E9 Donnie Bostwick - Living out a Bold Faith

Greg Scott: Man I hope you enjoyed our time today with Coach Donnie Bostwick as much as I did. He walked us through what it looks like when God anoints your life and honors your obedience. Not only through the success he's had as a college basketball coach, but also through the impact that he has seen in the young men that's put under his charge and that he's had in countless others that just want to know the reason behind the hope that shows through his everyday life. Share the link out to today's episode on all of your social media platforms, subscribe to the YouTube channel and then anywhere else you get your podcast downloads, and then tell someone you know about your favorite 315 Voices guests in order to encourage and inspire them. And then join us again where someone else will be prepared to give the reason for the hope that's within them on the next episode of 315 Voices. Hello and welcome to 315 Voices, I'm your host, Greg Scott. 1 Peter 315 reminds us to always be prepared to give an account when someone asks for the reason for the hope that's in us. And today's guest is Donnie Bostwick. Donnie is currently the head men's basketball coach at NAIA Powerhouse, Oklahoma Wesleyan University. A quick Google search is going to tell you he's had a successful basketball career, 500 wins, three trips to the Final Four, a national championship, and he's a sought-after clinic speaker for Nike and other basketball clinics. It probably also comes up with a story about how Coach Bostwick has, as he calls it, carried his sword on the sideline as he has his Bible in his hand for the last 13 years in every game that he's coached. I'm so glad you've joined the podcast today to hear that story and so much more. So enjoy the conversation with Coach Donnie Bostwick. Well, Coach Bostwick, thank you for joining the podcast. We're excited to have you today.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: Man, so blessed. Thank you so much for having me.

Greg Scott: coach Boswick, is the head coach at Oklahoma Wesleyan university. It's his second stint there. And we'll talk about that as we get going today. but Donnie, what's the, what's the background for you and your faith story? know you have, you have a mom that was kind of, you're, you're bedrock in the faith, but talk about that a little bit.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: Alright, so yeah, it started a generation before me. A lot of people, you know, it may start with your generation, but my mom and dad, my dad's father was an original Navy SEAL in World War II. They call it Frogman, a UD, underwater demolition expert. So when he went to World War II, my dad was like two years old, but back then it happened a lot. My mother, or his mother, excuse me, my grandmother, found somebody else while he was gone. And so when he came back from war, he went to... moved from Oklahoma to the Washington state. So my dad didn't really meet his father till 40. But his mom was kind of like secondhand lion in the movie where dad kind of go from one house to the next. And so finally he just moved in with his high school coach at about 15 years old. Where my mom's story is, it's kind of like a Duke's of Hazard situation. Her dad was a moonshiner back in the woods. When the feds come to get my grandpa, her job as young girl was to take the moonshine to the hogs. to get rid of the evidence. my grandpa went to prison. My grandma had like three jobs and she had three brothers. And like I said, Dukes of Hazard are good people, a little bit of ornery in there when it come to fighting and having fun that way. So I've got a lot of fighting in me with my Navy SEAL, my Dukes of Hazard type background. But my mom was working after high school. dad was an athlete, his punt return, took his knee out. So he didn't get her to any college ball or anything. He just went and started laying stones beside bridges. And a gentleman took him in as an apprentice and taught him how to be a bricklayer. But my mom was at a Pete's Drive-In, roller skates, you know, doing car hop, and my dad pulled up in a 55 Chevy, and that's how they met. They weren't Christians. And it wasn't until my sister and I were born, like three and two, that my mom found Jesus radically. just changed her life completely. Went from that, you know girl who had been wanted in a town and in jail and then some other stuff to all sudden now just you know ⁓ faith So my dad, know, he would stay home whenever we would go to church and I remember I'd be like man I want to stay and watch whatever the shows coming out with dad ⁓ on Sunday nights and mama be like get in the car we're going to church, you know and ⁓ I didn't realize dad was like sneaking out of the house, not sneaking, he was just going down to the pool hall to play pool to win some money for the family. And he was sports gambling, And it got so bad that ⁓ a bookie took him down to Muskogee, Oklahoma, showed him a house he blew up and said, next. And so ⁓ he come home, told my mom that he couldn't pay, take the kids and leave. ⁓ You know, I'm sorry, I just can't get out of this hole. ⁓ so my mom said, well, you're going to see there's a God, the bookie called. You know, my dad started going like, I've got two kids. Just give me a little more time, you know. And the bookie said, no. Can you just imagine that moment in life when, you know, there's not maybe or anything, you know. And there was a pause. And that power of the pause is something I think that's very important. And ⁓ paused, but then he said, because my wife took me to a revival, I got saved and your debt's been paid. And my dad walked into church with us that next Sunday gave his life to Christ. But he didn't miss church, man. Mom wouldn't let us miss church. And they refused back then. But that's kind of where my faith began was my mom taking me to revivals and church every Sunday and Sunday school and all that.

Greg Scott: your dad has a real life picture ⁓ this gift that you don't deserve ⁓ of nowhere and you just receive it ⁓ it's an exact picture of what Christ did for us. You look around and go, are you sure this is all I have to do to receive this gift?

