by John Hillman

Only a fierce competitor like Michael Chang seeks service opportunities after suffering a severe injury.
This past March, in his first competition since retiring from the ATP tour in 2003, the 34-year-old tennis pro ruptured his Achilles tendon in a second-round match against Mikael Pernfors at the Champions Cup in Naples, Fla.

But instead of dwelling on his lengthy rehabilitation, Chang has opted to concentrate on his studies at Talbot Seminary and the work of the Chang Family Foundation, his charitable and ministerial organization.

“It’s going to take five or six months for me to get back on my feet and about nine months to 12 months to completely recover,” he says. “But it gives more time to think, ponder and pray. I’m in my fourth semester of getting Biblically stronger and doing a lot of ministry through our family foundation.”

Early in his 16-year professional career, tennis fans witnessed Chang’s competitive nature when he won his only Grand Slam event, the 1989 French Open. He developed leg cramps in the Round of 16 against top-seed Ivan Lendl and relied on an underhand serve and other unorthodox tactics to defeat the Czechoslovakian pro 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. Michael’s unconventional strategies and tenacity so unnerved Lendl, the Czech double faulted on match point.
Against Stefan Edberg in the championship round, Chang rallied from behind to win 6-1, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, and at age 17 became the youngest male winner in French Open history and the first American to triumph at Roland Garros since Tony Trabert in 1955. During his acceptance speech, Chang openly declared his faith in Jesus Christ, stating, “Without Him, I’m nothing.”

“People forget great shots and great victories,” he says. “But if you touch a person’s life for Christ, it stays with them for a lifetime. The platform I have through tennis is a wonderful opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives.”

The tennis world quickly embraced the young court phenomenon and realized great things awaited Chang.
“That French (Open) is still one of the most remarkable wins I’ve ever seen in Grand Slam tennis,” commented Patrick McEnroe, current United States Davis Cup team captain. “I don’t think there’s any better way to describe Chang than he literally squeezed every ounce possible out of what he had and put it onto the tennis court.”
Although Chang’s parents, Joe and Betty, raised Michael in a Christian atmosphere, he pulled away from his faith as a teenager. But shortly before turning pro, he read from a Bible given to him as a birthday present. Through those pages, Chang discovered truth and meaning for his life and developed a relationship with Jesus as his personal Saviour. In October 1988, Chang was baptized in the Chinese Christian Church in Thousand Oaks, CA.

“The time in which I came to know the Lord was crucial,” he says. “The world defines success as someone who has a lot of wealth, achievement, and fame. You learn those things don’t bring lasting joy, and they aren’t what make life fulfilling.

“I feel very fortunate I developed my relationship with Christ before (the French Open victory) happened,” Chang continues. “I knew my purpose for playing tennis was to touch and impact a lot of lives for Him.”
Despite his 5’ 9” stature and lack of overpowering serve, Chang climbed to sixth place in the 1992 ATP rankings. He maintained his top 10 standing for the next seven years, reaching the No. 2 spot in 1996.
The Californian, who retired following the 2003 United States Open, collected 34 ATP singles titles over his 16 years on the tour and finished runner-up in three Grand Slam events — the Australian, French, and United States Open. Chang utilized his talents to earn over $19 million during his outstanding career.
But the tennis superstar didn’t gauge his success solely on the basis of on-court triumphs and tournament prize money. Relationships and respect among his tennis competitors such as Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, and Jim Courier played a major role in his approach to the game, and Chang’s open Christian faith guided him through the demanding sport’s stress and pressure.

“The ways in which you handle different situations all make up what a person is on the inside,” Chang tells Living Light News. “You can talk about the Lord, but your actions speak louder than your words. Your peers know you better than anyone else, and if they know what’s important to you that says a lot about your character.”
Chang’s faith didn’t take away his competitive nature, however. In every match, he strove to play at top form and defeat every challenger 6-0.

“If you beat your opponent in a gracious way, you gain their respect,” he says. “John McEnroe, for example, is the type of person who won’t give you respect unless you beat him. Giving 100 per cent is the type of attitude a Christian must have — that’s all God asks from you.”

