5 Lessons Learned While In The NFL

Two weeks after the 2014 NFL Draft, I signed with the New England Patriots as a Rookie Free Agent. In a matter of 24 hours, I had moved across the country and began a four month long test of trying to sprint a marathon. For four months in 2014, I was able to be in a locker room with popular names such as Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Darrelle Revis, Vince Wilfork, Matthew Slater, and Julian Edelman, to name just a few.

Whether you’re a sports fan or not, I am sure the lessons that I learned are similar to many of what God has taken you through or will take you through. So, in no particular order:

1. God is supremely desirable. By the providence of God, I came across two books that could not have been any more influential for me during that time: Desiring God by John Piper and The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards by Steven Lawson. Through these men, the Holy Spirit awakened me to more of the inestimable riches of the glory of God. John Piper put into detailed words much of the desire of my heart. Steven Lawson showed through the life of Jonathan Edwards that God is infinitely worthy to live for.

   
   Even while playing in the NFL, God was graciously drawing me nearer to Him. He continued to show me more and more the infinite beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The saying is trustworthy: “The man who has God has all things.” Day by day I was learning that during those four months and day by day I am still learning this. As Paul says, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8).
   
   Nevertheless, this desire is never perfect. It was and still is a struggle to fight off the idolatry of respect, success, and acceptance. By showing me more and more of the gospel, the Holy Spirit kept sanctifying me. He continued to expose my idols and contrasted them with the glories of Christ. I also needed to see other guys like Matthew Slater and Asa Watson in their walk with Christ. There were several men on that team who were genuinely pursuing the Lord. Were it not for this community I am sure I would have more readily caved into temptation these idols offered. And this develops into the second lesson.
   

2. Stay in the company of godly people. Work can be a dark and dry place spiritually yet the sovereign work of our great God provided me with a band of godly brothers. Men such as Matthew Slater, Asa Watson, Jack Easterby (our team chaplain), and Devin McCourty became people who I came to greatly admire because of their relationship with God.
   
   Jack was pivotal for me during those months. He was unashamed of the gospel even while around celebrities. I not only learned from him as a Christian but also as someone who was feeling the call into ministry. Jack was always around whether we were on the field or playing trash can basketball in the locker room. He was a servant. He was willing to take on any activity so that he could be around to love on us. Jack was authentic. He was bold. He was truly a shepherd for the team.
   
   It was having these Christian men around that greatly shaped me. We cannot grow in a vacuum. But, the people we surround ourselves with need to be those who love the Lord. God tells us that in order to love people we actually begin by loving and obeying Him first (1 John 5:2). Even before that, we will never love God and others unless we first know His love for us (1 Jn. 4:19). These were men who were soaking in the love of Christ for themselves. These men followed hard after the Lord and they overflowed with His gracious love onto the other members of that organization.
   

3. The local church is crucial. During my time in Foxborough, I attended CityLife Presbyterian even though it was in downtown Boston. God greatly used the local church to fuel me for the week ahead.
   
   God is revealed through the preached Word. Hearing the gospel preached does something within us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Even when distractions were frequent and cares were many it was the preaching of the gospel that continued to transform me. It was during this season that I learned how integral corporate worship is for the soul.
   
   When God is your treasure and joy, you long to gather with fellow believers and worship God. But if we’re honest we don’t always feel “on fire” for God. Often times we are weary, beaten up, and struggling with unbelief. The temptation is to skip church, sleep in, and have a “lazy Sunday”. Yet it is hearing the preaching of the gospel, partaking in the Sacraments, and gathering with the saints that truly grows us. The local church is critical for our growth in Christ.
   
   Westminster Confession of Faith 25.2 says, “The visible Church, which is also catholic or universal under the gospel (not confined to one nation as before under the law), consists of all those throughout the world that profess the true religion; and of their children: and is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the house and family of God, out of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation.” And when we think about the word salvation we must not only think about how people are born again but the entirety of the Christian life.
   
   The Christian needs to “be still and know” that God is indeed God. Every week we gather for corporate worship we are reminded that God is God and He is our God. This is the Bride that Christ purchased by His blood that we might together live as a royal priesthood.
   

4. New cleats wear out, God’s covenant does not. Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman used to mess with me because of the single pair of cleats I wore for a long time while I was there. Cleats become well worn and at some point they cannot be used anymore. While in New England, I learned more of God’s unbreakable covenant that we have with Him by the blood of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit pressed upon me the unfailing promises of God (2 Corinthians 1:20). When practices went bad or off the field struggles grew, I realized that one thing was always constant and that was the eternal love and sovereignty of God. In a place where you walk into work every day wondering whether you’re going to get cut or not, it is an unrivaled joy to know the surety of our God.
   

5. Learn names. Maybe this is not what you were expecting one of them to be. Without a doubt, one of the most impressive things that I saw was the personal interest Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, had in his players. I had heard that he prided himself by knowing every player’s first name. Sure enough, I passed him in the hall one day to hear him call out my first name. Mr. Kraft is the highest man in the organization yet knew the lowest. Jesus Christ is the Supreme Ruler of all things, yet names the stars (Psalm 147:4). Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, yet He called His disciples to follow Him by name (Isaiah 43:1, Matthew 4:19).