evangelical 360°

Ep. 57 / From '72 Summit Series to Spiritual Calling with Paul Henderson

• Host Brian Stiller • Season 1 • Episode 57

Share episode

A single rebound with 34 seconds left can lift an entire country—but what happens when the cheering stops? In this episode we sit down with hockey legend, Paul Henderson, to relive the raw, unvarnished story behind Canada’s most celebrated hockey moment and the unexpected turn that shaped the rest of his life. 

From the formation of the Clarke–Ellis–Henderson line, to the humbling wake-up call of Game 1, Paul takes us inside the Summit Series—team dynamics, fatigue, tactical adjustments, and the pressure of a nation riding on every shift. The infamous goal in Moscow wasn’t pretty; it was persistence. And that’s exactly where the deeper story begins. 

Fame brought bright lights and a restless edge. In this conversation, Paul opens up about returning to Toronto, the Leafs’ dysfunction under Ballard, and why he chose the WHA despite an unshaken desire to win the Stanley Cup. Then a quiet interruption: a mentor who asked better questions than a camera ever could. That relationship nudged Paul towards the Gospel, and a long, private exploration of who Jesus is, and a simple prayer that led to a steady change in habits, focus and hope. Eleanor’s journey (Paul's wife)—and their family’s—adds a grounding layer to the arc, showing faith not as a spotlight but as a daily practice that holds under pressure. 

Paul also shares practical rhythms: starting the day with the Lord’s Prayer, guarding unhurried time, and asking honest questions that meet people where they hurt. If you’re a hockey fan, a leader under strain, or a seeker sorting through noise, you’ll find a rare mix of grit, candor and clarity here.

If you'd like to hear more from Paul Henderson you can go to his website, and you can learn about his leadership ministry through LeaderImpact.ca

And please don't forget to share this episode and join the conversation on YouTube! 

____________________

▶ Watch Interviews on YouTube

▶ Sign Up for FREE Dispatches From the Global Village

▶ Free Downloadable eBook "Here's Hope"

▶ More Info: evangelical360.com

#evangelical360


Brian Stiller:

Hello and welcome to Evangelical 360. I'm your host, Brian Stiller. People often tell me where they were when they heard that John F. Kennedy had been shot, or what they were doing when they heard John Paul II, too, had been shot. These two events, I too can tell where I was and what I was doing. But I can really tell you exactly where I was when I watched Paul Henderson shoot the winning goal as Canada beat Russia in the World Hockey Summit Series in 1972. In Game 8, with 34 seconds left in the game, Canada won 6-5. And let's not forget that Henderson scored two goals in this last game and scored the winning goals in each of the last three games they had with the Russians. Indeed, this event in Henderson's winning goal is often touted as being the most important sports event in Canada's 20th century. Remember, we were in the middle of a Cold War. Canada was a humble, rather unheralded nation, and we Canadians felt that. Yet on that very day, school classrooms were hushed as TVs were brought in for students to watch. Government offices stopped their work. We all stood by watching. It's not an overstatement to say that this was indeed an iconic moment for Canadians. So who is this guy? This hockey player who stood Canada on its nose, who shot up Canada's proverbial spine, a new dignity, a newly found pride, for a time setting aside the usual humility which seems to characterize us globally. He returned to Canada from this once in a century moment and became another person. Paul Henderson went on to serve in Christian faith, building pockets of those who decided that their walk of faith, their trust in the risen Christ, meant more than a hockey career. You'll want to hear his story. And for you watching, thanks for joining me today to hear this sports story from Paul Henderson. Please consider sharing this episode with a friend, and if you haven't done so, just hit the subscribe button. You can also join the conversation on YouTube in the comments below. Now to my guest, Paul Henderson. Paul Henderson, wonderful to have you on Evangelical 360.

Paul Henderson:

Great to be here.

Brian Stiller:

You're an icon in Canada, as as as you know, you're too humble to admit it. I said in my opener that I knew exactly where I was that day when you won the Russian summit uh event. How did you get into hockey? How did all this begin?

Paul Henderson:

Well, I grew up in a little village of Lucknow. And uh like a lot of kids,

Brian Stiller:

uh that's in the Toronto area?

Paul Henderson:

No, no, it's up near uh Goderich, near Lake Heron, Lake Heron area. And uh I I just took to it right off the bat. And unfortunately for me, we didn't have artificial ice, and so uh played a lot on the roads back then. They didn't assign them, but uh but we were dirt poor. And uh I never got a pair of skates till I was nine. And uh I was a little slow stunter and journeys getting on the ice. But uh I loved all sports and uh hockey was the one. And uh when I was in grade five, I decided that I was going to be a NHL hockey player.

Brian Stiller:

An NHL for our international people is the National Hockey League, which is the North American Pro Hockey League.

Paul Henderson:

Yeah, exactly. And so I started practicing my autograph because I knew when I got to the NHL, you're not gonna have chicken scratch. You're gonna know that I'm Paul Henderson, and I have excellent penmanship today because in grade five, that's when I wanted to do.

Brian Stiller:

How in the world did that come to you as a as a what uh 10, 12-year-old boy?

