This past Sunday evening First Baptist Church of Woodstock (Ga) had a special screening of the phenomenal new movie Woodlawn.
Woodlawn tells the inspirational true story of Tony Nathan, a gifted African-American running back who attended Woodlawn High School and its head coach Tandy Gerelds, in the racially-divided city of Birmingham during the school’s first year of integration.
It is the incredible story of how Jesus Christ can change a human life, a school and bring a community together. DO NOT MISS THIS MOVIE!!!
I want to thank Keith Boggs of Real Momentum for giving us access to this film. It you want to see the men in your community affected for Christ or get more information on getting local sports team in your community to a showing, click HERE to connect with Keith and learn more about his ministry.
The following are 29 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From Woodlawn The Movie:
- Great Leaders Believe In Miracles – “If you would have asked me in 1973 if I believed in miracles I would have said absolutely not.” – Woodlawn HS Coach Tandy Gerelds played by Nic Bishop Coach Gerelds is a living miracle.
- Great Leaders Are Brave And Take Great Risks – On September 12, 1970 and amid much controversy, Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant invited USC’s fully integrated team to play for the first time in Birmingham.
- Leaders Value Accomplishment – “If wanting to win is a crime, I plead guilty.” – Coach Bryant played by Jon Voight.
- Great Leaders Cross Racial Boundaries – Coach Bryant shook Sam “Bam” Cunningham’s hand after losing to what you described as a “worthy opponent”.
- When You’re Winning Nothing Hurts – “Winning fixes just about everything. Doesn’t it.” – Woodlawn HS Coach Tandy Gerelds played by Nic Bishop
- Great Leaders Always Encounter Great Obstacles – Team chaplain Hank, played by Sean Astin, failed in his initial attempt to build a relationship with Coach Gerelds
- Great Leaders Are Persistence Leaders – Once Hank finally spoke to the team, over 40 players gave their life to Jesus Christ.
- Great Leaders Change Things To The Way They Should Be – “100% without fail it doesn’t have to be this way.” – Hank.
- Great Leaders Care About Their Teams – “I care about each and everyone of you. I care about what you’ve seen. I care about what you’ve been through. I care about your pain. So does God.” – Hank
- Great Leaders Call For Great Commitment – “I’m asking you to choose Jesus. Can you do that? Will you do that? Right now.” – Hank
- Not Everyone Will Believe In Jesus Christ – The entire team was led to Christ during Hank’s initial meeting with the team except three people.
- There Is A Birth Of A Vision, A Death Of A Vision, And A Re-Birth Of A Vision – “Before you can have new dreams in this life the old ones have to be taken away from you.” – Hank
- Great Leaders Give People A Vision For Their Lives – “There’s something special about you.” – Hank to Tony Nathan played by Caleb Castille
- Great Leaders Call People To A Higher Purpose – “When you play for yourself, you can be great. When you play for something higher than yourself, that’s when something extraordinary can happen. God has a purpose for all of us and it is not insignificant…God wants you to be a superstar.” – Hank
- Pain can be beneficial. It causes us to change. Losing forced Coach Gerelds to play Nathan.
- Parents Protect Their Children – “What church do you go to? No girl better think of marrying my Tony without going to church.” – Louise Nathan, Tony’s mom when meeting his girlfriend Johnnie who later became his wife.
- The Power Of The Influence Of Fathers – The movie provided a stark contrast between two fathers. Tony Nathan’s father was a picture of perspective and had an understanding of the big picture. He was also a Godly man with an understanding of He could use his son. On the other hand, Tony’s girlfriend’s father called her “trash”.
- Facts Are A Leader’s Friend. Trust Your Eyes. – “I only believe what I can see.” – Coach Gerelds. To which his assistant coach replied, “Well, you better start looking around.”
- Great Leaders Are Not Passive. They Take Immediate Action – “I want whatever my players have. I came here today because I believe. I believe and I want to be baptized.” – Coach Gerelds
- Great Leaders Have Great Courage And Conviction – Nathan rightfully refused to have his picture taken with Governor George Wallace because of his overt racist stances.
- Great Leaders Are Color-Blind – “I don’t have white players or black players. I have football players.” – Coach Bryant
- Great Leaders Use Their Influence For Invoke Positive Change – Coach Bryant understood his role as the most powerful man in Alabama. He used his influence to recruit African-American players and integrate the school.
- Fathers Give Their Children Direction And Intentionality – “Some kind of great power has been given to you son.” – Nathan’s dad
- Jesus Christ Brings People Together – Because the majority of both team’s players accepted Jesus Christ, the two leading schools, Woodlawn and Banks, participated in a joint summer camp.
- Great Leaders Mold People – “The idea of molding men means a lot to me.” – Coach Bryant
- Great Leaders Give People Hope – “We’re a symbol. We give them hope.” – Nathan to opposing quarterback Jeff Rutledge
- “This is what happens when God shows up.” – Hank looking at thousands who showed up for a high school prayer rally.
- Every Life Has Significance – “My life is not insignificant. My life matters.” – Hank
- You Can’t Stop What Jesus Wants Done – When the school board shut off the PA system during the Lord’s Prayer, the crowd continued.
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