There’s wisdom to be learned from Lane Kiffin’s latest sideline pulpit swap

By Terry Mattingly

The John Elway era was a great time to embrace the Denver Broncos faith.

I experienced that firsthand while working as a religion-beat reporter. With the Broncos heading to the 1988 Super Bowl, I wrote a memo arguing that I should be part of the coverage team. Why? To be blunt: The Broncos were a civic religion in Colorado, inspiring levels of devotion and support that would make any senior faith leader jealous.

Editors were amused. Then the head coaches in Denver and Washington, D.C., announced that there would be a two-team prayer meeting before the Big Game. The New York Times proclaimed: "Rivals Will Pray Before They Play" and pro football's principalities and powers expressed concerns that this peaceful rite would compromise the integrity of the gridiron warfare. I covered the controversy by telephone.

The bottom line: Football and faith will always be a volatile mix.

This brings me to a faith crisis in another region in which football functions as a quasi-religion – the Southeastern Conference, which dominates Bible Belt weekends in the fall.

It's safe to say that believers at the University of Mississippi and Louisiana State University have, in recent weeks, used the Lord's Name in rather different ways when discussing coach Lane Kiffin, who has a history of quickly swapping one sideline pulpit for another.

For example, in 2010 Kiffin voluntarily jumped, after one year, from the University of Tennessee to the University of Southern California, two weeks before national signing day for recruits. The Big Orange faithful burned mattresses and jerseys while screaming at the heavens.

Now, with a national playoff looming for Ole Miss, Kiffin has jumped to nearby LSU. It's hard to find anyone, outside of the Bayou state, who believes the coach made a good-faith effort to handle this move with any sense of grace.

Thus, imagine my surprise when Baptist Press – the official source of information from the Southern Baptist Convention establishment – published a feature under this eyebrow-raising headline, "6 things pastors can learn from Lane Kiffin." It was written by Jonathan Howe, vice president for convention administration at the SBC Executive Committee.

Was this written in jest? I'm not sure, but I'm convinced many SEC fans would consider this "news you can use" feature worthy of further discussion.

For example, consider the last item in the list – which strongly suggests that pastors and other religious leaders can learn from Kiffin by studying how he handled this job swap and then heading in the opposite

direction. When reading this Baptist Press text, the word "church" is substituted in place of a football-fandom congregation.

That final word of advice: "Leave without creating unnecessary waves."

Howe stressed: "A staff member stepping into a new assignment shouldn't attempt to keep leadership control, delay their departure, or recruit people to follow them out the door. That behavior damages trust. … Instead, they should remember that their final official act is simply expressing their resignation and then trusting the church's leadership to guide the transition. In almost every instance of leaving badly, it was the person's desire to control the process as they left that caused the issues. Once you decide you're leaving, you need to realize you no longer have the authority to influence the process. Leave and leave well."

Several of Howe's other items clearly referenced elements of the latest Kiffin drama, such as advising pastors considering a move that, "Being approached isn't something to hide."

However, here's the flip side of that advice: "Quiet discernment is not dishonesty. There are moments when a pastor or staff member may explore another role privately so they can discern the Lord's will without creating unnecessary anxiety in the congregation." Well, the multi-week storm surrounding Kiffin's tango with other teams wasn't "quiet" and it certainly caused "anxiety."

Howe also advised leaders considering a move to be "transparent" in their talks with employers, since "wisdom calls for open dialogue." After all, "If a staff member has deep trust with their church leadership, sharing that another ministry has reached out can build unity instead of suspicion." In other words, do not allow your financial advisors to leak information, day after day, to the ecclesiastical equivalent of ESPN.

Here's one more relevant piece of wisdom, advising that if a leader "becomes convinced that God is calling them elsewhere, the most loving thing they can do is communicate that decision cleanly and quickly. Don't linger, don't dramatize the moment. … A healthy exit communicates gratitude, finishes well, and leaves room for the church to begin its next chapter."

And all the Kiffin critics said, "Amen."

By the way, the LSU Tigers will travel to Ole Miss next fall – the 19th of September to be precise – for a gathering that, it's safe to say, will take place in a sanctuary packed with passionate true believers. Prayers for peace should begin as soon as possible.

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Terry Mattingly is senior fellow on Communications and Culture at Saint Constantine College in Houston and is a member of the Overby Center panel of experts. He lives in Elizabethton, Tenn., and writes the national "On Religion" column for the Andrews McMeel Universal syndicate.