Paul Henderson:

Yeah, uh well, all my heroes were the hockey players. I used to listen, my dad and I, he was a big hockey fan too, and we listened to Foster Hewitt on Saturday night. That was before there was television on there. And then we'd come and so I just you know decided that's what it's gonna be. And uh thank goodness I made it.

Brian Stiller:

How did you break into the NHL?

Paul Henderson:

Well, I uh but in Lucknow, like I said, we didn't have it. And I we were uh we there was a uh a tournament in Goderich, Pee Wee Tournament, uh way back then, and 50, 60 teams would come. And I got my name in the paper a couple of times, scored six goals in one of the games, and so there was a little chatter. But then when I was 15, when I was 15, uh we uh I scored 18 goals in one game. And the way you score 18 goals in one game, you need a very bad goaltender. But just uh I was a complete player. I had 18 goals and two assists. We beat this team 21 to 6. And of course, the name got in the paper, and then they came up and started uh scouting me after that. And in Detroit, I Detroit, Toronto, and um Boston wanted me to come to their camps, and I decided Gordy Hell was my favorite player. And and so uh, and they had a team, Detroit owned the team in Hamilton, and it was the closest one to Lucknow. And so uh that's where I played a year junior B in Goderich, which was only 20 miles from where I grew up. And then I went there and we uh 62, we won the Memorial Cup. What a great spell that was. And then turned pro the next year and ended up with Detroit and played 18 years of pro hockey. So had a great time.

Brian Stiller:

And of course, Canada and Russia, the two great hockey empires, they were at uh nose to nose from for years. And the summit in 72, did you plan on that, or how did that come about?

Paul Henderson:

Well, they I I think it was actually that the Russians came and they had they'd been working on this for a couple of years. They challenged us, and so they put it together four games in Canada, four games back in Moscow, and uh and we knew they were great hockey players, but the power we had, like you know, you've got Esposito, Cournoyer and Frank Mahovlich, and you know, oh

Brian Stiller:

Andy Bathgate.

Paul Henderson:

Well, he didn't play then. He was he wasn't on the team [audio from broadcast inserted] , but we just had a powerhouse. Yeah, we had twelve Hall of Famers on. And so I I, you know, if our goaltenders, I thought if our goaltenders have a bad night, then their goaltenders play, well, you know, may tie a game or win a game, but I didn't think there would be. But uh unfortunately we did we we didn't take them seriously enough because when we went to training camp, and the other thing too, there was 35 of us chosen, and there's only 17 guys that can play. And uh it made it tough. And a lot of I we were Ronnie Ellis and I played with Normie Ullman, and we played on a line, and I thought we'd be chosen as a line, but they uh they Normie didn't make it. So Ronnie, Ronnie and I knew we were going to be together, and we looked at there were seven right-wingers, left-wingers, and center rights. We looked at them, we were hoping we'd get Stan Makita, good playmaker. And uh, but anyway, we go to camp and uh uh uh apparently somebody turned it down and they invited Bobby Clarke, who was just a 21-year-old kid at the time. And we didn't want to get him for sure because if we looked at all the lines, and the best we could be was maybe five. Or if we get Clarke, we're gonna be seven. And so we go to first practice, and Ronnie Ellis, Paul Henderson, and Bobby Clarke. So after the practice was over, uh, we went out and had a pop. I think most of made it. But uh Ronnie and I told him we want to play in Toronto, so why don't we go out there and work our tails off and show them that we can compete? And maybe we might be the shutdown line. If they need a line, we're all good defensive players. And so, yeah, but we didn't park very much, but you don't have to tell him anything about it because he and so we went to camp and we worked our tails off. And we played a red-white game. Our side won 5-2. I scored two goals, and Clarke got a goal. And I mean, we knew we were going to play in the first game, and we we, you know, but some guys, I mean, there was a couple of guys never worked up a sweat. I mean, there it was just a joke. Well, then we took found out in the first game how good the Russians were. They couldn't, Hall of Famers couldn't get us out of the lineup. We were the only line that played all eight games.

Brian Stiller:

And uh so the first four games were in Canada. Yeah. And and uh what was the win win loss there?

Paul Henderson:

Well, we we uh kneeled in Montreal. Well, Montreal what my coach made a bad mistake, Sinden. He only dressed five defensemen. Well, after the second period, those five guys were dead. Their legs were like, you know. So anyway, we lost there, we tied here in Toronto, and Peter Mahovlich scored a shoulder handed goal in the third period that allowed us to win that game. And I think it was where both in Toronto. Yeah, we second game was in Toronto. Montreal Toronto scored that goal, and that, you know, set thank goodness we did that. We went to Winnipeg, we tied in Winnipeg, and we went to uh Vancouver, and uh, they scored two power play goals right off the bat. And we did not have a good game, the whole team did. And and so we had we go to Russia and we know that we've got to win three games over there, and we lost the first game in Moscow. So actually, in that game, I got a I had a concussion. I I beat a guy on the outside, but he tripped me and I went into the boards backwards. And Jim Murray, the doctor, uh examined me and after I got straightened around a bit, and he told me I had a concussion and I had to take my equipment off. Well, Harry Sinden came in and told me the same thing. And I said to Harry, please, please don't let me do that. I'll take care of myself. Please let me play. And he looked at me and said, Well, we sure as hell need you. And if you want to play, I'm not gonna stop you. Like today, I'd have never been left back on the ice. And so So you got back on the ice and uh went up back out and then uh scored the winning goal in game six, game seven, and game eight, the last game. Uh I told my wife after we lost the first game in Moscow, because we played the third period almost short-handed, the whole thing, called every penalty they could on us. But I said, if we don't win the last three games, we're gonna be known as the biggest losers in the history of Canadian hockey. And I think all of us uh really believe that. And so

Brian Stiller:

So what was the spirit in the uh the dressing room?

