All too often in my life I have found myself feeling alone and left in a place where I deeply desire community with other believers in my daily life. After graduating from Liberty University and moving to a new state, my greatest prayer was that I would come across Christian community with other like-minded individuals in my new city. God did not hesitate to answer this prayer! After becoming a USG member last year, I have been overjoyed to meet many Jesus-following sport professionals who have a similar mission as myself – to use the game of basketball as an avenue to reach people for Christ. The network that USG has connected me with shows me that I am not alone in this fight of being a Christian in the sports industry. Last week, with the help of USG, I was blessed to be sent to New Orleans, Louisiana for the NABC Coaches Convention. I was overwhelmed by the blessing it was to experience a weekend of relationship building, professional development, and spiritual growth. Growing up a college basketball fan, the spectacle that is the Final Four always captivated my attention. The buildup that is generated throughout the month of March, all being culminated into a single weekend of fandom and excitement stirs up a childlike joy in the hearts of fans from every corner of the country. Now I find myself walking the halls of the largest NCAA coach’s convention, seeing the faces of coaches and players I have admired my entire life. This time, not as a fan, but a fellow coach. My natural response in this moment was to reflect on the blessing the Lord has given me of pursuing the opportunity of being a college basketball coach. Without the mission of USG, I would not have had the chance to participate in such an experience as this. I left the weekend with a great sense of appreciation of what God has done in my life and the purpose that has been set on my heart to live for Him in the environment I have been placed. After feeling rejuvenated and aligned with this mission, I leave this once-in-a-lifetime experience with deep friendships, a clearly defined purpose, and unforgettable memories.

My weekend at the WBCA Final Four coaches’ convention was a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget. I did not go into the weekend expecting anything, I just went and embraced every opportunity and tried to live in every moment. With it being my first experience, it unfolded in a way that I could not have imagined. I met so many different coaches from many different teams from all over the country from every level of collegiate basketball. I connected with a lot of great individuals and learned from some of the nation’s greatest coaches and former players. I loved every on-court session that I attended that was presented to us. I also enjoyed the roundtable talks along with the knowledge we gained from well-known speakers. One of my favorite parts of the convention was the FCA service that we went to on Sunday morning which was followed by a Kay Yow breakfast event. The message from the service was fantastic and the Kay Yow event was special as well. I am already looking forward to going next year in Dallas. My experience was great, but I was not used to the weather in Minnesota. It was cold for me, but it is was something new to go along with my overall experience. I saw things in the city of Minneapolis that I have never seen before. Overall, my weekend with the WBCA and being with USG was one for the books. I most certainly saw God working a lot in my life during my weekend in Minneapolis. A year ago, I would not have imagined myself in the position I am in today. I also thank USG for allowing me to have that opportunity and to help me get there. My knowledge has grown, and I learned so much from that one weekend, and I will never forget for as long as I live.

In this episode of the Uncommon Podcast, Noah Weiss and former Ministry Operations & Events Manager for Uncommon Sports Group, Seth Ralston, sit down to discuss the NABC Convention in New Orleans and the WBCA Convention in Minneapolis, as well as the Easter holiday and their reflections on the resurrection of Christ. A new episode of the Uncommon Podcast is released every two weeks. You can find it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, right here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out this week's episode, and be sure to follow our podcast to get alerts when new episodes are released! Curious about Uncommon Sports Group and what our ministry has to offer? Contact us to learn more here! Do you want to join the largest community of future Christian leaders of the college and pro sport industry? Apply to join here!

