Personal Welcome

Personal Testimony

Contact Pastor Ron

Pro Athlete - to Prison - to the Pulpit

Text from an article published August 27, 2004 in the "Football 2004" supplement to the Blairsville Dispatch, written by John M. Jennings.

FROM FOOTBALL TO PRISON TO THE PULPIT

PRO FOOTBALL WAS BRIEF, BUT LIFE IS ETERNAL, SAYS DERRY PASTOR

Ron Kosor had two dreams when he was a kid. One was to play pro football and the other was to go into ministry.

He accomplished both goals, but there were many twists and slips along the way. If a teenager came to him today and said, "I want to play pro football," Kosor would tell him, "Learn to play golf. Football is brutal."

Kosor, now pastor of New Life Community Church (as of 2004, it is Alpha Lion's Den Ministries) in Derry, was once the top center coming out of college football, a possible number one draft choice for the National Football League.

All that changed in an instant when he tore his hamstring working out for scouts.

"I didn't pull it. I tore it. Once you're injured, you don't get drafted," Kosor explained.

Plus, it was made clear that the 6-1, 270 pound Kosor was too small to make it in the NFL. He needed to get bigger in a hurry.

Kosor explained, "It's not said directly, but indirectly. The pressure is subtle…but if you're a defensive lineman and you don't weigh 300 pounds, you're not going to get drafted. Tough decisions have to be made."

Thus the North Carolina State senior was introduced to steroids, which were officially illegal but in practice, universally used in pro football, Kosor said.

Soon Kosor-who today is burly, but hardly NFL-massive-was up to 305 pounds and his hamstring was as good as new. He said it was his first taste of injury.

He signed a free agent contract with the New England Patriots just after the patriots had been to a Super Bowl.

Kosor remembers it was a great time to be with the Patriots, then coached by Raymond Berry. He was starting at center in the exhibition games, until Pete Brock, their all-pro center, returned from injury.

Then suddenly Kosor was shunted to the "injured reserve", where he spent the rest of the year, and then was cut.

"That's just the process. That's the way it goes. They try to save on numbers. They kept me around in case Pete got hurt."

The following season, "I was picked up by the Detroit Lions," but that didn't last long. "I signed a three-year contract, but that's where I had my career-ending injury."

In a blocking drill, his arm was caught awkwardly against a big defensive lineman and his tricep ripped away from the bone. "I was going against Jerry Ball, a 350-pound nose guard, and my arm got caught up in between us. And just like that, I knew I was done. I still have six screws and seven staples holding my arm together."

Football, in particular pro football, was his goal from the time he was a small boy in Ruffsdale, a rural area in southern Westmoreland County. "Some of our neighbors didn't have electricity," he recalls, "There were a lot of outhouses. I started to chew tobacco in second grade."

His background could be called rough. His mother and father divorced; his mother and sister moved away, and his father, a long-haul trucker, spent weeks at a time on the road, leaving Ron to fend for himself.

But he never had to worry about bullies. He calls himself a freak of nature because he was not only the biggest kid around, but his speed set him apart athletically.

His father taught him to box and arm wrestle, and he made himself a bench press out of 2x4's and nails. At 15, he won a state arm wrestling championship against adults.

KOSOR BECAME STAR ATHLETE AT CENTRAL CATHOLIC

He played two years of midget football before he outgrew the weight limit. His early school years were spent in the Yough system, but he entered Greensburg Central Catholic High School when "people who knew about my athletic ability wanted me to go to Central."

Kosor blossomed at Central, and the Centurions soared with Kosor playing tight end and defensive end. "I lettered there four years in several sports."

"He was fast, strong, athletic," recalls John "Silky" Sullivan, Central's football coach at the time. "He was a very focused kid. He was into weight lifting before other kids."

"He was stronger and more mature," Sullivan added, "than other kids. Even in ninth grade, you could tell that he had the ability to go far, even to the NFL."

Most big-time college football teams came courting him, "Pitt, Penn State, Notre Dame, Florida, Florida State-I pretty much had my choice of where I wanted to go to college. But I sent a letter to this tiny Christian college, Evangel College."

