{"id":302548,"date":"2012-07-02T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-07-02T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/committed-to-serve\/"},"modified":"2012-07-02T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-07-02T15:00:00","slug":"committed-to-serve","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/committed-to-serve\/","title":{"rendered":"Committed to Serve"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At 16 he dedicated his life to the Lord.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/web.familylifetoday.com\/fl2012-07-02.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:","filesize":"22.77M","filesize_raw":"23871490","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2821],"tags":[4705],"podcast_series":[7884],"cwp_profile":[9270],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-302548","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reaching-out","tag-college","podcast_series-sharing-christ-with-word-and-deed","cwp_profile-kevin-palau","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/302548\/committed-to-serve","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/302548\/committed-to-serve","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"zrqqQuBNKZ\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/committed-to-serve\/\">Committed to Serve<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/committed-to-serve\/embed\/#?secret=zrqqQuBNKZ\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Committed to Serve&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"zrqqQuBNKZ\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg",508,508,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"kfairris@familylife.com","author_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/author\/kfairrisfamilylife-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"At 16 he dedicated his life to the Lord.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylifetoday.com\/fl2012-07-02.pdf","transcript_content":"<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Kevin Palau, the son of evangelist Luis Palau, was a student at a Christian university when he had a spiritual awakening.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 I just began thinking, \u201cWait a minute!\u00a0 What do I really believe?\u201d\u00a0 I just hadn\u2019t thought through certain issues of my own faith.\u00a0 I went through a quiet couple of years of soul-searching before having a very clear sense of, \u201cThis is the truth.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have to understand <em>every<\/em> detail.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have to be able to explain <em>every<\/em> nuance of who God is and what He\u2019s like and why He allows certain things.\u00a0 He is worthy of my faith and allegiance.\u201d\u00a0 And I have never looked back.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 This is <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> for Monday, July 2<sup>nd<\/sup>.\u00a0 Our host is the President of FamilyLife<sup>\u00ae<\/sup>, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t matter who your dad is; Kevin Palau says you\u2019ve got to make a decision to follow Christ for yourself.\u00a0 Stay tuned.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 And welcome to <em>FamilyLife Today.<\/em><em>\u00a0 <\/em>Thanks for joining us on the Monday edition.\u00a0 You know, our guest today has been known for years as the son of an internationally- known evangelist; but it occurs to me that in recent days, he may have become better known as the brother of the fool.\u00a0 Have you thought about that?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I hadn\u2019t.\u00a0 What a way to introduce our guest! [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, we had\u2014I should explain\u2014we had Kevin\u2019s brother, Andrew Palau\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> \u2014join us, not long ago, to talk about his new book which is called <em>The Secret Life of a Fool.<\/em>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 So, I\u2019m not calling him a fool; he called himself a fool!\u00a0 I\u2019m off the hook on that; don\u2019t you think?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 So, Kevin, would you call your brother a fool\u2014at least, back then, when he was acting the way he was?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s funny.\u00a0 No, I laugh because\u2014you know\u2014we love\u2014even in those times when Andrew was not walking with the Lord at all, we had a great love for each other as a family.\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t any anger around it; but when a kid crashes the family car three or four times\u2014yes, I don\u2019t know what else you\u2019d say.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 And the police show up in the middle of the night?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 And the police show up in the middle of the night.\u00a0 Of course, in reading that book, half of that stuff in the book, none of us in the family really knew.\u00a0 There were some definite eyebrow-raising\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Revelations!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, revelations in the book.\u00a0 It\u2019s worth picking up and looking at.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, you have not been the fool.\u00a0 You are currently the President of the Luis Palau Association, which is an evangelistic association that preaches the Gospel, here in America, and how many countries around the world?