Coach Donnie Bostwick: He, was really quiet man. But ⁓ I've seen him, you know, tell grown men that, you know, get out of prison. He would hire him as laborers ⁓ and he would change their lives. You know, he was tough. I mean, he was tough on him, but he was just disciplines love. And he said, you miss another day, you know, won't have a job tomorrow. But you have kids and I'm trying to help you with your kids. My dad never missed a day of work because he said, son, if I miss work, they can't feed their kids. So guess who never missed a day of school? Me. All the through eighth grade. know, I got the perfect attendance award in seventh grade

Greg Scott: That's right.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: I skipped school the next year to go to Tulsa Driller's minor league game with my friend. Never told my dad and I regret it to this day. Because what's wrong with working hard and showing up? ⁓ the world's gonna tell you, don't do it. ⁓ I got that work ethic and I got that crazy faith of mom and man, it's been a combination that's been amazing.

Greg Scott: Show up. your entire career has in coaching ⁓ and in your family you none of that in your family tree. And often, you and I are both coaches, ⁓ we have that somewhere. I have anybody in my family that's ever coached anything, so it resonates with me a little bit. When did you feel really God leading you in that direction?

Coach Donnie Bostwick: know, you say that, you know, it's kind of always interesting because a lot of times ⁓ you do have family in the coaching business, the door will open up. You know, you got an opportunity because of that door. My dad would say, son, I can't give you nothing. I can give you a work ethic and I could teach you how to work hard. You better love your Jesus like mama does because if not, nobody's ever come from prior Oklahoma to go from my family to college, from that town to go play college ball, be a college basketball coach, any of that stuff. So, you know, my I would sit down in the summers in the middle of where we're at, Bordersville, Oklahoma, where the headquarters of Phillips Petroleum used to be and is still a big part of us here. my dad the headquarters over five-year period, drove an hour and a half to work, and an hour and a half home. And in the summers, I would be going with him, pushing a wheelbarrow, and I'd sit on that corner and be like, God, man, I don't want to do this for a living. Man, I want to coach, I want to play college basketball. ⁓ you just help me? ⁓ I was a top 10 player in the state of Oklahoma. I was an all-stater and I got one opportunity to go play junior college basketball in Colorado. I some partial opportunities that I didn't take. And it was there that, you know, like it was tough, man. Like the drugs and all the stuff going on there, you know, consumed and just sucked people in like crazy. I saw my grandpa who was an alcoholic and my, know, lot of my family members, I didn't want to do that stuff because of them and what I'd seen it do to my family. I want to be different. And so I chose that route. And they called me preacher. And they held me down with squirt guns, with a tequila, trying to get me to drink, and would do some goofy stuff sometimes, girls in my room drunk. And I was like, why am I here, God? Why not? different route here, but it prepared me just like when I was a young kid on the poor side of town having to deal with bullies. I not have made it here if it would have been God allowing me to go through all that to toughen me up to prepare me. So now I can teach kids to be meek, power under control, to go do great things through Christ's strength that made me to get through all that stuff too. You know sometimes I think I did it with my son. We protect our kids so much that they don't even lean on God, they lean on us. And I know that's almost handicapping them sometimes. So I'm thankful. James 1-2, consider adversity pure joy. And so that's just something that God has been able to teach me through going through it. And then at the same time, helping ⁓ others now go through that and learn that that's a good thing. ⁓ We're gonna have to like endure sometimes because in this world we're gonna get looked at differently, you know?

Greg Scott: That's a good word and really a little parenting nugget right there in the middle of that about how we, think just naturally we want to protect and we want to help and sometimes help is to take our hands off and let them steer that into the ditch a little bit and then help them out and tell them how they got there.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: Yes, yeah, remember we at the Salome Springs and we moved here. My son had been with all his friends his whole life I could hear him crying because he moved and he wasn't happy because he didn't have friends yet and stuff like that. And it was the first time I kinda got upset that I didn't get the job back in the place I was at. Now they're hurting my kids. Hurt me, but don't hurt my kids, right? ⁓ And I was getting a little angry and I heard God say,

Greg Scott: Mm-hmm.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: When are you going to let him learn to lean on me? Just, I got this, I got your son. I gave him to you, you gave him back to me. And so yeah, that's definitely a lesson I learned there at that moment.

Greg Scott: and we should count it pure joy ⁓ when we go those things, man. And, ⁓ and because of comes out on the other side, we talk about that a lot of you grow in the valley. You don't grow on a mountain top, but you're able to look back down there and go. It's a better view now because of it.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: I heard this morning, the joy of the Lord's our strength, okay? But it's the Lord's joy, not our joy, what makes him happy, us seeking him with all our heart, ⁓ us worshiping him no matter what people say, like that's our strength. It's not our joy, And it's just, that was really powerful.

Greg Scott: ⁓ yeah. Now you broke into coaching like a lot of us. You've been at almost every level. I think you've been at every level. Did you start in junior high? Did I see that?

Coach Donnie Bostwick: Yeah, I'm volunteering and it was about a week before the season started and our high school girls coach said, hey Donnie, you want to coach the seventh grade girls? I'm like, hey yeah, $500, I'll take that. The reason why was they were horrible. They only had seven girls and we're like 5A and we're going to play a town called Talequah a week later and we got beat 54 to four. The girls didn't know to line up on the free throw line. I'm sitting there going like, I could coach anybody. Now I'm like, my goodness, what am I thinking? But the claim to fame is that same team beat us 24 to 14 later in the year. And if we could have made a layup, we'd have beat them. know, the FCA in Oklahoma, I didn't even know it, because he kept talking for a year and a half, and he was talking about his wife, and then I figured out, wait, that's Bear. That's the girl I coached, she was on my seventh grade Basketball team. I'm like, I just knew her by her nickname. ⁓