It was exactly one year ago to the day that I returned from a three-month sabbatical. USG’s Board of Directors graciously afforded me the opportunity from late January until early April of 2021 to spend 10 weeks completely “off the grid” in Cartagena, Colombia. It was 10 full weeks of zero social media, zero work-related email, zero Netflix, etc. I turned off my phone completely, and the only communication I had with the “outside world” was through a weekly check-in with a coach, and my parents. Below is my journal entry to God from April 8th, 2021 as I concluded that time of solitude chronicling some of the things I was most grateful for, along with my three biggest takeaways from the sabbatical. “Father, I conclude my time in Colombia today GRATEFUL. This sabbatical has not gone like I expected in terms of 'productiveness', but it has been everything I have needed. I am grateful for: How You have revealed Your goodness to me. How You have revealed Your desire for Union with me. How You have reiterated You are the fulfillment of the Scriptures to me Revealing my identity as CHOSEN. Chosen by You. Not by any merit, but Chosen nonetheless. Chosen to have the makeup that I have. Chosen to start MOAM and now lead USG. Chosen to be Simon's uncle. Chosen to be Jenny, Liz, and Nick's brother. Chosen to have a passion for Significance. Chosen to be single at 31 so that I might experience 2.5 months of complete solitude with You. Chosen to fear You, and greatly desire to honor You. Chosen. Chosen. Chosen. The incredible experiences You have provided me these last 10 years of my life. 10 years ago, I could have never predicted or dreamed that You would lead me into all that You have led me into.. Virginia Tech, Auburn, Starting MOAM, leading me to Grace Church, incredible mentors. I cannot even imagine what You are capable of leading me into in these next ten years. The friends and family I have awaiting me back in Minnesota. The reality that there is nothing I need to earn or prove here on earth. I am completely free and eternally secure. There is literally nothing that can happen to me here on earth outside of Your perfect plan. Even if I am killed suddenly, it means I get to be with You. I have the privilege of giving up that which I cannot keep for that which I cannot lose. The joy and peace Your Spirit continues to renew inside of me. Even though I was definitely burnt out going into this sabbatical, I never lost joy and peace in the work You have continued to allow me to do. You have given me so much victory over depression & anxiety. The ways You continuously draw me near to You. The hope I have to find a spouse (UPDATE: met my now fiancé’ approximately two months later). The growing desire I am experiencing to read Your Word and learn more about You. The good health of my loved ones. The top three faith items I will takeaway from my time in Colombia are: 1) Your goodness. I've long found it easy to worship You because of Your 'grandness', in recent years especially, but You have revealed the neglect I've often had towards Your goodness. Subconsciously, I would admit my notion of You would frequently be that You are disappointed in me, and that I am in debt to You. The following items helped me truly comprehend in an entirely new way how Your goodness has always been true. The way You describe Your own character in Ex. 34:6 "The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, "Yahweh, Yahweh, a God merciful & gracious, slow to anger, & abounding in steadfast love, and faithfulness," Seeing how You so often respond to the cries of Your people with such patience, gentleness, and compassion. Especially in Nu. 11 & 14:20, 2 Kgs. 20. The revealing of Yourself as 'gentle & lowly' in Mt 11:29 Slow to anger. Patient. Gentle. Lowly. Words I have long been too slow to equate with You. 2) How much You desire UNION with me. I was made for Union with You. To walk step by step with Your Spirit that is IN ME. Mk 16:20 - as the disciples went out, "..the Lord worked WITH them.." Your invite in Mt 11:28-30 - .."take my yoke upon you.." hitch yourself to ME & walk with ME! 3) You are the fulfillment of the Scriptures! I have enjoyed the opportunity to press into really deep questions and challenges like how and why would a good God allow hell to exist, how does Jesus dying equal salvation for me, etc. I have found answers for many items, but ultimately my finite mind will never fully comprehend how, and why God does all that He does. But in Your grace, You have at least made extremely clear in the Bible that Jesus' life, death, and resurrection is the fulfillment of the Scriptures. Jesus accomplished exactly what You said must, and will happen. And the fulfillment of these Scriptures equaling salvation is something Jesus Himself makes crystal clear (esp in Lk 24:44-49).