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 You know, I think it\u2019s something close to a hundred different countries, over almost 60 years of ministry, where we\u2019ve had a chance\u2014Dad, directly, and my brother Andrew and others\u2014to proclaim the Gospel.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Your dad has spoken to how many million people in his lifetime?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s somewhere\u2014 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 A lot of our listeners may not know Luis Palau, but he really is a hero.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s been an amazingly encouraging journey to be on\u2014for me to work with Dad.\u00a0 It\u2019s something like 50 million people at events, face-to-face, and then hundreds and hundreds of millions through the media.\u00a0 Dad has been a great, faithful proclaimer of the Gospel.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 He started back in the early \u201860s with the Billy Graham Association\u2014kind of became an intern back then.\u00a0 He preached the Gospel around the country and around the world.\u00a0 Now, you\u2019re following in his footsteps, really, in giving leadership to the next generation of this ministry.\u00a0 I want to back it all up, though, and ask what it was like to grow up as the son of a worldwide evangelist.\u00a0 You weren\u2019t the fool, like your brother\u2014like Bob was talking about.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Were you the older brother?\u00a0 Were you the self-righteous older brother?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 You know, in some ways I suppose that\u2019s true.\u00a0 I had a twin brother\u2014so Keith and I were the oldest.\u00a0 We\u2019re identical twins.\u00a0 You know, we were just like the proverbial good kid who didn\u2019t really think about rebelling\u2014not because we were particularly better\u2014but just fairly quiet temperament, studious, loved to read, not the \u201clife of the party\u201d-kind of a person.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t have the incredible wealth and network of friends that Andrew did\u2014kind of ran in the \u201cbrainiac\u201d crowd at Sunset High School in Beaverton, Oregon.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 You didn\u2019t live the entertaining lifestyle?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Not at all!\u00a0 A book\u2014a book\u2014it wouldn\u2019t even make a pamphlet.\u00a0 My life story would not be too entertaining.\u00a0 [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Did you come to faith as a child?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 I did.\u00a0 I was like, I suppose, many people who have grown up in the kind of home that Keith and I and the rest of us did.\u00a0 I can remember half a dozen times of praying to receive Christ, \u201c...to make sure.\u00a0 I\u2019m pretty sure I have, but just one more time\u2014\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014\u201cjust in case.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014\u201cjust in case; it couldn\u2019t hurt.\u201d\u00a0 Then, at 16\u2014I really look back on that as really a more adult recommitment of my life to serving God.\u00a0 I kind of look back on that as a real \u201cplanting the flag\u201d and saying, \u201cMy life is going to be about serving Jesus Christ.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 And what was it that happened at 16 that stirred that in you?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 You know, again, a fairly typical situation of a Christian camp.\u00a0 Hume Lake Christian Camp in central California.\u00a0 A speaker named Bill McKee, who was a great speaker back in the day.\u00a0 He just gave a very challenging, \u201cAre you willing to stand up in front of this group of kids?\u2014only\u2014if you <em>really <\/em>mean it\u2014stand up and declare that your life is going to be 100 percent committed to Christ.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou know, you have that\u2014palms sweating and the, \u201cAm I really going to stand up?\u201d\u00a0 But doing that and having that be something the Lord uses to remind you, \u201cYou stood and very formally said this was what you are going to do.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 You\u2019d grown up the son of a man who had stood up in front of tens of thousands of people in mass rallies in Spanish-speaking countries around the world.\u00a0 You had a picture of what that looked like.\u00a0 How much did that play into your surrender to Jesus Christ as a 16-year-old?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, you know, it\u2019s funny.\u00a0 Not a lot\u2014not as much as people might think.\u00a0 I think I tended to disassociate, at the time, what Dad did\u2014which was wonderful.\u00a0 We had the privilege of traveling around as a family during breaks from school\u2014spring vacation, summer\u2014going and being a part of what we would call crusades in those days.\u00a0 Now, we call them festivals.\u00a0 But I think I tended to just kind of observe that as something that Dad did\u2014wonderful\u2014people coming to Christ\u2014but I didn\u2019t really see it as something directly related to me because I definitely did not grow up thinking I was going to be part of the Palau Association.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tPeople may tend to assume, since three of the four of us Palau boys work with the Palau Association, that it must have been just assumed as you grew up that you were going to work with the Association.\u00a0 The thought never crossed my mind, all the way through college.\u00a0 The thought never really crossed my mind that I would be working with this organization.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 You went to Wheaton College?