January 27, 2023 Show with Gavin Peacock on “A Greater Glory: From Pitch to Pulpit”

Live from historic downtown Carlisle, Pennsylvania, home of founding father James Wilson, 19th century hymn writer George Duffield, 19th century gospel minister George Norcross, and sports legend Jim Thorpe, it's Iron Sharpens Iron.

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Afternoon, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Lake City, Florida, and the rest of humanity living on the planet Earth, who are listening via live streaming at ironsharpensironradio .com. This is Chris Arnson, your host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, wishing you all a happy Friday on this 27th day of January, 2023.

I am so glad that during a conversation recently with my friend, Owen Stran, that he reminded me I need to get Gavin Peacock back on my program, and I immediately took him up on his recommendation and his reminding of me to do so.

Gavin Peacock is, or should I say was, a Premier League footballer in the UK, and for our listeners here in the United States, that's a pro soccer player. And he turned associate pastor at Calvary Grace Church of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

And today we're going to be addressing his book, A Greater Glory from Pitch to Pulpit. It's my honor and privilege to welcome you back to Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, Gavin Peacock.

Great to be with you, Chris, after all these years.

Yeah. And let me right away give our email address in the event that our listeners would like to ask you a question. Our email address is chrisarnson at gmail .com, C-H-R-I-S-A-R-N-Z-E-N at gmail .com.

Give us your first name at least, your city and state of residence, and your country of residence if you live outside the USA. Please only remain anonymous if your question involves a personal or private matter.

Before we get into our discussion on your book, Gavin, please let our listeners know something about Calvary Grace Church of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Sure.

We're a church part of about 16 years now here in Calvary, Alberta. Clint Humphrey is a senior pastor who planted the church by God's grace, and I've been on board as an associate pastor. I'm just going into my 12th year now of pastoral ministry.

The Lord has blessed us. We've grown in number over the last two or three years greatly, probably about 250 on a Sunday now, and I would say depth in obedience to the Lord as well as we've sought to deliver expositional preaching, and, yeah, we've got a healthy church growing here.

And where would your theological positions lie?

We would be broadly Reformed, we're Baptistic, Complementarian, obviously Protestant in that Reformed tradition, so a little bit of an anomaly in some of the pop evangelicalism that we have in this part of the world.

And yet I would say that the Lord has used us to help other churches to grow in their own biblical health, the marks of what is a healthy church. And in that sense, we punch a little bit above our weight in terms of we're not a mega church, and yet the Lord's used us in this part of the world to further the kingdom.

So we're grateful to him, and yeah, we're finding as well that as we stayed open during the COVID period, people were coming to us for the fact that, not that we were Reformed or Complementarian or any of these things, but that we were open, and then they started to hear expositional preaching, and they've stayed, and that's been another blessing to us as well.

Oh, praise God. And I'm assuming that you did not receive the backlash from the government, the Canadian government, as other churches that remained open unfortunately had to experience?

We did experience some kind of intrusions and phone calls. We sought to kind of adhere to the certain restrictions as best we could while staying open, and that's what we did. We did stay open. I think we were only closed just for the first few weeks of COVID like everyone else, but we had a capacity, a size in our church which allowed for that, and our posture, and should be the same for all Christians, is a posture of submission to the authorities that God has put over us when it means that we are in line with God's word.

Of course, at different times, the government did overreach, and there were certain pastors whom they came down on.

Great.

Well, if anybody wants to find out more about Calvary Grace Church in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, go to calvarygrace .ca. That's C-A-L-V as in Victor, A-R-Y, grace .ca. I know it's a bit of a tongue twister since Calgary and Calvary are only different in one letter, but it's Calvary with a V as in Victor, Grace Church of Calgary with G as in God in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

The Meaning of the Title and the Soccer Pitch

We already have a question that I think is appropriate to ask right away because it involves the title of your book. We have Ted in Moundville, Alabama, who says, please explain the pitch in your title, A Greater Glory from Pitch to Pulpit.

Yeah.

I knew when I had that title that for Americans, they might think pitch as in a baseball pitch, but I'm talking about the soccer pitch, the soccer field, and so it's my journey from the soccer pitch to the pulpit.

And even in between that, I worked after retiring from playing professionally, I worked for BBC on the media side of things as what we call a pundit on TV and radio for six years. So I literally went from pitch to punditry to pulpit, but I thought it was a bit short to just say pitch to pulpit.

And this is not really central to our conversation today, but I have always wondered, why do you think, I don't know how familiar you are with American culture, if you've spent any time here at all, but I've always wondered why soccer or football, as you call it, has never caught on here as a professional sport with the popularity it enjoys everywhere else on the planet Earth.