Have you ever questioned why the God of the Bible, who is all-powerful and all-good, would allow evil and suffering into the world He created? You are certainly not alone in asking this question. In this episode of the Uncommon Podcast, Christian apologist and the Founder of Embrace the Truth Ministries, Abdu Murray, unpacks the Biblical response to this question and the deeper meaning behind human suffering. A new episode of the Uncommon Podcast is released every two weeks. You can find it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, right here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out this week's episode, and be sure to follow our podcast to get alerts when new episodes are released! Curious about Uncommon Sports Group and what our ministry has to offer? Contact us to learn more here! Do you want to join the largest community of future Christian leaders of the college and pro sport industry? Apply to join here!

Uncommon Sports Group (USG) had the pleasure of attending the 1st annual Professional Football Equipment Managers Society (PFEMS) Trade Show in West Palm Beach, Florida March 19th-20th. These meetings were held in advance of the annual NFL Owners’ Meetings. The weekend event kicked off with a Members & Vendors Reception at Copper Blues Pub & Kitchen on Saturday evening. This social event was sponsored by Xtech, Riddell, Dragon Seats, and USG’s longtime partner Texon. Sunday’s tradeshow included 40 football equipment vendors, and was attended by over 100 NFL Equipment Managers. USG is thankful to have nearly 90% of NFL teams supporting our Clean Out For A Cause® program that helps fund all of our programs and scholarships. Additionally, USG has had several NFL Equipment Managers participate in our USG Academy and/or Weekly Equipment Manager Book Studies hosted by USG’s Director of Donor Relations, Josh Meyer and University of Michigan Assistant Equipment Manager, Jalen Stone.

The post-modern era has brought about various challenges in the church, but none have been as pervasive and damaging as progressive Christianity. In this episode of the Uncommon Podcast, Christian apologist and author of the book Another Gospel, Alisa Childers, shares her experience with progressive Christianity, what it is, and the negative impacts it is having in churches across the world. A new episode of the Uncommon Podcast is released every two weeks. You can find it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, right here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out this week's episode, and be sure to follow our podcast to get alerts when new episodes are released! Curious about Uncommon Sports Group and what our ministry has to offer? Contact us to learn more here! Do you want to join the largest community of future Christian leaders of the college and pro sport industry? Apply to join here!

From the moment I first made a connection with USG, then Managers on a Mission at the time, I knew this was something special. The initial call I had with Seth was so rich, he was not only interested to learn more about me personally and professionally, but specifically about my spiritual journey and growth. He connected me with Mikey, who he thought would be able to better understand more closely my career aspirations as well as my background being an international student. I must admit I'm thankful for that. Mikey has been such a big help for me as a friend and brother in Christ. He has called, texted, emailed to check in, catch up, and just see how he could help, even if it was to just pray. For that, I am more than grateful. His genuineness is evident in all that he does in speech and deed. He goes above and beyond to make sure that I am good whenever we speak and almost always has a new resource or connection for me to tap into each time we talk. His commitment to being a servant of the kingdom shines through his personality and it often challenges me to be a better Christian. I remember specifically during my USG experience in Minnesota when we did our outreach mission. The passion in his prayers and his willingness to sacrifice and make time to "seek and save" was so profound.

