#181: Alabama Football Chaplain Tackles Iron Bowl, Faith in the NFL, Playing for Bear

Run The Race

We have a lot to be THANKFUL for. Thank you for listening to this podcast. Hope it inspires you and that you subscribe to "Run The Race." People will watch a lot of football before, during and after Thanksgiving feasts. This week's guest knows a lot about that sport...and faith in God! (2:58) He's the current University of Alabama football team Chaplain, who was an All-American defensive back for the Tide under Coach Bear Bryant, and went on to play 6 seasons in the NFL. My chat with Jeremiah Castille opens up with his take on the Iron Bowl, this Saturday's Bama at Auburn game, which he calls the greatest rivalry in college football! How does he think both teams will respond? And he explains why he took it "personal" the 4 Iron Bowls he played in. (8:20) We talk about what he does at practices and on game days as team chaplain, with chapel hours before every game, scripture and themes like the one this year: "A Season of Greatness." Jeremiah talks about how God uses sports like football as a tool to put your faith into practice! As he went up against bigger players often, his mantra was the scripture "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (12:12) In the 2nd grade, he told a teacher he was going to play pro football. How did he know? And hear why he encourages kids, anyone to Dream Big. And Jeremiah talks about playing for the legendary Coach Bear Bryant at Bama who he describes as a "Champion" (each of those letters comes with a certain attribute we can all take with us). (16:28) This former Bama star intentionally witnesses to his teammates with the Tampa Bay Bucs and Denver Broncos, explaining how/where he learned to share his faith, using football as a platform for spreading God's Good News, not being loud but living out his faith. It wasn't easy, as Jeremiah's mom was an alcoholic who eventually turned her life around. (23:38) Speaking of family, his legacy of faith involves 3 daughters and 3 sons, one of whom was the lead in the movie "Woodlawn" (God opening a door) and has been in a big CBS show now for 4 seasons. (28:32) He also explains how they use free football camps to invest, influence, impact and inspire the next generation through the Jeremiah Castille Foundation. Learn more: https://www.castillefoundation.org/. (31:45) We talk briefly about his favorite place in the world, Israel, (33:35) Jeremiah closes our episode in prayer, then he gives quick rundown of his current fitness routine, 30+ years since his NFL career. Thanks for listening to the #RunTheRace podcast! Also, write a quick review about it, on Apple podcasts. For more info and all past episodes, go to www.wtvm.com/podcast/.