As a child what did you want to be when you grew up?

I always wanted to be a professional sportsperson: a cricketer, rugby player or footballer playing for England. In my teens when I realised I was not going to be a professional sportsperson, being a sports teacher seemed the next best option ... until I looked around my class and saw the other wild lads and thought, 'Nope, that isn't going to work either,' so it was going to be business for me.

How did you get involved in sports?

As soon as I could walk I played sport - right throughout my school years, university and at work in the insurance business. Eventually in my late 20' when I was studying at Bible College as well as playing football I was approached by one of the founders of Ambassadors in Sport to join them ... I couldn't believe it, my ideal job ... Christian ministry in the world of football!

Is football war?

Football was once described as 'war minus the bullets' but I prefer Pele's description of football being 'the beautiful game' which it truly is if played in the right spirit and in the right way. It is only the corrupt hearts of participants that sometimes ruin it. However football like most competition is a striving together which if done in the right way can create something good and virtuous.

2012 Olympic Games London, 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and maybe 2018 World Cup in England. Opportune time or what?

Yes, especially if you throw in a Champions League Final, golf Ryder Cups and cricket, rugby league and union World Cups hosted in the UK so there is truly coming up a 'Golden Decade' of sport. It would be great to think that the Church would switch on very quickly to take this unique opportunity over the next 10 years to really engage effectively with the massive sports sub-culture within our country.

What has Arts got to do with it?

My first reaction would be 'not a lot' but when you consider that the arts like sport is a medium of God-given creative expression then there are parallels and stories to be told. The universal languages of our world today (especially when coupled with all the media coverage) are sport and music. Certainly at previous major sports events around the world, both a great atmosphere of celebration and a creative legacy has been left behind when sport and the arts have come together.

Can we change the world through play?

The cynic within me would probably say 'No' as there has never been so much 'play' available in the history of humanity and yet there is still so much violence, injustice, hurt and pain. However, in my experience something does happen on a field of play when people do seem to come together regardless of background or belief which can become a platform for friendships to develop. So perhaps when you combine play with the Christian hope message then because the sport culture is so pervasive in our world then transformation may come.

What living person do you most admire, and why?

I could get all spiritual at this point and say Jesus Christ because of His selfless, loving, inclusive, wise, caring, insightful and transformational character causing life. However, I have the privilege in my life of virtually every week meeting ordinary people I admire who inspire me as they take the claims of Jesus Christ seriously and seek to make a difference for good in our hurting world.

Tell us one of your most hilarious faux pas.

On my first trip to Poland, I wanted to learn a few Polish words to connect with people. Some Polish young people helped me but played a trick and taught me in Polish the equivalent of, 'Hello, my name is David and I am here in Poland looking for a wife' ... you can imagine the variety of responses I got as I said this to every person I met for the first 3 days of my trip.

What's your greatest fear and your greatest hope?

Jonathan Edwards the US revival preacher of the 19th Century said, 'It is the task of every generation to discover what the Sovereign Lord is doing and to move in that direction.' My fear is that we do not discover what God is doing in our time and generation and miss out but my greatest hope is that we do see what God is doing and we do move in that direction with Him ... you never know it might be God doing something amazing in and through the sport in our time.

What do you consider your greatest achievement so far?

Setting up and establishing a national Christian sports ministry network from almost nothing in the Czech Republic which is still flourishing today 10 years after I left the country plus seeing sportspeople I have mentored going on and doing greater things than I ever did.

Martin Luther King Jr had a dream for society. What is yours?

My dream is to see heaven full of sportspeople so I guess my dream for society would be to see heaven on earth i.e. sportspeople who celebrate their God-given sporting gifts and use them for good to make society more inclusive, godly, fairer and friendlier.

What is the main hindrance to living the dream?

Sportspeople who fail to grasp that their sporting prowess comes from God and they fall for the 'win at all costs' ethic that leads to a sense of identity, self esteem and acceptance being based on their sporting performance rather than the unconditional love of God which liberates people into grateful service for Him.

New! Forum for Change Sport Cluster: www.eauk.org/forumforchange/sport.cfm