The Greater Call Podcast – Philip | The Obedient Evangelist with Jason Romano

The Greater Call welcomes Jason Romano — former ESPN producer and host of Sports Spectrum — for an inspiring conversation about Philip the Evangelist. Together they explore Philip’s story from Acts 8 and what it teaches us about obedience, leadership, and legacy.
From leaving comfort zones to following divine direction, Mark and Jason unpack how Philip’s courage and faith sparked a ripple effect that carried the Gospel from Jerusalem to Africa — a legacy of obedience still felt today.

Key Themes
• The power of obedience in following God’s call
• How Philip’s courage led to the first Gentile conversions
• The connection between leadership and serving others
• Lessons from Jason’s own leap of faith leaving ESPN to launch Sports Spectrum
• The ripple effect of one faithful act of obedience
• Building a lasting legacy through faith, family, and service

Memorable Quotes
“If you just get this one word, you’ll get the whole walk with Jesus — obedience.” – Jason Romano
“Philip wasn’t the boss; he was the servant who led through love.” – Mark Immelman
“It’s when you’re uncomfortable that God does His best work.” – Jason Romano
Scripture References
• Acts 8:26–40 — Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch
• Acts 21:8–9 — Philip’s household and legacy
• Matthew 28:18–20 — The Great Commission
• John 16:33 — “Take heart; I have overcome the world.”

About Our Guest
Jason Romano is the host and producer of Sports Spectrum, a media platform where faith and sports intersect. A former ESPN producer with nearly two decades of broadcast experience, Jason now uses his platform to share stories of athletes living boldly for Christ.
📍 SportsSpectrum.com
📲 Instagram / X: @JasonRomano

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✨ Be full of joy in all things, no matter where you are. Be thankful. Go and be a legend! ✨

Transcript

[00:00:00] Welcome to episode 11 of The Greater Call. I'm your host, mark, and I'm thrilled to have Jason Romano alongside to speak about Philip. Jason, welcome. How are you? It's good to, hi, mark. It's good to be with you. I'm doing well. Uh, it's good to catch up. It's been a little bit, but I'm so glad that you invited me to, to come on your show.

This is great. Hmm. Uh, all you fans, please keep sharing with your friends. We are living the interaction. Follow us, subscribe on YouTube and on the socials, you know the deal. It is at the Greater Cole Instagram and X. And if you're watching on YouTube, you will see Jason has the coolest t-shirt on that has Mets colors.

'cause I think you're met Sky deep down. I am a Met guy, so that's where this shirt comes from. And it says Jesus one, an orange and white on the front, so that's right. Yeah, it's, it's a great kicking off point. Uh, we're gonna talk about Philip. Again, the purpose behind the show, if you first time with us, thank you for joining.

It's just to introduce these, these [00:01:00] heroes of our faith and show you lessons for life, lessons for leadership. Mm-hmm. And of course, ways to leave a legacy. Yes. And, uh, Philip, gosh, Jason, I, I, I, I read the story again after you pitched the idea, and I was like, because you and I have both been in sports broadcast, right.

Yeah, if, if there was an all in guy. Philip is that guy. It's like the coach said Philip, and he's like, put me in Coach. I am all in. Yes. Yeah. Give us your take on the man, please. Yeah, Philip's an interesting character. 'cause you know, even you and I, I think when I first read about Philip, um, I don't remember when it was, but it was earlier this year, that's for sure.

And you know, I'm, I'm kind of asking questions like, is this the same Philip that's one of Jesus's disciples? Is this the same? Philip? And I know you asked that question too, so I had to kind of do a little research, which. I was forced to do in some ways, but I liked that. Like that's what we should be doing.

I think when we're reading, [00:02:00] you know, our Bible is do a little research and just understand the context, understand who they're talking about because there's a lot of names that overlap, or the same names. You're not sure if it's who, which James are we talking about here? Right? Which John are we talking about?

And so I think for Philip, when I read his story and learned a little bit more about him, I was fascinated with him. Um, and I think because. Just his obedience, you know, because if we talk about Philip and who he was, right? He was, he was one of those seven leaders that was appointed. Um. In the early church, kind of a deacon, if you will, a high ranking person, you know, in the, in the early church and to read.

And really just going into the idea of Christ being, my Bible says Christ is preached to an Ethiopian. Yeah. And I thought, okay, this is the same Ethiopia that's in Africa. Right. You know, 'cause again, you gotta do your research. 'cause there's a lot of different places, you know, Asia Minor is not Asia that we know.