Greg Scott: awesome. Yeah. So what's the, what's the route from there, to getting into college coaching for you.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: Man, so my dream was just to go to a small town high school and be that guy, coach forever. And that was kind of my first thought of coaching. But I also went to those camps at Oklahoma Christian, Oklahoma Baptist, Hall of Fame coaches like Dan Hayes, Bob Hoffman. And I was like, man, I would love to be these guys too. I just didn't think God could do that. I'm just gonna be honest with you. I just thought, I think he could probably pull off me being a high school coach in a small town. I don't know about that one, you know? I go from a bench-warmer of my first year of college being an All-American, winning a national championship in the Christian College Association. ⁓ And then I met my wife there. We get married ⁓ that next year. And I mean, it's just perfect dream. And then I get a head coaching job at Veneta High School, which is a four a school pretty good size school They were great kids ⁓ and they were able to do some amazing things. You know, I thought I had reached everything I wanted already. And then we have We get pregnant, that's another one of my big dreams. we go in to hear the heartbeat and no heartbeat, the baby didn't make it. And that's when I'm like, I'm winning games, everything's supposed to be happy. And we're not happy because we have a miscarriage. So we get pregnant again, going to my second year there, and same exact things happen. Go hear the heartbeat. Baby doesn't make it and they're starting to tell us now we may not be able to have kids and they don't know the whole issues and stuff. And all that joy that of winning ball games wasn't solving the problem anymore. But ⁓ dad is this is when you don't feel like going to work, that's when you go to work. You don't feel like going to the office or boards. You don't feel like getting back on if you wanna win. If you don't feel like going to church, you go to church. ⁓ I didn't wanna go to church that night.

Greg Scott: when you go anyway.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: After that second miscarriage, it was it was a revival. It wasn't even Sunday, you know, I'm like, baby, we got to go, you know, and I'm supposed to work in the nursery I'm like definitely not working in nursery. We're gonna sit out front We sit out front and this guy named Jimmy Ray was a traveling pastor coming through just ministering And we're just numb, you know, I mean ⁓ we nothing in us right now We're just know and he gets up front and he says I'm gonna ⁓ identify for you tonight and he says ⁓ in the Old Testament how many children you had, specifically sons, was the biggest signs of your wealth. And I'm sitting here going like, well, thanks, God. Now we can't have kids, why are we here? And he says, I had like four miscarriages, told we couldn't have kids, starts bringing his kids down up on the stage. I'm like, everybody else needs to leave. This is for me and her. And he says, the Bible says your vine will be fruitful and your quiver will be full. And I'm sitting here just going, okay, okay.

Greg Scott: Yeah, appreciate this.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: Write down, he goes, be specific in your prayers. I'm like, okay, blonde hair, blue eyed left handed. I don't know why that's what I like, but my wife says chubby cheeks. And we wrote those four things down. I started telling my coaches at the high school I'm at, this is what we're gonna have. We got pregnant again. It's the day before the playoff pairing. I'm Native American, so we went to a doctor by the name of Dr. Knife Chief in Claremore, Oklahoma. We go in, and this is like the nightmare day where you go in here, the heartbeat. And this time I just said, I know it's different, babe. You know, we got a promise, you know. ⁓ We go in there ⁓ and ⁓ he trying to listen for heartbeat. And he can't find the heartbeat again. My wife starts crying, you know, and I'm just sitting there going like, nah, nah, nah, that's not the promise, God. And the doctor says, I gotta go out and get another instrument. They always have something they gotta do. And he leaves and I'm over here my wife's ball and I'm trying to say babe. No, we were good ⁓ You know, he seemed like he was gone for a couple years. He finally comes back in with his other instrument True story, he puts it on there and immediately I hear this like heartbeat and I and that's what I told you man basketball dropped God replaced him family and basketball became my ministry and true story. We were unranked unseeded everything

Greg Scott: Yeah, that's right.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: We went all the way to the state championship. My team was praying at half court and the front page of Tulsa World after the semifinal game. Only God could do that. He showed me, and here's the sad thing, coach, he showed me that. And I always, like I said, went to revival, went to church and stuff, but I was 31 years old. and I never read my Bible. a very good reader. Okay, Can't sing so I didn't really praise and I'd fasted in my life. Drove the church bus and I never miss church I never Sunday school never miss anything My wife kind of wore the spiritual pants in my family and she would read the Bible to kids and stuff And I thought that's what my mom did. My dad was kind of like what I'm doing. I'm doing really good, you know, I'm kind of better than most people when I think of it, I didn't realize my wife's dream is that I would become a spiritual leader of the home. I'm 31. You know, I'm trying to become a college head basketball coach. I'm trying to chase his dream that I feel like God put in my heart when he brought me back to John Brown saying, hey, no longer is high school your dream. You need to go do this. And I'm like, ⁓ okay, that's what I'm gonna do.

