Samford football player J.D. Beall goes through his day smiling, though these days his smile is hidden behind a coronavirus mask. Still, Beall’s light shines through.
“I have an overall joy,” said Beall, a left guard on Samford’s offensive line. “My joy doesn’t come from others. It comes from the Lord.”
Beall has combined faith with football and leads his team in both, according to Samford offensive line coach Shawn Bostick, who called Beall a “strong spiritual example” on the team.
“The players really seem to listen to him because he is the same age,” Bostick said. “He is always someone the guys can talk to about their faith. He is well respected. His strength is his faith.”
Before coming to Samford, Beall played at Hartfield Academy in Flowood, Mississippi. After committing his life to Christ as a child, Beall began to grow stronger in his faith on missions trips to Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
“I didn’t have a full heart transformation and giving my life to Christ until that [first] trip to Haiti [in 2016],” he said.
‘Settle in’
That “eye-opening experience” helped his faith “settle in,” he said.
“The kids all around us didn’t have any clothes, any toys,” he said, “but they had the most joy I’ve ever seen. Seeing the joy on those kids faces I knew who Jesus was and who the Lord was.”
During that trip, the missions team built a house for a family and held medical clinics. Beall returned in 2018 and 2019, serving in door-to-door evangelism and food outreach. The experiences challenged him to see himself in a new light.
Turning to God
“I thought I knew who Jesus was, but you didn’t see the change in my life. But through the Holy Spirit drawing me in and through my personal pain and insecurities, I turned to Him, and He told me how I was fearfully and wonderfully made and how he loved me first and how He has chosen me as His son.”
Samford wide receiver Jason Houston said the team views Beall as a sort of team chaplain.
“A lot of players … see him as someone they can trust and come to, not only for faith but just to talk,” Houston said. “When talking to him, you can tell deep in his heart the passion he has for Christ and his strong relationship with the Lord. … He has given me so much good advice with all aspects of life.”
Loving to have deep conversations, Beall has an open-door policy with teammates and friends.
“I listen first and speak second,” said Beall, who wants his witness for Christ to be evident by the way he treats others and carries himself with “confidence in the Lord and faith in Him.”
He wants others to “know who Jesus is” and understand that salvation is a gift.
“It is not accomplished by you doing something,” Beall said. “As athletes, we tend to believe that we have to perform for God … as we do for our coaches. It’s hard to realize and come to a full understanding that Jesus loves us first.”
‘Servant heart’
Samford offensive right guard Luke Byrne sees Beall live out his faith through his “servant heart” and daily efforts to live according to the Bible.
“He has made a serious impact on my spiritual life because him talking to me about faith and God’s love has allowed me to grow deeper in my faith,” Byrne said. “The team knows they can speak to him about anything. He will always be there to listen.”
Beall started a team Bible study in the spring, leading participants through the Psalms, Scripture he calls “so raw, so real.” He reads a chapter each night from Psalms, he said.
He listens to Christian hip hop singers Lecrae and Andy Mineo, who he said, “portray Christ’s love through their voices, songs for every emotion and every thought I have.”
‘Obedient to Christ’
One of the verses he claims is 2 Corinthians 10:5, “We take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.”
“My faith is also my trust in the Lord, from every little thing to every big thing,” Beall said. “If I have a thought or fear or anxiety I give it to Him, and He turns it into joy and peace of mind. It is in His hands. It’s not going to be messed up.”
On the field, Beall, who stands 6-foot-3-inches tall and weighs 305 pounds, knows that you “win with your feet, not with your hands.” He has the ability to move quickly, said Samford teammate and roommate Sam Rogers, a wide receiver.
“He is a great offensive lineman,” Rogers said. “He has really good feet and quickness off the ball. That combined with great lower and upper body strength makes it hard for defensive linemen.
A redshirt sophomore on the field because of extra eligibility due to COVID-19, Beall transferred to Samford in 2019 from East Mississippi Community College. He helped lead the Lions to the National Junior College Athletic Association national championship in 2018, finishing with a 12-0 record.
When Beall learned that Samford would not be playing football in fall 2020, he realized how much he loves the game and his teammates.
“Without them I wouldn’t still be playing football,” said Beall, who now looks ahead to the football season Samford plans for spring 2021.
Beall has seen how God has used football and other experiences to shape and mold him. When he is discouraged, he turns to Scripture for encouragement.
“I am secure in the Lord with no more comparisons of money or life circumstances.”
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