Um, [00:03:00] so you do have to do your research and understanding that this guy was known as Philip, the evangelist, um, from Acts 21. He was preaching the gospel, you know, in Samaria earlier in Acts eight. And seeing many people healed and many people saved. And you know, this is like five years after Jesus' death, burial and resurrection.

So early, early on in the church. And, and Philip is the evangelist. He's the guy going out unashamed preaching the gospel. Um, I do not relate in that respect, in the sense that, you know, I'm not on the street holding a sign telling people to, to repent. I do, of course, I think. All of us should consider ourselves evangelists in the sense of what that word means is people who would talk to others and help preach the gospel to them or not be ashamed, right?

To talk about our faith. Uh, so I love Philip and he's not a central character in the sense of he's not Paul, he's not Peter. Um, he's not one of these, you know, uh, people. He is not even, um, you know, uh, you know, any of the disciples. [00:04:00] He's not, um. I'm trying to think of who I'm thinking of here. Um, any of like Peter's inner or Paul's inner circle guys in the sense, right.

Uh, he's just this. Kind of guy. He's one of the, he's, he's, he's not a huge central character, but like you said, he's all in, which is great. Well, well, that's the thing, you know, the great commission in the, the story of Peter is in acts, um, folks, if you wanna go read, and there's not a lot on him. Um, but if you really dive into his character and you, you read the words and then you think about what it would take to go and embark on what he did, because Jesus was commission was, okay, now take the word.

Beyond Jerusalem, beyond the Jews. And you know, the Samaritans were at odds with the Jews for long, long time. I mean, ages. Oh yeah. He ventured in there unafraid. Unabashed, of course, the eunuch on the way to, uh, he was on a trip to Gaza. Yes. He left a, um, he left a thriving [00:05:00] ministry to go to Gaza. And on along the way, he meets this Ethiopian eunich.

But the thing that gets me about him. Is that when he was the deacon, one of the seven that were picked, um, and they were in Jerusalem, they were looking out for widows and mm-hmm. And, and women basically. And at that stage of the game, women were less than, very much so, yeah. But yes, Philip feeding these women with the passion of Jesus.

Mm. And then from there. He's led to now leave the comforts of Jerusalem and go to Samaria. I mean, this is unheard of. Yes. And, and, and I just, I, I'm thinking about let's, I'm putting myself in his shoes to say, gosh, I've gotta go somewhere else and be a leader in a, in a, in a certain sense. Now, this is not a leader of people.

This is a leader for people to follow. And you're going to a place where no one's really gone [00:06:00]before and. I'm amazed at the courage. I'm amazed at the obedience. To use the term you used. Yeah. And then the love, because wherever I read it says, everyone whom we encountered had great joy. Mm-hmm. And I was like, so this guy's not a Bible bashing dude.

He went in there and loved on folks, whoever they were. And change their life just by his manner. I mean, it's so, it's so impressive when you're reading between the lines. Yeah. It's a great reminder too of how we should. Live our lives as followers of Jesus to take care of those people who are less fortunate or in trouble, or especially the women in the orphans and the poor people that are struggling.

But to do it with joy, to not force your faith and to be obedient. Obedience was the number one word that kept coming into my, into my spirit. I think as I read through this scripture again and again, and certainly when I first read it, [00:07:00] he was an obedient. To the calling that God had placed on his life.

And you know, I remember talking many years ago, mark with uh, my brother who, who was the one that led me to Jesus. Okay? And this is 2001 and it was a couple years later and he and his pastor and I were in a room together just talking. And his pastor of all people was the one, his name was Jerome. It is Jerome.

And he said, Jason, if you just get this one word, you will get the whole walk with Jesus. Thing you'll get it. And I'm like, okay, what's the one word now? He had me guess a couple words. I don't remember what I guessed, but he said, it's obedience. Obedience. And I'm like, obedience. Like, you know, obeying your mom and dad, obeying, you know, like a, like you teach a dog and send 'em to obedience school.

He's like you. It's obedience when you read God's word, wording, when you enter into a relationship with Jesus. If you are following the call that he has placed on your life, it's up to us to be [00:08:00]obedient to that call. And so often our flesh gets in the way, right? And we end up going here when we should have gone there.

Or, you know, I had an experience in in this in June, earlier this year, where I knew the Holy Spirit was saying, go talk to that woman who is struggling right now. And, you know, it was in front of a grocery store. Mm-hmm. And I didn't, and I remember leaving, thinking, God, I am sorry. 'cause I was clearly disobeying the call that you had placed in that moment for me.

And I think as we grow closer and closer to the Lord, we read his, we read his word and read into scripture, especially about Philip here, obedience is such a central theme. Yeah, I agree. And, and, and, and I, I wanna tell your story for a minute here, because I mentioned to you before, we recorded. Yeah. Um, that I saw a lot of you and Philip now folks, the first time I met Jason, you know, he was a superstar at ESPN producer.

