he NHL's Mike Fisher Talks Faith

Defender of Faith

By Corine Gatti

This is not an article on Nashville Predator forward Mike Fisher’s stats as a player or how much ice time he will receive in October, nor his love for checking players into the boards. It's more about a quiet leader of sorts who does seem to have it all. He's married to country singer Carrie Underwood, living his childhood dream and has access to a vast amount of opportunities that professional athletes enjoy. The native from Peterborough, Ontario accepted Jesus into his life when he was only six year old and had the support from his parents Jim and Karen, he seemed spiritually set. Yet fame and money snaked into Fisher’s spiritual backyard causing him to backslide, along with the party scene, until God snatched him back for a bigger calling-serving Him and mentoring children.

Traded by the Ottawa Senators where he spent over 11 years, Fisher was traded in February to the Predators. Heartbroken, the soft-spoken player continued to make Jesus Christ a priority and reach out to others through his faith, baffling his new teammates with his work ethic. Fisher, 31, desires teens to have a mentor, and he’s willing to take on that role in his new book Defender of Faith that will be released in September and his nonprofit hockey camps.

I talked to Mike from Nashville via phone and believe that his story will encourage you not give up on God’s plan for your life despite your mistakes and even if your are the only Christian at your workplace or neighborhood.

“Having a relationship with Jesus and making him the center of everything I do is the most important thing to me in hockey and whatever I am doing,” Fisher said. “...it took me living through some things to understand.”

You can read more about Mike's inspirational story and follow him at http://www.mikefisher.ca/.

All of the proceeds for Mike’s Hockey Camp are donated to charity. For more information on MFHC follow the link: http://mikefisherhockeycamp.com/.

Faith of a Child

Can tell us when you became a Christian?

MF: I gave my heart to the Lord when I was six years old. It’s very young but I still remember that day and it was very significant. Me and my mom just started praying and I remember saying I wanted a relationship with Jesus. And I wanted to live that way. And I would say there are ups and downs on this journey and I learned a lot going away and playing junior [hockey]. I’ve made mistakes along the way, but through it all, I think God really showed his grace and showed his face. I think we’re all kind of a little like the Prodigal Son. Real and true happiness is having a relationship with God and not what makes us happy .

Faith

How has a relationship with God anchored you?

MF: I was drafted to Ottawa, I was close to home and had some good people there that had a lot of faith. They walked beside me and helped me grow. But it’s difficult when you’re 19. You’re playing in the NHL and you’ve got more money than you thought you’d have and it’s hard. I didn’t want to have my faith because my parents did or because that was a good way to live. I wanted it to be real. And I think that’s what it really became as I was going through some things and just really experiencing God and the Holy Spirit through all of this. And then I knew I had to make my faith my own. I needed it in my life and it definitely helped me balance the money and the fame and those things. It put things into perspective and what’s important. I still have to remind myself it’s not just for me and because in our profession everyone’s doing stuff for you and wants you to be comfortable-you’ve got to remind yourself it’s not about me.

Being a Light

There seems to be very few believers in the NHL. How have you adjusted to overcome the isolation?

MF: I think being a Christian in NHL has come a long way. We had a guy [Larry] that led our chapel in Ottawa for years and he was under so much scrutiny back in the 80s because he was a believer. He was one of the first believers to kind of tell everyone about his faith and let people know and that was really kind of odd in the hockey world back then which is sad. He got a lot of grief from some of the owners and management. And hockey ministries, HMI has done really good work and gotten chapels-I think it’s close to half of the teams right now that have optional chapels for guys that can go and learn with the Lord and so that’s exciting. So it has come a long way.

Leadership

What are your thoughts on leadership in the locker room and on the ice?

MF: You don’t hide the things that you love and who you are. You should be proud of those things and that’s why I’ve kind of always been a little bit more outspoken and I don’t believe it’s something odd at all because I know that it can help people. And having a faith is the answer and you want to share that. And as far as being a leader, I’ve always kind of been a bit of a quiet leader for the most part and tend to just lead by work ethic and example and those types of things and just be a good teammate and try to love everyone the same way. I fail at times for sure. But I’ve got the Lord showing me things I need to be doing better and get through injuries, through adversity, all those things. It’s about your attitude and how you deal with those things that other people see.

Dreams

Could you share tips on how to achieve your dreams?

MF: God gave me a gift and everyone is gifted differently. But it’s as though using those gifts for him and kind of recognizing that and giving him the glory and I think just I’ve been very fortunate. And I wanted to share a little bit of my story with kids to encourage them to don’t be afraid and to live out your faith and talk about it. That’s a big part of who you are. That’s what you need to do and not be ashamed. And I was made fun of a little bit when I was a kid, but I think that really pushed me to want to be able to play hockey and play hard, not be soft and play a physical game and show people that if you’re a Christian you can still be competitive. Keep God in the center at all times because if he’s in the center of everything, everything else just falls into place. And it doesn’t mean it’s easy but he helps you along the way.

Missions

Tell us about your passion for missions and your trip to El Salvador through World Vision?

MF: We live in kind of a fantasy world. There are so many things at our fingertips and good education and food and all the things we need and want. When I went to El Salvador we stayed at a pretty nice hotel. And 10 minutes out it’s like where are we? It just kind of hit us. Just the one family we visited had bad food, bad hay and were struggling and needed so many different things and it was so sad. They still remained positive and they were doing all that they could do for their families to get by. It just kind of made you think of all the things you waste money on. It also made me want to help out more because I was realizing that so little can help so much. And I’m going to go back somewhere, maybe Africa next summer.