CHAPTER ONE DOES ANYONE WANT TO RUMBLE?

The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason to stay ashore. Vincent Van Gogh In early September of 2010, a Christian radio station contacted me about doing a show for them. I met

with the owners and listened to their idea. I promised to listen to their programming and get back with them if interested. When I got in my car to leave I tuned in to their station. I had only driven two short blocks when I knew my answer. After listening for just a few moments I remember talking to the Lord out loud in my car, Jesus, this is really not the crowd I want to be reaching. Lord, you know that if I do this show, I will just be preaching to the choir. I will be speaking predominantly to those already following You. Lord, help me to reach those outside of the church. That was it, just a simple prayer from the heart. No big bang, no major gust of faith, just a singular, sincere cry from my heart. I did not think about that prayer anymore until the very next week. Thats when one of the girls at the office excitedly forwarded me an email that had just come in. It was from the largest Rock station in the entire Hampton Roads area of Virginia. Here is the content from the actual email I received: I work for FM99 radio station. We have over 100,000 listeners in the Hampton Roads area and our website gets over 1 million page views a month! I have this interesting idea for something that hasnt been done on our station and I think you would be PERFECT 2

for this. If you arent familiar with our station, we are a rock station (the oldest in Hampton Roads, on the air for over 40 years) and our audience is comprised of a variety of loyal listeners. We also have a HUGE military presence. Basically, I would love the opportunity to meet with someone at your church for about 15 minutes and ask a few questions to learn more about what you guys do and see if you would be interested in working with us. Needless to say, they definitely had my attention! My prayer for such an opportunity had been answered in just one week! We set up a meeting and our prayer teams immediately began to pray. In all that we do in this life, nothing is more powerful or more necessary than prayer. I like to say that prayer is our personal GPS (Global Positioning System). You take away prayer, and you are traveling without a map. Because of the many prayers that preceded me, when I walked into that meeting, I felt the peace and the favor of God upon my life. Because of the prayers of others, I knew that I would be guided with an internal GPS (God Positioning System). Pray about everything in your life. The Bible says it this way,

Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Before I went to the meeting, I visited the FM 99 website. From their website, I knew right away that this was the crowd I was looking for. There were many things to tip me off, but perhaps none more so than the Babe of the Week graphic. These were definitely the folks I wanted to influence and point to Jesus. Our initial meeting went amazingly smooth and flowed with great grace. The sales director began by telling me about their station. The director told me that their most popular show is called, The Rumble. This show airs every morning and has a following of the most loyal listeners imaginable. I remember sitting there wondering, Is this really going where I think its going? Can this really be happening? It was somewhat surreal. Then the sales director looked me squarely in the eyes and said, We have this crazy idea. But before I share it with you, you need to know that our show is definitely not a Christian show (I had already figured that one out!). Most of our listeners are males from the ages of 19 to 49 years old. We have a lot of military listeners, and our second largest group is 4

female from the age of 19 to 49 years old. We also know that we have a lot of hurting listeners out there. Some are facing some major hurdles in their lives and we always try to bring value to our listeners. So we had this crazy idea - what if we found a pastor to come on our show every morning, someone who would inject a little hope into our listeners day? Here is what we are asking; would you be interested in being a part of our morning show by doing a daily devotional with our listeners? That is when you say to yourself, Mouth, do not drop open right now! What a moment! It was a lot to take in. I remember asking if they were going to ask any other churches to do this. They laughed and said no. So then I asked the same question that you are probably wondering right now, Why me? Thats when the sales director turned to the account executive. He told me that his job over the last month was to research churches and pastors to find someone who they felt would be a fit. He then simply sai d, You seem to get where our people are. I dont think I have ever received a higher compliment. I was so blown away and deeply thankful. We decided to record five pilot shows the following week. I wanted our team to hear them and discuss it,

before we gave them an answer. It was time to go back to prayer. All of this happened, coincidentally, the very week we were moving our equipment into Harvest Church Centrals newest location. We were opening a new campus in the Regal Greenbrier Theater in Chesapeake, Virginia and we had to move our equipment in early, before the movies started. I was scheduled the next morning to meet our guys at the Norfolk campus to help with the move. Early the next morning, I found myself in bumper-tobumper traffic during rush hour. And again, coincidentally, it was just after seven in the morning, the same time the devotion would air if we did the show. As I waited in the heavy traffic, I tuned my radio to FM 99 to listen to the Rumble. I wanted to know more about the show, the DJs, and the content. And after just listening for a few moments, I could understand why people would tune in every morning without fail. The DJs were quick, funny and sharp witted. It only took a minute to recognize the genius of the show.