Paul Henderson:

The one thing about the Canadians, like we never give up. And you know, Tarasov said we can compete with the Canadians and we can skate with them, shoot with them, everything like that. But he says we just can't handle the spirit they have, they just never give up. They just keep coming back at you. And that's what we did. And we in the third game, the last game after the second period, we're losing 5-3. And I went over and I took Kenny Dryden and I hit his my stick with the goalie. Yeah, he was playing that game, and I said, You board this sucker up for us and we'll win the game. But if you cannot let another goal in. And I said, And what was the score at that point? 5-3. They were living 5-3 in the third period. And then uh Esposito scores uh uh right off. First shift, Mahovlich game with uh a pass in the slot. He's tied up, and then Cournoyer started up at uh at about 12-minute mark, and the Russians come down and they told us if the game ended up on a tie, because there's gonna be no overtime, they were gonna claim a victory because they scored one more goal than we did. And they said that they were gonna claim victory. So the game goes on and it's tied. And our line came up. Ronnie Ellis, Bobby Clarke, and I were on the ice, and we come off with about a minute and a half left. And Sinden sent out Esposito, Cournoyer, and Peter Mohavlich. And the next line up was two Hall of Famers, John uh Rod Gilbert and Jean Ratelle, and uh Dennis Hull was playing on that line at that time. And anyway, I figured it's all over for me, but Harry Sinden came down, sent them out, and he said, guys, if there's any time left, you guys have it. So I'm sitting there, and about the one-minute mark, I did something I never did before, never did it again. And maybe because I'd scored the two winning goals before, I got to get on the ice. And I started yelling at Peter Mahovlich. Never did that before at all. And thank God he'd come off and I jump over the boards. And you know what irritates me? I scored seven goals. Six were really nice goals. The only goal was a garbage goal as the last one. And I didn't know Henderson makes a wild stab for it and falls. Describe it. Well, what happened? I torn my head at the far side. I'm a right-hand shot, and I'm coming across, and I was the one timer, like uh Matthews, you know. One timer, but it was too far out in front of me. And uh I was reaching for it, and the defenseman put a stick between my legs, and I crashed into the boards behind. And I remember I still have time because I went through the whole team the game before. And all of a sudden, Phil lacked that treachery, and he said, never have let the rebound go. And I panicked. Oh my god. And I got it and I shot it, and he stopped it with his pad, but it came right back to me, and he was down, and I had about a foot to put it in and jumped into Cournoyer's arms, and I still haven't quit celebrating.

Brian Stiller:

Did you have any idea? Well, you you you said that when you went into those three, if you if you lose the if you lose this series, you'll be known as the biggest losers in Canada. So you knew how important that meant offer culturally to this uh this country back in 72, we maybe have 25 million people. We're kind of we're we're the poor cousins of the Americans and we're the lost cousins of of the UK. But when you scored that goal and when you won the series, did you have any anticipation as to what that meant to us?

Paul Henderson:

No, I don't think I did. I did well, I knew it was big. And uh, but the the thing I'd like to tell you there was three three uh thousand Canadians come over there, and we would have never won that series without, I really believe that because even in in the first game, we lost the game, and you had to stand and listen to the the anthem of and it was the Russian national anthem is a wonderful piece of music, but very long when you lose. Yeah, and we're we lose it with skating off those three, they stood up and gave us a standing ovation. I can remember it like yesterday, and it was a miserable night in Moscow. We get back to the hotel maybe an hour later. There were several hundred outside the hotel. We got off the bus, they went crazy again. The fact that most of them were hammered has got nothing to do with it. But and then they sang the national anthem the last three games. I'm on the sitting there listening to the sing. I have bumps on my arm. I mean, that you could just, and they and they cheered us on like it was, and the Russians, all they could do was whistle. Because according to communism, if you ever started doing anything, you get thrown out like, and so these Canadians were going crazy, and and the they didn't, they didn't, they the the the KGB or the uh army people didn't know what the heck to do. And the guy from Montreal, the guy that always played the trumpet in Montreal, and they tried to get he would start blowing it, and they tried to get him passed down. It was really funny. But anyway.

Brian Stiller:

So then you come home.

Paul Henderson:

Yeah.

Brian Stiller:

Uh and the the media. I remember going down to a practice at the Maple Leaf Gardens uh about a couple of weeks after you got back. And I just sat watching the practice. And we met, you probably forgot, but we met then. I because I was hoping we could do something else because of your stardom. But when you get back and all of a sudden you're on the you're on the front pages of everything, you're on the you're on the news constantly. Did this I mean, years before you had learned to sign your name uh with a flourish, but did you ever think this would come your way?

