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During the years that he worked as a producer at ESPN, Jason Romano had a conversation with coach Tony Dungy that marked his life. So coach stops he says Jason I understand that you're a follower of Christ that's great and then he asked me the question that changes my life forever and I really mean this when I say this he says Jason how do you live your faith out in the workplace here at ESPN?
I thought there's no way I could be a Christian and live my faith out at a place that was sort of a big business secular types of setting. His assistant Jessica comes right up in front of him and she looks at me she goes you don't get it. She's like until you're called away you're to bloom where you're planted right here this is your mission field. This is family life today our hosts are Dave and Ann Wilson I'm Bob Lapine you can find us online at familylifetoday.com. We're going to talk today about how all of us can bloom where we are planted or as Dave Wilson likes to say how we can make a dent where we're sent. Stay with us. And welcome to family life today thanks for joining us. I just got to say I'm proud of you. We've got an ESPN alumnus here with us on family life today and we've been talking for a long time and you have not said cover two once.
I just I'm really proud that you have been able to. Here's what I want to know Bob do you know what cover two is? I know it has something to do with a defense right? Yeah. That's pretty good right? Yeah. That's about it as far as I can go on that. Do you know what a cover two is?
She's lived with a quarterback her whole life. Isn't it the defensive backs of what they're running? Yeah it's basically two high safeties you know in the middle of the field on the hashes. That's cover two.
It determines everything what you can run and change your routes. Anyway we're not here to talk about cover two. I shouldn't have brought it up. Now we're into past rush defense. We just lost half the audience Bob.
We did. It is fun to have somebody from ESPN. 17 years Jason Romano worked for ESPN. No longer worked for ESPN. He's at a level now we all aspire to. He's an author, he's a podcaster, he's a emcee of ministries and really we didn't mention this before but you're with Sports Spectrum.
Yeah. So Jason glad to have you here. Tell us a little bit about what you're doing these days.
I love it. First of all thanks guys for having me on your show. Yeah Sports Spectrum is the intersection of sports and faith. Faith in Jesus and Sports Spectrum is a ministry that's been around for 35 years telling these stories in the sports world but intersecting it with faith in Christ and we get to do a lot of interviews like with Dave and Ann Wilson on my show and talk about sports and faith and it's really cool. Jason how did you become passionate about that? That goes back to being a kid.
Sports. Well the faith part is later in my life. I was 27 when I began my walk with Jesus but sports was all I cared about. In many ways I tell people it was my God because I didn't have a relationship with Jesus when I was a kid. I did go to Catholic Church a little bit here and there but very rarely out of sort of obligation but Sundays were about football sometimes bowling not until I was 27 my brother Chris was headed down a really bad path and Jesus got a hold of him and he did a 180 in his life and I watched him live this new life out I thought he was crazy at first when he became a Christian I was like what's wrong with this dude he's in some sort of cult or something but I watched him for three years live out his faith and it became very attractive and I was curious I said Chris tell me what's really going on here he would kind of you know give me a little hints about Jesus and say his church and things like that but for me it was just a curiosity I was really impressed with what happened to him in his life you know my life wasn't spiraling out of control from a worldly perspective got married moved into our first house got the ESPN job so things were looking good but I saw what he had and I wanted it and he shared the gospel with me on Mother's Day 2001 in the back bedroom of his house I tell people I had no idea what I was saying yes to but my heart was open to say yes to it and that was the beginning the start of my relationship and it's been gosh almost 20 years now and I haven't reached it or gotten to wherever we want to get to but I'm just so glad that he did that because it changed my life in your work with sports spectrum has there been anybody you've interviewed where it was like that little kid could not wait to get to meet this person that you were a super fanboy for oh yeah Daryl Strawberry is the guy Daryl wrote the forward to my first book live to forgive and if you met 12 year old Jason the walls were covered with Daryl Strawberry posters the notebooks were covered with stats literally at bats to at bat to at bat of what Daryl Strawberry was doing watching WOR in New York as a kid fast forward all the way to 2009 and I'm spending the day with Daryl Strawberry at ESPN now I'm a Christian at this point but I'm not working in ministry I'm still doing my job at ESPN and Daryl comes and I wanted to spend the day with him talking about the 86 Mets we didn't talk baseball at all for eight hours we talked about Jesus we talked about faith forgiveness our parents addiction all the things that Daryl Strawberry has been through if you know anything about his story and then fast forward four or five years later six years later I'm in ministry hosting a show that I am doing and interviewing my childhood hero and we're not talking about baseball again we're talking about Jesus it's pretty crazy that is great yeah yeah so and one of the things you said about your job at ESPN is people who come in some of them heroes but obviously sports figures and leave a mark on you yeah and you just hit on one thing