But then the show turned darker. Now the next thing I am going to share with you is very offensive if you are a Christian. I am giving you that warning up front, because if I dont share this with you, you will never feel the full effect of that moment. The next conversation I heard on the show was about how someone had said that the sounds of a porn movie where like the sounds of a tennis match. They then proceeded to actually air the sounds of both, obviously mixing them back and forth, until they became one. Of course they were laughing and make their own comments as this played out. It was so shocking that I could only sit there in disbelief at what I was hearing. Now Im thinking to myself, Do I really want my name to be associated with this? I began to imagine the show going from what I just heard to - And now here is Pastor Craig Walker from Harvest Church Central! Wow, I thought, is this really what you want me to do Lord? Thats when I had one of those amazing moments. You know what I mean? It was one of those moments when you suddenly became keenly aware of your surroundings. There was traffic as far as I could see in front of me, in back of me, and in the eight lanes all around me. It was so bad that I was 7

sitting completely stopped on the interstate. In reality it was just the normal rush hour traffic for our area, what happens every morning at this same time. But as I looked around me and saw all the commuters in their cars, I wondered, How many of these people are listening to the Rumble right now? Pure compassion overwhelmed me at that moment. I felt Gods heart for these people. My eyes began to flow with tears as I began sobbing right there on I-64. I became so vividly aware that all around me were sitting the people Christ came to die for. I knew at that moment that these were the people who needed hope, those who were lost without a shepherd. I also knew that religious church folks would criticize me for going on the Rumble. But then I thought; that would surely put me in good company! They didnt like Jesus either, because He was a friend of what they called, publicans and sinners. Oh my! Then it hit me; maybe one day I could receive the great privilege and the highest honor of being known as a friend of publicans and sinners. That is such a great distinction, especially when you consider that we are all broken people that God is putting back together again. It was one of those God moments you never forget. 8

Yes, the sin depicted on that particular show was despicable and repulsive, but still the sinner is completely and utterly loved by God. A love so complete and beyond comprehension that God gave His only Son to die for us - while we were yet sinners. Such amazing grace is just like the words from a song, If grace is an ocean were all sinking. His love was not demonstrated for us after we had cleaned ourselves up and begun to fly right. No, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He loves us as we are, because He already sees us as we should be. And He loves us so much, that He doesnt leave us as we are. I still didnt know for sure at that moment whether the show would happen or not. But I did know that whether or not I was criticized, it would make no difference in my decision. The truth is if you want to catch fish, you have to go where the fish are. And when you really start catching fish, you are going to stink like one. Proverbs 14:4 says it this way, Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean. In more common vernacular, If youre really going to do the work of His Kingdom, its going to get messy. Youre going to need a shovel. Many churches say they want to reach outsiders, but they dont want to make any changes to facilitate it. 9

They wont change their style of worship, the way they dress, and the way they talk. They dont want to give up their job, or their seat for someone else to come in. And when an outsider does visit, they feel entirely odd and misplaced. So much of the service is left unexplained and cloaked in the Christian subculture that they are left, well, on the outside. The message of the Gospel never changes, but the methods of delivering it certainly must if we hope to reach our world. After that moment on the interstate I recorded the first five pilot shows at the station. They gave me a copy of the shows and I took them to our team. After sharing with them this new opportunity we listened to the shows. One by one we went around the table with each member asked to give their input on whether or not we should pursue the show. It was unanimous! Everyone agreed that this was indeed a God-given opportunity, one we had to seize. Our prayer team leader gave the Scripture that sealed the deal for me when it was her turn at the table. She read, I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have

