all of us giving with no strings attached and expecting nothing in return. So good. ⁓ you, you obviously get a behind the scenes look. I know you don't have anything to do with what happens in between those white lines, but you do get to see a lot of what goes in to those being in between the white lines. And you know, you know, I'm a huge coach, Tom, fan. got to interview him a few times for the podcast, you get to when I talked to you about him, you've made the comment, man, every time that guy speaks, it's like leadership 501, which I think is like the greatest thing ever. What are some of your favorite leadership lessons that you've learned from coach over the six years you've been there?
Kent Chevalier (11:49) Yeah, man. So sitting having the privilege to be invited by Coach Tomlin to be in the facility. So I have I have access and so it's a real privilege to be stewarded well. So as a guest in that building for him to invite me to be a part of different meetings, you know, think about team meetings, getting to be a part of to bring chapel to the guys to be at team meal rooms. That's a really unique. privilege. So to hear him speak, it is like a leadership master class every day. And so you'll hear guys say that they know exactly where Tomlin lands. Like he's always extremely straightforward. And so those first three minutes, if guys are really paying attention, it actually has not, I mean, it has to do with with football, but it actually is leadership and life and family.
Doug Smith (12:35) Hmm.
Kent Chevalier (12:48) and just being a man. And so some of the things that I've learned from him, man, I would say this, he uses this phrase, the pack mentality, you know, this idea of the strength of the pack is the pack. And when I boil that down into my life, into my family, you know, there's a lot of things that we can reach for. There's a lot of things that we think are success.
Doug Smith (13:05) Mm.
Kent Chevalier (13:16) but you're only as strong as the pack. And that is a lesson for me in leadership, especially when I think about my past in the local church context. Man, this is why the church is so important in my life, because we need each other. When somebody's struggling, we all need to be struggling with that person to pull them up to the standard of which we know that they are called to be.
Doug Smith (13:20) Hmm. Hmm.
Kent Chevalier (13:46) And so that accountability is is something that I watch coach T work really hard at and he models it So the that that concept of the strength of the pack is the pack not this one flashy player Not this one particular person the strength of the pack is the pack And then I thought I'd throw this one in man because one of the things that I'm learning most about coach T
Doug Smith (14:00) Okay.
Kent Chevalier (14:15) is that nobody ever questions. You know exactly what he is thinking because what he's thinking comes out of his mouth. And so I'm learning under his leadership just simply to be more direct with but also seasoned with grace. so truth telling, like I love some of the lessons that he teaches these men.
Doug Smith (14:23) Hmm. Mmm.
Kent Chevalier (14:43) about being authentically clear, like to tell people what it is that you're thinking, don't hold back, but also don't be a jerk about it. And in that moment, we have the decision of, we gonna listen to that information or are we just gonna puff up our chest and say, man, I don't have anything to learn from you.
Doug Smith (14:55) Hmm.
Kent Chevalier (15:07) So he teaches this concept, or at least I've been watching him and maybe this is what I'm gathering from it, about this authentic clarity. That somebody should never question, you know, okay, does he mean what he says or does he say what he means? And I want to be the guy, I just want to be that guy to my friendships, to my family, to just be really honest, but to do that with grace.
Doug Smith (15:35) Hmm.
Kent Chevalier (15:36) And Coach T has an incredible way of doing that with these men.
Doug Smith (15:41) Well, I didn't put this together or I guess I'm just putting this together, but I didn't realize you learned it from coach T. We're going to talk in a little bit about the past mine group that we're in or the mastermind group. Um, but I actually, you know, it was in my notes to say like I've seen you do that so well. And you know, I don't know if we went back to the 2012 interview that Ken Chevalier did that, but man, I had no idea that when I see that played out that the coach T had a big impact on that. So I know it's benefited me. You've been very direct and given me candid feedback. So.
Kent Chevalier (15:50) Yeah.
Doug Smith (16:09) Shout out to coach T for, for impacting my life through Kent. Yeah.
Kent Chevalier (16:12) Yeah, yeah, that's awesome man. It's rubbing off on me, I guess.
Doug Smith (16:17) So again, this whole behind the scenes thing, you you mentioned people or people, we see all the media, all these different things. I'm just curious, like, what do you wish people knew about the NFL business, the actual people behind the Jersey? Like, what do wish people knew that they don't know that you know now that you're inside the locker room?