Greg Scott: Hmm.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: I've already interviewed during that 10-year time period in about 50 jobs. I mean, I got second, third. I was either the wrong religion, two religions, something, couldn't get a job, you know, even though we were winning ball games. And so I interviewed in 2004 at Oklahoma Wesleyan University. They were down to about 100 students. They were about to close the doors. They just got a new president. They had zero budget, zero scholarships. my wife and I, you know, talked to the president, listened to all this stuff and we leave. My wife says that they can't even put mulch in the flower beds, honey. This week, this is impossible. This is not, we're never taking this job. ⁓ That was ⁓ four 2005. ⁓ I'm sitting in my and I get a phone call. Okay, well hang on. win the national championship in 2005. we're the 31st team to get in. All the conference tournaments have to go perfect or we don't get in. So we sent our guys home for spring break. We didn't think we were gonna get in. Every team wins. The last team is in California that has to win. I'm calling, I ⁓ get a janitor on the phone at like 1 a.m. to find out we're in. Call the guys back. And then, so going to the tournament. But we're like the last team. So ⁓ we're walking into the banquet, all right? One of my friends is named Kevin Johnson. ⁓ married Miss Oklahoma at 1.67, just a dude. He was head college basketball coach at St. Gregory's University at like 25, all ⁓ right? ⁓ I go walking into the banquet, 32 teams with, you know, He comes running up, Donnie B, what's up, boy? And he's oozing God like I wish I did, you know? And I'm like, dude, five years in a row, the last team not to get in. We finally got in, you know? And I'm like, I got my dancing shoes on. I know how long we're gonna last, you know? He looks at me and like, what are you talking about? Man, I've seen God in you since I was a player. Like, you're probably gonna win this thing, boy. I'm just like, just keep talking, man. Come on, KJ. All So we're in this tournament. ⁓ We, we win the whole thing. I mean, we went five straights, so shock the world win it. KJ leaves a voicemail on my answering machine. still got it to this day. I told you, boy. You know, one of those kind of things. So flash forward from that March to December 31st. I get a phone call in my office. Did you hear about KJ? I'm like, you talking about? Dude, he came in from a jaw, basal tip, brain aneurysm. He's going to die. I'm like, I hung the phone up and I started yelling at God Like, why would you let this happen? I deserve this. He loves you more than me. You know. I'm just giving it to him. And I honestly heard God say, then fight. And I looked down and I knew my mom used to be on her knees praying for my dad and her family and everybody. And I knew what fighting looked like. I just hadn't done it yet. Just to be honest here. And I'm like, I'm in, I'm in. I fight. I started fasting. I'd stay in my truck till like two in the morning. I knew if I fought, God was gonna somehow miraculously And the first miracle was KJ aneurysm clotted so it didn't kill him immediately. So every night I would send scripture that maybe come through learning a verse for a quarter as a kid and somewhere would come out of my spirit. I would email his wife and her brother, like, he'll live and not die, stuff like that. so I've been a heat sick of missile since two months later. I walk into coach's office. KJ is coming home miraculously, ⁓ miraculously. All right, they him dead twice and he's gonna be a vegetable. He's more normal than me, not real normal, but he's more normal than me. And I'm like, I'm gonna go see him before our game at Oklahoma Christian. And coach says, need to sit down, Donnie. I'm like, okay. I sit down and he goes, I know the whole plan was for you to become the next head coach and get this job here. Cuz I've been an All-American, won a national championship, won another one. He's an assistant 10 years and his son a Texas State assistant coach and the staff got fired because the head coach got fired and he goes, I'm gonna retire and help my son get this job. it was like a bullet, ⁓ and I would say at the time, my wife was not happy and didn't know what was on either. You know, we didn't get a job now, right? But she knew was gonna make something out of nothing. And remember what she said was nothing?

Greg Scott: Right. Yep. Okay.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: was Oklahoma Western University. So we're driving to Branson Missouri. A friend gives me a timeshare and says, just get out of town. She's like, we ain't got a job, what are we gonna do? I'm like, we're gonna pray. So we get there. I have four kids on a pullout, couch pullout. I'm laying there with my wife and one of my kids walk up in the hair is like all this because she had thrown up over all of them and it's stiff. ⁓ my wife's like, that's yours. ⁓ like, come on, God.

Greg Scott: down.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: True story, my buddy calls, a former player of mine in high school who played at Oklahoma Wesleyan, he's at the national tournament in Branson, he calls me goes, man, I had a dream last night. You took the Oklahoma Wesleyan job, and in two years we win the national championship. I'm laughing at him, bro. I said, dude, we had full 11 scholarships, it was a miracle at John Brown. I'm just telling you the dream. True story, about an hour later, Oakland Wesleyan calls, the job's again. And my wife's like, that's less than nothing, that don't count. ⁓ I'm like, babe, I know what he's calling us to do, we gotta go take this job. He goes, You're going to apply these 10 biblical principles he gave me We won the national championship just like he dreamed. We won 39 consecutive games, ⁓ any two record a loss. My dad got to just retired, got to go around cutting down the nets, and

Greg Scott: Okay. ⁓

Coach Donnie Bostwick: We just won our 39 consecutive game the next year and I walk up to my dad watching above the gym in this area and I'm like, we did it pops. And he's like, ⁓ I'm peeing blood, son. I'm like, what? And he had one kid in his whole life. He didn't go to doctor ever. And we went to the emergency room and it had cancer. ⁓ You know, so I have a Joseph print print principle was one of those 10 biblical principles. He throws you in the pit, you praise him in the pit. takes you to the palace. Now that may be way through prison first, it may take some time. And so it was a tough pit for a year, I'm praying for God to heal my father, and it's dry. I can't even hear him. you at? he gave my dad for exactly one year. and I was like, I knew at that moment my dad was being healed. Not like I had hoped, but even better because he was taking him to heaven. My mom called and said, dad's going to heaven. I said, I know.

