In this episode of The Calling’s radio show, Dr. Chrysandra Brunson welcomes Super Bowl champion Ben Utecht. They discuss the pivotal moments in Ben’s life that led him to the NFL and how his faith has been a cornerstone through every season. Discover the impact of servant leadership, the power of belief, and the importance of living a life worthy of your calling. Tune in for an empowering dialogue that motivates you to chase your God-given dreams fearlessly.
Welcome, everyone, to The Calling’s radio show to all the dreamers. I’m your radio host, Dr. Chrysandra Brunson, founder and CEO of The Calling, and it is such an honor to be with all of you today. You know, at The Calling, we have realized that so many people are afraid to go after the dreams that Jesus has placed inside each of our hearts because they are afraid to fail. And that is just plain wrong because if God has given us a dream and we’re not living it out, we are wasting it. And we do not want you or anyone else to die with regret. That’s why at The Calling, we love to inspire, empower, and equip people to after God’s calling on their lives to reap the best kind of eternal legacy possible to have immediate impact on ourselves and our families. We love to do this through so many different avenues, through custom tools, programs, workshops, seminars, but especially through this radio show where we bring on world-renowned guests to share how they’re going after their God-given dreams and how you can do the same. Today is no exception. We have the world-renowned, one and only Ben Utecht. Ben, welcome to the show. Hello.
BEN UTECHT :
Chrysandra, thank you so much for having me. I’m so blessed to be with you.
CHRYSANDRA :
We are so honored and especially to be doing this interview live on Super Bowl Sunday and you yourself as Super Bowl champion. We’re just so honored to be able to hear your story on this historic day and how you truly have been able to go after your God-given dreams in all of life’s seasons. How does it feel today about being Super Bowl Sunday?
BEN UTECHT :
Every year at this time, it’s like walking down memory lane. We talked about this, but I got a text today from my Hall of Fame quarterback, Peyton Manning, who sent me a text. He must have found this on X, because he sent me this post of all of the offense. During the actual game, you know, they come on to the video screen and they say their name and what their position is. And I was one of those starting players on that team. And so Peyton sent that out as kind of like, hey, guys, remember this? Remember what it was like? And it was. It was a dream come true.
CHRYSANDRA :
That’s amazing. And can you just share a little bit of your background and some of the positions that you have held, including being a Super Bowl champ?
BEN UTECHT :
Man, yeah, I grew up in a very small town in Minnesota, right on the Mississippi River, Hastings, Minnesota. And every step of the way, the Lord was at work because it was a miracle for me to go to the University of Minnesota in the Big Ten on a full football scholarship. And it was a miracle for me to make it from that school into the NFL. And that journey was really the catalyst for me everything that I’m doing now because I got to play in the NFL for Tony Dungy, who’s one of the greatest, I’m biased, but one of the greatest coaches in NFL history. And he was the first to win a Super Bowl built on the power of servant leadership, which is a biblical leadership style. And so that whole process is what really set me on to my calling you know, today, which is to really build championship culture and businesses and pour into human development and help people reach their potential and to do it on the power of belief. So that journey was so, you know, I look back on it and I think I just have to pinch myself. It’s like, You know, a pastor’s kid from a small river town in Minnesota finds his way to a Super Bowl championship field where 101 million people were watching the game. And I often find that it’s hard to put it into words what that experience was like. But God is so good because he just… All he’s doing is saying… Ben, keep walking. Keep putting one step in front of the other. I will open the doors that I see fit and I will close the doors that I see fit. And all we have to do is trust, right? And not lean on our own understanding. Acknowledge him and he will direct our path. We just keep walking through the open doors. And ultimately that’s what has led me to being able to live out my dream in alignment with his calling.
CHRYSANDRA :
I think, Ben, we’re in awe of this journey, and we would love to know how it all got started, just looking back on your very beginnings and your childhood. How did Jesus just start threading those fabrics of your dream of when you were younger to then, you said growing up in Minnesota, to then become a Super Bowl champ? Walk us through those stages.
