It was a September day in 2002, and Shaun Alexander was dialed in. Then a running back for the Seattle Seahawks, Alexander scored his first touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings from 2 yards out on Seattle’s first drive of the game. On the Seahawks’ next possession, Alexander rumbled 20 yards for another touchdown. And he was just getting warmed up. Before the half was over, Alexander would score three more times to set an NFL record for most touchdowns in a half. Alexander calls the game the most memorable one he’s played since entering the NFL in 2001. Alexander went on to become one of the NFL’s elite running backs for a time. In 2005, he won the league’s Most Valuable Player award and set an NFL record with 28 touchdowns during the season (broken by LaDainian Tomlinson the following year).
But football is a fickle sport. As quickly as Alexander rose to stardom, he descended into mediocrity. The Seahawks cut him after the 2007 season, and he recently signed with the Washington Redskins as a backup. Despite his accomplishments on the field, however – and the disappointments -- football isn’t Alexander’s highest priority. Yes, he enjoys it, and yes, he works hard at it. But when it comes to the most important part of Alexander’s life, football can’t compare to the God he serves. “Football is what I do, but my passion is Jesus – to learn about Him and to act like Him,” Alexander says.
Alexander demonstrates that passion in a number of ways. He has tried to live an obedient life and has stayed away from alcohol and drugs. He honored the Lord in his dating relationships by keeping himself sexually pure until marriage. When he signs autographs, he always adds the biblical reference Psalm 37:4 – what Alexander calls his life’s verse -- under his name: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
But one of the most consequential ways in which he displays his devotion to Christ is how he takes young men under his wing, mentors them and teaches them God’s Word. All across the country, dozens of teenagers and young men consider themselves to be Alexander’s “little brothers.” Through his intimate ministry to them, Alexander is changing the world one life at a time. “Many young males today have not had good examples to show them how to become successful men,” Alexander wrote in his book, “Touchdown Alexander.” “They want – and need – role models, and they’re just not there. Their primary role models, of course, should have been their fathers, but too often the dads just didn’t fulfill their roles. I call that the Great Curse – the Fatherless Plague.”
Alexander keeps in touch with his little brothers through text messaging, e-mails and phone calls. He’ll give them passages of Scripture to study. He’ll talk to them about resisting temptation and being faithful men of God. “True faith is knowing the Word and being obedient,” Alexander says. “You’ve got to know the Word and agree with the Word, and then be obedient.”
To some, he is indeed like a big brother. Take Jordan Shimon, of Waukesha, Wis., for instance. Shimon, 21, works with a local church youth ministry, and says Alexander has played a tremendous role in his development as a Christian. “Realizing what a man of God’s walk is, is where he came through and helped out the most,” Shimon says. “I knew about Christianity. I just didn’t know how to be a Christian so much.” Through his relationship with Alexander, Shimon has grown in his faith and feels confident in defending it, even in a university environment that is often hostile to Christianity. “I make it a goal to become friends with sinners, because I’m so comfortable with my morals,” Shimon says. “I’m armed with the knowledge where I think I could put up a good fight with people who are nonbelievers and basically try to show Jesus’ love to people everyday.”
To others, like C.L. “Shep” Shepherd, Alexander is more like a father. Shepherd grew up in Apopka, Fla., with nine brothers, six sisters and no dad. His father was a well-known drug dealer and spent time in prison. Shepherd didn’t even meet him until he was 14 years old. Not long after that, the young Shepherd met Alexander during a summer Fellowship of Christian Athletes camp, shortly after Shepherd became a Christian. From the moment he met Shep, Alexander was vocal about his concern and care for the teenager. “I had never heard a man tell me he loved me before in my life,” says Shepherd, who now works full time for FCA in Atlanta, Ga. “I never had a man in my life except for Shaun. Shaun was the only one who ever tried to reach me in a positive way.”
Dozens of other young men have similar stories. Some of them are going to college because of scholarships Alexander provided. Some of them have led their parents to the Lord. All of them will quickly acknowledge how life-changing their relationship with Alexander has been. “I think that the greatest thing that God has used me for is to give people confidence to be strong in their walk,” Alexander says. “It’s great to know that just by one word or one connection you can change a whole generation.”