I mean, Europe and South America and Central America and Canada and everywhere, Africa, the West Indies, it is such a popular sport. And around here, the only time you see the popularity of the sport revealed, at least in my experience, is if you go to a specific ethnic restaurant that happens to have a team in a certain game, like a German restaurant or an Italian restaurant, you'll see the place packed if they have a large screen TV, that is, gathered around the TV.

But it is an extremely popular sport from preschool to high school, senior in high school and even college. But why do you think it never caught on here as a professional sport?

You know, and I do explain this in my book, I spent two years when I was 11 years old living in Tampa, Florida, and that was in the late 70s and into the early 80s. And my father, Keith, who was a professional footballer, he retired from playing in the UK and was offered the position as assistant coach of the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

And back then, Chris, they were in the NASL, that's the North American Soccer League. And it was big. The Rowdies shared the stadium with the Tampa Bay Bucks at the old Sombrero Stadium. They were getting 40 ,000 there for games.

The NASL was bringing in the biggest names in the world, the likes of Pele, who just died recently, and George Best and Johan Cruyff, the greatest players in the world were coming to the States. And it was a real kind of, right, this is a boost to get this sport going in this nation.

And it did for a while, but it never could compete, ultimately, with the big American sports. And I think that's what it is. It's still played well at grassroots level. The U .S. national team have been a decent team and grown over the years as a decent team.

They're a difficult team to play against. Obviously, the U .S. women's team are a phenomenal team. And yet, really, the professional game, which is the MLS now, it's just never been as big because it just can't compete with those big American sports, which is part of the American culture.

And yet, the figures for the Super Bowl are absolutely dwarfed by the figures for watching the World Cup final, because football, soccer is the biggest sport in the world.

Right.

And I had my own theory, because there is a similarity between hockey and soccer or football, as you call it, in that they're both low-scoring games, typically. But hockey is an extremely popular sport here in the United States.

And I have a theory that is because you can fight on the rink in hockey, although they get penalties, they don't get removed from the sport completely. And in soccer or your version of football, the fighting seems to only take place in the stands, from what I understand.

Yeah, it used to as well, very much so. In the 1980s and 90s, less so now. But for sure, I'm still trying to work that fighting thing out. I mean, I'm living in Canada, so you've got hockey all around.

I mean, you talk about soccer not being so big in the States. Well, it's even less so here. But yeah, I've been to some hockey games. I still can't figure out why they allow for the fighting. But they tell me it's a way of diffusing anger and getting it out of the system.

But yeah, you could be right there. That's what people in North America have been used to. And soccer doesn't allow for it. And I think there is that thing about that it can be low scoring. And you can end, this is what I think a lot of Americans don't like, that you can end a game in nil-nil, zero-zero, and you've been there for 90 minutes.

And they want to see a winner. They want to see goals. That's what their sports have provided. So just a little bit of a cultural thing has probably proven a block.

Salvation, Conversion, and a Footballing Family

Yeah. Well, even though you have given your testimony on this program before, because this is not your first time, I think it would be important for you to repeat your salvation testimony because of the nature of our discussion and to get a background of where you were coming from before you even became a footballer.

But if you could provide us with a summary of your salvation testimony, what kind of religious atmosphere in which you were raised, if any, and what kind of providential circumstances our sovereign Lord raised up in your life that drew you to himself and saved you?

Well, I was actually brought up in a footballing family. As I mentioned, my father, Keith, played professional football for 17 years for a team called Charlton Athletic, which is in South London. So he was a one club man.

In fact, he's the longest serving outfield player in their history with the most amount of appearances. And an interesting fact was that he was the first substitute ever used in English league.

Football.

So back in the day, I always say when men were men, and if you got an injury and broke a leg, you carried on playing because there was no substitute. But the Football Association got together and said, listen, we need to have a 12th man, you know, just now.

It's amazing because there's so many substitutes on the bench, a 12th man, a number 12. And on the first day that I was implemented in the English season, my father was subbed for his team that day and got on before anyone else.

There was an injury, he got on, he was clocked as the first substitute ever used. It's actually a trivial pursuit question in Europe, European trivial pursuit. So I grew up around the smell of the dressing room.

All I ever wanted to do was become a professional footballer like my dad. And I wasn't brought up in a Christian home. So I was playing football on a Sunday, and I just went through the ranks of playing for my school and then my district and my county.

And at age 15, I represented my country, played for England schoolboys. And then I had all the big professional teams wanting to sign me. And I ended up signing for Queen's Park Rangers, which was a West London team, which was in the top division, which we call the Premier League now.