Paul Henderson:

Oh, never, in a hundred years. And it was too much too fast. Like, you know, uh like uh I was a good hockey player, but I didn't have I mean, so many guys were much better playing hockey than I was, and I wasn't a celebrity in the sense. I I was known as a good hockey player, but this changed everything. And everybody wanted me to do things, and uh and my wife and I, she was always protective, but you know, it was just too much. And uh when I look back on it now too, that uh we'd get into a game and it was close and that kind of stuff, and I'd step on the ice and people would okay, he's gonna do it again. And really, I was trying to do things that I shouldn't have been trying to do. And it was really a tough time for me. It really was until I got settled. And of course, Ballard had a hockey team. He was he owned the Maple Leaf Gardens. Yeah, he owned the team, and and uh He was bizarre at best, wasn't he? Well, exactly, and and that's why jumped to the WHA. Well, actually The World Hockey Association.

Brian Stiller:

That was a competitive league to the NHL.

Paul Henderson:

And offering a lot of money, and they'd been after me even before that series, and they're you know, guys that could score. And so uh Johnny Bassett came. He had the he bought the the WHA franchise uh franchise, and and he came to me and uh he said, Paul, I'd really like to I'd Frank, I'm I've signed Frank uh Mahovlich, and I'd really like to have you that, and we're moving from into Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens, and we're gonna play. And so he asked me what I was making with the leaves, and I told him, he said, I'll double your contract and give you a signing bonus. No puning. And I said to him, gosh, I, you know, like I've never ever won the Stanley Cup. And that's why I haven't gone to the WH. Everybody wants to win it. I desperately want to. And he said, Well, why don't you talk to Frank? So I phoned Frank and I said, Frank, I hear that you're going to. And he said, Yeah, I've got to deal with them a great deal. And I said, gosh, I'd like to take the money. But I said, I want to win the Stanley Cup. And he said to me, Paul, if you want to win it, you better get out of Toronto. Because they will never win it with Harold Ballard there. Because if they don't, if you don't have it upstairs, you'd never get it on the ice. And it's all about him. And I thought about that. And I said, he's right. And so thank goodness. One of the best things I ever did was jump to the WHA and get away from here.

Brian Stiller:

But let me go back to something you just said. And that relates to being a being a sport, being in sports. You had a passion to win the Stanley Cup. What is there in the mind, in the heart of a, in your case, a hockey player who that means everything? What what breeds that? What how how does that work?

Paul Henderson:

I think it's in our DNA in Canada. You ask any guy in the Toronto Maple Leaf today if he could do something, you and she'd tell it win the Stanley Cup. What is there about that? I don't know. It's just it's an innate thing. I and I don't, I'm not sure the Americans would even say that. But it candidates our game. But like we're a small country. We don't what are what are they really the best at in it? And I'll tell you when the Olympics come around and that kind of stuff. Oh my gosh, it just our country stops as we watch. Oh yeah. Well, I was down, we went down to the uh uh the Four Nations Cup in February. And uh Eleanor and I went down and and they had some of the 72 guys, and there were six of us, but there were those storms at that time. But that tell that that arena was just electric. And I we were there, and you know, and oh my gracious, it it it just something you can't explain even. And you know, like I'm in my 80s, and I mean I'm into this stuff.

Brian Stiller:

Crazy. So Paul, you you get back from Russia, you go through you go through the uh the problems of the uh of the of the of the NHL franchise in Toronto, which is the Maple Leafs, and you go to the competing uh World Hockey Association. But then your life comes into a transition uh in by way of faith. But were you raised in a home where faith was part of your growing up? No.

Paul Henderson:

