After much prayer and consideration I am excited to announce my commitment to Henderson State University! Thank you to @Coach_Hols @ReddiesFB and all the people who have continued to believe in through this journey! Go Reddies!!

Joe Perry was a fisher of men. Someone who never missed an opportunity to share the Gospel with others and lead people to Christ. And, as importantly, to encourage and motivate other believers to do the same. The stories are many, like playing rounds of golf with foursomes of people he didn’t know and who didn’t know Jesus. He also had a huge heart for kids. And in that heart, God planted a seed to develop a program to use sports as a platform to reach the youth. That became the Prestonwood Sports Organization (PSO), founded over 26 years ago as the first ministry of its kind in America, which now serves over 5,000 boys and girls and their families each year with the message of the gospel and to develop followers of Jesus. The first time Joe ever reached out to me was in 2010 when he wanted to make an introductory video for his son Caleb who was scheduled to speak at the end of year PSO sports gathering. Caleb was an all-district and all-area football standout at Arlington High School and was the 1997 Texas Christian Athlete of the Year before heading off to play on the offensive line at the University of Arkansas. Photographing high school and college sports wouldn’t happen until the middle of that decade for me, but you could say that that video was my first ever documenting of an athlete. Joe would periodically ask for my help over the next several years, and with Azadeh we also worked to develop the Persian Ministry with him. Joe’s grandkids were still young at this time, but it was pretty much a given that when they came of high school age we would take in a game together. But on October 22, 2018, while on a trip to see Caleb coach as the offensive coordinator at Hewitt-Trussville High School in Alabama, Joe suddenly was called home to be with the Lord. His race here was finished, but his enormous legacy lives on. Several years went by and his wife Linda would keep us updated on the grandkids, all of whom are exceptionally talented and athletic. In 2020, Caleb became the head coach at Bauxite High School in Arkansas, where his kids are now excelling in athletics at Bauxite Middle and High School. Two years ago, we made arrangements to take in a football game during his son Eli’s sophomore year, only for him to break his leg early in the season. A second attempt last year was intercepted by the tearing of an ACL in his knee. Praying for complete healing and protection, the third time became the charm as we were finally able to connect up north last Friday to witness Bauxite take on, and beat, rival Glen Rose in their season opener. It was pure Friday Night Lights magic. The best that small town high school football has to offer. The only thing missing was Joe. Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:28-31

First big play of the year! Safety 🙏🏼