Tennis turned into a family affair for the Chang clan. As a youngster, Michael’s parents moved from New Jersey to Southern California to provide him and his older brother Carl better training opportunities.

His mother quit her job as a research chemist when he first turned professional, handling the traveling and cooking arrangements. Carl, who played collegiate tennis at the University of California-Berkley, took over the coaching duties and developed an oversize racket to increase his brother’s serving speed. The close-knit arrangement provided Chang with a support group seldom found in professional sports.

Michael continued the family ties with the establishment of the Chang Family Foundation in 1999. The non-profit organization sponsors a number of ministerial sporting events including worldwide tennis camps and a Christian sports league in the Seattle-area.

Currently, the foundation sponsors basketball and volleyball competitions; one day Chang hopes to expand the curriculum into an Olympic-style format for Christian athletes. Churches in Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland, and the San Francisco/Oakland-area have expressed interest, and with the 2008 Olympics scheduled for China, the country has also approached Chang about taking his program overseas.

“We’ve brought together about 12 or 14 churches,” he says. “We use them to plug people into churches and fellowship. It allows people who love sports but don’t go to church to learn what Christianity is.

“This ministry is a natural extension of what I did for 16 years on tour,” Chang adds. “Sports bring people together and are a great release for stressful situations. You can come from different ages, cultures and backgrounds but still enjoy something together.”

Chang chronicled his amazing career prior to his retirement in the book, Holding Serve: Persevering On and Off the Court (Thomas Nelson). A simplified version of his book is finding new readership throughout Asia and has inspired Michael to consider future volumes. “I haven’t done anything concrete yet,” he says. “I enjoyed writing the book, and it was fun to put it all together. Some other situations have developed where the Lord has taught me a lot of things, and there’s a possibility I’ll do another.”

One thing’s for sure: in whatever future activity Chang engages — playing, teaching, speaking, studying, or writing — he will be focused solely on serving others.

photo courtesy The Chang Family Foundation

by John Hillman

Despite climbing to No. 2 in the world tennis rankings and turning professional at age 14, Andrea Jaeger always desired more than Grand Slam victories.
“I never grew up wanting to be a professional tennis player,” the Chicago-native admits to Living Light News. “My goals were more centred on serving ... ”

After a shoulder injury incurred at the 1984 French Open ended her career, Jaeger embarked on a path rarely traveled by ex-athletes. Investing the entire $1.4 million earnings of her five-year pro tenure, she established the Silver Lining Foundation to aid children suffering from cancer and other life-threatening conditions.

“Seeing what a difference I could make in a small act of kindness touched me,” remarks the former tennis player who upset Billie Jean King at Wimbledon in 1983. “On the circuit, there were so many opportunities to spread joy. When I was injured, I felt ... called ... to make it my work.”

Although she grew up in a home where her German immigrant parents never attended church and didn’t own a Bible, Jaeger felt God’s influence at an early age.
“Even without having a family committed to Christ, God’s light and love came to live in me,” Jaeger writes in her book, First Service (HCI Books, 2004). “In my childlike manner, I believed that there was something bigger than me, my mom, dad and sister — even the world. I believed the bigger thing was God ... I didn’t have a Bible or a manual on how to communicate with God, but it happened naturally. No one taught me to pray; I received that lesson from above. Faith ignited a fire in me, making me feel safe and connected.”

During her teenage playing career, Australian professional and fellow Christian Wendy Turnbull befriended Jaeger and nurtured her faith. Following her retirement from the game, Jaeger spent hours in Bible study developing a deeper understanding of her Saviour and His plan for her life.

“It was a different upbringing from those who grow up in a faith-filled family,” she admits. “On the tennis circuit, I didn’t understand a lot, but I knew He was with me and willing to teach me. As I went through my studies when I was starting the foundation, my faith evolved and grew.”

Jaeger’s vision for the foundation was birthed during a visit to New York’s Helen Hayes Hospital at age 16. On a whim, she took a load of toys to the facility during an off-day at an East Coast tennis tournament.

