Christian NBA players pay solidarity visit to Israel and visit Shimon Peres

They were led by Bill Alexson, former chaplain for the Boston Celtics

By Dan Wooding

Founder of ASSIST Ministries

LOS ANGELES – Bill Alexson, a pioneer in the NBA Chapel Program and former chaplain for some 20 years with the Boston Celtics, thought he had seen and experienced everything in basketball - until he went to Jerusalem last year with an all-Christian team of NBA stars.

In September 2010, 10 past and present NBA basketball players belonging to the Christian athletic foundation Power Sports International made a week-long pilgrimage and solidarity visit to Israel, putting on clinics and exhibition games and meeting with dignitaries to express their support for the Jewish state.

Organized by former Boston Celtic chaplain Bill Alexson, the tour featured former New York Knicks Allan Houston and Anthony Bonner, former Toronto Raptor Jerome Williams, ball-whiz Charles Smith of the Harlem Globetrotters, as well as Dwight Howard Sr., father of Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard.

Israel President Shimon Peres receives a basketball from the
Christian NBA delegates. Bill Alexson, right, and
Allan Houston, left, look on.

The 23-member delegation was hosted by President Shimon Peres at Beit Hanassi in Jerusalem, where he was presented with an NBA shirt.

The players were a big hit with youths from basketball leagues in the Jerusalem area on Tuesday as the NBAers dazzled them with trick passes and alley-oop dunks at a skills clinic. The team then played a friendly in the evening against Bnei HaSharon of the Israeli national league.

So how did event take place? In an interview after this year's NBA Chapel service in Los Angeles and before the 2011 All-Star Game at the Staples Center, Alexson talked about the visit.

"I'm the president Sports Power International (http://sportspower.org) and our mission is to take both current and former Christian NBA players around the world, including to Liberia, sharing the gospel. The NBA's been marketed like Coca Cola, so it's very impactful," he began.

"The purpose was for Christian NBA players to show their support for Israel and the Jewish people," he explained. "As we told the crowd at half-time, we were there because we believe what the Bible says; that the Jewish people are God's chosen people and the God who gave them the land is going to allow them to keep the land.

I then asked Bill Alexson how he ministers to people who have everything including fame and money.

"Good question," he replied, "but I have a better answer. Many people say, 'Wait a second. How do you get these rich and famous athletes in a locker room before a game to listen to you?' Well my answer is that because they're rich and famous and because they have everything that the world has to offer, that won't touch their inside. It's not going to help them with their marriage and it's not going to validate who they are.

"They're very frustrated. They're at the top rung of the ladder and they can't get any higher. Everyone wants to be in their shoes, but they are still looking for answers. So I tell them, 'You're special, not because you put a ball through a hoop and make money. You're special because God says you are. The Gospel is not about you getting yourself right; it's about believing in Christ what He did for you on the cross, and if you're smart you'll trust him and listen because He's got a plan that's way better than you can even imagine.'

What does an NBA star do when his career is over?

He replied, "I say, 'Come on and do something significant with me; use your athletic platform that you have.'

"If I can take famous football and basketball players from America overseas the people there don't care who they are. I'll take a second-string NBA guy that you've never heard of and millions will watch us and we'll meet with heads of state. And when that ball player reads a comment card that says this on it, 'I was going to take my life, but after listening to you speak today, it changed my life,' that ballplayer's life is also changed for eternity.

"And it's fun. We're playing basketball and they don't care who we are, but we're revealing who Jesus Christ is. He's the Lord of Lord's and King of Kings. He's coming back to this planet and smart people need to put their trust in Him."