Home 
A good spokesman is sometimes hard to come by. Just ask the Fargo Police Department. In late 2010, they asked Craig Bohl, coach of the North Dakota State University football team, to be a spokesman for a 30-second radio spot to promote a safe driving campaign. Coach Bohl happily agreed to help Fargo’s finest.
There was just one problem. Ummm…make that 18 problems.
Yep, Coach Bohl had been ticketed at least 18 times in that area since becoming the head coach in 2003.
In fact, in the three years immediately prior to the radio campaign, Bohl had collected 10 separate speeding tickets. Additionally, Coach Bohl received five different citations in just four traffic stops in 2010 alone. His most egregious violation was doing 95mph in a 70mph zone.
Chief Keith Ternes, who claimed to be unaware of the coach’s record, was more than a little worried about the revelation of Bohl’s violations and the impact they would have on the effectiveness of the campaign. “It certainly does take away from the message when the messenger might be somebody we’re trying to reach,” said Ternes.
Well, if the Fargo Police Department can use Coach Bohl to help persuade drivers to slow down, maybe it’s not so much of a stretch to think Jesus can use us to reach those who do not know Him yet. Listen to what the Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17-21.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
It’s a good thing Jesus doesn’t hold our record against us!
Click here for the online report. (The website offers a list of Coach Bohl’s actual traffic violations.)
Topics Illustrated Include:
Ambassador
Coach
Football
Hypocrisy
Law
Mission
Police
Sports
Traffic
(Resource cataloged by David R Smith)
