By STEVE EUBANKS
FOXSportsSouth.com
March 2, 2011
�It�s not about outward appearances. It�s about what�s on the inside. That�s what the Lord looks at and what you will be judged by. If he judged us by what we looked like on the outside and not what we did as a person, we would be in a world of trouble.�
Those words poured forth with all sincerity from Pastor Ray Drew after one of his many sermons at the Paradise Missionary Baptist Church in Thomasville, Georgia, sermons that always draw a smattering of enthusiastic �hallelujahs� and �amens.�� Drew stands comfortably in the pulpit, relaxed and at home, the rhythm of his baritone voice echoing through the sanctuary as a rustling breeze sings through the Spanish moss hanging from nearby oaks like a chorus of castanets.
His message, one of looking beyond appearances and judging a man by what lies in his soul, comes straight from the heart. Drew knows what it�s like to be judged by what�s on the outside. At 6-foot-5 and 253 pounds, he was the top-ranked high-school defensive ends in the nation when he played at Thomas County Central High School and one of the most sought-after recruits in the country before signing with the University of Georgia.� He is already being compared with NFL All Pros like John Abraham and Chris Doleman.
But Drew�s words away from the football field, as rays of Sunday sunshine steam through the windows and wash over the congregation he has ministered since he was 13 years old, show something no stat sheet or game film could ever capture.
�As I stand before you today, are you able to see the person deep down inside of me? Would you love me just the same if it looked like I'd been beaten within an inch of my life? Would you still look at me the same way if I looked like I'd been drug through the mud? Would you still love me? Would you still embrace me? Somebody here is looking at my outward appearance right now, but I'm trying to get you to look past the outside and go deep down on the inside. Would you still throw your arms around me and say I love you? I'm still the same child of God that I was when I had on my suit, when I had on my tie and shirt. It's not about what's on the outside, but what's on the inside.�
According to Drew�s high school coach, Bill Shaver, �Character wise, you don't get a better young man. He is already a minister and is a 'yes sir, no sir' kind of guy. And he's always about doing what's right. One time he had to leave track practice early because he was preaching at a revival.�
Drew is not the first athlete from a violent sport to double as a minister. Reggie White pulled double duty as a preacher during his days as a Hall of Fame defensive end, and Super Bowl MVP quarterback Kurt Warner evangelizes regularly on behalf of his First Things First Foundation. Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel is a traveling preacher, and heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman is the founder and minister at the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in Houston.
But those men stepped to the pulpit well into or after their professional careers. Drew did it in middle school. As a seventh-grader lying in bed one night, Drew felt a divine presence and had a vision of an outstretched hand reaching gently to take him. He didn�t understand it at first, but after speaking with his godfather, a preacher from nearby Moultrie, Ga., Drew realized that this was God calling him to service.
�I knew I wanted to preach, but I didn�t know it would come that soon,� Drew said.
Child preachers are nothing new in Southern Baptist churches. In the early years of the last century, young evangelists were paraded around revival tent meetings like carnival acts. Kids like Mayo Cleveland, who preached his first sermon at age 8 in 1923 and Marjoe Gortner, billed as �Marjoe the Miracle Child� in the late 40s and early 50s, have been a part of the American South for generations.
But none of those kids could bull rush a quarterback with the speed of Ray Drew.� �He's got those long arms and a big frame and has really good speed for a tall guy,� Coach Shaver said. �He can really shed blockers and make it hard on a quarterback.�
He can really preach the Gospel, too. �Standing up in front of the congregation," he said, "you're responsible for someone's soul.�
At Georgia, Drew�s skills on the field will be a tremendous asset as coordinator Todd Grantham tries to get the Bulldog defense up to the standards of the rest of the SEC. Off the field, Drew�s character will be an asset as well, especially for a team that had a record 11 players arrested last year.
�It really boiled down to people and academics,� Drew said. �Communication is what I plan on majoring in and Georgia has one of the premier communication schools in the nation. And just knowing the type of person that Coach Richt is and the plans that he has for me as far as football and continuing to grow in all aspects of my life played a big role in it.�
For Coach Richt, the role Drew will play in setting the moral tone for the team almost certainly played a role in it as well.
