Football Faith: 52 NFL Stars Reflect on Their Faith

by Rob Maaddi

Football Faith  will inspire and encourage you in your faith journey, as 52 NFL players share their stories and how they are chasing the success that only comes from being God's man and following His plan. These men are committed to living their lives with eternity in mind. Empowered by God, they are looking beyond the competition to a larger following God's game plan for their lives as team players, as husbands, fathers, sons, and then using their influence to point others toward Him. Featuring personal stories from Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, Colin Kaepernick, RDeion Sanders, and dozens more--plus with a foreword from Coach Joe Gibbs.

216 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2015

Reviews

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light and enjoyable read, especially if You're a Christian who loves Football. If You're looking for an in-depth look at these players and their lives, You won't find it here. But I will say it was a delight to read the essays these Men wrote.



I recieved an Advanced copy from Netgalley.com and the publisher.

[Reed Ohrtman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a very good representation of how faith is so important in a football players life when it comes to the tough time and things get stressful they turn to God and the bible which I think is a great thing, but one thing that I wish they would change a little bit more is the depth they go into with the players in the book they usually only use 3-4 pages to describe what they players faith is about and how they use it, I wish they would use less players and have more of a message from the players, overall this was a great book to read.

[Kirk Weikart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was given to me as a present. Unfortunately, the players are out of date (2014).

[Kyle Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

We need more books like this. Everyone - young kids through adults - look up to professional athletes, celebrities, and entertainers as role models. The problem is that too often the true role models get pushed aside to make room for the scandals that plague celebrities and athletes. This book highlights 52 professional football players and coaches who have a strong personal relationship with Jesus Christ. These are retired as well as current players. The overall theme of this book is humility. Most of the players in this book profess that their athletic ability is a gift from God and they live their life both on and off the field to give Him the glory. There are many stories of choosing the wrong path in high school or college, only to end up broken and running to Christ later in life. Michael Vick rediscovered his faith while in prison. Michael Irvin was led to Christ by teammate Deion Sanders. I found it encouraging that many of the athletes profiled went on to become ordained ministers after they retired.

The foreword is given by Coach Joe Gibbs. He compares life to a game, where you and I are players, God is the coach, and the Bible is the perfect playbook. Each profile starts with a favorite verse by each player/coach, followed by a short testimony about how they came to Christ, why the verse means so much to them, or the principles they live by, and then there is a list of each players career stats. I really enjoyed this book, and I would like to see athletes from other sports featured in the same way. When I was young, I lived and breathed professional wrestling. I recently discovered that many former wrestlers have had their own experiences with coming to Christ, with a few of them becoming ordained ministers and evangelists. I received this as a free ARC from Barbour Publishing, Inc., Shiloh Run Press, on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Doreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Football Faith was an encouraging, inspiring book. It highlights 52 NFL players and coaches with a strong faith in Jesus who see God’s hand in their lives. Each section starts out with a verse that means a lot to the athlete. They then explain why it means so much to them as well as a lesson or two or principle that they live by. Lots of the athletes are familiar no matter what team you root for: Jared Allen, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Russell Wilson, Michael Vick, etc.
The stories tell of transformed lives. Reading them made me rejoice and marvel at the grace of God. It’s so refreshing to read of sports figures that I could point out to my son as being worthy of emulation and admiration. These men realize that football is not the most important thing in their lives. Their main identity is as children of God.
In this book about football heroes, God gets the glory. It’s wonderful. This would be a great book for any football fan or anyone with a child interested in football.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book for the purpose of this review.

[Missy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Football Faith features entries for 52 professional football players (one for each week of the year?). Each entry begins with a favorite Bible verse shared in the player's own words. Some simply explain how they apply the verse in their own lives. Others describe how the verse contributed to their larger faith journey. Entries are brief, which I believe will keep the intended audience engaged.
Scripture stories are followed by Extra Points, which tell of some sort of charity involvement, mission work, or some career goal or achievement beyond professional football.
Finally, there is a quick overview of the player: position, weight, age, high school, career highlights, etc. Every entry ends with an action photo.
I was provided an electronic advanced copy for review. There were some font and layout issues I assume will be corrected before the book goes to press.
I will be purchasing this title for my private school's library. This book would be appealing to middle school - high school football fans.

[Barbara White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Football Faith is a very enlightening book. You're given an inside look to the players and their lives, their faith. Boys would enjoy this book for the color photos, career stats of the players, and ease of reading. I feel as though I have a new outlook on players in the NFL.
Thanks to Goodreads for a copy of Football Faith. It's a winner.