Uh my father, um I didn't meet my father until I was two years old. He went overseas in September of 42, and I was born in January of 43. And uh my mother, she was uh she believed in God for sure. And uh I and she would be a Christian, but and apparently dad had a faith before he went over there, but when he came home, he wouldn't go near the church. Uh, never did. And so when your dad doesn't, then uh and I used to go on occasion, but I never really I was all about being, I wanted to prove to myself that I can be successful. And I hated being poor. And so my whole life was around being successful and being financially secure. I wanted to give my wife and family things that, you know, that I was never able to. And so after 72, what happened? A guy by the name of Mel Stevens, who started a Teen Ranch just upside up near Orangeville, knocked at my door one day and came. And he won, he asked me to be uh if I would work at his hockey school, if they did a kid's hockey school. This is after you've come back from yeah, this was in February of uh 73. So this is a few months after. And so I said to him, Yeah, what do you pay? Yeah, because I did those things, you got paid pretty good. And he said, Well, we're a Christian camp. And he said, uh we can't afford to give you anything, you'd have to donate your time. And so do I did not know who you were talking to. And then he says to me, He said, Paul, I see you, I've done a little research on you because I never met him before. And he said, he said, I know you got a great marriage and family, you're the toast of Canada. And he said, you'd think that you'd be one of the most satisfied guys in the world. But he said, I see you and interviewed on television, and you always seem like you got an edge to yourself. It just seems to me you don't seem to be a very contented guy. And I said, Am I wearing a sign? No one ever said that. And you know something? After about two months after I scored that goal, I said to my wife Eleanor, who is the greatest woman in the world, I said to her, Noah, I I I, Eleanor, there's something missing. I just feel we're missing something. And I'm, you know, and uh and so anyway, uh I said, well, I said that I should have told him this. I said to him now, well, if you had to play for Harold Ballard, you'd be kicked off too, you know, kind of still. And then he said, Paul, have you ever looked at the spiritual side of life? I said, no, I don't get two things I don't get into. I don't get into politics, and I don't get into religion, because there's always arguments and everything like that. And he said to me, Paul, you can learn to live freely and lightly, but you got to look at the spiritual side of life. And I said, Well, I've tried to read the Bible, but it doesn't make any sense to me. And he said, Well, Paul, if you want to, I'll help you. And yeah, I'll get together with you and I'll get you a modern translation. I said, the these, the thou's, and you know that kind of stuff. And so he got me um, we got a Bible, and I started meeting with him probably every two weeks. And uh we've meant this for two years. Because when you start, you're a skeptic. And uh so what was going on in your mind as you as you're meeting with them and reading the Bible? Just who is this Jesus? And he finally like, it's all about who who is Jesus? Is he who he says he is, and what does he? So anyway, um I in fact I I used to take my Bible on the road and I would put it inside a magazine and lead it. I didn't want anybody. The only person that knew that I was looking at this was Ronnie Ellis, and uh my good buddy, and uh who later came to faith as well. Yeah, well, I was saying he was my buddy, and yeah, for sure. So anyway, um this went on and on, and this is in March 12th of 75, and I could talk to you intelligently about the epistles. And Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and I'd and I was good at memorizing, and he got me memorized the scripture. And I got up this one morning, and it was March 12th, 75, and it was Mal's birthday, but I didn't know it. I got up and and he had taught me get up and just talk to the Lord the way you want to, and read your Bible and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you. So I got up this morning, and and at some point I just said to the Lord, Lord, there's much I don't know about you, but I know one thing. I know I need forgiveness. And Mel says that you will wipe the slate clean. You will forgive me of all the things that I regretted doing. And and uh I said, I know I need a forgiveness. And so I asked you to wipe the slate clean, and I want you to help me be the man you want me to be. And I found myself saying, Don't you ever expect me to tell anybody about this, because I'm gonna be a secret service. And you know, it took me three days to tell my wife, and Eleanor grew up in a Christian, and she went to church, she took our three daughters to church, but I was, and if I went in in the summertime, because we had I was really on the golf course. I really wasn't, you know.

Brian Stiller:

So when you when you asked the Lord that, yeah, even though you gave you told him parenthetically that you were going to tell anybody. Exactly. What did you sense? Did you have any sense of change in any?

Paul Henderson:

Well, I should have been, I've forgotten about I was telling, I got to tell I water. And so this is took me three days to drum up enough courage because she did she said that she was so worried about me, she said, you either do uh something well or you don't do it. And I was petrified that if you become a Christian, you're gonna get give all our money away and we'll go and live in a tent in Africa or something like this, because you get involved. And so I sent her down and I said to her, Eleanor, I've decided I became a Christian. I gave my life to the Lord. And she looked at me and she said, Oh, wonderful, and got up and walked off. She wanted no part of this nonsense. And then I told Mel Stevens, I finally told Mel, and and then uh it just took off from there. And then the things that uh that well, one of the biggest things that I knew God was real, everybody read Playboy. And I had a, like every other hockey player, I had a subscription to it. And this is about two weeks after I gave my life to the Lord. And I knew the day it came. I went out there, and sure enough, in the uh in the mailbox there, and I took it out, and I knew just like that, you're never supposed to look at one of those again. What's it? And I took it, I threw it into the garbage can, and I had 10 or 12 up in my den. I had about 12 uh copies of old ones that I liked and looked at on occasion. I took them and threw them into the garbage can, and I said, I will never watch it. And thankfully, I've never looked at one since. So that was the one thing God is real. He changes you from the inside out. So that was a defining moment for you then. It was very defining. Very defining. I never heard his voice or anything like that. There was nothing, come on to me, or hear a voice or something. And it was just a slow process.

Brian Stiller:

So so was Eleanor comfortable with you having Playboy magazines around?

Paul Henderson:

Well, yeah. And I asked her why. I mean, she's about it didn't matter what I said. You did what you wanted to do anyway, which was the truth.

Brian Stiller:

So it so is when she said wonderful and walked away. Well, that was about becoming a Christian. Yes, and so then what happens to her?