Greg Scott: Right. What I love about the whole story that you just gave is that when you were ⁓ waiting on a child and you Hey, I know I've heard from God. know he's going to provide this. I've got confidence in this because ⁓ your relationships at a place coach ⁓ you hear back from God and God provided just like you said, but the flip side is a lot of people think, well, I must not be close enough to God because he didn't provide exactly what I asked. And what I asked was for my dad to be healed. And God said, well, that's not my plan. And you heard that too. way that you described that was I heard nothing back. It was an empty. I'll tell you a personal story is the day that my day that our son passed away. can You know, I can play those details out in slow motion for you, but I can remember sitting on the hood of my SUV at the ER waiting. My son and my wife are at home and the ambulance is there. And so I tried to beat them. So I'm sitting there and I'm begging, I'm begging God. And I heard absolutely nothing back. And that's when it scared me. You know, I was like you, I thought this is, know, God's not going to take my son. went through this difficult adoption. It was it was tough and we love this little guy and everybody loves him You know how it is, And when I heard nothing back, that's when my that's when my Heart into my stomach but you described the same thing God will answer you even when he doesn't answer you

Coach Donnie Bostwick: the answer was it's time for him to come be with me. Yeah. Yes.

Greg Scott: in all of that, you 10 biblical principles. you've written some articles ⁓ on that and you've given some talks at camps, some big and some local camps on that. So where did that come? And if, and if we've got time for you to mention those, I'd love for you to do that.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: Took the Oklahoma Wesleyan job and I was like, this is impossible. I don't have chance. ⁓ And he honestly ⁓ gave me these 10 principles. I started writing them down and I grew up in a generation where my dad was military. My grandpa was, so Bobby Knight was like he was a guy, you know He knew how to coach better everybody else supposedly blah blah blah you know cussing at him and yelling at him and you know fear motivates it does I was at a clinic one time and coach Knight Brought a little kid up, put a $20 bill over there and said, go get that money. The kid ran over and got it, came back. Put a $100 bill over there, and then he, I said blankety blank, go get that. And the kid sprinted over and got it. goes, that's motivation. I was like, what? When the world's at? Because if you love somebody, you will run through the wall for them. You would never leave their six. And so I love over fear coaching is my thought process because love never fails.

Greg Scott: Absolutely.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: Discipline is a lot though, and that's where the kids don't get it. They don't want to be disciplined. it's a challenging day and time of coaching because of the world and what they're telling you to do. my leading. minutes played this year is 23 minutes on my team out of 40. And people like, how can you get a good player to stay? I'm like, well, he's averaging 17. The leading score in the conference is averaging 18. And he's played potentially five more games of playing time than my guy. And we're number five in the country and we're winning the conference by three games. but my man, my guy is willing to sacrifice for the team and the effort and he's still getting, you know, getting blessed to all Americans last year.

Greg Scott: That's the kind of dude, that's the kind of guy that you want to, you know, people don't understand. It's, it's super hard now. I can't imagine being a college coach and trying to, trying to build a roster, but you recruit that kind of guy that wants to come in, leave his ego out in the lobby somewhere and just go to work.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: Yes. Yes, we play hard we have faith and we believe Jesus can do anything. And our faith's in Him, not in our ability or even our faith. ⁓ And the world should be looking at us going like, I want to be like that dude. I want to be like that team. They don't hear cursing coming out their mouth. They hear all that stuff. They just see this power that's so amazing under control.

Greg Scott: You know, for those that don't know a lot about you and, ⁓ those that are listening today and maybe just getting to know you through our podcast, you've success. You've kind of alluded to some of it, but at the NAI level coach, the success you've had 500 wins, ⁓ a couple national runner-ups, a national championship, all as head coach that, that not to discount the experiences that you had as assistant coach or as a player. if you ever thought I can do this on a bigger stage, I'd like to push for something bigger than this or your philosophies of basketball or, or God is just giving you the sense of contentment on serving where you're planted

Coach Donnie Bostwick: Alright, so that right there, right? My sword, took sagu job, ⁓ you know, another team had never won. ⁓ My dad just passed away cancer or went to heaven and First good year, but like, you know, we didn't make the national tournament for the first time They made the Christian College tournament, but not the national tournament 24 games that we were the bubble team who didn't get in ⁓ The year I was like God I need some mighty men around me that were like you brought whenever I took them from Weston job Just to give you know, hold me accountable and push me and stuff And I walked into the gym, it was like the second day of school, and there was this older couple named David and Julie Leatherberry. They were missionaries in Afghanistan. He wanted to coach and God called him to the push down people of Afghanistan. He was on the hit list of the Taliban. This is a 70 year old couple. And I'm like, what are you guys doing here? David said, I coach, wanted to coach, but God called me to these Afghanistan, know, and, I watched Hoosiers once a year coach. I haven't seen basketball in 30 some years. And he said, they're watching my kids play pickup ball. And I'm like, wow, what are you doing here? And he's like, well, took a furlough to teach the kids on campus how to witness the Muslims this year. I said, great, that's awesome. know, and they're walking out of gym and I was like, wow, you know, and guys like that's him. just. I for somebody, I'm like, he's kind of old, know, he's not a coach. I was trying to make excuses. Well, he walks in my office three days later and he says, coach, thanks for offering me the opportunity to just stick around. I said, would you be our chaplain? I just made something up. I said, you can't pay you, but you can be around the team all you want. He's like, that's awesome, coach. So he leaves. We're not practicing for about two weeks. So three days later, he walks in my office and he's got this laser look looking me in the eye. I'm like, what's wrong, Dave? He goes, coach, was walking and praying in the park this morning. God told me we're going to the national championship. he just at me, goes, coach, I've had more machine guns pointed at me than you can imagine. I know when God speaks, he didn't even blink, right? I'm like, hey, I'm crazy. I'm like, hey, I just can't see with my eyes yet. I'll take your faith, you know? ⁓ So we're about four and two. Things aren't going that great. I honestly just lose my second best player. ⁓ for the season. So I'm sitting there just so upset and frustrated. I said Dave you still think told you were like four and lives my second best player He's like, yeah, you know that even blank right? So I grabbed my Bible I walk into the back of chapel I don't even listen to what chapel said that day David this other gentleman named David who was our IT director at the end of chapel, him and his wife Joy go up front. And I'm like, what are they doing up front? We had heard his shoulder play intramural basketball ⁓ and he went and got checked out and he thought, you know. and he found out he got stage four bone cancer. I'm sitting there holding my Bible and I'm like, what? And I heard guys say it's time to fight again. I tried to fight for my dad, but he gave me a year with him. However, this time he says it's time to fight. Be like Eliezer, carry your sword. Go tell him you're gonna fight by his side. I'm like, okay. I'm gonna carry my sword 24 seven, I don't care. I go tell him.

