Deacon Jim Mullin
Episode 355 Part 2
24 NOV 2025
He played college football, first at William Penn University and then at Missouri Western State University, including playing in a combined total of three bowl games. After college he played club lacrosse for several years and became an avid cyclist and swimmer and even competed in two short-course triathlons. In high school he was team captain for varsity football and was a three-time Missouri state qualifier in swimming and senior year state qualifier in discus. On the faith side, he is a convert and serves as Deacon and Minister of Evangelization at the Church of the Nativity in Leawood, Kansas, and was recently appointed to the Archdiocese Synodal Team.
Notable guest quotes:
“When something’s important, when God gives you a direction, that’s what’s important. That’s what you stay focused on.”
“Faith is what really got me through playing four years of football.”
“At one time… I realized, I’m not going to the NFL… So, I recognized, I needed to get an education. But I felt like I was still called to use the gifts that God had given me. And sports just really helps us separate the easy life or something that’s more difficult to attain.”
“I had a coach at one time say, you never quit in the middle. You can quit at the end of the season, but you never quit in the middle… It’s a little bit like Ignatian discernment as well. When things aren’t going well, don’t stop what you’re doing, discern.”
“You really connect, especially with cycling and swimming, long distance swimming, it’s a great way for me to really kind of focus on the Lord. Conversations are much deeper. When I’ve got my body distracted doing something for a long period of time and it’s tired, I find that my soul can open up a lot deeper and those are some of the best times of spending time with the Lord and really allowing him to talk.”
“It’s about the character and what we’re teaching those kids, not so much about the sport itself, but really about life and how do you take these lessons into life.”
“Doing what’s right when it’s hard, if I learned anything, that’s exactly what sports is about. It’s not about just winning at all costs.”
“The lesson that I really learned in working with the homeless, it wasn’t the food – we would take them socks or the necessities that they need – it really was in remembering their name, the dignity that they felt being seen as you remembered their name.”
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