Chris Klein celebrates scoring a goal for the L.A. Galaxy

He is David Beckham's team mate at the L.A. Galaxy

But Chris Klein says he plays out his life to an 'audience of one' - Jesus Christ

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

August 2008

WHITTIER, CA (ANS) -- An MLS and U.S. National Team veteran, Chris Klein was named the LA Galaxy's 2007 Honda Most Valuable Player after being acquired by the club in mid-season of last year.

He rose to fame and won the MLS Cup in 2000 with Kansas City playing on the right side of midfield, but he played primarily at right back after being acquired from Real Salt Lake. With more than 260 career regular season games in his 10-year MLS career, the two-time MLS Comeback Player of the Year forever became a part of Galaxy lore with his dramatic bicycle kick goal late in the SuperLiga final sent that match to extra time.

To see this, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlbxYIp_pvk

Recently, Klein took time off from his busy soccer career to share his testimony at a special event at Whittier Area Community Church in Whittier, California.

Klein said, "I grew up in the mid-west in a home where I was taught about the principles of Jesus and who God was, but I wasn't really asked by anybody to make a decision. So I went through life believing that God was something that I experienced on a Sunday morning when I showed up at church and then I went about my day and then started my week again to get to the important things which in my life was always soccer. It kind of controlled who I was it controlled the emotions that I had all the way up until I left for college.

"I went to college at Indiana University which is one of the biggest soccer programs in the country and has a rich history and it was there that I continued to view myself and who I was by the things and the events that happen on the soccer field. A good day would have me flying high for the week and on the opposite side a bad day would kind of have me down in the dumps until I was able to play my next game.

"It was about my junior year in college when I met Angela [his college sweetheart] who now is my wife and she began to ask me some questions. She asked me who I believed Jesus was and I gave her the textbook answer of who Jesus was and what he did, Then she said, 'Well, do you really believe that story that you heard in church?' And my defensive answer was, 'Of course I do. That's what I've been told to believe.'

"It was kind of engrained in my brain that this is who I was. But I wasn't really a Christian and so in her gentle way, she allowed that answer for that time. But there was always that doubt in my mind of what is she really talking about. I wondered what it was that she had that was not inside of me. I saw how she operated with the grace of the Lord inside of her. And so I began to ask these questions."
Klein went on to say, "I was drafted in the 1998 Major League Soccer [MLS] draft to Kansas City and shortly thereafter we were engaged. I accepted Christ into my heart shortly after I was there. I know many people have a story where the light shines and they fall down on their knees and they accept Jesus and they're forever changed. For me it was more of a gradual walk. I don't know, looking back, if I accepted it because of who I thought my wife was, but in any event I did I accepted Jesus and it was in Kansas City where I really began my walk to where I am right here today. When we were there we found a church and we began going there.

"It was a big thing for me to step outside the 'box' and go to a Bible believing church where the crazy people would wave their hands and clap during the music and we had the rock band that would be up there. I mean, this was this was new to me and I began to enjoy it. I can remember sitting there one Sunday and listening to our pastor speak about 'living your life before an audience of one.'"

Klein admitted that this was a new thought to him as at that time; he performed regularly for thousands of cheering fans who watched the games.

"I played so that my picture and my name showed up in the paper the next morning," he said. "I played for that new contract and so the coach would keep me out on the field and not sit me on the bench. These were the things I played for living my life before an audience of one that was not one of them, so what the pastor said that morning, really didn't hit home to me."
He then spoke about the time he was doing a pre-season tour with the Kansas City Wizards in Bolivia. "We were down there and the food was terrible and we couldn't wait to get home," said Klein. "It was at the tail end of a two week trip and we had to play one last exhibition game and then we were on the plane to go home. We were at altitude and we started the game right around dusk and the guys were just not into it. We couldn't wait to get out of there.

"The sun went down and there were mountains that were on the outside of the stadium and I was sitting and listening to our coach talk and beyond his head I could see a cross that was lit up on the side of the mountain and it was the only thing that you could see."