Paul Henderson:

Well, Mel says to me, because she she was very cold toward him, she did not want any. You go to church, you be a nice person, just be a good person, that's all you, but you don't get radical, you don't talk about the stuff. And we didn't we didn't read the Bible or before or have prayed together or anything. The only time we prayed is for her at mealtime. And uh, and so anyway, uh that uh, but Mel said, just don't start preaching at her or anything like that. And but unfortunately, I didn't listen to it. I'd leave an open bell, I'd take an open Bible and leave her on her pillow. Don't ever do that. She's smacking, who do you think you are? But then she said, after about three months, she came and says, Paul, something's happening to you. She said, We went to bed, you always tossed and turned. I always went to sleep before you did. And you sit down to read, and you can read for 10, 15 minutes, you get up and you do something. Now you sit there and you can read for 40, you can read for an hour, and something has happened. And so we got her a Bible, uh, told Mel, and um a couple of months later she gave her life to the Lord. And then we sent our three, our oldest girls up to T Ranch, and they gave their life to the Lord. And and then the younger one, uh, in the by the end of uh 75, the whole Paul Henderson family had had uh given their lives to the Lord. And I'm so thankful today. In fact, I 40 years ago, Eleanor and I sat down. What is the one prayer that we would like to have answered? And we talked about that for a long time. And so we've been praying this prayer for 40 years. The prayer we would most like to be answered would be from our you know, our descendants. There would be an unbroken line of people that would love Jesus and follow Jesus until he returns. We've been praying that for 40 years.

Brian Stiller:

What a great prayer.

Paul Henderson:

And uh when my daughters, sons-in-laws came along, I told him, you start you could in this be a part of the Henderson family.

Brian Stiller:

This is what you need, and we're so fortunate that at this point we're so you come home from Russia, you can you continue to play hockey, you're led to led to faith, Eleanor comes to faith, the children do, you're still playing hockey. What then is going on in your life as it relates to your long-term calling?

Paul Henderson:

Well, what I really thought I thought about that, I wanted to do something afterwards for sure. And uh, but I had a sense that, well, what happened when I was in Birmingham, Alabama, I got a mentor down there. We knew Christian, we went down to Birmingham in 76.

Brian Stiller:

And Birmingham was the place that you played hockey under the WHA.

Paul Henderson:

WHA the Birmingham Bulls. And we'd become Christians by that time. And anyway, we went down there and we put our girls in a Christian school down there, and we were going to this church. Uh uh, we found this good church, and there was a businessman came up to me. I met him a few times, and he said, I've got a small group that I'm just starting, Paul, and uh a discipleship group. And uh I hear that you're a new Christian, and if you would like to join, I've got some new ones. And and I said, Oh man, I'd love to do that. And this guy became a, he was a very, very intelligent guy, done very well in business and everything like that. And I was in a group with him for three years. We met from um 6:30 till eight o'clock on Monday mornings, and he modeled for me what it was to love the Lord passionately and uh live your life in the way. And then one morning came in and he said to told all of us, he said, guys, uh pretend you're at your funeral. And he said, What do you want your wife to be? If you died, what do you would you like your wife to truthfully say about you? Think about your children. What do you want your children to say at your funeral? And what about your friends? And I thought about that for a long time, you know, and then he said, Paul, one day he said, you should write a purpose statement for yourself. Sit down and think about the character qualities of the two one. And so I talked to him about it, and I had about three pages of notes, you know, the husband of wannabe, all that kind of stuff. And and then he said to me, he said, uh a purpose statement has to be in one sentence. I said, one sentence? What do you tell me? And I'm a bit competitive. So I started working with him, and I said, I'm gonna I'm gonna get it down to three words. Very competitive guy. And back back, I think it was in 1977 and 78, I want to be my purpose statement to be a godly world change agent. Godly, what's that mean? I want to live every day in a manner pleasing and honoring to God. I said, I wonder if God let me score that goal, I'm gonna use it as wide and as far as I can. And I have spoken in every province. I've been to what is there, about 28 countries now sharing my faith. Been to back to went to Siberia, been back to, and so that's what the world means. I I decided that I was gonna tell the world and as widened as far as I could. And then change agent. That's what Mel led me to the Lord, and this John Bradford helped me go. And I want to be a change agent. And that's what I do. And I came back to Canada in 84. We came back here and I started. Well, what happened? I was in this church, and my pastor and John came to me and he said, We got some new people that have just given their life to the Lord, Paul, and we need a leader. And Paul, we want you to lead. I can't do that. I've only been a Christian for three years. And sometimes you need people that have more confidence in you than you have in yourself. And so uh John came to me and he says, Paul, he said, really, he said, the last six or seven months, he says, you've been really your passion, your discipline, and your enthusiasm. He said, I've just been sitting back walking eat watching you, and you can do this. But he said, Paul, don't try to lead like I do. Our personalities are totally. So don't try to be anybody else but yourself. And so anyway, they prayed for me and I took it on and I loved it. And the guys were like coming on to it. And then when I retired, I I to Lord, I'd I want you to go back to Canada and I want you to do this to the Paul Henderson's world. You you you you had that impression? I had the how did it come to you? Well, I just I guess the Holy Spirit talked to me. I I knew that I was called. I really felt that God is called to what? Called the ministry. Okay. Because I was up in the air of doing things, and I remember I woke up one night and and we didn't know whether to stay in the States or come back. And I was, and I said, uh, I woke up one night, I think it was about a quarter after one in the morning, and I and I had a Bible beside my back, and I opened the Bible, and and um actually it was back in Canada that I was staying with my sister, brother-in-law, and Eleanor was still in Birmingham, and I said, Lord, I need that, I need an answer here. I opened my Bible and then I turned on the light, and uh just when I looked down, and it was in uh Isaiah, and I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Who will go for me? And I said, Here am I. And honest to God, I thought God, I thought Jesus was in the room. And I phoned Eleanor the next day and told her, and she hung up. Another wonderful way. But I just had that I I I just I knew that God and I didn't want to do it. And like I wanted to be successful, I wanted to have a career, and well, then I was offered a job being on television, uh you know, commentary and that, and and anyway, they went to Ballard and they need Nixon. He said, That sucker is not coming into this building, and and he wouldn't allow it, so that shut that door. And then I thought, oh, well, I'm going to the financial world. But anyway, it uh

Brian Stiller:

so you came back to Canada?