Friends and family told him he was crazy, throwing away a scholarship to the nation's best universities. "But I had seen this tiny Christian college play football on TV and I decided I wanted to play there. And they never replied to my letters. I don't know if they never got them or they missed a great opportunity."

Kosor was an evangelical Christian at an early age; "I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior in seventh grade." He said. Nevertheless, he got along fine at the Catholic high school. "I made many good friends at Central."

"I've always believed-don't major in the minors. I had a good time at Central." Sullivan pointed out that many non-Catholics have attended the school, generally because of its academic reputation, and "It's never been a problem."

He did very well in the classroom at Central, "and that carried over into college. I was able to graduate with two degrees, in criminal justice and sociology. I always applied myself. When I was in class I wanted to do well. When I was in football, I wanted to be the best at that. And now that I'm in ministry, I want to do well at that.

"You see, I have the opportunity to touch a lot of churches. That's what this area needs, unity in the body of Christ, not somebody who's going to steal people from one church to another. I talk to people at the coffeehouse who say 'We may start this church or that church.

"I say to them, 'Don't you think there are enough churches already?' I mean, you look at the Yellow Pages-there are thousands of churches in Westmoreland County alone. We need men and women to stick together and support each other."

He wound up at North Carolina State because he developed a relationship with the coaches, who include Tyrone Willingham, now the head coach at Notre Dame, and Jim Bowman, offensive coordinator at Ohio State. In retrospect, he says it was a good decision. "Playing at North Carolina State was one of the best times of my life, up to my senior year, because there was a coaching change, and that's always hard for everybody. But I got two degrees, I was involved in a bunch of different ministries, including Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Athletes in Action, Campus Crusade for Christ.

"I was involved with Prison Fellowship for Chuck Colson when that was first getting started. It really had an impact on my life." Such ministries "weren't like church. We were able to minister with one another."

Red-shirted his first year in college, he became a four-year starter, "which is almost unheard of now." Kosor played nose guard his first two seasons at North Carolina State, center his junior year and guard his senior year. He was rated the second best center in the country by the end of his college career with the Wolfpack.

(He did make one detour from football, or almost did. "I almost walked away from football before my senior year of college," Kosor explains. He wasn't getting along with the new staff. "There were a lot of us who had started as freshmen, when the new coaches came in, we were thinking about leaving. But I had never quit at anything, and I didn't want to start.")

Preparing for the NFL draft, "I went to a combine camp at New Orleans. I was rated number two center by one combine and number one by another. But it was in New Orleans that I tore my hamstring on one of the 40 yard dashes, which really hurt me, because I was projected to be drafted in the first round.

"There's a big difference between pulling your hamstring and tearing it. I couldn't run anymore. They usually don't draft you if you're hurt. So I signed with New England as a free agent, and it was as if I was drafted."

Nevertheless, the difference between Division I college football and the NFL is difficult to grasp for those who haven't experienced it, Kosor says. "That jump from college to pros is very, very tough, much tougher than the jump from high school to college. Because the guys are older. A lot of guys don't make it. It's brutal."

"Back then pretty much everybody was on steroids. They didn't have the knowledge, the education that people have now. And we tell people that at church or at the Lion's Den. People understand the ramifications, but in the 1980's nobody knew."

Steroids made him incredibly physical. "I was probably bench pressing 600 pounds at the time. That's pretty strong." Yet they also probably produced too much muscle for his body to accommodate. "I tore the muscle right off the bone," and he still winches a little at the memory.

What's it like to try to win a spot on a pro football roster, especially for someone who wasn't drafted? "It's tough." he admits. "Then they were paying hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, now they're paying millions per year. You can imagine the battles that go on out on the practice field."

Kosor brought his big reputation from college ball to the pros, "so I had more respect from the coaches than regular free agents." Coaches with the Lions probably would have given him more time to heal, "but I knew I was done."

After football Kosor returned to Raleigh, N.C. and entered business. "I applied the same zeal to business that I had for athletics. I had a limousine business, a sports bar/restaurant and a beauty salon," the latter with his mother and sister.

"I was doing very well. I had all kinds of money, but I was never happy. God had put it on my heart to preach."

