I recall going to church the following Sunday and asking God to help me because I was in way over my head. And on Tuesday, during a previously scheduled golf game with a member at Mississauga Golf and Country Club, I was asked if I would mind having Paul Henderson join our group. “Are you kidding?!” I remember exclaiming. Who knew that your question on the eigth fairway, “How’s your spiritual life?” would over time bring that ball deep in the woods back onto the fairway.
And today, my marriage is stronger than ever and my relationship with my kids so very vibrant! But you know better than anyone, it was not easy for me. But through the support, friendship, encouragement, and prayer from the men in the group, I came to have a faith in Christ, and the belief that through God, absolutely nothing is impossible! I’ll never forget the first memory assignment you gave me – 1 Corinthians 13:4–8. Before this, I never knew what love truly meant.
And so many other aspects of my life are stronger and better, especially as an advisor and steward of my clients’ wealth. Now I come to work knowing that Christ is my boss, and it is the Lord to whom I report.
Last Monday, I was profiled in the National Post and you called me to tell me you were so proud of me. I can tell you this – your words meant so much more to me than that article!
Who would believe ten years ago that my 2012 New Year’s resolution is to be “single minded” – that is, to have “thought” devoted to Christ, to be joyful regardless of circumstance, and through every circumstance see Christ.
And, Paul, would you have ever thought ten years ago that I would actually be leading more than seventy men at my church, positively influencing those men in how they are as husbands, fathers, employers, employees? It boggles the mind! Last week Father Vid told me that Men’s Fraternity is “the defining element at Merciful Redeemer Parish.” He went on to say that not only are men’s lives being transformed, but also their families and, as a result, the community.
Paul, words cannot express how grateful I am for your support and love! With Christ, you have saved my life!
Now I like to think of my life as McIlroy’s ball at Congressional. It occasionally goes awry, but it’s on its way to winning the U.S. Open!
I will pray for you and your lovely wife, Eleanor, for the rest of my days.
May God continue to bless you and all your descendants.
LEONARD BUHLER – President, Power to Change
Back in 2001, my wife, Debbie, and I were asked to lead a Campus Crusade for Christ’s Power to Change campaign in Manitoba.
Over the course of that campaign, we trained 6,500 people in how to share their faith. We also organized forty-five outreach events in six regions of the province. When we were booking speakers for those events, we came across the name Paul Henderson. We knew that he was “that guy who scored the goal,” so we thought he’d be pretty good. But I didn’t actually have a clue who he was.
So we invited Paul to come to Manitoba for a week to speak at some of our events. He promptly called me back and said he was only prepared to give me three days. What a jerk, I thought. This guy works for Campus Crusade, and this is one of their own campaigns. Why would he not come for a full week?
We ended up inviting him anyway. But we hired a charter airplane, and scheduled Paul to speak at breakfast, at lunch, at coffee, and at dinner. Paul humoured us with our ridiculous schedule, and in the end we managed to pack seven days’ worth of speaking engagements into three.
When I first met Paul, I was expecting a typical sports guy – larger than life, a little full of himself. What impressed me about Paul was that yes, he was proud of his sports accomplishments – but he only used his story and his status as a vehicle to tell people about Jesus. I’m originally from the business world, where it’s easy to base your whole identity on your money, your success. I knew Paul could easily have done the same thing – based his whole identity on his sports career.
But he didn’t. He based it on his relationship with Jesus Christ, and only ever used his sports success to make an impact for Him.
A few years after I met Paul, I became the president of Campus Crusade for Christ, now Power to Change. I had a lot of experience as a business leader but none as a Christian non-profit leader. So I looked around me and tried to find a North Star – another leader I admired, someone I could keep my eyes on and use as a model. Paul Henderson became one of my North Stars because the more I watched him, the more I was impressed.
Three things about Paul really stood out for me. One was his consistency: day in, day out he’s followed his purpose statement – “to be a Godly world change agent” – using his life in a significant way for Christ over decades. Another was how he cares for people. Not a week goes by that Paul doesn’t phone up to pray for me or leave a great message on my voicemail. On a down day, that’s been so encouraging for me. In fact, that has had such a huge impact on me that now I try do the same thing for the people I lead.
Finally, what I admire most about Paul is his intimate walk with Jesus. I don’t know very many leaders who have maintained such a close relationship with Christ. He’s an incredible model, not just for me, but for all Christian leaders – in ministry and in the marketplace.
RICK GAETZ – CEO, Vitrain
Today’s kids measure friends in quantities of hundreds and thousands as defined by the number of friends on their Facebook page. I grew up in an era when I, too, had many, many people I would be privileged to call my friends, but I believe most of us, if lucky enough, have eight or ten people we would consider lifelong friends: friends who have stood the test of time and ones that you likely shared the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.