It's division one then. And I left school at age 16 and signed professional. And really, in the next couple of years, I'll go into a man's world now. It's a very hard and harsh environment. And I'm playing football for a living now.

And I go in as a boy amongst men. And I realized that, you know, because football was my God, if I played well, I was up. If I played badly, I was down. And so I'm up and down in these first couple of years.

And maybe being a professional footballer, which the world will tell you is everything, you know, it's going to bring you joy because you've got the career, you've got the potential money, you've got the popularity with the fans.

And, well, it wasn't bringing that satisfaction. So I was kind of wrestling with some big issues of life. I lived at home at the time. And just one evening, as I said, not grew up in a Christian home, but my mum decided to check out the local church, local Methodist church it was, just down the road.

And I just went to keep her company. And the minister said to me, would I like to come back to his house? There was a youth meeting there that night on a Sunday. And he said, there'd be people your own age.

I was 18, as I say, and I said, yep, no problem. I pulled up to that meeting in my sports car and with a bit of money in my pocket with the career. And I was in the in crowd. These people weren't. And yet, when I walked into the room that evening, and when I heard these young people talk about Jesus Christ, and when I heard them pray, there was a joy and a reality they had that I did not have.

So there was first that witness from the Christian community, if you like. And then I heard the minister unpack from the Bible, what is the gospel? And I realized that, you know, I've been created by God for God.

And ever since the fall of man, all men have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and therefore sit under his judgment. And I realized that because of his great grace alone, through the life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and through repentance and faith in him alone, he could save me.

And so I realized that my biggest need wasn't the approval of the crowd on Saturday, but it was to be in a right relationship with the living God. And by his grace, he provided that through Christ. And I was granted repentance and faith.

And I believed upon Christ after a few weeks of going there and I was saved. So I was then 18, a young professional footballer, just on the edge of breaking into the first team. And I told the lads the next, you know, literally the next week, they find out what you're doing at the weekend.

You live with a bunch of men for 10 months of the year. And I said, I've become a Christian. And it was amazing. I was met with a little bit of laughter and mockery. And then there's some seriousness as they watched to see if my walk matched my talk.

And I had some amazing opportunities over the years to witness to men you would never think would ask about Christ and the gospel.

Embracing Reformed Theology

Wow.

Praise God. Now, when was it in your walk with Christ that you came to discover and embrace reform theology?

That would have been, I want to say now, probably 20, almost 20 years ago. I was going on. I was going on a vacation and I just wanted a couple of podcasts to download for the plane ride. And I went online and I just downloaded a couple of sermons by a guy called John Piper.

And I was sitting on the plane. And the first thing that struck me was I've never heard preaching like it was electric. The second thing was the substance of what he was saying and the way that he was talking about the sovereignty of God.

And then the third thing is one of the sermons was actually on biblical manhood and womanhood. And that gripped me as well as I was seeing the declension in the culture around and in the church on those particular issues.

And so after that, I got hold of his book Desiring God. And then that was a paradigm shift for me. A real introduction as Piper really breathed a new life, as it were, into the doctrines of grace in the way that he unpacks them in that book.

And so from then I was gripped. You know, I always say to people, you know, we're not born lovers of God's sovereignty. We're born lovers of our own sovereignty. But when he breaks through those paradigms, the whole Bible bursts open.

And he did really. And it was John Piper's preaching and Desiring God that was instrumental in that.

Well, praise God. And did you have any negative feedback from Christians who you knew and loved and worshipped with when you became Reformed? Were there any non-Reformed Christians that reacted in a negative way?

Not immediately. But as time went on and as my own, I think, articulation of doctrine grew, as I started then to, as the Lord called me into ministry, then I've had more discussions with folk that would hold an Arminian perspective on those doctrines.

And yeah, it's one of those opportunities that you just want to bring to people, let the scripture speak for themselves. You have to be able to articulate it, of course, but it's only God that can, as I say, change thinking and change paradigms.

But once that happens, it's spiritual gold and it's food for the soul. That the Lord has loved me and chosen me in Christ before the foundation of the world is pastoral gold, because if he's loved me since then, he's not going to stop loving me next week when I stumble or when the circumstances around me go bad.

Or if there's that diagnosis that that isn't good from the doctor, he's always loved me in Christ. And so that keeps me strong in my faith. And so, yeah, I found that over the years I've had some really good conversations with.

Folks.

And then, of course, there are some that would want to be a little bit more antagonistic in their encounter with you.

Well, our aforementioned listener, Ted from Moundville, Alabama, has a follow up question. I'm wondering if Pastor Peacock could offer his assessment of Alberta's new premier, Daniel Smith, Danielle Smith, I'm sorry, given the low marks assigned to the former premier, especially regarding his management of the COVID crisis as it relates to worship and Christian congregations.