BEN UTECHT :
Oh man, I have to give so much credit and I have to honor my parents because, you know, growing up as a pastor’s son, you kind of get categorized into, are you the faithful or are you the rebel? And I have to tell you, yeah.
CHRYSANDRA :
Oh, no, no. Yeah, I think that people do. They have those two categories.
BEN UTECHT :
Yeah, I know. And the thing is, is that what my parents did so well is they brought the ministry home. You know, obviously they didn’t have a perfect marriage. Well, obviously we don’t have a perfect family, but. But the teachings that he was preaching every Sunday, he was doing his best to live out at home. And so my sister and I got to experience Jesus at a very young age. And so I gave my life to Christ as a. as a young boy and he guided me throughout my career and sports was very much a part of that career and so was music. I was actually singing. My dad was a vocal music major before he became a pastor and so I fell in love with athletics and the arts and then when I was playing in Indianapolis I met One of my mentors who became a second mom to me, her name was Sandy Patty. If you’ve ever listened to Christian music, you’ll know who Sandy Patty is. Sandy became my mentor and I signed a record deal and was nominated for a Dove Award as a singer. I had these passions of sports and music and communication. My degree was public speaking. and I knew that you know the calling my dad had on his life was a part of my calling and the Lord has really brought that mission into you know the corporate marketplace you know how do we bring the power of belief the foundation of the culture of Christ into business and and that’s what I’ve been doing for the last 15 years so it’s just it’s been awesome
CHRYSANDRA :
I think Finn, when people hear all of these different outlets, you know, all of our mouths just kind of drop of, you know, you hear that you have to pick one and stick to it, but you were able to know that Jesus could do anything and that he was knitting this story together. to be able to be the best of whatever realm he called you to. Getting a, you know, for a double award, that’s, that’s massive. What happened with football been to be able to step into to become a Super Bowl champ? What does that look like? And how did it drafted into the NFL?
BEN UTECHT :
Well, the statistics are pretty staggering. It’s 1% of every division one football player makes it to the NFL. And so for me, I became one of the top tight ends in the country. at the University of Minnesota. What was the miracle is that my senior year, I suffered a very severe bilateral sports hernia, which means that the abdominal muscles actually tore away from the bone on both sides. It was pretty serious. And so I went from being a first round draft pick to not getting drafted at all because I was too much of a health risk by the NFL physicians. Right. but and I love because God is the God of but but Tony Dungy was also an alumni of the University of Minnesota and after I was injured I had a chance to speak at an Athletes in Action which is a Christian sports ministry event in Minnesota and I got to open for believe it or not Tony Dungy And so he’s sitting in front of me, there’s 700. People in the audience, and I said, hey, coach, I know and I say, hey, coach, if you really care about. Being a gopher, you’re going to draft me in the upcoming draft. And I just applied the pressure. And everybody laughed. And he was so gracious when he got up to the microphone. He said, Ben, you know, you’re an awesome tight end. We drafted a tight end in the first round last year. So we’re not going to be looking for tight ends this year. And then Chrysandra, the craziest thing happened. He stepped away from the microphone.
BEN UTECHT :
And he put his hand on his chin like he was being downloaded something from the Holy Spirit. I feel him right now. I know right? He came back to the microphone and he said, I’m gonna make a promise to you in front of all these people. If for some reason you don’t get drafted, if for some reason you slip through the cracks, I promise I’ll be the first person to call. So two months later, two months later, remember, I don’t get drafted. I went from being a first round draft pick to not getting drafted because of the injury. So two months later, I don’t get drafted. I’m driving to my agent’s office, holding back tears because I have no idea what is going to happen with my life.
CHRYSANDRA :
What did you feel like in that moment?