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little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Revelation 3:8 From this Scripture it became crystal clear to us that God had indeed opened the door, and that nothing, and no one, could shut it. We were being asked to simply walk through this door. God would do the rest. And that is how it is when we walk in obedience with the Lord. The results are really not up to us; we just need to be obedient to whatever He tells us to do. Ive been asked many times, How can I know Gods will for my life? How can I know what God wants me to do? I always respond to that question with a question for them. I ask if they have really submitted their lives to the lordship of Jesus Christ. Is their life really submitted to His control? If their answer is yes, I then ask them, Tell me what you want to do? Most people, even Christians, seem to be surprised by this question. Can it really be that easy? Well, if you life is really submitted to His rule and reign, then when you are searching for Gods will, you can start your search by simply asking yourself, What do I want to do? Let me give you a Scripture to back up my advice:

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For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Philippians 2:13 You see, first God works His will in us. Another way of saying that is that we begin to want to do those things He wants us to do. Secondly, God begins to enable us to do those things. The beautiful thing about this is, when we accomplish the task, we have nothing in ourselves to boast in. God worked His desire in us to do it (it was really Gods idea all along), and then He enabled us to do it. At the end of the day, God gets all the glory. We were just available. This is what God is looking for, just folks who will be available. The Scripture says, The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. 2 Chronicles 16:9 (New Living Translation) How did I know that God wanted me to do the Rumble Show? He first began by working a desire in me to do it. That is what happened on the interstate in the bumper-to-bumper traffic. God was working His will in me. 12

If you are not under Gods lordship, His control; then you are still in control, and you cannot trust your desires. Your will, your wants, are selfish, and though we cant often see it, destructive. Because we dont have Gods perspective, we often dont know what is best for us. Even in regards to our own happiness, we make wrong choices. But the Gospel of Jesus Christ is Good News, not bad news. Here is a great big part of this good news; if we will surrender our lives to Gods control, He will begin to lead us into the elusive happiness we are all in pursuit of. God will make you want to do those things that will really bring you into the abundant joy-filled life He has provided. The problem with people, according to Jesus, is not that we are too happy for Gods taste, but that we are not happy enough. In John 15:11, Jesus said, I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. Lewis Smedes said, To miss out on joy is to miss out on the reason for your existence. Jesus came to give us a joy-filled life. Narnia author, C.S. Lewis said it this way, "Joy is the serious business of heaven." A great portion of the joy God provides is derived from the working of His will into 13

ours. When that happens, we can trust our desires as a great indicator of what Gods will is for us. How did I know that God wanted me to do the Rumble Show? The leading indicator was a growing desire to do it. I had a very detailed dream on the very night that all the details were worked out for the show. The dream was so alarming, that the moment I awoke, I felt I had to type it out and send it to those who would pray. Here is the email that I typed in those early morning hours describing my dream: It is 3:19 AM and I am up because I just had a very disturbing dream tonight. In the dream I was killing many poisonous snakes that were attacking me, one right after another. It was exhausting, but I was keeping up, until a man came up and distracted me by asking, "Hey man, what do you think you're doing? Don't you know that they race these snakes in stadiums and people pay to come watch them?" I was keeping up with the attacks and killing the snakes, until he distracted me. I was bitten a couple of times while he was talking to me. The next thing I knew, he had taken me into the stadium where they were racing these snakes, and the crowd was cheering. He told me to run to see how 14

fast the snakes could go. But when I began to run from them, I began to be bitten often. That is when I stopped running at the fifty-yard line and turned to fight them. I began killing all the snakes in this stadium with everyone watching. Some of the crowd were booing and others where applauding. The thing that stood out to me was that I couldn't see the snakes with my natural eyes, I had to feel their attacks and cut off their heads in an instant or else I was bitten. Once again this same guy came up to me, and this time with a snake that he owned and ran in the races. While he was trying to talk with me his snake bit me repeatedly, until I finally killed it in front of him. What was so troubling about these snakes is that they were almost totally invisible and you couldn't outrun them. You had to stand your ground and fight them, and yet the attacks were so many that being bitten was almost inevitable. At the end of the dream I was leaving the stadium with a big pile of dead snakes lying at the middle of the field. I had to cross a chain link fence to get out of the stadium because there was no exit. That is when I looked down and noticed my arms and legs 15

