Finally, Someone Got It Right.

For all but a very few years of my life, my father has been the head football coach of some team, and for the last 35, for Carson-Newman University where he's been pretty successful. There have been quite literally thousands of articles written about him. While that may seem cool, it's sometimes just not. I want you to know, I've learned a lot about the media. Let me just name two things: 1. Many stories don't get it right,
even the basic facts. 2. Most reporters have an agenda and a preconceived narrative they want to press on the story. The two are usually related.

My dad when I played at CN,
circa 1988. 

It must be nice to be an average person who hasn't experienced being the subject of so much media attention. It must be nice to pick up a newspaper or magazine and read the stories without wondering what the reporter got wrong, or what the agenda is, or how the subjects of the story and their families feel about how they were made to look. But I can't. I'm forever scarred. I'm sure I share these thoughts with any child of any well-known coach, politician, celebrity, or successful person. I have NO desire to be the subject of media attention, and desire to spare my own family from it.
There have been so many times I have been angered when I read the way my dad was wrongly portrayed: the uneducated coach, the clichéd Christian, the hypocrite, the simpleton who can't do anything else in the world but coach, or (perhaps worst of all) the win-at-all-costs self-promoter.

A youthful Ken Sparks
circa 1973 on CN's staff
as Offensive Coordinator.

I want to be fair. Perhaps reporters write with these narratives in mind because they've known coaches which are one or more of the above. I've certainly known coaches that belong in each of those categories. Maybe they've become so jaded that they've lost their hope that good people with selfless motives actually exist. Perhaps they've never really met someone who has truly been impacted by Christ. Or maybe they're blinded by their own narcissism and assume everyone else is as they are.

My opinion of journalists in general is also shaped by the fact that I graduated with a Bachelor's in Communication, and classes in media and journalism were a part of my studies. Glenn Cragwall, my broadcasting professor set the bar high for what media professionals should be all about, yet so many fellow students who ended up in some form of journalism failed to practice these principles, and became activists or ideologues disguised as journalists. What's more, I am a sports fan! In my lifetime, I've watched as ESPN and other media power-players corrupt sports from what I perceived as the one of the last apolitical and relatively honest pastimes into a platform for egotistical hero worship, unlimited commercialism, and tool for politically-correct culture formation. The liberal bias and political activism of sports journalists and networks is just sad.

So I am admittedly calloused.

Occasionally I've been called and interviewed by reporters for my thoughts about my dad. I'm always guarded with my comments. I try not to give a reporter too much "peripheral fluff" from which he can cobble together some pithy sentence I didn't really say to support his narrative, but I stay focused and repetitive on what I know to be true and what is hardly ever conveyed in stories about my dad: He coaches for one reason: to bring glory to God and to bring people to Christ. This usually means my comments don't make it into the story. That's ok with me.

I am happy to say there's an exception to reporters/stories that have jaded my perspective.

My dad hardly ever tells me whenever he wins some award or when a big article or story comes out about him in the sports media. In fact, I can't remember a specific time when he has. It is usually someone at church or a friend or someone on Facebook who says, "That's a great article about your dad," or "Did you see that story about your dad on TV?" or "Congrats to your dad on winning the [Greatest Most Winningest Hall of Fame Coach on the Planet Bla Bla] award." This can be a weekly occurrence. It happened yesterday at church. A friend who played college football and a little professionally told me about yet another story. But this one, he said, is different. He sent me the link.

It is different.

I owe the writer, Reid Forgrave of Fox Sports, credit for getting it right. In fact, I feel I owe him an apology. Not just because I pressed on him my own narrative of sports journalists, but because I was probably a little curt with him over the phone, especially at first. You see, about a month ago, Reid called me to interview me about my father and his status of being the winningest living NCAA football coach. I reluctantly took the call. I asked about his agenda and what narrative he was pursuing, while doing what I usually do. He patiently told me he understood, and that he was different. I loosened up a little, but then after hanging up, couldn't help but thinking, "I wonder if he was for real, or if he was just saying that to get more out of me."

