It's almost here! One of my favorite days of the year – Super Bowl Sunday! It really doesn’t matter that neither the Arizona Cardinals nor the Pittsburgh Steelers are among my favorite teams, the days leading up to the Big Game really get me fired up. All the hype, the prognostications, and the analysis is often more exciting than the game itself.
A couple of Super Bowls ago, one of the pre-game interviews completely captured my attention. Within the professional sports culture, we hear so many tales of boys behaving badly, so when I heard Samkon Gado’s story, I was amazed.
When Martha and I began writing our second book, I knew that we needed to include Samkon’s story. We spent over an hour on the phone with him, and it was refreshing and inspiring. He’s walking by faith, trusting God to move him day-by day to the place that he can serve Him and others most effectively. “I don’t want to presume about where the Lord will have me serve,” he said. “I’ll just wait and let God unfold it for me one piece at a time. I’m praying, ‘God, just send me wherever I can be the most useful.’”
His NFL career has been a roller coaster ride. The year after this video appeared, Samkon was released by the Houston Texans and signed for a brief stint with the Miami Dolphins. Then, when the Dolphins didn't renew his contract this year, he began preparations to enter medical school. But before he could complete the entrance requirements, the St. Louis Rams called on him to finish the season with them. Just this week, Samkon signed a new contract with the Rams for the upcoming 2009 season.
In the interview with us, Samkon, the son of African missionaries, told us that he knew that God had called Him to someday return to his native Nigeria as a medical missionary. Until that door opens, God has burned a picture into Samkon’s heart. He sees it when he closes his eyes at night, when the cheering crowd is quiet and the stadium’s lights are dark. “I see an image of people living in absolute misery, with no hope, and no future. God wants me to bring hope and healing to those people. He wants me to show them Jesus.”
This post started simply enough. It was just going to provide a link for you to hear an interview that we did on WCTS radio in Minnesota. And, here it is...
http://www.box.net/shared/h6evftms1e
Then, in the midst of a bit of personal reminiscence and some inspired illumination, my very basic post began to evolve. I thought it would be nice to close my initial entry with a “shout out” to Alex. He’s our “technical guru” who set up the download of the interview from the WCTS website. What I was struggling with, he made very easy. It didn’t cost me anything other than the expected ribbing from Alex, that it was such a simple task that I should have been able to figure it out for myself. He enjoys doing that whenever he gets the chance.
Alex and his wife Sara are a part of our Sunday School class for families. We love having them in there every week! They’re newlyweds and bring a unique perspective to our class. But our history goes much further back than that. Alex has been in SOME class that we were teaching since he was in middle school. Through his teen years, and now into adulthood, we’ve watched him become a man, and he has become my friend. But, wait, it gets even better. Alex’s mother, Jackie is a part of our Sunday morning class, too. We first became acquainted with her just a few years back (thirty-something?!), when we were her youth pastors and she was just in high school. You can always depend on Alex’s Aunt Mae, another of our youth ministry alumnae, and Uncle Roger in that Sunday School classroom. They have become among our very dearest friends. And, then, in the morning worship service, Martha and I find a seat next to Alex’s grandmother, Lula, who greets us with a big smile and a hug.
So I started thinking about how unusual that probably is, in today’s culture and in a big city with a large transient military population. But, then I realized that, though it’s noteworthy now, it’s probably what church was always intended to be - people sharing life and faith, encouragement and accountability. Church offers lifetime relationships that serve as a springboard for each of us to be about our mission. It’s not about a building, or even a Sunday School class or a morning worship service, even though those things are important. Church is about people and our connection to each other. The book of Acts calls it “koinonia.” I’m thankful that God thought it was so important that he placed people like Alex and his family in my life.