Greg Scott: Right.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: Like the first game I coached with my Bible, we got beat by LSU Shreveport by 35. It was like space jam, guys couldn't do nothing. I mean, it was the weirdest game I've ever coached in my life. I like a spiritual battle going on that I couldn't even see. I go in the locker room afterwards and I'm like, hey guys, like. I don't know what just happened, but like I'm gonna keep carrying my sword. I gotta raise some money for my buddy. So maybe it's a practice or two. And they looked up at me like everything changed in a moment. And they were like, we got you coach. We won 17 straight games. Conference championship night, I'm sitting at my desk waiting for the game and I get a text from David, NED. I'm like, question mark, no evidence of disease. We go to the national championship. They do a special on ESPN 3 about David. I was the happiest guy in the world. I mean, my guy got healed. We're in the national championship. That's honest to good is true story.

Greg Scott: You've had two or three moments where you could probably get a rebound off the top of the backboard because God said, no evidence of disease. Here's a heartbeat where you didn't think you're ever going to hear one. what, what brain aneurysm ⁓ that's gone. ⁓ You just God's so faithful through your faithfulness. I think there's a lesson there for all of us. He honors our faithfulness and our effort

Coach Donnie Bostwick: ⁓ yeah. African. I ⁓ mean, God's done so much, don't deserve another day on this of anything besides just nothing good. he continues to blow my mind with his faithfulness. ⁓ And his love and his joy. I hope somebody out there's hearing like how great he is. especially in the try.

Greg Scott: Oh man. so that was 2013. You, you did that for the first time you carried the rest of season, but coach, this is 2026 and you're still carrying that on the sideline every game. what kind of negative pushback have you had from that? where has God allowed you to kind of take some hits over that?

Coach Donnie Bostwick: You know, as hard as I've been told twice by two division two public schools, I won't say their names. If I would not carry my Bible, I would have the job. said, nah, it ain't worth it. He'd done miracles 120 and 20 with two tuitions, which is insane. But those two guys were national players of the year and he just kept doing that. And he could have done it again, but he had, he said, I taught you your principles. I want you to go to sag you to learn my presence and seek my presence and be led by the spirit. All right. So then he says, you know, my wife really wanted to come back close to home and Oklahoma Wesleyan comes open. because of a blessing, we do have scholarships. here, I can be me, I can share the gospel. I get to speak at the NCAA Final Four again I get to go to Indiana this year and do it. I'm speaking to you right now. I can carry my word. got four beautiful kids. I'm more blessed than anybody I know. People needs to get off the bench in church and get in a revival. Get in the game. Like, I was on the bench. for a long time thinking I was doing everything I needed to do. I was like a three year old, like a child of God. I was getting fed, like a little, I never fed myself. Which time that we fed ourselves, I tell my players, I remember recruits when they come in, I'm like, how long are you gonna live? So they'll, you sometimes like 60, 65, I'm like, like, about 100, you know, I said, okay, so you lift weights, you feed yourself every day. I say, you know, you're looking pretty strong. I said, okay. Your spirit man, how long is he gonna live? Let's pull him, put him over in his chair. And they're like, forever? I'm like, yeah. What do you do? Have you feed him daily? Is he praising worship? Is he in the word? Like when he gets stronger than this dude, game over, I wanna coach him. Until then, you can go play for somebody else because you're not gonna have what I want. You're not gonna be able to do things impossible. I want impossible. I want them to see God in a way that nobody's ever seen on a court.

Greg Scott: So that Bible's not just prop. I know you've probably been accused of that, of people just, ⁓ now you're just doing it for attention, So here's a question I bet that people are thinking to ask now. They've heard this, you're carrying your Bible 13 years. You still get techs You still get a technical foul every once in a while with that sword in your hand, coach?

Coach Donnie Bostwick: I'm normal. I do. I don't cuss. I don't do anything like that. But, you know, I mean, I have got a couple. ⁓ Usually I'll even ask for it. I'll say, just give me one. We got, know, something I need to kind of get something going here. Just give me one. That's a call. You know, I try not to, know, the honest to goodness truth, last year during our run, I said, I'm not saying one word to the refs, not one. After I shake their hands for the game and there to the national championship, I didn't. And it was better. said, God, I got to get out of the way and just stay peaceful. It's you anyway. And the technicals are like, that was not a foul. He just did this. Why would you call that? That's not a foul. Come on now. And one time I took my jacket off and threw it against my My chair got technical. I'm normal. I'm not a saint. promise you.

