A Match Made in Heaven
Week 37 of 52 Churches in 52 Weeks:
Wrestling with a Limp at Generations Church in Fate, Texas (Christian Wrestling Federation)
Many don’t know this, but God is a huge professional wrestling fan.
Back in the Old Testament, God was seated in His celestial box suite and booked a match made from heaven, pitting Jacob versus Esau. At the time, Jacob was being a jerk since he couldn’t grow a beard and Esau could. One day, he tricked dad into the family’s inheritance by impersonating Esau with so much body hair, it would have made George “The Animal” Steele look like the official spokesman for Norelco.
Jacob scrammed out of there, got married, and made lots of babies to carve out a new life for himself. Meanwhile, Esau spent years in therapy due to self-esteem issues for his steel wool, since manscaping wasn’t a thing in Genesis. After several years had passed, Jacob found himself on the run from his father-in-law, and had no where else to go but return home and pay the piper. Awaiting him was an embittered Esau with a stable of 400 men, ready to lay the smackdown at the family reunion.
Karma had caught up to Jacob. The night before, he placed everything he had accumulated and sent it as a bribe to make peace with his brother. Alone, Jacob was sneak attacked by a stranger, going toe-to-toe in a battle for the ages. They wrestled all night; bodyslams, Ric Flair knife-edge chops, suplexes on the Spanish announce table, you name it. After so long, it was evident that Jacob would not go down for the 1, 2, 3. Before the timekeeper could ring the bell at daybreak, the stranger love-tapped the socket of Jacob’s hip when the ref wasn’t looking, cripping him as he wrestled.
Despite the injury, Jacob would not give up. Wanting to maintain his identity before daybreak, the stranger was heard saying his favorite John Cena catchphrase, “You can’t see me”, and tried to escape. But Jacob refused to give up and held on to him long enough. “I will not let you go unless you bless me,” Jacob said. Finally, the mystery opponent had enough and blessed him.
It was then the stranger revealed Himself to be the omnipotent creator of the universe (God).
Jacob pissed his loincloth.
July 18, 2015–7:00 pm CWF Champions Cup Tag Team Tournament (Night 2): Christian Wrestling Federation at Generations Church in Fate, Texas
I never thought searching for God would lead me to a bunch of sweaty men climbing on top of each in skintight spandex. Yet in the name of Christ, that’s exactly what happened for Week 37 of 52 Churches in 52 Weeks.
Growing up as a little Hulkamaniac, I learned to say my prayers, take my vitamins, and dreamed of one day having Hulk Hogan-like 24-inch pythons. I’d take “Macho Man” Randy Savage’s advice, snap into a Slim Jim, and watched wrestling every Saturday morning to watch feats of strength with ample amounts of fake punching and kicking. To rediscover my childhood pastime combined with my spiritual adventure, I drove 1,000+ miles to Generations Church in rural Texas for the wacky world of the Christian Wrestling Federation (CWF).
Considered to be “cross-denominational”, I was curious how over-the-top the CWF would be. I had grandiose visions this would turn into The Passion of the Christ directed by Vince McMahon, with good guy wrestlers dressed in animal skins getting besieged by Biblical villains like Cain, Pharaoh, and Judas. They’d handcuff the hero to a steel cage, arms outstretched to symbolize the crucifixion. A toga-wearing Judas would blow a final kiss, and the bad guys would mudstomp the hero’s face into a pool of his own blood, symbolizing how Christ’s blood was shed for us. Just when it seemed like all was lost, a spotlight from the heavens would shine, which would inspire God’s Champion to unleash his inner-Samson, rip apart the chains with fury in his eyes, and use a donkey jawbone as a foreign object to scatter his opponents.
Fortunately, this never happened. Instead, the CWF consisted of indy wrestlers from across the country who preached the Gospel through their actions in the ring. Sportsmanship was the name of the game here, and this night would mark the final outing of the CWF Tag Team Champions Cup Tournament. The victorious tandem would take home a towering trophy accented with a crucifix in the center.