Kent Chevalier (16:35) Yeah. Well, maybe people know this, but I thought I would just share this. like sometimes the joke about pastors is that they only work one day a week. Like what do you do the rest of the days of the week, right? And these guys made it to the NFL because they are probably the hardest working men that I've ever met.
Doug Smith (16:50) Right.
Kent Chevalier (17:01) They work extremely long hours to do what it is that they do. And if you and I caught a glimpse of the discipline that these men have in a regular day, as they go about their day, man, they start at seven o'clock in the morning and they go sometimes, you know, till, you know, seven o'clock at night. and they are pouring over things like film review and studying their opponents and learning new playbooks every week to depending on what their opponent is going to do. they're they're learning an entire install come the beginning of the week that they're learning a whole system, if you will, to employ on that Sunday where we get to see them only for three hours. But they work. No joke. Sometimes 50 to 60 hours just to get to that one day. And so their schedules are brutal. And so if I were to say like the humanity behind the entertainment that you and I receive on Sundays or whenever the game is, we got to realize that man, that the NFL is really hard on relationships.
Doug Smith (18:23) Hmm.
Kent Chevalier (18:24) You know, so think about, you know, in our lives, you know, I might get home, call it, you know, five, six o'clock and I get to have dinner with my family and we get to chop it up about the day, whatever it might be. These guys don't really get to do that. And it's unfortunate. ⁓ and, it's a, it's a season worth, but their relationships with their wives, girlfriends, kids, there are some coaches that because of the uniqueness of their situations and the age of their children, they have to make really hard decisions about, okay, if my career path is taking me this way, but my kid is now in middle school, I'm not gonna take them and yank them from their school to move them to Pittsburgh for the season, right? And so, It's extremely hard on family dynamics and relationships. so, you know, to use my language, we need to be praying for these coaches and their families for their marriages, because the NFL is really hard on marriages, man. It's just it's difficult to have that kind of time that you and I are passionate about investing in our wives. The NFL business is really hard to do that. So they might get a minimal amount each week to spend. And we could say, well, they made that choice. But I don't know, man, that's the reality sometimes. We just need to know, and we can be praying for these guys' marriages and their relationships.
Doug Smith (19:56) Yeah, I was going to ask it and you may have just answered, but you know, if you had to encourage us to pray, you know, one or two prayers for these coaches and players, family, anything else that you would encourage us to pray for them for that they go through.
Kent Chevalier (20:09) absolutely, man. I could give you a whole list. when we hear guys are traded, right, when we hear that they're cut, you know, whatever, I want us to begin thinking about, OK, this dude is not just here for my team and my city and my entertainment. I want us to begin thinking about when a guy gets cut, it's he just got fired. Right? And so anybody is dealing with, man, I was not good enough. I didn't perform well enough. And now my wife, so if I do get traded and I have to go out to the West Coast, I got to get on a plane in an hour to do that. And then his wife, his kids are sometimes left to pick up the pieces of like, okay, when are we going to see dad? Like, are we moving out to the West Coast now? They're picking up the pieces.
Doug Smith (20:44) Mm.
Kent Chevalier (21:05) to try to figure out how their world just got turned upside down. We see that as a transaction in the NFL and it comes across our social media and we're like, okay, this dude just got traded, know, free agency, he just got picked up by Tennessee. Well, that means an entire move to Tennessee. And we know how stressful moving into a new house is, right? So. I just want us to start praying about when we see those transactions, think about the family. Think about what that means for this young man's tradition, you know, transition or the coaches transition. His whole family is impacted by that. And then the second thing I would think is the extreme uniqueness of the NFL is the amount of performance pressure that there is on these young men and these coaches. So
Doug Smith (21:37) Yeah.
Kent Chevalier (21:59) You and I, know what it feels like to have, you know, performance reviews, performance plans, things like this. But every minute of every day is a performance review for all of these men. And so they live with the cameras like every practice is filmed. Then those practices are being reviewed. And if you didn't perform well that day in that practice, then that impacts your performance and your potential starting spot or elevation to a starting spot, depending on how you performed. So the performance pressure on these guys is massive. And I think we need to be thinking about praying for their mental health and what that means for them. Because just like you and me, we can get caught up in I am what I do. And that's just not true.
