REGINA — A country music star recalled his journey of hockey, music, and faith at the annual Full Gospel Business Men’s banquet at the Saskatchewan legislature on Wednesday. J.J. Hunter of the Canadian Country Music Award-winning band the Hunter Brothers shared stories of life on the farm and in professional hockey and recalled how he came to embrace Christianity for himself. About a dozen MLAs were among 50 people in attendance at the event.Hunter described growing up in Shaunavon, Sask., as the oldest of five boys in a farming family. His upbringing centred around “faith, family, farm, hockey, and music,” where church and Bible camp shaped religious life.Hunter recalled how his father Lorne taught his sons to get along. “The world is going to beat up on you enough,” J.J. recalled him saying. “We don’t need to beat up on each other.”.Lorne Hunter built an artificial ice rink near the family farm, while his mother Norma encouraged music and the arts. Piano practice was required before the boys could go out to play hockey. His grandfather, a self-taught musician who played six instruments, played piano after lunch during the workday and taught Hunter and his brothers about chords.Hunter played junior hockey with the Kelowna Rockets and Prince Albert Raiders and later tried out for the Edmonton Oilers. He recalled getting a providential break one season that began with him on the third line. After a teammate was injured, Hunter was moved up alongside Ryan Smyth and scored a hat trick during a playing session. Hunter went on to play six years in the Oilers’ farm system, and finished his hockey career with the Manitoba Moose in the American Hockey League..Yorkton couple shares miracle stories at Sask MLA banquet.After the brothers returned to the farm, they decided to pursue music more seriously. A friendship with Brad Rempel of the band High Valley helped open doors in Nashville, where they began writing songs and working on an album.Hunter spoke warmly of performing with his brothers and of moments when audiences sang their songs back to them. Those experiences, he said, were among the special rewards of a career that also included performances at Toronto Blue Jays games and at an outdoor NHL game in Regina..Hunter said he expected to become a hockey dad, but his daughters’ interests made him a “dance dad.” His wife, a former competitive figure skater, had performed on television skating shows in Britain and Australia. Today their daughters are in their teens.The central turning point in Hunter’s faith came during his hockey years in Hamilton, Ontario. A cab ride with a stranger who was Sikh led to a conversation about beliefs and different worldviews. Hunter began to wonder whether his Christianity was something he had adopted simply because of his upbringing.“I wanted to believe what I believe, not because of the influence around me,” Hunter said. “I wanted to have grabbed hold of what I believed because I actually believed it was true.”That question led him to study Christian apologetics—the reasoning behind religious belief. He outlined four questions he considers fundamental: where people come from, what gives life meaning, whether good and evil are real, and what happens after death..Hunter argued that belief in God could be reasonable, pointing to the complexity of the human body and the scale of the universe. “As I look at the world around me,” he said, “I can’t help but believe there’s an intelligent designer behind it.”Hunter described the tension between justice and mercy: people want wrongs addressed, yet often hope for mercy when they themselves have done wrong. He said in contrast to other faiths, Christ on the cross uniquely brings the two together, addressing sin while offering forgiveness. .Harley-Davidson takes Czech communist to Canada and Christ.Based on this example, Hunter identified leading by example, sacrificing for others and acting with humility as qualities leaders should practise. He recalled how at a tryout with the Detroit Red Wings, he watched captain Steve Yzerman sweating profusely on the exercise bike right after the game, despite having already achieved great success.Hunter closed by asking the audience to consider what might change if people carried Christian principles into their workplaces, families, communities and public roles. He said he hoped listeners would ask difficult questions about faith and consider Jesus’ example.“Who wouldn’t want to work for or be in association with people that were humble, sacrificial servants that treated others better than themselves?” Hunter asked. .Ex-addict goes from changing engines to changing lives
