Growing up in Columbus, Ohio, Michael Redd always had Christ in his life. But since he was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2000, the 29-year-old shooting guard has developed a stronger faith. Not long after he arrived in the NBA, Redd famously declared he would remain celibate until he married his wife and, by all accounts, kept that promise.

Then after signing a six-year, $91-million contract in August 2005, the NBA all-star used part of the money to help his father purchase a church. Redd’s father, the Rev. James Redd, is pastor of the Philadelphia Deliverance Church of Christ in Columbus, Ohio. Before his son’s generous gift, the congregation worshiped in storefront and basement churches. At a time when NBA stars are glorified for their wanton lifestyles, Redd stands out as one who puts his faith first.

I talked to Redd about faith and basketball.

Have you always been spiritual?
Growing up in a household that included parents that were pastors and people that were involved in ministry, that’s all I’ve ever known. It wasn’t until I left home that I really developed a personal relationship with Christ. For so long as a teenager and a kid, you piggyback off mom and dad. They’re ministering, they’re pastoring, so I think I’m automatically getting a pass to heaven. And that wasn’t the case at all, I found out. I had to develop my own personal relationship with Christ and begin to communicate with Him on a deeper level pretty much when I left home to go to the NBA.

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When it comes to spreading the word of God through sports, the Catholic church lags behind other Christian groups. Evangelicals have been much more enterprising in using athletes to spread their message. That may be changing.

At the behest of the late John Paul II, an office was set up at the Vatican called Church and Sport in 2005. That year, the Pontifical Council for the Laity also held its first international symposium on the global phenomenon of sport. One of the 50 participants from around the world invited to the conference was Robert Feeney, a religion teacher at Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington and author of “The Catholic Ideal: Exercise and Sports” (Ignatius Press, 2005).

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