One of the first questions I usually get asked from students is “How do I get started in the sports industry?”. As I’ve worked with more and more students, I think I’ve come to understand why students have such a difficult time getting started. For many, the sports industry is limited to their local professional sports team or perhaps even to a very specific role like General Manager or Agent. If your idea of starting in sports is running the Phoenix Suns like your personal fantasy basketball team, you’re going to struggle. It’s here that I often share how I got started in sports. My undergraduate degree is in Finance. It may come as a surprise to you that I’ve never had a finance internship. The reason for this is that I chose Finance as a major when I was 17 and didn’t really know what Finance was. All I knew was that it had the highest paying graduate salaries. As I trudged through my junior year of classes, I realized I didn’t want to work in Finance. I didn’t want to sell insurance, cold-call prospective clients, or work 80 hours a week in New York, Chicago or San Francisco, the major financial hubs of the US. Fortunately, I was also a part of the Business School Council and we held monthly meetings with professionals on campus. At one of these meetings, the women’s basketball coach, Charli Turner-Thorne, gave the best 15-minute speech I’d ever heard on leadership and developing a team. I sent her a poorly phrased email early the next morning letting her know how much I enjoyed her talk and that if she needed any help, from cleaning lockers to mailing out letters, I’d be happy to help. To my surprise, I got a response within the hour inviting me down to come and meet one of the assistant coaches. And that’s how I got started working in sports. To my surprise, they needed tall guys to help their team improve. I became a women’s basketball men’s practice player. It wasn’t glamourous. It wasn’t GM of the Suns. But it was something I was super excited about and ended up doing for three years. It’s during those three years that I was able to separate myself from others that volunteered their time. I never missed a practice. I was always willing to help before or after practice with extra drills. I even volunteered to pass out t-shirts during a game when they were short staffed. And I managed to do it all with a huge smile on my face because I believed in the organization and the coaching staff. If you’re reading this, you’ve likely already decided that you want to work in sports. That’s great. In fact, you are one step further ahead than I was at your same age. What I’d ask for you to do next is think about why you want to work in sports. Many times, students want to work in sports because they love sports. Their favorite memories are watching the game with their dad, hitting the game winning home run or maybe even just the thrill of competing and camaraderie is what draws you to sports. Those are all great things, but they aren’t why you should work in sports. In fact, playing sports, loving sports and working in sports are very different things. The reasons I’ve given for working in sports aren’t much different than wanting to be a Finance major because it pays the most and I like spending money. In fact, if you go into a job interview and say you want job X because you love team Y, I’m going to guess you won’t get the position. You’ll get the position when you start to take the approach of, I love this organization, I love the vision you’ve sent, and I will do anything you need to help bring that vision to fruition. So how do you get started working in sports? Think about the teams, the leagues, the organizations that are most in need of help. Everyone wants to work for football or basketball but not many are willing to take an elbow to the face and come back the next day with a beaming smile. Think about what jobs you’d be fired up to go to each day. It’s those jobs that will get you started and more importantly keep you going in the world of sports. I end my story by talking about my next job in sports. I spent three years helping the women’s basketball team and not once did I ask them what they could do for me. In fact, about a month before graduation, Charli asked me what I was doing when I graduated. That’s, by the way, a really painful question when you have absolutely nothing lined up. To my surprise, Charli offered to call the Director of the Sports Business MBA program on my behalf and set up an interview for me the next day. In that interview, Ray Artigue, former CMO of the Suns and Director of the program said, “Charli says you are fantastic”. Sheepishly I said, “I’m sure she says that about everyone”. His reply has stuck with me to this day. “I’ve never heard her say that about anyone”. As you can imagine, that’s not the type of thing you typically hear in an interview. And that’s how you get where you want to go in sports and in life. It’s an incredibly small community built on recommendations and relationships. How do you get started in sports? Easy. Go do something with full and complete passion and let the next steps take care of themselves. If that means working for a small D2 team, fine. If that means long commutes or extra time making things work, ok. It requires faith and perseverance but if you are in the right spot and enjoying what you are doing, the difficult times, the elbows to the face, will fly by and you’ll love every minute of it.

When we hear the word ministry, our minds jump to thinking of pastors, missionaries, and other church leaders. The common misconception is that only these individuals are truly serving in ministry. In this episode of the Uncommon Podcast, the Assistant Director of Sports Ministry at Baylor University's George W. Truett Seminary, Paul Putz, challenges this narrative and encourages sport industry professionals that it is not only possible to do ministry in the sport industry, but necessary. A new episode of the Uncommon Podcast is released every two weeks. You can find it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, right here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out this week's episode, and be sure to follow our podcast to get alerts when new episodes are released! Curious about Uncommon Sports Group and what our ministry has to offer? Contact us to learn more here! Do you want to join the largest community of future Christian leaders of the college and pro sport industry? Apply to join here!