I'm curious if he and other pastors have any higher hopes for her administration.

Well, I'm not a great politician. Obviously, we've all become a little bit more politically minded, I think, in the last couple of years. Jason Kenney, I think, was trying to do the right thing, especially early on, but probably caved to pressure on him.

This premier has come in and made some initial good noises, if you like. But I think with her, again, it's going to be time will tell, time will tell. And as other pressures come in around for her to put pressure on the church, for instance, the conversion therapy bill could have real pressure on the church in terms of we could become an under fire for literally preaching Christian sanctification and Christian sexuality.

And now what position will she take on churches then? So I think, you know, we might be hopeful, but ultimately, we don't hope in politics, we hope in Christ. Though we're concerned, obviously, for justice, and we pray for those in authority over us, we know that Christ is building his church, the gates of hell will not prevail.

And it's the gospel alone that can change people's hearts and bring people into the kingdom. And that's why we keep the gospel front and centre in our church. And that's what we gather around is Christ and his gospel, not political opinions or political persuasions, even though we're not ignoring them.

And we know that there is a relationship that we need to work out as those who are in the world but not of the world.

Well, guess what, Ted, you have won by virtue of your question today, a free copy of the book A Greater Glory from Pitch to Pulpit by our guest Gavin Peacock, published by Christian Focus Publications.

Please be patient in getting this book in the mail because the books have not yet arrived to me from Christian Focus Publications, but I can assure you they are on their way because they routinely provide us with books to give away.

So we thank you for your excellent question, or should I say questions plural, and make sure we have your full mailing address. And Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service, cvbbs .com will ship that out to you at no charge to you or to us.

And by the way, if you want to find out more about the book while you're waiting for it, you can go to christianfocus .com, christianfocus .com, and look up A Greater Glory by Gavin Peacock. We're going to go to our first commercial break right now.

If you have a question, there are a couple of people already waiting, but if you want to get in line and have your question asked and answered on the air by Gavin Peacock, send it to chrisarnson at gmail .com, chrisarnson at gmail .com.

Give us your first name at least, your city and state and country of residence. Don't go away. We'll be right back with Gavin Peacock and in our discussion on A Greater Glory from Pitch to Pulpit right after these messages from our sponsors.

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And he turned associate pastor, now ministering at Calgary Grace Church of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. We are discussing his book, A Greater Glory from Pitch to Pulpit. Just before we go into our conversation, I was reminded when you mentioned the late Pele earlier, there was a high school classmate of mine, Frank Santos.

I can see Frank in my mind as clearly as when I knew him. Even though it was a very integrated school, he was one of the only kids in the school with a very large afro, and yet he was not black. He was a white Brazilian, and his face was lighter skin than mine, and his afro was bright orange, I remember.

But his family was very close to Pele, and I think they had some involvement in the actual team, the New York Cosmos. I don't know if they part-owned it, or there was some very close connection they had, because they were very close with Pele.

Pele would visit their home for meals, and so they knew him very well. They weren't just your average fans, especially being Brazilians, where Pele was from. But we'd like to enter into now some of the major focuses of your book, A Greater Glory from Pitch to Pulpit, that whole concept of being a regenerate Bible-believing Christian in a sport that is extremely popular everywhere else in the United States, globally the most popular sport in the world, perhaps.

Tell us about some of the unique experiences and challenges you had since you became a Christian as a very young man. I think you said you were 18. Tell us more about some of those situations God in His sovereign providence placed you in as a footballer.

Well, if I can just say up front, Chris, that my book, my biography, it's a sports biography, but it's more than that. It's a story of all of life, of the complexities of life, set against the backdrop of the beautiful game, but with the light of my Christian faith upon it.

And so it's a story about family and marriage and fatherhood and suffering and disability, life, death, career, winning, losing. And so I deal with these issues of life that everyone deals with. And it's just a story of an ordinary man, saved by God's grace, who was in an extraordinary job for a little bit of time there.

And so it really is the greater glory is there's a greater glory in life and football fame and fortune. There's a greater glory to be had in knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior. And so that was the idea of the book.

So it's actually anyone can read it. And there'll be names in there that some American, even sports fans wouldn't necessarily know. But I've painted a picture of characters so that it makes a particular point.

Obviously, if I mention David Beckham, who I played against, they'll know who I mean. But I talk about playing for Chelsea, playing for Newcastle United, some of the dressing room things that happened there.

And so people will be able to relate to many different levels. It should be an encouragement to Christians. And hopefully there's some wisdom there for Christian living. And it's evangelistic. So it presents the nonbeliever with the gospel with the whole of life under a biblical worldview.