UNPACKIN’ it with Bryce Johnson is a radio show that unpacks the truth about faith, sports, life and entertainment.  Join Bryce as he interviews intriguing guests and has inspiring conversations. Find out more on www.unpackinit.com. You can also follow Bryce on Twitter: @BRYCERADIO

Below you will find some highlights of Bryce’s interview with the lead singer of Thousand Foot Krutch, Trevor McNevan as they discuss hockey, Steve Nash, and faith.

BRYCE JOHNSON: Being from Canada, your favorite sport is hockey, I assume. What did you think of the L.A. Kings winning the Cup?
Trevor McNevan: I mean, it was pretty great. You’ve got to give it to them big time. One of my best friends grew up playing for the Ottawa Senators and now actually plays for the Nashville Predators. Mike Fisher is his name and I’m partial, a little biased. I’m a Preds (Predators) fan now that I live here in Nashville.  But hey, man, more power to the Kings. I think it’s great. They fought hard and it was a good win.

BRYCE JOHNSON: How fired up was Nashville during the Predators’ run? They had a lot of success and were close this year.
Trevor McNevan: Oh yeah, it was a great year for Nashville. I’ve lived here for about six years and it’s been incredible how the city has embraced the sport and the team over that time. It’s really grown, it used to be kind of like just more entertainment and I think a lot of people didn’t understand hockey here. It’s grown to be a pretty passionate thing here in the city.  It’s really cool… Honestly, we’ve played [concerts] a bunch of NHL games, I’ve been to a lot throughout my life and Nashville is the loudest arena I’ve ever heard. The people are just awesome and they get into it.

BRYCE JOHNSON: Do you like performing out on the ice? Do you like that atmosphere?
Trevor McNevan: Oh yeah, it’s a blessing and such an honor too. Growing up watching so much hockey and stuff like that, it’s a pretty incredible experience to get a chance to wheel the stage out at halftime or after a game and play a show. We had the privilege of playing at a Detroit Red Wings game. That franchise has been really, really good to us over the years. We played last year actually at the Joe Louis (Arena) so that was pretty epic, man.

BRYCE JOHNSON: This summer, Steve Nash, who is also Canadian, joined the Los Angeles Lakers. What did you think about that?
Trevor McNevan: That’s a little crazy.  He’s a veteran and you’ve got to accept that he knows what he’s doing. Hopefully he’s just doing what’s best for his family. But yeah, it’s definitely a little crazy, man. I’m a big fan. We’ve actually played a Phoenix Suns game and had a chance to kind of spend a little time with that crew. So yeah that was big news, I think everybody is still a little shocked. It’s like [Wayne] Gretzky leaving the Edmonton Oilers or something, you’re like, “What?!”

BRYCE JOHNSON: Your music is faith based. What can you share about your relationship with Christ?
Trevor McNevan: Our faith is our lifestyle. It’s who we are. It’s not just our genre. It comes down to everything we do…God is just so incredible. He’s just constantly teaching us new things every day…something that has been really speaking to me recently from the Purpose Driven Life is when it talks about how worship isn’t just a genre. Worship is kind of a common misconception I think for us as Christians because we think about worship music so to speak, like part of a church service, where it’s suppose to be a lifestyle. God called us to worship every day by the way we love our savior and our attitudes and the way we look at things. We can worship Him whether you’re painting a house or playing music or playing sports or whatever you do. That’s been really speaking to me lately. It was a good kind of reminder. We do our best to live our life that way, we want to honor God with what we do and love music and try to make great music and honor Him in what we do.

Listen to the full interview (www.unpackinit.com) and their music (www.thousandfootkrutch.com) to hear how and why Thousand Foot Krutch’s music connects so well with sports fans.

By Bryce Johnson

This column was published in the September 2012 Sports Spectrum DigiMag. Print and digital subscribers, log in and view the issue here. Follow Bryce on Twitter-@sportsyapp.