MOUNT VERNON — Regardless of one’s station in life, famous or infamous, rich, poor or somewhere in between, at some point difficulties are going to make an appearance.
Handling those difficulties is just one reason Wendell Brown finds Tragedy into Triumph as one of his life’s callings. As a part of the “ministry” of the program, a three-night event is taking place at the R.R. Hodges Chapel and Fine Arts Center on the campus of Mount Vernon Nazarene University.
Currently, former Georgia head football coach Mark Richt is an in-studio analyst for the ACC/ESPN Network. His coaching career, which spanned 33 years (14 at Georgia), also saw him coach the Miami Hurricanes for three years.
Prior to speaking to a paced auditorium Richt spoke about his philosophies, not only on the gridiron, but in life.
“Thigs are not always going to go the way you want and there are things that are going to happen to you in life,” Richt said. “Some of those things you cannot control, but you can control how you react to them.”
The coach was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in May of 2021. His background should serve him well in this fight.
“The reason I love football is that it is tough,” Richt said. “You are guaranteed to get knocked down, but you just have to get back up.”
Richt, a devout Christian said that he believes football is good for the youth of today for several reasons.
“A lot of young people are not active, they play video games, and not really challenging themselves physically and at times I think they are missing out on what God has for them,” he said.
While there are those who question Christians being involved in a violent game such as football, the coach sees it from a different perspective.
“I see no conflict at all. I think football is the greatest team sport ever created,” Richt said. “There is so much diversity, by that I mean, each player has his job to do, no one else does it and they work together as a team.”
The Rev. Brown began the ministry with the mission to help people find their way through adversity.
“We can debate all sorts of things in this world, but you cannot debate someone’s story,” Brown said.
The stories of those who have faced difficult times is why the program exists.
Tuesday night, Riley Gaines, a 12-time all-American swimmer and the most successful female swimmer in the history of the University of Kentucky, will share her story.
On Wednesday, Michael Oher, Super Bowl champion and the inspiration behind the hit movie, The Blind Side, will complete the series.
There is no charge for attending.