Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Faith in the Zone on Fox Sports nineteen
twenty and your iHeart Radio app. We're coming from the
Donovan to Jordansen Heating and Cooling Studios. I Mike mcgivver
alongside my co host. He is the head pastor at
Brookside Baptist Church, Pastor Ken Caltoner, what's going on, Pastor.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
I'm doing great, Mike, good to Good to be with
you today.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Hey, you're the you're the top dog at Brookside right, Well,
you're the head pastor heads, you're the guy in charge.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Yeah yeah yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
So as the guy in charge, do you have an intern?
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Yeah? We have several interns, So you have one? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Well, I mean I don't have one personally. We have
one that we don't have one personally. No, No, I
have one. You have one personally, Yeah, through the McGivern agency.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Well that you know. I mean, I'm excited for you.
Speaker 4 (00:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
I pray for the mcgiver an agency.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Well, it's going to be better now that I have
this special intern and she happens to be in studio
with us. I have my own intern. You don't have anything.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
I don't have an intern personally.
Speaker 5 (01:01):
No.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Oh, we should probably talk to the deacon boy, I
would think it's the head pastor at Brookside Baptist Church.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Well, we we work our interns. I mean I can
have them come in occasionally, but no, they're not my
personal interns.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
So you're a special Michael. Doubt about it.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
I well, specially like like how much you know whatever?
We don't want to talk. I can tell you what
you said, you know earlier, when when Hunter was in
studio and you said, Hey, I thought of you the
other day. I was at a basketball game and a
foul mouth, really bad basketball coach, and that makes you
think of me. But I don't really know why.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Well that was that was worded in the wrong manner.
You know, my metaphors were getting mixed up.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
And as a head pastor, if you make mistakes, well
you're a communicator. Yeah, and maybe if you had your
own intern.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Maybe maybe he get help not make so many mistakes.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Or she let me introduce you. Not only is she
the intern for the McGivern agency. Former volleyball player at
Lake Country Lutheran, volleyball player at Wisconsin Lutheran College, she's
now coaching junior Viking program. She's one of the coaches
at Wisconsin Lutheran High School. And you and I have
known her since she was probably.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Four years old, a long time.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Absolutely, autumn, Amac, autumn. How are you today?
Speaker 6 (02:22):
I'm good, coach, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
You're welcome. And as an intern for the McGivern agent,
I drive you.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
He's your boss now, well, I prefer.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
The term vice president. I'm his first employee, you know,
second in line.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
I'm pretty sure you're the vice president.
Speaker 6 (02:39):
Vice president intern.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
And I just and I fired my secretary, So Terry McGivern,
she said, not even know as your secretary. I said,
you're still my personal assistant, but I no longer have
a secretary, but I do have an intern. I just
thought that. I thought for sure.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
You had your own.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Yeah, well you definitely on autumn will be she will
be a huge help to you, Mike.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Well, she already has been to make fun of you.
She's already she's already done extremely extremely.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Well, watch out on him.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
I got some stories girls I've heard.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Well, yeah, you understand that both Pastor and I are
big fans of your mom and dad and your family.
And let's talk a little bit about about growing up.
And you moved in the area at four. Look your
mom and Dad have done a great job with the kids.
And last night I go doing a game on nine
to twenty over at Tosa West and one of the
(03:36):
referees is your brother, Colin.
Speaker 6 (03:38):
I hope you yelled at him.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
You know. It went to halftime and you sent me
the text. He was talking to the other official and
I walked out on the floor and I said, you're
never in the right position and you need to sell
the call. And he looked at me. I said, your
sister told me to yell at you. He burst out laughing,
and the other official said, hey, hey, he's and I go, look,
I'm just playing with the boy. I've known him a
lot of time. He did a great job and yeah,
(04:02):
it's good to see that that he's I mean JB basketball.
It was a good game, up and down the floor,
and I thought he did a really good job. Hey,
let's talk a little bit about about growing up in
this area. Volleyball was always that's always been your sport.
Speaker 6 (04:17):
A little bit.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
I mean I started as a basketball player. My dad
is my coach.
Speaker 6 (04:21):
I'm sure everyone has had that experience.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
You know what, you know what I think I'm remembering
a basketball game.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
I attended.
Speaker 6 (04:29):
I know exactly what you're talking about.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Yeah, and your dad and I think Keith Fleming were
both coaching, and you and Kate were running. The other
team had the ball and you and Kate were running
down the court, and I think it was your dad
yelled wall, Yeah, she's coming, she's coming to the bucket,
and both of you looked to your outside, which made
you you were blinded to the middle of the court,
(04:53):
and the girl went right down the middle and laid
it in. I don't know that I saw your dad
throw anything, but I just.
Speaker 6 (05:00):
Saw you might have been a little right in the face, a.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Little frustration, but I thought it was one of the
more hilarious things I've seen in a basketball game. I mean,
he's warning you, guys, and you did what you needed
do You looked to see who was coming, but you
looked the wrong way and they went right down the
middle and score.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Do you know how often I wish that I could
have seen a game that Pastor Ken coach, so that
I would have stories about that, because he's got a
zillion of them, me coaching his boys, and you know,
I was going to sporting events together. I wish that
I could go watch him coach one time.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
You would love it and you you would say, man,
I want to come down and sit by you.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
I would not, And the second you went to zone,
I would just leave getting my car. I would Hey, Autumn,
let's talk a little bit about as a player, and
when you transitioned more into into volleyball, did you find
that that was that was the sport you were best at?
Speaker 6 (05:55):
Well?
Speaker 4 (05:56):
I hated volleyball when I first started playing fifth and
sixth grade. It was I mean, I was just learning everything,
so it was very new.
Speaker 6 (06:04):
Seventh grade, I had a very intense coach for me.
Speaker 4 (06:09):
Looking back now, I'm like, okay, I was a little
weak in the head, I think, but he was intense
and I decided after that. I was like, Mom, I'm
quitting volleyball. I'm a basketball girl. I hate volleyball. And
they convinced me to go back play one more year,
try it again, and I loved it. And then I
had the same conversation the next year. Just flipped, Mom,
I hate basketball and now I love volleyball.
Speaker 6 (06:30):
I'm a volleyball girl so much.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
I had to do with the coach the same post.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
Yes it was, and it was actually one of my
best friend's dads, and he was like the first coach
that I ever had that like true other than my
dad of course, that like truly believed in me. And
he was really the factor that like got me back
in the gym. He he like pursued me kind of
and was like, just try again, come back.
Speaker 6 (06:52):
To work through it.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
So he pushed you.
Speaker 6 (06:53):
Yeah he did. He was intense.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
I was just joking with my family the other day
and nothing is like running those stairs at Brickfield Christian
School well before practice.
Speaker 6 (07:01):
It you know, it sucked the wind out of you, Bud.
It was worth it.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
As a coach, I never had kids run stairs because
I never saw stairs on the basketball floor, so I just.
Speaker 6 (07:10):
Never got that you had to go to the other
side of the school.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Yeah fine, I figured out ways to get our kids
to run, but I figured the stairs. I've never seen
stairs on the basketball floor, so I'm not going to
I love the fact that you got mentally tougher, obviously,
and he continued to challenge you, and I like the
fact that you stuck with it, and the fact that
he said, no, no, come on, you're a good player,
(07:32):
just give me another shot, and you're gonna be okay,
I don't think he changed, right, it was it was
the maturity level that you changed with.
Speaker 4 (07:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (07:39):
Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (07:40):
And another factor of that is I was also joking
with my family the other day. I was always the
personality higher on the team. I was never, you know,
the best kid on the court. I was always kind
of near the middle bottom of the pack. But something
my parents really instilled in us early on as you
might not be the most athletic person in the room,
but you can always be the most hard working, you
can be the smartest, you can be the most encouraging,
positive teammate there is. So that's something that I think
(08:03):
truly is what carried me through my volleyball career. But
a lot of that started in that eighth grade year.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
How much of that messaging that you've look as coaches
and now you're a volleyball coach and pastor, I think
will agree with me. We don't come up with anything.
We steal all of it right as bad as basketball coach,
I'd go to clinics all the time and I'd steal
this part and I'd take that out of bounds plan,
and I take this you know press and this set
(08:28):
and put it all together and now it's mine. How
much of the messaging you learned from your family and
your dad and then your volleyball coach is growing up?
Have you taken to kind of build your own mission
statement as a volleyball coach.
Speaker 4 (08:42):
Yeah, I would say a lot of what I've learned
has been watching my dad. I used to watch him
coach growing up. He coached Colin all the way through
in football and basketball. So a lot of just even now,
the conversations I have with him. If I have an
issue with parents, have an issue with kids, I'm going
to my dad. But I will say a lot of
the ways that I coach now are based off of
(09:03):
the coaches I had growing up. And I definitely had
some coaches that did not treat me the way I
necessarily felt like I deserved to be treated, which was
like really shaped.
Speaker 5 (09:13):
Me to now what great lessons to be absolutely understand
that missus Keltner used to videotape our games all the time,
and your dad used to come and sit with Pastor
Ken at some of the games.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
So I can I can have you listen to some
of the things yell at mes.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
So I.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Have tho I have to tape so I can, I can, Oh, yeah,
I can, I can have you And and to the referees.
Your dad had a comment or two to referees as well.
So there's a lot of life lessons that you can
learn as my intern. And your number one job now
is to watch these videos and listen.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
First.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Yeah, and you know one thing was and your dad
and mom, you guys had they had a great impact
in our family with our four boys. And I remember
your dad Nate would always, you know, if somebody was hurt,
it would be called a w ambulance, you know.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
And then and then get up? What was it, Susie?
Was that his favorite? Sally? Oh, Sally, Sally? Get up? Sally? Yeah,
get up?
Speaker 6 (10:15):
That a couple of times.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
If I gave you a dollar for every time?
Speaker 3 (10:19):
Yeah, yeah, Sally, it was Sally.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
A part time job, our special guest for Faith in
the Zone this entire hour. She is autumn Amax. She's
a senior at Wisconsin Lutheran College, volleyball player, volleyball coach.
And now I guess the number one thing is is
an intern to the giver Agency. We've already had one meeting.
