
He Himself is living in a relationship in a community. God Himself is God the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit - three in one. “I think a lot of people miss out, I know I did early in college to some extent, in understanding the true value of community, the true value of what we talked about - iron sharpening iron or spurring each other on. “Honestly, it’s been the most incredible thing being here with these guys in our locker room,” Wentz said. He could not have imagined a better situation. It’s so cool that so many guys have embraced that, and the fact that the quarterback is one of them, both quarterbacks, I think helps because that’s the most visible position.”īefore the Eagles drafted him, Wentz prayed daily that he would go to a team and be surrounded by guys who helped him grow closer in his relationship to Christ. Let’s use it to lift high the name of Jesus. There’s a lot of guys who would prefer to keep their faith private for whatever reason, and I think most of the Christians on this team have embraced the fact that we have a platform to share Christ. “It’s just so special that there are so many on one team and so many that I would call committed or mature, who are believers, who are solid in their faith, and so many who are outspoken about their faith. “Obviously, there have been Christians before,” he said. He began his career with the Oakland Raiders and spent one year with the Jacksonville Jaguars before coming to Philadelphia in 2016. Stefen Wisniewski also played for other teams before joining the Eagles. And when you realize that you can apply biblical principles to it, it helps us all grow.” When you’re able to talk about it among your brothers, among your family, it helps you grow. Only you can expose your weaknesses and the things you want to work on, whether it’s in your relationship or your marriage or your family. If I am going through some things, I may not express that to the next man. “I think here the difference is a lot of younger guys lead,” Smith said. Torrey Smith, who was part of Baltimore’s championship team and spent two seasons with the San Francisco 49ers before coming to Philadelphia, was impressed by the young leaders on the Eagles. “We want to bring the Lord as much glory as possible.” “We had a great brotherhood in Seattle, guys who loved Jesus passionately and were committed to the Lord, and that was the cool thing because you saw guys who were willing to put that much more into their sport because they knew they were honoring the Lord through their gifts and talents and abilities, so you saw the sacrifices probably even greater because they knew they were playing for something greater, and the same here with the Eagles,” said Maragos, who played for the Seahawks from 2011–13. But the 2017 Eagles were a different breed of young players who passionately shared the gospel, held each other accountable, and encouraged, motivated, and inspired each other to walk their talk daily. Same for the 2013 champion Seattle Seahawks with Russell Wilson. The 2012 Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens had a strong Christian contingent led by Ray Lewis. Many players from Reggie White to Kurt Warner to Tim Tebow have boldly professed their faith. Players, when they leave Philadelphia, they tell other players that what we have here is special.” “This was a reminder how precious it is, and it was a reminder of why we’re together, to become rooted, to become grounded, and then to spread it. “Whenever someone leaves, it is because you have an assignment and you are supposed to take it and share it,” Winsley said.

Pastor Ted Winsley reminded the players the trade would give Matthews an opportunity to impact a new set of teammates.

Replacing a guy like that in the locker room is not going to be easy.” This is my first time experiencing this with someone that’s one of my best friends,” Wentz said a day later. The six players gathered for an emotional sendoff dinner the night the trade went down, and then drove Matthews to the airport. They encouraged each other in tough times and pushed each other to dig deeper in their relationship with the Lord. They lifted each other when someone was down. Proverbs 27:17 says:Īs iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Wentz, Matthews, Trey Burton, Zach Ertz, Jordan Hicks, and Chris Maragos were the core of the team’s Christian brotherhood. Everyone on the team loved Matthews, a hard worker who did whatever he could to help his teammates. Matthews was his go-to wide receiver on the field and one of his closest buddies off the field. Wentz and Matthews had just traveled to Haiti together a few months earlier. Jordan Matthews was traded to the Buffalo Bills along with a 2018 third-round draft pick for cornerback Ronald Darby. One day after the Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Green Bay Packers in their 2017 preseason opener, the reality that the NFL is a cruel business hit Carson Wentz hard.