BEN UTECHT :
It was so… I mean, I had already gotten my degree, so I was okay there. But look, I put all my eggs in the football basket. And, you know, I was so convinced, like, this is what God wants me to do. And then all of a sudden, poof, it was gone. And so I’m sitting across the desk of my agent and there’s a phone in the middle of the desk. And all that’s left is the free agent market. These are the leftover players that didn’t get drafted. These are the players that teams bring in to give the veterans a break, but they never make the team. That’s where I am at this point. And five seconds after the free agent market opens, the phone rings in the middle of my agent’s desk and I pick it up. And who do you think it was? It was Tony. It was Tony. And I remember this promise that he made two months prior. If for some reason you don’t get drafted, I’ll be the first person to call. And so here he is calling with the general manager who’s also in the Hall of Fame, Bill Polian. And they say, Ben, we didn’t think this was going to happen. We know what your injury is. We’ve dealt with it in the past. So here’s what we want to do. We want you to be a Colt. We’re going to send you to the top surgeon in the country. We’re going to get you surgery and get you better. And you don’t even have to play the first year. Just rest and recover and we’ll pay you as though you’re a playing rookie. How about that?
CHRYSANDRA :
What were you thinking? When they were sharing this to you, what was going on in your heart and mind?
BEN UTECHT :
Yeah, I was in total disbelief.
CHRYSANDRA :
I’m going to pause you right there. We’re going to take a short break, but we can’t wait to hear what it felt like in that moment for God to stop everything. You guys, we have the one and only Ben Utecht. We’ll be right back. Twist and shout with Lee & Co. They are the premier oldies band delivering the rock and roll vibes you’ve been missing. Great songs, great memories. Book them at LeeAndCo.com. Liquid Acre is the world’s first crypto to land marketplace, allowing you to own fractional acreage through non-fungible acres. Don’t let the dream of owning a piece of the trillion dollar real estate market slip away. Visit liquidacre.com to invest in real survey land in seconds and start building your real estate legacy.
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CHRYSANDRA :
At Ignite Brilliance Coaching, you will get 34 years of science teaching, a decade of university-level instruction, and over 10 years of instructional coaching to empower educators with the tools, mindset, and confidence to thrive. Contact Ignite Brilliance Coaching on Facebook. We are back. Thank you for listening to All the Dreamers radio show. I’m your radio host, Dr. Chrysandra Brunson, founder of The Calling. And we have the one and only Ben Utecht, Super Bowl champ, joining us today on Super Bowl Sunday for a historic show to share how he’s been able to go after Jesus’ calling on his life and all the highs and lows. Ben, we’re just so honored. Right before break, you just had our hearts open and in shock of what happened when it seemed like the door slammed shut and God opened it up.
BEN UTECHT :
Only he can. I went from not getting drafted to now sitting at a table across from my agent. Tony Dungy, two months before, had promised that if I didn’t get drafted, he’d be the first person to call. I pick up the phone And who is it? It’s Tony Dungy. And Tony Dungy says, man, Ben, we didn’t think this was going to happen. We know how talented you are when we’re healthy. Here’s what we want to do. We want you to be a Colt. And we’re going to send you to the top surgeon in the country. We’re going to get surgery. And all we want you to do the first year is get better. Just recover and get better. And on top of that, we’ll pay you as though you’re a plain rookie. And Chrysandra, that does not happen in the NFL. That is an example of a rare, high-integrity organization that is following what it believes, that’s behaving in a manner reflective of what it believes. So the miracle in that is one year later, our starting tight end, who they drafted the year before, has an injury before the season opener. So I get to start against Ray Lewis and the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night kickoff. Oh, my gosh. in front of millions of people. And I have the game of my life. Third quarter rolls around. Peyton takes the snap. I run down the middle of the field. The defense messes up the coverage, leaves me wide open. Peyton sees me. He throws it. Back shoulder catch, turn. There’s a safety standing on the goal line. I have to make the choice and it’s going to hurt, but I’m going to run through him for a touchdown. And touchdown in my very first NFL game against the Baltimore Ravens. As I’m getting off the ground, I realized that the safety that I ran through was Deion Sanders, arguably the greatest defensive NFL player in history. And so there’s nothing God can’t do, right? With God, all things are possible. And from that moment on, I remained a starter on that team. And that gave me the ability to be on a team that had all of the talent but more importantly you know the alignment of culture and belief and of soul and heart to make it to the biggest game on the planet and so it was all of the stars aligning at one time and it can only be the Lord.