Doug Smith (22:31) Thank Yeah.
Kent Chevalier (22:59) Coach T says it all the time, you are not what you do. But the pressure that is directly tied to their performance is something that you and I probably can't understand because they are under a spotlight and a camera at all times. And so we just, if I could pray for anything, man, be praying for these guys' mental health, emotional health of what that means for them come Sunday.
Doug Smith (23:25) Yeah. And on that note, I know we've talked about this, but for everyone listening in fandom out here that isn't on the field, man, commenting on social media, like it blows my mind what people are willing to post about people that they don't know. And yes, people can say, well, they signed up for that. They're getting paid millions of dollars. But to your point, like they're still human beings. it's just, I don't know if you want to go off on this, cause I'm sure you can go off on a big tangent. We can keep going if you want to, but Anything that you would say to people out there who literally spend their lives in the basement and their underwear, typing comments about how each player performed every day.
Kent Chevalier (23:58) Yeah, dude, obviously growing up in Pittsburgh being a Steelers fan my whole life and now having this role and watching how people's comments on social media. Here's what I would say. If you would never say that to a Steelers player face, if you would never say that to coach Tomlin's face, then then you should.
Doug Smith (24:22) Mmm.
Kent Chevalier (24:28) not be saying it on social media. So imagine this like, you know, in my context of being a pastor for so long, people would have the audacity to come up after I just poured my heart out for 30 minutes in a like I worked hard on that sermon. And then you come up after that and you blast me to my face. First of all, all right, dude, you you got the cojones to come up to me.
Doug Smith (24:56) Hahaha
Kent Chevalier (24:57) and get in my face about it and I respect that. However, give me 24 hours. So like if somebody came to you man in your role and they and they started tweeting or whatever it's called now, Xing, right? Or putting on on Facebook like man, this guy sucks. His you know, he doesn't deserve fire him. Imagine somebody coming into your job and saying that to you.
Doug Smith (25:03) Come on, yeah. Right, right, yeah.
Kent Chevalier (25:26) Man, the way you filled out that spreadsheet, you suck, you know?
Doug Smith (25:31) Well that would be a reality if that was the feedback I got, but yes, I'm with you, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Kent Chevalier (25:34) Yeah, but but imagine if if people were saying it to you that that eventually begins to weigh on you to the point where like I encourage, you know, players who who might listen, bro, stay off of social media during the season. Get off of it. You don't want to know what people are saying. But here's the thing. It eventually finds them because people that they might be close to are like, bro, you'll never believe what ESPN just said about you. You know, and it finds them. Right. And then it
Doug Smith (25:49) Mm. man, I didn't think about that, yeah.
Kent Chevalier (26:04) just like any negative word, always sticks on us somehow. And unless our identity is secure and our foundation is strong and those negative things just bounce off, over time, those negative words, you begin to possibly believe in what other people are saying. In fact, was Jarrell Gilliam, dude, in one of the chapels. He said this line and I preach it everywhere now. He said don't let the praise of men go to your head and don't let the criticism go to your heart And I was like wow, bro That was what a line that I've used now so many times with young men who are dealing with these negative words because as they They're coming out of college man where they were just hailed and they you know drafted and now the NFL is just kicking their butt if they have one bad play, you know
Doug Smith (26:41) Mmm, so good. crazy.
Kent Chevalier (27:01) Yeah, we could talk forever about that, bro. I get fired up about it. Especially pastors who blast dudes on social media. So I'm starting to take on dudes that I know well privately behind the scenes saying, bro, take that down. You need to take it down.
Doug Smith (27:04) I know I wanted to- I was just gonna say is there anyone you want to publicly shame right now? Yeah, let's not go there. Let's not go there. That's right. Hey, I have no problem knowing that you'll tell me what you think of anything I do. A couple more things on the chaplain front. Man, I love this. This past fall, you've kind of popularized this this statement called deflect the glory.
Kent Chevalier (27:21) I could, could. In fact, Doug, I was meaning to speak with you about something. I'm joking. you
Doug Smith (27:43) And you did a really cool campaign around that. Can you just talk about that principle and how it came to be? just think it's great to share with people and a great leadership lesson too.
