Risen Magazine Fall 2014

faith hope love

Dinesh D’Souza

Author, Filmmaker & Political Commentator NFL’s Nick Novak

Perseverance and Faith Propels Chargers Kicker WNBA Champion Monica Wright

From Basketball and the Bible, to Temptations & Tough Decisions

More than Music and Movies,

Fall 2014

$6.95 USA • $7.50 Canada

Shares About Family & Faith

STAY CONNECTED Like A Country Song App

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• Access to clips, cast interviews, and bios.

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Bring Like A Country Song into your own home! The faith film set in Nashville will be available on DVD in Fall 2014. Go to LikeACountrySong.com to order your copy.

Music From The Movie

Listen to excerpts of the songs that almost become another character in the movie. Go to LikeACountrySong.com and click on “Soundtrack.” Preview 14 different songs including “Welcome to Nashville,” “Unbroken,” and the title track, “Like A Country Song.”

Download the single “Like A Country Song” performed by Billy Ray Cyrus and check out the music video as seen on CMT! Available through iTunes, and Like A Country Song app

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Chargers kicker Nick Novak at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California

THE PILLARS OF FALL As we head into the fall, three things come to mind...football, midterm elections, and movies... all of which have a strong presence in this issue of the magazine.

Just as another NFL season was about to kick off, the San Diego Chargers opened up Qualcomm stadium for us to come to the field and catch up with kicker Nick Novak. He was in the middle of practice on a hot, sunny day, but the elements didn’t distract his aim – much like the focus, determination, and perseverance this professional athlete has maintained his entire career to land him in his now coveted role. From college to family, an engagement and growing faith, Novak shares his journey to the top spot he holds today.

While some create and earn their spot on top, others campaign and are elected to their positions. This November midterm elections take place and political commentator, filmmaker and author Dinesh D’Souza tells voters what they need to know in order to be informed. Through his New York Times bestselling books, his powerful documentaries, and appearances on all the national news channels and at major universities this Indianimmigrant is dispelling myths and revealing facts concealed from most Americans.

And finally, crooner Harry Connick Jr. is keeping up his usually hectic schedule of recording music, making movies, and critiquing contestants as a judge on American Idol. His latest film Dolphin Tale 2 is perfect for the whole family. This true story has themes that crossover into Connick’s real life too, like the importance of family, integrity, faith, hope and love. This is one cover story you are sure to learn something about this gifted jazz artist that you never knew – and you’ll like him even more because of it!

So grab your favorite seasonal latte and find that spot in your home where the sun comes through the window and heats up the corner of the couch and relax with Risen as you are sure to be encouraged, inspired and challenged.

Blessings, Editor-in-Chief

contents interviews

fall 2014

>>

08 Olympian Nancy Swider-Peltz Jr. Speed Skater Steps Into Her Destiny

16 Dinesh D’Souza

Author, Filmmaker and Political Commentator

24 Chargers’ Nick Novak

Perseverance and Faith Propel NFL Kicker

30 Harry Connick Jr.

More Than Music and Movies, He Shares About Family Faith

36 WNBA’s Monica Wright

Being Wright… Basketball Star Shares Her Journey

departments

>>

Miracle 42

Domestic Violence Survivor Jessica Yaffa

Silence is Not an Option, She Speaks Out to Help Others

Outreach: 48

Q-5

Pastors Todd & Erin Stevens

Stepping Out to Extend God’s Love Led to a Unique Ministry

54

The Giver: Jeff Bridges

56

A Writer’s Thoughts: Chris Ahrens

58

Transformers: Age of Extinction: Mark Wahlberg

Expressions 60

The Cast of Like A Country Song On Their New Film

Sound 67

The Playlist

Songs That Should Be Added to Your Music Collection

PUBLISHER :: Allan Camaisa EDITORIAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF :: Kelli Gillespie CONTRIBUTING WRITERS :: Henry Ortlip, Patti Gillespie, Dave Franco Kelli Gillespie, Trish Teves COPY EDITOR: Patti Gillespie INTERNS: Cathie Haynor, Christopher Stokes

ART ART DIRECTOR :: Rob Springer CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS :: Randy Lanning, Nelbbe Photograghy, Warner Bros. Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Weinstein Co., Alcon Entertainment, Henry Ortlip, Daniel Crandall, David Sherman, James Minchin III, Wilson Webb, Mike Nowak, Rob Springer

MULTIMEDIA Parallel 6 :: www.Parallel6.com

THE RISEN PROJECT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR :: Megan Camaisa

PRINTED :: USA

PUBLISHED :: San Diego, CA

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The views and opinions expressed by the subjects interviewed are not necessarily those shared by the publisher or staff of Risen Media, LLC. All interviews remain the sole property of Risen Magazine.

All rights reserved. No part of the contents of this magazine may be reproduced without the written consent of Risen Media, LLC. Copyright © 2014 “Risen” is a Trademark of Risen Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Cover Photo :: Courtesy of Alcon Entertainment, LLC. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

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er mother was the first U.S. Olympian to compete in four different Winter Olympics, and at just a year old she was already posing for pictures with President Ronald Reagan. You could say this child had a unique calling on her life.

But it wasn’t until her teens that Nancy Swider-Peltz Jr., stepped into her destiny – a decision that would require intense training, unwavering commitment and an excitement only known to a select few. This Olympic speed skater shares with Risen her trials from overcoming injuries, her triumphs of competing in the Olympic Games, the lessons learned, and how her faith is the catalyst behind her career. And at 27 years of age she is far from finished. With sights set on the Olympics in South Korea in 2018, and even bigger goals to touch lives through her testimony, this is one American athlete making the U.S. proud.

finished ahead of her by less inally we cross the line than a second in a 3,0Interviewed 00-meterexclusively for Risenand everyone deadCalifornia Magazine in SolanaisBeach, finished ahead of her by less inally we cross theto line Risen Magazine: Your mother, Nancy Swider-Peltz Sr., was an Olympic just try them out for one practice.

[The student] just wanted get rid of the race. speed After I finished I just silent. We skates. lookSoup and we are skater competing in four Winter Games, so it is no surprise that you I tried the skates on for that one practice, and it was fun! I was second aof3,to0when 00-meter and everyone is dead havethan followed inaher footsteps.

Takein us back you knewfive-hundredths-of-a-second speed skatthinking, “Huh, I actually like this!” There were girls who were my age, the collapsed from the weight ing was your dream and not just hers. skates fit nicely, and I was having a good time. A few practices later the girls Nancy Swider-Peltz Jr.: My mom’s last Olympic Games were when I was were talking aboutWe a camplook that summer, for short-track race.

After I finished I just silent. up which andwaswe are skating nervousness, the intensity of ahead of the Canadians! one year old. I was born in January and she competed [that following] De– I am now a long-track skater – and I decided I wanted to try it out. cember, so I was just a baby. Actually, a fun fact is that she brought me with

Now, just for a little background on my parents, their philosophy is, you the race, the meaning thisweight of collapsed fromofthe five-hundredths-of-a-second her to the White House, because the Olympic team had been invited, and I give freedom, you gain commitment. They were not very interested in giving held by President Ronald Reagan! After that Olympics, she kept coachus curfews; they never grounded us, they just let us make our mistakes and win.. nervousness, itwas was so overwhelming. often of wetothe try Canadians! toown decisions. If there were mistakes we ing people. All throughoutthe the ‘90sintensity she coached Bonnie Blair’s husband,ll too of gaveahead us the freedom make our Dave Cruikshank, through four Olympics, and numerous other people. But would talk about it and learn from it. However, I was never allowed to have short something one thing I love about my mom is that she didn’t force me into the sport thatstop sleepovers. That was the one main rule that we had to abide by. the race, the meaning of this she was involved in just because that was the family thing to do. She didn’t

So, at fourteen when I asked my mom about going to this speed skatthat is painful, but from going want to be seen that way. ing overnight camp, she said, “No.” But a few weeks later, she was thinking, win. sosheoverwhelming.

As. ait waywas of babysitting, would bring me to the rink and I would tooserious often trywhyto “Wait, my daughterll just showed interest inwe speed skating, would I say through painful experience, you put on skates that always hurt because they were hand-me-downs; she a no?”

The camp was two weeks long and I really loved it. I continued to train wasn’t going to invest in equipment unless I showed a genuine interest. I was my mom and stop I decided toshort towards the Olympic trials in Decemsomething actually a swimmer for most of my childhood, up until about now eighth grade. have and ways talk towork ber of 2001,to and the Olympics in 2002, with no expectation of making the She also got me involved in things like ballet, tap dance, and baseball with team because I was too young and my mom was older. So about a year after the boys, golf, taekwondo, and a ton of other activities. She wanted to makewho are people going thoughI the that iscompetitively painful, but going I started skating was trying from to make the time cut-off for sure that I had a taste of a lot of different sports, with and without teams. the Olympic trials. All the while, my mom is training with us. By that fall

But I focused on swimming with the goal of going to the Olympics. same thing.I raced Each person a time trial, qualified forathe Olympic trials, and watchedyou my mom through ahas painful experience, Because of my mom, that Olympic goal was planted. But it wasn’t until qualify too!

2000, when I was in the transition from eighth grade to high different school, and a struggle that ways can be to talk RM: Wow! Sohave you were the youngest competitor at fourteen, and you got to part of the high school swim team, that I started getting burned out. That now to compete against your mom who was forty-five years old at the time! What spring my mom was coaching a girl who was a year older than I was, and relatable was tothatsomeone else. like? she had given my mom hand-me-down skates, and my mom wanted me to

people who are going though the same thing. Each person has a

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finished ahead of her by less than a second in a 3,000-meter race. After I finished I just collapsed from the weight of nervousness, the intensity of the race, the meaning of this win.. it was so overwhelming.

NS: Well, the night before the trials there was a drawing to pair people up for the long-track skating and my mom and I were drawn together as the first pair for skating the Olympic trials – which was hilarious. Everyone was dying laughing because we also have the same name – distinguishable by Jr. and Sr. What are the odds? We were walking around Park City, Utah the next day, and our faces were all over the newspapers with headlines about a mom and daughter racing against each other. I was actually pretty nervous – not that I wouldn’t make the team, because I had no expectation of that – but because that was my first major race. It was only a-year-and-a-half after I first started skating! Plus the 2002 Olympics were in Salt Lake City, so more people were interested in the trials than usual. It was a big deal.

RM: When your mom was training you, did she ever race against you? Was it harder, or easier for you to know what you were up against?

NS: My mom definitely had fun with it. The night before the race I was 10 Risen Magazine

(Far Right) Nancy Swider-Peltz Sr. with her 1988 Olympic Team at the White House with President Ronald Reagan holding Nancy Swider-Peltz Jr.

inally we cross the line and everyone is dead silent. We look up and we are five-hundredths-of-a-second ahead of the Canadians!

freaking out and she just went to bed because this is her eighth Olympic trials! She did four Olympics and eight Olympic trials total. She’s nuts.

[Laughs] Before the race she came over and kissed me on the cheek and I was like, “Mom! No! This is the Olympic trials!” [Laughs] But I look back and I think, “How cool was that experience?” I almost wish I had appreciated it more, but of course I was nervous; I was fourteen and she was so experienced. She beat me that race, but by March of the next year I started beating her, and I was doing really well within my age group internationally. So only two years after I started skating, I was having great success and that is when my mom started weaning out of skating and becoming more of a coach.

Training throughout high school was brutal. I trained four days a week in Milwaukee, which was two hours away, but I was still enrolled in public high school. It was definitely a commitment. So that was when I really started to realize that the present might not be too fun, but I desired that end goal. At that point, I was working towards the 2006 Olympics. I graduated high school in 2005 and took off the next year from school. I didn’t go to Wheaton College – where the majority of my friends went – I just trained. But I missed making the 2006 Olympic team. That began some of the sports-related lessons. I had had such success up to that point.

ll too often we try to stop short something that is painful, but from going through a painful experience, you now have ways to talk to people who are going though the same thing. Each person has a different struggle that can be

RM: I read something about you having health issues at the time of the trials. Was that part of the issue as to why you didn’t make the 2006 Olympic team?

NS: That fall I had discovered I was anemic, very low on iron, so that was definitely an issue. I had been struggling a bit, and I was very tired, so we had my blood tested and figured out that iron was the problem. Turns out, I was only slightly below normal levels when I was at sea level, but at altitude, the deficiency was enhanced. I had to eat liver and take iron supplements to try to regulate it as fast as possible.

RM: So after not qualifying for the Olympics you then head off to Whea-

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1988, Winter Olympics in Calgary, Nancy Sr. with Nancy Jr.

Nancy Jr. with her speed skating brother Jeffrey Jr.

ton for college. What went into this decision and were you still planning on trying again in 2010, or were the Olympic dreams done?

NS: I definitely wanted to try for another Olympics. I was frustrated with not having made the 2006 Olympic team and also skating is a sport where you can still succeed even if you’re older. But I lived in the dorms at Wheaton, and I was living a normal college life. I went to school that year, and that summer I also took some classes, but after that, I went back to skating pretty heavily. And skating was my focus for the next two-and-a-half years leading up to 2010.

win... it was so overwhelming. My mom comes out and we’re just balling and that was the best feeling ever. But it didn’t stop there. I wanted to do well at the Olympics, and since I didn’t have a good base from that fall, the next worry was my performance at the Olympics.

Another test of my faith came when we decided to scrap my boots, and go back to old boots that I used to use. These boots are about $2,000 each, and they are molded to fit my feet, but I just wasn’t feeling great in the new pair. Technique is huge in skating; it’s probably seventy-five percent of the sport. Even more than strength and endurance, it’s your angles, and rock, and the bend of the blade, so everything depends on how the boot sits on the blade and we just felt that my current boots were not helping my technique. So we switched back to the older boots, and I switched my technique to a faster-paced tempo, which is kind of unheard of in a longdistance race. Also, Dave Cruikshank [Four-time Olympic speed skater] helped to coach me alongside my mom. So I switched boots, switched technique, and switched up training.

RM: So you didn’t train while also living a traditional college life; you separated the two.

NS: I kind of had to choose. In high school, we attempted to balance training and school, but it was just too much with the drive to Milwaukee and everything else. I was committed to not going back to school for those twoand-a-half years and training for 2010. Although in the fall of 2009, I had the issue of over-training. In 2006 it was anemia, and then before the 2010 trials I would get so tired and frustrated. I would go into workouts and I wouldn’t be able to finish. I kept asking myself, “What’s going on?”

We believe that I can’t just train and expect my body to recover. I had to be proactive about certain therapy and stretching. When it came to the trials, I really didn’t know exactly what I was capable of when I went into the one race that determined whether I would go to the 2010 Olympics or not. I had to beat one girl who had the entire fall to train for this race, while I had been struggling with ups and downs. The nerves were so intense because everything came down to this one race. During the race, it literally came down to the last lap. I had gone out fast to start, but on the last lap, my competitor was coming around the turn faster than I was. My mom was yelling to me to give it everything I’ve got. I finished ahead of her by less than a second in a 3,000-meter race. After I finished I just collapsed from the weight of nervousness, the intensity of the race, the meaning of this

RM: So you were basically starting over? How much time did you have before the Olympics in Vancouver?

NS: I had six weeks. The first two weeks I was so sore because of the faster pace, and I was using muscles that I’d never used before. I was freaking out.

And another problem was that my mom was a private coach and she didn’t have the accreditation to actually be considered my coach at the Olympics, so those politics were also getting into my head. But I set all the problems aside and I ultimately turned to prayer. I just said, “Lord, thank you for allowing me to make the Olympic team in the first place.” I had to sit back and realize that my main goal had been making the Olympic team and whatever I did at the Olympics was icing on the cake. I switched perspectives and said, “Okay Lord, why am I here? What do you need me to do?”

Something I’ve always done is prayed before my actual race. We warm up off the ice, then we warm up on the ice, and finally you have a breathing risenmagazine.com 11

2010, Nancy Jr. competing in the 3,000 meters at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver

Nancy Jr. with her Mom Nancy Sr.

Nancy Jr. during Opening Ceremonies at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver

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moment right before you approach the line, and that’s when I can pray. I have a peace right beforehand. So during that Olympic race, I did have a peace about me. I smiled, and I just went! It was one of the best races of my life. It didn’t hurt like it normally does; it was a good-feeling race. I finished ninth with a goal of top ten and that was awesome to me. My second race was a team pursuit race. We went into it paired against the Canadians in the first round – it’s a process of elimination. All three of the Canadians were taking top positions in the World Cups that year, so we were pretty nervous.

They were ranked first and were predicted to win gold, not to mention the Olympics were in their home country. So the night before, we just worked on our strategy, practiced off the ice, and did some mental games – which my mom helped to lead because she believes so strongly in mental focus and picturing the race in your mind.

When we were racing the next day, we were apparently neck and neck, but we didn’t know that on the ice. Finally we cross the line and everyone is dead silent. We look up and we are five-hundredths-of-a-second ahead of the Canadians! When people ask me about the greatest moments of that Olympics – it was walking the opening ceremony, and then this moment.

Even though we ultimately took fourth place, beating those Canadian girls... ohh they were mad. [Laughs]

finished ahead of her by less than a second in a 3,000-meter race. After I finished I just collapsed from the weight of nervousness, the intensity of the race, the meaning of this win.. it was so overwhelming.

RM: Your brother has also taken to speed skating and the two of you had hopes of competing in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. What happened on that front?

