That’s the spirit
Baptist pastor leads outreach to football team
Editor’s note:
OReligion Editor chinton@oklahoman.com
This story is part of an ongoing series — “Friday Night Rites” — about Cherokee Hills Baptist Church’s adoption of the Putnam City High School football team.
n Sunday mornings, the Rev. Mike Keahbone may be found in the pulpit of his Oklahoma City church, but on many Thursday and Friday nights, the preacher may be seen walking along the sidelines of the football field at Putnam City Stadium.
One might say Keahbone is one of the Putnam City High School football team’s super fans, but he’s more than that. The Southern Baptist pastor serves as the team’s chaplain and his
congregation at Cherokee Hills Baptist Church, 5700 NW 63, has “adopted” the football players.
“The Church is known nowadays more for what we’re against,” he said. “I want to show people what we are for. I want to show that we love people.”
Keahbone’s church members embraced his idea of creating a fan club outreach for the local football team and they have wholeheartedly supported the effort.
Angela Scruggs, the church’s energetic fan club coordinator, said Keahbone has led by example.
“He gave us a challenge that in 2017, we wanted to be a (church) ‘body engaged’ — a church really reaching out to our community,” Scruggs said.
“I think he’s gone above and beyond by being there in the thick of things with the team, on the sidelines, in the locker room, praying with them, having them in his home, investing in them. Seeing it all come together, just warms my heart.”
‘Flashback to my childhood’
Right before the 2016 football season began, Keahbone was told that some of the players on the Putnam City Pirates team had no one coming to the games to support them on a consistent basis.
“I said, ‘no way’,” he said, recalling the conversation.
Keahbone, 45, was disheartened to hear that there were players who looked up into the stadium stands only to find no one from the family there to cheer them on.
The scenario hit close to home.
It made the preacher think back on his own years as a high school offensive lineman who had to face the idea that his family wasn’t going to show up for his games.
“It broke my heart. It made me flashback to my childhood and how I felt and I don’t want other kids to feel how I felt,” he said. “When I was growing up, I didn’t have a dad in my life and my mom was an alcoholic and she didn’t come to my games. She did come on senior night but that was about it. You get used to it, but it hurt.”
Keahbone said he and his congregation decided to do two things: attend the home football games to cheer on the players and give them a pat on the back after they gave their all on the field.
That first year, the church learned that most of the parents that weren’t coming to the games weren’t doing so out of disinterest. Keahbone said some of them were single mothers working several jobs that prevented them from attending games. For some others, the ticket cost was prohibitive when they had to shell out money to get themselves and the players’ siblings into the games week after week.
“My initial thought going in was that there were parents who didn’t want to be there but that wasn’t what we found at all. We found that there were good parents just trying to make ends meet,” he said.
Keahbone said the church reached out to the school and obtained some season passes to give to some of the families that weren’t attending games because money was an issue. Also, some of the church members have given rides to families who simply needed transportation to away games.
This football season, when Keahbone was asked to be the team’s chaplain, the church adopted the entire team, not just the players whose families couldn’t come out on game nights. Keahbone said one family opted out of participating, and the church accepted that and moved on to support the players and families who welcomed the church fan club.
“We’ve been put in a position where we can help families when they need help, so we’re going to do that,” he said.
An encouraging word
The Pirates offensive linemen have been gathering with Keahbone and the team’s offensive line coach Ryan Sully for an informal meal each Sunday evening this football season.
Keahbone has earned the players’ respect and built a camaraderie with them over the previous season and the current one. At a recent cookout at the home of Cherokee Hills Baptist Church members Bill and Jane Pickelsimer, Keahbone was met with cheerful greetings from the players when he arrived.
Keahbone shared a scripture with the players as they gathered on the Pickelsimers’ patio to eat hamburgers with all the fixings. The pastor welcomed the Pirates’ quarterback, junior A.J. Newsome, to the gathering for the first time and had Newsome and another player help him demonstrate how easy it is to be swayed by someone headed down the wrong path if one is not careful.
“It’s a whole lot easier for somebody to pull you down than for you to pull them up, so if you are around someone who is constantly making bad decisions, you’re going to make bad decisions,” Keahbone said. “You can’t soar like eagles if you’re hanging around with turkeys. That’s something I want you to think about.”
Keahbone, his wife Jennifer and their three children have hosted the group in their home on occasion and the players met the preacher for pancakes at a local restaurant once. Other times, church members like the Pickelsimers provide a meal and a place where they can relax and talk informally.
The players said they appreciate Keahbone and his church members providing them meals and giving them a place to hang out together.
“It keeps us together mentally. It helps us bond — not just on the field. We’re the tightest group. We always work together,” said senior Jose Arriola, 17.
Junior Hunter Little, 16, said they have welcomed Keahbone’s encouragement.
“He’s awesome. He keeps us together,” Little said.
Coach Sully said gathering the group of about nine players for some off-thefield time has paid off in more ways than one.
“I’ve never had a position group that has been so tight and it’s absolutely reflected in our continued progressive success on the field,” he said.
That Keahbone and his church members host the group in their homes each week “is a blessing.”
Keahbone said he and his church members are happy that they’ve been allowed to show that they care.
“I’m thankful that the community is letting us love on them.”