This is meeting number two. You're keeping the hours. Right, Yeah, good, good,
(10:45):
I appreciate that. What are you going to school for.
Speaker 4 (10:48):
I'm studying public relations with the minor and marketing, so
hopefully going into sports marketing media type of thing.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Well, the perfect place for you to be right now
in the studio with the microphone in front of you
and tell you so all the you know, the testimony
and the secrets and at the end, what what uniform
you'd put on, and if you could get one more game?
And and I really appreciate your time coming in again
autumn Amac, former volleyball player at Lake Country luther and
at Wisconsin luther College and now volleyball coach in our area.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Pastor, Well, you love basketball because you're wearing a Wires
basketball sweatshirt. So Wisconsin Lutheran College they're the Warriors. Yes,
I went to a game there last night, so yeah,
basketball game. I'll have to tell you about it later.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (11:31):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
And you work with the basketball team, don't I do?
Speaker 4 (11:34):
Yes, I'm I work for the athletic department, so I'll
be at the table doing sound video.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
So do you work do you work on making sure
they have refs show up to the game.
Speaker 6 (11:44):
No, that's not me, but I did hear they did that.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
They they didn't show up to the game. And I
went down and I talked to I can't think of
her name.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
I said, hey, listen, I'm not certified, but I can
come out and officiate for you if you need an official.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
But they didn't call me.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
No, they called me and actual else.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
No, he said, no, just hold off again about another
thirty minutes. I want to make sure I'm there so
I can yell at him.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
He's going to ask each kid for his testimony. If
somebody doesn't have one five files, that's pastor. I would
trust me. I would have been at that game. Heck,
I haven't had the officials in a while, but I
would have definitely been there to uh, to heckle you
for for sure, Hey, talk to me a little bit,
and maybe this part of your testimony and before we
(12:30):
get to a break and ask you to share your testimony.
Always been fairly open to be able to share your
faith in the locker, in any locker room you've been
in as a player and as a coach.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
Yeah, I mean my faith is the biggest driver for
everything I do. And I think I had a little
a little time growing up where I was maybe a
little more not insecure, but just closed off with it.
But I think now I've just become truly confident in
who i am, you know, as a woman, as a
child of God, and so it's like truly the main
driver for everything that I'm doing right now.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
So this is the entire amac family. You know, you
talk about your dad and we may you know, we
have fun and he knows we you know, we goof
around a little bit. But and I told you this,
he's much younger than I am, but he is extremely
smart and I'll go to him when it comes to
business questions all the time, and he probably gets sick
and tired of hearing from me. But he's a guy
(13:26):
that I have so much respect for because he's really
a smart person and he sees things very similar to
the way that I see them, and I appreciate him
a lot. I can tell you one quick funny story.
Pastor kenn and I've been doing faith in his own
a long time, and there was a week that he
was going to be gone, and I called your dad
(13:46):
and said, hey, what are you doing around noon on Wednesday?
And I think he thought I was just saying, hey,
do you want to go have lunch. And he said, oh,
I've got some meetings and why what's going on? And
I said, oh, I need a co host for faith
in his own I'm interviewing Turner Gil, former quarterback at Nebraska.
Nebraska you no, I'm open. I'm completely open. I'll be there.
(14:07):
He had a story about delivery newspapers outside of where
the Yeah We're Nebraska plays and the first meeting I
had with him to sell him advertising for Farmers Insurance,
he brought a Nebraska flag and a Cornhusker flag and
he said, look, I'm going to do business with you,
but you have to put this in your cubicle and
if I just show up and if it's not there,
(14:27):
I'm going to cancel all the business. That thing was
in my cubicle for like five years and he never
came and looked at it. But man, I did that
go ahead?
Speaker 4 (14:35):
You know.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
He also had a lot of fun with me being
from Oklahoma and Nebraska and if I called him, he
wouldn't answer, and his voice messaging was the call in
the nineteen seventy one game between the Oklahoma Sooners and
Nebraska number one and number two in the country, and
the call was Johnny Rogers running the puntback because he
(14:57):
knew I was gonna be yelling there was a block
in the back and they didn't call it.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
And he Nebraska fan.
Speaker 6 (15:04):
By the way, Oh yeah, that's what we say.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
She is Autumn Amac and she is. I'm telling you,
I am such a big fan of her and her family,
and I feel very blessed that she had the time
to come in today to record Faith in the Zone.
We're going to get to a break. Other side of
the break, we'll ask Autumn to share her testimony. This
is Faith in the Zone on Fox Sports nine twenty
and your iHeart Radio app. Welcome back to Faith in
(15:32):
the Zone on Fox Sports ninety twenty, your iHeart Radio App.
I Mike. We give her alongside Pastor Ken Keltner from
Brookside Baptist Church. Coming from the Donovan and Jorgans and
Heating Cooling studios. How's your furnace working, by the.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Way, Hey, it's working great, man, I mean it really,
it really is kicking out the heat. But right now,
I mean we're supposed to be fifty two, you know,
this week, so I mean it's a.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Good time for Donovan Jordanson to catch up on all
the people whose furnaces work?
Speaker 3 (15:58):
Am I need to call him and how start working
on my air conditioning?
Speaker 6 (16:02):
You do that?
Speaker 1 (16:02):
You do that? Give Scott Fisher and Barber and all
the Calvin and all the people.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
I haven't got. I haven't been able to talked to
Barb yet. You know you've told me that's so I
need to talk to, but I haven't had a chance.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
With Yeah, anytime I go into the New Berlin office,
she's like, your office is ready, like a lunch room upstairs.
They call it the mcgiverern office, New Berlin Office. So
McGivern agency in my intern who's in studio of this,
you'll be at a meeting over at Donavan Jorgenson for sure,
our special guest. She's Autumn AMAC, former volleyball player at
(16:33):
Lake Country Lutheran, at Wisconsin Lutheran, and she's now coaching
for the junior Viking program and at Wisconsin Lutheran High
School and so blessed to have her in studio with
this autumn. So our second segment is the one that
we get the most response from and the one that
I think people listen to the show for. And and
(16:53):
I can tell you that segment two is my favorite
and certainly Pastor Ken's favorite. If you'd be so kind
to share your testimony with us, Yeah, slowly.
Speaker 6 (17:01):
I have a very.
Speaker 4 (17:04):
Almost normal Sunday School testimony. I grew up at Brookside.
Actually my earliest memories are at Brookside. I was there
till almost high school, and so I got saved at Brookside,
So it's just a really special place to me. So
I was saved when I was about six years old.
It was after church on a Wednesday night. I think
it was a VBS type Sunday Sunday School kind of
(17:26):
thing on a Wednesday night, and I remember they did
at the end of the lesson, it was the close
your eyes pray and then if you have any questions
about your faith or if you want to talk to
someone you know about your need for Christ as a sinner,
raise your hand or come find someone after And I
don't really know why, I guess I just I raised
(17:47):
my hand and I was like, I need to talk
to someone. So little Autumn went and I met with
one of the one of the leaders, and that was
the first time, you know, I had the knowledge of
who Got is and he sent his son to die
for me and I am a sinner. I knew all
of that because I grew up hearing it. From the
time I was born. I was hearing the Gospel all
(18:09):
the time, and my parents were involved in the church,
so I was around it all the time.
Speaker 6 (18:13):
But that was the first time.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
That I realized, Wow, like, I need Christ as a sinner,
and I am a sinner, and there's nothing I can
do to get myself to Heaven.
Speaker 6 (18:23):
There's nothing. I am so undeserving of Christ's.
Speaker 4 (18:25):
Love, and yet he still pursues us and he died
on the cross for us. And that was that was
the moment where I was like, WHOA, Like, I need him?
So that was I really recognized that, and you know,
I prayed that like God would forgive me of my
sins and he would come into my heart, and you know,
little six year old Autumn knew it. And just from
(18:48):
that moment on, I've just seen God's faithfulness and his
goodness and his provision time and time again throughout my life.
And I think I really started getting serious about my
faith once I got to about middle school. From eighth
grade to freshman year, I went on a mission trip
to Salt Lake City, Utah. And that was the most
pivotal summer of my entire life where I was just
(19:10):
really truly realizing that I need to, you know, pursue
my faith and actively walk with the Lord and get
into my Bible and pray and all those things. And
so obviously sports has played a huge part in my
faith journey, but it's also just my parents and the
churches that I've been involved in have been just so
incredible and pushing me to just keep growing and getting
(19:32):
closer to the Lord.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
How old were you when you took that trip to
Salt Lake City.
Speaker 6 (19:37):
I would have been fourteen.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
I think it was between eighth grade and freshman year
of high school.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Wow, you know, I'm great. I loved hearing your testimony.
And many, you know, many have come to the Lord,
you know, through those who are working with kids, whether
it Brookside or other churches. But I always look back
and I think, you know, God's redempty plan, Mike is
God is a g is. He made it so simple
that children can understand what Jesus came to do and
(20:07):
that we're all sinners.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
And I came to know.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
The Lord when I was young too, autumn, and I'm
thankful for that. And I know some who have that
kind of testimony. Look at others who maybe had a
harder life and came to the Lord later in life,
and we're like, man, I just wish I had kind
of a testimony like theirs. And I think, well, you know,
that's a testimony again to your mom and dad and
making sure you're in church and teaching and master.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
I'm one of those guys, and I envy you two. Right,
I'm the guy who waited and was too stubborn and
one smart enough to figure this out. And when I
talked to Autumn about coming out of the show and
she said, look, my testimony is a little bit Sunday School,
and I go, perfect, bring that, because for me, I mean,
(20:54):
you're giving your testimony. I got tears coming down my
cheek because I envied that I wasted so much time.
And I love the fact that when I asked you,
you know, being in the locker room, you said, look,
I'm not running from this who I am. So yeah,
I'm very comfortable talking about my faith with anybody who
wants to talk to me in the locker room outside
(21:15):
the locker room, because I don't know what this is
who I am, and if they want to know about me,
that that party is going to come out.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
And even and I know I probably already know what
you're going to say on this, but you know, I
grew up in Christian High school. I went to Christian College,
and not everybody at the Christian high school was a
true believer, and not everybody at the college is a
true believer. And so I'm sure you've had opportunities even
with teammates because sports does you know, you roll the
(21:43):
ball out there and everybody comes together, especially on a
team where one and you have opportunities to you know,
actually share, you know, the decision you made even though
you were younger, about how Chris has changed your life.
