Reggie White

Reggie White, Green Bay's impossible defensive end, is known as the Minister of Defense because of the way he throws opposing linemen out of the way as he pursues a scrambling quarterback or a jittery running back. Standing 6'5" and weighing in at 290 pounds, Reggie is blessed with incredible speed and strength. Before beginning regular weight training, he could bench-press 425 pounds. He has clocked at 4.69 in the 40-yard dash-more speed than a man his size should be allowed to have. By anyone's standards, Reggie is no wimp.

"There are some people who say Christianity is for wimps, but people can say what they want," White asserts. "As far as I'm concerned, being a Christian makes you more of a man. Jesus was the bravest, toughest man who ever walked on the face of this earth. Before he died on the cross, he could have snapped his fingers and everything would have been over. But he chose not to do that and instead, died a painful death to pay for our sins.

"Studying God's Word helped keep my life on track, even though there were bad influences like drugs and crime all around me. Reading about the trials of Christ and others in the Bible makes me more committed to serving Christ."

And Reggie is certainly committed. This ordained minister has been preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ since he was 17 years old.

His mother recalls that when Reggie was 12, he wanted to be two things-a football player and a minister. Reggie cites several positive influences that helped him meet his goals. One was Reverend Ferguson, a white pastor in a all-black church. "Reverend Ferguson was the greatest man of God I ever saw. He had a way with kids and teaching," Reggie explains. "He helped me understand how to become a Christian by asking Jesus to be my Savior. I did that when I was 13."

Organized sports and Reggie's grandmother were other important influences during Reggie's youth. Playing baseball and football at the recreation center left him little time to get into trouble and helped him develop his natural skills and abilities. And his grandmother provided a true example for him of what living for Christ really means.

After living with his grandmother for a year in the projects of Chattonooga, Reggie returned to live with his mother in a mixed neighborhood. "I attended all-black junior and senior high schools, but some of my best friends were white," Reggie notes. "I didn't experience racial discrimination until I was older. When I did, I was shocked. You see, the Bible says, ‘There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.'

"Sadly, God's message hasn't gotten through to everyone. Often people wrongly judge others by the color of their skin or the quality of the clothes they're wearing. But in the book of 1 Samuel it says, ‘The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.' Some people consider me a success because I'm a good football player and because I make a lot of money. But if my heart isn't right-if I'm not living in a way that pleases the Lord-then I'm a failure."

White makes no secret of the fact that he is a devout follower of Jesus Christ. "I don't go around preaching in the locker room, but I try to live a certain way, and maybe that will have some kind of effect. I think God has allowed me to have an impact on a few people's lives," he adds.

Coaches, players and the press alike know of his reliance on God's guidance in decision-making. After White signed on with Green Bay, Packers' Coach Mike Holmgren revealed that he had left this message on the free agent's answering machine: "Reggie, this is God. Go to Green Bay."

But Reggie's peers know that he takes his faith seriously. No one, it seems, has ever heard him curse. Nor will he fight on the field. "Maybe a little pushing or shoving sometimes, but that's it," he says.

Inevitably, the question arises: How can White reconcile the brutality of football-the fact that he can say, "Every time I have a chance to get a lick in on Warren Moon, I've got to take it" -with his devotion to Christianity?

"That's something I've had to live with all my life," Reggie says. "When I was a child, I was always bigger than the other kids. Kids used to call me Bigfoot. They'd tease me and run away. Around seventh grade I found something I was good at. With football, I could use my size and achieve success by playing within the rules. I remember telling my mother that someday I would be a professional football player and I'd take care of her for the rest of her life."

Reggie is not only helping his mother, but he is also helping others. As part of his commitment to take the gospel back to his own people, he recently revealed a plan to improve the lives of minorities in Milwaukee's inner city.

"People look at me and say, ‘Well, he's go the money to do all these things.' But I can't do it all alone," Reggie explains, "No one can. Whether it's sports, helping others, or life in general, it takes everyone working together as a team."

White believes that God has given him outstanding physical abilities in order to gain a platform to preach the gospel. "A lot of people look at athletes as role models, and to be successful as a athlete. I've got to do what I do, hard but fair. That's the only reason I'm playing the game."

"People are missing out when they don't read God's Word and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. They're missing out on the greatest gift that God has ever given mankind.

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