Influencers Weekly Devotional

Influencers Cabinet Introductions

Bryan Craig

As Rocky stated in last week’s devotional, for the next few weeks you will be hearing from the Influencers Cabinet, the team which was formed to lead Influencers into the future. Our first introduction is Bryan Craig: I remember the day I met Rocky Fleming in Siloam Springs in the Fall of 2005, after being handed a manuscript called, “The Journey to the Inner Chamber”. The Journey books had not even been published yet, but I was hearing about this new discipleship process to help men. Since 1997, I had been trying to help men in Tulsa, OK find a deeper walk with Jesus, and I had been searching for a tool I could use. Many men had gone to Promise Keepers conferences and men’s retreats and were fired up to change their lives. So, we tried Accountability Groups and Bible Studies and Prayer Meetings, which were all good, but it seemed we needed something deeper. We needed a process to help them get hooked up to The Vine and to help them understand the power of God’s Word. God guided me to Rocky and to The Journey! We started one Journey Group in early 2006, with 15 men from all different churches and backgrounds. Myself, and Evans Rector (whom you will meet in coming weeks), signed on to be Guides/Participants of this first Tulsa group. Most of these men were leaders in their own right, but when they heard that this new process was about “intimacy with Christ”, they were intrigued to know more. One of those men, when I was recruiting him, said, “Bryan, it sounds great, but my life is like one of those 10-lane highways, with 5 lanes going in each direction, and I’m in all 10 lanes.” I said, “Well, I don’t exactly know what this is all about, but from what I gather, The Journey is the Scenic Turnout.” He paused for a moment and then said, “I’ll be there.” Since that first group, we have multiplied Journey Groups each year and 2011 marks our 6th year of Journey Groups, with over 350 men having gone through. Personally, I have helped to Guide six Journey Groups, as well as a Pilot Journey for Couple’s group. It has been so rewarding to see God get hold of the hearts of men, as well as their wives. There are SO many more men we want to reach, and I plan to keep challenging men to lead Journey Groups until we reach every man in Tulsa whom God will send us. But The Journey is much bigger than just Tulsa. I’ve had the privilege of serving Influencers on a worldwide scale, and I see God paving the way for this message to reach men in all sorts of new ways and in new cities. I got to be with Rocky in Alexandria, Egypt as we explained “intimacy with Christ” to 30 Egyptian Christian businessmen through an Arabic translator. As I saw these men take hold of this message and realized how the message transcended culture and geography, I believed The Journey to be anointed by God. Since then, I’ve seen Him guiding our steps to reach more men. We have such a dependence on God for each and every step, trusting that His Spirit will show us the way. We don’t want to build a mega-ministry. We want to follow God. I own a small business, called Sigma Sales, in Tulsa. I have been married to my college sweetheart, Missy, for 20 years. We have 4 daughters, Natalie (14), Annie (11), Isabelle (9), and Meredith (2). My desire is that my business could be successful enough to fund my ministry efforts with Influencers, so that I could devote more time to God’s work. However, it has been a very difficult past 2 years with the economic downturn, so I’ve never been more challenged in my “personal abandonment and absolute trust.” I know God is faithful, and if He has something for us to do for Him, He will make a way for us to do it. I love Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” I believe it! I look forward to seeing what God is going to do this year with Influencers. Already, since Rocky formed this Cabinet, doors of opportunity are opening. YOU ARE PART OF IT! We need you men to answer the call and make yourselves available for where God wants to take you, to the men He wants to reach. And Jesus promises, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Your brother in Christ, Bryan Craig