Larry Gleason
At their May 3 meeting the Fellowship enjoyed hearing James Jones, former NFL defensive lineman, share his personal testimony as a Christian. Born and raised in Davenport, Iowa James recalled his mother made sure he was in church and Sunday school every week until he was 16 and he noted at age 12 he gave his life to the Lord. James stopped going to church at age 16 so he could hang out with others his age. He stated there was lots of pressure to do things society expects young men that age to do, not all of it good. In high school he was a four-sport athlete and athletics made his personal identity. Highly recruited by college football coaches, he chose the University of Northern Iowa. In college James enjoyed the good life as a successful athlete and ultimately achieved a life-long goal of being drafted in the NFL as a third-round pick in 1991. During his first three years in the NFL, despite being in a career he loved and making a good salary, inside he wasn’t fulfilled. During this time Christian teammates often invited him to their Bible study which he declined. After his wife gave her life to the Lord in 1993, James subsequently did the same a year later. He stated that it took him a fair amount of time to make the necessary changes in his walk with the Lord. James spent a total of 10 years in the NFL never missing a game. He played first for Cleveland and subsequently Denver, Baltimore and Detroit. Although life as a professional football player may appear glamorous to the public, such is not the case for the players. The players have constant mental stress as coaches are watching/reviewing their performance on every play and they either play well or are replaced. As the years went by, James often asked himself what God wanted him to do as a husband, father and friend. He concluded his presentation by explaining how he found the answer when the Holy Spirit inspired him one day while he was working on his car. Like himself, many people know their car’s basic operation and necessary maintenance but little beyond that. Yet all the details a car owner would ever need can easily be found in the car’s instruction manual, which most people feel they don’t need to read. It was that day the Holy Spirit helped him realize that God has provided us with His “manual” which tells us how to deal with anything that comes up in our lives. He began studying the Bible and has come to understand the Bible is the living, breathing word of God that has answers for all things that come up in our lives.
Fellowship member Tom Tamura announced that a nationwide revival, called Harvest America and led by Pastor Greg Laurie, will be broadcast live and online from the University of Phoenix Stadium on June 11. It will be broadcast to churches, theaters and homes around the U.S. Tom indicated this is a free event and many churches from the Phoenix metro area will be attending. He encouraged Fellowship members to participate in the Harvest America revival.