Uh, yeah. You, you're gonna act all co but you were, you were in sports broadcast for what, 20 plus [00:09:00] years? Yeah, 17 at ESPN 20 overall. Yeah. And then, then you decided, no, no, no. I'm gonna step away from this stuff and start Sports Spectrum where you basically highlight Christian athletes around the world, which is the coolest show.

And it's so, and, and it's so nice in the area in which we find ourselves right now where more and more folks are unashamed of their faith. Especially folks with a platform like athletes and you giving them, you know, a microphone in front of them. And I'm like, there's obedience outta you to step away from comfort.

And where I'm getting to Jason, and I wouldn't want you to comment, is that obedience to Jesus. Philip was the ultimate, he was the first. To step out of Jerusalem and go to the Gentiles. Yeah. There was an uncomfortability about this thing and this obedience to Jesus and obedience in leadership is oftentimes uncomfortable, but that's where you gotta put the personal comfort side [00:10:00] and just dive in and go and do the thing.

Um, so, so you can speak to that because you did. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there is nothing comfortable I think sometimes about, um. Going somewhere that, you know, you're supposed to go, but you, you, your flesh is telling you, eh, hang, don't, you know, maybe it's not really where you're supposed to go and you know, you're supposed to, you know, when I left ESPN, that was eight years ago, um, eight plus years ago, now it'll be nine years, which is crazy.

In, in February coming up and. It was two, two years of battling with the Lord a little bit on knowing that I could see it, I could see it, and I could sense that he was leading me away from ESPN. Mm-hmm. I didn't know when that would be. I fought it for a while. Um, and even in the midst of actually pulling the trigger and doing it, I still was very.

Uncomfortable with it. It was hard. Um, it wasn't easy, but I think that's where [00:11:00] God does his best work in those moments. Right. I mean, it's, it's when you're uncomfortable that it probably means it's from, from the Lord. If it's too comfortable, it probably is more along the lines of what you're gravitating towards because it's easier or because it's, it's safe or because it's familiar.

Yeah. Familiar. That's a good word, but. Um, when you're leaving for something that's completely unfamiliar, uh, and it's brand new in the sense of what we started with the Sports Spectrum podcast, uh, or even the fact that it wasn't a full-time job. Uh, I left, you know, and took a 40% pay cut and, and didn't even have a full-time job.

When I went to Sports Spectrum, I had a part-time, 24 hour a week job that was a contract position, not a full-time position at all. That's uncomfortable, but I still felt peace. So here's the, that's a, there's a big difference right? Between being uncomfortable, but being, um, you know, but having no peace at all.

And I [00:12:00] had all the peace in the world. 'cause I just, I said to God, I trust you. And if you're gonna lead this, then it's not gonna fail. If I'm gonna lead it, it's probably going to fail. Mm-hmm. And that's where I kind of just. Laid my laurels and said, okay, this is where I'm gonna go. This is how I'm going to go about it.

And if it's from God, uh, I want to be in. And if it's from, if it's from me or if it's not from God, I don't want any part of it. And, uh, he's lead, he's led and guide me, you know, all these years since. So definitely seeing when we go through Philip here, it's, it's definitely a little bit of a reminder of the obedience, but also I'm sure it wasn't comfortable for Phillips.

To say, okay. You know what? Yeah, I'll just go down to, uh, Samaria. That, that sounds good. Yeah. Whatever you say. And, uh, I'll preach to the, you know, I'll, I'll do whatever you say, go to Gaza for Pete's sake. I mean, yes to Gaza, but he, but I think it wasn't comfortable, but it was not even a second guess in the sense of, okay.

If this is, this is the Lord [00:13:00] asking me to do this, and I'm all in with him, then I'm going, mm. You know where you go. I'll go. I know that's a different scripture, but that's basically what it was. Well, it is. Um, and folks, I have to admit weakness right now because in over, uh, Jason's right shoulder, there's an Emmy sitting there on your desk, and that is the ultimate in television, and I'm striving for one of those.

Um, okay. But back, back to the story here. Yes, sir. Um, you, you, you talk about. The immediate action that Philip takes. Now I understand if you're leading an organization or a family, it's worthwhile to do the adequate research and such, you know, so you can make an informed decision. Yes. Um, and Philip was this immediate guy, but then some of the other heroes we've highlighted, I think Gideon pops to mind for me.