His life hit bottom in the late 1980's when he was indicted on federal drug changes, including distribution of controlled substances.

According to his website, www.godslionden.com, beside abusing and dealing steroids, he was also distributing cocaine.

PRISON SENTENCE WAS A LOW POINT AND A NEW BEGINNING

He believes that his supplier was charged and began to name names. After losing his money and his businesses, Kosor was sentenced to 18 months in prison. He was sent to the federal lockup in Loretto, Cambria County.

Even that turned out to be a positive in Kosor's life. "There is a verse in the Bible, (Romans 8:28) 'He causes all things to work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.'" He began to lead a Bible study among his fellow prisoners.

"I had some time to really search my heart, to make lemonade out of lemons, if you want to put it that way. I wanted to be a leader in God's Kingdom," he said, "not necessarily just a pastor because I think there are greater calls than just being a pastor."

How did he survive his time in prison? "By God's grace. That's the only way you can do it." He credits God's protection from any of the much-publicized dangers of being locked up with felons, calling it both a time of "God's chastisement and mercy."

After his release from prison he opened a car dealership with his father, and while he was preaching and speaking regularly in the area, he still didn't become a full-time minister. "I didn't have the financial resources." He said.

Among the speaking engagements at that time, he was active with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. "I was trying to use the things that I had been through as an example to others, so they wouldn't go down the same path."

But it was at this time in his life when, he says, God sent him his greatest blessing. Churchgoers urged a local woman to visit him at his office. "This woman walks in and says 'I'm Deborah. I'm supposed to meet you.'"

Eleven months later they were married.

"She's one of the strengths of my life now. She's stuck with me through thick and thin. That's what you need-people who are going to stick by you no matter what. We've had our struggles and our hard times since we've been married, but God has been faithful."

They have no children, "just thousands of them in the ministry."

But he wasn't quite done with steroids-or at least the effects of steroids.

"Now, people understand the side effects of steroids, but back in the 1980's, nobody knew. You remember people like Lyle Alzado of the Oakland Raiders and Steve Coursin of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Steroids are why these guys died at an early age. These great athletes died a few years after they retired."

Kosor believes that steroid abuse almost killed him as it did Steelers' Hall of Fame center, Mike Webster. Shortly after he was married, he began to suffer severe chest pains, and then began a seemingly endless round of medications and trips to the emergency room.

He had a heart condition known as atrial fibrillation, "where my heart would just take off and beat at unbelievable rates, and they couldn't bring it down. They had me on probably 16 different medications at one time or another.

"Three and a half years, it almost killed me. I lost 70 pounds. I couldn't understand why I was so sick." He said, and noted that he was praying for an answer while God was asking why he was still not devoting himself to ministry.

PASTOR CLAIMS, 'GOD HEALED MY HEART.'

"People don't believe God heals, but I'm living proof that He does."

In 1999, he attended a faith healing service in Pittsburgh led by evangelist, Benny Hinn, and was standing in the balcony when "It was like I was hit by a bolt of lightning, that's the only way I can explain it. I knew that God had healed my heart."

He went home and threw away his medications, "and my heart specialist said if I don't take my medicine that will kill me."

"But since that day I haven't taken so much as an aspirin. I put all my weight back on. I'm doing two ministries, and I feel great."

He soon sold the car dealership and entered the ministry full-time, becoming pastor of a church near Belle Vernon and opening a Christian coffeehouse in Youngwood. "People need a place where they can just hang out." he said.

Last year, Kosor came to New Life Community Church in Derry (now Alpha Lion's Den Ministries), officially a United Methodist church but one Kosor prefers to call "interdenominational". There aren't going to be any Methodist streets or Baptist streets in Heaven." he says. (In February 2005, the United Methodist church lifted their charter and turned the church, parsonage, parking area, and Clifton Apartments over to the stewardship of Pastor Ron and Alpha Lion's Den Ministries, Inc.)

Kosor said he believes his ministry is meant to bring people together-not put labels on them.

