From drugs to Christ: Former Fighting Tiger Ben James caught a break and change his life at CU

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Original Source – Fall 2015 – Page 50 (actual page is 18 in PDF)

man in front of humvee holding gun
Ben James changed his life at Campbellsville University. (Photo Submitted)

 

“I had no intention of having a life-altering experience at CU. I just wanted to play football and attend an occasional party,” Ben James, 2008 graduate and former Fighting Tigers football player, said about his time at Campbellsville University.

James, of Lawrenceburg, Ky., said he wasn’t very receptive to the idea of attending a Christian college, but chose CU based on the football team’s passing percentage.

“I had no intention of molding into what I thought the university wanted me to be,” he said.

It was Sept. 4, 2004, when CU’s Fighting Tigers faced off against NCAA Division I-AA team Austin Peay University, and James was the only freshman wide receiver allowed to dress for the game. In a huge upset, CU defeated the Governors 27-14.

“We were a very strong team among a very strong Mid-South Conference,” he said. “Our defense was actually ranked 13th in the country at one point, and our offense broke the scoring record with what I believe was a 56-point overtime game.”

In 2005, at the annual Maroon and White game, James, who was only in to run a specific play and wasn’t supposed to do anything else, intercepted a pass and scored a 25-yard touchdown.

It wasn’t until his sophomore year that he began to seriously think about his life. James, a Lawrenceburg, Ky., native, had been to many parties and partook in the consumption of drugs and alcohol. All of that began to weigh heavily on his heart, but he didn’t know what to do.

man in Navy uniform
Ben James

“After my sophomore year’s pep rally, prior to our Homecoming game, I prayed on our football field with a bunch of students,” he said. “That night, through the witness of two of my teammates, I accepted Christ into my life in South Hall. Two weeks later, I was baptized.”

Within a month he started having adverse reactions to the drugs he often took, and soon was unable to take them without fearing for his life. He stopped, and has been drug free for almost 10 years.

Before graduating, he and some classmates went on his first and only mission trip to a Lithuanian drug and alcohol rehab center.

“It was amazing,” he said. “I got to share my personal testimony about what Jesus did for me when I was using drugs and alcohol.”

He graduated with a degree in the mass communication field, and joined the U.S. Navy the next day. He was a part of the aviation unit and served at more than 1,200 Navy funerals as an honor guard, as well as several Miami Dolphins, Miami Marlins and Florida Panthers games. He is now a recruiter, and has been nominated for Sailor of the Year for 2015.

From dorm life to lifelong friends, James still has many fond memories of CU. He said he went through a lot of changes that shaped his life for the better.

“I honestly think that going to CU may have saved my life,” he said. “Many of the peers I ran around with prior to accepting Christ are in some very serious situations in life, and some have actually passed. I think that my calling may have just been to be there. I am so grateful for the staff, students and the Godly atmosphere that CU provided because without it, I am not sure where I would be. I love that place, man.”

James is stationed in Florida with his wife, Summer, and they have one son, Weston.