Meet the God Squad

April 11, 2007 — -- When 31-year-old Zach Johnson gave an interview after beating Tiger Woods to win the Masters' Golf Tournament last Sunday, he talked about his wife and new 14-week-old baby boy -- understandably. And predictably, he thanked his coaches. Less expected was his shout out to his tour chaplain and to God.

Johnson, who locked up his win on Easter Sunday, said, "I felt like there was certainly another power that was walking with me and guiding me."

Johnson isn't the only sports figure getting that feeling. He is one of more than 1.2 million athletes who belong to a not-for-profit organization called the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Founded in 1954, the FCA is based in Kansas City, Mo., but now has chapters in all 50 states.

You'll find it on 23 college campuses and in more than 7,000 schools. And that doesn't include the summer camps, coaches' seminars and assorted team prayer "huddles."

The FCA even has its own trading cards with names like Andy Pettite of the New York Yankees, Tony Dungy, a former NFL player and current coach of the Indianapolis Colts, and Lisa Leslie of the WNBA. FCA's aim is to help athletes become acquainted with "God's game plan" and to have a "personal faith in Jesus Christ."

Notwithstanding David, who beat the odds against Goliath, "fearsome competitor" isn't always the first phrase that comes to mind when one thinks "Christian." That indicates a stereotype Les Steckel, president of FCA, has heard before.

"So many times Christian athletes are seen as milquetoast or not competitive. But that's not true. We play to win," said Steckel. "First Corinthians, Chapter Nine, Verse 24 says, 'There's only one race and you run to win'."

Steckel, a former Golden Gloves boxing champ and a former NFL player and coach, knows that most people believe a Christian life and a sporting life don't always go hand in hand.

"Every coach will tell his players to sacrifice themselves, to deny themselves so that the team can win," he said. "Well, as Christians, we say that we must decrease and 'he' must increase. So it's not about the individual, it's about 'him.'"

Team FCA calls itself "competitors for Christ," but Steckel points out that while "God may be on their side," technically, that doesn't necessarily guarantee them a win on the playing field.

Coach Steckel was on the wrong end of one of the most spectacular losses in Super Bowl history.

In the last quarter of Super Bowl XXXIV between the St. Louis Rams and the Tennessee Titans, the Titans were down by three points when Titans player Kevin Dyson caught a pass on the Rams three-yard line. Dyson was tackled as time expired -- he was 1 yard short.

Coach Steckel was the offensive coordinator for the Titans. "I don't mind telling you that I dropped to my knees after that loss and prayed to God and asked for an answer. Why did we lose? That answer took a long time to come."

Two years ago, Tracy Ellis-Ward left her full-time job as senior director of basketball operations at the WNBA to do full-time ministry work for the FCA, as area director for New York City.

"The pay is a lot better in corporate America. I now have to raise my own salary and operational fees, but my decision was personal," said Ellis-Ward. "I wanted to find a way to serve and still be involved in sports. I came across the FCA, and it seemed like a perfect fit."

What keeps Ellis-Ward going, she said, is the knowledge that people want a closer relationship with religion.

"The FCA helps athletes to see the synergy between their spiritual life and their gift, which is their sport," she said.

The FCA is successful, said Ellis-Ward, because it understands the athlete culture. "Everyone has problems sometimes, and athletes and coaches know that they can find camaraderie and understanding with other athletes and coaches [who are FCA members]," she said.

According to an interview posted on the FCA's Web site, Johnson said he was inspired to become a Christian when he met his future wife in 2002.

"I always thought being a Christian seemed boring, but it is really the exact opposite," Johnson told FCA.org.

He added, "Golf is my job and how I support my family, but what's more important is that I can use it as a way to spread the word of Jesus," Johnson said.

Ellis-Ward agreed. "It has impact on others when [they] speak out about the gifts that he has given them."

Leo Sandon, professor emeritus of religion and American studies at Florida State University, is an expert on religion in sports. Sandon agreed that there is a strong component in school, collegiate and professional sports of organized Christianity. "It has really grown in leaps and bounds over the last three decades. It's become a dominant motif."

While Sandon said he could see the benefits in building morale on a team, it is a concern because it can become an overbearing thing for people who don't happen to be Christian. "It's an issue of pluralism. What do you do with a Jewish player or a secularist or a third generation black Muslim?"

Sandon added that the idea that teams or individuals could believe that they are real champions because they are Christians "can represent a shallow if not tawdry religiosity."

Zach Johnson's win will inevitably raise the profile of FCA, as the organization continues its ministry, fanning across the "playing fields of faith."

As Johnson put it after his big win, "I felt like regardless of what happened today, my responsibility was to glorify God and, hopefully, he thinks I did."

You could almost hear the million or so FCA players and coaches say "Amen to that."

Additonal reporting by Nadine Rubin of ABC News.