NS: Jeffrey, my brother, also went to Vancouver and watched my first race, and when he got there he decided he wanted to pursue skating. At that point, he was attending Wheaton College as well as playing football. He’s super talented at everything and he actually had more of a background in skating than me because he competed much more in local races, but football was kind of his thing. He played for one year at Wheaton under my dad’s coaching but he just decided, “ You know what? I could go farther with skating.” He jumped back into skating, but the hard thing about skating is that you really need a solid base. You just need some hardcore, painful training under your belt for leg endurance and everything else, and he just didn’t have that compared to the guys he was training against. He knew it was a huge gamble, but it’s not at all a loss because now he’s going into the next four years with a strong base.

I, however, have been learning some lessons in humility. I tore my hamstring in the fall of 2010. It was misdiagnosed as a pull, rather than a tear, so it healed incorrectly with scar tissue that built up and was pulling on my nerve. That meant that when I trained hard, I would often have throbbing pain, which disrupted my sleeping. This lasted for two-and-ahalf years. So, because I wasn’t doing too well that fall, I jumped back into school at Wheaton.

RM: Because of the injury, did you even compete in the trials for the 2014 Sochi Olympics?

NS: Yes I did. Fall of 2010 I tore my hamstring, fall of 2011 I had a stress fracture on my left upper tibia, which took me out for a couple months, then I get back and made some World Cups in which I got a few good results. And finally, in the fall of 2012 I threw out my back and discovered that, from an old injury, I had a chip in part of my spine. The chip wore my discs down so I have three degenerative discs. But right around that time I discovered this woman, named Paula, in Naperville, Illinois, and she literally brought me my life back. My back was with spasms and I could barely stand up. My mom was freaking out but Paula said, “ You’ll be fine. I’ve seen bad

e

inally we cross the line and everyone is dead silent. We look up and we are five-hundredths-of-a-second ahead of the Canadians! backs and I can get you to the point of skating, no problem.” After her therapy I had no pain, and I still don’t.

I got back into training after that year-and-a-half process of recovery.

I was finally able to train hard. But unfortunately, I basically began to over train again. I got to a point of wanting to quit around the beginning of November, with the trials at the end of December. I really doubted whether I should skate at the trials. I wanted to do it for all the people who had been supporting me, but I was reaching a point of hopelessness. The big thing I had to ask myself was, “After all these years, why am I still skating?” I thought about how close we were to a medal in 2010, but I have learned that success is so fleeting. It’s great to have worldly goals, but at the same time, I always ask the Lord, “Why am I here?” I know that the Lord has brought me to skating because of networking, and sharing my faith.

The people that I am able to reach: that is why I’m skating. I hate training ninety percent of the time! [Laughs] It’s painful. It’s not fun. I know success is worthwhile, but I just have a smile when I’m able to share my faith. Skating, and being an Olympian, has also given me such a platform for sharing my faith, and I love that. After 2010, I was able to go into public schools and give my testimony, and while a lot of it had to do with the Olympics, I was able to slip in my faith story too. It was perfect. It was such a great opportunity to share my faith with a secular world. So I sat back and said, “Okay Lord, I’m going to do this for You.” I saw the Lord working through me in that moment. I changed my perspective, sucked it up, and got back out there.

Workouts started going well again, but I knew that I had three years of injury and there was a really good chance I wouldn’t make it. But I still had the focus to say, “I’m going to make it,” because you need that mindset. You can’t have doubts when you get to the line. During the trials I didn’t have great races. They were probably the best I had raced under those conditions, but I had been hoping for a miracle. Once I missed it, and realized I hadn’t made the team, it was hard. I had to stick around because I wanted to cheer for a few people… which was another lesson my mom drilled into me. She basically said, “People are watching you and when you fail, you still have to share Christ’s love.” I had to suck up my own sadness and remember that I am here on earth for the Lord, and my purpose is to share Christ’s love. He has given me the talent, but I’m using it for a ministry.

ll too often we try to stop short something that is painful, but from going through a painful experience, you now have ways to talk to people who are going though the same thing. Each person has a different struggle that can be relatable to someone else.

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ahead of the Canadians! ll too often we try to stop short something that is painful, but from going through a painful experience, you now have ways to talk to people who are going though the same thing. Each person has a different struggle that can be relatable to someone else.

I had to switch gears and figure out, “Now what do I do?” I had to decide whether I wanted to go back to school or maybe do media broadcasting for the Olympics. But the broadcasting ended up falling through so I started signing up for classes, and the first class I signed up for happened to be the [Bible] book of James. In that, we talked about finding joy in trials and letting trial run its course and I thought, “ Yeah. I have eternal life, how could I not be joyful?” I am so confident and solidified in my faith, and that’s where life should come from!

That’s where I should get my energy every day. And yes, it’s healthy to be sad, but it’s so important to always have that deep down joy because that’s why you’re here on earth. You have that eternal life. Part of it is also letting the trial run its course. All too often we try to stop short something that is painful, but from going through a painful experience, you now have ways to talk to people who are going though the same thing. Each person has a different struggle that can be relatable to someone else. We go through all of our ups and downs because the Lord is equipping us with knowledge on how to share and be His voice here on earth.

In January I was like, “How am I going to be able to watch these Olympics [in Sochi, 2014]?” But after seeing my life through the Lord’s eyes, I was able to actually enjoy watching the Olympics. I decided, “ You know what? I’m not there for a reason. And it’s probably a good reason.” I would not have been able to be a part of Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) this summer if I had gone to the Olympics. I wouldn’t have the relationships that I built with the girls I worked with, and I am so thankful that I do. Through all these experiences I have been taught something and I am now able to teach other people.

RM: Speaking of FCA, your parents met at Wheaton College at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting. How has their faith shaped your faith?

And when, and how, did you see the faith become personal?

NS: I’d say my mom has influenced my faith maybe a tad more than my dad just because I would spend hours in the car with my mom and she was such a big part of my skating world too. But what I love about my dad is that he is honest and faithful. I love seeing him work with the football players and watching his influence on them. He is such a leader. He’s on fire for 14 Risen Magazine

the Lord, and I love that about him. My mom is the coach to me, but I’m such a daddy’s girl. My mom is my best friend, but sometimes I see her as more of an authoritative figure. My mom made such a statement in skating by herself, and I love that. She passed out Bibles! My parents went to the FCA meetings sporadically. My mom was in the world, but not of it. She would go to the bars and after-parties, as would I, and be part of the celebration and craziness of skating, but neither of us has ever drunk alcohol.

We set ourselves aside from the craziness of what parties can be. I like to go to those things because they can be an opportunity for great conversation.

Conversations come up on why I’m not drinking, and I’m able to share my faith because of that.

My mom came before me and showed me how to carry the same integrity, the same characteristics, and the same faith. I’ve loved having the same name as my mom because people automatically know that I am her daughter. They can see that I know how to have fun, but I don’t have to be under the influence of alcohol or anything else. I do have to decipher that it is not because I hold myself higher than anyone else as to why I am not drinking; there is a spiritual reason behind it. My mom and I are normal people with strong faith. My mom is so outspoken and bold. I probably speak out more about my faith than she did; partly because of classes I’ve taken at Wheaton, like Evangelism, where I was taught that it is very important to be intentional about sharing my faith. Any conversation can be an opportunity to share our faith. That’s what we’re called to do! We have this joy, so why aren’t we sharing it more? We are always talking about mainstream things like fashion or media, but we don’t do that with our faith.

I’m nowhere near being great at it, but I’m slowly trying to practice that more.

Sometimes it can be stressful with so many elite athletes in the family, but when we all see the perspective of what the Lord is doing in our lives, everything falls into place. We pray and realize that we can rely on Him. We can’t control everything by ourselves. We want to, and sometimes I find it challenging to include the Lord in my life daily, but the number one thing I remind myself of is the importance of prayer. And that’s not just praying with my eyes closed and hands folded, but it’s walking through life with Him all the time and including Him in my decisions. It’s remembering that He is here, He is present, and He wants to be included in my life.

RM: With your sights set on South Korea in 2018, what will your next few years look like as you train for another Olympic Games?

NS: Pain! [Laughs] I’m probably in my worst shape right now; it’s pretty bad. I have to step back and say, “My identity is not in my physical self.” I struggle with my image when I’m not in shape because of people’s expectations of an Olympic athlete. But I have to stop caring about the judgments and remember that I love what I am doing right now. I can’t stay in that Olympic-fit shape all the time. It’s so painful! I just can’t be zero percent body fat; it’s not my body-type. Not even close. So anyway, this fall I will probably get back into some light training.

I’ll start my base back up again because I’ve done nothing training-related since the Olympic trials. I focused on school and took a harder workload so this fall will be easier for me. My brother will be training though, so I will probably work with him to slowly develop my base back. And then in December, when I graduate college, I will start fully training – which is morning and afternoon training with recovery in between. I won’t compete next year, I just want to get familiar again with skating, and after that, commit three full years of skating. So once fall of 2015 hits, I will be skating full-time.

16 Risen Magazine

Indisputable Truth’s Most Powerful Weapon Facts: Political Commentator, Filmmaker & Author

Dinesh D’Souza

Writer: Kelli Gillespie Photographer: Rob Springer

ou’ve most likely seen Dinesh D’Souza on CNN, Fox News, CNBC, PBS and a list of others TV stations as a political commentator on a number of the shows ranging from The O’Reilly Factor to Real Time with Bill Maher. He’s authored more than a dozen books with more than half of them reaching the New York Times Bestsellers list. D’Souza made two feature documentaries with his first film, 2016: Obama’s America, currently standing as the second-highest-grossing political documentary of all time. Risen had lunch and spent some time with this passionate speaker to hear more about his childhood in India, impacting the political and faith arenas through media, handling controversy, challenging students and most importantly how his personal faith has developed and grown through it all.

Interviewed exclusively for Risen Magazine at Morgan Run Club & Resort in Rancho Santa Fe, California

Risen Magazine: Born and raised in India, you then came to the United States and graduated from Dartmouth College. What was your life like growing up overseas and what was the catalyst to bring you to America?

Dinesh D’Souza: I grew up in a middle class family in Bombay, India. Middle-class in India means something different than here in America. I grew up without a phone, without a TV – we had a car, but actually if you looked at the floor of the car you could see the road. [Laughter] It was a very old car, although it did move. It was a different world. I had a happy childhood.

When I was in the 11th grade, a man came to our school and said that the rotary club of Bombay had an exchange program to send Indian kids abroad for a year to experience another culture. It intrigued me. I talked to my parents and I applied for this rotary exchange program. I came to the United States at the age of 17 to attend the 12th grade of high school. I lived in Arizona; I went to public school. I lived with four different families over the course of the year – that’s how the program works. Then everybody in my school was applying to college. So I applied and got admitted to Dartmouth. So in effect I came as an exchange student and I never went home.

While I was in college I became interested in politics, and particularly in [President Ronald] Reagan. This was the early 1980s, it was the Reaganera so I became sort of a young Reaganite in my late teens and early twenties. Then I decided to make my life in America as a writer and a speaker, and I came to Washington [D.C.] shortly after college to do that.

RM: After Dartmouth, you served as an editor at Policy Review, a conservative journal in Washington, before joining the Reagan administration in 1988 as an adviser. Where did your passion for politics develop and what fuels it today?

DD: My passion for politics developed in the 1980s because I became interested in Reagan and Reaganism. I began to read books for the first time that I had never read before. I began to think about topics that I had never considered – like what is the difference between capitalism and socialism?

Or, what does America mean in the world? And these topics meant a lot to me because having grown up in a different culture, I could see the ways in which America was different and the ways in which America was unique.

So I became interested in journalism and when I got this job at Policy Review it was a chance for me to be in Washington writing about the things that mattered to me – which at that time was Soviet communism, inflation, Central America, taxes, those kinds of issues.

Then I got a job in the White House almost by chance. I went to lunch with a bunch of guys in the White House press and they offered me a job on the spot. And I said, “I can’t take it, I’m not even a U.S. Citizen.”

I remember these guys looking at each other and one guy goes, “Well our question is, are you a Reaganite?” I said, “ Yea, sure.” And literally like 60 days later I was working in the White House. That is also something by the way, unique about America. It is kind of crazy to have non-citizens working in the White House – now I became a citizen later, but at that time I wasn’t eligible because once you get a green card, it takes five years to become a citizen. I didn’t choose to do the swimming across the Rio Grande approach; I stood in line like everybody else. [Laughter]

So I started off in journalism, then I went to the White House, then I went to the American Enterprise Institute, which is a think-tank in Washington, D.C., and I started my career writing books. In a way, America is the big topic of my political work. I’ve done work in Christian apologetics, but that’s different. But if you look at all of my books, the unifying topic is the meaning of America. That’s why this new film means a lot to me; it’s sort of a summing up of a lot of themes that I have thought about for the last 25 years.

RM: How has your faith played an important role in shaping your work and the way you view America?

DD: Initially not all. I grew up in a Catholic family in Bombay, but my family was nominally Catholic. We’d beautifully go to church every Sunday but it was not a very involved or active Christianity. It just reflected ancestry. It was the Portuguese legacy in India; my ancestors were converted to Catholicism, which is why I have a Portuguese last name. I was part of an Indian-Christian community. It was important to me. It wasn’t like it meant nothing to me because I realized things like that fact that the church brought things to India that were not there before. Quite possibly risenmagazine.com 17

Dinesh D’Souza promoting his current documentary America: Imagine a World Without Her

my family was of the Hindu low caste. When you are the bottom of the caste system, you can’t move, it’s not based on merit; it is totally based on birth. Then along comes the Christians and say everybody is a brother in Christ and so the low caste Hindus are like, “We’re outta here” – because they were able to join a religion that offers global human brotherhood. Christianity is not the only religion that does that; Islam does too. Which is why a bunch of Hindus converted to Islam also. So I recognize Christianity had a liberating influence in India, yet it wasn’t something that I thought a lot about.

The initial appeal to me of America was not economic opportunity, but that it allowed you to do things with your life that you couldn’t do elsewhere. Like in America if I really wanted to I could become a comedian, in India if you told people you wanted to become a comedian they would want to give you medicine. They think you are nuts, literally out of your mind.

So your life is much more defined. If your dad is an accountant, generally you want to become an accountant. And if not, family pressure will come down on you. So this big idea of being able to make your own life – and I don’t just mean career – I mean marry whoever you want, and live wherever you want, think however you want; I recognize America offers these things.

I would say I discovered my faith for the first time in adulthood. In the conservative world I met conservative Catholics who were very serious about their faith. And I also met Evangelical Christians for whom faith was not just a Sunday phenomenon, but it was actually infused in their everyday life. And it involved the idea of not simply just following commandments and revering God, but having an interior relationship with Christ; and I saw that made them better people. Even if it didn’t make them better people, it made them aspire to be better people. So it showed me a Christianity that

Actor Jon Voight, Producer Gerald Molen and Dinesh D’Souza

was deeper, stronger, and bigger than the Christianity I had seen as a kid, and I identified with it.

My own faith had deepened, but my work was in a different area – mainly politics. At that time, I was a fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford. One day I turned on the TV and I see someone I know, Christopher Hitchens, a prominent atheist debating a pastor, I think from Birmingham, Alabama, and really making the pastor look bad. I realized that is not a fair debate. The pastor is not trained to do this.

The pastor probably went to divinity school and is trained to teach the Bible. Whereas Christopher Hitchens is a very formidable political figure with a strong liberal arts background and he was sort of ridiculing this guy and I thought, “Pick on someone your own size.” So I got the idea to jump into that debate, over God and Christianity. I thought it would be interesting to me to bring my work and faith closer together. So I sent a note off to Christopher Hitchens basically saying, “Hey why don’t you and I do a debate?” And then I began to work on a book called, What’s So Great About Christianity, which came out in 2007.

From [that time] I essentially moved into a second career. I didn’t give up my main focus of politics, but I began to write in Christian apologetics and I also began to debate a lot of the leading atheists around the world. I’ve debated about 10 of them and some of them more than once – Hitchens the most because our debates were the feistiest, there was a huge demand, and

it involved the idea of not simply just following commandments and revering God, but having an interior relationship with Christ; and I saw that made them better people.

18 Risen Magazine

Dinesh D’Souza filming a scene form his documentary America: Imagine a World Without Her at the border.

they’re the most widely watched debates between a Christian and an atheist on the web. I wrote two more books in Christian apologetics, one called, Life After Death and the other on God and suffering.

RM: You’ve written more than a dozen books ranging from religion to politics and presidents, with the last two turning into documentary films. How have your writings impacted culture and what led toward the decision to start making movies?

DD: I realize that there are two-dozen Christian apologists that are out there but pretty much all of them live in the church world. They speak at the youth conferences and the pastor conferences, but you never see them on CNN; you never see them in the Washington Post – and that’s my career. I thought, “I’ll be the Christian apologist who is on the frontline in secular culture.” So that was my focus.

In politics, I developed an audience that really liked my books – the audience is a mixture of young conservatives, an older audience of successful people, and women between 35-60 years old. I was very lucky; my first book [Illiberal Education, 1991] kind of popularized the phenomenon around political correctness. It was a New York Times Bestseller for 15 weeks and I had the good fortune of coming onto the map right away. Now I’ve written 13 books and about 7-8 of them have been New York Times Bestsellers. It wasn’t until my book, Obama’s America, which went to #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list that the publishing world paid attention, but even at #1 it will sell around 150,000 copies. Generally for a non-fiction author, that is an astronomically big number and an author’s dream. And yet, I said to myself, “That’s a big number, but how do you reach a million people? How do you reach five million people?” Now, I can try harder, and write better, and promote more effectively, but there are just so many people in America who will buy a hardcover non-fiction book. So I realized if I want to reach a wider audience, then I have to change the medium. That’s when I got the idea of making movies.

