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On a stage at the Transformation Church in Indian Land, South Carolina in front of nearly 100 men, stood former NFL All-Pro and Super Bowl Champion, safety Eugene Robinson sharing one of the most infamous stories in NFL history, his own. The day before Super Bowl XXXIII, Mr. Robinson was awarded the Bart Starr Award, for players showing outstanding character and leadership in the home, community, and on the field. This was a trademark of Mr. Robinson and the reputation he had earned around the NFL as a model player and a follower of Christ. Later that night he was arrested by Miami Police in a prostitution sting, and the story became one of the biggest stories of the big game in Miami. While some would choose to live their lives in an attempt to make people forget about one of their worst moments, here was Mr. Robinson sharing his story in an attempt to help other men make better decisions for their lives, for the sake of their wives and families. The former 3-time NFL Pro Bowler's testimony, humility, vulnerability, and impact, highlight the message and mission of a movement that is quietly becoming one of the strongest movements for Christian Men in the country, the K.I.N.G. Movement.
Founded by Fox Sports Analyst and First Things First Host, Chris Broussard, K.I.N.G. is a national Christian Men’s Movement geared toward strengthening men in their personal relationship with Jesus Christ by providing brotherhood, encouragement, accountability, knowledge, and fellowship (1). The name K.I.N.G. is an acronym for Knowledge, Inspiration, and Nurture through God (1). K.I.N.G. started nearly a decade ago with a morning prayer call and has since evolved into a national movement with chapters in 13 cities across the U.S. including Atlanta, Charlotte, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York City. For the past seven years, K.I.N.G. has held an annual meeting called the K.I.N.G. Summit. Following a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, the KING Summit resumed this year in South Carolina. This year's event featured the Friday Night "Crowning Ceremony" (a ceremony where new K.I.N.G. members are inducted into the organization after a series of classes and an examination) and messages from former NFL stars Derwin Gray, Eugene Robinson, Don Carey, financial guru Marcus Benjamin, and Chris Broussard. The event also featured workshops entitled; "Let's talk about Sex: Honoring God with Our Bodies", "The Whitewashing of Christianity", "Steps to Financial Freedom", and "Being the Husband and Father God Has Called You to Be". The three-day summit also included a hip-hop cypher from Charolette-based CHH artists and a 3-on-3 King of the Court Basketball Tournament.
According to Chris Broussard, K.I.N.G. started about a decade ago with morning prayer calls and has since evolved into a national organization with nearly 20 chapters. "We started about 10 or 11 years ago, it just started with a prayer call in the morning with several guys around the country praying and then it grew...we started implementing the vision a few years later and started building chapters around the country...and God has blessed, and we've been able to bring in hundreds of brothers from around the country...". Mr. Broussard went on to say, " We have chapters in different regions of the country, probably about 20 or so right now, and God is moving and every year it's getting better and better, and this year is no exception."
According to the men attending this year's summit, this year's meeting like those in years past, was very impactful. Army engineer and K.I.N.G. Charlotte Chapter member Brandon Walker attended the first crowning event in Charlotte, NC, and has since been a member of K.I.N.G., serving as this year's caterer. According to Walker, who was "crowned" in an event in Ohio, the brotherhood aspect of the movement led him to join K.I.N.G., "It was like a brotherhood, you know, and it also felt like college, because we were sleeping in dorms in these little twin size beds, but it was a weekend experience where brothers (were) coming together with the same purpose of becoming better men in Christ, that wanted to learn how to be just not better husbands, fathers, and leaders, but (also) better for their communities and their self so that right there I was like man this is something that I really want to be a part of so ever since that ... I've been a part of K.I.N.G". When asked about the "best talks" of the day Mr. Walker talked about the testimony shared by Eugene Robinson, saying, " that brother, man, on the biggest stage of his career to go through that and still give God the glory and still want to be able to speak about that... just think about the damage that's done to not only to his wife, but his son, his family, his daughter... but at the end of the day he still gave God the glory... it's a story of forgiveness and God's grace that was one of the most beautiful things for me. Mr. Walker wasn't the only attendee that commented on the impact of Eugene Robinson's message, another attendee Perry Robinson said, "Speaker Eugene rocked it and he said exactly what every man in there needed to hear".
K.I.N.G. serves as an organization where Christian men are taught valuable and practical principles to become better Christain men. Men who have risen to the top of their fields like Chris Broussard, Marcus Benjamin, Dr. Joseph Bryant Jr., Pastor Derwin Gray, Don Carey, and Eugene Robinson are all using their platforms, success, and failures to bring men closer to a knowledge of Christ and a knowledge of themselves in Jesus Christ.
"The Bible says that the comfort that God has comforted you with, that you need to comfort others that may be going through the same things and a lot of things that men don't say...is that they are suffering and they're in distress and there are things going on behind the scenes that nobody knows. ", said Eugene Robinson. Mr. Robinson also said, "Having the vulnerability to uncover those things and let them know it's okay and that you can get up and you can move and continue to follow the Lord, that's a big thing, that is huge because we play the lone ranger too much as men and... we don't want anyone to know what's going on, that's a dangerous place to be, so that message needs to be uncovered so that men can feel a little bit more confident in being the men that God has called them to be." According to Chris Broussard, the process of earning your crown in K.I.N.G. is meant to directly combat the “Lone Ranger” feeling, “it creates a bond, and it gives you a sense of belonging to something bigger than yourself. You know now that you are a part of a national brotherhood and movement of men that are trying to extend the kingdom of God and glorify Christ, that can inspire brothers, encourage brothers, and empower brothers in their daily walks…”