Change is inevitable in life. The difference is some are planned and others are not. For six years, I was the Director of Equipment Services for the Houston Texans. I worked very hard to get to that position and life was good. In all, I was with the Texans for 13 years. I had become close with the owner and his family. Two years prior, I had been told that I was a model employee. I met with my Supervisor during the bye week of the 2020 season and he told me that me and my staff should be put on contracts and see salary increases because of how good of a job we were doing. However, I am a very self-aware person and I picked up on signals from my Supervisor that told me his actions weren't matching his words. I stayed up at nights thinking my dreams were about to be taken away. So, I started praying to God for guidance. He told me to eliminate any debt that I had so finances wouldn't be a burden. I was in the process of fulfilling a dream of purchasing my mom a house. He told me to continue. Eight days after closing on my mom's house, we were all informed that we were being let go and they were going in a different direction. A lot of emotions went through my head as I was being told this. But I looked the guy in his eyes and I said Good Luck and walked away from an organization that I poured so much into. I was hurt. I sacrificed so much for the organization for so long. Immediately, I was thinking about my next employment opportunity. Then God spoke to me. He said "Remember all the things you've wanted to do but you didn't have time?" Luckily, I was on contract and was given severance. So why rush into another opportunity? Let's take a year off and recalibrate. So I listened to God and for the last year, I have been doing just that and it's been the best thing to happen to me. Here are some things that have helped me during this unexpected transition: HAVE FAITH True faith is having no fear of the unknown. Faith is key to everything I do in my life. Being a life-long Christian, I put everything in God's hands and trust that HE has control. It doesn't hurt that my track record with God is pretty good as well. Everytime there has been a change in my life, God has elevated the next opportunity. We can be disobedient sometimes. So when an unplanned change happens, it is God forcing change. I'm a very loyal person. The truth is I was unhappy with my past situation and was contemplating moving on. Knowing me, I would have stayed there and endured the anguish because of my loyalty. God did me a favor and got me out of there with some financial cushion. Walk by faith and not by sight! Your mental health will be so much better when you live by those words. People say I'm always positive but the truth is I have faith. SUPPLEMENTAL INCOMES One thing that I learned over the years is that you don't have to make a lot of money to invest in the stock market or other endeavours. God blessed me financially enough where I was able to take a percentage of my monthly income and put it into the stock market. I met with a financial advisor and we set a plan for each month. Basically my money was working for me and required none of my time. However, I didn't just stop with that. I opened up two accounts with the firm that allowed me to manage one on my own - basically daytrading. During the pandemic, I capitalized on this with significant gains. My job didn't require as much of my time because we were on lockdown. So I spent most of my time studying pharmaceutical companies that I believe would be on the forefront of vaccines and it paid off. Now I have financial ammo if I ever need it. This also helps take a lot of stress off your shoulders because you are not worried about finances. FIND A HOBBY I always tell people to not let their job title or job define the person you are. Your job can be your passion but do not let it be your life. There is a huge difference. Passion is something you enjoy and love. If it is your life, you can't live without it and when it is taken away it could lead to some serious mental health issues. That is why I think it is important to find a hobby outside of your profession. Over the years, I picked up the game of golf. I love golf for many reasons. Some of my close friends were met on the golf course and we have traveled playing many different courses around the country. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to master the game of golf. It is very humbling. You think you have it figured it out and the next day you feel like you have never played it before. Golf has been important to me during this transition. I have been able to reach my goal of breaking 80. Something I thought I would never do because I was always busy. I play four rounds a week minimum if weather permits. It allows me to remain competitive and it takes my mind off negative things. For me, golf is a battle against myself. I have played 40 different golf courses throughout the country since I’ve been let go. I also enjoy live music. I was able to go to Red Rocks Amphitheatre and see a concert. I also attended Rolling Loud in Miami. All these events occur during times I wouldn't have been able to attend because of football. TRAVEL I love to travel. My job required a lot of travel. I never got to enjoy it because we were on a mission to win a ballgame. I had a lot of stress on me because road games are a lot of work for the Equipment Manager. You have to account for every scenario that pops up and you need a solution to it. "We didn't bring it" is not an acceptable answer. Being an Equipment Manager in the NFL, you miss out on a lot of things. Holidays and important life events of loved ones are a few to name. So when I got let go, I made the decision to take a year off to travel and enjoy life. The very next day after I got fired I was hunting in south Texas. Five days later, I was in Miami on a plane to Brazil. I spent nine days in Brazil and absolutely loved the experience. When you travel, you get to experience other cultures and gain a greater appreciation of God's creations. Two weeks after I got back from there, I was in Scottsdale playing golf and in Lake Tahoe visiting friends. I spent a month in Miami golfing in the region. I also went to Myrtle Beach and did a lot of golfing. This helps to take your mind off of not having a job and allows you to enjoy the freedom of not being on someone else's schedule. RECONNECT WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS The greatest benefit of being off this football season has been being able to reconnect with my family and friends that I haven't seen in years. One disadvantage of working in the NFL is that you miss all the Fall holidays. I was able to be with my family for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Something I haven't done in 20 years. I was able to be home for my Mom's 77th birthday in October. Truth is we don't know how many more of these we will get in life so I'm grateful that God gave me this opportunity. I have young nieces and nephews who didn't really get to see me as much except a couple of times a year. They actually know who I am! I was able to see my college roommates coach my high school football team to a win. I haven't been able to see my high school play a game in so long and it was even more special that my friends are the head coach and offensive coordinator. Trust me that you will find out who your real friends are when you are no longer in a position that can help them. There are perks to being "friends" with a person with a high profile job. I was able to attend my sister's wedding on New Year's Eve in Memphis. I grew up most of my life not knowing my father. In 2010, my brother found me on Facebook and we have connected since then. However, I had other siblings I have never met. I was able to meet them at the wedding. So when things happen to you in life that are perceived as "negative", always remember that God has a plan and always knows what is best for you. Truth is you might discover that you don't want to go back to that previous occupation and find something more conducive to your current new way of life. God bless!