I got the idea from Michael Moore [liberal Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker] basically, and this is a bit condescending, but if a stupid guy like him can do it, I should be able to do it. Now I realize that is

a little unfair. Michael Moore is actually a clever filmmaker – he knows what a lot of conservatives and Christians don’t know that you shouldn’t make a film to do messaging, films are about entertainment. If you make a film that is emotionally powerful and entertaining, you can package all kinds of information in it and people will digest it. But if you go out there and make a film on Obamacare in order to do messaging, it’s likely to fail catastrophically – like Obamacare by the way! [Laughter] Michael Moore knows that and you have to give him credit for that. That is why he has six films in the top 10.

I didn’t know if I could pull it off but I decided to go raise some money and see if I could do it. I wanted to make a film that people really wanted to go to; it’s the film everybody is talking about and if you don’t see it, you’re missing out. I wanted to find a good guy to partner with me on this and I found Gerald Molen. Jerry is Hollywood legend – longtime partner with Steven Spielberg, he’s a conservative in his 70s, he’s got his Academy Award – and he said, “Yea Dinesh, I’d be happy to help you.” So we put our team together and off we went. And we made 2016: Obama’s America [2012]. What helped us with 2016 is that we were able to find information about Obama that nobody had; that made the film really successful. It was stuff about Obama that people didn’t know, and they should know, and the press wasn’t covering it – so it gave us a window of opportunity. But we didn’t have the knowledge or the talent then to make this current film [America]; this film is a different caliber than 2016.

RM: Your first film, 2016: Obama’s America, came at such an important time because it was released during the 2012 Presidential campaign and took a look at the possibility of the President being elected to a second term and where the country might be in 2016. It was a huge success and is currently the second-highest-grossing political documentary of all time. How did you see this film most affect its audience?

DD: It affected audiences because it was a little bit of a horror movie.

The people that watched 2016 in the theater were stunned. It showed that Obama is a very different kind of a democrat, no one really knew what he was up to, and the film basically made you say, “What have we done?” It risenmagazine.com 19

20 Risen Magazine

ended by making some predictions about Obama, which by-and-large have come true. What’s good about the film is that it stands up really well almost three years later. And if you look at it now you’re like, “Wow! That is kind of what’s been happening around here.”

RM: One of the things I liked about your current film, America: Imagine a World Without Her, is that you bring up several misconceptions about the U.S. and then proceed to point towards the truth in the situations. What was your goal with this film and how would you encourage people to take action?

DD: I think one message is that information is really powerful. What I mean by that is the reason I’m able to let the Left rail against America in the movie is that I know I have better information than they do. They can give it their best shot, but my best shot is better. And not only am I able to do that in a film where I’m able to control the editing, but I’m happy to walk into MSNBC and take on three Leftists and crush them all. Just the other day I was on NPR’s On Point and there was a rabid host who keeps interrupting me while I just talk calmly. But the host gets so agitated that you think he would have to be carried out on a stretcher. And this was all happening in one hour. He could barely speak, and I love that because what it shows is that when you put in systematic facts, one after another, the Left is speechless. They like it when we [conservatives] do punditry because then they can do punditry, but facts are much more powerful than punditry. Bringing a powerful arsenal of facts shows you that if you are prepared, you are a very dangerous American. The same thing is true about being a Christian. Don’t get caught napping when your kid comes up to you and says, “Hey Dad, how do I know Jesus even existed? What’s the historical evidence that there ever really was a Jesus?” Now remarkably, most parents – and I would venture to say quite a few pastors – wouldn’t know the answer. They would say, “Uh, read the Bible.” But remember that we are living in secular culture now, and our kids are going to college, and our kids are getting two truths – one truth on Sunday, and another truth Monday through Friday. It can be confusing if these truths cannot be reconciled or if they can’t figure out which one is the truth. So my point is in the Christian world, no less in the political world, the first step is to have at least a basic understanding of what you believe if you intend to be out there defending it.

a certain amount of debt has been accumulated from [President George] Washington to President George W. Bush – and even [President George W.] Bush, who’s spent a lot of money, can’t come close to President Obama.

I was on the Bill Maher show and he tried to say, “I’ve heard a lot about the Reagan deficits in the 1980s…” and I said, “ Yes, Reagan’s deficits were 200 billion dollars a year, but Obama’s are over a trillion. So Obama’s debts are five times greater than Reagan’s. In fact, the debt that Regan accumulated over eight years is roughly similar to what Obama has accumulated in one year.

You can make a comparison, but the comparison itself is telling.” Bill Maher says, “That can’t be right?!” But I never heard from him again. Believe me, he went to his fact checkers after the show and discovered that what I said was correct. But look at young people today; it is much harder for kids to get jobs. Even kids who are graduating from good colleges are working at Starbucks. So my point to them is I don’t know if you should blame Obama, but rather blame yourselves for voting for him. Unless you want the country to keep moving in this direction you should try something different. Now the Republicans, will they do better? They’ve got major problems.

it showed me a Christianity that was deeper, stronger, and bigger than the Christianity I had seen as a kid, and I identified with it.

RM: With midterm election this November, as the House of Representatives and the Senate seats are contested, what does the average person need to understand in order to be an informed voter?

DD: I think the simple question to ask in the midterm election is this: “We’ve been seeing what has been happening in the country over the past six years, would we like to see more of it over the next two, four, or eight years?”

For example, when President Obama came into office, the national debt was eight-and-a-half trillion; it’s now 17 trillion. So this man has singlehandedly doubled the national debt during his presidency and that is a fact.

That is the kind of fact that gets your attention because that means that

RM: Your life hasn’t been without controversy when it comes to behavior, or your divergent political stance and oftentimes a religious viewpoint that causes dissention amongst the masses. How do you handle the criticisms and hate whether it’s warranted or not?

DD: The very best tool with dealing with controversy is to learn to enjoy it, and I’m totally at that point. In other words when I go on social media and I post a tweet, within seconds, half-a-dozen Leftists will come on and just trash me. These are paid activists who work for Left-wing organizations and their job is to track me! It shows you a little bit about how they think, there’s no one on our side that is doing this to the Left. The goal is to demoralize me. But what I’ll do is I’ll let this go on and after a little while I’ll tweet out something like, “It’s really fun for me to see all these Leftists blasting me every time I put out a tweet. It shows me I’m being really effective. So keep it up guys, I find it super encouraging!” And literally the number of people doing that will go down because they’ll be so demoralized and confused.

But I’m not kidding; I actually am encouraged. For example, for our movie sometimes I would hear from a radio guy, “When I go on RottenTomatoes.com [movie rating site] I’ve noticed your critic rating is 15 percent and your audience rating is 90 percent.” And I say, “Where is the problem? The only problem I see is that the critical rating is way too high. [Laughs] I’d like it to be around five percent, I have to work harder!” Because if the audience likes it, who cares what the critics say? My point is that it’s a tough arena out there, that’s the nature of our politics and if you want to be effective I don’t see an alternative but to engage. With Christians, I have to say the conservatives in general have more guts on average, and what I mean by that is when I’m at a college campus I can count on conservatives putting up posters and when people take them down, the conservatives put them back up. By contrast with Christians, when I walk up and say, “I want to have a debate with somebody else at this university.” I get, “Well we’re Christians, we don’t really want to risenmagazine.com 21

have a debate we really prefer dialogue.”

[Laughter] I like dialogue but a debate is like a dialogue in which you win, so what’s the big deal? Why not?

And the thing is when you give a talk on campus you’re going to get about 100 students, but if you have a debate you can get 800 students, so which is the better evangelistic tool?

Bringing a powerful arsenal of facts shows you that if you are prepared, you are a very dangerous American.

The same thing is true about being a Christian.

RM: Let’s talk about you speaking all across the country and at many schools and universities. When you are invited to speak do you get to pick the topic and what kind of feedback do you usually get?

DD: Usually I pick the topic and I pick based on the topic and the issues of the day. And I base it on what I think the students need to hear and sometimes I’m actually kind of rough on them. Recently I gave a talk at Amherst College – this is a college of really smart kids who are super arrogant, and overwhelmingly on the Left, to them the height of ignorance is being a conservative Christian – so I go to Amherst and there is a huge crowd there and there are about 10 people with signs protesting outside. So my first thing is to go up to the protesters, I don’t argue with them, I say, “For a bunch of protestors, you are a pretty sorry group. First of all, you are only 10. Your cause must really stink that on a campus that agrees with you, you’ve only got 10 guys.” And I continue to say, “Half of you are smiling, this is not a sign of protest. Protestors need to be angry – you need to scowl, you need to look oppressed and have a lot of anger and angst in your face.” So these guys start to get really uncomfortable and then I say, “Look, why don’t you come inside. I was going to speak for 45 minutes, but I’ll speak for 30. My deal with you is don’t start yelling and screaming like an ass, just listen to me for 30 minutes and then it’s your turn.

You guys can come up to the mic and we can have at it. Let’s see who is right. And we’ll have a big audience to listen to us.” So they do it. They put their posters 22 Risen Magazine

down and come in and sat in the back.

The key is to walk into the lion’s den without fear. My thought is that I go up to the front and I say, “One of the main rules about giving a talk to any audience is to not insult the audience.” I say, “I will be violating this rule from the beginning in this talk.” I continue to say, “Let me begin by telling you that your teachers have told you that you are the smartest generation in human history, you are the most sophisticated, there is no generation that actually comes close to you in terms of knowledge, wisdom, insight, and compassion and I am here to tell you that this is simply not true.”

I say, “ You’re actually one of the stupidest generations – certainly of the past 50 years, I can’t speak for all of American history – and I’m really here to prove it. So I’ll be telling you stuff you’ve never heard before, you are going to start yelling and screaming and then we are going to start discussing those things and you are going to discover how little you know. So let’s get started.” Now, you might think that is a horrible approach, but actually it is a brilliant approach perfectly calculated to get their attention, it appeals to their pride, and it also gets their curiosity. Who the heck does this? And they like it. Even though it’s not the normal way, it’s a great way to get into a conversation. This is a way to engage with idealism of young people and to challenge them on the ground of their morality. I like speaking on campuses and I probably would do more of it if I wasn’t doing the film, America, right now. The documentary is a way to reach the wide public audience, and the campuses are a way to reach an influential audience of young people. So I’m trying to do a little of both.

risenmagazine.com 23

Alan and Lisa Robertson

TT

Writer: Kelli Gillespie Photographer: Rob Springer

he setting: Standing in Qualcomm Stadium watching San Diego Chargers kicker Nick Novak finish up an intense practice with a few other guys while challenging himself from all different markers – including past the 50-yard line – and like a well-oiled machine, every football falling right between the goalposts. Impressive in an empty arena and mesmerizing in a sold-out stadium with 71,000 fans erupting in cheer as Novak’s kick puts the home team ahead. This soccer-star-turnedfootball-player holds the best place-kicking regular season record in Chargers history, but it didn’t come easy. Discipline, hard work, capitalizing on opportunities, optimism and shear faith are all threads woven into the fabric of Novak’s background that allows him to be strong and confident today. Risen sat down with the 33-year-old to talk sports, mentors, faith, giving back, and the uniqueness of being a twin.

Interviewed exclusively for Risen Magazine at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California Bible studies are are You have have to to have have in in Bible studies You probably the the best best tegrity when when you you’’rr probably tegrity opportunity for for in this this position position bebe opportunity in players to to open open up up cause you you can can’’tt jus jus players cause about what what is is going going put on on aa mask mask –– you you about put on in in our our lives. lives. actually have have to to bb on actually good person person when whe aa good nobody’’ss watching watching! nobody Risen Magazine: You grew up in San Diego before your family moved back east and you have two brothers, a twin and an older brother. What was life like growing up in the Novak household?

Nick Novak: It was sports every day, all the time. My parents were carpooling other kids to soccer tournaments. We were always in the backyard competing, my older brother especially. We would play best of three, and then it became best of ten because he hated losing. That was around age 10 or 11.

My parents always tried to get us to go to church on Sunday and us boys always put up a fight. But I remember it was an important part of our life.

For me, having a twin [brother] was special. It was interesting because you always have a best friend. We moved from San Diego to Virginia and that transition was easier for us I think because we were in the same grade.

And then with sports you automatically had twelve new friends playing soccer. My older brother set a great example for us when it came to working hard.

He went on to play Division 1 soccer in college. He’s now a DA [District Attorney] in Dallas. My parents are both professors and very academic people so they always pushed us to go to college – it was never an option not to go.

RM: All three of you boys played sports and were collegiate athletes. Did you always get along; were you super competitive, and what are your dynamics now?

NN: My twin and I always played on the same team – club soccer and baseball. My other brother is three-and-a-half-years older so we weren’t on the same team. There is something called the Olympic Development Program (ODP) in soccer where they weed guys out into district, regional, and national levels and that is eventually how they pick the national soccer team. Well my twin brother made it a step farther than me and that was when I was like, “Ah, my brother is better than me?! I’m done with soccer.” Right around that sophomore year of high school is when I started kicking for the football team. We all remain close. My twin brother is married, I recently

got engaged, and my older brother Andrew got engaged on the same day as I did, July 4th.

RM: So it sounds like soccer was your main sport and it wasn’t until high school that you switched to playing football. At that time did you think football would be a career or just something to hopefully pay for college?

NN: Pro was never a thought until maybe my sophomore year of college.

Going to college was the only way to even hope for a pro opportunity. I got kind of burnt out from soccer. I loved it, I still love it; I watched every game of the World Cup. But I started playing football, honestly, because my Earth Science teacher, who was also the head coach in football, convinced me to do it. I knew nothing really about the rules of the game. I put my pads on wrong my first practice, my jersey was on backwards, I was nervous, and it was quite a learning experience from that first day. But I ended up having a pretty good first year. Once I touched a football and learned the technique – from a local family here in San Diego who we grew up playing soccer with – they taught me how to kick and I was obsessed. I have a personality where if I want to get good at something, I go all out. I fell in love with it and trying to be the best. Trying to master kicking and be the most efficient on and off-season.

RM: It’s no surprise that to play in the NFL takes a lot of discipline and hard work, but that would be a giant understatement to describe your career.

Take us back to your rookie year in 2005, with all the accomplishments and accolades, you still spent time with four teams that year. What was your mindset?

NN: Thank God when I first got to college I had to compete for my job so I learned right away what it took to earn a position. Once I was chosen for the job [kicker for University of Maryland] and had it for four years, there were still ups and downs. If you had a bad game and you went to class you had people commenting on your performance. risenmagazine.com 25

T Bible studies are probably the best opportunity for players to open up about what is going on in our lives.

RM: [Laughter] You got to learn about crazy fans and critics early on!

NN: Yeah right?! Even at the college level, it’s a business. But as soon as I got to the professional level – the Chicago Bears picked me undrafted – I had to go to training camp against a 15-year veteran who was married and had kids. This wasn’t just a college kid; this was a 36-year-old man providing for his family. I thought to myself, “Okay, I’m just going to do the best I can.” I learned a lot from that camp and it was very close, but I didn’t get the job. So my rookie year, yes, I played for four teams – the Bears, Cowboys, Redskins and Cardinals. And at the end of that season the Cardinals kept me for the off-season and the following camp.

The first experience I had with team Bible Studies was with Kurt Warner and the Arizona Cardinals. It was the first time I started thinking, “it’s not all about me,” and “I don’t have to be perfect.” I could let go a little bit. Having Kurt as a mentor was huge. Then I went back to the Redskins and got connected with another strong Christian guy, Mark Burnell. I was always blessed to go to teams with spiritual leaders. And now, [on the Chargers] I have Darrell Stuckey, who is always speaking and constantly trying to grow, and as hard as it is to be a Christian – especially as a professional athlete – he is genuine and lives out his faith on a daily basis and is not fake about it. I’m lucky to have a lot of people to hold me accountable.

RM: The following five years, football would take you all over the country, and even Europe. How did you stay positive and motivated as you were bouncing from team to team?

NN: I guess it’s cliché, but you have to fail in order to succeed and I‘ve learned from every opportunity and just tried to be as coachable as possible.

As hard as it is to get fired, to get cut, you realize it is your dream and you 26 Risen Magazine

are not going to give up. I always figured out how to get better. I sought out coaching and I surrounded myself with people that really cared about me and wanted me to succeed – my parents, family, and friends. I’ve just never had the mindset to give up and get on to my next career. I always knew I was going to give football at least 10-12 years to try to make it. And I was lucky enough to get to do that because I had so much support I didn’t just have to jump into a career right away. For kickers, especially in this league, you have to go through some tough years. For me it came down to timing here in San Diego. I was filling in for a great kicker, Nate Kaeding, and doing the best I could and the job just happened to open up. I was in the right place at the right time making the most of the opportunity. You never know how many opportunities you are going to get, and fortunately I’ve had quite a few. I know plenty of kickers who are talented enough that should’ve gotten an opportunity and never did. Playing in San Diego now, having grown up here, with a team that has always had great kickers – I never thought there would be an opportunity here. So four years ago when they did call, it was a dream come true.

You have to have integrity when you’re in this position because you can’t just put on a mask – you actually have to be a good person when nobody’s watching!

RM: Once you signed a multi-year deal with the Chargers, what was going through your mind?