that I that hit me in your book the uniform of leadership about ministry you know and Tony Dungy and maybe his assistant tell us that story though cuz I don't that was a really interesting perspective to think about what is ministry what isn't ministry tell us that story that is that was a pivotal life-changing moment for me that day and I didn't know it was happening so my job at that point as ESPN I was a talent producer that was the title but in essence I was the booker I was the guy who would book the guests bring them to ESPN and then set their day up and you go through all of the different shows ESPN obviously has many many many shows like Sports Center and Mike and Mike and first take and all of these shows NFL Live that you would have seen and watched so I put a schedule together and I knew at that point that I was a follower of Christ for sure I'm eight nine years into my walk with the Lord but I always struggled with what it was like to have my faith brought to the workplace I didn't know what that meant so I always thought church on Sunday maybe life group small group middle of the week but when I went to ESPN that was my job was ESPN all that church stuff was kind of separate now I wasn't denying Christ at work but I thought it was separate but when coach Dungy comes I'm excited because I know he's a man of faith Hall of Fame coach so I knew when he was coming he was going to bring Jesus into the conversation just the way that coach is if you ever talk to coach or know anything about coach Dungy as a gentle giant but he exudes Christ who Christ is in my opinion in the way that he talks in the gentle spirit that he is so coaches here he does Mike and Mike in the morning and we find ourselves in this green room which is just a little side office but we're in this green room and we're just hanging out and his assistant Jessica is there his publisher Todd and his co-author Nathan are with him so it's four people total and those other three are all believers who I had kind of relationships with in different projects in the past so they knew that I was a Christian they had told coach Dungy that I was a Christian so coach stops right in the middle while we're hanging out in the green room that morning and he says Jason I understand you're a follower of Christ that's so cool and he didn't have to do this by the way coach Dungy does not have to stop and take an interest in me I'm just a nobody I'm just a producer at ESPN doing my job right but this is great leadership on coach Dungy's part to actually make every single person around him feel like they're worth a million dollars so he stops he says Jason I understand that you're a follower of Christ that's great and then he asked me the question that changes my life forever and I really mean this when I say this he says and nobody's ever asked me this question before he says Jason how do you live your faith out in the workplace here at ESPN if you're a Christian how does how does that work for you how do you live your faith out and I was caught off guard and so my answer was definitely not the answer he wanted I said I don't even know if I can do that coach I mean I'm at ESPN if I'm gonna live out my faith I need to go work for a sports ministry like the fellowship of Christian athletes or sports spectrum which spoiler alert I am now but at the time I wasn't thinking about that I thought there's no way I could be a Christian and live my faith out at a place like ESPN or any kind of place that was sort of a big business secular types of setting and I could sense he was not happy he's just kind of shaking his head and he was about to respond and before he could his assistant Jessica comes right up in front of him and I had known Jessica from a couple previous engagements you know in different bookings and things like that so she had the permission to be bold in this moment and she comes up with me puts her hand on her hips and she looks at me she goes you don't get it do you and I say oh my gosh Jessica what don't I get you know I'm like scared a little bit for a minute like what don't I get I don't understand what you're trying to say she's like you don't get it look where you are working you are at ESPN there are 3,000 employees on this campus that you can impact for Jesus mission field that's what she said she goes this is a mission field for you right here at ESPN she said someday you might be called away to go work in ministry and again that happened but she's like until that day happens you're in a bloom where you're planted right here this is your mission field and it was like a light bulb went on in my brain and I said oh my gosh I get it now I get it and I'll tell you what happened to me guys before that day I would say I was a ESPN producer who happened to be a husband who happened to be a dad that was really the identity that I kind of aligned with after that day now again it's all a process so it takes a little while but I realized I'm a follower of Christ first who happens to work at ESPN order is important here and that's what happened with me I went from understanding that wait a minute Jesus isn't just a piece of my life he is the centerpiece of all that I am he comes with me to ESPN and so when I go to ESPN and step in that office every single day there's an opportunity to be Jesus to someone in there I'm not Jesus I'm not saying that but a lot of the people that I came in contact with every day had no idea who Jesus is and so it was a great witnessing tool so how did what you did at ESPN change after that conversation with coach Dungy it goes back to the uniform of leadership in some ways I saw the people I worked with I saw the work that I did as a more purposeful work I saw that when I'm doing my work hopefully with excellence or the best that I can do it I'm representing Jesus I saw that when I sat down at the cafeteria in the cafeteria with one of my co-workers that I could be Jesus to