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The Steelers' Antwaan Randle El tells Peters congregation Bible is the 'game plan of life'

The Steelers' Antwaan Randle El tells Peters congregation Bible is the 'game plan of life'

During the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, the Steelers practiced hard, hobnobbed with the news media and enjoyed a feast at the home of Jerome Bettis' parents in Detroit.

Robin Rombach, Post-Gazette
Antwaan Randle El takes a seat on a child's bike after signing it in to be auctioned off for charity at South Hills Bible Chapel in Peters yesterday. Mr. Randle El spoke to the congregation about his faith.

Yesterday, wide receiver Antwaan Randle El talked about another custom practiced by about a dozen team members in the week before the Super Bowl and throughout the championship season: a weekly Bible study.

"We take 20 or 30 minutes and give time to God," Mr. Randle El told an overflow crowd yesterday at South Hills Bible Chapel in Peters.

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"The Bible is the game plan of life," he said.

He said the team's mid-week Bible study was new this season, but praying together before a big game is a common practice for a core group of Christian Steelers.

"We pray for God's will to be done. We pray for our families. We pray for the safety of the team," he said.

While some of his teammates were in Hawaii yesterday, playing in the Pro Bowl, Mr. Randle El was in the Peters church fulfilling a commitment he made months before the Steelers won the Super Bowl.

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The church, which uses sports testimonies as a regular part of its ministry, issued an invitation last fall for Mr. Randle El to visit and talk about his Christian faith.

Between that invitation and this past weekend's appearance Mr. Randle El, in a trick play, passed the football to fellow wide receiver Hines Ward for a key touchdown in the Super Bowl.

That Steelers victory and Mr. Randle El's appearance brought about 2,800 people to the large church that normally gets about 1,600 people at its one Saturday and two Sunday services.

"We do something like this every year around or on the Super Bowl," said former Steelers tackle Tunch Ilkin, who runs the men's ministry at the church.

"This year is very special," he said.

There were no Terrible Towels and little black and gold at yesterday's 9 a.m. service, but Mr. Randle El received thunderous applause when he was introduced by Mr. Ilkin.

"We finally have someone up here who won a Super Bowl in this decade," joked Mr. Ilkin, who never won a Super Bowl ring.

Between the singing and a sit-down interview between Mr. Ilkin and Mr. Randle El, a video of Steelers highlights from this season was shown on two big screens.

During the interview, Mr. Randle El, 26, who is married and the father of three small children, clearly set out his priorities in life -- faith in God, love of family and his job, playing professional football, in that order.

He said fame and money are fleeting, the future is unknown and things change, "but God and Christ do not change."

"That game I played in the Super Bowl may be the last game I play. But God will not change," he told the crowd.

Many people think Mr. Randle El is Muslim, because his last name is from the Muslim tradition, but he was raised in the Pentecostal tradition of Christianity.

Mr. Randle El, who was born in Riverdale, Ill., outside Chicago, said his mother was a God-fearing woman who had her three sons in church several times a week and his father was a man who came to know God.

He was an all-around athlete who excelled in baseball, football and basketball and was drafted by the Chicago Cubs to play baseball. But his parents insisted on college, so he ended up as a star quarterback at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind.

In high school and college, Mr. Randle El said he drifted away from God, putting himself in the forefront. He said life became hollow, whether he won or lost the games.

"Nothing could fill the void," he said.

By his senior year, Mr. Randle El said, he got his priorities back in order.

Now Mr. Randle El, who is a free agent and a hot commodity, said he is asking God whether he should stay with the Steelers or go to another NFL team.

"I am not sure if this is where God wants me to continue to be or if he wants me to go elsewhere," he said. "I just have to keep praying about it."

Robin Romabch, Post-Gazette
Antwaan Randle El and former Steeler-turned-broadcaster Tunch Ilkin, right, speak to the huge crowd at South Hills Bible Chapel yesterday. Mr. Ilkin runs the men's ministry.
Click photo for larger image.

First Published: February 13, 2006, 5:00 a.m.

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