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Absolutely.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Was there ever a time at Wheaton when you kind of\u2014well, you know, it\u2019s easy to be a Christian\u2014a follower of Christ\u2014at a school like that.\u00a0 I mean, you\u2019re beginning days with prayer.\u00a0 There\u2019s chapel, there\u2019s teaching about the New Testament and Old Testament.\u00a0 You have great professors in a college setting.\u00a0 Did you ever kind of begin to stray off in your own direction during that time?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 You know, certainly not overtly.\u00a0 In fact, from the first Sunday, freshman year, Keith and I went to a little church.\u00a0 We went there every Sunday, all four years.\u00a0 We were leaders in a little, small thing called World Christian Fellowship.\u00a0 At the time, there were probably 15 of us in the basement of Fischer Hall.\u00a0 It was the missions group.\u00a0 This was back in 1981.\u00a0 We thought\u2014Keith and I, \u201cYou know, Dad\u2019s Luis Palau; and we love missions.\u201d\u00a0 That might be what each of us, in turn, thought we wanted to do.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat group grew, in those four years, to hundreds of students.\u00a0 On the one hand, kind of helping lead a group at this evangelical school about being passionate about world evangelism; at the same time, my junior and senior years at Wheaton were the first time I really experienced doubts about the Bible and the Christian faith.\u00a0 It\u2019s funny\u2014not because professors were planting doubts; but just in going through some of the study that you do when you\u2019re at a little bit of a higher level of studying, \u201cWhere did the Bible come from?\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI just began thinking, \u201cWait a minute!\u00a0 What do I really believe?\u201d\u00a0 I just hadn\u2019t thought through certain issues of my own faith\u2014not in terms of my personal commitment to Christ\u2014but in some of the big, tough questions that we encounter.\u00a0 I went through a quiet couple of years of soul-searching before having a very clear sense of, \u201cThis is the truth.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have to understand <em>every<\/em> detail.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have to be able to explain <em>every<\/em> nuance of who God is, and what He\u2019s like, and why He allows certain things.\u00a0 He is worthy of my faith and allegiance.\u201d\u00a0 And I have never looked back.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 We\u2019ve already established the fact that here you and your brother are leaders at Wheaton, among the students.\u00a0 Your other brother, Andrew, was a rebel\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014a fool, as Proverbs would describe.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right; exactly.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Looking back on it, if we could have interviewed Andrew during that period of time, he would have had a different answer to this question than the question you have today.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you think your dad and your mom did right in raising you?\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 You know, honestly, it will sound very trite and almost obvious; but they lived out the Christian life very consistently, and lovingly, and without hypocrisy.\u00a0 I think\u2014you know,\u00a0 it is funny how often people, over the years, would come up to any of us\u2014Andrew, or Keith, or I, or Steve\u2014and say, \u201cOh, it must be so hard!\u00a0 You must have seen certain things.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tLiterally, I would scratch my head and say, \u201cI don\u2019t know what you\u2019re talking about.\u201d\u00a0 Thankfully!\u00a0 But, again, that says something about the consistency of Dad and Mom\u2019s love for each other, their love for the Lord, their passion about serving God, and being <em>normal<\/em>, too\u2014as odd as that might seem.\u00a0 \u201cNormal\u201d in the sense of there wasn\u2019t this highly-legalistic, \u201cWe\u2019re going to get up every day and do this!\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe Christian life wasn\u2019t this negative, angry, rule-keeping thing\u2014\u201cGod\u2019s angry at you!\u201d\u00a0 There was a sense of, \u201cThere is a loving heavenly Father\u2014who demands full allegiance\u2014but living the Christian life is the most joyful, wonderful experience you could possibly have.\u00a0 Why would anybody want anything else?\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat\u2019s what we experienced in our home\u2014was a consistently lived-out Christian life that didn\u2019t leave room for that duplicitous, \u201cDad\u2019s saying these certain things; but I know, behind the scenes, he\u2019s doing this, that, or the other.\u201d\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t that!\u00a0 That has been the most obvious thing to me\u2014a very consistently-lived godliness.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s interesting.\u00a0 I\u2019m listening in my headphones.\u00a0 Our engineer, Keith Lynch, just said, \u201cThat\u2019s the same answer your brother, Andrew, did give.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I mean, even though he was playing the fool.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 You know, he always said that, once he came back to the Lord.\u00a0 He always said, \u201cTrust me.\u00a0 This was not because Mom and Dad were hypocrites, and I experienced all this hypocrisy in our local church.