Greg Scott: Yeah. I knew that you probably had, just, ⁓ I thought, man, that'd be a question that people probably want to ask.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: I was hit on the national championship game. was like, I heard that. Technical, know, there's a national championship game and I was the last there's a first time on that game. I talked to we were down 15 or 20. We're getting beaten. was frustrated and stuff and I was like, I don't know that's worthy of a technical but maybe it'll flip the game here, you know, but I want them to know I'm normal too. I mean I I struggle like I had to die to Donny daily like my flesh and I gotta go out there and

Greg Scott: Yeah, that's good stuff.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: You know, here's the cool thing. I've had over 100 referees shake my hand and say, thank you for carrying your Bible. That's that's I've had players, countless players shake my hand and go, thank you, coach. You know, over the last 10, 15 years and I get that 5%, you know, I get it. I get that 5 % hating on me, you know, thinking I'm trying to be holier than now or whatever else. I don't even know why I do it, but that's OK. You know,

Greg Scott: Yeah, I bet. but as we kind of wind down, I don't want to get away ⁓ ⁓ starting a ministry several years ago, ⁓ spirit led coach. ⁓ ⁓ actually, ⁓ doing a little research ⁓ we talked to you. I looked up a lot of things and I tripped over another podcast you did. It's been several years ago where you talked about the story of what led you to starting that. I know our listeners would love to hear that and then talk about a little bit what spirit led coach does.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: Okay, so yeah, the whole story behind it was I was just in Texas at the time, I got a phone call from a high school coach, I'd done a Nike clinic and stuff, and ⁓ I had the 10 biblical principles and how to win with less. I got a basketball formula and then 10 biblical principles, and I gave it to them and they put it in a coach's booklet to give the coaches, call it championship coaches thing, a Nike clinic. So 10 years later, I had no idea they were still passing this out. but they removed my 10 biblical principles out and still had the basketball stuff. So this ISIL coach calls from Colorado and says, hey, would you send me those 10 biblical principles? And he goes, well, from Colorado. I said, hey, I went to junior college in Colorado. And he's like, where at? And I said, well, NJC. And he goes, my brother went to NJC. I said, what year? I graduated in 89. He goes, He went there in 89 Who was your ⁓ said, ⁓ Swanee, he goes, that was my brother's roommate. He moved into my bed. His brother did in the dorm. I was like, okay, guy, your fingerprints are all over this. What's going on? I was getting to coach the USA under 17 team with ⁓ Brunson and Tatum that at the Colorado Springs. So, I said, I'm going to be out there in Colorado Springs. You know, he goes, would you come to a coaches? ⁓ I can't for us. I'll just get a bunch of little towns together, little bit of coaches, it'll be town. I said, yeah, man, that'd be awesome. I'm thinking, what am I talking about? My wife's gonna kill me. I'm already doing PGC and doing all this stuff. But I can't tell God, no. And so he comes and gets me in his farm truck after I'm just walking out the door with Coach K and those guys way over my head, in my mind. And I get a farm truck and I go back to coaching in a little town. ⁓ And that's where I belong in my mind. I'm like, this is me. This is my family type scenario. It went great. I think I spent one night up with son one night talking about God. think anything about it. Went home. ⁓ always text me, hey coach, if you get any kind of stuff, know, YouTubes or anything, send it to me. I love that stuff. So I take from there, I get the opportunity to come back to Oklahoma Wesleyan ⁓ and my I hadn't sold my house, I got a car in a garage. And one of the professors here is a business professor, takes students to Israel. And he says, hey, Adonia. He calls me, says, you want to go to Israel? One of the professors can't go. I go, what's it going to cost? He goes, well, it's paid for except for the plane ticket, which is probably $1,300 or so. I'm like, I said, man, my wife is going kill me. I can't do it right now. I'm sorry. I can't afford that right now. So I hang up the phone and my wife calls crying and she says, come home. I'm so I'm at a mile or half away. I drive home real quick. I go in, she's holding this little card. She goes, who's Clint? I said, ⁓ that's my buddy out in Colorado. That's my buddy. And she goes, read the card. So I grabbed the card and she says, it you spent one night with my son and I saw the direction of his life change. And so he told I knew I was supposed to be doing something to help Christian coaches. And he says, Donnie, I thank you. You're supposed to do something bigger and ⁓ I will back it. Just do it. I said, okay, starting a ministry called Spirit-led Coach. What I want to see it happen, I don't know. it's a freedom fire event in Bahamas or it's a coaching event, speaking at a Final Four, writing a book, I don't know. I honestly just keep it wide open.

Greg Scott: Yeah, right. Yeah. coach. started last year. I really felt the Lord. Leading me last year. I actually felt it two years ago and I was disobedient. said, Hey, do a devotion for baseball coaches. Just video something once a week. And I went, okay, no. Hey, you know, I just didn't, I didn't think anybody would, would grab it. And so I started, I actually started doing it last year. Last year was my first year back, not coaching. And so I do it. So now I do it every Friday during baseball season. My first was last week and we've got 50 coaches now that are subscribed to it that I send out. I just, it's a three minute video. Um, and so my.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: I'm out.

Greg Scott: Our pastor uses this phrase, so I'm going to give him credit, but I love it. It's good, man. Your yes just needs to be on the table. Just put it out there and say, here's my yes. Now God hadn't used it for whatever you want to use it for. And I think Donnie, just in talking to you for the last little bit, your, your life is marked with my yes is out there. And every once in a while you look and go, that's not what I meant for you to pick it up for. but, But God's plans are always better than ours.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: of my favorite times in the world Tim Tebow's Night to Shine, taking my team to that. You talk about angels on this earth. Go to a special needs kid and go into a karaoke room with them as they cheer for everybody singing with zero mean genes in them. Like just straight up love in that room. ⁓ that's what gonna be like in my opinion. Can't wait to get there.

