{"id":1212,"date":"2011-09-20T08:00:31","date_gmt":"2011-09-20T12:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/?p=1212"},"modified":"2011-09-17T19:02:37","modified_gmt":"2011-09-17T23:02:37","slug":"new-york-jets-running-back-ladainian-tomlinson-on-the-responsibility-of-a-christian-athlete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/09\/new-york-jets-running-back-ladainian-tomlinson-on-the-responsibility-of-a-christian-athlete.html","title":{"rendered":"New York Jets running back LaDainian Tomlinson on the responsibility of a Christian athlete"},"content":{"rendered":"

Click “Like” to share this with your friends!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
New York Jets running back LaDainian Tomlinson (AP Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LaDainian Tomlinson is arguably one of the greatest running backs to play the game. And even though the veteran isn’t racking up yards and touchdowns like he used to, the New York Jets star still commands plenty of respect from his defensive opponents.<\/p>\n

<\/strong>In this digital interview, Tomlinson took a few moments to share his thoughts on what it means to be a Christian athlete in today’s sports world and how that translates into his everyday life:<\/p>\n

Chad Bonham: What do you feel is your responsibility as a Christian athlete?<\/p>\n

LaDainian Tomlinson: My job is to let everybody know what I stand for and to let my light shine. I want to show others the way I live so that hopefully they follow. I can also tell about my experiences as a Christian so that I may help bring others to Christ.<\/p>\n

Bonham: What does that look like in the locker room with your teammates?<\/p>\n

<\/strong>Tomlinson: When I approach guys in certain situations and talk to them about Christ, they know that I\u2019m speaking to them in a way that\u2019s real. I can relate to everything that these guys go through. I can be a brother to them and help them get their lives straight and their priorities straight.<\/p>\n

Bonham: What have you learned through your relationship with God?<\/p>\n

Tomlinson: I don\u2019t think Christ becomes real to us until we hit a low point in our lives and realize just how much we need Him. That\u2019s why faith affects every area of your life. You have to have faith in what you\u2019re doing with your job. You have to have faith with your family. Faith is the biggest principle that the Bible teaches us.<\/p>\n

Keep track of what Tomlinson is doing away from football by visiting his foundation’s website HERE<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Click “Like” to share this with your friends! LaDainian Tomlinson is arguably one of the greatest running backs to play the game. And even though the veteran isn’t racking up yards and touchdowns like he used to, the New York Jets star still commands plenty of respect from his defensive opponents. In this digital interview,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":418,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,384,382,5],"tags":[598,112,8],"class_list":["post-1212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian-athletes","category-football","category-qa","category-sports-features","tag-ladainian-tomlinson","tag-new-york-jets","tag-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\nNew York Jets running back LaDainian Tomlinson on the responsibility of a Christian athlete - Inspiring Athletes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/09\/new-york-jets-running-back-ladainian-tomlinson-on-the-responsibility-of-a-christian-athlete.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New York Jets running back LaDainian Tomlinson on the responsibility of a Christian athlete - Inspiring Athletes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Click “Like” to share this with your friends! 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Chad is currently working on five new books including Sooner Legacy, Husker Legacy and Lessons From Sooner Football (Cross Training) as well as The Faith of Stock Car Racing (Judson Press). When he's not writing, Chad lends his efforts to various independent television and film projects. He was the coordinating producer for Choosing Life (2010) and Life Happens (2011). Chad is currently serving as producer on a forthcoming documentary about Super Bowl champion Brian Kinchen. Chad and his wife Amy live in Broken Arrow, Okla., with sons Lance (September 2003), Cole (February 2008) and Quinn (February 2011).","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/author\/cbonham"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/418"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1212"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1532,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1212\/revisions\/1532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}