\u00a0 It was I <em>chose<\/em>\u2014\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s why he would specifically say that he was a \u201cfool\u201d.\u00a0 He <em>chose <\/em>to go that way.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 I had you share the story and, really, what your thoughts were for a couple of reasons.\u00a0 One is\u2014some parents, right now, are in the midst of dealing with a fool.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 And they want to blame themselves.\u00a0 Certainly, there are no perfect parents\u2014there was only One perfect One who walked the planet\u2014but, secondly, I just want to encourage parents to keep on keeping on.\u00a0 Keep on teaching the Bible, keep on living out your faith, being in love with Jesus Christ, talking about the life He gives you, what you see through His eyes, how He uses you, how you\u2019re impacting other people, how you\u2019re imparting the truth about Him to other people.\u00a0 All of that is caught by your kids.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I mean, here today, you\u2019re raising a family of three; and you\u2019re trying to pass that on to your family.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Absolutely.\u00a0 And as Dad said\u2014I heard him say this a million times, over the years\u2014\u201cGod has no grandchildren.\u201d\u00a0 There\u2019s this sense that, somehow, being born in a Christian family passes it on like a virus or like eye color.\u00a0 That\u2019s the heart of the evangelist, \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter if you grew up in a Christian home or a Christian country.\u00a0 You need to make a commitment to Christ for yourself.\u201d\u00a0 I think it can be difficult for kids who grow up in pastor\u2019s families or Christian leaders; but, thankfully, in our case, Dad and Mom, weren\u2019t perfect by any means, but they really lived it out in a consistent way.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 In the basement of Fischer Hall at Wheaton, when you were gathering with 10 or 15 other students and talking about world evangelization, is that where you thought you would end up?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 You know what?\u00a0 I thought I was going to be a missionary to the Muslim world.\u00a0 It was for no particular reason\u2014other than reading an article in a missions magazine, when I was a senior in high school, that made the very plain point that there were some thousands of percent more Christian workers focused on the already-Christianized world.\u00a0 As we all know, there\u2019s a huge need for a Gospel ministry, here in the US, and Western Europe, and Latin America; but the point was there are so few people devoting themselves to trying to share the Gospel in the Muslim world.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 This was when we were just beginning to talk about the 10\/40 Window.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 The 10\/40 Window.\u00a0 I can remember hearing that term, and it was a time when\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well now, wait.\u00a0 Before we go any further, what <em>is <\/em>the 10\/40 Window?\u00a0 What does that mean?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Well, the 10\/40 Window\u2014and Bob, you may be able to define it a little bit better than me; I always forget\u2014it\u2019s the latitude and longitude.\u00a0 It\u2019s basically this band that goes across North Africa, and through India, and Asia, between, I think, the 10<sup>th<\/sup> and 40<sup>th<\/sup> parallels.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Parallels; right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m butchering it to some degree, but that band\u2014if you picture a world map\u2014that is where, by far, the majority of the people in the world who don\u2019t know Christ live.\u00a0 It\u2019s mostly Muslim and Hindu.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 And you thought that you\u2019d be living in one of those countries?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 That was the thought.\u00a0 My thought was, \u201cThis is where the need is.\u00a0 I want to go where the need is greatest.\u201d\u00a0 I felt once Michelle and I got married\u2014my wife and I met during college.\u00a0 She was a home girl from Portland, Oregon; and I was off at Wheaton College.\u00a0 We both had a heart for missions\u2014we both were planning to go get some further education, post-college, and then go live somewhere in the Muslim world\u2014Pakistan or someplace\u2014learn the language\u2014Urdu, in that case.\u00a0 My thought was, \u201cThen we\u2019ll go live in a place like London, where there are hundreds and hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis, and share the Gospel there, where it\u2019s a little more open.\u201d\u00a0 That was kind of the dream at the time.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 But you wound up back in Portland, Oregon, in what I\u2019ll call the 9:30 window\u2014because that\u2019s when <em>FamilyLife Today <\/em>is heard on KPDQ in Portland.\u00a0 [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Nice, Bob, nice.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Good segue.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 A lot of people wake up in Portland to\u2014I heard someone say that, \u201cPortland is where young people go to retire.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s it; exactly. [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 So you wind up back in Portland, doing what?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, you know, Michelle and I got married, right after Wheaton.\u00a0 The thought was, \u201cI\u2019m going to work at the Palau team for one year because\u201d, you know, \u201cit would be good to get settled into married life.