Who was late and known as, or the angel of the Lord called him brave and mighty warrior, and he was hiding away from, uh, people [00:14:00] in the threshing floor at his farm. Okay. Um, and he questioned like three times before he was like, okay, I'll do it. Beg begrudgingly. And then I feel like God, sense of humor was like, okay, now you're all in.

Now I'm gonna cut your army not just in half, but into I'm gonna shred it and I'm gonna prove to you how great I am. Yeah. So what, I guess where I'm going to hear is we are not saying to one other aspirant leader or a leader or a dad or a mom or whatever to say, you know, it's okay if you don't dive right in like Philip, but is eventually let's get there.

Like Gideon, uh, I, you feel, I just feel led to say that. Are you feeling me? I feel you completely. I think it's important 'cause it's not always an immediate, you know, obedience isn't an immediate response. Sometimes it's a process of mm-hmm. What are you trying to say to me? God, where are you trying to show me?

Where, where do I have to go? Can I just take one step here before I have to go through the whole, you know, the [00:15:00] whole journey? And uh, I feel that I do, but I think that's where God wants us all to be. It should be uncomfortable. It should. Mm-hmm. It shouldn't be easy and simple and just be like, yep, it should be uncomfortable.

Um, because I think that's what, that's what the Lord wants. He wants us to feel that tension, but at the same time, that's what obedience is. So important. And think about it from a practical sense or think about it when you were a child, obeying your mom and dad. Was hard for a lot of people. I know. It was for me.

'cause I always wanted to kind of go around and, and, and, and if it was like one time I was obeying them, uh, you know, or mostly my mom from my story, but one time I'm obeying my mom. It's like one little step and then it becomes easier. Yeah. The more you do it. Uh, there's benefits from that, but there's also a tension like, oh, okay.

And, you know, often my mom would say to me, you know, you don't understand now, but you will someday, you know, you don't understand what I'm trying to do here, but someday you will. Yeah. Um, that's kind of where I feel [00:16:00] like in many ways our relationship with God. You know, I'm struck not always instantaneous.

I, I, I'm struck because it suddenly occurs to me that obedience is like a muscle that you build, uh, you know. All of us. We are not obedient folks. And through constant work and self-evaluation, obedience is built with one small decision at a time. So I, I'm sort of wondering about Philip, who he's introduced as, you know, full of the Holy Spirit and that's why Peter and Company selected him as one of the seven, um, in Jerusalem.

Yes. So clearly, you know, he's been touched by interactions with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. And so now. The obedience was built through all of these small tasks he did because it's amazing to me. I'm getting to a point eventually, it's amazing to me how a guy that was in the shadow of the titans of the day, like Peter, Peter and company in the church [00:17:00] eventually becomes the guy who ventures out first and he precedes Paul, who wrote the lion's share of the New Testament.

Yeah. So Philip was the like trailblazer. Paul was the well-known one. Philip was the guy interacting and influencing everyone. And Peter was the guy praying and leading the church. So, so there's this obedience, I feel like it was crafted, you know, way before all of these ventures are to where he went. I love that.

Yeah. If you read, it's in Acts eight, uh, where Philip kind of preaches to this Ethiopian Acts 8 26. But if you go back to the early part of Acts eight, it's talking about Paul, um, who was Saul at the time, persecuting the church. And then if you finish. The story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. It leads right into the conversion from Saul to Paul on the road to Damascus in Acts nine.

So it's really fascinating where this story is placed in terms of, 'cause I believe Luke was the author of, of Acts and to be to think about where Luke was writing this and sharing [00:18:00] this. Um. And, and the point of putting it in there, right? Like there's also that too, when you think about scripture, it's like why is this story where it is in its moment?

And I think it's really fascinating 'cause it kind of sets the table for what's about to come with the, you know, ministry of, of Paul. I wanna say this. 'cause when he gets to the small town in Samaria, um, he, there was a man named Simon in the town. He was a mystic and a sorcerer, and he could, um, predict the future.

He, he was like a prophesy and stuff, and he listened to Philip talk about Jesus, and he instantly wanted to turn to Jesus to follow Jesus. And so I, I came about thinking like this. I'm like, here's a guy with all this power in this town in Samaria. He's kind of the guy, you know, he's the main man. Who, Philip comes in [00:19:00] there, no one knows him.

And there was this attractiveness about Philip that made Simon want to change. Yeah. Now clearly it's Jesus. So I'm thinking that the Holy Spirit, when it's at full display in our life and shining like a light, it's, it's attractive. Uh, folks are want, gonna want to, you know, be more around the leader, the Philip that Jess and the, you know, hopefully Mark, whoever the case might be, you, you wanna comment on that?

