Posted on 10/13/2002 7:05:17 AM PDT by rhema
Imagine going to work for a church college and having to tone down the God talk.
Chris Meidt couldn't imagine it, so he hasn't.
His former employer, Bethel College in Arden Hills, expected faculty and students to lead Christ-centered lives, and to wear those beliefs on their sleeves.
His new school, St. Olaf College in Northfield, is avowedly Lutheran. But unlike Bethel, St. Olaf doesn't require its faculty or students — or football coaches — to sign statements of commitment to Jesus Christ.
No matter. It wasn't school policy that drove Meidt to live his life for the Lord or led him to pray for his players.
"It's a heart thing, not a rule thing,'' said Meidt, in his first season as head football coach at St. Olaf, following seven seasons as an assistant at Bethel, where he also played.
He frequently tells his players that he loves them, but that he won't beat his faith over their heads. Look instead, he says, at how he acts and talks.
"That's not St. Olaf-driven, not president-driven, not alumni-driven — it's Christ-driven,'' Meidt says.
Meidt believes he is a good fit at a school trying to balance academics, athletics and Christianity, something akin to juggling three footballs.
"The school is all about combining academic excellence and a clear grounding in the Christian Gospel,'' St. Olaf President Christopher Thomforde said. "It seemed to me Chris 'got' St. Olaf quickly. He immediately understood what that was all about.''
That resonated with Thomforde, a graduate of Princeton University who made the cover of Sports Illustrated as a Tigers basketball player in 1967. He later earned degrees in divinity and ministry.
"Faith is very important to us,'' Thomforde said. "It is part of the air we breathe at St. Olaf.
"As opposed to a value-added item, where faith formation is an option like power windows or air conditioning in a car, it's not an option for us.''
It was never an option for Meidt, who graduated from Minneota High School in 1988 as an all-state quarterback with a handful of national passing records and an ACT score of 31 and went packing for Bethel.
"The reason I chose Bethel back then certainly wasn't football,'' said Meidt, 33. "Bethel may have been the worst Division III program in the country then. I chose Bethel because of its commitment to a strong, evangelical Christian faith.''
New coaches later brought Bethel success in football, but the school never wavered in promoting itself as a Christ-centered college.
"We used that as a foundation of aggressive recruiting,'' said Meidt, who went back to his college alma mater as a coach in 1995. "Instead of saying we're like everyone else, we said, 'We're different than everyone else.' "
As coach and chief football recruiter at St. Olaf, Meidt is carving out a different niche, in a Minnesota small-college conference that includes Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist and Baptist schools, as well as those that are largely secular.
"Bethel is a wonderful place. The covenant you sign says you believe in Jesus Christ, that he is the foundation of your life.
"At St. Olaf, kids have a lot more choices to make. At Bethel, a lot are made for them by going there. At St. Olaf, we're saying we're going to recruit the top students in the nation, have strong programs for them athletically, and have a spiritual core that if students seek that out, they can find it.''
They don't have to look far if they're on the football team.
As midterm exams and midseason aches set in, Meidt began practice Tuesday by stressing "focus.'' It was a big week for Meidt, whose Oles will play his former team today at Bethel.
"When they start to founder a little bit, I ask them about their foundation,'' he said. "If you have a relationship with Jesus, he's laid out the plan. It's not your will, but his.
"Some believe me, some don't believe me, and some don't know what I'm talking about.''
Brian Senske, a junior quarterback from Apple Valley, said except for some required courses, there wasn't as much emphasis on religion as he expected going to St. Olaf.
"But Coach Meidt has picked up the intensity,'' Senske said. "There are higher expectations. A lot of us expected he would integrate the religion stuff, coming from Bethel. But he's done a pretty good job not forcing it.''
Matt Willis, a junior defensive back from Des Moines, Iowa, said few players were surprised by Meidt's focus on faith, but they weren't sure they liked it.
"But after a while you start to believe,'' Willis said. "He's got that inspirational side. He's truly made me believe.''
Willis said Meidt is like a father figure, on and off the field.
At practice, 5-year-old Alexander, one of Meidt's three children, ran onto the field between plays, bursting through both the defensive and offensive lines to jump into his dad's arms.
"Alex is my little kid,'' Meidt said. "These guys are my 70 big kids. Every morning I pray for wisdom and compassion for these guys.
"I tell them they have to work. It's not that weenie Christian thing, 'The Lord will provide.' They have to work, and I have to work my 100 hours a week.
"But as long as I am obedient to God's call, I'm OK.''
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