Speaker 6 (21:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (21:57):
Absolutely, And I think so much of that, especially being
you know, a young kid. It started with someone maybe
got injured or they were really struggling with something at home,
and it's just something so simple as hey, can I
pray for you really quick?
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (22:09):
And that in itself just speaks volumes.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
I think, Hey, can I go back for a second.
What what about that trip to a trip to Saint
to Salt Lake City when you look back at that
summer and you said, look, that's where it That's where
it really clicked. What happened there? Do you think what
you were going through or people that you were there with,
(22:31):
or what about that trip It was such a big
part of your testimony.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
Yeah, I that was the moment where I realized that
we as Christians, you know, were made for so much
more than to just be complacent. And you know, I'm
a Christian. Great, I the best thing that could have
ever happened to me. But why would I not use
that as an opportunity or you know, use that to
share with the people around me. And it's one thing
(22:58):
to you know, accept Christ into your life and just
be like, great, I'm a Christian, But there's so much more,
you know, pursuing Christ every single day, whether it's in prayer,
reading his word, you know, getting coffee with a friend,
just talk about what the Lord is doing in your life.
Speaker 6 (23:11):
Things like that.
Speaker 4 (23:13):
That summer really was like where my eyes kind of
were open to like I can do more and I
should be doing more.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
You know. And I don't know, you know, who was
in charge of that that mission mission's trip or who
who is the one that that made you think that?
But I thank them because you're right. Look, we can
we can we can accept where I was in my life.
He met me in a very dark place. And if
and if I'm not now telling people about it, I
(23:40):
always use this metaphor. If somebody wants to truly get
to Madison and they want to get there but they
don't know how to get there? Am either a friend
or not? Am I going to give them the directions
on how to get to Madison? If if you want
to get to Heaven, I can, I can give you
the directions? Is right in the Bible, Well, it's right here.
(24:00):
It's very basic and like you Pastor, like you said,
it's so easy a child can understand it. And if
I'm not willing to give those directions to people, then
am I doing everything I can to Further's kingdom?
Speaker 2 (24:14):
Well? I think too Autumn going to Salt Lake City
is not an easy place to go. And I think
probably what also really challenged you as well. Here are
very sincere people who would say they love God and
they have been so deceived about how they can you
know what's going to happen when they when they leave
(24:35):
this earth and they die. And it's interesting to me
that Utah, the state of Utah, has the number one
teen suicides in the country, and I mean it's like
I'm trying, you know, I'm trying to get but I
just give up.
Speaker 3 (24:53):
And that's what you had to see.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
How much how different were you when you came home
from that trip to do you think?
Speaker 4 (25:02):
I think I was just feeling the true weight of
you know, what we are called to do as believers
and from you know, from that point on, my favorite
Bible verse has been the same Bible verse, which was
the one that we were you know, kind of basing
our trip around Galatians five thirteen, and it just talks
about you know, we're called the freedom, but we shouldn't
be using that freedom as opportunities for ourselves.
Speaker 6 (25:23):
But we're supposed to be serving one another.
Speaker 4 (25:25):
And that has really been the driver for me, you know,
coaching volleyball, especially just using my opportunities to serve the
people around me through love and showing Christ's love to
other people.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
Do you feel like so as coaches sometimes we don't
like calls or we get and and you know, we
are to be peculiar as Christians. And I think that
that as coaches, we have to make sure that we
understand that people are watching us a lot, and that
was a difficult part sometimes for me.
Speaker 3 (25:56):
I know, we're guilty as charge.
Speaker 1 (25:59):
Yeah, And our wives will tell us that once in
a while, won't they as coaches. Coaches wives get in
the car and say, what were you thinking you're coaching
at Calvary Baptist. You can't get technicals.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Oh, don't even go there with me. I mean, Kathy
was my holy spirit. And she would say, hey, you
and Nate and I go, why, we're just we're just
into the game, honey.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Yeah. And she would tell me, do you want me
to talk to those two gentlemen up there? And I go, yes,
our special guest for the entire hour. And if you
heard her testimony, trust me what I love. And I
don't need to talk to her about walking worthy because
she will tell you about that part of her life.
Just ask her. She is autumn amac again, former volleyball
(26:44):
player at Lake Country Lutheran High School, at Wisconsin Lutheran College.
She's now a senior at Wisconsin Lutheran. Are going to
do great things, not only in our community, but wherever
she ends up. You know that that community is going
to be benefited by her presence. And I love that
to get to a break. The other side of the
break will continue our conversation again our special guest. She
(27:05):
is autumn AMAC Wisconsin Lutheran College senior and a volleyball
coach in our area. This is Faith in the Zone
on Fox Sports nine twenty and Your iHeart Radio App.
Welcome back to Faith in His Zone on Fox Sports
ninety twenty and your iHeartRadio App. I'm Mike McGivern alongside
Pastor Ken Keltner from Brookside Baptist Church. Coming from the
(27:27):
Donovan and Jorgensen Heating and Cooling Studios, our special guest.
You know, it's interesting. First segment, we talked a lot
about her dad, Schechy segment not much because and look,
they did a great job with their family.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
Right, and he did a great job with my family too,
And you too, Mike, you were involved in that, both
of you guys.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
Well. And look the first time I met him, he
it was at a Brookside event and he said, what
do you do? And I told me. He said, we
need to you know, I needed some advertising for this
company I work for, and we set up a time.
It was a Thursday more me Wednesday night. I caught
him in the Kelner boys toilet paper in my house
and I caught him. I caught him. I thought it
(28:08):
was friends of man. I got in the car and
I chased them, and they didn't know the neighborhood. And
you went down to dead End, so I thought I
got him. I didn't know who it was. I got
out in my car and the Kelner boys got out,
and Nate got out and I looked at him. I go,
I'll see you tomorrow morning. And I just drove away
and and the Keltner boys. That was the funniest thing ever.
And then he walked in and I said, you know,
(28:30):
you got to come clean out my house. And he goes,
I'll have the Keltning boys. I go, and I already
had my son do it. I blamed them. So hey, Autumn,
when when when you talk about and I love the
fact that you can go back to that trip to
Salt Lake City. I think, look, when we talk about
about churches that believe in that part as Brooksye does,
as churches that that that you go to, that that
(28:52):
that I know that believe in in sending kids out
on the mission field and and what. But I don't
know if we talk about enough but we talk about
other great work that they do not only in our
city and in our in our country, but around the world.
But I don't know if we talk enough about the
the when these kids come back from the mission field,
(29:14):
what happened to somebody like you at the age of fourteen.
Speaker 4 (29:18):
Yeah, I think it was just such an impactful trip
for me and that like, yeah, you can go across
across the country, across the world and go share the gospel,
and that's great, and you know, we are called to
share the gospel, but it starts here with our neighbors,
with our siblings, with our friends, classmates, teammates, coaches, boyfriends,
whatever it may be.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Boyfriend hopefully boyfriend. Okay, by the way, pastor, do you
know that Arm's boyfriend plays basketball at Wisconsin Lutheran College.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
Really well, it wasn't a guy's game I was at
last night. It was a ladies game that I was at.
Oh yeah, so I.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
Did they win? Uh? No, it must have been the
referee in.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
You know, Actually, I thought those college guys did a
pretty good job. I was just kind of embarrassed for
the program that they're having to put the clock back
another ten minutes and fifteen year.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
Yeah, I wouldn't be embarrassed for the program because they
I'm telling you, I've dealt with Wisconsin Lutherin. I dealt
with their athletic department. It wasn't them. They had everything
lined up. I'm sure that there was just a miscommunication
with the officials. I would think for sure when we
talked a little earlier about being comfortable in the locker
room and being comfortable outside, have you always been that way?
(30:32):
Are you more on the quiet side and you wait
for people to come. Look, we never want to be
thought of as Bible thumpers, right. We want to be
able to have this discussion with people when they want
to have it, but we want to be able to
be forceful enough to get them to the point to
have the discussion.
Speaker 4 (30:49):
It was definitely a lot easier for me in high
school to in the high school seasons and high school
teams to you know, have those conversations. Being in a
Christian school starting a conversation and locker room there was
just another day. The club season is where it was
a challenge, and I wish I would have, honestly, I
(31:10):
wish I would have tried harder to bring up those conversations,
and I would like to say I did my best,
but looking back, there's a lot of things that I
was just missing opportunities.
Speaker 6 (31:22):
And it's not that I was embarrassed of my faith.
Speaker 4 (31:24):
It was just that I wasn't purposely seeking those opportunities out.
And that's something that I know I should have done better.
And I made a point, especially in college, to be
you know, be the like platform for people to come
to to talk about their faith or talk about their
problems and we can pray about it and things like that.
Speaker 1 (31:43):
You know, as and in volleyball is similar to basketball
when when you're you know you're traveling, right, did you
guys travel throughout the country or throughout the state? Throughout
the countries. It's funny because when Matthew went back and
played AU as a high school a junior or senior
in high school, there was a couple of trips that
I said, no, you're not going to Vegas. I don't
(32:05):
need for you to be in Las Vegas with that
kind of stuff. And he would he would say, hey, listen,
you know there are some guys on this team that
are searching, and I'm having a little bit of conversation
with them. But he wasn't a kid that would go
in the locker room and say, okay, boys, we're doing
Bible study today until he got to Miranatha and then
(32:25):
I think he was a little bit more comfortable with that.
But on the travel scene in volleyball, you know, that's
a difficult. A lot of these kids are fourteen, fifteen, sixteen,
and their parents might not be with them, and there
are some curious things that go on on the travel scene,
not only basketball but volleyball.
Speaker 4 (32:43):
Yeah, I mean we always joke to those trips are
business trips. I mean it's like you get there, you're
in the gym at seven am, you're there till four
in the afternoon, you watch film, you eat dinner, you.
Speaker 6 (32:52):
Go to bed.
Speaker 4 (32:53):
But man, some of my best memories are on those trips.
And I remember, you know, having conversations with girls being like.
Speaker 6 (33:00):
Oh, have you ever done this or have you gone here?
And I'm like, no, why would I do that?
