The Day Ric Flair Showed Me the Way
My senior year of college I was required to take a Pulpit Speech class. Basically, we took turns writing sermons and then standing in front of the class and preaching the sermons. It was a strange class that I just really could not even get into enjoying or trying. I really liked the professor and had a lot of good conversations with him outside of class. He really helped me get through school and made me realize that just because I was a pastor did not mean I had to have all the answers.
I just felt it strange to stand up in a room full of my fellow students and give them a sermon. Especially since the majority of them considered me a bit of a liberal (even though they did not really ever ask me any questions about my beliefs) and could not have cared less what I had to say. If there was ever someone who just did not quite fit it was me at that college. By the time I was a senior they lightened up on me and I decided to finish to show them I could not be beat. It was a strange relationship, me and my college, but it made me tough in ways that have kept me sane in the ministry. Anyway, I know you are wondering about how a wrestling character from my childhood and really me entire life helped me find my way through this class.
Dr. Connolly, the professor, told me one day that he just did not think my style of preaching was going to work. Now, he came up old school in Ireland and England before he came to America. He would tell stories of standing on street corners and the in the back of cars preaching the gospel to people as they walked by or stood with guns during the hard times in Ireland. He could get loud when he preached and used a lot of illustrations to get his points across during his sermons. It seemed that those who were louder and maybe more animated during sermons in class scored better all the way around. He was concerned because he knew I had the heart to be a pastor he just did not see an ability to preach within me. That was the conversation we had one day after class.
I was pretty mad, and disappointed. I did not want to fail as a pastor or to disappoint him either. I spent that weekend thinking about our conversation and wondering how in the world I pass a class like this. I had always been told to be true to who I am and not to go putting on a show to impress someone. Those words from my Great-Grandmother warred in my spirit against Dr. Connolly’s words. That was when it happened. I remembered my Saturday nights growing up in Texas. Gordon Solie would introduce World Championship Wrestling and for two hours nothing else mattered. The champ at that time was a guy named Ric Flair. I had seen him on television for years and he was exciting.
He had a mantra he used to always say when he got fired up. It went a little something like this: “I’m Ric Flair! The stylin’, profilin’, limousine riding, jet flying, kiss-stealing, wheelin’ n dealin’ son of a gun.” He would prance and dance a little while he said it and then end it with a big “Woooo”. It suddenly hit me, they do not want to hear Toby Teague give another sermon, they need to hear Ric Flair give a sermon. I was excited for class on that next Tuesday. I listened to others give their sermons and then waited to unleash the “Nature Boy” on them. I know I sound crazy at this point, but I was just trying to figure out how to get out of college. And, if Ric Flair could help me do it then it was game on.
As I waited to give my 20 minute sermon all I thought was “How would Ric Flair say this?” When I got my turn I toned Ric down a little but I acted like Jim Ross was on the mic interviewing me and though I did not give out a “Wooo” I did strut just enough. I yelled a little and profiled some and worked my way right into the class looking at me wondering who the hell was standing in front of them. Dr. Connolly even told me after class it was the best sermon he had ever heard me deliver. I just shook my head and thought about the Nature Boy and what I would owe him from now on.
To be honest Ric Flair helped me pass that class and eventually graduate from school. I have not channeled Ric Flair for a sermon since my last one in that class. Once I got away from the experts I have found my own voice. I do not holler or prance that much, unless it is just to make a joke out of how I was “trained” to be a pastor. I remember all those stories of God speaking through people in the Bible, and yet each one had their own voice. It has been the same for me 32 years later. I am most comfortable just saying it my way and let the chips fall where they do. I’m sure Ric Flair could have filled many a stadium if he had gone that path. For me I’m content having God use my quiet ways to make a difference in a small town.
So I guess find your inspiration where you can. When you need it, let someone show you the way. Most of all we need to lean into who God made you to be. He will bless your voice if you just listen to Him and speak. Find your way to make a difference in your world. And who knows, maybe one day you’ll get a big “Woooo” also.