He went on to say, "I realized that God had given me the opportunity to be a professional soccer player and no matter if the whole world was watching, or if no one was watching in a country that I'd never been before and couldn't wait to get out of, there He was and He was watching how I acted and how I conducted myself and operated and the example that I set for my teammates. There was my audience of 'one' and that really changed the outlook that I had on everything that I did; from the person that I was in the locker-room to the father that I was at home, to the husband that I was to my wife, to the son that I was to my parents. It changed everything for me.

"I once played in Mexico City in front of 125,000 people and all I could really think about was, after I play, 'Will I see Jesus in the stands cheering for me.' Not if I scored, but the way that I played and what's inside my heart. Did I give it everything that I had how do I you know interact with my teammates. So living my life for an audience of one really sort of changed who I was.
"In Kansas City, I was fortunate enough to be involved in a Bible study with some Kansas City Royals who were pillars in the community. These were guys that were on the front page of the paper every morning. They were the lead story on the news and they were making millions and millions of dollars.

"However, in this Bible study they challenged me to take the next step. I had grown up as someone who kept my faith inside of me and didn't want to share it. These guys would take the center table in the restaurant and every week people were waiting outside and we'd pray together. We'd talk about issues together. We had our Bibles laid out on the table and here you hundreds of people went by every day and they'd look and they'd see how they acted and what they did and there it was plain for everyone to see. They challenged me to take the next step to do things like this to be able to come out here and speak because I believe that God has put us each here for a purpose. Some people don't enjoy speaking, while others are better talking to someone one on one.

"So these guys challenged me to step outside the box and to really take the next step in my faith; to really be out there and profess myself as a Christian and to me that was a big deal. I had never done that before in my life. So to have these guys behind me standing there saying take the next step that was something that I really enjoyed."

Klein said that while he was in Kansas City, he suffered two major knee injuries. "I suffered one in 2001 and the next in 2005," he said. "Those brought a new set of challenges into my lie. God put them there in front of me and said. 'OK, you claim that you fully trust me. You claim that I am at the center of your life and that this career that I've provided for you that you've put in my hands, but do you really trust me?'

"The night after I had the first injury, I can remember driving home with my wife and it was the most peaceful I'd ever felt in my entire life about my soccer career. When you're an athlete, you worry about a lot of things. Here was my career literally in my legs and they were broken down. I felt an incredible peace that I could have never had before if I didn't have that faith truly inside of me.

"Not coincidentally, the two knee injuries that I've had have provided me opportunities to speak and to profess His name more than any goal that I've scored or any other game that I've played in my entire career. The Kansas City Star, back when I was there, did a full page spread on my recovery and the theme of the article was all about putting your faith and trust in the Lord. To me that blew me away. To have something that I thought could possibly end my platform that just gave me a new one. So I thank God for those injuries."

David Beckham

In 2006, Chris Klein was traded from the Kansas City Wizards to Real Salt Lake.

"It was there that God took care of us, found us a church right away, and group of friends that we could relate to," he said. "We were there for a year and a half and I got a call one night from my agent asking what I would think to come out to Los Angeles to be a part of the Galaxy.

Now, mind you, a year ago right about now, we were about three weeks out from David Beckham coming to be a part of the Galaxy and the idea from the front office of the Galaxy was to surround and build the team with people that could handle that sort of pressure.

"So I looked at my wife and said, 'Well, what do you say? Do you want to go to Los Angeles?' She was very excited. So here we are to start a new adventure."

"For me, it was no coincidence that I came here with one of the most famous people in the world [David Beckham], but it may not be for that reason. It is maybe to speak to you here tonight; it maybe to interact with some other guys on the team.

All I know is that God has put me here for a specific reason and I am very thankful of that.

"So one thing I'd just like to leave you with is that no matter where you are in your walk and no matter how boring you think it is, I would encourage you to have the 'send me' attitude because there are people watching."

 

 

Note: I would like to thank Robin Frost for transcribing this talk.