✝️ A Life That Preaches the Gospel Louder Than Most Sermons

Good morning, my brothers! I thought I was going to a high school football game a few weeks ago. Instead, I found myself at church watching a humble giant of a man show his players, their community, and most importantly, his sons, what it meant to be a Biblical man. This article is longer than usual, but the lessons are worth your time investment. Let’s go!

This week: 5-minute, 58-second read

BIBLICAL MANHOOD
The Quiet Strength of a Biblical Man

Some men lead with volume. Others lead with vision. But the rarest kind of leader, the kind that changes young men’s lives for decades, leads with quiet strength, consistent love, and unshakable conviction. A true Biblical man.

I’m blessed to know a man who exemplifies those traits, and his name is Kevin Motsinger, or “Coach Mot” to the hundreds of young men who have gone through his high school football programs over the years.

If you’d ever had the pleasure of watching him coach at James Kenan, New Hanover High School, or in his current role as the head coach at Wallace-Rose Hill, you know the presence he carries. He’s not a chest-thumping, headline-chasing coach. He’s a shepherd. A teacher. A man whose faith shows up not just in his words but in how he loves, corrects, and carries his team. In a world desperate for examples of biblical manhood, Coach Mot stands out as one of the clearest I’ve ever witnessed.

Hold Your End of the Rope - The Power of Brotherhood

Ask any player who’s gone through a season with Coach Mot, and they’ll tell you about the rope. It’s a story that has become the backbone of his program and his life. It speaks to true brotherhood.

He tells his players about legendary LSU baseball coach Skip Bertman, who taught his team the importance of holding their end of the rope. “Lean back,” Coach Bertman told them, “I’ll never let you fall. I’ll always hold my end of the rope. How about you?”

Coach Mot uses that same imagery to teach his players and every man he mentors that faith, brotherhood, and accountability are what keep us standing when life pulls hard. That’s when we’re tested and we’ll see if we hold our end of the rope.

“Our model? Jesus Himself. He always holds His end of the rope,” he reminds them. “We’re the ones who let go.”

The beauty of his teaching is that it isn’t just about football; it’s about life through a biblical lens. Always a biblical lens.  

In a generation that’s losing its grip on truth, Coach Mot challenges young men to hold tight to God, to their brothers, to their commitments.

“Brotherhood is built Monday through Thursday. Friday nights just reveal it.”

How Are You Going Out? - Finishing the Right Way

Painted on the wall of New Hanover High School's locker room years ago were five simple words: How Are You Going Out?

Those words became a rallying cry for Coach Mot’s teams. He’d remind them every season: it’s not about where you start but where you finish. Freshmen full of promise can waste it. Seniors with grit can redeem it. The question is, how are you going out?

For his players, it’s about growing stronger, wiser, and more faithful through the process. But for Coach Mot, that phrase became deeply personal. In 2015, at the peak of his coaching career, he made a decision that stunned many in the football world. He walked away.

At 73–43 as the head coach of the vaunted New Hanover Wildcats, he was one of the most respected coaches in the state.

He resigned at the end of the season to prioritize his family. He said simply, “Family first is not a slogan—it’s a decision I keep making.”

He chose his wife and sons over the spotlight. In doing so, he preached a sermon louder than any microphone could carry. He knew his legacy would be defined by the way he loved God and his family.

That’s biblical manhood: leading your home before you lead anyone else. Scripture makes it plain in 1 Timothy 3:5: “If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?”

Coach Mot finished that season well, not because of a trophy, but because of commitment. Because of love. Because of priorities.

And the Lord honored it. Two years later, when he returned to the sidelines at Wallace-Rose Hill, he won the state championship in his very first season back. God’s favor follows faithfulness.

Control What You Can - The Choices That Define a Man

“Choose this day whom you will serve… but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” – Joshua 24:15

In his classroom and on the field, Coach Mot teaches one of the most liberating lessons a man can learn: You don’t control where you start, but you do control how you finish.

He tells his students, “You didn’t choose your parents. You didn’t choose where you were born. But you do choose the kind of father you’ll be, the kind of husband you’ll become, the kind of man you’ll stand as.”