NN: Yea, that was unchartered territory for me. I had never been in that position where I got to sign a contract for 4-5 years or what not. So I kind of played tricks on myself last year in practice because I wasn’t in competition [Novak already had earned the top spot] and I would tell myself, “Okay, you are in competition and you are the second guy up kicking after the incumbent and trying to match his kick.” So I would play those tricks in my head convincing myself I was still trying to win the job. The other thing is you can never relax or get comfortable in this business because teams are always looking for better. In San Diego, I think the coaches do a really good job at showing the guys they pick that they trust them, and have confidence in them as players.

Don’t get me wrong, it is all about winning, but if you do your job, it is a very enjoyable experience.

RM: Well you definitely did your job last season [2013]. Statistically, you had the best place-kicking regular season record in Chargers history. What do you attribute the success to?

NN: That was important to me, to be able to sign a contract and have a solid year. I wanted to prove that I deserved it. I had a lot of years of practice and I felt very confident with the group I was working with since they were with me through the entire off-season, training camp, and preseason all the way to the start of the season. That was huge. As a kicker, it’s very common to be signed mid-season or late in the season. You would have a one-day tryout on Tuesday, then you’re signed, you practice Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and play the next game. Kickers have to be very adaptable. So that was a really big thing – my comfort with those guys, with the organization, and with the city. I don’t want to say that I got “comfortable” here; it’s just really nice to be practicing with the same guys on a daily basis. I know the level of success they’ve had here with kickers, so that heightens the intensity. People say, “What’s it like to fill Kaeding’s shoes?” I’ve always just tried to be myself and kick the best that I can. And playing with a powerful offense, like the one Phillip Rivers runs, you know you’re going to be in the red zone and you’re going to be either scoring touchdowns or in field goal range. So I’ll practice with skinnier poles with the philosophy of “Aim small, miss small.”

This is a very unique locker room in San Diego. I’m so close with the teammates I have, and everyone’s almost like family. We spend a lot of time together off the field, which I think is so important. The teams that make it

Photo: Mike Nowak risenmagazine.com 27

to playoffs and win the Super Bowl are the teams that hang out off the field.

They don’t just disappear and see each other at work. It’s not just a business.

The other great thing is that Coach Mike McCoy creates a very familyoriented environment.

You have to have integrity when you’re in this position because you can’t just put on a mask – you actually have to be a good person when nobody’s watching!

RM: What is the biggest misconception about pro-football players?

NN: At least in my experience, there aren’t a ton of drugs; there aren’t a ton of crazy parties where cars are being sawed in half by the offensive linemen.

[Laughs] These are men trying to provide for their families.

RM: Let’s talk about your faith and how that shaped your character and helped you to weather whatever was coming your way. Where are you now in regards to your faith?

NN: I remember in high school I went to Young Life events. Going to church was hit or miss based on soccer tournaments and things like that.

I didn’t really go to my first Bible study until college at the University of Maryland. I met a strong group of believers there through the FCA [Fellowship of Christian Athletes]. And then I got saved when I was a Redskin.

But I eventually realized that being saved is not a one-time thing. Being a Christian can be very difficult, and I just recently got saved again through The Rock church in San Diego. It was amazing. It was up on a mountaintop with a bunch of professional athletes, and there was so much energy and a ton of great speakers. I actually just spoke at a big breakfast with some other athletes where dads and their sons came and listened to us sharing our stories.

RM: Seems like there are quite a few men of faith in the NFL – high profile guys like Kurt Warner, Drew Brees or Tim Tebow, and even on your own team with Phillip Rivers, Darrell Stuckey, Vincent Brown… and those are just guys I know about. What kind of role does faith have amongst teammates and players? What is the relationship between men of faith within football?

NN: Vincent Brown and I were actually saved together on that same day of the event put on through The Rock. He’s become a great friend since I’ve been a Charger. He’s a guy I can really talk to. But Bible studies are prob-

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ably the best opportunity for players to open up about what is going on in our lives. I have a great mentor, Paul Woodside, who I’ve known for about fifteen years, and he’s a kicking coach, and everything he teaches is faithbased. He relates the Bible to everything, and he has always mentored me through my whole career.

But with the players, if you know you’re like-minded, it’s just a matter of sitting down and talking. You can tell if a guy is a believer though, just in the way he carries himself and runs his household. A Christian man is a leader.

It’s easy to see those characteristics in Stuckey or Rivers, for example. They lead in everything they do. But they come last in their households. They build everybody up; their kids, their wife. Instead of having the mindset of me-me-me-me, you don’t worry about yourself; you take care of your family.

RM: Speaking of taking care of others, whether you’re slipping into Rady Children’s Hospital unannounced, or checking in on kids that need a positive male leader in their lives, you have spent a lot of time when you could have easily been doing something else, by blessing others. What about that brings you joy?

NN: As a professional athlete you have the ability to walk up to someone who is, say, a huge Chargers fan, and instantly change their day, or maybe even influence them in some greater way. My mom was a caregiver; she’s a nurse practitioner. My dad is an audiologist. So they’ve definitely taught me the importance of helping others. For instance, when it comes to children with cancer and you see how young and vulnerable they are, it is really moving. Some of those kids won’t be going home. And to be an adult doing what you love, sometimes you take things for granted when all seems to be going well. I think, “I don’t deserve this,” or, “These kids don’t deserve this.” And preventing bullying is something important to me too.

RM: Do you view your platform as a responsibility, or just a way to make a difference with a little larger spotlight than others might have?

NN: It is an exciting challenge. It holds me at a high standard. You have to have integrity when you’re in this position because you can’t just put on a mask – you actually have to be a good person when nobody’s watching!

Regardless of whether I was a professional athlete or not, I would have the same responsibility. I would want to be a positive influence in a kid’s life, or a young man’s life, no matter what. Representing the Chargers is a dream come true, but representing them while also being a part of the community is so important. When you see a kid’s face, and you see the impact you have... when you see a kid go from wanting to kill themselves to not wanting to kill themselves, that means something. Or seeing a kid go from not having friends to having a friend who is a professional athlete, as superficial as that is, and as sad as it is that people need to see that to have respect for someone, it matters. Whatever it takes for a kid’s life to get easier is worth my time.

I think it would be a disservice if any of us, as professional athletes, didn’t do something. Like I said, you can’t be selfish. It’s not about performing on Sunday and collecting the paycheck. I want to have a legacy after I’m done playing football. We’re all going to be done before we’re forty, late forties if we’re lucky, and we’re going to have so much time after we’re done. You see some pros mismanage their money, or live in excess while they’re playing, so that’s definitely something to watch out for.

RM: And one of the legacies you want to leave is the foundation you’re starting so that you can better use your time and resources, and make a bigger impact through the things you are doing. Tell us about your vision for that.

Photo: Mike Nowak

NN: Yeah, we are in the beginning stages, but I’ve always loved helping other foundations. I haven’t really pinpointed the specifics, but I think I would like to focus on kids with cancer, with the goal being to donate money to cancer research. But I also want to continue helping other foundations like Life Rolls On, which is helping people dealing with paralysis. I went to an event recently where they took paralyzed veterans out in the ocean to surf.

All these volunteers come out to help the people out of the wheelchairs and onto the boards – it’s really amazing being able to see these people doing something they thought they never could. They have an incredible resilience with no limitations.

RM: And on top of all that, you have your own kicking school. Talk to us about that.

NN: Yes, I guess you could call it the Nick Novak Kicking Academy. I started it back in 2009 when I was unemployed in Maryland. I practiced a lot, but I had a lot of time on my hands so I took kids for one-on-one lessons, and it kind of turned into mentorship for the kids as well. I love giving back and so whenever I get the opportunity to coach I take it. I don’t know where I see the camp going because I want to keep it pretty small and just work oneon-one since I like personal interaction with the kids.

RM: What would you say to a kid who might have dreams of playing in the NFL, especially as a kicker?

NN: It’s important to have a never-give-up attitude. You have to know that it’s not easy. There are only thirty-two jobs as a kicker in the NFL. Opportunities come when guys get injured or don’t perform well. Also, if you do get the opportunity to participate in a camp and compete, it’s important to make the most of that opportunity, because if something did happen to the starter that season, you’d be the first one they would call. It’s about always having the mindset, “I’m the guy, I’m the guy” and just kicking the best that you can, because you never know what could happen. And then it’s just making that commitment. It’s going to be a ten-year commitment at least, if you are not drafted. There can be success in guys who bounce around to different teams every year, and then there are those rare guys, like Kaeding, who are part of a team for ten years or more. It just comes down to great coaching, and not losing your faith that something will work out. You’ll always have people saying, “ You have to move on to a real career. Use your degree for something.” You don’t want to look back and say, “I didn’t give it everything.” risenmagazine.com 29

Photo: James Minchin III 30 Risen Magazine

un·par·al·leled

Harry Connick Jr. Writer: Kelli Gillespie Photographer: Wilson Webb

e’s a three-time Grammy winner, a two-time Emmy winner, and has two Tony nominations. He’s been inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame and has had more #1 albums than any other jazz artist in the country. Harry Connick Jr. is not only one of the most accomplished artists, he also happens to be one of the nicest and most thoughtful in the business; he’s just an all-around class act.

Born and raised in New Orleans, Connick was performing as a pianist and vocalist at the age of five. His talent continued to develop through mentorship and schooling and quickly launched him into a decorated career. In 1989 he was asked to put together the soundtrack for the romantic comedy, When Harry Met Sally (starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan). The soundtrack achieved double-platinum status in the United States and Connick won his first Grammy Award for Best Jazz Male Vocal Performance for his work on the soundtrack.

Connick went on to make many more albums while adding acting to his career. His film work ranges from Independence Day with Will Smith, to Hope Floats with Sandra Bullock, to his current film Dolphin Tale 2 re-teaming for the sequel with Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd. He’s been seen in a number of roles on television including playing Debra Messing’s husband on Will & Grace, and of course his returning role as a judge on American Idol.

Off screen he’s a devoted husband and family man, recently celebrating 20 years of marriage to his former Victoria’s Secret model wife Jill Goodacre, and spending time investing in their three daughters. Risen sat down with the successful multi-talented star in Clearwater, Florida, to talk about the staples – faith, hope and love.

Interviewed exclusively for Risen Magazine in Clearwater, Florida

Risen Magazine: Instilling values and creating trust with kids as they mature is a definite skill. In your film, Dolphin Tale 2, we see this played out with your onscreen daughter, but in real life you have three daughters at ages where communication is key. What have you found to be the best ways to connect with teens?

Harry Connick Jr.: You’re in the driver’s seat as a parent and as unwilling at times as they may be, or I may be to communicate, I think communication is key. I think you need to pick and choose your times, and this goes for me as much as them. Sometimes people are more available than other times, but ultimately I think the goal is to have an open line of communication, even when you may not use it, but to know that it’s always there; and that has to start from day one.

RM: When it comes to wisdom or advice within your own life, who do you generally turn to?

HCJ: I go to my dad. I am so lucky to have him, he’s 88 years old and he’s as much a part of my life as he’s ever been. He’s still the guy that has all the answers, even if it’s a situation that is unique to me; he always seems to be able to help me navigate it. So I feel really lucky to have him and trust him.

RM: Does he offer advice unsolicited, or only once you come and ask?

HCJ: Sometimes, but you know, I listen. He’s been down the road before

and that is something that I think is important. I try to explain that to my kids too. Even when my dad talks to them, I tell them, “Be quiet and listen to what he’s saying. Just listen. No matter what you think, just listen.” Not only is it a respect thing, but you actually learn things when you are not firing back. Not that you can’t have a dialogue – my dad and I have healthy disagreements about things all the time – but ultimately, I think I come away learning more than he does.

RM: Your character has such integrity in the film, a trait I think you share with him. Talk to me about how you make tough decisions – ones where you know what’s true, or right, despite whether the mainstream agrees with you?

HCJ: I think it goes back to your value system and how you were raised. I know what is right. Some decisions are difficult to make, sometimes there are gray areas that make certain things harder to do, but you have to do what is right, and that is hard to do sometimes, it just is. There are some situations where you think, “It sure would be easy to skim over it and take another route.”

I think it takes a lot of discipline and strength to constantly adhere to your values. We all know the right thing to do. There are ways to do it, like if you need to confront someone about something that is bothering you; there are infinite ways to do that. I think what comes with age is your ability to know tone, but the message is always the same and I think you need to stick to what you believe. risenmagazine.com 31

RM: Speaking of what you believe, some people have parents that are Christians, or they went to Catholic school, or they go to church on holidays. What does faith look like in your life?

HCJ: Faith is important to me. I was brought up with a Catholic father, and a mother who was raised Jewish, but non-denominational when I knew her, so I saw things from a lot of different perspectives. Faith is an interesting thing because it has ebbs and flows. I wasn’t given the traditional Christian upbringing – we went to church every Sunday – but I didn’t get baptized until I was 14 years old. For me, it seems like faith is what God wants it to be for me, which is different than anybody else, and everyone has their own ways of doing things. For whatever reason, I was dealt this hand of cards and my definition of faith is not necessarily as cut and dry as some people. In simple terms it means; sometimes my faith is stronger at times than other times. But it’s in those times of question that sometimes you can discover new things.

I think it takes a lot of discipline and strength to constantly adhere to your values. We all know the right thing to do.

enough to live through adversity, invariably new doors will open. There is reason to go on.

RM: I read that you and your wife both thought each other could be “the one” when you first met, but still took a couple years of dating and then engagement just to be sure. This year, celebrating 20 years of marriage, what do you attribute the strength of your commitment to, when so many marriages, Hollywood or not, end in divorce?

HCJ: I think you said it when you said commitment.

It’s a commitment; you are making a commitment.

This isn’t something I’m doing for 10 years, or 20 years, it’s a long haul, for the rest of my life. I’ve got one wedding ring and that’s the only one I want. Relationships are complex. She happens to be my best friend, I happen to like being with her more than anybody else. Now things are complicated because we have three children. So this isn’t some kind of game.

This is about giving meaning to your life, and now we are shaping and forming three other little beings, it’s serious. Fortunately, it’s awesome and fun. But it’s about commitment and you have to commit.

RM: As a celebrity, people are always watching your behavior, the decisions you make personally and artistically. How has your faith influenced your values and overall character?

HCJ: A lot of the decisions I make are driven by people that have influence in my life – my father, my mother, my aunts and my uncles, my wife, my children. When you make a decision you have to realize that, especially in the public eye, your decisions affect other people. If I make decisions that at the time seem like they are great, I may have to answer for some of those things later in life. Not only for personal reasons, and for faith-based reasons, but for other people. Simply put, I try not to do anything that would embarrass people that love me and I try to do things that are appropriate. I think I can be artistic and challenge myself to do things that are really interesting within the realm of respect for others and myself.

RM: You knew your passion at an early age and even started playing and performing publically at just five years old. Was it just a God-given gift or what can you attribute your love for music and performing to?

HCJ: I think the talent part is definitely God-given. I didn’t ask for that and I don’t think anybody had anything to do with the fact that when I was three years old I was running up to pianos and playing them. It’s my desire to do that and it comes from somewhere else I think. But any kind of accomplishment is based on things I learned from my parents like work ethic, realistically understanding your goals, and doing what you have to do to attain it – practice, focus, drive, and more practice.

RM: Talk to me about the power of hope and how transforming it can be when present in someone’s life.

HCJ: Whether you call it hope, or faith, or prayer – whatever it is – it’s something I think everybody comes to need at some point in their life. Every day is a mystery and you never really know what the day is going to bring. Sometimes the day throws things at you that are very difficult to handle and even when you go to somebody like your dad and you say, “Dad how do I get through this?” And he says, “Man, I don’t know. I don’t know what to do.” That is when hope comes in to play. It gives us the opportunity to get through another day.

RM: Excited that you are returning to American Idol for another season as a judge with Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban…when it comes to discovering and cultivating talent, you are excellent!

HCJ: I like the show. I’ve always been a huge fan of the show and it was just a great opportunity. Basically the job is sitting there listening to music and telling people what you think about it. What’s not to like? I love it. And I think no matter what genre of music you play, when you rack up a few years of experience and you have your own point of view, then whoever is coming in front of you – a pop artist, jazz, or country – it’s not difficult to critique and help shape the young performers.

RM: So many times we hear the saying, “When one door closes, another one opens…” how have you seen that play out most in your life?

HCJ: I see it everyday. I don’t know if opportunity is directly related to adversity, but you could rationalize it and say, “Because of that tragedy, I was able to achieve this.” Every winter when the snow starts melting the leaves start coming back on the trees. It’s just the way it is. So no matter how bad things get, God-willing you have the ability to process it. You know I think about poor Robin Williams and he didn’t have that ability and it got the best of him and it’s a terrible thing – but for those of us who have been lucky

RM: As part of American Idol you’ve gotten to explore both the mentor role and the judge role. What brings you the most joy when it comes to teaching others?

HCJ: I had been a mentor a couple of times and that’s what I really like to do because that is the environment in which I was brought up. I was constantly being mentored, critiqued, and shaped. When I mentored, I was with each of those kids for 45 minutes to an hour and really got down into what needed to be worked on and what was going well. But as a judge you have 30 seconds to critique.

32 Risen Magazine

33release.

