Jesus said
"The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath"
Mark 2 v 27
Andy Christofides meets goalkeeper David Jones
I am about to conduct an interview with Premier League goalkeeper, David Jones – at twenty four he already has six years top flight experience with three clubs. The huge financial rewards given to such stars are well known, as is the ‘high life’ that follows. What will Dave arrive at my home in? Ferrari? Aston Martin? Daimler… probably a Porsche!
Dave arrives in a five-year-old Nissan Almera (probably borrowed from his granddad!). He tells me I have a lovely home and says he has just moved into a three Bed semi with his wife, Liz and daughter, Sophia, on the outskirts of Newtown – and no, the car is actually his!
So, I ask Dave, ‘Why the modest lifestyle when you have all that money?! Dave quickly puts me right … ‘Oh, I see; it’s the Welsh Premier League.’
Anyway, I put a few more questions to Dave, who is also known affectionately as either ‘Dai Dwylo’ (Dave two hands – and they are huge!!) or ‘the holy goalie’.
ANDY: Dave, when did your career in the Welsh Premier League (WPL) begin?
DAVE: I signed for Caersws at the age of sixteen but found that the youth team played on Sundays and since I wasn’t prepared to play on that day, I spent the next two years playing for a local hockey team! However, through training with Caersws I did break into the first team and made my WPL debut at the age of eighteen. The game was against Rhyl and we drew, 1-1.
ANDY: Looking back, do you regret your decision not to play on Sundays? Surely it has held your career back.
DAVE: I have no regrets at all – far from holding my career back, I feel it has really advanced it! I am convinced that the Lord has honoured me because of the stand I have taken and rewarded me with opportunities I would otherwise not have had.
ANDY: Have you always been a Christian?
DAVE: I have always gone to church, but being a Christian is not something you’re born with. I was converted at the age of nine whilst attending a friend’s baptismal service; I remember realising that Jesus Christ had died for my sins and that night I asked the Lord to forgive me and come into my life. I kept on going to church, but things became really clear for me when I was sixteen hearing Alan Rees preaching a powerful gospel message. After that my life really changed and I was baptised soon after.
ANDY: What is your career to date? Who have you played for?
DAVE: I signed from Caersws for my home town team, Newtown, in 2005 and then moved to my present team, Aberystwyth Town in the summer of 2006.
ANDY: You are still young, but do you have any career highlights so far?
DAVE: Being on the bench for a cup match against Swansea City was quite a thrill, but two performances from last season really stand out for me; both games were against Rhyl who were flying high at the time, both ended 0-0. I was really pleased with those!
ANDY: This season has been somewhat disappointing for you. Aber signed a top goalie in the close season and you find yourself second choice – is that a problem?
DAVE: Obviously any soccer player wants to play regularly and I would love to be playing as first team goalie every week. But we signed a good keeper who so far has hardly put a foot (or hand!) wrong. That is great for the team, but not the best for me personally! I will of course be fighting for my place back in the first team and hope to seize the opportunity when it comes – but there is no animosity between us!
ANDY: Dave, you are well known throughout the WPL for your stand on Sundays – is there any ‘mickey taking’?
DAVE: No, not really. Some fans have taken to calling mew ‘the holy goalie’ but it has given fabulous opportunities to witness that I simply would not have had if I did play on Sundays. Team mates and opponents regularly ask me why I don’t play and that leads to good openings to witness, explain my faith and to invite them to church.
ANDY: Would you never play on a Sunday then? What if your team were really stuck and had no cover for a vital Sunday fixture, would you play as a ‘one off’?
DAVE: When I sign for a team, they clearly know my position and so that situation should never arise … interestingly though, there was a situation developing along those lines last season – it didn’t arise, but it might have – and a team mate said to me, ‘if it had arisen, and you had played, I’d have been really disappointed’ – you see, he is hoping there really is something in this!
ANDY: There are sportsmen Dave, who do pursue their sports on Sundays, would you say they were wrong?
DAVE: It is not my place to criticise them; they may have good reasons and a clear conscience on the matter – but I am responsible for me, and I won’t play on a Sunday.
ANDY: Well, finally Dave, what do you do on a Sunday that is so special?
DAVE: Sunday is a vital day to me – a chance to really rest physically, and spiritually to enjoy some really excellent food for my soul. I love to be in church to meet with the risen Lord Jesus in a special way, to be with His people and to hear His word – I wouldn’t swap that for anything
Andy Christofides (pictured left) is the minister of St Mellons Baptist Church, Cardiff.
With kind permission from Evangelical magazine