Winning Isn’t Everything—Jesus Is: Tony Dungy and Sam Acho
Jesus Calling: Stories of Faith
Jesus Calling
4.6 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 14 January 2021
⏱️ 39 minutes
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Summary
We live in a world where achievement is largely used as a motivator, and much of our time is spent consumed, looking for the next win—whether it be personally or professionally. It would benefit each of us to remember that in the long term, the ultimate win for us is establishing a relationship with Christ. Tony Dungy, the first African-American head coach to win an NFL Super Bowl, learned from mentors early on in his career that football wasn’t all that mattered—what mattered was the kind of man he was and the kind of men he shaped. A trailblazer, Dungy found a way to coach that aligned with his Christian values, showing the world that you can hold strong to your beliefs and find value in who Christ says you are, rather than who the world wants you to be. NFL linebacker and author Sam Acho grew up in a faith-based home, forming a relationship with God early on. But as he got more integrated in his career, Sam began to separate from his foundational values, and he suffered an identity crisis—he looked happy on the outside, but he didn’t feel it on the inside. It wasn’t until he went through a reckoning of sorts that Sam realized God believed he was worth getting to know, and when he started placing value on what really matters, things started to turn around.
Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:
Winter 2021 Jesus Calling Magazine
Jesus Calling for First Responders editions
Past interviews: Lolo Jones and Evander Holyfield
Upcoming interview: Tana Amen
NBC’s Football Night in America
Living Hope Bible Fellowship Church
Interview Quotes:
“Welcome to the National Football League. You're now getting paid to play football, so that makes it your profession. But please, please don't make football your whole life.” - Chuck Noll, to Tony Dungy
“I made a decision I was going to be different. And not everybody was ready for that.” - Tony Dungy
“You can honor the Lord and you can be openly expressive about your faith and still be excellent.” - Tony Dungy
“God takes you through things and you grow from them and then you look back and say, ‘Oh, that wasn't that big a deal.’ But at the time, it was monumental. God is giving you little trials to get you through, but you're going to keep your focus on Him.” - Tony Dungy
“Christ is so much a part of my life that if I can just help steer someone else, anyone towards Jesus, it's very important. Truth always wins. And we can't be afraid of sharing the truth.” - Tony Dungy
“We were created for relationship, we were created to love.” - Sam Acho
“You are worth getting to know. Your pains, your joys, your fears, your hurts, all of you. You're worth getting to know. Why? Because you're already fully seen, fully known and fully loved by Jesus.” - Sam Acho
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | When I got to the Steelers I was kind of shocked because growing up I was focused on I want to be a good player and now I got to the highest level of the sport and I saw all of these Christian guys on the team and that Christian walk was important to them |
| 0:18.0 | and it really kind of blew me away |
| 0:21.0 | But it made me realize that what my mom said was true. It's not what you do in life, it's how you do it and who you're doing it for. |
| 0:29.0 | And these guys were doing it for the Lord and it made a big impact on it. |
| 0:35.2 | Welcome to the Jesus Calling Podcast. |
| 0:37.6 | The world tells us we need to be winning, |
| 0:39.6 | whether it's in our careers, our hobbies, |
| 0:41.8 | or being the best parent, |
| 0:43.1 | grandparent, etc. |
| 0:44.9 | Social media is laced with the best and brightest |
| 0:47.4 | of our moments. |
| 0:48.2 | We're losing doesn't even seem like something |
| 0:50.1 | we're allowed to acknowledge. |
| 0:51.5 | One of the winningest coaches in the NFL, Coach Tony Dungy, and successful |
| 0:55.6 | NFL linebacker Sam Aucho have had their share of wins, but they also know that doesn't |
| 1:01.0 | bring them what they need most in life. Only Jesus can do that. |
| 1:07.0 | Coach Tony Dungy is known for his groundbreaking presence on the football field during his tenure, as a a player and as a coach, quietly pioneering |
| 1:14.7 | his way through a 28-year career to become one of the winningest coaches in the NFL. |
| 1:19.4 | The first coach ever to defeat all 32 NFL teams and also the first African American head coach to win a |
| 1:25.8 | Super Bowl. |
| 1:26.8 | But he is also known for holding his faith and his family first, even as he continued to collect |
| 1:31.7 | accolades and establish firsts in the game of football. |
... |
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