Day 41 – Could I get arrested for trespassing in a church?
I can’t remember why we were up. I’m not sure if we got up early or if we never went to sleep (not unusual in college, there are always fun things to do). Regardless, it was 4 or 5 AM, if I remember correctly and we decided to go across the street from the home to St. James United Methodist Church. Actually, there was a field between us and the church back then, but it was easy enough to walk there.
The door was open, so we walked into the main sanctuary. I’m not sure it would be open today, society has changed a lot since 1972, when everyone was more trusting and free.
There were 5 or 6 of us, I think, and we all sat in the first pew right below the elevated pulpit. Why were we there that early on a Sunday morning? We each wanted a chance to see what it would be like to stand in the pulpit and teach the Bible.
We didn’t mean any disrespect and we did no damage, we just wanted the experience. So, one by one, we took turns walking up there, opening the bible, looking up a scripture, and preaching for a few minutes and then the next one would come up.
We all wanted a vision of what it would be like and how it would feel. We could picture the church filled and people hanging on every word. Actually, it was quite exciting.
We left without incident, and I don’t think anyone ever knew we were there except those of us that were there that morning.
I didn’t realize it then, but it’s very important to set a vision for your future self, to picture yourself doing things that are important to you. That’s why when my two sons were sophomores, juniors, and seniors, I took them around to several college campuses and with different connections I had as a high school coach, as well as some friends who were coaching at a particular school, we had access to locker rooms and weight rooms.
I had my boys walk in there, sit in the stalls of players, picture their names on the plaques about each stall, to see and feel themselves there. “If you can’t see yourself there, you will never get there”, I would tell them.
At Pine Creek, where I coach now, we have been to the State Playoffs 5 times in the last 11 years and won 4 of them (They also went the year before I came but lost to a private school). We play the State Championship game in the Bronco’s stadium. The first few years we went, they would have the teams come up during the week before the game to have a news conference and tour the stadium.
At one point, they let our boys go into the Bronco’s dressing room and even take pictures sitting in the stalls…that was fun. Talk about building a vision!
During the games, the Bronco’s big screen TV in the stadium would be on showing pictures of the kids, replays, and highlights. That vision of moving on to the Pro-level came true for one of our players this past weekend as JoJo Dolman, one of our past players who helped us win the first two state championships just made the 53-man roster for the Indianapolis Colts.
I set the vision for both my boys who played at James Madison University, and, along with the other coaches, for players we have coached now for 27 years, and it never gets old.
“See the vision, feel the vision” is something I’ve been working on since that morning standing in the pulpit of St James United Methodist Church whether in football or life, it’s all the same.
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