I am privileged to call Paul one of those friends in my life. Although we have known each other for less than fifteen years, no one has had a greater impact on me as it relates to how I live my life. Paul is an evangelical Christian, something most of us, including myself, are not comfortable with. But his passion to seek out what is right and what is wrong, all based on his faith, cannot be argued.
The wants are simple … he wants us to be better people, better dads, better husbands, and even better at work. He wants us to put others ahead of ourselves, something that doesn’t come naturally to many of us. He wants us to compete hard in everything we do, to be the best.
Paul has had and continues to have an undeniable impact on my life. My wife would agree. Although I struggle with much of this, I try to be fair but firm in my role as a business leader. I make sure my family is my priority. I am more giving in every way, I am more thoughtful of others, and although many would laugh, I think I am even more patient. Perhaps most remarkably, I am a better golfer as a result of a simple message that he drives home to me every time we play, a message that Paul incorporates in his life every day: “LOOK FORWARD, NOT BACK!”
I have great friends, but no one I know tries to gently nudge people to be better every day as Paul continues to do with me and countless others.
I am proud, privileged, and honoured to call Paul my friend. Above all, Paul shows us that no matter what we are facing in life, we should be grateful for the blessings each day brings.
MIKE HARROWER
Paul’s impact on my life has been profound. He has taught me so many things, primarily by modelling admirable attributes in his own life.
I trust him completely for two reasons:
He puts God first, so I never even have to consider whose “agenda” is most important.
Because he “loves his neighbour,” I know that he always has my best interests at heart.
By creating this trust he opens my mind and heart to what he can teach me.
So here are a just few of the things I have observed and learned and feebly try to emulate: he is stalwart in his prayer life and I know I am in his prayers. He will call me early in the morning while I am enroute to something he knows that is weighing on my mind and simply say, “Hey, my good buddy, just wanted you to know you were well prayed for this morning!” He en
courages in many other ways as well, but just imagine the energy and comfort I get from knowing this formidable “warrior” has my back in this most crucial of undertakings.
After God, his wife comes first. Eleanor is cherished and it is plain for all to see. They way he treats her and talks about her is an example to us all, and I regret that I did not learn and practise this earlier.
He has been steadfast in the pursuit of the purpose that he believes God has for his life. He has poured his life into helping men discover a life-changing faith and has multiplied his efforts by teaching other men to do the same. It is impossible to explain the privilege of witnessing the transformation of just one man’s life and subsequently that of his family. There are literally thousands of men who are better husbands, fathers, friends, and contributors to society through Paul. Who of us can say this?
His joy is real and obvious. He will praise God out loud as we walk down some beautiful fairway on a glorious day, but he will also sincerely give thanks for his cancer as it opens new avenues for him to connect with people to explain the joy that is within him. It is not subject to circumstance.
For anybody who doesn’t think the above is important, he radically improved my golf swing!
Some would see him as a “man’s man”; I see him as an authentic man. He is principled, disciplined, and transparent, yet empathetic, loving, and caring. He is a great mentor and priceless friend!
Simply put, Paul lives one of his favourite sayings: he is “good infection” and I am thankful for his contagion!
DELVIN FLETCHER
Impact and influence is formed in authenticity. Paul is the most authentic person I know. He has learned who he is, he knows what he is about, and he is not afraid to share that with others, both victories and failures.
What I have always admired is that he has chosen to do most of this in the unpublished setting of an early morning, a boardroom table, ten or twelve men, no cameras, no reporters.
I have had the privilege of listening to the public Paul, participating in some of those early mornings, and sharing a friendship at a more personal level. I see the same man in each of those settings, a consistency these days that is perhaps more rare than we realize. And it causes me to want that for my life as well.
GREGG FERRIS
Paul’s influence has enabled me to live my life in a more peaceful way, in part by recognizing the importance of “people” in my life.
His teachings, using everyday examples (often in humorous ways), assisted me in stepping back and recognizing the “bigger” picture of life, to concentrate on the blessings I have and the importance of listening and helping others.
Thank you, Paul.
PAUL WEST
Engaging. Excited. Encouraging. Positive. Challenging. Brutally honest.
Every so often you meet a man and you say, “I want to be more like that.”
Paul Henderson is that man for me.
Paul has helped me to see the joy of the Christian life again.
He is helping me to grow in character.
He is helping me to have a more positive approach to the Christian life (which can be a difficult walk sometimes).
Perhaps most importantly, Paul is guiding me toward a deeper level of Bible study, helping me to see the value and joy of time spent in God’s word.
HAROLD PERCY
Paul Henderson has had a huge influence on my life in many ways.
Paul’s passionate commitment to Jesus and his dedication and discipline in taking his relationship with Jesus deeper and deeper has been a wonderful model to me of a Christian life well lived. His example in this has been an inspiration to me and an encouragement to go deeper in my own relationship with Jesus than I otherwise might have.
