He’s seventy-two years old. He’s full of cancer that is in remission. But Mr. Paul Henderson “wouldn’t change places with anybody in the world.”
Paul Henderson is best remembered for scoring the winning goal in each of the last three games of the historic 1972 Canada-USSR series. But after his talk at last Thursday morning’s Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast in Bowmanville, the two hundred politicians, pastors and community leaders who heard him will remember him most for his entertaining, courageous and challenging Christian testimony.
Paul’s speech focused on the three men who had the most profound influence on his life. The first was his grandfather, who told him to be reliable and trustworthy and said, “Make sure your wife and kids can count on you.” The second was Mel Stevens, the director of Teen Challenge, who invited him to volunteer at a summer hockey school and then met with Paul on a weekly basis for twenty-seven months to study the Bible and answer Paul’s many questions. During that time period, Paul would put his Bible inside a Playboy magazine so that his teammates would not know that he was studying the scriptures. Under Mel’s mentorship, Paul gave his life to Christ. The third influential man was John Bradford, someone he met when Paul jumped from the NHL to the WHA. “John told me to be ruthless about developing my character. He also challenged me to write a personal purpose statement. I came up with ‘godly world change agent.’”
Paul invited his rapt listeners to experience the peace that he found when he “put a stake in my life” in 1975 and accepted Jesus as his Saviour and Lord. Then, showing his capacity for making personal connections, he invited people to come for an autograph or a picture, extending a special invitation to MJ’s sister, Claire. “Where’s my little girlfriend?” he asked. “Don’t you leave! I want a picture with you.”
- Pastor Peter
Paul Henderson is best remembered for scoring the winning goal in each of the last three games of the historic 1972 Canada-USSR series. But after his talk at last Thursday morning’s Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast in Bowmanville, the two hundred politicians, pastors and community leaders who heard him will remember him most for his entertaining, courageous and challenging Christian testimony.
Paul’s speech focused on the three men who had the most profound influence on his life. The first was his grandfather, who told him to be reliable and trustworthy and said, “Make sure your wife and kids can count on you.” The second was Mel Stevens, the director of Teen Challenge, who invited him to volunteer at a summer hockey school and then met with Paul on a weekly basis for twenty-seven months to study the Bible and answer Paul’s many questions. During that time period, Paul would put his Bible inside a Playboy magazine so that his teammates would not know that he was studying the scriptures. Under Mel’s mentorship, Paul gave his life to Christ. The third influential man was John Bradford, someone he met when Paul jumped from the NHL to the WHA. “John told me to be ruthless about developing my character. He also challenged me to write a personal purpose statement. I came up with ‘godly world change agent.’”
Paul invited his rapt listeners to experience the peace that he found when he “put a stake in my life” in 1975 and accepted Jesus as his Saviour and Lord. Then, showing his capacity for making personal connections, he invited people to come for an autograph or a picture, extending a special invitation to MJ’s sister, Claire. “Where’s my little girlfriend?” he asked. “Don’t you leave! I want a picture with you.”
- Pastor Peter
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