Kent Chevalier (27:51) Yeah, I think, you know, early on, so this this whole moment of prayer after the 50 has been around the NFL since the late 80s, where guys from either team would come out and they'd bend the knee before their creator and they would pray together. So that meet me at the 50 was a moment that's been around. But as I started to watch and as I you know, being a fan for a long time. then when you get down on those sidelines where I have the privilege of standing now during the games and you hear what people are screaming over these men, like saying great things and like I'll put it in my language. Many people worship these men for three hours straight and they'll say,
Doug Smith (28:37) Mmm. Yeah.
Kent Chevalier (28:41) incredible things to them as they're coming off the sidelines. Great job, man. Well done, bro. And you and you got like, you know, people screaming their name for an autograph in all of this very quickly. I understood that these men are not built for that kind of worship, for that kind of glory to be given to them. And so I just gave this one chapel talk called Deflect the Glory. And the idea was it would be really wise for you to not buy into that kind of worship because you're not built for it. So join me at the 50 to deflect the glory back to God very quickly where it belongs because He's the one who gave you this opportunity. God is the one who gave you the skill and the talent and the ability. And yes, you've worked hard, you have partnered, but if people are worshiping you, you need to get that off of you. So come out at the 50 and let's deflect.
Doug Smith (29:18) Uh-uh.
Kent Chevalier (29:38) Deflect that glory back to God where it belongs. So that's that's where the moment now for six seasons We've been calling deflect the glory and then this past season, you know, it was this idea that we could with this deflect the glory We created a little hoodie and we we deflected the proceeds To raise some money for some great nonprofit ministries in the city of Pittsburgh light of life absolutely and
Doug Smith (30:05) Thank you, thank you, thank you, yeah.
Kent Chevalier (30:08) you know, Urban Impact Foundation doing great things on the North Side and then Pittsburgh Kids Foundation, three great ministries that people could choose to deflect the proceeds. And Erica and I didn't receive a nickel from it. And it was all about like, how do we enhance God's reputation in the eyes of this city, knowing that we're not built for that kind of stuff. So the lesson for you and me regular people like you and me is the same exact thing is true. You're not built for the praise of men. You're not built for the accolades. And we got to be quick when those accolades and those attaboys come. You know what? God's the one who gave me the talent and the ability and to deflect that glory back to Him where it belongs. And you don't have to be weird about it, but it's just a recognition quickly in your heart posture.
Doug Smith (30:58) Thank
Kent Chevalier (31:05) that God's the one who gave me this platform. God's the one who gave me this. You fill in the blank and I'm going to give him the glory as a result of that. So that's the leadership lesson is bending the knee before your creator because he's the one who got you there in the first place.
Doug Smith (31:25) Are we gonna see any more Deflect the Glory hoodie drops in the future?
Kent Chevalier (31:29) Maybe we might do a t-shirt and I just got to figure out a way. I'm not a business guy, We got to figure out how to make that easier than it was last time. Revival print code was amazing, but it's the back end of, man, everybody's orders that we got to get easier somehow. So I don't want to, especially if we're going to do it in the middle of the season. That was crazy on my part.
Doug Smith (31:33) Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Well, ⁓ and I love my hoodie. we didn't get to the origin story. So we've talked a lot about what it's like to be Chaplin, but I think your origin story of how you even got there in the first place is incredible. And I think your sweatshirt today speaks to it. Tell us that story.
Kent Chevalier (32:10) Yeah, yeah, Yeah, so this man pastor in the in the Pittsburgh area for 22 years, and it was probably around 20 year 20 where I just knew God was doing something in me. I couldn't really put my finger on it. My mentor, Dave Buring, calls it needles in the nest where you just you just know that you know this role or this this season is is getting uncomfortable. Something's happening, shifting. And so it was about year 20 where I was a pastor at Northway for 10 years at that point. And something I can't even describe it. I just knew something was coming. Something was changing. And I essentially asked God, like, what do you what are you doing? What do you want me to do? And this is where Vance McDonald traded from San Francisco 49ers to the Steelers, began attending Northway where I was pastor and like I always do hey if I don't know you you know, I'd love to grab a cup of coffee with you after that service He asked if we could grab a cup of coffee and I was sort of fanboying out because I'm a Steelers fan, know So I'm like bro. I know who you are And eventually he told me that the Steelers at that time did not have a chaplain which is what was unique because The Steelers were one of the first to have an NFL chaplain. And so they've had a strong legacy of chaplains, but it just so happened at this particular time that they didn't have one and that Vance had been discipled out in the West Coast in San Francisco by a great pastor out there, but he felt ill-equipped to lead Bible studies at the Steelers. And so he was then asking me for some help.
