Faith and Wrestling: How the Role of a Wrestler Mirrors the Christian Life

By Michael Fessler

The Bible tells us that believers are transformed by the renewing of their minds. Another way of putting this is taking into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. This means learning how to think of all of life, including sport, from a biblical perspective. Michael Fesslers book is drenched in Christian worldview. Those who wrestle with its truths will be richer for it. I wish that I had been able to drink from its wisdom as a young man but am grateful to be able to do so as an old(er) one.

Jack Spates, MDiv, Baptist Bible College & Seminary and

former head wrestling coach at Oklahoma University

My belief has always been that wrestling is a microcosm of life. Most of the things that we are going to experience in life are going to be experienced in a wrestling career. Michael does an excellent job in paralleling the relationship between faith and wrestling. His book expresses the importance of developing the total athletespiritually, physically, emotionally, and socially. I look forward to the day when people (including wrestlers) from every nation, tribe, people and language will gather to worship our God. (Revelation 7:9, 11).

Gene Davis, director of wrestling at Athletes in Action and

bronze medalist in the 1976 Olympic Games

Michael Fessler concisely captures the heart of a Christian wrestler pursuing Gods glory. The book is captivating in combining biblical truths with real-life stories. You will be encouraged and inspired to think about the gospel as greater than athletic glory as Fessler explains the biblical basis for competing. Just as Fesslers approach to use wrestling as a tool for the gospel, we at Athletes in Action use the sport of wrestling to share the gospel around the world. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is passionate about their faith and the sport of wrestling.

Rob Bronson, International Wrestling Team coordinator at Athletes in Action

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Sep 29, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490896205

Michael Fessler

Michael Fessler, BA, biblical and theological studies (Bethel University), MA, communications (Concordia University, St. Paul).

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Copyright © 2015 Michael Fessler.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ All rights reserved.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Bloomington, IN 47403

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-9621-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-9620-5 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 09/23/2015

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1 Jacob Wrestles with God

Chapter 2 It’s Not About You

Chapter 3 Transforming Wrestling from Idol to Icon

Chapter 4 It’s a Lifestyle

Chapter 5 It’s a Battle

Chapter 6 Wrestling and the Human Experience

Chapter 7 Community

Chapter 8 Discipleship

Chapter 9 The Freedom to Be

Chapter 10 Life

Chapter 11 Hope, Meaning, and Purpose

Chapter 12 The Difference

Chapter 13 What We Learned in 2013

Conclusion

About the Author

The Christian Wrestler Life Verse

A nd he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again … Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come : The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God .

—2 Corinthians 5:15, 17–20, emphasis mine

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

F irst of all, I would like to thank God. This book started out as merely an inspirational idea about four years ago. No matter what happens, it is my fervent belief that God put the passion for this project on my heart, and He never allowed this passion to falter. It was a slow process, one filled with plenty of uncertainty. However, the writing and completion of this work is one step in the direction of obedience to my Creator. The next step is to get this book into the hands of others who will benefit from its content. Therefore, those who have taken the time to read this book, thank you! You are helping me remain faithful to the call that God has placed on my heart.

I would also like to thank Jack Spates. Without his encouragement and belief in this book, I am almost certain it would never have reached publication. He has become a dear friend of mine. Jack’s story is also highlighted within these pages, and I am thankful that he allowed me to include his experience. And that goes for the others who graciously allowed me to tell their stories. Nate and Jayson, thank you so much!

Thank you to Athletes in Action (AIA), especially Rob Bronson and Gene Davis for your willingness to support this project and endeavor. I am incredibly grateful!

Thank you to the love of my life, Kristin. You believe that I have something to say, something that could potentially change the lives of others. I love and appreciate you!

Thank you to all my friends and family. A loving community is necessary for any person, and I have that. I love you!

INTRODUCTION

F aith and wrestling—what’s the relationship between the two? Rather than an inquiry that has people aspiring for answers regarding the relevance or functionality of this relationship, the connection between faith and wrestling becomes increasingly evident as one looks for it. Faith and wrestling have the tendency to contain somewhat of a mutual interplay, in that wrestling appears to be a physical mirroring of what so many of us combat with spiritually. And a great number of wrestlers have found it pertinent to express their faith alongside their competitive arena.

Faith is something that we live out through a certain set of beliefs. If truly a part of one’s life, it should have a propensity to direct one’s decisions, both big and small, and deeply influence how one approaches life. Wrestling, on the other hand, is a sport. Yet anyone who has experienced it knows it’s so much more than that. It directly impacts other areas of one’s life, whether related to diet, social life, sleep regimen, etc. Furthermore, it’s a character builder. There’s the saying Anybody can beat anybody on any given day, and given the talent and devotion of wrestlers, I find this to be true today more than ever. Sure, there are those who have managed to break away from the pack and have found winning matches to be a matter of expectation. However, even legends fall. And we know this to be true because we’ve seen it. From Dan Gable to Cael Sanderson, Buvaisar Saitiev to Alexander Karelin, every legend of wrestling has experienced the heavy weight of defeat. And it’s how they have dealt with that defeat that speaks of their level of character.

To say that wrestling is a character builder is not to suggest that all wrestlers are altogether good people. One would be hard-pressed to hold such a position. However, at the very least, given the unique individualistic quality of the sport, one could say that wrestling allows the opportunity for people to develop their character in a very real and practical way, and whether they respond in a manner that is appropriate, or even good, is up to them.

There’s something extremely inimitable about wrestling. And while its popularity may never reach the heights of, say, football or baseball, it most certainly will forever have a special place in the world of sports. There’s too much that it offers that other sports don’t seem to have the ability to, at least not to the same extent. It’s all-consuming. It demands every facet of one’s competitive nature: mind, body, and soul. Furthermore, to be a wrestler is to assume the title as a significant aspect of one’s identity. Whether you are still competing or not, it becomes a part of what makes you who you are. In other words, wrestler is attached to your identity.

In the same way, faith can be described in a similar light, only to a more significant level. For while the relationship between faith and wrestling is a thriving one, faith must take the leading role.

As previously suggested, I am not speaking of a flimsy faith. I am not talking about faith as a category in one’s interests or a simple belief in a supreme being. I’m talking about something that has driving force. I’m talking about an all-consuming faith, one that interferes with our desire to be the masters of our own lives, one that causes us to live a certain way, one that allows God to change who we are. I’m