Greg Scott: ⁓ every tribe and tongue, ⁓ praising the same Lord.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: ⁓

Greg Scott: Donnie, all of our guests go through a 315 challenge and the three in the 315 is if you had three books that you could recommend and you said, you know, I'm not really a reader, there are books that have impacted you over the years, I would say. So three books outside of the word of God that you carry around at every game that have impacted you.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: Okay, the first one would be The Life of Fire by Reinhard Bonnke. Reinhard Bonnke has saved more souls than any man in last 100 years. So you wanna be set on fire, you wanna see what it looks like, you wanna see a man. I would encourage you to get the audio book. I like the audio books because they don't read great. The second one is the line of war series by Cliff Graham, which I mentioned to you. You want to be a warrior, you want to be a young man on fire for God. You want to see what it really looks like to be, you know, he has a number of books, one of them exactly that that series of where I would start is line of war series by Cliff Graham. And the last one, the last one I say it before. OK, the happiest people on earth by Demos Sharkeian. I can't say his last name right, but the happiest people on earth. That's another one that God used somebody mightily in an amazing way, in a true story. And then last but not least, I would say the first one I read as a kid was This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti. It really opens your eyes to the spiritual world and what actually is going on. You want to win a game? Go win the spiritual battle before the game.

Greg Scott: Okay, yeah. your awareness of the spiritual battles that around us is evident, ⁓ in how you speak just in, just like you talked about the first game I carried my Bible. I got in the locker room after the game went, we just got our tail kicked. It'd be easy to look down and go, well, this, didn't work. Let me ⁓ put this back where it belongs in my office, on my desk, in my study, wherever. but you just this cognizance of the spiritual warfare going on around us all the time.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: If you're going this way toward God, you better know if something's coming at you, you're going the right direction. Because Satan don't like you. He don't know what you're up to. He don't know what God's up to, but he knows something's going on. Because angels are showing up to fight this little battle he's gonna win. Like on earth, he's at the right hand interceding for us. We got the power waiting for us to do greater things that we could dream or imagine. Greater things than he did, said. And yet, we tried to do it on our own, over and over and over.

Greg Scott: Well, my next question, the one is, ⁓ who's the one most famous person in your phone would hit you back or answer?

Coach Donnie Bostwick: wow, you know, I don't know a lot of famous people, you know, when it comes to like the world's thought process of being famous. one of my best friends, I call him my coach is my pastor, who's the of the assembly of God now as an Oklahoma superintendent of Oklahoma. And he's the one who, He's taught me a lot about the really what wins and he's encouraged me and he goes he goes out of the way every time to love others and you know, she showed me the example of that and you know, he's my he's one of my heroes. My dad was was that you know, a of those guys are in heaven now. I got I still got all those same people almost how many how many times Satan it was goes after some of the the warriors that are fearless and you know, I don't know if he's I don't know he takes him out or You know, he goes to bed and go to heaven any earlier than they should. I don't know. I don't know. I'm not even trying to begin to know. But I do know that as long as I'm on this earth, I'm charging, man. I am charging Hell's Gates, man. Taking anybody I can back with me.

Greg Scott: But it's written all over you. been, it's been fun to get to know you. So my five in the 315 challenge, ⁓ the is anyone in history or current or ⁓ anyone ⁓ that's roamed the earth that you could spend five minutes with, who would you choose?

Coach Donnie Bostwick: Okay. Bye. going with Cephas Simon Peter. You know, can you imagine whenever he that day caught those fish and just said, try the other side, you know, and the nets were breaking and he's like, I ain't worthy. And he goes, I didn't say if you're worthy, said, you will and follow me, you know? And then he messes up. He's always like, I'll fight for you. And then he's an hour later cursing him saying, I don't know the guy, you I can't wait to talk to Peter and say, what happened? I wanna know exactly how it went down. You walked on water a couple weeks ago,

Greg Scott: Peter's a great choice. ⁓ You know, a lot of times will in the new test, we navigate to, it's Paul because he once was this and that. But I, ⁓ I, ⁓ really more with Peter. I got, promise I'm trying over here, ⁓ but I messing it up over and over, but, ⁓ but I you see my heart, you know, I'm trying and you know, I love you. ⁓

Coach Donnie Bostwick: you

Greg Scott: well, ⁓ where can they find you? Donnie are ⁓ over last several minutes, ⁓ people have been, ⁓ probably sitting on the edge of their seat like me, just listening to these stories of God moments throughout your life and, where can they connect with on social? ⁓ not just spirit led coach.com and where else?

Coach Donnie Bostwick: Okay. Well, my phone number and emails on spiritleadcoach.com as well as Instagram under coach.bostwick, Twitter at coach underscore Bostwick, Facebook, just Donnie Bostwick. That's my main three social media that don't have a TikTok or anything. So feel free to reach out to me if you just have a prayer request, anything, any questions, anytime, anytime at night, I would consider it an honor to be able to pray with you and for you.

Greg Scott: Donnie, it's clear that you described a moment early in the conversation where God just said, Hey, it's about time you started doing something and get off the bench. And, and I don't know that you've subbed out since man, you've been running straight forward. It's been, it's been our honor to have you here on the podcast today. It's been a fun time.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: Hey, you're like a brother I didn't even know I had. So thank you so much. I pray God's favor over this and it just continues to grow and does mighty things It's a blessing, honor to meet you today.

Greg Scott: Well, I appreciate it, Donnie. Thanks again for coming.

Coach Donnie Bostwick: Yeah, God bless, brother.