Good Friday’s tornado gave a special poignancy to Thursday’s annual Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast.
Prayers of thanks went out to the community’s special responders, while other speakers asked for help and peace for storm victims.
The banquet area at Stones River Country Club was packed with business leaders, officials and volunteers who have worked in response to the storms, but when asked to stand in recognition of their efforts, they quietly refused.
Sponsored by the Murfreesboro Breakfast and Noon Rotary Clubs, the event benefited Greenhouse Ministries, which has served as a clearinghouse for tornado relief efforts. More than 200 attended the event.
Alan Lowry, Tennessee Titans Special Teams coach, was guest speaker.
Lowry, who carried the “Music City Miracle” play around in his back pocket for 18 years, told how a series of tragedies turned his life around.
As a collegiate athlete, Lowry felt confident and in control. He was a quarterback and defensive back at the University of Texas and was MVP of the Cotton Bowl.
“Then within five years, I lost my Dad to a blood clot, I lost my football career to an injury and I lost my Mom to leukemia,” he said.
Lowry was a coach at the University of Wyoming when he received word of his mother’s illness. It was at her bedside that he developed his philosophy of life.
“Mom convinced me to live by faith and turn control of my life to God,” he said.
It’s a day-by-day, moment-by-moment commitment, Lowry explained.
God didn’t promise everything would be perfect, he continued. He’s been fired twice, nearly three times, suffered on the staff of an 1-15 NFL team, suffered a heart attack and triple bypass surgery.
“I’ve had some good times and some bad times,” he said, but the bad times usually led to something positive.
He met his wife of 31 years, a nurse by profession, in his mother’s hospital room. His football injury led to him being the youngest coach ever hired by Dallas Cowboy’s Tom Landry. He got fired, but then hired by the San Francisco 49’rs, which won the Super Bowl that same year.
Then on the staff of the Tennessee Titans, he was nearly fired as receivers’ coach, but instead was placed in charge of special teams. That was the same season of the “Music City Miracle” and the Titan’s Super Bowl appearance.
NFL teams look at four points when assembling a team and that those same qualities hold up well in any work place.
• Communication: “You need a line of communication from top to bottom. It’s got to be based on the truth and it has to be trustworthy,” he said.
• Contribution: “Everyone has a role and you have to be accountable even under pressure.”
• Chemistry: “Everyone has to cooperate with mutual respect. You don’t have to like everybody, but you have to treat them with respect.”
• Commitment: “Everyone should have the same goals with the same level of commitment,” Lowry said.
The Titans also expect players to use ASK as a guideline. It’s short for “attitude,” “skills” and “knowledge.”
Players need a positive, willing to work attitude. They need to constantly work to improve their skills.
“When I was with the 49’rs, Jerry Rice instead of taking a knee and watching practice worked every day to polish his skills,” he said.
Knowledge is equally important, Lowry said. “When Steve McNair arrived from Alcorn State, he wasn’t ready to be an NFL quarterback.”
But McNair worked hard both on and off-season to improve his knowledge of the game and ended up as one of the most knowledgeable quarterbacks in the game, he said.
Delivering prayers at the breakfast were:
Chris Truelove, Special Kids, Dr. Gloria Bonner, MTSU education department, Trustee Teb Batey, businessman Andy Womack and Steffron James, U.S. Air Force retired.
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