The biggest pop of the night went to Lodi and Scotty Mathews, better known as Team Fearless. The two were bald-headed witnesses who vowed to wrestle anywhere at anytime to make some noise for Jesus. When their music hit, kids roared to the duo as they struck their signature poses. Lodi was the main event draw, earning fame during the late-’90’s wrestling boom for coming to ringside with a variety of signs to mock opponents (not to mention, he has remarkably excellent penmanship). Nowadays, his signs are meant to inspire God’s Word, with messages like “Lodi 3:16 Says Read John 3:16”, “Make Your Dreams a Reality”, and “Get Strong Philippians 4:13”. Scotty Mathews on the other hand, was new to me. I had no idea who he was. All I knew was after he shouted, he displayed impressive range in projectile spit and nearly hit me with a goober of saliva.
In the tournament finale, Team Fearless faced off against Caprice Coleman and “Sweet Dreamz” Marcus Howard. Coleman was a preacher outside of the ring, and had made a name for himself during the tournament with his ability to use the ring as a launching pad. He could dish out offense from anywhere in the ring.
Before the bell, some of the wrestlers came out to witness the last match. Next thing I knew, former WWE superstar Michael Tarver tapped my shoulder and took a seat right next to me. Tarver was known to bodyslam opponents with such a concussive force, it would register seismographs. I worried his post-match snack would be me :O
The bout went back-and-forth, with Coleman showing his natural ability to perform a variety of high-risk moves, including a hard-to-believe triple rolling suplex on Lodi and finishing it off by adding Mathews into the mix.
The atmosphere was electric during the match. One of the greatest things I’ve learned to appreciate is the different entry points one can have when it comes to learning the Word. The CWF was an outreach ministry that aimed to spread the Scripture, using professional wrestling as a vessel to be progressive and innovative to get new butts in the seats.
In the end, Coleman took a nasty fall and crashed off the ring apron like he was Humpty Dumpty. Not a moment too soon, Sweet Dreamz received a Scotty superkick to the jaw, bounced off the rope and was caught in midair, setting up Lodi to fly off the top turnbuckle with a clothesline. It was academic from that point, as Mathews laid on top of him to get the pincount and win it all.
A “Thank-You Je-sus! (clap-clap-clapclapclap)” chant broke out as Team Fearless celebrated with the Champions Cup. While the ring crew checked on Coleman, Sweet Dreamz joined in for a show of sportmanship. After a quick photo op, Lodi gave a sermon after most thought he probably suffered a concussion.
In the background, Scotty Mathews hoisted the Champions Cup, pointing up to the spotlight in the sky to thank His Savior. Team Fearless were champions that night.
One month later, things took a twist when Scotty Mathews was blindsided by a car.
He suffered a wrenched hip.
“God gives me the strength to conquer this because without you, it wouldn’t matter if I won the fight anyways.” -Scotty Mathews
Scotty’s pelvis was busted and needed immediate surgery. In body, the only thing holding him together were metal plates and screws. In spirit, his faith was holding together much more. The inability to walk had wiped out his income, forcing him to find other means to support his four children. As sinners, this is where many struggle, taking it upon ourselves to call out God into the squared circle of our mind. We call Him fake, a gimmick, and turn heel to wrestle Him for everything that doesn’t go our way.
But Scotty didn’t do that. Instead, he struck to his credo and maintained integrity while laughing at his life’s biggest blow. “Iron sharpens iron” he would post. He used his trials and tribulations to inspire others, posting social media photos on how God was working inside his spirit. Lodi and several other indy wrestlers came to show their support through prayer, with locker rooms across the country praying for his recovery. Despite a life-changing event that required time to heal a broken body, Scotty never allowed the pain to harden his soul.
You never come to see who you are, gain any strength, character, humility, or self-perspective unless you suffer and experience weakness. Real growth experiences always involve struggle and pain. Between Jacob and Scotty Mathews, they learned that wrestling with a wrenched hip was never meant to be easy. Through pain, weakness leaves the body and strengthens the heart. We become humbled in ways that many couldn’t begin to express, and yet, sometimes that pain, that limp, is truly a blessing in disguise.
For Jacob, he spent his life wrestling with himself, other people, and God. What he needed was God’s blessing, and he wouldn’t stop his wrestling until he earned it. From that night forward, Jacob walked with a limp because of the wrenched hip, but took joy in it.
As believers in Christ, we may well struggle with Him through the loneliness of night, but by daybreak, we can find His hand touching what was meant for us.
Before God left Jacob, He left him with a word of encouragement:
“Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel…
“You have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.”
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