Doug Smith (33:41) Hmm. Ahem.
Kent Chevalier (34:06) How do I, you what's the best way? What's some curriculum things? And as he then started sharing with me and I was hanging with him, I felt like that next season that he and Ben Roethlisberger, had, Vance had his best season in the NFL. And the more that I was hanging with Vance as just a dude and helping him with Bible studies and things like that, it was like my heart began to change towards you know, the things I was talking about earlier, like he had to make an entire move across the country and his wife then followed him later with his then young son. And so when when Vance scored a particular touchdown, I remember thinking, I wonder if his wife is at that game. And I'm going, what's happening to me? I'm thinking about his wife and his son when I should be going touchdown, you know, excited, just like every other Steelers fan.
Doug Smith (34:58) Hmm. Yeah, yeah.
Kent Chevalier (35:04) but I was thinking about his family. And so things started to shift inside of me to the point where Vance in that next off season asked if I would really disciple him and bring a few guys along with him. And so as he did, I felt like I swore every time he was dropping hints in the form of like prayer requests of we really need a chaplain in the Steelers locker room.
Doug Smith (35:27) Hahaha.
Kent Chevalier (35:31) And every time that he said that something just jumped in my heart. Like, I wonder if that's me. ⁓ but I didn't really have a category for it. And I questioned my motives big time. Was it just to be close to these guys and all of that? But I eventually got up to courage to say like, Vance, are you, are you dropping hints, man? Like, do you think that's something that you want me to do? And he goes, well, let me introduce you to coach Tomlin so you can kind of figure this out. So either way, it was going to be awesome. That I got to have lunch with coach T. I mean, not too many people get to do that. So I was fired up and then coach T invited me to come and preach at chapel at mini camp. And then, ⁓ you know, essentially he said, Hey man, I'll be in touch after that. And long story short, Erica and I, when coach Tomlin offered me the position, we thought the whole time that I was going through this process, that it would be hired by the Steelers, but When he got to the point of extending me the offer for the position, he said, so I would love for you to consider joining the staff of athletes in action. And as soon as, as soon as he said that, I was like, I started to shut it all down. I'm like, bro, no, that I got, I got three daughters. I didn't say any of this. I'm just thinking this. have three daughters, man. got, you know, weddings coming. I got college tuition to be financially. No way. God wants me to step away from a. a great position at Northway to become a full-time missionary. And I think it was at that point, Doug, that I realized that God was touching on something in my life in particular, that I wasn't fully trusting in the God that I had been preaching for that long, that I was actually trusting in a paycheck, that I was trusting in my skill, my ability to provide for my family.
Doug Smith (37:17) Mm.
Kent Chevalier (37:29) And I was great. I had a great position at Northway. Still, I mean, that's our home church still. But obviously, God was taking us to school about what do we really trust in this life? Is it God or is it a paycheck? Is it God or is it a secure position? And so it was that moment where I realized, OK, we have a decision to make here. And long story short, bro, God Convinced us to do this with some other great leaders speaking into our life as we read the scriptures and we fasted and we prayed It became very clear that if we didn't step into this we would be very disobedient to what God Was telling us to do he wasn't asking us. He was telling us to do this But it then required us that we would raise
Doug Smith (38:15) Hmm.