Speaker 4 (33:04):
And those are just normal things for high school students,
especially in a secular setting. And that was a really
good opportunity for me to kind of, you know, share
my faith and explain why I live my life in
a different way.
Speaker 6 (33:16):
Than they do.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
Yeah, and I think Matthew was similar to that time.
Speaker 3 (33:20):
Well, you got to see that modeled in your own home.
Speaker 2 (33:22):
I mean your dad mom would have people come in
the house to actually share the gospel. I mean if
they were, you know, coming around knocking on the doors
on Saturday mornings to you know, your dad would.
Speaker 3 (33:32):
Invite him in.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Absolutely, and so you know he's you know, I saw
your dad in a very pro evangelistic setting that he
he you know, even in his business he worked on that.
So you you saw that modeled really growing up in
your life. So I got a question for you now
as a volleyball coach, you know, how about the opportunities
(33:57):
now because before we came in studio, I was to Kevin.
He's coaching a public high school, a ninth grade team
in New Jersey and Okay, now you know and I'm
talking to him the same way. Okay, Now you have
these opportunities and you might not have him in practice,
but man, if somebody's wanting to improve in their skill, you.
Speaker 3 (34:14):
Can get with them one on one and boilat. Now
you have opportunities.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
Have you have you been able to see, Hey, that's
where I think I can go with some of this.
Speaker 4 (34:22):
Yeah, so it's a little bit easier for me being
at you know, a Lutheran a Christian high school.
Speaker 6 (34:28):
It's not expected, but.
Speaker 4 (34:30):
It's not not expected, I guess. You know, we pray
before games, and we talk about the Lord all the
time in practice. And I think the way that I've
really been able to connect with my kids there has
just been expressing to them that your worth is so
much greater than being in volleyball, Like you are worth
(34:52):
so much more, you know, in terms of like even
just worldly titles. You know, we're daughters, we're sisters, we're friends,
we're students. You're so much more than a volleyball player.
But when you take a step back and you look
at who am I, like, who is Autumn? I am
the first and foremost a child of a child of God.
And that has been something that I've really been able
to hit home. I hope, hopefully I'm hitting home with
(35:14):
these kids is Yeah, we're here to play volleyball, but
what are.
Speaker 6 (35:17):
We learning from volleyball?
Speaker 4 (35:18):
Are the lessons we're learning and most importantly, what is
the reason that we're here on this earth?
Speaker 2 (35:25):
I do have a question, okay, and and that is
all good, but then when you get into a competition,
your desires to win.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
All right, I'm glad to.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
Hear you're telling in Nate's daughter, you're talking to you understand.
You know what if you want to play tic tac doe,
He's like, oh, no, I'm going to beat you.
Speaker 2 (35:54):
I got I just wanted to make sure I wanted
to so. So, so, what I mean, is your team
winning they losing?
Speaker 3 (36:01):
What?
Speaker 4 (36:02):
We've had some really successful seasons. I mean this past
high school season we won conference, we won the conference tournament,
which I have been blessed with some really really high
quality athletes and high quality families, so that makes my
job really easy. And my club seasons, I've also just
had some really high quality athletes and families. Again, so
we had a lot of success last club season. We're
(36:23):
looking pretty good this year so far. This year, I'm
with the thirteens. Last year I was with fourteens.
Speaker 3 (36:29):
Okay, so does your dad come and watch any games?
Speaker 6 (36:31):
He came on Saturday, Yeah, they I think there.
Speaker 3 (36:33):
Does he say at the break autumn came here? I
want to.
Speaker 4 (36:36):
Honestly, no, not not at the tournament, but I after
pretty much every practice and tournament. I'm calling my parents
being like, here's what happened today, or do you have
advice on this?
Speaker 1 (36:46):
So when you played, who would you hear in the crowd? More? Oh,
would you heard?
Speaker 3 (36:52):
You actually ask that question?
Speaker 1 (36:54):
You know, I really don't get the laughter going.
Speaker 6 (36:58):
It was would you hear him?
Speaker 4 (37:00):
And I would sometimes shake my head and would look
at him. Sometimes I just acted like I didn't hear.
But oh, I always can pick his voice out of
a crowd.
Speaker 3 (37:07):
Oh. Yeah, he has a blooming voice.
Speaker 1 (37:09):
He does. He does. Hey, guys, we're going to get
you a break in autumn that this last segment, it's
a short segment, and we asked that question all the
uniforms you've ever put on, We put him in a
closet and you get to pick one out to get
one more game with that team. What uniform who do
you play against? And why? And we'll get an Autumn
Amax's answer to that question on the other side of
(37:29):
the break. This is Faith in the Zone on Fox
Sports nine twenty and your iHeart Radio app. Welcome back
to Faith in the Zone on Fox Sports nine twenty
and your iHeart Radio app. I Mike mcgive her alongside
pastor Ken Keltner from Brookside Baptist Church. Our special guest
is Autumn Amac, former volleyball player at Lake Country Lutheran
(37:51):
and Wisconsin Lutheran College. She is a senior at Wisconsin
Lutheran College and we're so blessed to have her in
studio with us. So, Autumn is this last segment is just
really fun for us. You've you've put out a lot
of uniforms in your day. I have, and all the
uniforms you've ever put on from the time you were
in you know, third grade or playing upward or whatever
(38:12):
you get you did back then to now, we put
them in a closet and you get to pick one
uniform out and get one more game with that team.
What uniform is it? Who do you play against? And why?
Speaker 4 (38:24):
So this was a really hard question. I was thinking
about this for a long time. I would say my
senior year at LCL volleyball game. It was the sectional
semi final, I believe, sectional semi final against Lakeside Lutheran.
Speaker 6 (38:40):
We played the exact same team in the exact same
game the year before and lost.
Speaker 4 (38:44):
Senior year, same game lost again two years in a row. Ooh,
that one hurts. So that was my last volleyball game
of my high school career, and at that point I
didn't know I was playing in college yet, so it
was like, this is my last game, and it was
just really it was a moment where I was I
really took a step back and you know, looked at
my volleyball career and I was like, wow, that was
(39:07):
It was a journey to get to that point. It
was honestly a little bit of a shock to I
think me and my parents that I even made it
to be, you know, a starter captain on varsity. There
there was a time where that did not look like
it was ever gonna happen.
Speaker 6 (39:20):
So it was just a really special season.
Speaker 1 (39:22):
Hey, when you look back at that journey, what of
that journey got you to the point to be a
captain and a starter at ELCL Do you.
Speaker 6 (39:32):
Think I had coaches?
Speaker 4 (39:35):
I think when I was like sixteen, I had coaches
that I was. They sat me because they said that
I looked like a selfish player.
Speaker 6 (39:44):
And that was a moment.
Speaker 4 (39:45):
I mean I was balling my eyes out and my
dad was like, go talk to them right now, and
I was like no, I'm crying. He's like, go talk
to them right. And that was a moment where I realized, like,
my worth is so much more than what a coach
tells me, what my teammates tell tell me, and my
value is truly only defined by Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1 (40:05):
Amen.
Speaker 6 (40:05):
And so that was like a big turning point for me.
Speaker 4 (40:09):
But you know, it was still uphill from you know,
sophomore year to senior year. And I think by the
time I got to senior year and I was finally
getting the playtime I wanted, the leadership position I wanted,
I had great relationships with the coaches and the team.
Speaker 6 (40:21):
It was just a full circle.
Speaker 1 (40:23):
I love the fact that your dad said, you go
talk to them. I'm going to talk to them. I'm
going to light them up. How dare them say that
to my daughter? He said, you go talk to them.
Did you get an explanation of what part of what
you were doing? Did they feel like you were being selfish?
Speaker 6 (40:38):
Well, they told me it was my face.
Speaker 4 (40:40):
They said that you look like you're not engaged, you're
not smiling, you don't look like you're having fun. And
I said, well, first of all, I haven't touched the
floor in five games, so I'm not really having fun
if I'm being honest. And second of all, I'm focused
because when I'm on the court, I'm trying to win.
So I'm sorry I'm not smiling enough for you, but
I'm here to win.
Speaker 1 (41:00):
You know what.
Speaker 4 (41:01):
But I told them, I said, that doesn't mean I
hate the team or I hate being on the court,
but sorry.
Speaker 1 (41:05):
As a fifteen years old, as a sophomore in high school,
to be able to tell a coach that look inside,
I would. I would have the conversation with her, but
I would be smiling so much that this fifteen year old,
sixteen year old would have the courage to come up
and talk to me about her face, which I.
Speaker 6 (41:23):
Should force courage.
Speaker 1 (41:24):
It was forceful, good for good for Nate Amax to
do that.
Speaker 3 (41:27):
Well.
Speaker 2 (41:28):
You asked me to write down what I thought her,
and I thought for sure it was when you were
at Brookfield Christian playing basketball for your dad that you
would definitely say, I want that, I want that opportunity
back again.
Speaker 1 (41:40):
I'd even the top hundred, she wrote. She wrote out
the top hundred for me, and.
Speaker 4 (41:45):
I didn't even see that one that game where I
looked the opposite way.
Speaker 6 (41:48):
That pretty much summarizes my basketball so not my sport.
Speaker 1 (41:53):
Guys, what a fun you know what, this has been
such a fun and enjoyable hour for me. Autumn think,
thank you so much for sharing you know, this part
of your life and that the most important is you said,
the most important part of my life and never say please.
Now you come up with a different term. You know,
my testimony is very Sunday School is because it's a
(42:14):
very impressive testimony. The fact that that when you ended
up in Salt Lake City for this mission's trip, that
you came back as a person that said, look, I've
got to do more for his kingdom. I really really
appreciate that. Pastor's good to see you.
Speaker 2 (42:29):
Good to be here, Mike, thanks for all you did,
and Autumn, glad to have you.
Speaker 3 (42:33):
Good to reunite with you.
Speaker 1 (42:35):
Nice to my intern.
Speaker 3 (42:36):
I will be nice to my intern.
Speaker 1 (42:39):
The McGivern agency intern. I did pretty good finding well.
She found me, by the way, she definitely found me. Guys,
thanks for listening. This is Faith in the Zone on
Fox Sports ninet twenty and your iHeart Radio app.