Paul Henderson:

Came back to Canada.

Brian Stiller:

And how did I start?

Paul Henderson:

I started, well, what happened? I was only uh I was not very long I was here. My pastor in Florida or in Birmingham phoned me and he says, Paul, there's a doctor that's just moved up here. He's a surgeon, and and uh we've just led him to the Lord. And I told him about you. And what you did. And so I told him that I'm going to get you to call him. And he gave me his name. And so I phoned him. And he said, Yeah, Frank told me you're going to call him. And he said, What are you doing? And this was a Friday. And he said, What are you doing tomorrow night? I said, I haven't gotten anything really planned. And he said, Well, I met another doctor at our uh uh at our work, and I've invited him and his wife to come. So why don't you come uh to the dinner? I said, Well, fine. So I go over, and it turns out this other guy was a Christian. The other doctor was a Christian too. And so anyway, we sat down and I told him what I wanted to do, is there what I was doing. And the guy says, I've never been in a group, Paul. I would love to do that. And of course, he was interested. I said, Well, well, and I so I said to him, do you have any friends of yours that are just out to one spiritually? And the doctor that lived here, I don't want to mention his name, but anyway, he said, I got a next-door neighbor that is a great guy, and I've been trying to get him to come to church, and he won't do it. But she is a crazy hockey fan, and I know that he would love to meet you. So anyway, he invited him. The three of us had went to the hospital downtown, was a Western hospital. And uh, and then we met for about three weeks, and I said, guys, why don't we have a breakfast? And help it invite some of the people that, you know, are out to lunch there, and I'll talk a little about the face thing, and then you can talk about what, you know. And uh, well, the neighbor came back and he he got involved for the three weeks. He knew he wanted to do it too. He said he told Robbie, I'm only gonna come once. But so anyway, we had about 14 people came and we did that, and then I ended up and we invited them, and then I had 12 in that group. And that's what I started with, one group. And then a few months later, a guy in Hamilton, a lawyer, wanted me to come over and speak over there. And so we got together and I told him what I was doing. And I said, if you get some guys together, I'll drive over here and we'll start one here. And he said, I've been a Christian all my life. I love the idea. And so I ended up with 11 guys over in Hamilton, and that was the two groups that I grew. And uh, and to start with, I I sat down and I want to, this one I want to go. I want to start small, go deep, think big, finish well. So uh start small. I knew that I didn't want to expand. I wanted find out of how to do the groups and everything. And so I said, I'm gonna give myself two, three years just on building two or three groups and and and uh and start small, then go deep, take them deep spiritually, get them to getting up and having their quiet time in the morning and making the Lord a part of their life as a husband, a father, and all that kind of stuff. And then I think it and I wanted to get a movement. And so my goal was to get 25 groups going. I think, man, if I can get with good leadership, I'll have a movement going. And then the last thing is always finish well, don't screw up. You know, and every morning you get up and and so uh anyway, when I got cancer in 09, uh, we had about uh well, we got well the lawyer that in Hamilton, I I I was running it myself, but I'm an administrative nightmare. And I went over and I had lunch with him every two weeks for a year, trying to get him to give up his his law career and come on and work with me as my administrator. And so it took me several years to get him to come on, but he came on, um, Freddie Christmas was his name, and and then we took off.

Brian Stiller:

And so how many groups have you had over these years?

Paul Henderson:

Oh gosh. Well, when I got cancer, we had uh about uh uh we had that was an 09. Uh and so I think we had about 80 groups going then at that point. And when I got cancer, I knew that I had, and they told me I might I was diagnosed in uh 09, and uh they told me I might have five years. So I had leukemia and leukemia, well, I still have them today, lymphoma and leukemia. And so there was a guy that was in one of our groups in that up here, and he was uh uh superintendent, and he had retired. And so I talked him into coming over and and taking over the ministry for me. And he'd been in a group for 10 years by this time, and so I got him to do it, and and that really changed things. I I I was I ran a pretty good mom and pop shop, but I'm a disciple maker. I'm not a strategy just in developing the prayer. And he came on, and that's when it really took off. And uh today we're in, I think it's uh 70 countries, leader impact. We've got uh we've now a change, we've got men's groups, we've got women's groups now, and we've got mixed groups because a lot of women are CEOs of that kind of stuff now, and and so it's uh it's just taken off when so

Brian Stiller:

so now you and I are close to the same age, you look back on on that, and um what what's the most important thing you've learned in following Jesus?

