Hi, I’m Jacob Milea. I’m a 28-year-old Christian, a husband and father to be currently living in Syracuse, NY. My wife and I just recently moved back home to help our church, Believers Chapel develop their young adults ministry. I have a Master’s degree in Biochemistry from Syracuse University and I’ve worked for two Fortune 100 companies doing Biochemistry related Research and Development work. I’ve traveled internationally quite a bit, including spending a year in China helping to plant a church on the number 11 University in the country. Totally illegal. Since then I’ve spent time traveling the US “recruiting” via public speaking and interacting with young adults, presenting them with the same amazing opportunity I had to travel to China and play a role in the completion of the Great Commission. I have my own blog that I update monthly with content, as well as whenever inspiration strikes. If you enjoy my guest post, even if you don’t, feel free to meander over and check out my blog (be kind it’s still in the construction phase): Jacob Milea’s Wordpress. Enjoy.
-Jacob-
In a world of shocking instability, there are very few things that you can count as reliable. “JoePa” wearing his thick-rimmed glasses, paired with the blue and white of Penn State roaming down up and down the sidelines of Saturday college football games was one of those things. A man dedicated to not only his craft but also his community, Joe Paterno coached college football at The Pennsylvania State University, aka Penn State for 62 years. 62 years. For you non-sports aficionados, that is the longest tenure by any coach, on any college football team in the history of Division 1 college football. The man was a legend.
His accomplishments on the field were vast; Paterno led Penn State to two national championships, 5 undefeated & untied seasons, 4 undefeated seasons winning their major bowl game and not being awarded the national championship (a complete anomaly in todays college football landscape), 37 bowl appearances and a record 24 bowl wins, 409 career wins (no other Division 1 coach has ever reached the 400 mark), College Football Hall of Fame Inductee in 2007, Sports Illustrated Sportsman Of The Year Award recipient, as well as 17 different Coach Of The Year Awards. His on the field accomplishments are staggering.
But even more impressive were his off the field accomplishments; JoePa’s philosophy as a coach was to fuse academics with athletics, regarding ethics and proper moral behavior as the status quo within his program. The student athletes entrusted to him graduated at a rate of 78%, 11% higher than the NCAA average. He and his wife collectively donated over $4 million dollars to Penn State and they aided in raising over $13.5 million dollars to help an on campus library expansion project. Many Pennsylvanians would tell you that Joe Paterno was the most powerful man in the state.
On November 5th, 2011 Joe Paterno’s long time friend and defensive coordinator for the Penn State football program, Jerry Sandusky was arrested on 40 counts of sexually abusing eight young boys over a 15-year span. I remember sitting at my breakfast bar watching ESPN as the news broke late one evening and thinking to myself “Oh my God”. I was literally speechless. My mind began to race, “JoePa had to have known”, “They’re saying these acts happened on the campus and at Sandusky’s home…there’s no way JoePa didn’t know”. Within days news broke that almost ten years prior one of JoePa’s assistant coaches had a vivid first hand encounter, where he witnessed Sandusky forcibly raping a young boy in the showers at Penn State. Not only did JoePa’s assistant coach witness the event, but came to Paterno’s home to confide in him, recalling the account. According to grand jury testimony Paterno’s response was “I’m sorry you had to witness that”. I’m sorry you had to witness that?!
To quote Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben from Spiderman on his deathbed “Remember, with great power comes great responsibility.” The word of God says it like this “When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required” Luke 12:48 NLT
I think the visceral reaction is for us to immediately point the finger of blame first at Jerry Sandusky, then secondarily at Joe Paterno. Sandusky’s actions were egregious at best; no one in their right mind would contest that. However, some people would contest that JoePa did what he was required to do by law; he reported the crime to his direct supervisor the Athletic Director of Penn State, Tim Curley. Mr. Curley then reported the crime to the overseer of Campus Police at Penn State, Gary Schultz. They would argue that the inaction did not fall on the shoulders of JoePa, but on that of his supervisors, Curley and Schultz. That’s a hard pill to swallow.
If you witnessed a bank robbery or a murder, or had special information that could lead to the capture of said bank robber or murder, and you don’t come forward with the information and the cops find out, you’re an accessory to those crimes. If your friend calls you and says “Hey, come pick me up at the Bank of America”, you pull up and he’s wearing a black ski mask with holes over the eyes and mouth, dark clothes, with a 45mm in his hand and a bag full of cash, you certainly don’t let him get in your car! Do you?! In my mind Joe Paterno’s inaction, especially paired with the clout he held on that University and in the state of Pennsylvania was criminal and is really no different than the scenarios above. His inaction regarding the information he had been entrusted, aided, abetted, and enabled Sandusky to continue his heinous actions towards minors.
I do not envy the position Joe Paterno was placed in one bit. Because of his accomplishments and notoriety, his inaction was magnified. 62 years of hard work and sacrifice and a squeaky clean body of work are now and forever will be tainted because of one poor decision.
As Christian leaders, we can learn a lot from the Penn State scandal. JoePa was in a tremendous place of leadership because of hard work and dedication, a place many of us aspire to achieve within the Christian community and life for that matter.
In first Timothy chapter 3 we see that there’s nothing wrong to desire such a place of leadership. 1 Timothy 3:1 says “It is a trustworthy saying, ‘if a man desires the office of a minister, he desires a good thing”. Chapter 3 continues to define the Biblical criteria for various leadership positions within the church. Try some of these on for size:
o Live a life above reproach
o Faithful husband
o Self-controlled
o Hospitable
o Good reputation
o Ability to teach
o Sober
o Non-violent
o Gentle & Non-quarrelsome
Just to name a few…
If a man like Joe Paterno, an iconic figure of Americana can make one indecision that could cause his career and life to come to a crashing halt, and ultimately contribute to his untimely death, what makes us think we are disinclined to making the same types of moral compromises? I bet there were many sleepless nights over that almost ten-year span where he said to himself “If only…”
“If only. Those must be the two saddest words in the world.” - Mercedes Lackey
Follow Up Questions:
1). Is there anything I’m currently going through that I should seek out counsel on a major decision that I’m unsure about?
2). Is there something I’ve kept secret that needs to be revealed to an authority figure in my life?
3). In what ways could one simple decision (or lack thereof) cripple my ministry and my life? And how can I surround myself with proper accountability to prevent such a catastrophe from happening?
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