them I could love them and care for them and serve them I saw that it wasn't about me anymore for many years I was focused on climbing the corporate ladder let's see if I can get that next producer job or if I can get that next level that raised that salary and between getting a really bad mid-year review which I did write about in my book as well in 2008 and then coach Dungy telling me don't forget you're to live out your faith in the workplace here at ESPN I realized it's not about me and Bob that's where I was struggling because I always thought it was about me I go into ESPN and what is ESPN going to do for me every single day well after coach Dungy and a few other things take place I realized wait a minute it's I got this whole thing backwards here my thing I was a privilege to work at this place and my job every day is to come into ESPN and say how can I serve you at ESPN not what can ESPN do for me and I mean that's obviously such a huge perspective I don't think people my church believe it when I've said this but I've said this I bet you 50 times in the last 10 years to the congregation my church that I'm jealous of you hmm because I work in the Christian world I'm a pastor I go to the office every day and I'm surrounded by Christians and it's awesome but it's boring I'm the kid but you know they're all honey they're all perfect people and you know we're all and it's great I'm not belittling at all but I think man what would it be like no you're right to walk in a workplace and be surrounded by non-christians of course most of us think oh that'd be horrible I think oh no that'd be that'd be missional like I get to be the light of Jesus in ESPN or you know a factory or a doctor a house I mean I'm not kidding I get jealous thinking what and you got that perspective like this job is bigger than just what I'm doing at ESPN it's the people that got put them around me that I'm supposed to represent tell Jason how you say it you don't say bloom where you're planted yeah bloom your planet is in your book and it's a great phrase I've always said make a dent where you're sent oh I like that here here's the thing that I like about that is we're sent to make a dent in other words you know I get it from Tommy boy that's where I first got it leave a mark and I'm like everywhere God sends you you want to leave a mark a good mark right but here's the thing that happens when I've used that at our church you know make a dent where you're sent people come up every time say hey got a question I know where you're sent you're a pastor I know where he sent he's a missionary she's a measure I don't know where I'm sent you know what the profound answer is you're sent where you are yeah and that's what Tony Dungy was telling you in a sense where you are is your calling yes now it's a little different but at that point it was ESPN and I'll never forget I did a chapel message for the Lions years ago with the three eyes of I called it the three eyes of workmanship or mission and I'll never forget it and you've just illustrated it it's like as a pro athlete everybody's watching you if you're a follower Christ I used to say guys you just came in the chapel the guys that aren't here are watching you now mm-hmm they saw you walk in this room they're watching is this gonna make any difference and I said the three eyes are this as a follower Christ you should work with an intensity that's remarkable because I used to hear coaches in the NFL say I don't want a Christian player because God's number one and the jobs not that important I was I wanted to be the guy whoa wait every coaching NFL should be saying I want a Christian player because those guys outwork everybody early Collagen's 323 yeah it's like they're they they they take their job so seriously because they're not playing for a coach they're playing above that you know what the second I was integrity mmm that your your life matches your word and people in the locker room can trust you and then the third one is what you just said intentionality mm-hmm that I'm living in a sense that this is my calling to be intentional about when God gives me opportunities at ESPN I'm gonna make him known yeah you know and that's what you discovered I don't think most of us understand that no I didn't either I mean I have been a Christian for nine years at to that point before coach Dungy asked me that question and I didn't realize wait a minute this isn't just a job that I'm going to and I enjoyed my job by the way I loved working at ESPN prior to that moment with coach Dungy and I loved it even more after because I knew I got to do a job that I enjoyed I got to work in the toy department of the world as I call it like the sports world are you kidding me but now it became more purposeful work you know and every single cuz I actually really miss them the one thing I miss about working at ESPN is the people and being around people who aren't the same as me and don't all think the same and then I'll follow any kind of religion in some cases or aren't open about it and I missed that and kind of standing out a little bit and being able to talk to them about different conversations you know I'm in ministry now too yeah and so I get like working around and I love the team I work with I really do and I wouldn't trade any of them for the world they're amazing they're not boring not at all Christians aren't boring some can be but they're not boring at all but I do miss being around others who think differently and I try to actually intentionally have conversations with a lot of people whether it's through social media or even just meeting up at different places that aren't followers of Christ to just kind of hear their perspective and talk to them and be able to witness to them the amazing thing is you're doing it now in a different way right because your broadcast your podcast is influencing non church non Christian people and that's why you do it