Well, it, it, I think of, I don't know where it is in scripture, but it talks about a sweet smelling aroma. It might be Paul talking about that in one of the epistles about the idea of when you come and encounter the, the, the Holy Spirit in Jesus, it's like the sweet smelling aroma, right? It's so attractive that you want to be around it, you want to smell it, you want to, you know, gravitate towards it.

And honestly, that's kind of what happened to me in my own conversion. Yeah. Uh, and anytime I've seen someone come to Christ. Sometimes it's out of desperation. You know, you hit a low point or whatever. But there's, not [00:20:00] only are you, even if you hit a low point, there's something attractive about it. There's something that grab, that you gravitate toward, um, that you want to be around.

And I think when my brother led me to Jesus, it was because I had seen how his life had changed and I was attracted to the way he was living his life, which clearly was. Was from Christ leading him that I wanted to learn more about. What was that? And you know, he sat me down in the back bedroom of his house and shared the gospel with me on Mother's Day in 2001 after we went to his church service.

And mm-hmm that was the beginning. I didn't know fully what I was saying yes to. I didn't have any bible verses memorized. Probably at that point had really never even opened up scripture. But there was an attractive. Scent, if you will, or aroma that my brother had carried with him, which clearly was the Holy Spirit in Jesus that I wanted to, to grasp as well and experience and have for my own life.

Now, this has been a journey of 24 [00:21:00] years, almost 25 years, that I'm still not where I want to be. Certainly. Uh, and my brother's, you know, the smartest guy I know when it comes to the Bible and knows more about the Bible than anybody I've ever met. So I still go to him, but, and that attractiveness, by the way, is still there.

That set is still there. Uh, but as I've come encountering other people, I think there's a, there's a way that we conduct ourself if we're trying to be Christlike, right Mark, that is attractive to others. And, um, and there's also hope in all the things that come with, you know, following Jesus. But there is definitely something about.

Uh, you know, like what is, why are you drawn to it, right? Like you're draw when are you, when you're drawn to something, it's what's the reason why you're drawn to it, right? It's, it's intriguing, it's attractive, it's, um, you know, it, it's appealing. It's all of those words. And I think that's where we are with our faith, and that's why, you know.

To me, evangelism, we make it really hard. Oh, [00:22:00] what if they say no? Or what if they reject me, or what if they yell at me? If I talk about the name of Jesus? Just love 'em and and carry the Holy Spirit with you and watch what happens when people do that, and how attractive that is when you're talking to others.

I got thousands of thoughts in my head right now. I'm trying to sift through them. Okay. Yeah. I wanna say this as you sharing that. And I'm like, yes, yes, yes. And it's like cockroaches in my head and, and I keep on hearing the names of God and I'm hearing Jehovah Nessi, the Lord is our banner and it goes before us.

And, and, and that's the attractiveness also. And so I guess. As the servant leader, evangelist guy who's running an organization, whatever the case may be, you actually in effect following it's your leadership is not about you, it's it's about banner that goes in front. But this is what I do wanna say. I wanna add to that, and you've sort of touched on it [00:23:00] with your change in career too, where Philip had this successful ministry now in Samaria.

Then gets called to go to Gaza of all places, right? Yeah. I mean, and, and again, the guy leaves with no hesitation. He goes, all right, I'm in. Um, and it was sort of a project and I, I'm like, this is crazy. It really is crazy. And then I get to the thing where he doesn't eventually get to Gaza, I don't think, uh, we, the Bible doesn't say right, but he meets the Ethiopian un vu.

You've documented already who was coming from Jerusalem. Clearly he was searching. Yep. And it says that Philip runs after the guy's carriage because he heard or he saw the eunuch reading the scrolls of Isaiah. Yes. And he asks the euch, he goes, do you understand what you're reading? So he doesn't say, let me tell you about Jesus.

He goes, that's right. Understand what you reading. So, so he tickles his [00:24:00] sensibilities. Then the guy gets converted because of Philip. Just explaining what he was reading to him and prefacing that this was basically telling or foretelling Jesus now who has come and he's ascended back to heaven. Right? So the Ethiopian is converted and as you point out, moves home and starts the gentile movement there in Africa.

In Africa, which is massive. I'm from American. Keep on thinking of the tiny little seed. It was, yes. Philip down the road towards Gaza, walks past this carriage with this kin side goes, oh, he's reading Isaiah. I need to talk to him. And he heads off to Africa. And now what? That's become down there. The ripple effect is what I call it.

That's what I was getting because you told me about your ripple effect. Yes, the ripple effect. When I read this, that's what came to mind and I ended up actually preaching a whole sermon on this topic [00:25:00] back in June at my church here in Connecticut. Uh, because the ripple effect is what we miss, I think, as followers of Jesus and just look at this story.