where I had been bitten. Huge purple sores swollen to one inch in height were all over my arms and legs. I knew that my body was full of poison. When I crossed the fence, there were some religious church people holding picketing signs waiting for me to come out. They said to me, "Now you can get back in the church where you belong. You don't belong in there. This is what happens when you don't stay inside the four walls of the church!" I refuted them at first and then just ignored them. I pushed my way through them and kept walking home, concerned about the effects that so much poison would have on my body from so many bites. There I was, all alone trying to make it home. That is when I awoke, impressed to type this out and send it to you, before I went back to bed or even prayed myself. I have sent this to you out of obedience to the Lord. Please pray and if you get any interpretations please let me know. The responses I got back from this email all painted the same picture. Everyone who read it felt like the dream was about the amazing opportunity to be on the Rumble. We also knew that prayer would be critical to the success of this endeavor. What I personally and immediately received from this dream 16

was that I should absolutely step through the open door. The Bible says that, No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me, declares the LORD. Isaiah 54:17 Although I knew that this dream was a caution from the Lord, I also knew that prayer could overcome any attack or resistance. Those who are committed to Christ can expect God to fight for them. They can expect to overcome whatever life, or the enemy, may throw at them. We may not always win in this life, but we will ultimately win entirely in the next. When I began to have the desire to be on the Rumble, I then began to ask the Lord to confirm His will. In other words, I asked God to let me know for sure if this is what He wanted me to do. One unique way God will do this is through visions and dreams, and yes, they still happen today. We are told that when the Holy Spirit came in the book of Acts, that Peter stood up and declared, This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your 17

young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Acts 2:16-18 Although I dont like the age group that this Scripture puts me in (old men dream dreams), I do believe that this dream was from the Lord. If you think about it, how could I ever make myself dream such a specific dream? Even if I wanted to, I could not dream such a dream. My heavenly Father had earlier warned me that there would be religious church folks that wouldnt like what we were doing. But it was no different for Jesus; the religious folks didnt like Him either. In fact, they were the ones behind His crucifixion. And what was His crime? He hung out with sinners. Before we go on, let me give you my disclaimer about dreams. I believe that the main way we hear from God is through reading His written Word. He will also speak to us through godly counsel, prayer, and other ways, such as dreams and visions. I heard Bob Mumford preach a wonderful message on the subject of how to know Gods will for your life. He gave the analogy of a harbor pilot, whose job it is to bring each ship safely into his port. Every ship

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that enters and leaves a port must have a harbor pilot aboard. The captain, or master, of a large ship has total command in the high seas. However, when a ship enters or leaves a port the captain turns over navigation to a local pilot. Once the ship reaches open water, a small boat picks up the harbor pilot and returns the pilot to port. The captain then resumes full command of the ship. The harbor pilot must have a thorough knowledge of every channel, sandbar, and other obstacle that could run the ship aground. This pilot, when traveling at night, will line up the harbor lights to bring the ship in safely. When the lights dont line up, they mean nothing at all. But when the lights line up, and one knows how to read them, they provide a clear roadmap for the pilot. There are harbor lights that God gives us. They provide us a clear map of His will. When all of these indicators line up, they make it easy for us to navigate our lives. Just as the harbor pilot knows what to look for, we must know the harbor lights God give us.

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These harbor lights are: 1. What is God speaking to you through His written Word? 2. What is the counsel of godly counselors? 3. How do your natural circumstances line up with what you are thinking about doing? 4. Do you have enough faith for your leap? 5. Has God confirmed the direction that you are leaning towards through dreams, visions, or others randomly confirming it? 6. What are you hearing from the Lord in your prayer time? All of the harbor lights need to work together. When they line up, they provide an easy path for us to confidently travel. It is very important to get godly counsel before acting on any dream. The Bible says, Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety. Proverbs 11:14 (King James Version) Another proverb says it this way, For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counselors there is safety. Proverbs 2 4:6 (King James Version) So that is my disclaimer on dreams. Not every dream is from the Lord, some come directly from late night pizza! The important thing to remember is to use the harbor lights when making decisions. Expect God to 20

speak to you personally if you have given your life over to Him. He has not stopped speaking to His people. Jesus taught, My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27 God will speak, if we will listen. That is how the Rumble saga began. Now I am heard every weekday by more than 100,000 listeners. I have become the Pastor of the Rumble, and I love it. There is no other show or station I would rather be on.

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