\u00a0 I\u2019ll just do whatever I can to kind of help the ministry.\u00a0 Then, we\u2019ll go off, and go to seminary, and move on.\u201d\u00a0 It was funny\u2014within about three months of working at the Palau Association\u2014I can still remember this\u2014Michelle and I kind of both looked at each other.\u00a0 She wasn\u2019t working there, as far as a staff position, but we were talking all the time.\u00a0 We both said, \u201cYou know, it just feels like God is leading us to stay.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe thought, at the time, was, \u201cMaybe God could actually use us in a greater way\u2014even toward the Muslim world\u2014if we stayed within the Palau Association than if we just took off as an individual couple and tried to reach a few people here and there.\u201d\u00a0 There was a sense of the scope and the magnitude of what we saw God doing through the Palau Association, which was mobilizing and unifying the body of Christ in a city.\u00a0 That really grabbed my attention.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 So you sunk the roots down; and you\u2019ve been there, now, for more than 25 years.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Exactly.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 You\u2019re the President.\u00a0 Looking back on that, that was a huge step of faith at the time.\u00a0 What would you say to a couple who have, perhaps, been feeling a tugging of God\u2019s Spirit speaking to them and saying, \u201cI have something more for you.\u00a0 I have an assignment for you\u201d?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Now, by the way, I think there are really two ways that works its way out.\u00a0 One is by truly going somewhere else and proclaiming the Gospel; but for many, I think it\u2019s staying put where they are and having a ministry in their community, their neighborhood, their city\u2014having an outreach there.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Maybe something around marriage and family?\u00a0 Is that what you were thinking?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I was thinking about <em>The Art of Marriage<\/em><sup>\u00ae<\/sup>, Bob!\u00a0 [Laughter]\u00a0 I mean, I just heard, before I walked in here, that we\u2019ve now had more than 175,000 people go through <em>The Art of Marriage<\/em> in a little over 13 months.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Wow!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s been interesting to hear how many people, as they\u2019ve been presenting an <em>Art of Marriage<\/em> event in their local church\u2014how many people are coming to faith\u2014 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Wow!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014coming to a local church for a marriage event, and hearing the Gospel, and responding to it, as a result of that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, and I think it\u2019s a set-up for people to have that ministry.\u00a0 But I want to go back to my question to you\u2014to a couple, who are feeling that tugging of, \u201cI want to get on the playing field.\u00a0 I want to get in the game.\u201d\u00a0 What would you say to them?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes!\u00a0 Well, first off, I would say, even if it feels difficult and it\u2019s almost rocking your world, go with it, and let it tease itself out.\u00a0 Spend time in the Word.\u00a0 Seek the advice and counsel of wise spiritual mentors in your life, whether that\u2019s someone like a pastor, or associate pastor of your church, or someone from your home Bible study, that you know well\u2014but talk about it.\u00a0 Don\u2019t feel that you have to get an immediate clear answer\u2014some audible voice\u2014or something almost supernatural.\u00a0 Trust that God has people in your life who love and care for you\u2014if you\u2019ve put yourself in that position.\u00a0 Let them speak into your life, and just soak yourself in God\u2019s Word\u2014and with your spouse, in particular.\u00a0 Give God time to say, \u201cWhat is it?\u00a0 What are my unique gifts and abilities?\u00a0 How could God use me?\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAs you\u2019ve said, Dennis, it is not just simply overseas\u2014maybe, it is.\u00a0 For most of us, though, it\u2019s God wanting to use us right where we are.\u00a0 You\u2019ve been put in a position where nobody else has quite the unique set of relationships and open doors that you do.\u00a0 Luis Palau or your pastor do not have the ability in your workplace, in your school, in your neighborhood.\u00a0 If we could just get more of us to see the mission field around us, every single day, so many more people would be reached.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I want to underscore something you said.\u00a0 You encouraged a couple to talk together and to talk to God.\u00a0 You know, sometimes it\u2019s our wives who prod us men into action.\u00a0 They\u2019ll say, \u201cSweetheart, there are the needs of the orphans\u2014\u201d, or, \u201cYou know, they talked about this deal on <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 Maybe we\u2014let\u2019s look that up.\u00a0 Let\u2019s talk about that a bit.\u201d\u00a0 I just want to encourage our female listeners not to shrink back\u2014 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s okay to nudge?\u00a0 Don\u2019t nag, but nudge is okay?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s right.\u00a0 Nudging is okay.\u00a0 Nagging is like being nibbled to death by a duck.