Fessler's book 'Faith and Wrestling' touching lives

A lot has happened in the nearly 18 months since InterMat first introduced former wrestler Michael Fessler's book "Faith and Wrestling: How the Role of a Wrestler Mirrors the Christian Life."

First, the good news: the book has been incredibly well-received within the wrestling community who openly profess their religious faith, and has touched countless lives. Now, the bad news: the original publisher of the book went belly-up a few months ago, forcing Fessler to scramble to find a new publisher. Now, for the really great news: the new publisher just made "Faith and Wrestling" available again.

Since May, "Faith and Wrestling" had not been available to prospective purchasers, as its original publisher, CrossBooks, went out of business with little warning. As Mike Fessler told InterMat last week, "All their titles -- including mine -- were going away. Customers who had ordered the book started contacting me, saying they had been notified their orders had been canceled."

"Another publisher -- Westbow Press, which is connected to well-known religious book publishers Thomas Nelson and Zondervan -- contacted me. They were aware of CrossBooks folding, and took on the project at no cost to me."

"The book has been rebranded with the Westbow Press name and logo, but otherwise, it's the same book," Fessler continued. "They offered to create a new cover, but I decided to keep the existing design."

"Faith and Wrestling" 101

So ... what is "Faith and Wrestling" ... and what drove Mike Fessler to write it in the first place?

First, a bit about Fessler. He wrestled at the storied Apple Valley High School in the suburbs of the Twin Cities, winning a Minnesota state title as a senior. He was recruited to wrestle at Cal State Bakersfield, but was thrown into the role as starter to replace an injured wrestler, and was forced to deal with injuries of his own ... and losses. Fessler left California -- and wrestling -- returned home, and, eventually, enrolled at Bethel University to study theology. (Fessler said he became a wrestler -- and a Christian -- at age 6.)

So ... how did the book originally come about?

Michael Fessler

"I was not only engaged in religious study at Bethel, but also had reconnected with wrestling as a fan," Fessler told InterMat in 2014. "Wrestling and faith (as subjects) collided in my head. My experience as a wrestler and my faith became even more interconnected, an idea that I could not keep from swirling in my mind."

There is a powerful linkage between religious faith and wrestling. Wrestling is featured in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, as Jacob wrestles with the angel. Numerous wrestlers openly profess their religious faith with their clothes, their tattoos, in their participation in groups such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Athletes in Action, and in their interviews. It was even the subject of a 2009 InterMat article titled "Christian faith serves wrestlers on and off the mat."

"The (InterMat) article was a springboard," Fessler disclosed last year. "I thought, 'Readers might want to hear what I have to say.'"

After considerable struggle with writing -- to the point where he shelved the project more than once -- Fessler completed his "Faith and Wrestling" book in early 2014. One year later, the original publisher folded, making the book unavailable for a number of months ... until Westbow made the book available again in October 2015.

Lives touched

The real news is in all the positive developments that came about in the time since "Faith and Wrestling" was originally published.

"A year ago, I was a former wrestler and a theology grad that no one had heard of," Fessler told InterMat last week. "Now, to see how it has been received, well, it's beyond anything I had hoped for."

Dylan Ness after beating Ian Miller to advance to the NCAA finals in 2014 (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)

It has reached individuals who are well-known within the wrestling community for their accomplishments on the mat ... and their open profession of their Christian faith.

Dylan Ness, a two-time NCAA finalist for the University of Minnesota, purchased "Faith and Wrestling" on his own ... then shared it with John Peterson, two-time Olympic medalist for the U.S. in the 1970s. Peterson apparently left the book sitting in his bedroom for a couple months, then finally picked it up ... and, according to Fessler, "stayed up all night reading it, then called me the next day. We got together at Augsburg (College) to talk about the book. He had handwritten notes and Post-It notes throughout his copy."

"He now uses the book in his ministry."

"I can immediately relate to the things that Michael Fessler writes about in his book 'Faith and Wrestling,'" said Peterson. "Wrestling demands a high degree of commitment, perhaps more than any other sport. Therefore, the common temptation we face is to make wrestling our main source of significance. Michael helps us see the importance of allowing God to let us use wrestling as an act of worship of God, rather than making wrestling our God. He helps us see how the struggles we deal with in wrestling can help us in dealing with the spiritual battles that are a part of life. This book is an excellent resource for anyone working in the athletic world."

Peterson then shared the book with 2000 Olympic gold medalist Brandon Slay ... who was already using it in Bible studies at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

The Olympic Training Center isn't the only place where wrestlers are using "Faith and Wrestling" in Bible study. Fessler is aware of at least three colleges and a number of high schools where the book is part of religious study groups conducted by wrestlers.

Lennie Zalesky

"Cal Baptist coach Lennie Zalesky emailed me that they would have a brief Bible study before wrestling practices, using the book," said Fessler.

Zalesky said of the book, "'Faith and Wrestling' is a book that teaches and conveys very practical Biblical truths to any reader but especially to the wrestler. I would suggest this book to anyone interested in how God interacts with man. For the wrestler interested in how God may work through his or her wrestling life, I would strongly encourage you to get a copy and read it several times."

"Messiah College, a Division II school in Pennsylvania, has study groups led by team captains," according to Fessler.

Then there's the moving story of how "Faith and Wrestling" came into use at Liberty University.

"A Pennsylvania high school coach named Greg was confronted with a cancer diagnosis," according to Fessler. "He said the book gave him new fight. We corresponded right up this passing. He's the reason the book got into Liberty."

"His son was planning on attending Liberty University in Virginia, and in fact, now wrestles there," said Fessler. "So when Greg went with his son on a visit to Liberty, Greg brought his copy of 'Faith and Wrestling' with him, handed it to Coach (Jesse) Castro and said, 'This book impacted my life and helped me in approaching my fight with cancer. Promise me you will read this book. And after you do, buy this book for every wrestler on your team.' Coach Castro promised Greg he would do so, and he lived up to this promise. After reading the book, Coach Castro contacted me, thanked me for writing it, and proceeded to purchase a copy of the book for every wrestler on his team."

(Fessler has produced a free study guide to accompany "Faith and Wrestling" for use in group-study settings, complete with study questions, which is available online in PDF format for users to print out as many copies as they need at no charge. Simply email Fessler at mrfess@hotmail.com to request your study guide.)

"The book connects with people at different places in their lives," Fessler continued. "Wrestling moms have picked up the book and have emailed me to tell me how important the book is to their kids."

"A guy named Terry in Minnesota who has a son who's autistic, and a wife with cancer, is a one-man army, promoting the book."

"Bill Holton in North Dakota contacted me because he said the book spoke to him. He buys the book from me, then gives out those copies to others."

"So many folks buy the book, then give it out to others."

To learn more about Mike Fessler's "Faith and Wrestling: How the Role of a Wrestler Mirrors the Christian Life" book, check out the brief video. To purchase the book, visit Amazon.com.

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