BIG BIG CHANGE

Kevin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 04:21:36 +0000

I’m very excited to announce that I’ve recently been promoted to Director of the In Ministry Training program at Victory Christian Center. IMT is a program within Victory Bible Institute for young adults who desire to be in full time ministry. Christina and I both graduated from IMT in 2000 and it’s been a dream of ours to one day lead this team of young people. We’ve known for a long time that God called us to do this but it’s taken a long time to get here (9 years!). We’ve been through good times and hard times but it has ALL been preparation. And looking back, I’m grateful for all of it, even the most challenging seasons. I’ve learned that some dreams you must pursue and others you just have to wait for. What you do while you’re waiting for your dream determines if that dream will ever come to pass.

I’ve learned so much from Ryan Stafford, the previous IMT Director, and I will do my best to build upon the great work he’s done. He will continue to work at Victory in the area of production, managing Victory’s big stage presentations and lots more.

I will continue to be the Pastor of Chosen, Victory’s urban youth outreach. It’s going to be a lot of work but now I will have some extra help from the IMT students. I’m thankful to be a part of such a powerful ministry and my goal is to fuse these two ministries together and cause both to be better because of each other.

I’ve never been more excited about what God is doing in my life!

Risky Business

Kevin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:06:25 +0000

Lately I’ve been studying about the Civil Rights Movement and I’m blown away at the amount of risk taken by those standing up for the right thing. These risk takers obviously didn’t know how America would treat them but it turns out this quality was exactly what America was looking for in a leader.

John F. Kennedy, while running for president in 1960, learned of the unjust prison sentence of a civil rights activist named Martin Luther King Jr. King was arrested along with 33 other activists holding a nonviolent protest against a segregated cafeteria in Atlanta. All charges were dropped except King’s, who the police said violated probation stemming from a minor traffic ticket months earlier. Many in America considered the arrest and conviction unjust but President Dwight Eisenhower ignored the situation along with VP, and republican presidential candidate, Richard Nixon. John Kennedy did not. He interceded on King’s behalf, speaking out against the imprisonment, and King was released. Eight days later John F. Kennedy won the Presidential election by a slender margin.

It’s natural to play it safe and stay away from risk. Lay low and don’t stand out and you won’t be criticized…and you probably won’t make much of an impact either. Kennedy was risking his career but MLK was risking his life! Both, of course, were assassinated but not before civil rights history was made. Enormous risk became enormous impact.

Highlights From “The Runner’s Rule Book”

Kevin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:47:56 +0000

I recently finished reading “The Runner’s Rule Book” by Mark Remy and the Editors of Runners World magazine. I like running but don’t run enough. I want to be a consistent runner but like anything, I want to do it the right way (and I’m confident these guys know what they’re talking about). Here are the highlights of the book:

Try to eat some carbs and protein within one hour postrun
Stretch only if you want to. If you do, stretch after you run – not before
Increase your mileage no more than 10% each week
Don’t run hard on back to back days
Keep your upper body relaxed during a run. Imagine carrying a potato chip in each hand
Have a slogan or mantra ready for times of adversity, such as “Adversity causes some to break, and others to break records” or “One more mile” or “Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever”
There is no difference between running on concrete and asphalt (one is not more forgiving than the other)
Wear wool socks or synthetic, not cotton
Don’t put any running clothes in the dryer
If you’re going to buy running shoes, buy them in the afternoon because your feet swell during the day
Get to know “Pre” (Steve Prefontaine)
Shin discomfort while running is ok. While walking, not ok.
Run facing traffic
For Pete’s sake, stand still at red lights
Having a million things to do is an excuse for running, not an argument against it
The best time of day to run is the time you’re most likely to actually do it
The more often you check your watch, the longer the run will last
Running with someone who’s faster? Use the open-ended question to slow them down, “Say, how’s the job?”
You lose fitness faster than you gain it
If you can remove your shoes without untying them, they’re not tight enough. And always go with the double knot
No one has ever watched “Chariots of Fire” from beginning to end. Not even the people who made it

……………………..

Kevin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:36:19 +0000

If you obey God you cannot fail

And God always makes it possible for us to obey Him

We should be careful in our belief of failure and success

Some of us would say success is obedience to God

But what we say and what we believe are two different things

We say what we think but we act on what we believe

So if we’re curious as to what we believe all we need to do is examine our actions

In Over Our Heads

Kevin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:47:50 +0000

Jesus said “The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few…” Or, in the words of Keith Green, “The harvest is great but the workers are late.” That means we are in over our heads. It means that there’s so much ministry to be done but there aren’t enough people doing it.

I think we’ve done the right thing by helping Haiti. Actually, it was the only thing we could do. We are generous and ready to act but it seems we first need to see the devastation with our own eyes before we do anything.

I hope that as believers we will start searching for causes. Searching and praying because they are out there.

There’s so much to do.

“…therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” – Matthew 9:37, 38

A True Hero

Kevin — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:37:40 +0000

The first time I met Billy Joe Daugherty was during the summer of 1998. Christina and I had just graduated high school and started going to Victory. We were spiritually growing so fast and going to church as much as we could. I met him at a Bible study and he encouraged me to attend Victory Bible Institute. I remember being so impressed by him taking time to talk with everyone. In fact, my sister was there with me and he witnessed to her!

So Christina and I joined VBI and the In Ministry Training program and it was incredible to be a part of all the outreaches under Pastor Billy Joe’s leadership. I couldn’t believe how much he preached in a given week! At the time he was preaching a Saturday night service that was not the same message as Sunday morning. 3 Sunday morning services. 1 Sunday night. A two hour VBI class on Tuesday. A Wednesday night service. A high school chapel every week. Plus any outreach that Victory was doing, which was quite a bit.

