Polk County running back Zach Miller holds a bible as he poses for a portrait in the locker room of the high school in Benton, Tenn. Miller is the area’s current leader in rushing yards, and the senior also recently became a minister at 17.BENTON, Tenn. – Like countless other Friday night high school football heroes, Zach Miller believes he is destined to continue doing what he loves on Sundays.
But while many players dream of an NFL future, Miller feels he has an even higher calling. Instead of bringing people to their feet with a pigskin tucked under his arm, the Polk County senior believes he can stir people’s faith with a Bible in his hand.
And the 17-year old has already begun to follow the career path he feels he’s being led toward.
Miller is used to having thousands of sets of eyes focused on his every move on the football field each Friday night. But two Sundays ago, during an evening service at the All Nations Church of God near Cleveland, Miller admitted to having butterflies while the congregation sat attentively as he preached his first sermon.
“I preached on forgetting your past,” said Miller, who has studied the Bible for about four years. “In life, people’s past can hold them back sometimes, but in the Bible God used many people who had a troubled past.”