Right. And we don't know for sure, but we're pretty sure. We're we're very certain, I should say that the Ethiopian eunuch that took the gospel that was shared and then brought it back with 'em to Ethiopia, might have been, we don't know that it was the actual first person, but it might've been the first person to go back to Africa with the gospel in hand.

And like you said, Africa is big and wide and vast, and the gospel is being preached all throughout Africa. And there are many people who love Jesus there. It might have started here. So think about the ripple effect 2000 years later that Philip had just by saying, oh wait, you're reading Isaiah. Let me tell you.

Let me, lemme find out more about that and then let me share with you what. That scroll that you're reading, that scripture that you're reading, lemme tell you what [00:26:00] that's about and who that's about. And he leads him to Christ. Euch gets baptized right there, right on the side of the road. Oh, there's a body of water.

Let's go. Let's go baptize all it again. And then it's amazing to see, to see and think about. And I, my encouragement from that and my encouragement to the congregation that day when I shared this story was. You might not make the impact that the eunuch makes in terms of going back to an entire continent, but you have a sphere of influence that you touch every single day.

And if you keep your eyes open, you won't miss it because you'll see an opportunity to share and that's why. You know, plant and water, God gives the increase, right? Paul plants polys waters, God gives the increase. The idea is we're supposed to just plant the seeds and water the seeds and keep sharing of Christ.

And you know what? We probably won't ever see the ripple effect of that until we get to heaven someday, but I bet you there's a lot more ripple effects than any of us will ever think about because. We don't have it documented in a giant book [00:27:00] that's, you know, timeless and being read by millions and millions.

But I bet someday, you know, there's probably times where I've talked to people about Jesus or shared that. I don't even know what came from that. And hopefully someday it'll be kind of fun when if I get to heaven. When I get to heaven and I hear about some of these people that maybe were there because of somebody that shared with me and maybe I shared with somebody else, like just.

Think about what a ripple effect is and how that could happen. Even this podcast right now, yeah, one person hears it, reads the story, comes to follow, Jesus shares it with another, and who knows how many people that could reach. So it's kind of fun to think about. Yeah, but here's the thing, as a leader, and, and, and, yeah, I'm gonna be honest, um, well, I'm honest all the time, but, but in a be honest here, mark, be honest here.

In a bit of honesty, I'm gonna say this. All of us, we have the spirit of dominion within. You know, it's been put inside of us by God Almighty. And so whatever you put your hand to, you wanna make a success. Of course. And when I [00:28:00] turn to this podcast, unlike, you know, my other golf one, which is downloaded all the way around the world by millions of folks, I'm like, okay, I'm gonna do the same thing here.

And it's being downloaded, but hardly like my golf show. And I'm like, in terms of leaving a legacy though. Yeah. As, as, as a leader, the ultimate legacy for all leaders, Christian and Vasin leaders and such, is to introduce the followers to something greater, right? And that's not necessarily sales or whatever the case might be.

That's, yes, that's your job, but the greater is the humanity of the followers. And, and, and as I look at Peter up, uh, Philip, I, I, I see a guy that people want to follow. It's not like he's commanding a following. It's like just his manner is making people wanna follow. Because I think too, I'm like, imagine rushing up to the side of this guy's carriage and if you have a scroll of Isaiah.[00:29:00]

You have some money about you. I mean, well, you're a high ranking official. Exactly. That is somebody who has a lot of money and a lot of power probably. Yeah. Because scrolls weren't like Bibles that you can go get at Barnes and Noble. That is exactly right. Yeah. And so. He's like, I can imagine him looking through the window and the guy's going, who's this riffraff?

Because he is walking down the road in Gaza and so he is dusty and dirty and looking at him going for real. But there was must have been this aura about Philip and the servant leader because he didn't come here and say, I'll tell you. He starts the whole interaction with, do you understand? And, and it's like coming to him, going, I'm reverend of your position, but if you just gimme a minute or two, I can help you to some enlightenment here.

Yeah. I'm not sure there's a question in there, but I, I'm just sort of unloading my heart, where as leaders, you know, sometimes we can get wrapped up in the bottom line mm-hmm. Where we are hitting people, we're not commanding people, and the bottom line of it all is [00:30:00] the human soul and the way people are made to be felt.

Yes. I have a comment on that. So, uh, I have met a lot of great, talented people, especially at my time at ESPN. Who were bosses, right? They were in charge. Mm-hmm. But they weren't great leaders. Yeah. Okay. Some of them, not all of them, but some of them, here's why, because they didn't connect with the person.