Welcome to Faith in the Zone on Fox Sports nineteen
twenty and your iHeart Radio app. We're coming from the
Donovan to Jordansen Heating and Cooling Studios. I Mike mcgivver
alongside my co host. He is the head pastor at
Brookside Baptist Church, Pastor Ken Caltoner, what's going on, Pastor.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
I'm doing great, Mike, good to Good to be with
you today.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Hey, you're the you're the top dog at Brookside right, Well,
you're the head pastor heads, you're the guy in charge.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Yeah yeah yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
So as the guy in charge, do you have an intern?
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Yeah? We have several interns, So you have one? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Well, I mean I don't have one personally. We have
one that we don't have one personally. No, No, I
have one. You have one personally, Yeah, through the McGivern agency.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Well that you know. I mean, I'm excited for you.
Speaker 4 (00:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
I pray for the mcgiver an agency.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Well, it's going to be better now that I have
this special intern and she happens to be in studio
with us. I have my own intern. You don't have anything.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
I don't have an intern personally.
Speaker 5 (01:01):
No.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Oh, we should probably talk to the deacon boy, I
would think it's the head pastor at Brookside Baptist Church.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Well, we we work our interns. I mean I can
have them come in occasionally, but no, they're not my
personal interns.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
So you're a special Michael. Doubt about it.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
I well, specially like like how much you know whatever?
We don't want to talk. I can tell you what
you said, you know earlier, when when Hunter was in
studio and you said, Hey, I thought of you the
other day. I was at a basketball game and a
foul mouth, really bad basketball coach, and that makes you
think of me. But I don't really know why.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Well that was that was worded in the wrong manner.
You know, my metaphors were getting mixed up.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
And as a head pastor, if you make mistakes, well
you're a communicator. Yeah, and maybe if you had your
own intern.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Maybe maybe he get help not make so many mistakes.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Or she let me introduce you. Not only is she
the intern for the McGivern agency. Former volleyball player at
Lake Country Lutheran, volleyball player at Wisconsin Lutheran College, she's
now coaching junior Viking program. She's one of the coaches
at Wisconsin Lutheran High School. And you and I have
known her since she was probably.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Four years old, a long time.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Absolutely, autumn, Amac, autumn. How are you today?
Speaker 6 (02:22):
I'm good, coach, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
You're welcome. And as an intern for the McGivern agent,
I drive you.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
He's your boss now, well, I prefer.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
The term vice president. I'm his first employee, you know,
second in line.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
I'm pretty sure you're the vice president.
Speaker 6 (02:39):
Vice president intern.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
And I just and I fired my secretary, So Terry McGivern,
she said, not even know as your secretary. I said,
you're still my personal assistant, but I no longer have
a secretary, but I do have an intern. I just
thought that. I thought for sure.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
You had your own.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Yeah, well you definitely on autumn will be she will
be a huge help to you, Mike.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Well, she already has been to make fun of you.
She's already she's already done extremely extremely.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Well, watch out on him.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
I got some stories girls I've heard.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Well, yeah, you understand that both Pastor and I are
big fans of your mom and dad and your family.
And let's talk a little bit about about growing up.
And you moved in the area at four. Look your
mom and Dad have done a great job with the kids.
And last night I go doing a game on nine
to twenty over at Tosa West and one of the
(03:36):
referees is your brother, Colin.
Speaker 6 (03:38):
I hope you yelled at him.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
You know. It went to halftime and you sent me
the text. He was talking to the other official and
I walked out on the floor and I said, you're
never in the right position and you need to sell
the call. And he looked at me. I said, your
sister told me to yell at you. He burst out laughing,
and the other official said, hey, hey, he's and I go, look,
I'm just playing with the boy. I've known him a
lot of time. He did a great job and yeah,
(04:02):
it's good to see that that he's I mean JB basketball.
It was a good game, up and down the floor,
and I thought he did a really good job. Hey,
let's talk a little bit about about growing up in
this area. Volleyball was always that's always been your sport.
Speaker 6 (04:17):
A little bit.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
I mean I started as a basketball player. My dad
is my coach.
Speaker 6 (04:21):
I'm sure everyone has had that experience.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
You know what, you know what I think I'm remembering
a basketball game.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
I attended.
Speaker 6 (04:29):
I know exactly what you're talking about.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Yeah, and your dad and I think Keith Fleming were
both coaching, and you and Kate were running. The other
team had the ball and you and Kate were running
down the court, and I think it was your dad
yelled wall, Yeah, she's coming, she's coming to the bucket,
and both of you looked to your outside, which made
you you were blinded to the middle of the court,
(04:53):
and the girl went right down the middle and laid
it in. I don't know that I saw your dad
throw anything, but I just.
Speaker 6 (05:00):
Saw you might have been a little right in the face, a.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Little frustration, but I thought it was one of the
more hilarious things I've seen in a basketball game. I mean,
he's warning you, guys, and you did what you needed
do You looked to see who was coming, but you
looked the wrong way and they went right down the
middle and score.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Do you know how often I wish that I could
have seen a game that Pastor Ken coach, so that
I would have stories about that, because he's got a
zillion of them, me coaching his boys, and you know,
I was going to sporting events together. I wish that
I could go watch him coach one time.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
You would love it and you you would say, man,
I want to come down and sit by you.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
I would not, And the second you went to zone,
I would just leave getting my car. I would Hey, Autumn,
let's talk a little bit about as a player, and
when you transitioned more into into volleyball, did you find
that that was that was the sport you were best at?
Speaker 6 (05:55):
Well?
Speaker 4 (05:56):
I hated volleyball when I first started playing fifth and
sixth grade. It was I mean, I was just learning everything,
so it was very new.
Speaker 6 (06:04):
Seventh grade, I had a very intense coach for me.
Speaker 4 (06:09):
Looking back now, I'm like, okay, I was a little
weak in the head, I think, but he was intense
and I decided after that. I was like, Mom, I'm
quitting volleyball. I'm a basketball girl. I hate volleyball. And
they convinced me to go back play one more year,
try it again, and I loved it. And then I
had the same conversation the next year. Just flipped, Mom,
I hate basketball and now I love volleyball.
Speaker 6 (06:30):
I'm a volleyball girl so much.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
I had to do with the coach the same post.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
Yes it was, and it was actually one of my
best friend's dads, and he was like the first coach
that I ever had that like true other than my
dad of course, that like truly believed in me. And
he was really the factor that like got me back
in the gym. He he like pursued me kind of
and was like, just try again, come back.
Speaker 6 (06:52):
To work through it.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
So he pushed you.
Speaker 6 (06:53):
Yeah he did. He was intense.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
I was just joking with my family the other day
and nothing is like running those stairs at Brickfield Christian
School well before practice.
Speaker 6 (07:01):
It you know, it sucked the wind out of you, Bud.
It was worth it.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
As a coach, I never had kids run stairs because
I never saw stairs on the basketball floor, so I just.
Speaker 6 (07:10):
Never got that you had to go to the other
side of the school.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Yeah fine, I figured out ways to get our kids
to run, but I figured the stairs. I've never seen
stairs on the basketball floor, so I'm not going to
I love the fact that you got mentally tougher, obviously,
and he continued to challenge you, and I like the
fact that you stuck with it, and the fact that
he said, no, no, come on, you're a good player,
(07:32):
just give me another shot, and you're gonna be okay,
I don't think he changed, right, it was it was
the maturity level that you changed with.
Speaker 4 (07:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (07:39):
Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (07:40):
And another factor of that is I was also joking
with my family the other day. I was always the
personality higher on the team. I was never, you know,
the best kid on the court. I was always kind
of near the middle bottom of the pack. But something
my parents really instilled in us early on as you
might not be the most athletic person in the room,
but you can always be the most hard working, you
can be the smartest, you can be the most encouraging,
positive teammate there is. So that's something that I think
(08:03):
truly is what carried me through my volleyball career. But
a lot of that started in that eighth grade year.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
How much of that messaging that you've look as coaches
and now you're a volleyball coach and pastor, I think
will agree with me. We don't come up with anything.
We steal all of it right as bad as basketball coach,
I'd go to clinics all the time and I'd steal
this part and I'd take that out of bounds plan,
and I take this you know press and this set
(08:28):
and put it all together and now it's mine. How
much of the messaging you learned from your family and
your dad and then your volleyball coach is growing up?
Have you taken to kind of build your own mission
statement as a volleyball coach.
Speaker 4 (08:42):
Yeah, I would say a lot of what I've learned
has been watching my dad. I used to watch him
coach growing up. He coached Colin all the way through
in football and basketball. So a lot of just even now,
the conversations I have with him. If I have an
issue with parents, have an issue with kids, I'm going
to my dad. But I will say a lot of
the ways that I coach now are based off of
(09:03):
the coaches I had growing up. And I definitely had
some coaches that did not treat me the way I
necessarily felt like I deserved to be treated, which was
like really shaped.
Speaker 5 (09:13):
Me to now what great lessons to be absolutely understand
that missus Keltner used to videotape our games all the time,
and your dad used to come and sit with Pastor
Ken at some of the games.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
So I can I can have you listen to some
of the things yell at mes.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
So I.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Have tho I have to tape so I can, I can, Oh, yeah,
I can, I can have you And and to the referees.
Your dad had a comment or two to referees as well.
So there's a lot of life lessons that you can
learn as my intern. And your number one job now
is to watch these videos and listen.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
First.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Yeah, and you know one thing was and your dad
and mom, you guys had they had a great impact
in our family with our four boys. And I remember
your dad Nate would always, you know, if somebody was hurt,
it would be called a w ambulance, you know.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
And then and then get up? What was it, Susie?
Was that his favorite? Sally? Oh, Sally, Sally? Get up? Sally? Yeah,
get up?
Speaker 6 (10:15):
That a couple of times.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
If I gave you a dollar for every time?
Speaker 3 (10:19):
Yeah, yeah, Sally, it was Sally.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
A part time job, our special guest for Faith in
the Zone this entire hour. She is autumn Amax. She's
a senior at Wisconsin Lutheran College, volleyball player, volleyball coach.
And now I guess the number one thing is is
an intern to the giver Agency. We've already had one meeting.
