While the Philadelphia Eagles have been the primary NFL team making headlines for their displays of Christianity this season, it seems the Dallas Cowboys are following suit with their own public professions of faith.
The Cowboys’ team chaplain, Jonathan Evans, shared a video on Facebook last week of him baptizing linebackers Justin March-Lillard and Anthony Hitchens, along with safety Kavon Frazier.
“It was an honor to baptize 3 Dallas Cowboys who identify themselves as Christ followers first,” wrote Evans of the sacred event.
Evans proclaimed 2 Corinthians 5:17 as he entered the pool, preparing for the baptisms: “Therefore those who are in Christ are a new creation. The old has gone and the new has come.”
“And like I said in the prayer, baptism is just an external expression about an internal reality,” he continued. “Now after accepting Christ, he’s a new man. Going under the water means he died with Christ and coming back up means he’s resurrected to the newness of life.”
As the began the first baptism, Evans instructed, “I want to hear you say in front of all your teammates, that number one you’ve accepted Christ and that number two you’ve decided to live for him.”
All three players proudly confessed their faith in front of their teammates, who emphatically cheered them along from the pool sidelines.
23-year-old Frazier says he was baptized as a young boy because his mom made him, but he wanted this profession of allegiance to Christ to be an act of his own free will, as a sign of renewed commitment.
“We all decided we wanted to get baptized again,” said Frazier. “I got baptized when I was younger. My mom made me get baptized when I was [3 years old]. I was always a believer, but this is the first time that I really took it serious, or took God serious, and started fully trusting Him on and off the field with every situation.”
According to the American Bible Society, “Dallas is the most Bible-minded city in Texas,” so for some, these baptisms come as no surprise. But it’s still pretty amazing to watch big, burly men on such a coveted platform bow their knee to a man much more worthy of praise: Jesus Christ.
I pray these fine young men continue to be a shining example to the rest of their NFL brothers this season, by directing their praise on and off the field to the Almighty King.