\u00a0 The other thing I wanted to say to your point about a lot of missions being right here, right now, where we\u2019re living, within our sphere of influence\u2014I have said for years that the needs of marriages and families are a Trojan horse to be able to take the Gospel to your next door neighbor\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Absolutely!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014to your neighborhood, to your business acquaintances, to the people you meet at your kids\u2019 school.\u00a0 It\u2019s a great tool!\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because people don\u2019t get married to become unhappy; and yet, most are.\u00a0 They\u2019re wondering how two imperfect people make this thing work.\u00a0 The answer is, \u201cThe only way it\u2019s ever going to work is when the risen King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ, takes up residence in a broken heart, and begins to save us from ourselves, and allow two imperfect people, with all of their baggage and mistakes, to come together in peace, and in kindness, and in gentleness with each other and to turn that relationship into a marriage.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 You\u2019re saying that anybody who has an interest in trying to see that happen\u2014we\u2019ve got tools that can help them make it happen; right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 We want to help people who want to make a difference where they live.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got the tool of <em>The Art of Marriage<\/em>.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got a new one, coming up for men this fall, called <em>Stepping Up:<\/em><em>\u00a0 <\/em><em>A Call to Courageous Manhood<\/em>\u2014a video series.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s based on the book that you wrote on that subject.\u00a0 I think the point is\u2014if you\u2019ve got interests and passion\u2014you may think, \u201cIn our marriage, we\u2019ve got issues.\u201d\u00a0 We\u2019ve <em>all <\/em>got issues!\u00a0 That shouldn\u2019t keep us away from trying to help others in their marriage, in their family, helping them to grow as men.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAgain, if you\u2019d like more information about some of the tools we have available\u2014<em>The Art of Marriage\u2014<\/em>how you can host an event, or how you can lead folks through a small-group study, using that material\u2014or you want to find out more about the new <em>Stepping Up<\/em> video series that\u2019s coming out this fall\u2014or if you want to attend the National Simulcast that we\u2019re hosting on August 4<sup>th<\/sup>, there\u2019s information about that available on our website, FamilyLifeToday.com.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf you\u2019d like more information about the work that the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association is doing with their city-wide festivals that they are hosting, go to our website, FamilyLifeToday.com.\u00a0 The information you\u2019re looking for is available there.\u00a0 FamilyLifeToday.com is the website; or if you have questions that we can answer for you, call 1-800-FL-TODAY; 1-800-358-6329.\u00a0 That\u2019s 1-800-\u201cF\u201d as in family, \u201cL\u201d as in life, and then the word, \u201cTODAY\u201d.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd we want to say, \u201cThanks,\u201d to those of you who help support the ministry of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 We are listener-supported.\u00a0 We could not do what we do without folks like you helping us out from time to time with a donation.\u00a0 We appreciate those of you who have been in touch with us in recent days to make a donation.\u00a0 We also appreciate those of you who are Legacy Partners, who make a monthly contribution to help support <em>FamilyLife Today.<\/em>\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou can make an online donation in support of this ministry by going to \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tFamilyLifeToday.com.\u00a0\u00a0 Click the button that says, \u201cI CARE\u201d; or call 1-800-FL-TODAY and make a donation over the phone.\u00a0 Again, we just want you to know how much we appreciate your support for what is happening, here, at <em>FamilyLife Today.<\/em>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>\u00a0<\/em>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd we want to encourage you to join us back again tomorrow.\u00a0 Kevin Palau is going to be with us again, and we\u2019re going to talk about his hometown\u2014Portland, Oregon\u2014and how God is using the Palau organization there to make a difference where they live. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Kevin:<\/strong>\u00a0 We thought, \u2018What would it look like to serve the community, with no strings attached?\u00a0 Could we mobilize thousands of believers to love and serve the city?\u00a0 Would that help break down some stereotypes?\u2019\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 We\u2019ll hear that story tomorrow.\u00a0 I hope you can be with us.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, and our entire broadcast production team.\u00a0 On behalf of our host, Dennis Rainey, I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 We will see you back next time for another edition of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHelp for today.\u00a0 Hope for tomorrow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts to you.\u00a0 However, there is a cost to produce them for our website.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright <sup>\u00a9<\/sup> 2012 FamilyLife.\u00a0 All rights reserved.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/\">www.FamilyLife.com<\/a>\u00a0 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