Kent Chevalier (38:23) my salary, Erica's salary, all of our ministry budget, all of our benefits, all that stuff for a family of five. And so we decided, and this is where the phrase, do it afraid comes in, because I always had this thought that like, if you have enough faith, you're not going to fear. that's just, it's just not true. So we were afraid. And in many ways, I'm still kind of like,
Doug Smith (38:42) Hmm. Hahaha
Kent Chevalier (38:54) like, okay, God, are you gonna come through this time? And in many ways, we're still afraid, but we did it afraid, trusting that our God is bigger than the fears that we have. And I think that's what's called faith. And so it's not that we're not afraid. It's not that we struggle, we don't struggle to trust God at times for how are we gonna raise this money and all that stuff. But God has in this whole course of it, man,
Doug Smith (39:21).
Kent Chevalier (39:23) He has proved himself faithful time and time again that that's where our faith needed to be stretched and strengthened. And so that's that's kind of the do it afraid story. That's the whole keynote that I give to encourage people to embrace the fear of the unknown and to jump into their God given purpose. And so, man, that's I travel around to just simply tell our story and then say, I think there's somebody who is feeling pretty comfortable, who's trusting in a paycheck, but you know God's calling you to do something, so I think it's time for you to do it afraid. And God has just, it's been wild to see how God has used our little testimony of His faithfulness in our life, turned into testimonies of faithfulness, God's faithfulness in other people's lives. So it's been wild to be a part of, and I'm just, I'm so grateful to look back and to say, This is kind of the phrase that Erica and I've been saying is look at what God has done and to keep looking back and say, wow, we can continue to move forward because look back here where God showed up, he showed off, he provided and now we can continue to move forward in that. So we're trusting God, man, with everything that we got. And my daughter's getting married in two months, man, my oldest is getting married in two months. And I'm like,
Doug Smith (40:27) Mmm.
Kent Chevalier (40:51) God's been good, man.
Doug Smith (40:53) Yeah. Yeah. I still remember a scrubbing coffee. I don't know how early in the journey was and you saying fundraising what? And, uh, it's amazing to see how God has shown up since. Uh, and with that, I'll just throw this out there. Uh, for those listening, we still have a few more things I want to go over, but, uh, people can support you. People are listening to this. If you ends your nation's out there, Pittsburgh, the Steeler nation, and they want to connect with what you and Erica are doing. And again, I just want to speak on personal note and again,
Kent Chevalier (41:11) Hmm.
Doug Smith (41:18) I only see a fraction of what goes on in actual locker room. Like Ken and Erica have made. I can't even tell you how massive a difference. And this is someone just watching from the outside has made in these players and coaches lives. It's unbelievable. And so if anyone is listening to this and you'd like to support Ken, how can they support you and Erica?
Kent Chevalier (41:34) So, yeah, well, first, man, thank you that you would even say that. And that's that's never our intention. But you asked if you could do this. And so fire up, man. We have we have a link that that people could give to and I can give that to you and you can put it in the show notes or whatever. But we also have a website and you can get a hold of us that way and we can. So KentChevallier.com, we also have TeamChevallier.com. And we are on staff full time with a group called Athletes in Action, which is the sports ministry of CRU, which is a, you know, international missions organization. And so if people want to find that out, man, they can get a hold of you and put it in the show notes. Yeah.
Doug Smith (42:25) Yeah. And he'd also mentioned briefly earlier, and I'll just, I'll just pitch Ken because he'll hate all of this, but, ⁓ he mentioned, man, he also does do it afraid as a keynote. If you're a business leader and want to have Ken in to speak to your company or conference, again, I don't know if his schedule will avail to it, but phenomenal communicator. And I'd highly encourage you if you want to bless your staff or your company or a conference, he's your guy. And again, you can connect with him on there.
Kent Chevalier (42:47) Bro Doug, you're like hooking me up today, man. I really appreciate it very much,
Doug Smith (42:53) I'm a promoter. That's what my predictive index says. That's what I do.
Kent Chevalier (42:55) Yeah, and you're a connector and a wooer, man. I love it.
Doug Smith (42:58) Yes, but I only promote things I actually believe in. so when I I throw my when I promote Ken, I'm not joking. You need to have them in. So we only have a few minutes left. So many things I want to cover. One, we've been in a I call it a pastor mind group because it's primarily made up of pastors. But we've been in a mastermind group together. And man, your whole journey has been about discipleship, relationships, doing life together. We just had coffee the other day. And then you just have all this vision around men. People people need to be in community. They need to be in a to bring it back to coach T. I'll just speak to our group. Like what, what, what has been the impact of being in that group done for you and why would you encourage other people to find a similar pack like it?