Reid, I'm sorry. Your article is accurate. And even more, it is well-written. There need to be more sports journalists like you. Thank you for giving me hope.

http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/story/ken-sparks-carson-newman-college-football-winningest-coach-325-wins-faith-082015 

A Modern Prophet

What would a prophet look like today?

As I’m reading Jonah, Amos, and Isaiah I’ve been pondering this question. These guys were bold, many times unpopular, and believed what they said—because they believed in the God who said it first. They weren’t (contrary to popular belief) just crazed preachers who flew-off-the-handle every chance they got. They were neither gluttons for punishment nor did they have some kind of martyr-complex. And they certainly weren’t out for personal gain. They were lovers of God in a world that was running away from God as fast as it could. They were lone voices proclaiming hard truth when all other voices were spewing lies. They were people who loved their nation and loved people enough to warn and admonish—sometimes through tears.

A few months ago, Ron Brown, an assistant football coach for the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers, found himself in the news for being, well, a modern-day prophet. I know Ron. He and I were the speakers for a Fellowship of Christian Athletes leadership camp in Shreveport, LA a few years ago. Quite frankly, he may be one of the godliest men I know and perhaps the best speaker I have ever heard. Yep. You read that right. He’s not hateful—quite the contrary. He is a compassionate and loving man. I saw this in the way he treated his wife with honor and how he spent many hours with high school and college students that week that he didn’t even know. He was vulnerable and humble. He genuinely wants people to know the Christ that saves sinners. He’s also passionate and uncompromising about God’s word. Of course that means he's a lightning rod for controversy. That’s what makes him, in my estimation, about as close as we can get today to a prophet.

He proved it when he weighed in on a hot issue this April—perhaps the hottest of our time: homosexuality. It’s the same issue about which I get pushback almost every time I mention it in light of God’s word.

Of course, the popular media frame his words and edit his comments to make him seem like an unloving, extreme fundamentalist. He’s not. He’s a prophet. And like those of old, after the names of all the “kings” that “rule” today are relegated to obscure lists that no one knows except to note their collective complaisant (read: cowardly) attempts to be considered tolerant and hip, Ron Brown will be remembered for much more. He is FAR from hateful. He is faithful to be a lone voice of grace, love, and truth to sinners like me whose salvation is found in no other name but Jesus. He could just enjoy his own redemption and wait around for heaven. But he chooses to put his reputation on the line to invite others to find new life in Christ.

We need prophets today.

Football and Church Planting

Ok, it’s fall and football time, so suffer me a related thought or two.

One of my favorite lines from the movie, Remember the Titans, is from Coach Boone when he was questioned about his small playbook. He said,

“I run 6 plays, split veer. Like Novocain, just give it time, always works.”

I guess you have to have played football for (or against) a veer-offense team to fully appreciate that quote. The veer is a fast attack, running offense, that forces the defense to make decisions and exploits them. To the casual observer, it’s not really that pretty. But to the educated eye, it is a thing of beauty. The bread-and-butter play is the triple option. The quarterback is the key. After taking the snap, he must make a decision based on the defense’s reaction to give the ball to the running back, keep the ball himself, or pitch to the other running back.

Many times a characteristic of veer-offense teams is that they will run two plays resulting in very few yards gained, followed by one that breaks for 5-9 yards, and slowly move down the field, eating up the clock. The offense keeps this bam, bam, break; bam, bam, break; pace going—daring the defense to stunt and take risks to stop it. When they do, a long break happens, many times for a touchdown.

What does this have to do with church planting? Let me name three things. As with veer football teams, church-planting churches must: 1. Believe in the strategy, 2. keep the offense on the field and the defense on its heels, and 3. learn from and reduce mistakes.

This might demand some translation/explanation for you football novices.