because they are interested in sports lives and you're using that platform to say I may not be sitting in an office beside you but man we're impacting your life right now right yeah I think well it starts with where we talked earlier about putting the jersey on correctly yeah you know do you do that the first thing in the morning like okay I need to make sure as you said before that Jesus is first I'm gonna serve him before I serve myself today I try to I mean we all mess that up obviously but you know I just this past year in 2020 and thinking about discipline you know everything was kind of taken away from us in the pandemic right in terms of all that took place and quarantining and all that you know I recognized I said this is also an opportunity you know this might be horrible situation for a lot of people but this is also an opportunity to come out of this different as followers of Christ and so for me I actually tried to I get I mess up occasionally so I'm not perfect but I tried to make sure that the first 30 every every 30 minutes every morning was with him and so I would spend time listening to worship music or even just shutting down the phone and just and sometimes I'm going for walks you know and doing this but just praying spending that quiet time like that has to be now it's almost become habit formed in a good way where I have to have that time in the morning that quiet time with God and when I don't have that whether we're on vacation or things kind of get out of whack you feel it you feel that and so I think that if I'm gonna talk about being a leader and talk about especially leading in my house but also leading others or writing a book about leadership I got to be accountable to myself too so I can make sure I've got my priorities and straight yeah and one of the stories that hit me about that was you turning down the opportunity to be a producer because of how it would affect your family yeah yeah this is 2008 and you know I mentioned earlier I had a really bad mid-year review so at ESPN they give reviews they have a mid year review in the middle of the year and then at the end of the year you're either on the right track moving ahead or you know I forget the third one but it's like these these levels that they kind of qualify you at in terms of your work and they evaluate you and you sometimes get a little bit of a raise or a bump all you get 3% raise for your review or whatever that mid year review in 2008 it was scathing it was like Jason is all focused on himself he doesn't care about his teammates he's focused on the next job and not the job that he's currently working at and getting paid for I was like oh my gosh yeah it was bad it was a war it was an eye-opener was it true it was yeah yeah I mean at the time I didn't think it was I'm like no you should have told me this I was just trying to do what everybody else is doing and you know get the next job at ESPN but it was true I was so focused on Jason and wearing that uniform backwards but I will say that same year I had this opportunity you know I wrote about me and this this woman named Carol going after this manager job in the middle of 2008 and Carol was 26 at the time I was probably 34 I think and more experienced so I'm like there's no way that Carol's gonna get this job over me so I went in there with my chest out thinking I'm good here Carol got the job and you talk about humbling like that was like whoa okay so I thought I deserved this but Carol and I because we had such a great relationship as co-workers we agreed no matter who was gonna get this job that we were gonna support each other and we did and so Carol got the job I said all right I could either be the bad guy the bully here or I can just serve and be a support to you so I'm here for you however I can help however I can serve so Carol was working with me on having this potential to become a producer at ESPN and all that the title I'm talking about the title producer producer is a general term that we can all use for all the behind-the-scenes people but there's an actual title called producer one that is a level that a lot of people strive towards and I was trying to go there and I had this opportunity to become a producer one in the summer of 2008 and it was about $30,000 pay increase when you get that job it's sort of it raises up in my opinion the level of how people view you in the work that you do right so I was all set to do it and then I remember one day going in and they called it shadowing I would go in and I would shadow another producer and see what this job was gonna be like and it was like five in the afternoon till three in the morning it was Wednesday through Sunday weekends and it was not glamorous at all but it was an opportunity to get this bump in pay right in this race and I remember going in and the shadowed I thought took was one day and the next day I came in I said to Carol I said I don't think I'm gonna be a producer one she was why what's wrong I said I see what's happening here if I take this job which they didn't offer me the job actually I just assumed they were training me toward it I said but if they offer me this job and I take it I will never see my daughter in my opinion I will never see her she'll be in school during the day and on the weekends I'm working and I'm there and I said she's four years old at that point I said if I take this job there's a very good chance that I might be stuck in this job for the next five to ten years however they want me to be in this job and they control my hours I can't say yeah you know guys I need to work nine to five today Monday through Friday they're not gonna they're not gonna do that sports doesn't happen between nine to five Monday through Friday it happens nights and weekends so I made a point I made a choice and I remember going to a few of the bosses and saying listen I don't think I'm gonna continue my training to become a producer