The weather outside may still be depicting intense summer heat, but the aroma of fall football season is growing stronger.
Of course, the reality of the upcoming football games affects much more that the sense of smell if you are a player or a coach.
First, there is the sense of touch, or better yet the sense of pain as that 250-pound line-backer mows you over and you experience the sense of taste as you spit out the dirt you just ate. And then there is the sense of sight as you stare at the ground while the coach practices his range of vocal octaves and you focus on the sense of hearing.
All of this happens outside in the heat, maybe fully suited or possibly with just helmets and pads as the players practice and prepare physically.
But the coaches also expect mental preparation from the players. This comes through learning the team’s specific plays and watching game tapes of the opponents.
Now, the team should be ready to hot the field, right? Not so for the Samford University Bulldogs.
I his first year as the new head coach at Samford, Billy Gray encourages his players to be prepared spiritually as well as physically and mentally. And to start the year off right, he worked with Green Valley Baptist Church, Hoover, to host the team Aug. 11, Sixth Avenue Baptist Church, Birmingham, will also host the team later in August.
The Samford team filled 12 pews down one section of the fan-shaped auditorium at Green Valley and was in prime positions to listen to some of its leaders in a different environment.
Assistant Coach Mike O’Toole offered a testimony through song, which garnered intense applause frim the congregation and “holy hooping” from the football team.
Gray, a deacon and Sunday school teacher at Green Valley, read from I Timothy 4:7-8 and from Judges 6:13.
“Playing football is important,: Gray said noting Paul’s mention of physical training in 1 Timothy. “We work too hard for it not to be, but it is not the most important.
“Godliness is the most important thing,” he explained, again noting Paul’s emphasis on training. “We are to train ourselves to be godly.
“Football will end for them but hopefully not their godliness,” Gray said.
As he shared some of his journey to head coach, Gray choked up while comparing Gideon’s experience in the Judges to the Bulldogs 2001 season.
“Last year, we lost our head coach midyear,” he said. “And we asked ‘Why is this happening?” just as Gideon said ‘if the Lord is with is, why has all this happened to us?’”
The story of Gideon became the turning point for Gray and the team. Stepping in as interim head coach beginning the sixth game of the season, Gray said he told the team about Gideon’s great victory through the Lord’s strength. And together the Samford team “broke bread” before the game against the Charleston Southern Buccaneers.
Just as Gideon’s barely bread symbolized that he would win a mighty victory, the Bulldogs believed they could be victorious that day.
And victorious they were, Gray said. The team scored 42 points in the first half, tying the school record for the most points scored in a half, and overwhelmingly defeated a team they barely defeated the year before.
“The players played for each other,” Gray said. “And the Christians played for the Lord.
“God can speak through a pig skin,” he noted.
Continuing with the football emphasis, Jeff Vanlandingham, pastor of Green Valley, offered several illustrations and quotes from the world of sports during his message.
Preaching from Joshua 24:15, Vanlandingham explained how to make decisions.
1. Evaluate the evidence. “Look at what God has done ,” Vanlandingham said. “Despite what has happened … and the difficult storms of life… the anchor still holds,” he noted. “You can look back and see the hand of God in your life.”
2. Weigh the options. “It is OK to question God. He can handle it,” Vanlandingham said. “But God’s way is the only way that counts. … There is but one right –God’s way. There is but one hope –a relationship with Him.”
3. Make the decision. “There’s a right decision you know you need to make,” he said, noting personal salvation is the first thing to get settled.
Following the service, Green Valley fed the Samford team lunch during which Vanlandingham presented Gary with a book for coaches.
“It was special, even emotional, for [the players] to be here,” Gray said.
We’ve got some fine young men. I’ve never been around more kids who are [mission-minded],” he said/ “They are not all angels, but everyone on the team is surrounded by guys who love the Lord, and I believe on down the road that will make a difference.
“The spiritual foundation being built now will get them through the highs and lows in the future,” he added.
Josh Kellett of Decatur, a fifth year senior quarterback at Samford, said the church event provides another opportunity to unify the team. “It sets a good example for us,” he said.
Vanlandingham also expressed enthusiasm over the event. “It was outstanding and we were excited to have the opportunity to host the team,” he said.
“Bill Gray is a great Christian and family man and Samford is one of our Baptist schools. We are proud of the school.”
“This was an opportunity to support [Bill] and encourage him in his position at Samford and to connect with the team,” Vanlandingham said. “We hope to make a difference with them spiritually.”
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