Kent Chevalier (43:29) Yeah, that's it, that's right. Yeah, there's this illustration Doug that many of us have seen, right? You take a pencil, one little pencil, and you can snap it. You can break it in half. And this is what happens when people are isolated. And to use our language, that the enemy of our soul, he will trick you into isolating yourself.
Doug Smith (44:07) Mm.
Kent Chevalier (44:08) to the point where you are not surrounded by any friends, any community, and you are easily pick off-able, breakable, right? But then when you put, like our group, 13 pencils together, and I remember this illustration, using it with Vance McDonald in a sermon of mine, I put a whole bunch of pencils together and I said, okay, Vance, you're the strongest dude in the room, right?
Doug Smith (44:34) Ha ha!
Kent Chevalier (44:35) And he could not break the group of pencils, right? And that's the strength of our brotherhood, is that from people who are from different parts of this city, pastors who have different skin colors, different political persuasions, you name it, we're from different opposite directions. But when you bring that group together with one common bond of, you know,
Doug Smith (44:39) Wow.
Kent Chevalier (45:04) God bringing us together and we want to make this city better. You can't break us and we're going to work hard to stick together. And so I think for me, the beauty of our group is like, there are things that are coming out of that group that would never have happened if we're just going it alone. And so that's the strength I think. I've gained brothers out of being a part of our pastor mind.
Doug Smith (45:26) Yes.
Kent Chevalier (45:34) mastermind group. And so I and I would never have had the opportunity to ever cross paths with them unless introduced through this pastor mind. And I'm so grateful for your leadership of bringing us all together. And and I believe now in our group, we have to fight for that unity in ways that other groups like ours, they quit before that fight even starts taking place.
Doug Smith (45:35) You Mm.
Kent Chevalier (46:04) And so we need to fight for that unity of the brotherhood, especially for the church of Pittsburgh to be unified. And so I've just loved getting some great friends out of it, having community. And then out of that comes things like connections and, bro, you need to meet when a, when a Steelers player, in my case, a coach moves to the new city. I've got a whole bunch of dudes that I trust. are not gonna take advantage of these guys. That I'm gonna say, hey man, trust me, can trust Pastor B because I'm a part of a group with him and I know him and his family, so all that. There's trust and accountability in our group. So I just love being a part of it. So thank you, man.
Doug Smith (46:34) Yeah.. Yeah, and I'd promote everyone in our group. you mentioned Pastor B, pastor of Macedonia Church of Pittsburgh. Check it out. Brian, Brian and Dee Edmonds, incredible, incredible leaders in our city. Hey, we love pastors. We love the local church. We both have a passion for that. But we're both in a unique position now where we're basically in parachurch ministries. We're outside of the four walls of a church. And I know that's given you specifically and myself a unique perspective of the church world. And I would just I guess I would just
Kent Chevalier (46:58) Let's go.⁓ yeah.
Doug Smith (47:22) give you room to say, like, if you had to challenge pastors or even just the church or people within the four walls of a church in a way of—I don't even know how to word this—but basically on what you've learned about being on the outside and maybe our heart for evangelism and discipleship outside of the four walls, like, what would you say to those church leaders?
Kent Chevalier (47:42) Yeah, I so I just gave this keynote to, it's called Corporate Chaplains of America based out of Raleigh. they specialize in going into businesses and being chaplains. And so this idea of now, I was a pastor 22 years in the local church context, now six years in the business marketplace, you know, in my particular lane of the NFL. It's taught me the importance of our people, the church people, not a steeple, you know, it's people going and understanding that I bring the presence of God with me wherever I go. and so to mobilize our people into the community, into their workplaces to say, Hey, just be who you are as advocates of Jesus' That you have the ability and God has equipped you to just be yourself and where yourself goes, that's where the presence of God goes. And He gives you the confidence to just simply be the nicest employee, be the hardest working employee, be the most encouraging boss, whatever it might be. God's given you within you to go into those places so that you can be the church. And so it's given me a perspective because as a pastor for so many years and rightly so, as a pastor, your head is down upon the church and every Sunday is coming. And there is so much pressure with that because people come to you with so many burdens and so many, and that's wonderful. That is the call of a pastor.