The former Wimbledon and French Open runner-up discovered three children, a boy and two girls, in the playroom. The boy, who had lost his hands, challenged Jaeger to a video game and won every match. One of the girls showed Jaeger how her I.V. pole served as a dance partner, and the other, who had lost her hair to cancer, expressed sympathy to the tennis star because her long, luxurious locks required so much attention.
“I was amazed at how these kids approached life,” she relates. “They had wisdom and strength and joy and laughter, but they had no idea about their tomorrow.”

In 1990, three years after her official retirement from the professional tennis circuit with a 250-82 career record, Jaeger’s dream for bringing hope to suffering children took its first steps with the establishment of the Silver Lining Foundation. A few years later, the organization gained a permanent home with a 10-acre gift from Aspen (Colorado) residents Fritz and Fabi Benedict.

Dozens of sports and entertainment celebrities contributed to the foundation’s growth and success. In 1999, the Benedict-Forstmann Silver Lining Ranch officially opened with an 11-bedroom facility as its centerpiece.

Visitors to the ranch enjoy a week-long respite from their medical trauma and engage in outdoor activities such as horseback riding, trout fishing, and whitewater rafting. Jaeger encourages the children to revel in these extraordinary experiences because they face uncertain futures. “I see triumph and victory every day,” the 41-year-old says. “Our kids die from cancer, but they’re finding fun despite it. They find a way to laugh, and share, and give love.”

Jaeger constantly shares courageous anecdotes of the children who have touched her life. “Anywhere you look, you can see someone that is struggling,” she shares. “But we can’t be discouraged, and we have to be uplifted because God has called us to help those who are hurting.” Although light-hearted fellowship fills most of the hours for guests of the Silver Lining Foundation, Jaeger also provides spiritual outlets. Seeing her protegés discover the love of Christ brings the tennis star her greatest thrill and affirmation that she has heard God’s calling.

“These children are going through storms and suffering, and we try to bring them a rainbow and some sunshine,” she explains.“They need that nurturing of their relationship with God, not just for the moment but for their life. Watching them become what God has called them to become is an honour for us.”

 photo courtesy The Silver Lining Foundation

by Emily T. Wierenga

His mother tossed him his first tennis ball at four years old.

Eighteen years later in 1991, David Wheaton mastered Michael Chang in Munich’s Grand Slam Cup, reached the semi-finals of the men’s singles at Wimbledon, was a men’s doubles runner-up at the Australian Open, and went on to be ranked 12th in the World.

Yet, the 22-year-old tennis prodigy wasn’t fulfilled.
“Early in my 20s, after winning a big tournament, I remember feeling so drained, and wondering what was going to motivate me to play in the next tournament,” the 37-year-old tells Living Light News.

At 24, Wheaton recognized that his happiness revolved around success on the court.

“I started to realize that I was a sinner,” he recalls. “I also realized that all the outward success I was having couldn’t diminish the inward conflict I felt.”

From December 1993-January 1994, Wheaton spent time off the tour soul-searching. “I saw myself for who I really was and realized I needed to repent and ask Jesus to be my Saviour and my Lord,” he explains. “He began to change me, and I began to get a lot more fulfillment out of my career.”

When asked how having a relationship with Christ compares to the lucrative rewards of professional sports, Wheaton responds, “It goes against our human reasoning how something intangible can be the most fulfilling thing in the world, but it truly is, because that’s the reason we were created — to relate to God.”
Following his retirement in 2001, Wheaton returned to his hometown of Minneapolis, MN and hosted a sports radio show. In April of 2005, his first book, University of Destruction (Bethany House), was published.
Today, Wheaton hosts his own radio program, The David Wheaton Show, which offers a Christian worldview on current events, culture, and faith. His intention is to challenge Christians to live fully and in accordance with their beliefs.

Life should be about tuning into the truth — Jesus Christ — believes Wheaton.

“John 14:6 (in the Bible) pretty much says it all,” he explains. “Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.”

Photo courtesy David Wheaton