Victory

The occasion is found in Acts chapter 8, and the disciple Philip was sent by an angel to the road between Jerusalem and Gaza. Traveling along the road was a man of authority from Ethiopia, who served the queen. Philip was instructed to talk with him. He was reading a passage of Scripture about Jesus, and we find beginning in verse 35:
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.
36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?"
37 Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."
38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.

This is an amazing story, in which every step was telegraphed by the Holy Spirit and a divine appointment occurred. Philip preached the gospel, the Ethiopian eunuch was saved, and he was baptized. This shows the progression for the believer in Christ - hearing the word, believing in Jesus, then being baptized - which has been described as an outward expression of the inward work of salvation. We can rejoice that God brings us into fellowship with Himself in Christ and sets us on a walk of obedience to Him.

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In Romans 6, we can read about the inner work that Jesus does in the person who calls upon His name. It says:
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,
6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
7 For he who has died has been freed from sin.

I am thankful for the many men and women who have been placed by God in a position of influence over young people who are modeling their faith in Jesus Christ.  That certainly extends to the realm of sports, where coaches are living out their faith and training their players to live out their faith on and off the field.

But, that offends some and intimidates others.  Consider the case of recent Meeting House guest Joe Kennedy, a coach for years in Bremerton, Washington who had been engaged in the practice of going to midfield to pray after games.  Someone contacted the school board to complement Coach Kennedy and the board warned him against this postgame action, then terminated him.  The U.S. Supreme Court, after a lengthy time in the court system, ruled that Kennedy was right in what he did, and was reinstated by the school board.  

Recently, coaches at Auburn University were supportive of event called, Unite Auburn, in which students gathered at Neville Arena for a worship service, followed by spontaneous baptisms at a nearby lake.  Prior to the event, coaches were encouraging attendance and head football coach Hugh Freeze even came and helped to baptize one of his players who had dedicated his life to the Lord. 

Of course, an atheist group, the Freedom from Religion Foundation has sent a letter to the president of the university complaining about the event, according to 1819 News.  U.S. Congressman Robert  Aderholt of Alabama stated, "The Freedom From Religion Foundation should remember that the U.S. Constitution protects religious expression for everyone, regardless of who their employer might be," adding, "This event should be praised, not criticized."

That same FFRF has become involved in a challenge to a baptismal service involving 20 football players at Tattnall County High School in Georgia.  Former head football coach Isaac Ferrell reportedly organized the event, and CBN.com reported:

Video posted to Facebook shows Pastor Gary Few directing players to sit in a black tub before saying to them, "I baptize you now, my brother, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."

The surrounding players cheer as their teammates are baptized.

Following the baptisms, Coach Ferrell lost his job. The article goes on to say that school superintendent Kristen Waters "...told Fox28 that she made the decision to remove Ferrell for an undisclosed incident and not the baptism." The secret incident allegedly occurred over a week later after a football game. Ferrell is still a teacher at the school. She related that, "the district decided that it would seek a head football coach that aligned with the best interests of the students of Tattnall County for the 2024-2025 school year..." She also said, "the District does not comment during ongoing investigations."

The mother of one of the students who was baptized, Latifa Johnson, "...told WSAV she found out on social media," according to CBN. She is quoted as saying, "It was so sweet because you see the boys and they looked like they wanted it," adding, "You know, like everyone looked excited, from the ones I was able to see. So I was cheering thank you, God. Yes, yes, yes. I was all for it."

The CBN article notes...

...Riley Gaines, director of the Riley Gaines Center and the former college swimmer who was forced to compete against a biological male, applauded Ferrell on X writing, "The team lost their coach, but 20 young men found the Lord...Jesus wins."

20 football players in Tattnall County, Georgia publicly affirming their commitment to Jesus Christ, baptized by a local pastor.  "Jesus wins!" Indeed.

I mentioned earlier that public expression of religion offends people.  But, I think it also wins people. Even though groups like the FFRF and their ilk are determined to cleanse public displays of religious faith, the fact is that not only was our nation founded on a deep religious faith, with an intent of providing religious freedom, but we need more Christians living out their faith.  If we believe that Jesus died for the whole world and if we have experienced life transformation, that is something that ideally we cannot keep to ourselves.   

To echo the line from Ms. Gaines, which was included in the CBN headline, "Jesus wins!"  When faced with the mental health crisis that is impacting our young people, we recognize that there is victory and healing.  As people seek to medicate their deep hurts, wounds, and perceived deficiencies, the power of God can cure the soul and even the body.  Jesus wins!  He has triumphed over the power of sin.  He has loved us and made it possible to come into a relationship with God.  For that, we can be thankful. In a broken world, we can turn to the One who can bring salvation into our lives. Jesus wins!