Million Dollar Man’ trades wrestling persona for ministry.

Ted DiBiase has exchanged his role as the “Million Dollar Man” for a minister of the Gospel — and says he has no regrets moving from the wrestling ring to hitting the evangelistic trail.

“I was a classic Scrooge in wrestling,” DiBiase told an audience of about 450 youth and adults at Wednesday’s Oneighty program at Faith Christian Family Church. “I was a villain, the bad guy. My motto was, ‘Everyone’s got a price to the Million Dollar Man.’ But I’m not here to talk wrestling with you. I came to share my heart with you.”

DiBiase’s wrestling career spanned 25 years, he said.

“But I’m happier doing what I’m doing now than when I was wrestling,” the 49-year-old evangelist said.

Life consists of making the right choices, DiBiase said.

“You don’t have any choice in the cards you’ve been dealt,” he said. “But you can choose what you do with those cards. The greatest choice I ever made was choosing Jesus. The toughest match I’ve had was with God because I struggled with him so long.”

In sharing his life story and conversion to Christianity, DiBiase offered advice to the young people as they struggle with the issues of life.

“I married too young,” he said. “I thought I was in love, but I was just in heat. When you’re young, you think you’re in love, but you’re in lust. If you love someone, you want what’s best for that person. If you’re in lust, you want to get what you can. Love gives, lust takes.”

DiBiase said he had achieved a rich-and-famous lifestyle, but it wasn’t enough.

“I had it all — the Lear jets, the cool cars, the large houses with the swimming pools in the backyard — but at the pinnacle of my success, I was empty,” he said. “That void in my life was filled with the person of Jesus, and now I’ve got the greatest tag team partner in the world. His name is Jesus, and with him, you’ll never lose.”

The teens in the audience were impressed with DiBiase’s story.

“He gave me a lot of these ‘Wows’ because he was really honest, which is good because teen-agers like honesty,” said Clovis High School senior Amanda Akers. “He was real honest. I’m really glad he changed his life around, and he’s able to minister to teen-agers like he does.”

Sterling Bowers, an eighth-grader from Texico, said he recommitted his life to Christ during the meeting.

“It was pretty cool how he went through trouble and then fought through it with Christ,” he said.

“I thought what he had to say was really relevant,” said CHS senior Jessica Messer. “It touched a lot of people. I think it’s awesome that a person of his stature could be humbled and turned around to serve the Lord.”