From Pitch to Pulpit

  • Thought for the week

Gavin Peacock has just published his autobiography, “A Greater Glory: from Pitch to Pulpit.” Gavin’s father, Keith, played for Charlton and Gavin’s ambition was to be a professional footballer. When he was 16, he left school to play for Queens Park Rangers. Later he played for Newcastle United and Chelsea. During his career he made 540 league appearances and scored more than 100 goals. One of the highlights of his career was playing for Chelsea against Manchester United at Wembley in the 1994 FA Cup Final. After he retired Gavin worked for the BBC as a football pundit on Match of the Day.

Looking back Gavin says, “I’d achieved the schoolboy dream, if you like, I’d achieved everything that the world says will make you happy – the fame, the potential fortune, and the great career. And yet I wasn’t satisfied as I thought I would be, because football was my god. If I played well, I was up and if I played badly, I was down.”

One Sunday evening, when Gavin was 18, his mother said she was going to church, and he went with her. After the service the minister invited Gavin to the small youth group at the minister’s house. Gavin immediately noticed a difference between the other youngsters and himself: “I pulled up in a nice car, I had that bit of money in my pocket, the career, I was in the ‘in-crowd’, they weren’t. And yet when they spoke about Jesus Christ, when they prayed, there was a joy that they had, and a reality that they had that I didn’t.” Over the next few weeks, Gavin heard the good news about Jesus, recognised his sinfulness and received Jesus Christ as his Saviour. With his new-found faith, he continued with his career, no longer idolising football, but putting God at the centre.

In 2006 Gavin felt a call to preach, which he calls a “joyful compulsion”, and trained for Christian ministry. He and his family moved to Calgary in Canada where he is known more for his faith than his footballing past. He serves as a pastor at Calvary Grace Church. Drawing comparisons between football and faith, Gavin says: “I’ve played in front of 100,000 people at Wembley, and in front of millions on TV, in the biggest of stadiums, and against some of the great players. But nothing quite compares to going up there on a Sunday, whether it’s 25 people or 2,500 people, and preaching God’s Word. Because eternity and heaven and hell hang in the balance and you’re dealing with people’s souls; there’s no greater privilege.”

 

By Peter Milsom, May 10, 2021

This article is brought to you from the Thought for the Week website.
Thought For The Week was written by David Jebson from its beginnings in 1984 until his death in 2009. In March 2010 Peter Milsom took on this ministry. Click here to read more about this ministry. The articles are also published every week in newspapers throughout the UK.”