This is meeting number two. You're keeping the hours. Right, Yeah, good, good,
(10:45):
I appreciate that. What are you going to school for.
Speaker 4 (10:48):
I'm studying public relations with the minor and marketing, so
hopefully going into sports marketing media type of thing.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Well, the perfect place for you to be right now
in the studio with the microphone in front of you
and tell you so all the you know, the testimony
and the secrets and at the end, what what uniform
you'd put on, and if you could get one more game?
And and I really appreciate your time coming in again
autumn Amac, former volleyball player at Lake Country luther and
at Wisconsin luther College and now volleyball coach in our area.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Pastor, Well, you love basketball because you're wearing a Wires
basketball sweatshirt. So Wisconsin Lutheran College they're the Warriors. Yes,
I went to a game there last night, so yeah,
basketball game. I'll have to tell you about it later.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (11:31):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
And you work with the basketball team, don't I do?
Speaker 4 (11:34):
Yes, I'm I work for the athletic department, so I'll
be at the table doing sound video.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
So do you work do you work on making sure
they have refs show up to the game.
Speaker 6 (11:44):
No, that's not me, but I did hear they did that.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
They they didn't show up to the game. And I
went down and I talked to I can't think of
her name.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
I said, hey, listen, I'm not certified, but I can
come out and officiate for you if you need an official.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
But they didn't call me.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
No, they called me and actual else.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
No, he said, no, just hold off again about another
thirty minutes. I want to make sure I'm there so
I can yell at him.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
He's going to ask each kid for his testimony. If
somebody doesn't have one five files, that's pastor. I would
trust me. I would have been at that game. Heck,
I haven't had the officials in a while, but I
would have definitely been there to uh, to heckle you
for for sure, Hey, talk to me a little bit,
and maybe this part of your testimony and before we
(12:30):
get to a break and ask you to share your testimony.
Always been fairly open to be able to share your
faith in the locker, in any locker room you've been
in as a player and as a coach.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
Yeah, I mean my faith is the biggest driver for
everything I do. And I think I had a little
a little time growing up where I was maybe a
little more not insecure, but just closed off with it.
But I think now I've just become truly confident in
who i am, you know, as a woman, as a
child of God, and so it's like truly the main
driver for everything that I'm doing right now.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
So this is the entire amac family. You know, you
talk about your dad and we may you know, we
have fun and he knows we you know, we goof
around a little bit. But and I told you this,
he's much younger than I am, but he is extremely
smart and I'll go to him when it comes to
business questions all the time, and he probably gets sick
and tired of hearing from me. But he's a guy
(13:26):
that I have so much respect for because he's really
a smart person and he sees things very similar to
the way that I see them, and I appreciate him
a lot. I can tell you one quick funny story.
Pastor kenn and I've been doing faith in his own
a long time, and there was a week that he
was going to be gone, and I called your dad
(13:46):
and said, hey, what are you doing around noon on Wednesday?
And I think he thought I was just saying, hey,
do you want to go have lunch. And he said, oh,
I've got some meetings and why what's going on? And
I said, oh, I need a co host for faith
in his own I'm interviewing Turner Gil, former quarterback at Nebraska.
Nebraska you no, I'm open. I'm completely open. I'll be there.
(14:07):
He had a story about delivery newspapers outside of where
the Yeah We're Nebraska plays and the first meeting I
had with him to sell him advertising for Farmers Insurance,
he brought a Nebraska flag and a Cornhusker flag and
he said, look, I'm going to do business with you,
but you have to put this in your cubicle and
if I just show up and if it's not there,
(14:27):
I'm going to cancel all the business. That thing was
in my cubicle for like five years and he never
came and looked at it. But man, I did that
go ahead?
Speaker 4 (14:35):
You know.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
He also had a lot of fun with me being
from Oklahoma and Nebraska and if I called him, he
wouldn't answer, and his voice messaging was the call in
the nineteen seventy one game between the Oklahoma Sooners and
Nebraska number one and number two in the country, and
the call was Johnny Rogers running the puntback because he
(14:57):
knew I was gonna be yelling there was a block
in the back and they didn't call it.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
And he Nebraska fan.
Speaker 6 (15:04):
By the way, Oh yeah, that's what we say.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
She is Autumn Amac and she is. I'm telling you,
I am such a big fan of her and her family,
and I feel very blessed that she had the time
to come in today to record Faith in the Zone.
We're going to get to a break. Other side of
the break, we'll ask Autumn to share her testimony. This
is Faith in the Zone on Fox Sports nine twenty
and your iHeart Radio app. Welcome back to Faith in
(15:32):
the Zone on Fox Sports ninety twenty, your iHeart Radio App.
I Mike. We give her alongside Pastor Ken Keltner from
Brookside Baptist Church. Coming from the Donovan and Jorgans and
Heating Cooling studios. How's your furnace working, by the.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Way, Hey, it's working great, man, I mean it really,
it really is kicking out the heat. But right now,
I mean we're supposed to be fifty two, you know,
this week, so I mean it's a.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Good time for Donovan Jordanson to catch up on all
the people whose furnaces work?
Speaker 3 (15:58):
Am I need to call him and how start working
on my air conditioning?
Speaker 6 (16:02):
You do that?
Speaker 1 (16:02):
You do that? Give Scott Fisher and Barber and all
the Calvin and all the people.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
I haven't got. I haven't been able to talked to
Barb yet. You know you've told me that's so I
need to talk to, but I haven't had a chance.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
With Yeah, anytime I go into the New Berlin office,
she's like, your office is ready, like a lunch room upstairs.
They call it the mcgiverern office, New Berlin Office. So
McGivern agency in my intern who's in studio of this,
you'll be at a meeting over at Donavan Jorgenson for sure,
our special guest. She's Autumn AMAC, former volleyball player at
(16:33):
Lake Country Lutheran, at Wisconsin Lutheran, and she's now coaching
for the junior Viking program and at Wisconsin Lutheran High
School and so blessed to have her in studio with
this autumn. So our second segment is the one that
we get the most response from and the one that
I think people listen to the show for. And and
(16:53):
I can tell you that segment two is my favorite
and certainly Pastor Ken's favorite. If you'd be so kind
to share your testimony with us, Yeah, slowly.
Speaker 6 (17:01):
I have a very.
Speaker 4 (17:04):
Almost normal Sunday School testimony. I grew up at Brookside.
Actually my earliest memories are at Brookside. I was there
till almost high school, and so I got saved at Brookside,
So it's just a really special place to me. So
I was saved when I was about six years old.
It was after church on a Wednesday night. I think
it was a VBS type Sunday Sunday School kind of
(17:26):
thing on a Wednesday night, and I remember they did
at the end of the lesson, it was the close
your eyes pray and then if you have any questions
about your faith or if you want to talk to
someone you know about your need for Christ as a sinner,
raise your hand or come find someone after And I
don't really know why, I guess I just I raised
(17:47):
my hand and I was like, I need to talk
to someone. So little Autumn went and I met with
one of the one of the leaders, and that was
the first time, you know, I had the knowledge of
who Got is and he sent his son to die
for me and I am a sinner. I knew all
of that because I grew up hearing it. From the
time I was born. I was hearing the Gospel all
(18:09):
the time, and my parents were involved in the church,
so I was around it all the time.
Speaker 6 (18:13):
But that was the first time.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
That I realized, Wow, like, I need Christ as a sinner,
and I am a sinner, and there's nothing I can
do to get myself to Heaven.
Speaker 6 (18:23):
There's nothing. I am so undeserving of Christ's.
Speaker 4 (18:25):
Love, and yet he still pursues us and he died
on the cross for us. And that was that was
the moment where I was like, WHOA, Like, I need him?
So that was I really recognized that, and you know,
I prayed that like God would forgive me of my
sins and he would come into my heart, and you know,
little six year old Autumn knew it. And just from
(18:48):
that moment on, I've just seen God's faithfulness and his
goodness and his provision time and time again throughout my life.
And I think I really started getting serious about my
faith once I got to about middle school. From eighth
grade to freshman year, I went on a mission trip
to Salt Lake City, Utah. And that was the most
pivotal summer of my entire life where I was just
(19:10):
really truly realizing that I need to, you know, pursue
my faith and actively walk with the Lord and get
into my Bible and pray and all those things. And
so obviously sports has played a huge part in my
faith journey, but it's also just my parents and the
churches that I've been involved in have been just so
incredible and pushing me to just keep growing and getting
(19:32):
closer to the Lord.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
How old were you when you took that trip to
Salt Lake City.
Speaker 6 (19:37):
I would have been fourteen.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
I think it was between eighth grade and freshman year
of high school.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Wow, you know, I'm great. I loved hearing your testimony.
And many, you know, many have come to the Lord,
you know, through those who are working with kids, whether
it Brookside or other churches. But I always look back
and I think, you know, God's redempty plan, Mike is
God is a g is. He made it so simple
that children can understand what Jesus came to do and
(20:07):
that we're all sinners.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
And I came to know.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
The Lord when I was young too, autumn, and I'm
thankful for that. And I know some who have that
kind of testimony. Look at others who maybe had a
harder life and came to the Lord later in life,
and we're like, man, I just wish I had kind
of a testimony like theirs. And I think, well, you know,
that's a testimony again to your mom and dad and
making sure you're in church and teaching and master.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
I'm one of those guys, and I envy you two. Right,
I'm the guy who waited and was too stubborn and
one smart enough to figure this out. And when I
talked to Autumn about coming out of the show and
she said, look, my testimony is a little bit Sunday School,
and I go, perfect, bring that, because for me, I mean,
(20:54):
you're giving your testimony. I got tears coming down my
cheek because I envied that I wasted so much time.
And I love the fact that when I asked you,
you know, being in the locker room, you said, look,
I'm not running from this who I am. So yeah,
I'm very comfortable talking about my faith with anybody who
wants to talk to me in the locker room outside
(21:15):
the locker room, because I don't know what this is
who I am, and if they want to know about me,
that that party is going to come out.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
And even and I know I probably already know what
you're going to say on this, but you know, I
grew up in Christian High school. I went to Christian College,
and not everybody at the Christian high school was a
true believer, and not everybody at the college is a
true believer. And so I'm sure you've had opportunities even
with teammates because sports does you know, you roll the
(21:43):
ball out there and everybody comes together, especially on a
team where one and you have opportunities to you know,
actually share, you know, the decision you made even though
you were younger, about how Chris has changed your life.