CHRYSANDRA :
And you guys went that year Ben all the way to the Super Bowl?
BEN UTECHT :
Yeah, it was so special and so many things. You know, the year prior, Coach Dungy lost his son. And so this was an emotional season, an opportunity for us to really show the world what we’re capable of. And that’s what we did.
CHRYSANDRA :
You talked briefly in the beginning, Ben, about the importance of servant leadership. How did you see that servant leadership be played out in Tony Dungy’s life, in Peyton’s life? What were little things, if you can give glimpses into that?
BEN UTECHT :
It comes on to one thing and it’s the word practice. Simon Sinek built an entire career around the power of why and why is important because why is what brings clarity and understanding and it’s what inspires us towards belief. But ultimately what scales belief is deeply understanding the how. The how is the critical part of being able to impact people, right? Because you have to be able to practice what you believe. And that was what was so powerful about Tony is not only did he talk about servant leadership, his belief was that if you build better men, you get better football players. If I’m going to believe that, I have to have a system that I can practice that’s actually going to develop men into the best men that they can possibly be. And that to me was the game changer. And it’s so reflective of what scripture says, right? Matthew 7, he who listens to my words and puts them into practice is like a man who builds his house on a culture of rock. The winds blow, the rains fall, but the house stands. The key is how we actually practice and live out our beliefs as consistently as we can.
CHRYSANDRA :
I think that you nailed it on the dot, just that target, Ben, I think in this culture, integrity is everything. And for you guys to have a team to be able to do that together, what did it feel like, Ben, when you guys were at Super Bowl Sunday and you’re preparing for this game, what were the dynamics prior to and then after?
BEN UTECHT :
That’s such a great question, Chrysandra, because it really brings you behind the veil. And the game is so big. So everything about that week is designed to get you to focus on yourself. Every single player on the team got a Cadillac Escalade that they could drive around. There’s media everywhere. Everything is about the world and everything is about yourself. And one of the things that I really appreciated about the Indianapolis Colts was that they worked very hard to make that week in Miami feel like any other week, like a normal week. So all of our practices, all of our schedules, everything was exactly the same as it was back in Indianapolis. So they wanted to do whatever they could to take us out of the world and keep us focused on the goal. And I thought we did that very well as a team and that ultimately it really protected us from kind of getting lost in this focus on vanity and on worldly things that would take us away from what our goal ultimately was.
CHRYSANDRA :
When you guys did win, what was the last fourth quarter like? And then for it to go into zero and to find out that you guys won. I mean, what happens when all of that takes place then?
BEN UTECHT :
It really is a cinematic moment. Time slows down. Chrysandra, I remember during the countdown, like the last 10 seconds of the game, the only thing I could think about was looking back at my mom and dad and my wife because everything started there. you know everything started with my dad in the backyard of a small town in Minnesota where he would play football with me and pretend let me hit him and he’d pretend to get blown up and follow him around and then my wife and you know in college who just was such an amazing support system and and so all of a sudden like for me in that moment what ended up happening was this realization of what truly matters. Yeah, we have the trophy and we have the win, but all I could do was look back onto the lives of the people that had the greatest impact on my life. And so, you know, for them to be a part of that and to be able to jump over the railing and come onto the field. And I mean, how do you, like, how do you put that into words? But it was so incredibly special.
CHRYSANDRA :
And we’re coming up towards the end of our show. We don’t know where time goes, but we would love to have you back sooner than later. Before we do go, we would love to hear your piece of wisdom to listeners tuning in. And we want to know what you are up to and how we can all get involved.