one and they said well how come I said I I can't take the chance of not being able to be around my kid and missing the next ten years of her life and they looked at me like you won't miss the neck I said you can't guarantee me that can you and they said we can't guarantee that you can work the hours that you may want to work but we'll do our best and I'm like I just can't I'm sorry I went back the next day Carol said to me what can I do for you to help your life be better so that you can be around your child it changed my life I said I can I work on the NFL but can I work Sunday through Thursday can I work seven to five during the week or eight to five and then come home at night and be with my kid and they she said yeah absolutely let's make that happen and so I didn't get the $30,000 raise but I look back now and I did not miss my kid you know I was there for her being able to be you know in the most pivotal moments of I think in her life especially when she needed a dad yeah because I didn't have a dad that was around or available and so I wanted to make sure that she had what I couldn't have and if it meant not getting a $30,000 raise increase or a job title prestige whatever you want to call it I don't regret that by the way one one iota and other people maybe do I don't know but for me I had to make that choice yeah and I'm guessing your daughter maybe maybe I'm wrong does she even know that you made that choice I don't know if she does it's weird she won't read my book but she would know she's a teenager I don't know she doesn't read anything but she would know had you made that decision and taken that job because she wouldn't have a relationship with you and leadership is all the little behind the scene decisions that literally change people's lives way to go that was a big decision it was and I look back now and I recognize you know my daughter's 16 and she's probably like whatever dad which is pretty much the response I get on everything whatever dad but I hope when she's 24 25 and we can sit down and really and she maybe gets married and has kids of her own that she sees and understands that it's these little moments and these decisions that you can make in your life that can make the difference between who knows maybe not even to being able to have a relationship with her right you know and that was big for me especially when I went through with my own dad just don't do what Dave Wilson would do and go to her and say you know you owe me $300,000 maybe she'll pay me back someday thank you for being with us these these are great leadership principles for moms dad for every one of us right oh yeah thank you thank you Jason's book again is called the uniform of leadership lessons on true success from my ESPN life we've got copies of the book available to you and our family life today Resource Center you can request your copy online at family life today calm or you can call to order 1-800 FL today is our number so again get a copy of Jason Romano's book the uniform of leadership order online at family life today calm or call to order 1-800 3 5 8 6 3 2 9 that's 1-800 F as in family L as in life and then the word today you know I wish our listeners could be here each week as we get letters here at family life from listeners get emails that folks send in people who tell us the conversation you had on this particular subject on this particular day God used that in my life in a dramatic way it was exactly what I needed to hear I've made the changes I've I've pivoted I've I was reminded of what's true I'm starting to live that out there are people whose lives are headed in a different direction today because God used family life today to interact with them and I just want to say thank you to those of you who are not only listeners to family life today but the financial supporters of this ministry those of you who may have been impacted by this ministry yourself and you want to make sure others receive the same benefit those of you who support us financially with a one-time donation or on a monthly basis as legacy partners we are so grateful for you we talked earlier this week about the issue of pornography and the the pandemic that exists in our culture around pornography Joe Rigney was our guest in his book which is called more than a battle we're making that book available as a thank-you gift this week to any of you who can support the work of family life today you can make your donation online at family life today calm or you can call 1-800 FL today to donate this book is an important book for every person to read because all of us whether we're struggling with this issue or not we're interacting with people who are and this book gives guidance on how to break free from the bondage that so many experience when it comes to pornography so again the title of the book is more than a battle it's our gift to you when you make a donation to support family life today this week and thanks in advance for that donation you can donate online at family life today calm or call 1-800 FL today and we hope you have a great weekend hope you and your family are somehow able to worship together with your local church this weekend and I hope you can join us back on Monday when we're gonna talk football again a little bit because Derwin gray who used to play in the NFL is gonna be with us he's a pastor now North Carolina he's written a book looking at what makes up the good life and it's different than what you might imagine so join us as we talk with Derwin about that on Monday I want to thank our engineer today Keith Lynch we got some help from Justin Adams this week as well on behalf of our hosts Dave and Ann Wilson I'm Bob Lapine we'll see you back next time for another edition of family life today family life today is a production of family life of Little Rock Arkansas a crew ministry help for today hope for tomorrow
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