Speaker 6 (21:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (21:57):
Absolutely, And I think so much of that, especially being
you know, a young kid. It started with someone maybe
got injured or they were really struggling with something at home,
and it's just something so simple as hey, can I
pray for you really quick?
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (22:09):
And that in itself just speaks volumes.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
I think, Hey, can I go back for a second.
What what about that trip to a trip to Saint
to Salt Lake City when you look back at that
summer and you said, look, that's where it That's where
it really clicked. What happened there? Do you think what
you were going through or people that you were there with,
(22:31):
or what about that trip It was such a big
part of your testimony.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
Yeah, I that was the moment where I realized that
we as Christians, you know, were made for so much
more than to just be complacent. And you know, I'm
a Christian. Great, I the best thing that could have
ever happened to me. But why would I not use
that as an opportunity or you know, use that to
share with the people around me. And it's one thing
(22:58):
to you know, accept Christ into your life and just
be like, great, I'm a Christian, But there's so much more,
you know, pursuing Christ every single day, whether it's in prayer,
reading his word, you know, getting coffee with a friend,
just talk about what the Lord is doing in your life.
Speaker 6 (23:11):
Things like that.
Speaker 4 (23:13):
That summer really was like where my eyes kind of
were open to like I can do more and I
should be doing more.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
You know. And I don't know, you know, who was
in charge of that that mission mission's trip or who
who is the one that that made you think that?
But I thank them because you're right. Look, we can
we can we can accept where I was in my life.
He met me in a very dark place. And if
and if I'm not now telling people about it, I
(23:40):
always use this metaphor. If somebody wants to truly get
to Madison and they want to get there but they
don't know how to get there? Am either a friend
or not? Am I going to give them the directions
on how to get to Madison? If if you want
to get to Heaven, I can, I can give you
the directions? Is right in the Bible, Well, it's right here.
(24:00):
It's very basic and like you Pastor, like you said,
it's so easy a child can understand it. And if
I'm not willing to give those directions to people, then
am I doing everything I can to Further's kingdom?
Speaker 2 (24:14):
Well? I think too Autumn going to Salt Lake City
is not an easy place to go. And I think
probably what also really challenged you as well. Here are
very sincere people who would say they love God and
they have been so deceived about how they can you
know what's going to happen when they when they leave
(24:35):
this earth and they die. And it's interesting to me
that Utah, the state of Utah, has the number one
teen suicides in the country, and I mean it's like
I'm trying, you know, I'm trying to get but I
just give up.
Speaker 3 (24:53):
And that's what you had to see.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
How much how different were you when you came home
from that trip to do you think?
Speaker 4 (25:02):
I think I was just feeling the true weight of
you know, what we are called to do as believers
and from you know, from that point on, my favorite
Bible verse has been the same Bible verse, which was
the one that we were you know, kind of basing
our trip around Galatians five thirteen, and it just talks
about you know, we're called the freedom, but we shouldn't
be using that freedom as opportunities for ourselves.
Speaker 6 (25:23):
But we're supposed to be serving one another.
Speaker 4 (25:25):
And that has really been the driver for me, you know,
coaching volleyball, especially just using my opportunities to serve the
people around me through love and showing Christ's love to
other people.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
Do you feel like so as coaches sometimes we don't
like calls or we get and and you know, we
are to be peculiar as Christians. And I think that
that as coaches, we have to make sure that we
understand that people are watching us a lot, and that
was a difficult part sometimes for me.
Speaker 3 (25:56):
I know, we're guilty as charge.
Speaker 1 (25:59):
Yeah, And our wives will tell us that once in
a while, won't they as coaches. Coaches wives get in
the car and say, what were you thinking you're coaching
at Calvary Baptist. You can't get technicals.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Oh, don't even go there with me. I mean, Kathy
was my holy spirit. And she would say, hey, you
and Nate and I go, why, we're just we're just
into the game, honey.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Yeah. And she would tell me, do you want me
to talk to those two gentlemen up there? And I go, yes,
our special guest for the entire hour. And if you
heard her testimony, trust me what I love. And I
don't need to talk to her about walking worthy because
she will tell you about that part of her life.
Just ask her. She is autumn amac again, former volleyball
(26:44):
player at Lake Country Lutheran High School, at Wisconsin Lutheran College.
She's now a senior at Wisconsin Lutheran. Are going to
do great things, not only in our community, but wherever
she ends up. You know that that community is going
to be benefited by her presence. And I love that
to get to a break. The other side of the
break will continue our conversation again our special guest. She
(27:05):
is autumn AMAC Wisconsin Lutheran College senior and a volleyball
coach in our area. This is Faith in the Zone
on Fox Sports nine twenty and Your iHeart Radio App.
Welcome back to Faith in His Zone on Fox Sports
ninety twenty and your iHeartRadio App. I'm Mike McGivern alongside
Pastor Ken Keltner from Brookside Baptist Church. Coming from the
(27:27):
Donovan and Jorgensen Heating and Cooling Studios, our special guest.
You know, it's interesting. First segment, we talked a lot
about her dad, Schechy segment not much because and look,
they did a great job with their family.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
Right, and he did a great job with my family too,
And you too, Mike, you were involved in that, both
of you guys.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
Well. And look the first time I met him, he
it was at a Brookside event and he said, what
do you do? And I told me. He said, we
need to you know, I needed some advertising for this
company I work for, and we set up a time.
It was a Thursday more me Wednesday night. I caught
him in the Kelner boys toilet paper in my house
and I caught him. I caught him. I thought it
(28:08):
was friends of man. I got in the car and
I chased them, and they didn't know the neighborhood. And
you went down to dead End, so I thought I
got him. I didn't know who it was. I got
out in my car and the Kelner boys got out,
and Nate got out and I looked at him. I go,
I'll see you tomorrow morning. And I just drove away
and and the Keltner boys. That was the funniest thing ever.
And then he walked in and I said, you know,
(28:30):
you got to come clean out my house. And he goes,
I'll have the Keltning boys. I go, and I already
had my son do it. I blamed them. So hey, Autumn,
when when when you talk about and I love the
fact that you can go back to that trip to
Salt Lake City. I think, look, when we talk about
about churches that believe in that part as Brooksye does,
as churches that that that you go to, that that
(28:52):
that I know that believe in in sending kids out
on the mission field and and what. But I don't
know if we talk about enough but we talk about
other great work that they do not only in our
city and in our in our country, but around the world.
But I don't know if we talk enough about the
the when these kids come back from the mission field,
(29:14):
what happened to somebody like you at the age of fourteen.
Speaker 4 (29:18):
Yeah, I think it was just such an impactful trip
for me and that like, yeah, you can go across
across the country, across the world and go share the gospel,
and that's great, and you know, we are called to
share the gospel, but it starts here with our neighbors,
with our siblings, with our friends, classmates, teammates, coaches, boyfriends,
whatever it may be.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Boyfriend hopefully boyfriend. Okay, by the way, pastor, do you
know that Arm's boyfriend plays basketball at Wisconsin Lutheran College.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
Really well, it wasn't a guy's game I was at
last night. It was a ladies game that I was at.
Oh yeah, so I.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
Did they win? Uh? No, it must have been the
referee in.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
You know, Actually, I thought those college guys did a
pretty good job. I was just kind of embarrassed for
the program that they're having to put the clock back
another ten minutes and fifteen year.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
Yeah, I wouldn't be embarrassed for the program because they
I'm telling you, I've dealt with Wisconsin Lutherin. I dealt
with their athletic department. It wasn't them. They had everything
lined up. I'm sure that there was just a miscommunication
with the officials. I would think for sure when we
talked a little earlier about being comfortable in the locker
room and being comfortable outside, have you always been that way?
(30:32):
Are you more on the quiet side and you wait
for people to come. Look, we never want to be
thought of as Bible thumpers, right. We want to be
able to have this discussion with people when they want
to have it, but we want to be able to
be forceful enough to get them to the point to
have the discussion.
Speaker 4 (30:49):
It was definitely a lot easier for me in high
school to in the high school seasons and high school
teams to you know, have those conversations. Being in a
Christian school starting a conversation and locker room there was
just another day. The club season is where it was
a challenge, and I wish I would have, honestly, I
(31:10):
wish I would have tried harder to bring up those conversations,
and I would like to say I did my best,
but looking back, there's a lot of things that I
was just missing opportunities.
Speaker 6 (31:22):
And it's not that I was embarrassed of my faith.
Speaker 4 (31:24):
It was just that I wasn't purposely seeking those opportunities out.
And that's something that I know I should have done better.
And I made a point, especially in college, to be
you know, be the like platform for people to come
to to talk about their faith or talk about their
problems and we can pray about it and things like that.
Speaker 1 (31:43):
You know, as and in volleyball is similar to basketball
when when you're you know you're traveling, right, did you
guys travel throughout the country or throughout the state? Throughout
the countries. It's funny because when Matthew went back and
played AU as a high school a junior or senior
in high school, there was a couple of trips that
I said, no, you're not going to Vegas. I don't
(32:05):
need for you to be in Las Vegas with that
kind of stuff. And he would he would say, hey, listen,
you know there are some guys on this team that
are searching, and I'm having a little bit of conversation
with them. But he wasn't a kid that would go
in the locker room and say, okay, boys, we're doing
Bible study today until he got to Miranatha and then
(32:25):
I think he was a little bit more comfortable with that.
But on the travel scene in volleyball, you know, that's
a difficult. A lot of these kids are fourteen, fifteen, sixteen,
and their parents might not be with them, and there
are some curious things that go on on the travel scene,
not only basketball but volleyball.
Speaker 4 (32:43):
Yeah, I mean we always joke to those trips are
business trips. I mean it's like you get there, you're
in the gym at seven am, you're there till four
in the afternoon, you watch film, you eat dinner, you.
Speaker 6 (32:52):
Go to bed.
Speaker 4 (32:53):
But man, some of my best memories are on those trips.
And I remember, you know, having conversations with girls being like.
Speaker 6 (33:00):
Oh, have you ever done this or have you gone here?
And I'm like, no, why would I do that?