Paul Henderson:

What's the most important thing? Well, I think that's probably what it is, it's following Jesus. He says, uh Mark 8.12, he says, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Walking in darkness, nothing good happens there. And I know the difference. And so I that's what I I uh although there's a uh one of the guys in my group, you know, very devout Christian, is the chief operating officer of a big corporation. He says, My purpose in life is to help you find your purpose in life. Isn't that terrific? And I think that's but I think God, you know, like I'm I'm I'm here to tell people about Jesus and and uh like I you never argued by anybody. I know what I believe, and I know why I believe.

Brian Stiller:

Okay.

Paul Henderson:

And that's what I try to share.

Brian Stiller:

So you this walking in the light. Uh Richard Mouw talks about how in the city of God in Revelation, the Lamb is the light. And of course, that metaphor comes at a time when there was no light, when dark when when the sun set in the Middle East at the time of Jesus, everything was dark apart from the star shining and the odd fire bonfire burning. So darkness was absolute, so light was transformative. So how have you walked in the light? What has helped you to stay out of darkness in light?

Paul Henderson:

Well, I get up every morning. And Mel Stevens, he was the guy that taught me that. And and even to this day, soon as I and I'm a morning person, thank goodness I am. And the first thing I do is say the Lord's Prayer. I don't let any thoughts into my mind. And as I pray it, you know, the the thing is, uh, may your work be a um be the thy kingdom come, your will be done on earth, and then I add in earth and in my life as it is a heaven. I pray that every morning and at night when I go to bed also. And so I start the day right with the Lord. And then I I have a time, I because I Eleanor just she struggles with health and she doesn't get up early. So I usually have an hour and a half to two hours by myself every morning that I'm don't go out to, you know, a men's group or something like that. And so I just refuse to start the day without the Lord. And I unashamably asked him, you know, for help. And I tell you, Brian, I pray every day, Lord, save me from myself and the devil. Because no one ever arrives, and you can always go deeper. No one I I don't in our church, I love this in our church. This are it says the love Jesus, live like Jesus, continue to learn from Jesus, and lead others to Jesus. And that's my marching orders every day.

Brian Stiller:

Paul, someone's listening to your story, and they're they may have no inclination to towards faith or trusting in Christ. Or maybe they have got bad memories of church or someone who disappointed them. Or maybe they've just it's all complex and they're they're stewing around. Where might they begin?

Paul Henderson:

Well, I would say if you're not if you don't exactly, if you're not content, find somebody that you know, a good friend. Usually have a Christian somewhere, ask him about it. Or the other thing that I would do, find a good church, or hopefully, that will uh uh could learn from a pastor. Like our if we're we're leading people to the Lord all the time, baptizing people. And so, but but the whole thing as I tell people just who just look into who is this Jesus? And that's what Mel got me to do. And and and if you look at the all the evidence for it, and there's some great books uh like C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, some of these good books that that uh uh that you can go, but but you can't make it on your own. You need help. Listen to podcasts, listen to this one, listen to other people. And so ask questions. In our groups, we did guys that there's no dumb questions. You can ask anything you want, and there are answers, but nobody is perfect, and everybody is different, Brian. That's the thing about it. And what works for one person may not work for another. So when I'm talking to somebody that I've just met or something, I always try to find out where they're hurting, because they if it is marriage, your kids, or whatever it is, and then whatever it whatever the case would be, I said, Well, how are you handling? And then I might just bring the faith into it. But a lot of people I just ask people out too, if I'm having conversations with, I said, Do you have a spiritual side to your life? And they usually say, Well, what do you mean by that? And I said, Well, do you have faith in anything like that? And and they'll say, Well, I'm I'm a religious person. And I say, Well, I'm not religious at all. I don't have, you know, religion is a religious person is somebody that's trying to please God by living. And I know I'm never going to be good enough to do that, and so it's all by grace. So I'm I'm wandering here, so I'm looking to bring it to the

Brian Stiller:

Paul. This is a good wandering. It's a good wandering because you're musing. And we muse, we think, we feel, we wonder. And as I listen to your story today, the the way God has brought into your life the Lord Jesus, and the Spirit has taken your natural gifts and and leadership and encouraging others, and uh use that Russian summit goal, that lousy goal you said, as a way to springboard you into this global ministry. It's been wonderful listening to you, and uh I've I've watched you over these years uh and to my friends who are who are listening to this podcast, uh, this guy is is real. And uh I just thank you so much for joining us in Evangelical 360 today. Thank you.

Paul Henderson:

My pleasure.

Brian Stiller:

Thank you. Thanks, Paul, for joining me today and telling us a story which I'm sure you have told so many times. But for me, it's one I never tire of hearing. And to you, my friend, thank you for being a part of the podcast. Uh, be sure to share this episode and join the conversation on YouTube. And if you haven't already subscribed, hit the subscribe button. If you'd like to learn more about today's guest, check the show notes for links and info. And if you haven't already received my free ebook and newsletter, just go to Brianstiller.com. Thanks again. Until next time. Don't miss the next interview. Be sure to subscribe to Evangelical 360 on YouTube.