Then he drives it home with an example every high schooler understands:
“If you’re sitting with a C in class and you’re okay with that, then keep doing what you’re doing.

But if you’re not okay with it, you’d better start doing something different.”

It’s simple. It’s powerful. It’s the gospel applied to growth.

Coach Mot understands that authentic manhood isn’t about controlling the scoreboard; it’s about mastering your own response to life. That’s why James 1:22 echoes through everything he teaches: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

Love That Demands Your Best - Discipline as Devotion

Love isn’t soft in Coach Mot’s world; it’s strong enough to demand more.

A few weeks ago, I was in awe of him as I watched him on the sidelines as his Bulldogs won 73–0. You might expect smiles and celebration. Instead, he was frustrated. Why? Because he saw a lack of effort in the second half.

He wasn’t angry; he was loving. He expected more because he knew his guys could deliver more. Not on the scoreboard, but in effort, a standard of excellence that a biblical man calls others to. Not perfection, but effort.

His 8^th-grade son was a ballboy that night for his dad’s team. In the middle of the game, I looked down from the sidelines, and there they were, hugging each other as the game went on. It was a sight I will never forget.

A dad letting his son know that there was no one in the world he loved more. Effort. Excellence.

That’s the paradox of biblical love: it holds high standards because it values the soul. And yet, biblical love never forgets what’s truly important.

He loves his players enough to expect their best. Whether it’s the kid with D-I talent or the last guy on the depth chart, every young man gets the same message: “Give your best every day. I’ll be proud of you, win or lose.”

Coach Mot doesn’t flinch from confrontation, but his correction comes from love. His toughness builds trust.

Strength in Suffering - Faith in the Middle of the Storm

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13

In 2018, when Hurricane Florence devastated southeastern North Carolina, the Wallace-Rose Hill Bulldogs weren’t just a football team; they became a lifeline.

Coach Mot turned the athletic facilities into a hub for food and necessities, relief, and prayer. He stopped practice to intercede for hurting families. Some of his players lost their homes. Many didn’t know where their next meal was coming from.

Kevin Motsinger was there for every one of them, whether it be an encouraging word, or money for food, or gas to get to school.

He lived what he preached. “I’ve always treated the kids like I’d want somebody to treat my kids,” he said.

But his leadership didn’t stop when the field lights went out. His own family was displaced, too. The only home they could find to rent was two and a half hours away. He decided to drive that distance every day so he could lay his head on the pillow next to his wife and sons each night.

“I’m going to lay my head down where my family is. Period,” he said.

That’s biblical endurance. It’s the kind of strength that refuses to compartmentalize faith, family, and work. It’s the picture of Psalm 1:3 - a man “like a tree planted by streams of water,” whose roots hold strong no matter what the storm brings.

Legacy That Speaks for Itself - Fruit That Lasts

Years after leaving high school, his players still speak his name with respect and gratitude. One of them recently posted online:

“That’s legacy. Not because of wins, but because of witness. Not because of trophies, but because of truth lived out.

His players don’t just remember the plays; they remember the man who prayed with them, pushed them, and pointed them toward something eternal.

Jesus said in John 15:16, “I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.”

That’s Coach Mot’s story. His fruit isn’t temporary. It’s generational.

He doesn’t need a platform. He has a purpose.

He doesn’t chase applause. He’s after obedience.

He doesn’t talk about leadership. He lives it, one “Mot Talk” at a time.

In a world full of noise, he teaches through presence.

In a culture that rewards shortcuts, he honors endurance.

And in a generation desperate for examples, he shows what it looks like to be a biblical man: quiet, humble, strong, and steady, reflecting the love of the Savior to all he comes in contact with.

Reflection Questions for This Week

1. Where in your life are you being called to “hold your end of the rope” more faithfully?

2. When it comes to your family, work, and faith, how are you “going out”? Are you finishing well?

3. What area of your life requires you to take back responsibility instead of blaming circumstances?

4. Who do you need to love enough to challenge toward excellence, the way Coach Mot loves his players?

5. How are you anchoring your strength in Christ, not yourself, during the storms of life?

-Will

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