Speaker 4 (33:04):
And those are just normal things for high school students,
especially in a secular setting. And that was a really
good opportunity for me to kind of, you know, share
my faith and explain why I live my life in
a different way.
Speaker 6 (33:16):
Than they do.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
Yeah, and I think Matthew was similar to that time.
Speaker 3 (33:20):
Well, you got to see that modeled in your own home.
Speaker 2 (33:22):
I mean your dad mom would have people come in
the house to actually share the gospel. I mean if
they were, you know, coming around knocking on the doors
on Saturday mornings to you know, your dad would.
Speaker 3 (33:32):
Invite him in.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Absolutely, and so you know he's you know, I saw
your dad in a very pro evangelistic setting that he
he you know, even in his business he worked on that.
So you you saw that modeled really growing up in
your life. So I got a question for you now
as a volleyball coach, you know, how about the opportunities
(33:57):
now because before we came in studio, I was to Kevin.
He's coaching a public high school, a ninth grade team
in New Jersey and Okay, now you know and I'm
talking to him the same way. Okay, Now you have
these opportunities and you might not have him in practice,
but man, if somebody's wanting to improve in their skill, you.
Speaker 3 (34:14):
Can get with them one on one and boilat. Now
you have opportunities.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
Have you have you been able to see, Hey, that's
where I think I can go with some of this.
Speaker 4 (34:22):
Yeah, so it's a little bit easier for me being
at you know, a Lutheran a Christian high school.
Speaker 6 (34:28):
It's not expected, but.
Speaker 4 (34:30):
It's not not expected, I guess. You know, we pray
before games, and we talk about the Lord all the
time in practice. And I think the way that I've
really been able to connect with my kids there has
just been expressing to them that your worth is so
much greater than being in volleyball, Like you are worth
(34:52):
so much more, you know, in terms of like even
just worldly titles. You know, we're daughters, we're sisters, we're friends,
we're students. You're so much more than a volleyball player.
But when you take a step back and you look
at who am I, like, who is Autumn? I am
the first and foremost a child of a child of God.
And that has been something that I've really been able
to hit home. I hope, hopefully I'm hitting home with
(35:14):
these kids is Yeah, we're here to play volleyball, but
what are.
Speaker 6 (35:17):
We learning from volleyball?
Speaker 4 (35:18):
Are the lessons we're learning and most importantly, what is
the reason that we're here on this earth?
Speaker 2 (35:25):
I do have a question, okay, and and that is
all good, but then when you get into a competition,
your desires to win.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
All right, I'm glad to.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
Hear you're telling in Nate's daughter, you're talking to you understand.
You know what if you want to play tic tac doe,
He's like, oh, no, I'm going to beat you.
Speaker 2 (35:54):
I got I just wanted to make sure I wanted
to so. So, so, what I mean, is your team
winning they losing?
Speaker 3 (36:01):
What?
Speaker 4 (36:02):
We've had some really successful seasons. I mean this past
high school season we won conference, we won the conference tournament,
which I have been blessed with some really really high
quality athletes and high quality families, so that makes my
job really easy. And my club seasons, I've also just
had some really high quality athletes and families. Again, so
we had a lot of success last club season. We're
(36:23):
looking pretty good this year so far. This year, I'm
with the thirteens. Last year I was with fourteens.
Speaker 3 (36:29):
Okay, so does your dad come and watch any games?
Speaker 6 (36:31):
He came on Saturday, Yeah, they I think there.
Speaker 3 (36:33):
Does he say at the break autumn came here? I
want to.
Speaker 4 (36:36):
Honestly, no, not not at the tournament, but I after
pretty much every practice and tournament. I'm calling my parents
being like, here's what happened today, or do you have
advice on this?
Speaker 1 (36:46):
So when you played, who would you hear in the crowd? More? Oh,
would you heard?
Speaker 3 (36:52):
You actually ask that question?
Speaker 1 (36:54):
You know, I really don't get the laughter going.
Speaker 6 (36:58):
It was would you hear him?
Speaker 4 (37:00):
And I would sometimes shake my head and would look
at him. Sometimes I just acted like I didn't hear.
But oh, I always can pick his voice out of
a crowd.
Speaker 3 (37:07):
Oh. Yeah, he has a blooming voice.
Speaker 1 (37:09):
He does. He does. Hey, guys, we're going to get
you a break in autumn that this last segment, it's
a short segment, and we asked that question all the
uniforms you've ever put on, We put him in a
closet and you get to pick one out to get
one more game with that team. What uniform who do
you play against? And why? And we'll get an Autumn
Amax's answer to that question on the other side of
(37:29):
the break. This is Faith in the Zone on Fox
Sports nine twenty and your iHeart Radio app. Welcome back
to Faith in the Zone on Fox Sports nine twenty
and your iHeart Radio app. I Mike mcgive her alongside
pastor Ken Keltner from Brookside Baptist Church. Our special guest
is Autumn Amac, former volleyball player at Lake Country Lutheran
(37:51):
and Wisconsin Lutheran College. She is a senior at Wisconsin
Lutheran College and we're so blessed to have her in
studio with us. So, Autumn is this last segment is just
really fun for us. You've you've put out a lot
of uniforms in your day. I have, and all the
uniforms you've ever put on from the time you were
in you know, third grade or playing upward or whatever
(38:12):
you get you did back then to now, we put
them in a closet and you get to pick one
uniform out and get one more game with that team.
What uniform is it? Who do you play against? And why?
Speaker 4 (38:24):
So this was a really hard question. I was thinking
about this for a long time. I would say my
senior year at LCL volleyball game. It was the sectional
semi final, I believe, sectional semi final against Lakeside Lutheran.
Speaker 6 (38:40):
We played the exact same team in the exact same
game the year before and lost.
Speaker 4 (38:44):
Senior year, same game lost again two years in a row. Ooh,
that one hurts. So that was my last volleyball game
of my high school career, and at that point I
didn't know I was playing in college yet, so it
was like, this is my last game, and it was
just really it was a moment where I was I
really took a step back and you know, looked at
my volleyball career and I was like, wow, that was
(39:07):
It was a journey to get to that point. It
was honestly a little bit of a shock to I
think me and my parents that I even made it
to be, you know, a starter captain on varsity. There
there was a time where that did not look like
it was ever gonna happen.
Speaker 6 (39:20):
So it was just a really special season.
Speaker 1 (39:22):
Hey, when you look back at that journey, what of
that journey got you to the point to be a
captain and a starter at ELCL Do you.
Speaker 6 (39:32):
Think I had coaches?
Speaker 4 (39:35):
I think when I was like sixteen, I had coaches
that I was. They sat me because they said that
I looked like a selfish player.
Speaker 6 (39:44):
And that was a moment.
Speaker 4 (39:45):
I mean I was balling my eyes out and my
dad was like, go talk to them right now, and
I was like no, I'm crying. He's like, go talk
to them right. And that was a moment where I realized, like,
my worth is so much more than what a coach
tells me, what my teammates tell tell me, and my
value is truly only defined by Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1 (40:05):
Amen.
Speaker 6 (40:05):
And so that was like a big turning point for me.
Speaker 4 (40:09):
But you know, it was still uphill from you know,
sophomore year to senior year. And I think by the
time I got to senior year and I was finally
getting the playtime I wanted, the leadership position I wanted,
I had great relationships with the coaches and the team.
Speaker 6 (40:21):
It was just a full circle.
Speaker 1 (40:23):
I love the fact that your dad said, you go
talk to them. I'm going to talk to them. I'm
going to light them up. How dare them say that
to my daughter? He said, you go talk to them.
Did you get an explanation of what part of what
you were doing? Did they feel like you were being selfish?
Speaker 6 (40:38):
Well, they told me it was my face.
Speaker 4 (40:40):
They said that you look like you're not engaged, you're
not smiling, you don't look like you're having fun. And
I said, well, first of all, I haven't touched the
floor in five games, so I'm not really having fun
if I'm being honest. And second of all, I'm focused
because when I'm on the court, I'm trying to win.
So I'm sorry I'm not smiling enough for you, but
I'm here to win.
Speaker 1 (41:00):
You know what.
Speaker 4 (41:01):
But I told them, I said, that doesn't mean I
hate the team or I hate being on the court,
but sorry.
Speaker 1 (41:05):
As a fifteen years old, as a sophomore in high school,
to be able to tell a coach that look inside,
I would. I would have the conversation with her, but
I would be smiling so much that this fifteen year old,
sixteen year old would have the courage to come up
and talk to me about her face, which I.
Speaker 6 (41:23):
Should force courage.
Speaker 1 (41:24):
It was forceful, good for good for Nate Amax to
do that.
Speaker 3 (41:27):
Well.
Speaker 2 (41:28):
You asked me to write down what I thought her,
and I thought for sure it was when you were
at Brookfield Christian playing basketball for your dad that you
would definitely say, I want that, I want that opportunity
back again.
Speaker 1 (41:40):
I'd even the top hundred, she wrote. She wrote out
the top hundred for me, and.
Speaker 4 (41:45):
I didn't even see that one that game where I
looked the opposite way.
Speaker 6 (41:48):
That pretty much summarizes my basketball so not my sport.
Speaker 1 (41:53):
Guys, what a fun you know what, this has been
such a fun and enjoyable hour for me. Autumn think,
thank you so much for sharing you know, this part
of your life and that the most important is you said,
the most important part of my life and never say please.
Now you come up with a different term. You know,
my testimony is very Sunday School is because it's a
(42:14):
very impressive testimony. The fact that that when you ended
up in Salt Lake City for this mission's trip, that
you came back as a person that said, look, I've
got to do more for his kingdom. I really really
appreciate that. Pastor's good to see you.
Speaker 2 (42:29):
Good to be here, Mike, thanks for all you did,
and Autumn, glad to have you.
Speaker 3 (42:33):
Good to reunite with you.
Speaker 1 (42:35):
Nice to my intern.
Speaker 3 (42:36):
I will be nice to my intern.
Speaker 1 (42:39):
The McGivern agency intern. I did pretty good finding well.
She found me, by the way, she definitely found me. Guys,
thanks for listening. This is Faith in the Zone on
Fox Sports ninet twenty and your iHeart Radio app.
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