“I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar, about which I tell you in advance - as I told you before - that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control.” Galatians 5:16-23a The more we abide in God’s word, the more we can sense the Spirit’s work in our lives. It’s easy to act in opposing ways to the Spirit and respond in our fleshly ways when we are not spending as much time reading the Bible, praying, or in fellowship with other Christians. These verses are convincing and encouraging. They paint a black and white picture of how life looks when we live full of the Holy Spirit vs when we live influenced by the world and our human desires. The desires of the flesh are all selfish and deserving of punishment under the law, thankfully our gracious Savior Jesus Christ came and died on the cross for all those sins and took on the penalty of the law for all humanity. This does not give us freedom to give in to these desires, it gives us grace when we do. As we grow deeper in our relationship with the Lord, the desires of our hearts change and we begin to look more like Christ and we take on His characteristics, or fruit of the Spirit, in verses 22-23a. “Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:23b I think this is the most powerful sentence in this passage. There are so many laws, regulations, and consequences for selfish actions and following the desires of the flesh. But there is no law, or in other words, there is freedom when we live in full fellowship with Jesus and bear the fruit of the Spirit in our lives as a witness to Him. When we experience the fullness of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, that’s when we experience the fullness of God, who He is, and who He created us to be. As sport industry professionals there are many unique challenges, temptations and fleshly traps that are easy to fall into. What fleshly things do you find yourself desiring and being tempted to follow - status, money, success, wins, etc.? What fruit of the Spirit seems most lacking in your life right now? As the Lord to give you strength to deny your fleshly desires and pray the fruit of the Spirit over yourself