Faith and Wrestling

“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 Fessler’s 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 athlete—spiritually, 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 God’s 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 Fessler’s 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