Garth Pleasant Shares Five Life Lessons From Preacher Coach And Family Man

Faith Facts

• Garth Pleasant served as a preacher for over fifty years and is retiring this weekend from Horton Road Church of Christ in Jackson, Michigan.
• Pleasant coached basketball at Rochester Christian University for 38 years, winning 720 games and four national championships.
• He has been married to his wife Pat for 55 years and always placed family above professional success.

Garth Pleasant, the legendary small-college basketball coach and longtime preacher, is retiring after decades of service in the pulpit and on the court. His simple wisdom has shaped generations of players, students, and church members.

While attending the Michigan versus Oklahoma football game last Saturday, Pleasant shared five life lessons drawn from his roles as preacher, educator, coach, family man, and sports fan.

“I don’t consider myself a theologian,” Pleasant stressed. “I don’t have a master’s in theology or anything like that.”

He rejected the idea that ministers should leave congregations wondering what was said. Instead, he focused on practical messages that helped people facing real struggles like incarceration, divorce, and illness.

“I always said, ‘I’m preaching to myself.’ I tried to talk on topics that I thought people might be struggling with,” he recalled.

As an educator for nearly fifty years, Pleasant valued the classroom above all else. He emphasized critical thinking over indoctrination and made learning engaging with field trips and personal interaction.

“I feel like (too often) in education, we don’t teach kids the critical thinking — we indoctrinate them,” he said.

Coaching changed dramatically during Pleasant’s career. He moved from a strict, dictatorial style to one that involved players and showed greater compassion.

“I said, ‘I’d rather be with all of you in heaven and not win national championships than win national championships and not be with one of you,’” he explained.

Family always came first. Pleasant took his sons on team buses to away games and never let wins or losses affect his home life.

“I took my family with me. My boys rode on the bus with me. I’d get them out of school, and it was a family affair. Wins should not come before your family.”

Even as a sports fan, Pleasant has mellowed with age. He now switches to wholesome shows like Little House on the Prairie when games become too intense.

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