Tony Dungy, coach of the Super Bowl-champion Indianapolis Colts, addressed the Southern Baptist Pastors’ Conference June 9 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.
Tony DungyDungy told the crowd that winning the Super Bowl and writing his book, “Quiet Strength,” not only helped him affect the lives of athletes and fostered conversations with many people across the country, it also made him “realize how vital you all are, how vital our mission is to reach our world.”
He also said he has grown more attuned to the search that engages many of America’s young people: “They are looking, and they want to find it in all that the things our society calls exciting.” Yet, “they’re still searching for what we know is fulfilling, and that’s the relationship with Christ. And I think that’s the message that we have to continue to deliver in a lot of different ways.”
Dungy compared the Pastors’ Conference to the Colts’ training camp, saying he was “excited that you’re getting those batteries charged and getting ready” for the mission ahead.
“We’re all on the same team,” Dungy said. “We’re going to work for the Lord, and Christ is going to honor what you do.”
Dungy thanked Southern Baptists for coming to Indianapolis, “but more than anything I want to thank you for what you’re going to do, going back to your homes and being on that mission field for the Lord.”
Dungy’s pastor, Ken Whitten of the Tampa-area Idlewild Baptist Church, introduced the coach. “Let me tell you, if you ever get the opportunity to be senior pastor of an NFL coach, you just pray that God lets you be the pastor to a man, and a family, like Tony Dungy,” Whitten said.
Dungy will direct recreation for Idlewild’s Vacation Bible School this summer, Whitten said.
“I want you to know (Dungy) is the real deal,” Whitten said, adding that Dungy “won the Super Bowl because he is a super man, and he is a champion.”