This week’s Faith, Family, & Football feature is: Renaldo Wynn, Former Player.
Renaldo Wynn played in the NFL for 13 years where he spent 6 seasons with the Washington Redskins, 5 seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 season with the New York Giants and 1 season with the New Orleans Saints.
Renaldo currently works for Joe Gibbs Racing, in their ministry division in a program called Game Plan for Life. Game Plan for Life is a men’s outreach ministry that Coach Joe Gibbs started three years ago as an extension of the book, Game Plan for Life. Game Plan for Life travels to different cities across the U.S. to seek out lost men from every demographic background and walk of life to fellowship and present the gospel.
Renaldo loves to do this because he is able to share the gospel and serve others using his unique platform. Below, you will learn how Renaldo has evolved into a husband, father, and man of faith throughout his career and how he has continued to carry out his calling in life. Enjoy.
PE: Why is faith important to you?
Wynn: As a man you are the leader of your household and it all starts with faith. You have to ask yourself, “What do you believe?” For me, I believe that faith defines you and it’s my foundation in good or bad times. I wouldn’t be here without my faith.
PE: Tell us about your family and the impact they’ve had on your life?
Wynn: My wife and daughter have always been a great supporting cast. As you know with football it takes a lot of commitment and they’ve stuck by my side through thick and thin. I’ve been married to my wife for 18 years now, and I definitely give credit to her for keeping me focused on what was most important. Coach Lou Holtz often told me that she was the reason I was able to stay focused enough to remain eligible, graduate, and ultimately get drafted. I am so thankful that God blessed me with her and I don’t take it for granted.
PE: What does being a father mean to you?
Wynn: As a father you’re a leader. All of your actions have significant influence and set an example for your kids. The question that I’ve most recently asked myself is, “Am I exuding the type of leadership for my daughter that she would want to follow?” Not just because I am an authoritative figure to her, but because I am setting a good example in my faith and one that she would want to follow. The bible says don’t provoke your children, and as a father that’s something that you have to remember. At the end of the day you have to be encouraging, but also learn to correct and chasten in love.
PE: How has your faith and family helped you develop off the field?
Wynn: When times are really tough you have to your faith and family to serve as pillars of strength. When you compete in the professional ranks, you’re always faced with pressure. Pressure is a constant, regardless of sport, and competing under those circumstances at all times can be extremely overwhelming. Because of that, I think it’s important to have a strong faith and family base to serve as an outlet and keep you from bottling it in. For me, my wife has been that person to be encouraging when I’ve been injured and had to play through injuries and still perform at a high level. She’s been that rock I can depend on to pray for me and say encouraging words.
PE: How did you balance faith, family, and football?
Wynn: An athlete recently asked me a question, “Can you be the best athlete you want to be while not selfishly committing all your time and still be able to please God?” The answer is yes, because you can’t worry about the others before the most important thing which is pleasing God. That’s our goal. If our desire is to please him, then we are going to fulfill every other desire and goal that’s within us. When you put God first, you’ll be able to be the best father, husband, and football player without any doubt in your mind.
PE: What advice would you give to student-athletes and current professional athletes in regards to their faith, family, and football?
Wynn: As I look back, I wish I had more of a God conscious than a football conscious when I was in college. Through those years, I learned that my motives for playing didn’t fulfill me. I never really jumped all the way in (with my faith) and was kind of seeking God as a good luck charm. I was after this goal (NFL) and did everything I could to attain it. When I finally got to that point there was still something missing.
From my experiences, my advice to student-athletes and future professionals is to be transparent. If you chose to take a chance on God and give your all to him, you will have a relationship and realize that God is going to do above and beyond what you could ever imagine. Not to say that it’s going to be a perfect world, but you can overcome distractions, temptations, and all the other things that the enemy will try to do to take you out. Even when you fall, God will pick you back up.
Click on the links to learn more about Game Plan for Life and Renaldo’s role:
Game Plan For Life
Chalk Talks with Renaldo Wynn
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