Pastor Billy Joe believed in outreach! He had an unparalleled compassion for people. He made sure the church budget spent all it could spend to bus in kids, teens and adults on Saturday, Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday. Pastor Billy Joe created so many ministries to feed, clothe and reach the lost (It would truly take too long to count all the ministries that serve people). Countless people have come to Christ because of Pastor’s heart of compassion. Pastor wanted to reach people no matter who they were. He witnessed to people everywhere he went: plane trips, vacations, restaurants. He would even stop and help and witness when he saw a car accident.

In the 1991 God led Billy Joe to go minister in Russia. The country was still communist so it was almost impossible to do that but he planned the trip anyway. As he traveled, there was a coup and the Iron Curtain fell and there was an immediate opportunity to bring the gospel to Russia for the first time. As ministries around the world planned to travel to Russia to preach, Pastor Billy Joe was already there! Thousands and thousands came to Christ! He continued to go to Russia each month for many months. I had the privilege of going back to Russia with Pastor Billy Joe in 1999 and 2003 and it was amazing to meet so many people who got saved in ‘91 and were now pastors!

It was the best experience of my life to sit under him as a student and as one of his staff. He invited the IMT students and staff to his house every year where we ate a big dinner and he and Sharon let us ask them anything. I knew even then that time was invaluable. Pastor Billy Joe was a man of faith, prayer, integrity, humility and compassion. He was simply the greatest man of God I’ve ever known. He had a tremendous influence in my life and so many other leaders I know. He was a true hero. No doubt about it. There is now a great void of leadership in our lives and we must all put our hand to the plow to fill that void. I rejoice though, because he finished his race. Because he fought the good fight. Because he is now healed. Because he loved the Lord so much and now they are face to face. He will be greatly missed but we will carry out his vision.

Update on Chosen

Kevin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:19:21 +0000

After spending a lot of time in prayer (and even some fasting with the Chosen leaders), we’ve had some breakthrough’s at Chosen. First, our services have been great and we added a new bus for a route near Rogers High School.
Second, we launched small groups. This has been amazing because the Chosen leaders have really taken ownership over their groups. They love building relationships with these students – I think it’s the biggest strength we have as a leadership team. And the students are enjoying the small groups also because it’s a good chance to socialize and the leaders make the groups fun, not boring and not too serious.
Third, we’ve started the Chosen Chaplain program at Tulsa Public Schools. So far we’ve got 8 chaplains (Chosen leaders) who take 1 lunchtime each week to visit a public school lunch and meet new students, invite them to Chosen, build relationships and mentor students.
So recently, we’ve had some wins at Chosen and we’re looking for more…

Seeing is Believing

Kevin — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 02:12:00 +0000

I caught this video on CNN about a man who tried to climb K2 in Pakistan. His name is Greg Mortenson and he didn’t make it to the top but got injured, almost died and had to be nursed back to health in a small Pakistan village. He impressed me, not because he climbed K2, but because of how he spent his recovery time. He noticed how the village lacked a proper school. He saw kids writing school lessons in the dirt with sticks! So he helped build them a school. And then he built another one in a different village and has kept going and has now built 78 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan!

There are so many causes in this world that need attention but it seems like some of us have to see the need with our own two eyes before we truly believe something should be done. Or we need to see it before we believe that we should be the ones to do something. Sometimes we don’t embrace compassion until it hits us right between the eyes. But even then some people still don’t embrace it.

Click Here to watch the story

I’m Praying for Some Nancy’s

Kevin — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:46:42 +0000

A few years ago at Victory I knew a lady named Nancy. I didn’t know her very well but I knew enough. She was a Bus Captain for Victory Bus Ministry for years. A little white lady who beamed with compassion and love for inner city kids. That’s what her life was all about. There were kids that got on her bus as 1st graders and didn’t get off until they were Bus Leaders as high school graduates. She would do anything she could do to reach a young person for Christ and then to disciple them.

I’m praying for some Nancy’s. I’ve got some incredible leaders at Chosen but I need more. I’m praying for leaders to step up and become Public School Chaplains, Small Group Leaders and Bus Captains. I’m praying for leaders that put others first.

I’ll Never Forget Sept. 10, 2009

Kevin — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:05:57 +0000

I won’t even begin to take credit for what happened last night. It was Chosen’s first night back after taking the summer off. Chosen is Victory’s urban/inner-city youth outreach that buses teenagers in from all around Tulsa.

First, I was very worried no one would show up because we couldn’t get the word out like we wanted to. Second, our worship band was having a hard time coming together and I was calling people I’ve never met asking them to come play keyboard, guitar and drums. Third, not only have I never led a Chosen service but this was a very busy service involving free pizza, drinks, a dance team, rap artist, free school supplies for everyone, my first message in a while and brand new worship team.

Well, 160 students showed up. The worship team came together and played great ( I thought we wouldn’t get the drummer until I headed downstairs and heard someone playing drums). The service was amazing – the students loved the dance team, rap artist and all the free stuff. They even loved me. I was amazed at how much they responded to me ( I stick out like a sore thumb at the service – it’s funny). And I was amazed at God and what He did in their lives. There were so many students that accepted Jesus as their savior that we couldn’t even count them. The prayer time at the end of service lasted so long I thought we would get out late! It was so powerful and it’s a night I’ll never forget. God really showed up!