H​arry Connick, Jr. as Dr. Clay Haskett in Alcon Entertainment’s family adventure ​D​​olphin Tale 2, a risenmagazine.com Warner Bros. Pictures

H​arry Jr. as Dr. Clay Haskett in Alcon Entertainment’s family 34 Connick, Risen Magazine adventure D​​olphin Tale 2, a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

(L-R) Cozi Zuehlsdorff as Hazel Haskett and Harry Connick, Jr. as Dr. Clay Haskett in Alcon Entertainment’s family adventure Dolphin Tale 2, a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

I like people that are serious about wanting to learn. There is a different kind of relationship I have with people that are genuinely interested, than the ones that don’t really care and do their own thing.

I like the ones that are interested because there is a respect there. And if they are serious about becoming an artist, the ones that are smart are going to be quiet and listen, and learn everything that they can.

They may not use it, but they are going to listen. That is what you have to do if you want to make it in this business. When you find someone that has been there before you and has a little more experience, you ask questions and you listen very closely to what they say.

RM: And as a judge, I think constructive criticism can be such a useful tool. How do you deliver feedback as a point of growth, without being mean?

HCJ: On American Idol, they [contestants] signed up for it. They are asking to be judged in front of America. We all get that. But we also get the fact that they are all talented. I have about thirty seconds to tell you specifically what you need to work on. Not saying, “I don’t know. It didn’t really do it for me.” But rather, “This is what you need to do to get better.” If they are serious about improving they don’t care. It’s not about being mean, it has nothing to do with that and sometimes people don’t understand that. If I could take all those kids home and work with them, I would. I love them, but that is not why we are here. I’m here to give them a succinct, poignant, piece of advice, or two, and they don’t have to listen to it – but they do need to realize that they are willingly signing a piece of paper that says, “I’m going to stand up on a stage in front of 10 million people and I’m going to be given critiques.” So I can’t feel bad about that.

When you find someone that has been there before you and has a little more experience, you ask questions and you listen very closely to what they say.

RM: And they are not going to get more quality, professional, or better advice elsewhere.

HCJ: Well, I mean Jennifer Lopez has done pretty well in show business and so has Keith Urban, and I’ve been around the block too so it would behoove them to take our advice. And they do, they’re great, they listen!

RM: From movies to television, music and Broadway, you do it all. What are you working on now, and how do you find time to keep it all synergistic?

HCJ: I’m working on a new album. We haven’t even gone into the studio yet, but just recently started putting the ideas together. Things kind of leap frog, like when I am on a movie set, there is a lot of down time so I can get a lot of stuff done in the trailer or the hotel. I’ve written entire records during a film shoot and then when the movie was done I’d go into the studio to record, and then when that’s done, it’s time to promote the movie, and then it’s time to tour – so it all kind of works together.

RM: When in your life have you left the familiar and taken a risk that has turned into an adventure even better than you had thought?

HCJ: It happens all the time. My whole nature is that of taking risks, whether it’s taking the lead in a Broadway show, or writing for the Symphony orchestra, or taking a film role that is a challenge. I like living within risk and taking risks. I’m used to that and I was brought up in an environment where we were encouraged to fail, and not be judged for that. We were encouraged to try things and it’s a good environment in which to grow up because all through life you can take that and use it to try new things that you maybe wouldn’t have done. risenmagazine.com 35

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WNBA Star Shares Her Journey Writer: Trish Teves Photographer: David Sherman

onica Wright is no rookie to the spotlight. As a star basketball player in high school, she was named the Gatorade Virginia Player of the Year and was ranked 11th player overall in the nation. At the University of Virginia, she was Rookie of the Year, Player of the Year, and National Defensive Player of the Year. It’s clear to see why the Minnesota Lynx drafted her as their number two overall pick, and no surprise that she quickly earned playing time and two WNBA titles. All that being said, the notoriety Wright did not expect was the attention she gained from her off the court relationship with NBA All-Star Kevin Durant. The two met in high school when both were All-American basketball players. Risen spoke with Wright after a Lynx practice, where she talked about the temptations in the professional sports world, her life-altering moment in college, and the public relationship that led to one of the toughest decisions of her life.

Before, I would have made a decision that

Interviewed exclusively for Risen Magazine

would have been good for me.

But now, I want to make decisions that fall under the will of God.

Risen Magazine: Was basketball a talent that turned into a passion or a passion that turned into a talent?

Monica Wright: It was more of a talent that turned into a passion. I grew up as an athletic kid; I loved playing anything active and I was always outside burning off energy. As I grew up, I played soccer and then ran track because my brother ran track. But once I got my hands on a basketball, it was really all over from there. I fell in love with it. I wanted to go to college on a full-ride scholarship and that became my goal.

RM: When you started playing basketball, did it come really easy to you and everybody could tell that was the path for you?

MW: I was so much more athletic than everyone else and my parents knew that I could excel at basketball once they saw me play. I wasn’t very good at first, but over time it grew on me.

Relatioships are a huge stumbling point for

RM: So then, it was a passion that grew into a talent.

MW: Mmmm…it’s kinda both. I just started out a tomboy. I loved playing sports. I found out I could get a scholarship for basketball and go to any college. I wasn’t great right away. But I excelled because of hard work. I’m still not the most talented player, but I’m extremely athletic and that’s the reason why I’m able to survive in the WNBA.

girls right now.

Society is not really on our side, or onwhatGod’s side, in terms of He believes His daughters to be.

RM: Tell me about your childhood.

MW: I have one brother who is nine years older than me. He went off to college by the time I was nine. I grew up being an outside girl, never wore a lot of dresses and if I did they would be dirty by the end of the day and my mom would be upset. My hair was never really together, it was all over the place. There was nothing my mom could do about it even though she tried.

I guess, it’s still the same story now [laughing].

RM: Has there been one individual that helped you get where you are now?

MW: I would say Jesus Christ is the main person who helped me, as far as maturity, service, and growth. Or do you mean on the basketball court?

RM: Either one.

MW: Okay, yeah, than I give Jesus the credit for that one. It’s hard to give just one single person the credit for something that obviously God has given me the ability to do. So, that question is kind of a funny one. I never really think about saying that. This interview is different. You’re a different kind of reporter. I can’t normally go there in sports reporting. But with Risen, I guess I can go there.

RM: Yes, exactly. We want to know the real you.

MW: Well, there are so many people who have helped me along the way.

For everything there is a season, and God has strategically placed people in my life during certain seasons in my life, for a certain purpose. It’s obvious it was God because of how perfect the timing was and what I needed at the time. When I was in college I had a mentor named Rick Bunson who really helped develop my mid-range game, which was good because it helped me have more weapons offensively. I have several people who are walking in this current season with me, developing me into a more spiritual person. I call them when I need to make a big decision and I want it to be a godly decision. Before, I would have made a decision that would have been good for me. But now, I want to make decisions that fall under the will of God. God has given me a multitude of counsel right now in my life.

RM: It seems you had a life-transforming encounter with God in college.

Tell me about that.

MW: I grew up Southern Baptist. It’s a part of our culture to go to church. risenmagazine.com 37

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WNBA Star Shares Her Journey

say about me after I’m gone?” I was challenged with the legacy I was leaving and how I was going to be remembered. It was eerie. It was a question that kept haunting me. And it was only weeks later that that pastor approached me and asked me if I wanted to study the Bible.

RM: What a compelling question to be confronted with as only a senior in college. At the time, did you have an answer to that question?

MW: I believe the answer was in realizing the potential of my legacy. Discovering it was up to me to create that legacy.

RM: How did you try to change that legacy?

MW: During that last year, I believe seeds were planted. If they manifested then, or manifested in 10 years, I had no control over that. All I know is I considered it my job to plant those seeds when I was given the opportunity.

Truth always prevails. And whoever knew me then and saw the transformation, I think it spoke volumes about whom I had been, and who I was as a new creation in Christ.

Before, I would have made a decision that

would have been good for me.

But now, I want to make decisions that fall under the will of God. The Southern African-American culture has a certain mindset about church. Church is just what you do on Sunday. You see everybody – your aunts and uncles, and you fellowship. I grew up that way, but I never knew exactly what was in the Bible; I never knew the Word. I never knew how to apply it to my everyday life. I never looked to the Bible for what I needed.

So once I got into college in my freshman year, I got into a lot of things, partying and so on. I wasn’t doing those things under my parent’s supervision. Once I got to my fourth year, a pastor approached me from the Church of Christ, and asked me if I wanted to study the Bible. It was perfect timing.

Jesus had His hand on me the entire time. I ended up studying the Bible with his wife and that was all there was to it. Once I discovered what was in scripture, that it had been there the entire time, I could not believe it. I couldn’t believe I had been going to church all those years and did not know what was in those scriptures. I had come to the end of myself and I came full circle back around to God.

Relatioships are a huge stumbling point for

girls right now.

Society is not really on our side, or onwhatGod’s side, in terms of He believes His daughters to be.

RM: You could have gotten into some dark stuff had you not had that revelation from God in college, right?

MW: The first two years of college were absolutely crazy. Looking back, there were so many things that were wrong. In my senior year, while walking through campus, I had a question pop into my head that I know was from the Holy Spirit. I hadn’t even started studying the Bible yet, so I know it was God drawing me back to Him. The question was, “What are people going to 38 Risen Magazine

RM: Did you experience any persecution after your transformation in college?

MW: Oh definitely. I had people questioning me immediately. Every Friday and Saturday night I had to deal with it. At times I would hide at the family’s house that I studied the Bible with and watch cartoons with their kids.

I knew I would be safe from bad decisions. I would flee to safety. I would flee to Kingdom-people. I guess I wasn’t really hiding. I was running towards shelter where I knew I would be protected. Our hearts are so deceitful and the pull towards the world is strong and forceful, all the while God is wooing you in a still small voice; but the world is shouting. You will be persecuted. It’s a guarantee. But I like to think, that if you are being persecuted, it’s proof that you are doing the right thing.

RM: So you feel you were reborn in college?

MW: Absolutely. I was saved for the first time.

RM: What are some of the temptations you face as a WNBA player?

MW: Being in college my senior year, I would say I was somewhat protected. I was under an average level of spiritual warfare. But coming out from under that protection after college and into the WNBA, I had to start all over and it was a fresh battleground. When I was a senior in college, I had that leadership role, and under classman looked up to me. But right out of college, I was back at the bottom again. I had to prove myself again.

I was very quiet and many people didn’t even know I was Christian unless they asked what I was doing on Sunday, and I said I was going to church.

Nothing out of my mouth would have led anyone to know I was a Christian.

I was silent and felt stuck. I wasn’t able to speak boldly; I didn’t have the power of the Holy Spirit then. It was another form of growing up. There were several times when I didn’t know what to do in the locker room and on the road. In those situations God grew me. But early on, I was completely lost and didn’t know how to lean on God. It was a struggle. I was reminded how long it took Jesus to develop the disciples, three-and-a-half years, before they were ready to go out and spread the Gospel after Jesus died. It kind of took me the same amount of time. But now, after three-and-a-half years, there’s no looking back. I got the power of the Holy Spirit, a sound mind, and no timidity.

RM: You’ve said you don’t like to do public service if it’s just for the cameras.

How do you like to give back?

risenmagazine.com 39

40 Risen Magazine

Her Jour MW: I absolutely embrace being a role model for young women. It’s something that God has given to me as a gift. I embrace it. I love having young girls come to me and feel that their dreams are possible. As far as serving and giving back, for me it’s Spirit-led. It has to be led by the Holy Spirit because the flesh may be capable of doing good, but if it’s not God-led, it’s not God’s will. Of course there are things that the Lynx are doing that I join with because I submit to that authority, but on my own I make sure that my heart is in the right place. If it’s on my heart to do something, then God will give me the grace to do it. Just recently, I’ve been able to reach out to a couple young women that I know, to mentor them, spend time with them, and pour into them. I love to set a good example and I love to be available to answer their questions and spend quality time with them.

RM: Were there any sacrifices you made to get to where you’re at?

MW: Maybe just being a regular kid, especially in high school. When you play competitive sports in high school you’re not a regular kid. You don’t really go to the dances or hang out. You usually have tournaments or practice.

But besides that, no larger sacrifices come to mind.

RM: How do you handle the accolades you’ve gotten?

MW: As I’ve matured, I can see now that earthly merit is not what defines success. There are certain things that God will bless us with, but in reality, there are no earthly things that will compare to what God has in store for us in eternity. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy all of it, I enjoy the ride. I think one thing I can take away from it all is to get the lesson He’s trying to teach me in each situation.

RM: You’ve played internationally. What are some of your favorite places?

MW: Australia. I love the beach and the sun. I love Melbourne. I love the animals and seeing what God’s capable of as far as nature. There is a place called The Twelve Apostles that’s an unbelievable scene of twelve pillars of rocks that shoot out of the ocean. God’s footprint is definitely evident in Australia. The animals are so different and the terrain so beautiful. I love the people and I love the culture.

RM: What advice would you give about keeping your faith strong in the midst of tremendous odds?

MW: When you’re in this relationship with Christ and you’re walking in the world, you’re going to sin every day. My advice would be not to be so hard on yourself. We will be our biggest critics. But we have to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off. Keep running that race that God has called us to run.

RM: Have you ever been criticized for your faith?

MW: Yeah, in my last relationship [with NBA All-Star Kevin Durant], I had to make a decision about compromising myself as a woman. I had to make a decision to leave a relationship, which a lot of people thought I was crazy to leave. There was a lot of criticism over it. But I think God had my back in it. Because I hold to what I know to be true, that is what God will reward instead of what people on the earth think is a good catch.

RM: That one decision could send a huge message to young women around the nation.

MW: And I realize that. Relationships are a huge stumbling point for girls right now. Society is not really on our side, or on God’s side, in terms of what He believes His daughters to be. Society is pumping into our brains what we need to think like, act like, and be like. It doesn’t add up to what God says about us and what He feels about us. We are so valuable to Him. I feel for

Before, I would have made a decision that

would have been good for me.

But now, I want to make decisions that fall under the will of God.

Relatioships are a huge stumbling point for

girls right now.

Society is not really on our side, or onwhatGod’s side, in terms of He believes His daughters to be. girls in the younger generations because it’s hard to find that value. Every day could be a battle for them. I don’t even know how they do it.

RM: But, YOU did it. You made a decision to end a relationship and you did it on a public stage with much more pressure than most young girls.

MW: But I’m older. I feel like it’s harder for the younger girls. But if my story can help them in any way, then it was worth it.

RM: Is there a next step; the Olympics maybe?

MW: I daydream about doing the will of God. It doesn’t really matter about what’s next. I feel completely content where I’m at. I’m ready for whatever is next, however I’m not worried or anxious about what that is. I kind of have an idea of what may be next. But I don’t even want to think about it. I just want to stay in the moment and be diligent.

RM: Can you share about what you think might be next?

MW: Uhmmm….it’s still in the works. [Laughs]

risenmagazine.com 41

Dept: Miracle

Silence is Not an Option She Speaks Out to Help Others

Jessica Yaffa Writer: Dave Franco Photographer: Rob Springer

er nonprofit is called, No Silence, No Violence, because when it comes to domestic violence—a topic many would like to keep quiet—make no mistake, she’s talking. If you look at all that she’s accomplished, it is easy to see why Jessica Yaffa might be considered a threat to some dark forces. The ministry she leads has helped nearly 6,000 victims of domestic violence and spawned six ministries in three states. She has been invited to speak out against domestic violence at universities around the country including Harvard, MIT, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, San Diego State University and Arizona State University, and her current schedule includes more.

But if that doesn’t prove that she’s a lightning rod—someone whose work an enemy would like to thwart –perhaps a quick look at her last week alone will make the point. She has been battling sickness, threats, a broken down car, and was five inches from being hit on the freeway by a rogue tire that crashed through her windshield landing on the seat next to her.

With the release of her book, Mine Until: My Journey Into and Out of the Arms of an Abuser, things are about to get more intense for Yaffa who not long ago, was kept in slave-like conditions at the hands of her ex-husband. She’s gone from being in a near hopeless situation to being the hope for thousands of girls and women.

Armed with a list of questions, Risen sat with Yaffa who was most willing to share her story.

Interviewed exclusively for Risen Magazine in San Diego, California

Risen Magazine: I think the first thing that strikes somebody about you is how much of a victim you appear not to be. How does a person as poised and as strong as you find yourself as a man’s punching bag for 10 years?

Jessica Yaffa: It goes to the fact that it has nothing to do with what a person looks like, how educated a person is, their family background, how wealthy, how successful, or what religion they are. It affects no one particular demographic. It touches us all and doesn’t care who you are. It comes down to this: anybody who walks into a relationship subconsciously questioning their worth and looking for another person to complete them, and feel their value is attached to what they are able to do for another person in order to feel good, can be vulnerable to abuse. It’s really anybody who fits that profile, and unfortunately, millions do.

RM: What made you vulnerable to abuse?

JY: I was a teenage girl who felt unattractive and like I didn’t belong anywhere—home, school, it didn’t matter. I didn’t do well in school and I didn’t play sports or do any extracurricular activities. I watched my friends be pursued by boys while I was not. I was made fun of for being a Jew. I desperately wanted my dad to tell me that everything I was, was good enough for him and that he loved me for me. But that just wasn’t in his repertoire—especially after my brother was born. Between my dad’s pursuit of a law career

and fawning over my brother—who was everything I wasn’t—there was little left for me. Early on, it became my life’s goal to win back my dad. It was my one all-consuming desire to extract from him some inkling of what I thought I needed to hear to be whole. But it never came. That’s why as soon as somebody came into my life and told me how wonderful and beautiful I was, there was no turning back from that. I had to have it.

RM: Was your abuser abusive right away?