Doug Smith (49:18) Hmm. Yeah.
Kent Chevalier (49:40) But the call of a church is also to go and make disciples of all nations. So while your pastor is caring for you, and for 22 years, man, that was my call to receive and to edify and build up the church and to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. And I feel like in our culture today, Doug, what has happened is that we've been stooped into a consumer
Doug Smith (49:44) Mm, come on.
Kent Chevalier (50:07) mindset even when we get into churches. How's it going to serve me? How's it going to serve my family? Now is there anything wrong with that in the sense of like a church should serve its people? Pastors should be serving and staffs should be serving, but the question is, is the church reciprocating that same kind of I'm all in?
Doug Smith (50:10) Yeah, definitely. Hmm.
Kent Chevalier (50:34) And this is just about like as much as I want my needs met and this is where God has it rigged, bro. If we begin to give of ourselves and serve other people more than we serve ourselves, God has the whole thing rigged that eventually our needs are gonna get met because somebody else is doing the same. And so I just feel like the difference now for me as I go and I have the
Doug Smith (50:38) you
Kent Chevalier (51:03) the privilege to preach in different churches now, to be invited simply because God's given me a platform as the Steelers Chaplain. When I get those invitations, I am seeing and lifting my eyes above the Church of Pittsburgh, like to see what God's doing in like tandem, like all of our churches, what's crazy is that sometimes in a six week, I might be speaking at four different churches. Dude, they're doing the same songs. There are similar themes that are happening. And I just wish that we were talking more. I wish that we were getting in groups more and pastors getting outside of their particular denominations or their particular preferences and getting at the table with people who don't theologically, like, fully line up with them, people that don't look like them with skin color, you you name it.
Doug Smith (51:35) Hmm. Yeah. Yes.
Kent Chevalier (52:01) get around a table so that we can learn from each other and be unified so that the kingdom of God can be advanced in our context within Pittsburgh. But man, this is obviously larger than just Pittsburgh. But yeah, man, obviously I'm getting fired up and starting to preach, but thank you for asking that. I know, I think we're trying, I think we're trying.
Doug Smith (52:18) I know, I love it man. sounds like we should do something about that. Yeah, that's right. That's right. ⁓ hey, we're basically out of time. We've covered so much stuff. I'll give you the last word. Is there anything else you want to share that you didn't get to share anything on your heart you want to challenge the leaders with?
Kent Chevalier (52:34) Yeah, so I just here's here's what I would say to to those who might be listening. So if I could request of anybody who's listening to this, don't don't assume that that you know best. I have watched as as guys like Coach T and and in this journey of watching a Kevin Colbert and an Omar Khan to to watch them lead from kind of I just sit back and what I have watched as these men in my context is they have they have learned the value of listening. So I watched them like take in all the information and then in like a in a group, they make a decision. And then when you make that decision with within that group, it's unified and there aren't pointing of fingers of saying Hey, you made us do this. No, it's a, I listened, took it all in. I made the decision together in unity with all of you. And we're going to commit to that come hell or high water. And then we're not going to blame if things don't go bad. And then you're not going to get all the glory because you're the one who made the decision. No, it's a team effort. The pack is the pack. That's the strength is the pack. And so I've just, I've just learned. by watching them, the value of listening and learning before you make a decision together.
Doug Smith (54:10) Kent, this was great. Thanks for an hour straight of leadership gold. It's an honor to call you friend and thank you for the impact you've had on my life. And we'll include links to everything that we discussed in the show notes, how to connect with Erica and Kent and support them, et cetera. And if you want to be greatly encouraged of how much you can grow in 12 years, we'll include a link to our original interview in 2012. I'm like, what do we even talk about? like, anyway.
Kent Chevalier (54:14) Bye. That's awesome. I know. What did we talk about,
Doug Smith (54:38) Maybe you shouldn't listen to it. No matter, value to your life. But anyway, ⁓ anything else before we go.
Kent Chevalier (54:43) Nah, man, I appreciate you, Doug. Love you and Laura and what you're doing with L3 and more importantly, just your friendship,
Doug Smith (54:51) Thanks brother, love you.
