MajGen Gary Brito, commanding general of the Army post at Fort Benning, recently hosted former NFL players Buddy Curry and Bobby Butler for the well-attended National Day of Prayer event:

[MajGen] Brito…introduced the speakers, citing them as “leaders of character and faith.”…

In the locker room, [Bobby Butler] was surrounded by quarterbacks Steve Bartkowski, Mike Moroski and June Jones, all of whom were strongly religious and proselytized the rookie Butler. Eventually Butler relented to the three and became more spiritual.

“I thank God for my time in Atlanta,” said Butler.

On the team, Butler soon became the preacher:

Initially, he preached in enthusiasm, which his younger teammates greeted with the same wary skepticism he himself had expressed earlier.

“But I kept the course, and then I learned how to be a witness,” said Butler. “You don’t always have to voice loud, just be a light, an example. And then the next thing you know, you’ll get phone calls in the middle of the night, asking you to pray for them about situations. … The next day they’ll still kick at you like you’re a preacher in the locker room…

Curry also had a message to send about resilience:

“You guys are training young men and women when they go through crisis. There is one way to go for true peace and true salvation, and a peace that passes all understanding.”

Their story is fascinating an well worth the read.

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