I also love and have benefited from his passion to help others go deeper, stay focused, and finish well.
Paul’s exuberant joy in simply living his life is contagious. He has an almost childlike enthusiasm for living fully – enjoying a game of golf or a nice meal or a good conversation or a funny joke – that lifts everyone around him to a higher level and a deeper appreciation for the simple joys of life. Paul has shown me what it means to live more fully by simply being alive to the present moment and enjoying what is happening.
I have been impressed with and helped by Paul’s emphasis in his ministry on encouraging and challenging men to love their wives well and to show this love to them every day. He himself sets a wonderful example in this, as he does in his challenges to men to step up and be the spiritual leaders in their homes.
Paul is extremely wise and has given me excellent counsel on diverse issues over the years.
Maybe most of all, Paul knows what it means to be a true and loyal friend, in good times and in bad. We have had a lot of good laughs together and enjoyed many good times, but my deepest appreciation of him as a friend and guide has to do with the many occasions he shared my tears as I was going through difficult times.
It is hard to capture all this in just a few words, but it is certainly true that Paul is one of the few men one meets in life for whom the description “great” is totally appropriate.
RIC SINGOR
The year was 1998 and life was completely out of balance. Work was consuming me; my family and church were definitely in second place. I was tired out. A friend gave me an invitation to listen to Paul speak at a local breakfast meeting. I went more out of a desire to please him than attend another meeting.
Paul shared that it wasn’t until he became a Christian that he found his inner peace. I recommitted my life to Christ that morning and refocused my life’s priorities. The changes in me personally were phenomenal. My frustrations subsided knowing God was designing my life, not me. Paul taught me that the answers to life’s questions were available through reading God’s word and prayer.
Paul is responsible for the men’s groups that meet in Muskoka each week. These groups have become instrumental in keeping me focused on what I learned from Paul that morning.
I will be forever indebted to Paul for the work he does sharing his personal life story, his love for Christ, and the impact that he has had on my life.
RON ELLIS ON PAUL’S SPIRITUAL LIFE
It looked for a while that Paul was going to stay in the United States, but some things happened that he’s talked about in this book that prevented that. He decided to come back to Canada, and we renewed our relationship right away. We retired at around the same time, we had played together as well, so it only figured that we would remain friends when our playing days were over, especially when he came back. The hockey wasn’t what was holding us together this time, however; it was our commitment to becoming Christians.
We became even closer as friends during this time, as we both came to know the Lord. He really helped me in my spiritual journey, and our friendship deepened even more. I have to be honest, we don’t see each other as often as we did, but every time we are together, we just pick up where we left off, which is a true indication of friendship. I was there for him when he started his ministry and supported him in every way I could, and he’s been very supportive of what I have been doing over the years as well. If either one of us needed anything, I know that it would just take a short phone call and the other one would be there in a heartbeat. He has been a great friend to me, and what he’s done since he stopped playing has really helped define his great life. He has helped so many people along the way.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
THOSE KIND WORDS IN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER MEAN more to me than anyone could ever imagine. Life is short, and knowing that you have touched people and made their lives better, and knowing that there are so many people who would support you as well, is a tremendous source of comfort and satisfaction to me.
We really do not know how long we have, as the length of our lives is not determined by us. This is why we should try to enjoy every day of our lives as we are living them, and try to help as many people as we can along our journey. We never know what is in st
ore for us.
I sure never suspected that getting cancer was in store for me.
A couple of years ago, right around the time of Eleanor and my forty-seventh wedding anniversary (on November 9, 2009), I went in for my annual checkup. I was feeling fit and healthy and expected it would just be another routine exam.
As part of the checkup, an ultrasound was done on my stomach. I knew the technician who was performing the procedure very well, and as she was doing the test, she became really quiet while I lay there. She didn’t say anything, but I knew she was plotting growths on the screen. I could just tell.
It takes a while to get the results back, but when I went home, I let Eleanor know that I suspected something was up.
“I think I’m in trouble,” I told her directly.
We had booked a hotel room for a Friday night about two weeks later as part of our anniversary plans, and just as we were checking into the hotel my doctor called me with the news.
It turned out I was right: I was in trouble.
“We have the results,” he said to me matter-of-factly, “and it definitely looks like you have cancer.”
Those words hit me like a hard punch right in the stomach. I had cancer.
After I hung up, I turned to the woman who had been with me through thick and thin for close to five decades and said simply, “I have cancer.”
The Lord moves in mysterious ways, and often our faith is challenged in ways we cannot imagine until we face those ways. I was facing a real battle now, especially at sixty-six years of age.
We had the diagnosis confirmed with a biopsy at the Mayo Clinic, and confirmed again in hospitals in Boston and Toronto. It turned out all three places agreed that I had chronic lymphocytic leukemia and that it was in my abdomen, my lymph nodes, my chest, and my blood.
The Goal of My Life Page 18