1. Believe in the strategy:
A veer team can’t be thrown by plays or series that don’t produce first downs or touchdowns, respectively. Losing teams panic and give up on game plans when the first drives fail or switch offensive schemes during the season. Winning teams stick to the strategy. Patience and execution will eventually yield results. Church planting is Providence Church’s primary strategy for culture change. It’s biblical and it works. It’s not glamorous. It is hard. Some plants don’t make it. Some struggle. Some need additional help. Mistakes will be made. But eventually, “like Novocain,” it works. Sometimes you get a big break for long yards. Over time, thousands of people’s lives are changed, and more churches are multiplied!

2. Keep the offense on the field and the defense on its heels:
Check the stats yourself. The team that wins almost always controls the ball longer. Football is also a game of aggression. The veer is an offense that goes forward almost always. It takes it to the opponent. The church is to be on offense. Jesus said, “Go.” We dare not take the foot off the proverbial pedal. It is Hell’s gates that are on the defensive. When Satan’s forces attack us, we must quickly respond. We must never rest. We must always move forward. Even when it is hard we must keep planting and keep planting. God will do the rest.

3. Learn from and reduce mistakes.
My dad used to say it all the time. “We’re not playing the other team. We’re playing ourselves.” This is a statement of confidence. When we work the game plan and run the offense WITHOUT turnovers, penalties, and execution mistakes, we will certainly win. But mistakes WILL be made. The opposition WILL throw schemes at you that you did not expect in order to try to stop your offense. This is where discipline is important. Patiently figure out what they are doing and how to respond. Make adjustments at halftime. More importantly, watch the film, evaluate, and correct mistakes for the next game. Get better. With church planting there are universal principles, but every context is different and demands adjustments on the fly. Mistakes ARE made. We must not become shaken. We must learn from them and move forward.

Believe me, I could compare many aspects of church planting with football! Perhaps later. Pray for the elders right now as we are considering some church planting-related opportunities that have come our way. You will no doubt hear about these soon.

When God Moves

It’s been a while since I spoke at an event. I all but dropped the speaking at extra-Providence engagements around four years ago when things got really busy at the church. My old friend Dwayne Sanders called me several months ago about speaking at an FCA football team camp and I hesitatingly told him I would.

Truth is I love speaking to kids…especially athletes…especially football players. There’s not a group before whom I feel more comfortable, and for whom I have more empathy. All the teams at this camp were from East Tennessee—about 300 (?) players from around eight teams. During the day they scrimmaged and worked on skills. I got three chances to speak to them. Something I like about speaking at team camps is that they have lots of kids who haven’t heard the Gospel.

I prayed much concerning this camp: about what I would say—and that God would work. The most critical meeting is the first night. It’s when I must make a personal connection with them and make the Gospel clear.

So I started by telling my “wild man wedge buster” story. It is an exercise in hyperbole about when I truly embraced the fact that football was a sport of aggressive courage—when I made the transformation from quarterback to wedge buster in order to make the high school varsity team. As the late comedian Jerry Clower would say, it’s not about telling a funny story, it’s about telling a story…funny. I go way over the top on telling this one. It’s always a hit and people call me “wild man” who hear it. It gets requested a lot.

After the “wild man” story, I talked about the facts of death and life. My text is Jesus’ parable of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16.

Sometimes God just chooses to move in an unusual way and call many people to himself. Last night was one of those times. As usual, I tried to explain the Gospel as clearly as possible, and I gave them an opportunity to respond. I led them in a prayer to receive Christ if they truly wanted to surrender their lives to him. I asked them that if they had done so—and were serious—to stand and walk out of the room (where I would meet them). At least 50 (I don’t know the exact number) indicated that they had been saved, and did so.

Wow. It was almost overwhelming for me to see God work. I get emotional when God uses me—an undeserving instrument. It is really humbling. Thank you God for saving people and for somehow using fools and weaklings to make known your truth and grace.