JY: No, he was wonderful right away. He told me how much he needed me and how much he loved me and how I was a higher caliber of woman than he ever dreamed of. Then things start happening that were subtle enough to where I couldn’t see them but the truth was, he was building walls around me that would soon start to close in. He would say he was so “afraid” that I was going to leave him and find someone better and that he “cared” about what I was wearing and was “scared” when I was talking to other young men at my locker after class, and he would have outbursts about it. Then he got very “concerned” about who I was hanging out with because they were bad influences. Suddenly, he began to “allow” me to go places—then “disallow.”

And all of those things, no matter how strangling they are, can leave an injured soul like mine feeling pretty good and pretty special. And while my heart was busy soaking it all up, my compliance was feeding all the worst risenmagazine.com 43

Dept: Miracle

parts of him. We were absolutely flammable. By the way, it’s a good rule of thumb for parents. If your daughter is in an all-consuming relationship that seems marked by the fact that she can hardly do anything other than to be with him, it is a red flag.

RM: Considering there are so many dads out there who either don’t make the wisest of decisions or are pulled in a million directions because of business and what have you, there must be a sea of girls left very vulnerable.

JY: Boys and girls, but yes, there is a lot of pain. One in three women will experience emotional abuse, and one in four will experience physical abuse at some point in their lifetime. Don’t get me wrong, there will be a lot of girls who will fill the ache in their heart with things that are ultimately positive, like theater, sports, dance, or faith. The point is, every girl with an injured soul will react in some way.

And some will look for their worth in drugs or alcohol, and others with a boy who can finally make them feel like they are worth something—a boy who is just as injured as she is. And that’s when things get scary.

JY: I don’t know that it gets much worse. My ex-husband attempted to control every aspect of my life. From following me to and from school, to not letting me answer the door, to him coming home from work to hit star 69 [on the telephone] to see who I had been talking to, to clocking my miles to and from everywhere I went, to walking me down to the mail box, to timing my minutes in the laundry room; it was crazy. Then he put up cameras in the house so he could review my every move after he’d been gone for the day. And there were the beatings and rape. It went from hitting and sexually abusing me over things that he felt angered by, to hitting and sexually abusing me as a means of managing me and keeping me in line, and further cementing his total control.

All of his anger and insecurity was funneled into violence toward me. I couldn’t please him. I couldn’t stay out of his way. I had to just take it.

Then you turn inward as a means of trying to stay sane. And in that dark, small place in the confines of your mind, where you are fighting for your life, you actually start to believe you are worthless. It’s even worse than physical death. It’s a spiritual death. I was right there for a time. Thank God there was still a glimmer of hope that allowed me to believe I would make it out alive.

If your daughter is in an all-consuming relationship that seems marked by the fact that she can hardly do anything other than to be with him, it is a red flag.

RM: So what is going on inside the mind of the abuser? Who are they?

JY: Well if you’re asking what kind of person does this, it is really anybody— from those who abuse drugs and alcohol to upstanding members of society to the pastors of respected churches. It’s really a matter of a person feeling powerless and out of control, and that feeling is almost always a result of trauma in their own lives. They either experienced abuse, or they witnessed a parent being abused, or they spun out because they were abandoned by their dad, or, there are mental health problems. And certainly, substance abuse tends to aggravate the situation. But what you can bank on is that the abusers are really acting on an extreme insecurity that has been brought about by another event, and usually it is abuse of some sort.

RM: In your own life, how bad did the abuse get?

44 Risen Magazine

RM: Can you talk about the tactic of isolating the victim, and tell me why it seems to be the road all abusers force on their victims?

JY: By isolating you from everyone in your life, he is cutting you off from anyone who can question what is happening. Your friends and family will question the bruises and the cuts and the tears. But they will also question the things you say, the self-blame that just maybe, all of this is really your own fault. They will start to say, “Of course this is not your fault, are you crazy?”

Then they will try to insert ideas of how and why you should escape. The abuser simply can’t have that. The other thing that happens is that the abuser will normally become the victim’s sole provider of every need. So if she

Dept: Miracle

needs money, she gets it from him. If she needs someone to talk to, she talks to him. She will have no other physical support from anybody and when she starts to think about leaving, she realizes she has no other options. He has become her entire life.

RM: So I guess this answers the question that keeps going through my mind: Why don’t these girls just leave? I can see now, they have nowhere to go.

JY: That’s right. Not only that, if they decide to venture out into the world and make it on their own, often times they have a child or two to worry about, and they aren’t always prepared to offer an employer much in the way of skills. They think, “How will I feed my kids?” To make matters worse, they know they will be hunted down by their abusers where they can expect the worst to happen. This is where people will think, “Just run to a friend or your mother!” Well, it’s not so easy. These women know what kind of violence and craziness these men are capable of and they would rather do anything than to bring that kind of danger into the lives of someone they love. You also have to keep in mind that many of these girls are estranged from their friends and family because most of them, at some point, have said, “We are going to have to cut you off because we can’t watch you go through this anymore.”

So there are hard feelings. It’s really quite a chasm that can develop because a lot of these girls have been warned in the past by their friends and family and have defiantly told them that they were wrong; that everything was going okay. They would figure it out on their own, and didn’t need anybody telling them what to do. So they are not always eager to run back to these people and eat crow. She knows she will hear, “I told you so.” To run back is to run right into shame. There are all sorts of things that play into this. I know it seems like such an easy remedy in the face of danger. Just run! Nope. It’s extremely complicated.

RM: Of course, most victims dream of being out from under the thumb of their abuser, but even the ones that do escape, life isn’t always better for them right away, or is it?

JY: Leaving may be a necessary step, but no, it is not always better right away. If there was a hole in their heart when they got into the relationship, it’s a crater when they leave. What drives them into these relationships is still there when they get out—but here’s the kicker; it’s usually worse. So many girls believe they don’t have a lot of value or worth which is how, and why they enter the relationship in the first place. But when they live with an abuser for months, and many times, years and decades, he has no doubt

told her that she is worthless, ugly, talentless, dumb, too fat, too skinny, that everything that has gone wrong with the relationship is her fault, until her soul feels like it has been nailed to the floor and run over by a truck. Her existence with her abuser has worked to deepen every insecurity that she has ever had. If she walks, she walks away with nothing. Now try to start a life in that frame of mind.

RM: So what happens to those who find themselves in these situations?

JY: Well, all kinds of things happen, but one of the most common is for them to become extremely promiscuous, which is what happened to me. I was out there trying to kill this ache in my heart and I thought sex was the key. I was trying to climb out of my pain and really I was making it worse.

It was really amazing. There I was, a girl trying to win my dad back and kill the ache of not feeling like I had his love, and then ten years later, after I got out of my relationship, I went right back to trying to kill the ache again. So what you have is an expectation that now that you’ve left your abuser, you are somehow supposed to feel like you’re free. Then you look around and you’re lower; more trapped than you’ve ever been.

RM: It was during this time that the Gospel spoke to you?

JY: Yes. RM: What appealed to you about it?

JY: There were three things. First, that God was a Father, which I was desperate for. The second was that I was loved unconditionally, which meant that not only was it impossible for me to do something so wrong that He would love me less, but I couldn’t do anything so right that He would love me any more. The great thing about that is that me, just being me, was good enough for Him. Prior to that, the idea of just simply being never even crossed my mind. I was always trying to win someone over, or impress, or please. And thirdly, God was always with me. He is responsible for keeping me alive. And if He kept me alive, especially when I could have been killed a thousand times over, then He must have had a purpose.

RM: And there was a purpose.

JY: Oh yes. I received it at the craziest moment, in the craziest way. And I didn’t even want it. It was actually a voice I heard that I have no answer for except to say that it was God. As soon as I heard it, my life turned upside down. risenmagazine.com 45

Dept: Miracle

RM: You ultimately started a domestic violence ministry, but before then, you tried to find one to join. What did you find when you called churches to find these ministries?

JY: Some would say, “That doesn’t happen in our church.” Others would say that it was a liability to the church to be dispensing any kind of help to women in need. And others would say that they didn’t want one [a ministry] because it would sort have destroyed the joy of the church. One pastor actually said, “In our community, we are a place of hope and light. If we start having ministries like that, then it will cause division in the pews, where husbands and wives will fracture, and people will look at husbands with suspicion.

We can’t have that here.”

JY: Absolutely not. It really comes down to safety. Our focus is that each woman and her kids are safe. Our goal is to ultimately promote loving marriages. We want them to be together. Abusive husbands have got to want it enough to change. And change is hard.

RM: So what would you say is the main function of the ministry?

JY: The main thing is to give women a place to look into each other’s eyes and know that they aren’t crazy or alone. And they love the fact that nobody judges them, wants anything from them, or asks them why they just don’t leave their husbands. The lack of that question is their sisterhood.

But what you can bank on is that the abusers are really acting on an extreme insecurity that has been brought about by another event, and usually it is abuse of some sort.

RM: So would it be fair to say that there are a lot of people who would rather you just kept quiet?

JY: I’d have to say so. I’ve become outspoken, and that tends to get a lot of people hot under the collar that aren’t ready to address this epidemic.

There are pastors who wish I didn’t shine such a strong light on the topic, and husbands who would like me to stay quiet in order to maintain the control over their households. My ex-husband would beat me for what he termed “talking back” and the fact that I wouldn’t stop pleading my case. I drove my dad crazy because I was never satisfied with his answers—I had to know why he said what he said. So I guess I’ve had history of people wishing I could keep quiet. If there is something on my mind, I share it. And after what happened to me, and what I’ve seen others go through, something is definitely on my mind. Besides, God has given me a calling. This is His ministry. I have to speak up.

RM: So when you got the ministry up and running, what was the initial response?

JY: On the ministry’s first night, we were hoping for at least ten people.

After my volunteer and I set out the chairs and got done praying, we opened our eyes and a lady walked through the door. Sixty-seven more followed in the next few minutes. I knew we were on to something. We’ve had nearly 6,000 women come through the ministry since then, and they’ve come from all over the world.

RM: So how is the church at large doing in counseling those who have experienced domestic violence?

JY: We have women who come to us from all over the world who have been in these abusive relationships and went to their church seeking counsel and were told to go home and submit to their husbands—that if there’s a problem in the marriage it is because she was not being obedient. Or, God does not permit divorce in these situations and therefore it is her responsibility to go home and figure it out and pray for her husband. Or, they will tell them to go home and submit and stop questioning what he does, because if they do, it will aggravate him—which is to say to the women, it’s really their fault.

RM: Do you always recommend that wives leave their husbands?

46 Risen Magazine

RM: You wrote a book on your life that seems to make no attempt to be #1 among Christian women book clubs. It’s very tough and raw. Why did you take this tact?

JY: Yes, I know. My book (Mine Until) will not be #1 with the Christian ladies, nor will it be carried by Christian bookstores, even at my own church. And my guess is that if Christians do pass it around from friend to friend, they will do it in secret. So many people, including my co-author, tried to get me to merely glance off the brutality and just focus on the nice, shiny light of how I became a Christian—but I simply could not do that. First of all, I wanted the freedom to stand smack dab in the middle of my truth. Something happened to me and I didn’t want to edit it out just because it was unpleasant, just so it would please others, no matter how false. Second, as the Gospel was starting to work on my heart, the struggle, the inner dialogue was, “Can God really love me after where I’ve been? Aren’t I too dirty? I mean, look at all I’ve done!” I had to show in my book that even though I had lived in the dumpster of existence, I was still reachable—that God could love me enough to reach down through all the muck and mire to find even me, and pull me out, stains, odor and all. Ladies who are living lives similar to what I lived, have to know that they aren’t too dirty for God. Thirdly, I am trying to reach women who would never be caught dead reading a book that was, “Christian,” in the way they think of Christian books.

If this book was ever branded as “Christian,” it could be the death nail for it. Fourth, I had to show that I knew their lives. If I were to try to sell them on the fact that I know what they are going through, yet I presented my life a little cleaned up, they would smell me out. I would have no credibility with them. Lastly, I believe the brilliance of redemption is made even more brilliant when contrasted with the darkness. As the song goes, the shadow proves the sunshine. In order to read about my salvation and learn about the lives of the abused, you are going to have to get your feet wet, so to speak.

There is a price. Thank God, Jesus was willing to pay it.

RM: But the book isn’t entirely that way, is it?

JY: No, it’s ultimately very glorious. In that way, it’s very Christian. Just don’t tell anybody that.

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Dept: Outreach

Stepping Out to Extend God’s Love Led to Unique Ministry for

Todd

&

Erin

Stevens Writer: Kelli Gillespie Photographer: Daniel Crandall

odd and Erin Stevens aren’t your typical husband-wife pastor team. They think-outside-the-box, practice what they preach, and are using creative ways to show God’s love to their Mt. Juliet community in Tennessee, which even includes a ministry to strippers. You read correctly, this duo took a step of faith and listened to where the Lord wanted to use them most and started a church-plant (now Friendship Community Church), wrote a book called, How to Pick Up a Stripper and Other Acts of Kindness, and they continue to exude love to those who may have felt it the least. Risen sat down with the couple in Nashville to learn more about how they operate together, the power of not judging others, and the wide impact they are having across the state of Tennessee.

T

Interviewed Exclusively for Risen Magazine in Nashville, Tennessee

Risen Magazine: What were you backgrounds like growing up and how do they complement each other as you lead a church and serve together today?

Erin Stevens: We both grew up in Nashville. We met at Tennessee Technological University, and although we had known each other for several years, we started dating while we were getting our MBAs. We were study buddies.

After that we both got jobs with a big textile manufacturer in South Carolina. We went from college, got married, and then moved out to Greenville, South Carolina, for seven years. Then when we had our first born, Elijah, (now 14), we moved back to Nashville because our parents are here.

Todd experienced his call to ministry when we were in South Carolina, so when we moved back to Nashville, he went to seminary school. By that point, he was in school full time, we had two kids, and he was working full time for Adidas – he was the electronic commerce director.

We love everything business and I always thought we would have our own business together. When Todd finished seminary school, to be honest, I wasn’t in any hurry for him to go into ministry because I knew it would cut his salary in half. But when he graduated we said, “We’re going to do this.”

And we realized our calling wasn’t to an established church but rather to start a church plant.

Todd Stevens: That was something I really learned in seminary. I thought I would pastor a small church like I grew up in and maybe help them get into the twentieth century. I learned about the idea of church planting. The only way I knew new churches got started was that somebody got mad and

left. I didn’t know there was a healthy, productive way to do it. At that point, I was [working] part-time at a church and the pastor really affirmed, and encouraged, that he could see that [church planting] in us. The church gave us funding to get started, they gave us about three families to kind of be our launch team for the first couple of years, and we were off and running. We’ve grown from about 30 to 1,000 in seven years.

RM: You’re the pastors at Friendship Community Church in Tennessee where your congregation is known for bringing creative ways to show God’s love to the community. What does this mean?

ES: We like to say, “We’re showing God’s love in practical ways with no strings attached.” When we started the church we did a demographic study in our suburban area and we found that 82 percent of people in this area didn’t go to any church – which you would think the Bible Belt [area of the country] would not be like that.

TS: But we also found that a bunch of people used to go to church. You didn’t run into very many people that had never been to church – everybody had some point in their life when they used to go to church – so there is a reason they are not there anymore. That is what led us down this path of reaching out in practical ways. Jesus said we’ll be known as His followers by how we love one another. And so we’ve always been about finding ways to meet needs, and through acts of kindness demonstrate love to people and build that reputation.

ES: So we can say 75-80 percent of our first-time guests were not in any risenmagazine.com 49

Dept: Outreach

church when they found us. Which is unbelievable because most churches just pass around the church people. We are actually reaching the people we set out to reach; the people far away from God.

TS: One girl comes back after they had looked at the gifts and dumped all the makeup out on the bar and said basically, “I know how much this costs and I cannot afford it anymore. Why did you give us something so extravagant?”

Erin was able to say, with integrity, “Because you are valuable to God, and you are valuable to me.” And the girl was crying, and that girl was Katie. The next few weeks she showed up at church, and within a few more weeks she made the decision to turn her life over to Christ and was baptized soon after.

ES: We had three ex-dancers at church on Sunday, and two current dancers. I believe it’s because we always want to meet people right where they are and invite them to take the next step. I don’t go down there judging, or to preach, but they know that if they ever want to leave the industry, they have my card and they can call me. I never ask them to do that, but they know if they ever get to a point where they want to make a life change, or they want me to help them find another job, or even just someone to talk to, they can call me. And it’s my cell phone number on the card. I had one girl call me two weeks ago at 5:00 a.m. from the emergency room – she had fallen off the pole and had a concussion – so I do a little bit of everything.

If they call, I go.

TS: What I think is interesting is this simple meal and gift stands out to girls who are being showered with money. It stands out because it’s something being offered with no strings attached, from somebody that is not demanding anything from them or requiring them to be different, but just simply loving them. That is powerful, and that is the love of Christ.

WE LIKE TO SAY,

RM: And you are thinking-outside-the-box when it comes to ministry as well. How did the idea for your stripper ministry come about?

ES: In October of 2012, I embarked on a 21-day fast. I had never fasted before but I was so desperate for us to get a piece of land, or a building for our church, for this impact center we wanted to build to meet the needs of the entire community. We had kids meeting in hallways and we were just busting our seams as a church. So I’m praying about this center because I know it’s God’s will, and as I went further and further into the fast, God just started breaking my heart for lost people. He started revealing to me that the homosexual, the Muslim, the stripper, and the porn star – they are not the enemy, they are the mission field; they are who we are called to love, not boycott. So out of that fast, I really felt the Lord place on my heart to go feed the strippers.