BEN UTECHT :
sure great question well there’s there’s three pillars and the first is it comes out of second timothy i did not give you a spirit of fear but a spirit of love power and sound mind and the first thing that i would say in wisdom is god has a purpose on every single one of your lives and it’s not to listen to a spirit of fear but to listen to a spirit of love power and sound mind when you listen to that spirit right then you can follow through on colossians 3 23 which says whatever you do do it with all of your heart as though working for the lord and not for man and that’s the key and i’ll just tell you like give him everything you’ve got when he’s asked you to do something say yes and give him everything you’ve got and so that’s the ultimate goal and it comes down to the one thing and it’s faith we have the only super bowl ring in the history of football to have a belief in a belief engraved in the side of the ring and it’s the word faith and the acronym for faith is for is freedom for all individuals to trust and hope in each other right and so in faith claim the spirit of love power and sound mind and give him everything you got when he’s called you to do something and then sit back don’t lean on your own understanding acknowledge him and he will direct your path straight
CHRYSANDRA :
I just know that everyone wants to come have you speak and to come perform, to sing, as well as purchase your incredible tools, your books. Tell us about some of these incredible books that you have and how you get a hold of you, Ben.
BEN UTECHT :
Well, the Lord has really, I think, blessed this calling on my life to bring the culture of Christ to the business world and have become a speaker all over the world on how to transform and build championship culture. You know, so you can find me at benutexspeaks.com. I love to do it. It’s my pastoral calling. We just launched my new business book called The Champion’s Creed, How to Transform Your Culture and the Power of Belief. With the preface by Tony Dungy and endorsed by by incredible leaders like John Maxwell. And so so excited to see what the Lord does in and through that. And yeah, you know, I I’m so my my goal is in my dream today. Chrysandra is is. is to just be used by him to bring the power of belief, to inspire belief into people. And ultimately that will lead us back to Jesus. So, Chrysandra, thank you so much for having me and everything that you’re doing with the calling. I just think, you know, you’re inspiring a lot of people and you’re helping them come into the fullness of their calling, which is exactly what you’ve been called to do.
CHRYSANDRA :
Thank you so much, Ben. Well, you know, I think all of us here at The Calling and we’re all together linking arms one by one, sharing that we are able to go after what we’re called to. And you are such a fearless example of it. And we are so grateful. We do have to give a quick shout out. Ben, would you be able to share who connected us and how much we appreciate him? Yes.
BEN UTECHT :
One of my best friends on the planet is one of the world’s renowned PhD in Christian literature and antiquities, was a part of the creation of the Bible Museum in Washington, DC. It’s the, in my opinion, the legendary Jerry Patten Gale, professor at Indiana Wesleyan University. Just such a man of character and integrity. and so authentic. I feel like that’s a word that we need to say more about people. He’s just so sincere and so authentic and I’m so blessed that he introduced us, Chrysandra.
CHRYSANDRA :
Thank you so much and yeah, Jerry, we are in awe of you and And can’t wait to have you on air here very soon. Challenge everyone. Please pull over wherever you’re at. Go follow Ben. Get involved in everything that he’s doing. Go to his website. Get these incredible books for your business, your church, your school. Couldn’t have better curriculum and content for changing the world, seeing heaven come to earth. and challenge everyone as Paul has said in Ephesians 4, 1, as a prisoner of the Lord, then I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Till next time, dreamer, keep dreaming big.
In this episode of The Calling’s radio show, Dr. Chrysandra Brunson welcomes Super Bowl champion Ben Utecht. They discuss the pivotal moments in Ben’s life that led him to the NFL and how his faith has been a cornerstone through every season. Discover the impact of servant leadership, the power of belief, and the importance of living a life worthy of your calling. Tune in for an empowering dialogue that motivates you to chase your God-given dreams fearlessly.
