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Location:
6425 Jefferson Rd. For
directions, click here.
by
Jonathan S. Adams Coach
Richt was the keynote speaker June 17,
2003 at a barbecue dinner in Athens
sponsored by the North Georgia United
Methodist Men, during the annual
session of the North Georgia Annual
Conference. Richt
said he and his wife, Katharyn, felt
God's hand in their move to
Athens.
Five
years earlier, he had turned down an
opportunity to become the head coach at
a major eastern school. "I wasn't ready
to be the head coach anywhere and I
knew that. [But] I think that
God was telling me, 'You better get
prepared because this is going to
happen.'" In
late 2000, when the offer came from
UGA, "We knew in our spirit that this
was the place to come. I'm just so
thankful we are here," Richt
said. Turning
to the topic of leadership, Coach Richt
pointed to the story of Moses and the
burning bush. "Moses tried to lead his
own way and... blew it. He ended up
killing somebody, got scared, and ran
away... and hid. [But] for 40
years [God prepared him] to
come back and lead his people out of
Egypt." Though
Moses questioned his own worthiness for
the job, God said, "I will certainly be
with you." "That
is the most comforting thing," Richt
stated. "That is what should allow us
to step out on faith and do the things
that God has called us to do, because
we know that he will certainly be with
us." Even
though fear is a natural feeling,
"don't let fear be the reason you don't
do something," he urged. "If you are
scared, it's probably a good sign
because it's probably something bigger
than you are. It's something you have
to rely on God for," he
said. Every
leader will make mistakes, but the Lord
can use those mistakes to teach us.
"God is molding us into the people he
wants us to be," Richt said.
Another
deterrent to leadership is criticism,
but that goes with the territory. "If
you are in a leadership role, you are
going to be criticized.... Making
decisions is tough. When you are
sticking your neck out and you're
making decisions in the public arena,
you are going to get criticized. You
can count on it," he said. Rather
than be overly concerned about how
other people might see his actions,
Richt said he tries to put God first in
every decision he faces, noting that
the Lord is there to help him through
the difficult decisions -- and the
effects of those decisions. Mark
Richt and his family are members of
Prince Avenue Baptist Church in
Athens.
Gateway
Church gathers
for worship
Sundays
at 10:30 a.m.
(Hwy. 129) in Athens,
Georgia.
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FALL
2003
Trust
God and step out in
faith,
UGA
football coach tells Methodist
Men
for the Wesleyan Christian
Advocate
ATHENS
-- Stepping out for God means putting
aside your fears and trusting in His
leadership. So says Mark
Richt,
popular Christian speaker and head
football coach at the University of
Georgia.
'I
will be with you'
Overcoming
obstacles
Coach Richt noted that tear of failure
keeps many from taking on positions of
leadership. With that kind of attitude,
people will "never get anywhere," he
said.
Following
the dinner, Coach Richt displayed a
gracious nature and a love of people as
he posed for numerous photographs and
signed a large number of
autographs.
This article originally appeared in the
July 4, 2003 edition
of the Wesleyan
Christian
Advocate,
the newspaper of
the North and South Georgia Conferences of
the United Methodist
Church.