They were so focused on the work, and they were really good at what they did. They were very talented, but they weren't great leaders because they didn't care about. The humanity of the person. Hmm. Even for me, I've had some bosses where, you know, I'm married and I have a daughter and they never once asked me how I'm doing or how my wife's doing, or how my daughter's doing.

It was always about the job. Yeah. And it's okay. Like it, I always, when I say that, I'm always very careful because the person or or people that I encountered who would do that, we're just doing their job. They, it's almost like they didn't know any better, but they were so [00:31:00] focused on the bottom line, like you said, that they forgot about the humanity of the person.

And it's, to me, the great leaders aren't always in positions of being the boss. The great leaders are the ones who truly care about other people who love and serve as my friend John Gordon says, and do it well and make, make it about others and not yourself. Right. And so when I read this scripture, I, I'm reminded of that with Philip.

Like he, he, he does have the title Philip the evangelist. But you know, I don't, and I don't perceive him as being the boss or, or in charge. I mean he was one of the, Peter, Peter Paul, they all, they all kid. There was like this big in inquisition where they come and checked on him when he was in Gaza because he was behaving himself.

That's right. So it's like, alright, do we trust this guy? Yeah. Um, but he was a great leader because he connected. Uh, paid attention. Had his eyes open in the speci, in the specific instance of the eunuch. Uh, it didn't matter if that eunuch, I don't think he saw the [00:32:00] eunuch as a high ranking official, although it's labeled as that.

I think he just saw a person who was reading scroll mm-hmm. And wanted to help him come to know who he was reading about. Yeah. Which is Jesus. Mm-hmm. So it's pretty interesting. Um, I guess, 'cause you know, we live in an era of data and, um, if people are wondering down the road, this was recorded in 2025. So we live in an era of, there's data for everything.

And there's data for the data, and then there are monikers and names and acronyms for everything as well. And you know, there's a big topic now in leadership and it's called servant leadership. Yeah. Now the ultimate servant leader. And I think eventually the final podcast of the Greater Call will be about Jesus.

Yes. You know, who washed his disciples feet before he went to the cross. But I, I look at Philip and, and I see servant leadership. The cool thing about this, because you know, we've shown that he wasn't the top dog in the whole movement. The way he just is like, I'll take the job, right. I'm, I'm off. [00:33:00] And then the, the glitterati came and checked on him, but at the end of the story, when you read about him later in, uh, the Bible, he's still known as Philip the evangelist.

Yeah. So in terms of leaving a legacy, this guy's way, and the manner and the way treated people. Because think about then there's not the internet, there's not text messaging. There's no social media. This is people talking. Yes. Right. And when they talk about Philip, he's known as the evangelist and, and, and I'm, I'm like, if you leaving a legacy, your name is the only thing you really own, I think.

Right? Yeah. And imagine being so great and so humble and so good at what you do that the term evangelist sticks. That that is, that that is mind numbing to me. It makes me think of, you know, both you and I have had careers, uh, and maybe even have titles or people who would refer to us as this, right? Like you're Jason, the, the [00:34:00] producer at ESPN.

I used to get a lot the ESPN guy, um, you know, or even now you're the sports spectrum guy or you're the host, or you're this or that. Um, the guy that wrote those books or whatever, and I'm like, yeah, but if I die, when I die, if I'm called Jason, the follower of Jesus, or Jason, the evangelist, if you wanna say it that way, like, Philip, that'll be the greatest compliment I could ever have, uh, or greatest title I could ever have as follower of Jesus.

And don't get me wrong, I love being, uh, a husband to my wife, Dawn. I love being my, uh, my, you know, daddy to, to Sarah, uh, my daughter. Those are so. So vital in my life and in, and right below following Jesus, that's it. But if the first thing that's on my tombstone or whatever that looks like when I, when I pass, is not follower of Christ, then I messed up.

I didn't do it right. And uh, that's the legacy. If there is such a thing that I would wanna leave, um, or the, the, the title or the how I'd wanna be known, uh, if that's even a thing, I really [00:35:00] don't care if I'm known. I wanna be known by Jesus and that's it. But if I'm remembered or known by a few people, like that's what I want to be remembered for.

Um, so it's a good little reminder there, mark. Not that I'm trying to get too deep and sentimental here, but I think that's it. Right? You, you, you, Jo, you're jogging my mind here. Um, here in one of these shows we had Josh Baldwin on, you know, a gospel singer and yeah, wrote a song Made For More that has absolutely spoken to me and lo and behold, the next thing, he's a guest on the show.