TS: Erin called one of the club managers from one of the strip clubs we knew that advertised big within the area and told him what she wanted to do and that she was a pastor’s wife, and she wasn’t going to bring Bibles, she just wanted to come love on the girls. And he said, “Can you come next Thursday?” So she was off and running.

ES: I’ve been going ever since. I go every two weeks. And I always take food and gifts. The first time I met Katie [see Katie’s story in the box inset] was when this lady at the church donated thousands of dollars of cosmetics. I had these Mary Kay TimeWise Ultimate Miracle sets that were roughly $150 dollars; and I had 25 of them.

RM: Together, you authored a book titled, How to Pick Up a Stripper and Other Acts of Kindness.

What was the process like and what are other examples of ways people can connect?

TS: For us, it was the process of clarifying and boiling it down to the basic principles and seeing how they can be applied in any situation. The book is about how you can show Christ’s love to anybody – whether it’s a stranger you just met, somebody you are married to, or a close friend. It’s about how meeting needs, and through acts of kindness, you can connect with anybody in a credible way.

It was about thinking through what we are doing, and what the church is already doing, and capturing those stories.

We have individuals and small groups displaying acts of kindness. We had one small group that went into a laundromat and paid for everybody’s laundry that was there, helped fold the clothes, and they were taking care of kids that were running around. It was such an effective way that the manager asked if they could come back on a regular basis.

ES: We are doing something in the community as a church at least every three weeks, but individually we are doing something all the time. Katie went for months when she didn’t have any money but bought the people’s food behind her in the drive-thru every time she went through a drive-thru.

That’s a hard generosity. We also use these cards that say, “This is a simple way of showing that God loves you. Let me know if I can be of further service to you.”

“We’re showing God’s love in practical ways with no strings attached.”

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RM: And do you stay long enough to see their reactions? How do people handle the generous act?

TS: The church’s contact information is printed on the card so I get to

Pastor Todd & Erin Stevens with former stripper Katie.

Read Katie’s story on page 52. risenmagazine.com 51

Dept: Outreach hear a lot of the stories because the person getting blessed will call the church. It’s amazing how that connects with people. We had a lady call me a couple weeks ago about how someone from the church paid for her breakfast through a drive-thru and she cried all the way to work. I don’t know what all she was going through, but it just resonates with people to experience the love.

ES: One time I had a lady that I bought food for at McDonald’s and she chased me down. I always pull off kind of fast, but the boys [the Stevens’ kids] love it. They are like, “Oh Mom, she’s got the card. She’s realizing you did it!” Giving me a play-by-play. But this one lady actually chased me down, she was honking, and pulled up beside me and said, “ You have no idea what that meant. It has been the worst morning.” I’ve never been chased down but that one time… but who doesn’t like a meal being bought for them?

RM: For some people this concept may seem really natural but for other it would be pushing them out of their comfort zone. What advice could you give people to maybe face the fear and take a step in faith?

TS: I get scared every single time. I’m a natural introvert so I have to

remind myself every time they are going to like this. No one is going to be upset with their lunch being bought for them. I’ve got to push myself to develop that reputation that Jesus said I am supposed to have as His follower; to be known for love. I can’t just convince people I am loving on the inside, and then never express or show it. Love is a choice I make that has to show itself outwardly.

If you step out and start showing people God’s love, the worst thing that could happen is exactly what God intended to happen. If that’s the worst thing, then I don’t have a whole lot to lose. It might not be real comfortable for me, but guess what? Jesus wasn’t comfortable on the cross either. So I can sacrifice a little pride, or discomfort, for the sake of demonstrating His love to somebody else.

RM: Through planting the church and reaching the community, meeting needs, and displaying love, how have you seen your faith grow or shift?

ES: It’s been amazing. We both grew up in very conservative homes so our church is just so different than most traditional churches in our area, which has been a paradigm shift for us.

From the Club to Criminal Justice:

Meet Ex-Stripper Katie ivorced and with two small children, Katie (who asked that her last name not be used) was just looking for the best life she could give her family – even if it meant a profession that involved a pole. But after an encounter with Erin Stevens and her Stripper Ministry Team, even the abundant cash flow couldn’t fill the void in Katie’s heart, and she swapped the industry for Christ’s love. This now 24-year-old graduated last May with an Associate Degree in Criminal Justice.

With a perfect attendance and a near 4.0 GPA, she shares her story of stripping, surrendering to Jesus, and the permanent reminders of His faithfulness.

Interviewed exclusively for Risen Magazine in Nashville, Tennessee Risen Magazine: How did you end up getting involved in the stripping business?

Katie: I got divorced, left my ex-husband and came here to Tennessee.

I couldn’t find a good job, I didn’t have a degree and I was looking for a way to support my kids. We were living in an awful project apartment so I started dancing. And then basically, you get caught up in the money. It’s easy to work three days a week and make $1500. But it’s really exhausting and such a hard life.

RM: When you were a stripper, how did you feel at the time? Proud, embarrassed? Just a job?

Katie: I drank enough to enjoy it. There are a lot of girls that don’t do drugs, but most of the girls do drink. You have to figure out a way to cope with all the people you have to deal with.

RM: What were your initial thoughts when you first met Erin?

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Katie: Crap, I should have a shirt on. [Laughter] I don’t know. There was another church group that had come down and they would grab you and try to pray with you. So I guess I was a bit standoffish. And then one day when Erin was there and some of the ladies from her church had brought a meal I thought, “Hey that looks good.” I went over and Erin asked me, “Hey how are you today? What is your family like? Tell me about your kids.”

And my kids are my hook, line, and sinker. All you have to do is mention my kids and I will talk to you for at least an hour. We talked and later I found out she had written “Katie, 2 kids” on a piece of napkin and placed it in her Bible to pray for me. And just a couple months ago Erin was reading her Bible and found the paper.

The next time I saw her, maybe a month or two later, Erin said, “Hey how are Kaelyn and Arley doing?” [Names of Katie’s kids] and I was like, “She listened to me?” That’s when I started to realize she wasn’t trying to pressure me, or change me; she was just trying to love on me. And then

Dept: Outreach TS: And now both of our parents attend our church which has been unusual too.

ES: And they are very supportive of the ministry to the strippers. I went and bought clothes for a girl that has come out of the industry and is now going to our church. She wrote me a week ago and said, “I want to get some modest clothing.” I was like, “I’m there with my Kohl’s card – we’re going shopping!” And I took my mom with me, and she helped pay for the clothes and said it was the highlight of her day.

after she brought us the Mary Kay cosmetics which had her business card attached to it and I went home and I thought, “Maybe this is something I should think about a little bit. Maybe I should go to church.” But I had gone to so many churches before and had been so judged. The things I did wrong were singled out, and the thing I did right were never noticed.

I felt exiled. I told myself I would go for two weeks and try it out and if after that I didn’t like it then I would just leave, like every time I have before. I have been to a lot of churches twice. I went the first time there [Friendship Community Church] and Erin had saved me seat. She saw me walk in the door and gave me a big hug and told me she had saved me a seat. And that Sunday was baptism, so I thought maybe that was a sign. I enjoyed it and then went home and probably spent four hours in my room just thinking about it and trying to figuring out what was going through my head, and what this feeling was in my heart – something was right, and there was something that wasn’t right too. And I decided, “I’m not going to work tonight. And I’m not going to work tomorrow night. I’m not going to work again.”

RM: So after you went to Friendship Community Church that first time and you never went back to being a stripper again?

Katie: Yes. In fact Erin had called me that week to let me know she would see me at the club Thursday night and I was like, “No you won’t, I quit.” It was a leap of faith because I had two kids to feed and no job. But Erin helped me out with a lady at church to get me a job.

RM: While all this was going on, you were still studying Criminal Justice in college and recently graduated with a near perfect GPA. Why this field and what do you hope to do with your degree?

Katie: I had a passion for it for a long time, but I think [was more enforced by] being in a club and seeing so many things go wrong and realizing children grow up in an environment where their parents are showing them these things are acceptable. I want to help children realize that maybe mommy or daddy do this [stripping] but they don’t have to.

There are ways to make money without being immoral or illegal. I want to go into the police department and eventually forensic investigations.

RM: From what you have experienced to where you are now, what advice would you give to a young woman who wants to enter into the stripping industry?

Katie: I think a lot of women do it to support their family or because they don’t feel pretty and they want to strip to feel pretty or more socially accepted. But what I learned is that everybody there will tell you that you are pretty, but it makes you feel ugly. Because the people telling you that you are pretty are only looking at your body and they could care less about your personality or who you are after you leave that club. I realized that God’s plan is a lot different for you than what you see on the outside; it’s inner beauty. I feel so much more beautiful covered from head-to-toe with no make-up on and a ponytail, than I ever did at that club. Knowing that I have somebody that loves me no matter what I do inside and out, when I sin and when I don’t sin, and knowing Jesus’ love, changes more than you could realize.

RM: Lastly, you have to tell me the story behind your tattoos. How you decide what ink to get and the meanings they hold?

Katie: I like to take a struggle that I’ve been through and remember how I got over it by putting it in a permanent reminder form. I think I have like 30 tattoos and I got them all over from California, Alaska, Virginia, Maryland, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia and maybe a couple more states I’m missing. One tattoo is from a Matthew West song, Strong Enough, and it reminds me that I never have to handle something alone. I have a Savior who died to not only protect me from what I have to go through, but will be there 100 percent to meet me where I need to be. Another tattoo is 1 Corinthians 13:13… faith, hope and love… and if it’s not faith, hope and love, then is it really worth worrying about? I just got Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthen me.”

Which has been my motto through all of my journey. And my newest one is a tattooed ring on my ring finger. When I decided that it is now important to wait on sex until I get married, I wanted to get a ring with a cross on it. And then I thought that a ring is removable and I don’t want a promise that is removable. risenmagazine.com 53

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Dept:Q-5

THE GIVER Jeff Bridges

Writer: Kelli Gillespie Photographer: Weinstein Co.

(l-r) Jeff Bridges and Brenton Thwaites

The sci-fi novel The Giver, has sold more than 10 million copies and has been adapted to the big screen in a movie starring Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep. In the United States, Canada, and Australia, this 1994 Newbery Medal award-winning book is on many middle school reading lists. The story focuses on a world of “sameness.” Where there is no conflict, racism, sickness and every member of society has a specific role selected for them. The “Giver,” played by Jeff Bridges, holds all the memories and releases them slowly to the chosen “Receiver” to help provide future wisdom for the society. Risen sat down with Bridges to talk about experiencing things for the first time, memories, his family and the important themes within the film.

Interviewed for Risen Magazine at the Four Seasons Hotel, Beverly Hills, California

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Risen Magazine: Exploring some themes of the film like the question, Can you have full love, joy and faith without experiencing at some point pain or loss? What resonated with you most about the movie?

Jeff Bridges: I certainly related to the themes and I dig my comfort. I want to be comfortable. I think all creatures, whether human beings or animals, we all gravitate towards comfort. And I think the movie asks the question, What does comfort cost and what are we willing to pay to have ultimate comfort? Plus, Is ultimate comfort even possible? The movie takes place in some future time, but it’s very reflective of what’s going on now with our own technology and so forth, and the power of that. Our ethics haven’t really caught up with our technology and I think it’s important to question that.

RM: Your character gives memories to the receiver and in some way imparts wisdom. What about in your own life? Who was someone that you garnered wisdom from and helped you to have to have more informed decisions?

JB: The first people that come to mind are my folks. My mom and my dad were tremendous givers. Initially, I wanted to direct my father, Lloyd Bridges, in this movie as the Giver. But it’s taken me 18 years to get this film up and on the screen, and since my dad is no longer with us, I ended up stepping into the role as the Giver. They’ve both given me so much.

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RM: What is a favorite memory that stands out to you or one that you would hope to pass down through experiences to others?

JB: I remember my father, back in the 60s, bringing home a book called The Family of Man. It was a photographic essay that either Look Magazine or Life Magazine put out. It was photographs of people’s lives all over the world. We live in this style (referring to the Four Seasons hotel room we are in to do the interview), which is actually quite rare; not too many people live this way. And my father made the point that we are a family, all mankind is a family and we’ve got to take care of each other. That has stuck with me as a memory that I cherish and try to carry on.

RM: Such a great cast… you and Meryl Streep have some great exchanges… what was it like finally getting to work together?

JB: Working with Meryl was like a dream come true. I always wanted to do something with her. We met years ago; our girls were on the same soccer team together. But playing with her was wonderful. She’s such a pro and open and a kind spirit, that kindness and the excitement from her work rippled through the company.

RM: Can you remember back to when something was new and you experienced it for the first time?

JB: Seeing my kids being born. Amazing. Talk about suffering and struggle; my wife, having to go through that. But it was such a full, miraculous experience. risenmagazine.com 55

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Dept:Q-5

A WRITER’S THOUGHTS Interview with Chris Ahrens

Writer: Henry Ortlip Photo: Henry Ortlip

Chris Ahrens has been a freelance writer for more than 40 years. His work ranging from magazine articles to penning pro skater Christian Hosoi’s biography, now includes a fiction novel, Twilight in the City of Angels. Ahrens sat down with Risen to discuss challenges, faith, technology and the writing process.

Interviewed exclusively for Risen Magazine in Cardiff by the Sea, California

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Risen Magazine: What was the inspiration for Twilight in the City of Angels?

Chris Ahrens: It came from a story I have heard and told all of my life. I have always been a storyteller. Every time I would tell the story of my grandfather being run over by a train, it impacted people. People would remember the story and ask me to tell it again. About 20 years ago I was doing a book reading at Barnes & Noble [for another writing project] and an agent came up to me and said, “Do you have any other ideas for stories?” I told her about my grandfather. She was excited and wanted me to write it.

I wrote it quickly, and then realized that what I had wasn’t enough for a whole novel. So I studied and did more work to enhance the storyline based on elements from the story of my grandfather. All in all, from the time I had thought I had the book completed, until when I actually finished the novel – took me about 15 years.

RM: You’ve written both fiction and non-fiction, including pro skater Christian Hosoi’s biography. How does the writing process differ?

CA: I had never written a novel before. I can have the facts right, but not the heart right – not the real story. I try to write what I call an emotional history; more what it feels like, rather than what actually happened. I really try to explore what people would feel, and the experience they would go through. With my novel, a lot of people don’t know the story, but they know the feeling and emotion of the time and the culture. Some have told me the book has brought forth many memories. For me, that is what links the truth. When I did the Hosoi book, I tried to make it as real and as true to Christian Hosoi’s life as possible. Writing a novel was ten times harder. There was nobody to make sure the voice and character was the same throughout the story. It’s easier when talking to a live person because in the Hosoi case, Christian and I could talk about his life and circumstances.

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RM: You’ve been a freelance writer most of your career, what are the biggest challenges to having your work read?

CA: I guess the short answer is that you need to speak the same language and understand your audience. I think it’s easy for anyone who considers himself an artist to become prideful in what he does. Once you become prideful you separate yourself from the audience. If I’m egotistical, then I believe I’m not like the people I’m talking to. The public doesn’t want to read something that is not relatable to them.

RM: How does your faith interact with the way you write?

CA: I try to be honest and just write what I feel, not to contrive my own beliefs into my work because I’m a Christian. I hope my faith runs through the things I do, the things I say, and the things I write in a truthful manner. When I’m faithful and doing well in my [Christian] walk, my faith shines though my work in an organic fashion. At times when I’m self-absorbed and not in the Word [Bible], my faith doesn’t get reflected in my work. I’ll look at some of my past writings where I’m a bit more egocentric and the story becomes all about me – just as at that time in my life everything was self-centered.

RM: How do you think technology is changing the way people write and the way consumers read?

CA: When I first started writing I would only write my drafts with pencil and paper. Years ago people would always talk about the fear of the empty page. I don’t hear that anymore. The act of a writer just sitting in front of the typewriter was something I never did. Even though most people wrote this way, I could never type out a draft; it wasn’t quick enough or mobile enough for me. Now, with the computer being so much more like the human mind, I can interact very quickly and get my thoughts written very quickly. It’s wonderful work this way, but I do think boundaries are still needed. risenmagazine.com 57

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Dept:Q-5

TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION Mark Wahlberg Writer: Kelli Gillespie Photographer: Paramount Pictures

Mark Wahlberg in Hong Kong at the World Premiere of Transformers: Age of Extinction

He’s an actor, husband, father and man of faith. Whether he’s at home with the family or filming on location, Mark Wahlberg finds a way to incorporate his work ethic with his values. Traveling the long journey to Hong Kong, Risen caught up with the star of the new Transformers: Age of Extinction to talk about everything from parenting to passions, and opportunities to optimism.

Interviewed for Risen Magazine at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Hong Kong

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Risen Magazine: As a dad, you and your wife are raising four kids. What has been the most effective approach you’ve found when it comes to parenting?

Mark Wahlberg: The most effective thing is being engaged in every aspect of their life, but then also leading by example. It’s one thing to talk about it, but it’s another thing to do it. When my kids see me go to church everyday, when they see me get on my hands and my knees… they [can see] and know how grateful I am and how appreciative I am. Plus they know how thoughtful and aware we are of what other people don’t have. Hopefully that will rub off on them. But sometimes you have to just get down to old-fashioned discipline too. It’s important to be involved and communicate with them and make sure they can trust you, and share with you, and rely on you. They need to count on you to be there.

