IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS:
FAITHFUL LIVES
TEACHING AND TRAINING OTHERS
Coach Lyle Darnell and
Mrs. Lou Darnell have
lived faithful lives
inspiring and challenging who-knows-how-many
young people to understand
IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS.
Colossians 3:17 ESV
And whatever you do,
in word or deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.
How Do You Recognize Greatness?
How do you recognize greatness?
How do you look at a life well-lived
and measure the good they have
done and have said
and measure the impact they’ve had?
How do you logically pause
and decide? Do you listen
to those who know them?
Do you ask some of the players
he coached? Do you ask some of the
the students she taught?
Do you consider
the achievements they’ve made, what games
and championships they have won?
Do you look at the careers of
students they taught?
Possibly, possibly
not; perhaps there’s a measure
that goes deeper, that’s better by
far—what has our Lord
done in their hearts and their lives? How
has His Spirit changed people for
the growth of God’s Kingdom
triumphant?
Great people will give you this answer:
”Don’t look at me, look at Jesus.”
Don’t give me your thanks,
just praise Jesus.”
With a long-time, faithful
marriage and a lifetime
filled with serving students,
maintaining a clear and
consistent Christian witness—
that is a definition for greatness!
Where do I begin talking about life-long servants in God’s Kingdom who continue to encourage and uplift God’s people when many folks might be content to sit back and take it easy after giving multiple decades of outstanding service in coaching and teaching? Let me first of all share with you what Jan Bailey, one of the Darnell’s daughters, said to me as she kindly shared lots of detailed information about her parents for this post. She made it clear that for her Dad the number of victories and championships related to his coaching career, take second place to his desire to be recognized for his Christian character exemplified throughout his many years devoted to coaching. For Coach and Mrs. Darnell, life has clearly been ALL ABOUT JESUS.
I really enjoy coming into our church for morning worship after Sunday School classes. Almost every Sunday I see Mrs. Darnell making the rounds among those gathering for the service, loving on everyone she talks to, smiling and laughing and asking about family members—in a word, mothering and lifting up as many folks as she can get to—she almost always ends up having to return to her seat as the worship team begins the first praise song. These days, Coach Darnell welcomes folks who approach him from all over the sanctuary to greet him and receive his thumbs up, his smile, his good and hearty words of encouragement, along with good-natured jokes about some of those who have been coached by him. As you can see, both Darnells know how to make every person feel valued and appreciated.
Coach and Mrs. Darnell
always enjoy time with
their family.
Now, all of us who know them definitely admire their successful coaching career. Any coach worth his title will agree, coaching is family business. The whole family gets caught up with the intensity of the mania that is high school football in Alabama. Having won a state championship, county titles and who-knows how many games over the years, Coach and Mrs. Darnell deserve a lot of respect. Over the years, I understand from Jan and Kelly, their daughters, who supported the cause as cheerleaders at Glencoe; that coaching took the family from Glencoe as an assistant coach, to Clay County High school, to Hanceville, to Emma Samson, to Siluria, and finally back to Glencoe as Head Coach in 1968. Coach and Mrs. Darnell decided to make Glencoe the home where they would plant their family, so that both Jan and Kelly were able to graduate there. After that, Coach Darnell continued his renowned coaching career at other north Alabama schools.
A distinguished looking couple
reflect a devoted and
distinguished career.
For years, Mrs Darnell served as the director of the upper elementary school-age children in Sunday School. She has also served as chairperson of the Benevolence Committee, and even now still continues her personal ministry of visitation and encouragement. While my own mother spent several years in assisted living, Mrs. Darnell was one of her most frequent and certainly one of her favorite visitors. I still remember being asked by the Darnells to teach a sixth-grade boys class in Sunday School while I was a senior at Glencoe. This proved to be a great opportunity for me as I was exploring God’s call on my life as a teacher.
Coach Darnell’s arrival at Glencoe continued and developed a desire on the part of the entire school community to work toward excellence in football, in all sports, in band and in every aspect of the school. His high expectations and his insistence on discipline and effort influenced all of us as students to seek the very best, and never to settle for anything less—and as he lived, himself, to do so with clear Christian character. I am reminded of Colossians 3:17 (ESV):
And whatever you do,
in word or deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Coach Darnell led by his own example, and demanded from his teams, and from all of us students, that we work for excellence in all we did, and to do so in a manner that reflected well on our Lord Jesus.
Always teaching!
Always coaching!
He and Mrs. Darnell’s daughters, Jan and Kelly, testify that former players and students continue to express their gratitude for all that Coach and Mrs. Darnell did for them as they coached and taught and encouraged and demanded the best from them. What a powerful way to invest their lives in focusing on solid achievements in a godly manner. Jan expressed it this way; “Dad has always said that he loved winning and wanted all of his players to be successful, but his priority for them was that they would become known as good Christian people.” I believe, along with many, many people, that both Coach and Mrs. Darnell, have been successful. I do not hesitate to declare that in the eyes of those who know them best, they are truly godly people who have the joy of knowing, themselves, God’s Grace, for they have given Him glory through their lives definitely characterized by greatness.
Dependable! That’s the perfect word for Coach Lyle and Mrs. Lou Darnell. Everyone in our church and throughout our Glencoe community find a sense of encouragement in knowing how they just keep on keeping on living out their lives faithfully as their testimony to the goodness of God in the person of Christ. Join me in praising God for such lives.
IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS!!!