Great song. Oh, such a good song. We play that in our church. It's amazing. I love that song. And, but I'll never forget and I know I'll get a wrap 'cause we are running outta time here. Um, I was in Orlando driving from the Golf Channel home. It was during COVID and I just turned the radio on. It was in a rental car and the song by casting crowns, nobody came on.

I'm just a nobody 'cause I'm just a nobody trying to tell everybody all about somebody who saved my soul. Yes. And and that's what you sang, that's what Philip was doing. Um, he [00:36:00] became famous for eventually for it, even though he was a nobody. Um, I think that's the ultimate in sort of leadership and legacy.

But how's this for a legacy? And I'm gonna wrap with this one. You know, despite all the achievements, the Emmys and the stuff like that, you know, we husbands and we wives and we parents and we children. And so family, it's 'cause it's like faith, family, uh, god, faith, family work, the hierarchy. Um. As the whole story ends.

I can't remember what book it's in, but it's later on. It's not in acts where Paul goes and stays with Philip, right? Philip preceded him in the, uh, evangelization of all the Gentiles around the world, the known world. Paul goes to the house and um, Philip has daughters, four of them I believe it was, and it says there that all the daughters prophesied.

So [00:37:00] I'm like, gosh, this guy's a dad. He had it all going on too because he was so influential and left a legacy inside of his house that his family were as all in about Jesus as what he was and, and that to me, in terms of legacy moves dad or business leader or whoever it is, athletes who's watching or listening to this, that is a legacy move of biblical proportion.

Yeah. That's so beautiful. It's Acts 21. I was just looking it up while we're talking here, what you were, what you were saying about, um, Paul Coman Phillips place with his four daughters. Uh, yeah. Like that's what it is, right? It's, it's, I could, I could try to, you know, share another five to 10 minutes on this and try to extrapolate on it or whatever, but it's like, there's another show to get to, buddy.

Well, not only that, I just, I don't think there's a whole lot to add other than that's it. Like, that's it. And you know. I don't, what's that? There's another casting Crown song. I don't wanna leave a legacy. I don't want them to remember [00:38:00] me. All I want is Jesus, I think is how the song goes. And by the way, casting Crown's a great band, but they're, they're, the message is really important here to remember, like, uh, we're just a nobody trying to tell anybody about somebody that saved my soul.

That was Philip right there, uh, on his way down and runs into this very rich. Important person, if you will. And it's a good reminder like next time you're on an airplane, right, next time you're traveling somewhere, just keep your eyes open. That doesn't mean that you're gonna have the same opportunity as Philip, but you might.

And who am I not to say something? Yeah. So, and I will say this, it's not all Sunshine Lollipop because you might say something and someone may unfollow you or whatever, and it'll hit you in the flesh, in the fields. But you know, in the end, as your T-shirt says, Jesus wins, Jesus won. He he won. Yeah. I have overcome the world.

John 16, [00:39:00] right? Jesus says it take heart. You're gonna have trouble. You're gonna go through stuff. By the way, Paul writing half the New Testament in jail from prison. That's crazy. And yet he won. Like Jesus won. He was full of joy in jail. He's full of joy. Yeah. How do you, how do you stay full of joy in jail?

The Holy Spirit. That's the only way. It is the only way. Uh, Jason, you're a superstar man. Thank you for joining us. Uh, please share for the folks where they can find you on social stuff like that, sports spectrum. Uh, let's direct some people to your stuff. Yeah, thank you. Uh, the podcast is where I always try to direct people.

I've been working with a an NFL player named Matt Forte on the podcast the last, um, year or so, and, uh, with the goal to just continue to. To bring Jesus into the world and keep Jesus in the world of sports. So sports spectrum.com or any of the, you know, podcast sites that you get your podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, apple, uh, even Twitter X we post our full podcast there as well.

So you could check that out. Um, and then, you know, I'm on Instagram. And I'm on Twitter or [00:40:00] X if you wanna call it that. And it's, it's not hard to find me, uh, but it's just Jason Romano, my name, and I would love to connect with you and, and if you heard this podcast or have some thoughts on Philip and the Ethiopian e I'm sure you would welcome him too.

I'd love to hear what people think about this piece of scripture. Reminder folks. Thank you Jason. Reminder that we'd love to hear from you. The best way is direct message via the socials at the greater call or on YouTube search and subscribe there for the greater call. That's what we are here for. We just wanna introduce you to Biblical heroes, folks who we can learn from.

'cause I feel like you can learn so much from folks who are human just like us, and struggled just like us, and somehow left. Made that big an impact that they were written about in that beautiful book the Bible. Thanks for downloading. Appreciate you. God bless you all. Keep the joy and go and be a legend.