Jonathan Isaac, Anthony Gill and Shannon Bream speak to students

The second week of this fall’s Convocation schedule opened with NBA players Jonathan Isaac and Anthony Gill on Wednesday, Aug. 28 and Fox News Sunday host Shannon Bream Friday, Aug. 30.

Isaac, a power forward for the Orlando Magic, discussed his desire to walk and grow with Jesus.

“I want to be useful to the body of Christ,” Isaac said. “If it’s encouraging athletes and believers all around the world to continue to stand for Christ, be bold in our profession of faith, live according to the Word of God and grow, I want to do that.” 

Issac shared how finding security in his identity with Christ helps him deal with insecurity and anxiety.

“When we no longer allow outward circumstances or outward impressions to affect us, we’re able to live freely, boldly and truthfully in who God has created us to be,” Isaac said. 

Isaac believes that all Christians must be willing to truly surrender and remain obedient to God to grow in their relationship with him.

“I was touched by the talk of being able to serve people,” junior Kasey Kerbo said, “Whether it be in teams or in the workforce.”

Gill, a power forward for the Washington Wizards, wants to debunk the myth that all NBA players are womanizers and that they are constantly living the high life, with immense riches at their fingertips. Instead, Gill hopes he will be known by his walk with Christ and be a witness to his unbelieving teammates.

“The beautiful thing about it is if you have enough time, and people get to know you enough, and they get to know the way that you walk your daily life, you’ll see that’s the total opposite of who Jonathan is, who I am and who a majority of people in the NBA are,” Gill said.

Gill said he combats the public’s assumptions about his lifestyle by focusing his attention on how God can use him not only as an NBA player but also as a leader to his family.

In an interview after Convocation, both Isaac and Gill shared their advice for students who may be struggling to share their faith in a secular workplace.

“Live the life that you think God would want you to live,” Gill said. “If you’re not bold enough yet to speak out in what you believe, then just live it on a daily basis, that way … everybody sees something different inside of you and it points them back to Christ.”

Bream spoke on Friday about how Liberty University was an excellent location for her to grow in her faith.    

When she first arrived at Liberty, she began asking profound questions about whether she believed in the Christian worldview because of her parents or because she genuinely believed in who God is.

“It was really scary for me sometimes to have those doubts and questions sometimes,” Bream said, “but I had great professors and great RAs and fellow students … who helped me work through all of those doubts and fears.”

Later in her life, Bream suffered from chronic pain in her eye. Bream testified how she searched for many doctors only to be turned away from some and even got to a point where she saw no point in living. Although she never turned away from God, it did not change the fact she was in a very dark place.

Bream eventually found out that there was no cure for what she was going through.  As a result, she asked God how he could allow her to get this far only to find out that there was no cure.

“As I’m sobbing, I heard the Lord say to me, not audibly, but in my spirit, he said to me: ‘I will be with you,’” Bream said.  “Not ‘I’m going to heal you,’ but ‘I will be with you,’ and that has been enough.”

Bream discovered that when she started to share the truth about how difficult her struggles were with people, it became a source of healing.  Not just for her, but for other people as well.

“Boast about your weaknesses, believe for the impossible, and also be about his business,” Bream said.

Amaro-Millán is a news reporter for the Liberty Champion. Davis is the Editor-in-Chief.