Apollos And The Scoreboard
Several days ago, at the behest of my eighth graders, I showed one of my classes' favorite video clips of the year. I mentioned it to the other four Bible sections and they wanted to watch it again as well. The clip is of a high school football player, Apollos Hester, right after a game in September of 2014. Hester, a wide receiver for East View High School in Georgetown, Texas had just helped lead his Patriot teammates to a 42-41 overtime win over Vandegrift. The local station interview went viral; in fact, I showed it to my classes last year right after it happened. Within several weeks, a company specializing in such works of art made a song out of the post game comments and that's what we watched Thursday. My five sections were singing regardless of the scoreboard as they exited Room 258. I like it when they leave happy.
Within several days of the original airing, Apollos Hester was a youtube buzzword as he was seen and heard bringing a spectacularly positive outlook on life with a number of cliches thrown in for good measure but also with praise for the Lord. I hate the overuse of the term perfect storm but that really describes what happened. The game was close, they fell behind, the reporter let him talk, and the anchormen played into the scenario. Most of all, it was an enthusiastic young athlete who said all the right things in a humble and charming manner, reminding us of the joy that still can be found in the purest form of sports. In a few days, he went from an unknown kid to an Internet celebrity. He's even had some gigs as a motivational speaker. We never know when our time will come and the course of our lives altered.
You know, there was an Apollos in the Scriptures as well. He's mentioned in three New Testament books and twelve times overall. Although he is never quoted, we're informed several times how he used his words to glorify God. In Acts 15:24, it's said he spoke with great fervor about Jesus. In verse 25, we learn he spoke boldly in the synagogue and in verse 28, we see he vigorously refuted in public debate the opponents of Jesus. It's obvious, Apollos was a powerful speaker and minister. In fact, Paul invokes his name several times in terms of unity and the growth that God gives. I don't know if football Apollos was named after 1st century Apollos but it's obvious they share some of the same traits, traits which can always be channeled to let the light shine on Jesus. Young Mr. Hester benefited from television and social media to broadcast his infectious brand of optimism as it related to football. The former Apollos helped spread the Gospel message throughout the world two thousand years ago. One thing hasn't changed- words still have incredible power. We must choose them wisely.
To watch the original news clip, click or copy/paste the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7ymriMhoj0
To watch and listen to the songified version of Apollos' interview, click or copy/paste the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CClOsC26Lw
Applicable quote of the day:
Live interviews are more difficult to distort.
Bianca Jagger
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
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