New Life Community Church thrived for 25 years under Dr. Donn Chapman, but started to slide after he departed. The church was talking about closing until Kosor arrived. Within a few months, two Sunday services were started, a traditional service and a contemporary service. Wednesday nights became "Meat-eater's Bible Study", what he calls "an intense study of God's Word." On Thursdays "I spend my whole day counseling." He said stories he hears from Derry residents are "unbelievable…Kids trying heroin."

Friday nights he spends at the Youngwood Coffeehouse. Saturday nights sees gospel music concerts at the Derry church.

He recognizes that his status as an ex-pro football player gets attention, and he tries to take advantage of that status. "We do a lot of ministry at the church and at the coffeehouse because of my background. A lot of the parents idolize sports."

"I tell them, 'you don't have to beat up your kid in kindergarten to prepare to be an offensive lineman for the Steelers. Give him some time to grow up. Let him grow up and develop as a child.'"

Does he still follow pro football? He responds with a story about speaking to a Promise Keepers meeting, a group of me who pledge to live by Christian principles. It was clear they all were football fanatics, so he asked them, "Who won the Super Bowl six years ago?"

He continued, "You guys are obsessed with watching a bunch of grown men chasing a pigskin."

"I look in the stands and there are half-naked men, men with a skull and crossbones painted on their head, men eating dog biscuits. But if I'm in church and we sing and stand and clap our hands, they think we are weird."

"I told them I haven't watched a football game in four years, and they thought I was kidding. I haven't."

One of his few remaining links to sports (he golfs "a little bit".)is contributing to the TV show "Sportweek" hosted by Tom McGough on the Christian station Cornerstone TeleVision. "Football consumed me," he said. "It was my whole life. I was one of the best centers in the world. I lifted weights every day of my life until I retired. Literally, every day. In college, I broke the lock on the door to get into the weight room. The coach threatened to take away my scholarship."

"But it wasn't just working out. If I was in church Sunday morning, I was thinking about who was playing that afternoon. I'd watch the Sunday afternoon game, and then the 4pm game, and then get something to eat and get ready for the Sunday night game.

"I'd watch the Monday night game, I'd be up until 12:30 in the morning, and already I'd be thinking about the Thursday night game. I'd go watch a high school game Friday night, and then on Saturday, I'd watch five, maybe six college games. I was so into sports, it was an idol for me. It shows how backward a society we are, it's ridiculous."

Does he carry a reminder of his football days and the toll sports takes? "Deborah woke me up this morning and told me I needed to move my truck so she could get to work. She needed to give me enough time because it takes me five to ten minutes to walk down the stairs." This from somebody only 40 years old who didn't play pro football very long. "That's what football does to your body." he shrugged.

Which brings him to words he tries to live by, quoting Galatians, he said, "Be not deceived, God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man soweth, so shall he reap." He adds, "Whatever you do in life, it comes back to you. When I've been faithful, those have been the best years of my life. But when I've turned my back on God, those were the worst years."

For more information on the church and Pastor Ron Kosor, visit www.godslionden.com

UPDATES SINCE THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN:

  • Alpha Lion's Den Ministries, Inc. became a 501c3 non-profit ministry in 2004
  • They absorbed New Life Community Church into the corporation in February 2004 and officially became Alpha Lion's Den Church
  • Joining with Angel Food Ministries, Inc. of Good Hope, Georgia in June of 2006, ALDM has become a thriving Host Site, providing nutritious food to all who choose to participate. Angel Food's motto: If you eat-you qualify is also ALDM's by-word. Look for the link to Angel Food on the left side of this page!!
  • For a small $25, you can receive as much as $70 in first quality groceries!! The meat is USDA retail store quality and never any out-of-date or seconds!!
  • Call 724-694-9901 for information about Angel Food. The church office is open 10-4 Monday thru Friday to answer calls and to take orders
  • Pastor Ron has begun watching football again---"All things in balance."
  • By vote of the congregation, our two services combined into one Spirit-led service each Sunday.
  • Please feel free to join us during weekly services:
    Sunday- 9:30-11:30 am Free luncheon follows the services
    Wednesday- 7-9pm Meat-eater's Bible Study
    Friday- 7pm –open worship. Come as you are!