RM: When it comes to your approach to acting, whether it’s a true story like Lone Survivor, or fiction like Transformers: Age of Extinction, what impact do you hope your work leaves on audiences?

MW: Every movie is different, obviously. When you are talking about Lone Survivor, we really wanted to make people think and certainly pay tribute to those guys, and the sacrifice they make for us. Whereas in a movie like Ted, I just wanted to entertain people or make them laugh. With Transformers, we are just trying to entertain people but there is something special about the character and his optimism and hope. His faith in people and humanity is inspiring to me.

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RM: Optimism is a great quality. Do you tend to be optimistic when it comes to your life, or is that something you have had to develop?

MW: It’s developed over time, and it continues to get stronger and stronger. Once in a while it’s tested. Obviously we live in the real world and bad things happen. But I remember the overall theme – having a bigger picture [than just a singular viewpoint], and having my faith, deeply rooted in Catholicism and the Lord.

RM: When it comes to technology and the advancements, what is your relationship like with your smart phone or other devices?

MW: Not a good one. I am definitely way behind. When I want to do something on my phone my daughter has to snatch it out of my hand and figure it out for me. But then it’s also scary because I want to be able to know what they’re [my kids] doing. My wife does a good job monitoring what is on their computer, but I have no clue.

RM: When it comes to capitalizing on circumstances and converting them into successes, how do you handle opportunities that come your way?

WM: I treasure any opportunity that I have ever had. I don’t take things for granted. I was given one opportunity to get into this business and I’ve been holding on to it ever since – cherishing it, and nurturing it. Don’t squander any kind of opportunity that comes your way. risenmagazine.com 59

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Dept: Expressions

From the Dark to the Light

The Freedom of Art

Writer: Henry Ortlip Photographer: Randy Lanning Photo Editing: Nelbbe Photograghy

tatistics are shocking when it comes to the development of kids in homes where one or more parent is addicted to drugs.

Most numbers point to a life of depression, time in prison, or continuing the addictive drug cycle. But for Kyle Trudelle, art was not only a way to escape the statistics, it also provided a higher purpose and a gifting that he relates could have only come from God. While the passion started at a young age, ironically his parents weren’t the ones trying to kill the dream, but rather the church. Deemed “secular” and “not of God” Trudelle was led to burn all of his artwork. He encountered powerful spiritual warfare that even left him paralyzed for months, only to conquer the enemy, regain full health and become an incredibly successful artist in a number of genres; all without any formal training. Risen met up with this vivacious 27-year-old and his family to learn more about his journey, his undisputable talent, and despite the testing, his now unwavering love for the Jesus Christ.

Interviewed exclusively for Risen Magazine in San Diego, California

Risen Magazine: When did art become a passion for you?

Kyle Trudelle: To be completely honest, where I grew up, and how I grew up is very different than what my life is today. I was born into a family of drug addicts; my biological father was very abusive and very talented. I remember watching him draw and paint things. I was so intrigued by it and always wanted to create. I would always go outside and take a piece of bark and start scratching on the ground. I think honestly if I were to pinpoint a time that art became a passion, I would have to say, “always.” I always understood color. I remember in kindergarten they gave me blocks and they were all colors and I put them in the order of a rainbow. The teacher said, “Oh you made a rainbow?” And I said, “What’s a rainbow?” She told me about how when it rains it’s the color spectrum. She said, “What made you do that?”

I said, “They just looked best this way.” I always understood what form, light, and color were. I really am obsessed with contrast and light.

RM: When looking through your work you seem well beyond your years, what age do you feel you came into your own?

KT: In public school the kids would always notice and wanted to watch me draw and they would try and get me to draw pictures of them. In fifth grade I had a wonderful teacher, Mrs. Arnett. I went through high school taking special education courses in math, science, and reading. Academically I wasn’t connecting well, but artistically I was well beyond the game. In fifth grade Mrs. Arnett noticed that. She didn’t view me as a problem child who can’t read. Instead she would give me books to teach me in ways that worked. She would tell me to tell her the story based on the pictures in the book. She would spend time with me after class reading to me as I viewed the pictures and even had me draw as she read. She honed in on my skills; she knew the avenue I needed to learn was visual.

RM: How has your artistic process developed as you’ve grown in both age and skills?

KT: It’s neat. Every time I want to paint something I usually say to my wife,

“Honey, we’ve got to go to an art gallery.” I used to get in trouble when I was younger for touching the paintings. I can look at a painting and see the layers and see the brush strokes. For me its like how the rest of the world reads a book. I can see it and understand it. I’m reading the painting, I can see the brush strokes, and I can see what the artist did underneath the layers. I love to touch the paints and feel the textures the artist created. When I see this, I can go home and try things myself. There was a whole year that my wife and I lived in Arkansas. She was working in a private school as an assistant to the principal. I was free not to work. So I took an entire year-and-a-half and painted every single day. I tried every single technique I could think of.

I didn’t have schooling in this; I just decided to dive in. I would pray and say, “God, you taught DaVinci, you taught Monet, you gave them this talent so please teach me how to work with these mediums. Teach me how to express what You want me to express in beauty and life.” I just did it and from one painting to the next I would grow tremendously.

RM: Talk about the use of light and why it is so important in bringing your images to life.

KT: I’m obsessed with that. When I was a teenager I was in church and Thomas Kinkade was the only artist that was okay because of the religious circle I was in. Kincade was known as the painter of light; he always painted this way. Most artists say not to ever use black in your paintings because it will devalue the color. But Kincade would use black a lot because the way to get light super bright is to get dark, super dark. That contrast is what I learned at a young age. Honestly, it’s all about placement. When I teach, my art class students ask, “How do you get the wave to glow, or the sun to glow?” It really is placement and contrast.

RM: You got married at a relatively young age so how did that shape your goals and priorities?

TK: Randi and I were best friends since we were about fifteen. We met in high school and went to the same church. In my journal, I had written how risenmagazine.com 61

Dept: Expressions

artwork is my

worship. If you look at the Bible, the first characteristic of God is He is a creator. she was super beautiful and all the teen guys wanted to date her. I had written that I wanted to be her friend and get to know her, and I wanted to see if that would lead into actually marrying her. We were taught in the religious circle we were in that you were to date your wife. We weren’t taught to date people, but rather to look for a wife and that’s the person you hone in on.

I wrote in my journal that this woman is so beautiful and the first person that I was actually attracted too. We became best friends and eventually went to Bible College together. We knew everything about each other, and even came from the same struggle. One day we just sat down and I told her I couldn’t imagine my life without her. If we were to start dating other people, we wouldn’t be able to have this close friendship. I told her I loved her for the first time and said, “I truly believe we should get married. We are better together as one, than we are apart.” We decided to get married, and four months later we actually got married. We got pregnant a year after we were married and had Titus.

It’s been so beautiful, because at worst we are best friends. If I’m having a struggle, even if it’s with Randi, I try and bring it back to when we were friends in high school and would talk through the struggles and help each other through everything. We sit and talk about it as friends, and then come together as husband and wife again. It’s been the foundation of who I am and what I am. I have gone through some really dark times in my life and the time in our relationship when we decided to get married was a time where my health wasn’t good. I was diagnosed not with brain tumors, but they found masses on my brain and I had lost a lot of memory. I had paralysis from the waist down. I was hospitalized for about nine months and it was not looking good. I had lost a lot of weight and had cluster headaches, I had lost so much and she was the only one that was there. We come from so much of a conservative background some people were saying, “It must be 62 Risen Magazine

something you’re doing so God is killing you. You need to change your lifestyle and God will heal you.” Randi believed in me and helped me through that. She was there through everything. She is my structure and foundation. She is the foundation and that beacon that tells me what to do and where to go.

RM: Will you share a little more about your health, the spiritual warfare you experienced and the healing you now have?

KT: I was in a church that was a place of bondage. They [church elders] told me that my artwork was not of God and that artists are not inspired by God saying, “Art is a secular thing.” I was led to destroy all of the artwork that I created before I was 15 years old. I had some great work that I burned and ripped up; I began to die inside. My artwork is my worship. If you look at the Bible, the first characteristic of God is He is a creator. When I realized that, I got out of that environment. As I left the environment I got so much oppression from them. They told me God was going to destroy me. I went to a different church which was a better environment. I started painting again.

I started getting letters from home of hate and people telling me I needed to change my life and come back. I started getting headaches and feeling sick. I didn’t want to get out of bed. I didn’t want to move. I woke up one morning and I couldn’t feel my legs. I started to panic. My roommate who was on the top bunk, I was at a Bible College, picked me up and held me like a baby. He began to pray for me as I was hysterical with fear. He took me to the hospital and I started having seizures. That’s when I got scans and they found the masses on my brain. The next day I woke up and didn’t remember where I was.

After some recovery, my legs where feeling a little bit better. I didn’t want to leave the college because it meant having to go back to my home and the church environment that wasn’t healthy. The next scan I got doctors found a bunch of fluid on my brain. I ended up going back home for a bit.

When I walked into my old church, many people were friendly and happy to see me but a lady came up to me and said, “God has told me, that if you change your lifestyle He will stop killing you.” She told me that it was God who was doing this. I looked at her and started to weep. I told my sister to get me out of there. I walked out of the church and fell limp. I couldn’t move. I realized that I don’t think this is a sickness of brain tumors. This was a spiritual issue.

I prayed for God to help me to fix this. I didn’t know about healing, but I prayed. “God you have three options. You can take me home, leave me a vegetable, or heal me and give me a purpose. I don’t have an agenda, You can pick. I want You to give me what You want me to have.” I just kept praying. I remember waking up and opening my eyes, I felt good. I felt normal. I went

Dept: Expressions

to move my legs and I wasn’t paralyzed anymore. I actually got out of bed and walked downstairs and my mom was shocked to say the least. I told her, “I feel great.” I remember just feeling God’s presence, that He was going to give me a purpose, and that I always had a purpose.

RM: Wow. When I hear the things the church said to you in the name of God, it is really quite unbelievable. But yet you didn’t turn from God, or hate God, instead you prayed to God for healing and you have a stronger faith today because of it. Obviously there are different sectors of religion and many claim to believe in God, but how do you view church because of this experience?

KT: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free…”

Galatians 5:1. There are a lot of religions out there that really don’t believe in the freedom of being the body of Christ. With talking to my pastor locally in San Diego about it, he told me there is nothing against what my old church and pastor did to me. They were doing what they believed was best.

They just are limited and don’t know, or understand, God’s freedom. Don’t hate your old pastor, or speak against him. My old church does preach salvation and the Word of God; they just don’t understand and know all of it.

The enemy, Satan, wants to confuse us; he wants people to think that church is a place of bondage. He wants the church to put a sour taste in people’s mouths. We are all a part of the body of Christ, it’s not right to criticize other parts of the body; that doesn’t please God. We have to stay humble and realize the body of Christ isn’t the issue, but rather the enemy who is trying so desperately to confuse the followers of Christ. The devil is doing a great job in a way, but I believe God is on the rise in communities all over the world. I try to encourage people no matter what religion or church they are in, to continue to seek after God. It is a continual personal growth.

When people put a limit on faith it puts God in a box and I realized very quickly God cannot be put in a box. At the time, I couldn’t live under the teaching of my old church where there was only one way of doing things, and there was only one way to look, and certain clothing to wear. There is a difference in seeking after God and His Word, or seeking after what a man is going to tell you what God says. I can say this with boldness and confidence; no one can sit and say I get my faith from what a man has told me. It has to come from the Creator. I’m blessed to come from where I have come from. I wouldn’t be where I am now without the journey.

In fact in many ways, my siblings and I are better able to see the true meanings of being a father and understanding the sacrifice of the Savior ironically modeled by the men in our lives. You see, my biological father would beat my mother, but during times he was sober he would well up with tears when he realized what he had done. He would leave for days and come back and apologize. I know that he loved me and my mother. The real proof for me to know his love was that he let us go. He let Leo, my adoptive father, take us away. All of my siblings really have an attachment to the Savior because we witnessed the needed sacrifice in Leo. To me, the true love of a father is a man that let us go because it’s the best thing for us, and the true love of a savior is a man laying down his life in his twenties to take on a woman and her four kids. Leo took us in and cared for us when he had nothing but a station wagon. He gave up everything for us.

RM: So then what role does faith play in your personal life and work now?

KT: Absolutely everything. Without faith there is a darkness that every artist will have. Every single artist out there has a place, a reservoir inside of them. They have a place inside where they can tap into darkness and create out of depression and being lost. Most artists whether they are writers, painters, or sculptors have come to a moment where they get stuck or risenmagazine.com 63

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64 Risen Magazine

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writer’s block. When you are stuck in that moment and you don’t have faith, and you don’t know what you believe in, or where your purpose is, you can spiral so quickly into darkness. I have been in that darkness and have seen so many artists fall into that darkness and get trapped and don’t know how to get out. Their art is saying – darkness, death, war, depravity and suicide.

But people purchase art like this because they can identify with it and that comforts them somehow. I want to comfort them with life and beauty; God says our eyes affect our heart. I want their eyes to look at my artwork, even if it’s peaches, and feel God’s beauty and feel safe.

RM: Many artists want their work to be perfect, taking excessive amounts of time to have it be just right. You create work at a rapid rate and move on to the next piece following a completed work. What gives you the confidence to release your work so effortlessly and not feel attached?

KT: When you look at the peaches, the one thing most people say most is, “That’s impressive. It looks like a photograph.” When I painted the peaches I wasn’t coming at it from a place of freedom or a place of worship. I was coming at it from a place of, “This has to be perfect. I have to be the best. I want people to look at my work and be inspired.” That was the peaches painting.

When I went deep down, I realized I needed to allow myself as an artist to be free and to have vulnerability; to let my talent be revealed and be naked in front of the world. Other work I do is messy and raw. Over time people would come up to me and say, “Oh, you’re the painter.” Or, “ You’re the artist.”

I’d say, “No, I’m not the artist; I’m not the painter. I’m so much more than that.

I’m a son of the most-high God; I’m an ambassador for Jesus Christ.” I’m not my painting; I’m not my work. So many artists mistake their artwork for who

they are. So that’s why the art has to be perfect. But I understand that where my identity is – I am not what I create, but yet I am what my Creator has made. Art is just something I do, it’s not who I am.

RM: As you mentioned earlier, you teach art classes. When it comes to amateur artists starting out, what advice do you give them?

KT: I have been told that I come at teaching with a different attitude. The avenue I come with is freedom. I explain to my students not to approach art with the stress of comparison. I tell them to follow step-by-step what I tell them to do and if they can allow themselves the freedom to step into their painting and not worry about what their outcome will be, then I promise them their paintings will look beautiful. Weather they believe in God or not, they are basically hearing God’s Word, which is freedom. If they don’t paint from a place of freedom, they will create paintings that speak bondage. I teach for them to have fun with it and be free. I have learned that I have the ability to inspire. I always thought growing up in church I wanted to be a preacher, but I realized that is not where my place is. My place is to inspire people through art. I have found that [to be true] in teaching, especially when I see my students create something profound. I have the ability to give freedom through what I love. That is the big thing I think I have learned about myself. Believe it or not, I have always been more of an introvert and didn’t want to have attention placed on me. But now, when I’m painting in front of somebody I’m a completely different person. It’s taught me that I’m truly who I am and who I was created to be – to inspire others through art.

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Grizzly Bear

Pumping Blood

by

by

ANGUS & JULIA STONE

(alternative)

The brother and sister combo are set to release their third album together this fall. Produced by legendary producer Rick Rubin, expectations are high.

Grizzly Bear is a mellow-paced, feel-good, sun-setting track.

Can’t Do With Out by

CARIBOU

(electronic)

Caribou has been growing within the electronic fan base the last couple years. Can’t Do With Out is his first track off the new album (Our Love) set to release this fall. To keep it simple, if you like Daft Punk… you will like this song.

Fix My Eyes by

For KING & COUNTRY

(christian)

For King & Country has a new album set to release this fall. Fix My Eyes (single) seems to be a change in the wind. The brothers seem to have taken the helmet off and are letting their hair blow. Fix My Eyes is layered with instrumentation; it’s creative and fun (two words I don’t find myself using much within the genre).

Gooey by

GLASS ANIMAL

(soul/alt)

GLASS ANIMALS are an out-of-the box group for sure. Gooey has the beat and flow of rap track, contrasted with high pitch/soft almost jazzy vocals. If a gangster and hipster were on a road trip together, I’m sure they could agree on this track.

NONONO

(alt/pop)

The NONONO have that balanced mixture of Alternative/Electronic/ Pop, which creates summer hits. (The Foster The People sound) Pumping Blood is one for the books in 2014; it will have you whistling along.

Summer by

CALVIN HARRIS

(alt/electronic)

Scotsman Calvin Harris has become one of the top DJ’s in the world over the last few years. Usually producing tracks with guest vocals, CALVIN HARIS took the mic back for this summer hit. By far the #1 dance song of the “summer”.

Coffee by

SYLVAN ESSO

(singer/songwriter)

This new band formed last year. Nick Sanborn and Amelia Meath have tapped into a silky collaboration. Coffee has a firm beat with minimal instrumentation allowing Amelia’s vocals to converse with the listen.

Essentially, it’s the number one coffee shop song of the summer, no pun intended.

Left Hand Free by

ALT-J

(alternative) ALT-J’s debut album in 2012 (An Awesome Wave) turned heads in the alternative world. As far as vocals and sound is concerned there is nothing else like them. The wiry single Left Hand Free introduces their sophomore album This is All Yours, set to come out this fall. risenmagazine.com 67