Some of the most powerful lessons you learn in life are unplanned.
On December 17th and 18th Coach Don Meyer, Lipscomb University’s former basketball coach, and Buster Olney from ESPN came to Lipscomb for a luncheon and two days of book signing. Olney’s book, How Lucky You Can Be – The Story of Coach Don Meyer, is in its fifth printing and doing very well nationally.
I had worked on promoting the visit and coordinating with our campus bookstore on how many books they should have on hand for purchase. I planned on helping Coach and Buster get set up and then go about my normal business. What actually ended up happening I could have never predicted and I would never trade.
Far more people showed up for the book signings than we ever dreamed. The line stretched out into the concourse both days. It was always 60-70 people long and never seemed to shrink. Someone bringing in one book to be signed was rare. Most brought at least two. Some brought five, six, 11, 36 at a time.
I decided to jump in and do whatever I could to help speed up the line. For over 16 hours over those two days I opened over 1,100 books to the title page, asked each person in line who they wanted their book personalized to, wrote the names on post-it notes and then handed them to Coach and Buster to sign.
I had the easy job.
From 11:30 a.m. to almost 9:30 p.m. on Friday and 5 p.m. to midnight on Saturday, Coach and Buster wrote a personalized note in each and every book. Coach’s notes were in cursive writing, usually 3-4 sentences in length. Every note was different. If he knew the person in line the note was very personal in nature. If he didn’t know the person in line he asked enough questions until he could get an angle for his note. Then he signed his name.
What he did next was unprecedented at any book signing I’ve ever attended or read about. Under his name, Coach wrote out four scripture references in each and every book.
Four.
James 4:10
Luke 14:11
James 3:13
Ecclestiastes 5:19-20
Throughout the two days I picked up little pieces of the puzzle as to why he picked those four verses.
“If we humble ourselves, God will lift us up,” said Coach. “If we do His job for Him, He’ll do ours for us.”
Coach made it clear that he had written the four references in the order he had written them on purpose.
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” – James 4:10
“For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” – Luke 14:11
“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” – James 3:13
“Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.” – Ecclesiastes 5:19-20
Coach has every reason to be bitter, to withdraw and basically give up who he’s been for the last 65 years. The wreck, the amputated left leg, the countless follow-up surgeries, the cancer and the fatigue associated with it that forced him to leave the profession he loved would be easy scapegoats.
Instead, he continues to teach and coach – just sometimes in unplanned ways he doesn’t even realize.
Coach, thank you for helping make an eternal difference!
* If you’d like to send Coach Meyer a note of encouragement, his email address is meyerd@northern.edu. He will be speaking at a men’s prayer breakfast at Brentwood Hills Church of Christ in Nashville next Saturday, January 8 at 7 a.m. To RSVP for that event, please call 615-832-2541. He is also scheduled to conduct a seminar on leadership on Tuesday, September 6th in Nashville. For more information on that event, please email meyerleadership@gmail.com.
Happy New Year!
Brent
Brent High
615-566-6023 mobile
brent@brenthigh.com
My friend Jeff Hunter taught me how to read the Braves box scores in the Tennessean newspaper. I started collecting baseball cards and was a regular at E-Gad’s Baseball Card Shop at Harding Mall in Nashville. Dale Murphy, two-time MVP outfielder for the Braves, was my hero. Multiple Murph posters were tacked up in my room including my favorite entitled “Power Alley”. I collected over 200 different Dale Murphy baseball cards, often trading away much more “valuable” cards to acquire a Murph card I didn’t have. I kept a scrapbook of every picture and mention of the Murph I could find.
Family trips and church youth group outings introduced me to Atlanta’s Fulton County Stadium, home of the Braves. Most of the time the Braves lost and there weren’t many folks there to see it. One game I remember in particular was a game against the San Diego Padres. Rick Mahler was pitching for the Braves, Eric Show for the Padres. There couldn’t have been more than 4,000 people there to see it. I think just about everyone in our group got a foul ball that day. I always tried to get autographs from Braves players but never succeeded. We always got there too late. One time we did get there early enough to get autographs from some of the Houston Astros who were getting off their bus. Some guy named Nolan Ryan signed a 1985 Topps card for me that I traded later on that night for a Jose Canseco rookie card.
I was a Braves fan long before their run of 14-straight divisional titles. The Braves averaged only 65 wins per season from 1985-1990, finishing the last year of that span in last place. My first Braves heroes weren’t Chipper Jones, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz , Andruw Jones and Greg Maddux. They were Dale Murphy, Glenn Hubbard, Claudell Washington, Rafael Ramirez, Bob Horner and Bruce Benedict.
My second start against St. Xavier out of Illinois came at the end of a long Spring Break trip in Daytona Beach, Florida. We had used up all of our pitchers that week and so it was up to me to log some innings. I had never thrown any harder than I did that day. I was still throwing in the upper 80’s in the 8th inning. Only later did I learn that I had thrown 133 pitches in the game – probably 50 more than I should have in my second start of the young season. When I woke up the next morning my arm was toast. I couldn’t brush my teeth or comb my hair without excruciating pain in my shoulder. I had surgery to repair a torn labrum muscle in my shoulder and tried to make a comeback, but my 90 mph heater had been replaced by a 74 mph batting practice delight. I was cut from the team in the fall of 1994. I cried like a baby. My dream was shattered.
About an hour before the game I was asked to make my way to the field with my wife Emily and our public relations director, Matt Toy. CBS Evening News and Gospel Music Channel wanted to interview me before the game. After waiting in the seats behind the Braves dugout for several minutes we were asked to sit in the Braves dugout while we waited for the reporters to finish interviewing Derek Schiller, the Braves senior VP of sales & marketing. We sat in the Braves dugout for more than 45 minutes – right up until game time. I chatted with Glenn Hubbard, the Braves second baseman from my childhood and current first base coach. Catcher Todd Pratt, starting pitcher Jason Shiell and shortstop Edgar Renteria all made their way past us as we waited in the dugout.
The Braves lost the game 6-1 but what happened in the two hours following the game was anything but a loss. More than 3,000 people filed into the area behind the left field wall designated for the concert – many more than we expected. It was a sultry day game on a Thursday in the middle of July against the Marlins – not exactly the most church-group friendly set of circumstances. I met John in the Braves dugout to make last second preparations. One of the Braves security guards drove John and me in a golf cart out to the stage in left field.
I served as the emcee for the event. I took time to recognize a very special friend, Russell Hendricks who was at the game with his family. The former Georgia Southern University pitcher stayed with our family one week when I was a teenager as part of an Athletes in Action tour. He taught me how to throw my 12-to-6 curve ball and was the first baseball player I’d ever seen give his personal testimony to a group of complete strangers after a game. That made a lasting impression on me.
John spoke for about 20 minutes about the importance of not having a “no-decision” when it comes to choosing Jesus as Savior. He talked about the moment in his life in 1995 when he decided to totally give his life to the Lord. I was amazed at how still and quiet a crowd of 3,000 could be for so long, even in the 95 degree heat. They hung on John’s every word and gave him a standing ovation when he was done. Aaron Shust performed his #1 hit My Savior, My God as a large percentage of the crowd sang along. The Afters followed up with a rocking end to an amazing day.
Brent High 