Kevin
When I realized the baptism in the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts was not a goal to achieve but a gift to accept, I knelt by my bed after I turned 18 and prayed for God to fill me with His Spirit. As I prayed, a well that makes all things well burst within me. A heavenly language bypassed my brain, and I spoke words my spirit knew before I was born—opening a portal to paradise on earth, filling me with awe and wonder of the unseen world.
SAY TO GOD: “HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME!”
After experiencing a deep personal betrayal, I vowed never to preach in church again. Many years passed, and I was invited to speak at a megachurch of 5,000 in Kansas City, MO. God broke my vow that day and reminded me when He calls, He never hangs up. The silence we hear on the other end is not His blame—it’s our shame. When I no longer hid in shame, God glorified His name through my wound to heal many.
SAY TO GOD: “MAY YOUR WILL BE DONE!”
As an Explorer, I’ve summited five of the seven continental summits, skied to the North Pole, searched for Noah’s Ark and Dead Sea Scrolls, and starred in an award-winning documentary filmed in the Everest Region. I travelled to the ends of the earth, but hadn’t reached the end of myself until my heart stopped for 15 minutes from cardiac arrest. In this hopeless place, the risen Christ told me it wasn’t my time. He sent me back through first responders who found me. When all hope was lost, I found what I could never lose.
SAY TO GOD: “GIVE US TODAY OUR DAILY BREAD!”
Upon experiencing the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God consumed my interior geography, and I no longer had the real estate for hate. I was able to forgive my father when I understood he was doing the best he could with what he had to give. We can only give what we have and we can only mature to our level of healing. God helped me initiate a process of healing and forgiveness with my dad that continues to this day. I realized forgiveness is less about what’s been done and more about what we want to become.
SAY TO GOD: “DELIVER US FROM EVIL!”