By OBBM Network Editorial Staff

Derived from an episode of Get on The Ark.

What would happen if the average churchgoer left the pews and took a stand on school boards, city councils, and street corners? Coach Dave, a former high‑school football coach turned evangelist, argues that today’s believers must move from passive spectators to active salt‑shakers. In a candid conversation with host Darren Conrad, he recounts a two‑year legal battle with the ACLU, the founding of his “Pass the Salt” ministry, and a stark warning that the church’s silence is feeding a cultural flood.

The Turning Point: From Coach to Crusader

Dave’s journey began on the football fields of London, Ohio, where he enjoyed a decade of success in the 1990s. A self‑described “beer‑drinking, cussing, carousing guy,” he says his life was radically transformed in 1978 when he experienced what he likens to “Superman walking into a phone booth.” The conversion turned him into a committed Christian, and he soon began praying openly with his team.

That public expression of faith led to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in 1997. “I was sued by the American Civil Liberties Union for praying with our football team,” Dave recounts. After a two‑year legal fight, he ultimately resigned, interpreting the episode as God calling him out of the coaching profession and into ministry.

Pass the Salt: An Edgy Ministry for a Dark Age

In the wake of his resignation, Dave launched Pass the Salt, a ministry focused on “on‑the‑street” evangelism, podcasts, and unapologetic proclamation of biblical truth. He emphasizes that the ministry is not about “sugar”—a metaphor for sweet, harmless Christianity—but about salt, which preserves and flavors. “When the salt loses its savor it’s good for nothing except to be cast out and trodden under the foot of men,” he says, echoing Matthew 5:13.

The ministry’s daily live show, hosted at CoachDaveLive.com, invites callers to challenge him, even calling him an “idiot.” Dave believes this open‑mic approach reflects the urgency of his message: Christians must stop being “the average Joe” who sits quietly in church and start confronting cultural issues head‑on.

Culture Wars and the Call to Action

Dave paints a stark picture of America’s cultural climate, describing a “spiritual storm” that mirrors the biblical flood. He blames a generation of secular, atheistic education for removing the Ten Commandments from public schools and silencing prayer. “The Supreme Court gave us the lie of the separation between the church and state, which is nowhere in any of our founding documents,” he asserts, linking the legal doctrine to the erosion of Christian influence.

He urges believers to become visible in civic arenas, especially school board meetings. “When’s the last time your pastor took the congregation to a school board meeting?” he asks, suggesting that a unified Christian presence could force policymakers to reconsider curricula that promote “homosexuality, transgenderism, lying, stealing, cheating.”

Personal Encounters with Power

Dave shares a brief but memorable encounter with his state representative, Pat T. Berry, in Columbus. After a 20‑minute conversation, the legislator thanked him, saying, “We never hear from you.” The comment reinforced Dave’s belief that Christian voices are largely absent from public decision‑making, leaving them to be “like a bear out in the woods all by ourselves.”

He also references his time in New York City after 9/11, describing the “pagans” he saw at Ground Zero with piercings and colored hair, using the scene to illustrate what he sees as a broader demonic influence permeating society. For Dave, the battle is not merely cultural but spiritual, citing Ephesians 6:12: “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but principalities and powers, evil spirits in high places.”

Practical Steps for the Disengaged

To move believers from the sidelines to the front lines, Dave proposes concrete actions: attend school board meetings, write letters to legislators, and organize inter‑church coalitions to voice concerns. He stresses that fear is the primary barrier, noting that “the church is very, very ignorant of what’s really going on around us.” By replacing fear with the “power of love and a strong mind,” he believes Christians can reclaim their role as “the salt of the earth.”

Ultimately, Dave’s message is a call to awaken a dormant Christian majority, urging them to engage in the public square with the same fervor they once displayed on the football field. He concludes that while Christ will win the ultimate spiritual war, believers must “win now” by confronting the cultural forces they view as hostile.

Coach Dave’s story is a vivid reminder that faith, for him, is not confined to Sunday services but is a call to action in every arena of life. Whether on a high‑school field, a city council chamber, or a bustling street corner, his challenge to Christians is clear: become the preserving, flavor‑adding salt that the world desperately needs.

The full episode of Get on The Ark is available on OBBM Network TV.