If you will utilize all of the passions and the things God puts in your life, that They will open doors by themselves just by you being faithful over the things that God brings you into encounters with. In Luke chapter 16, verse 10, Jesus said, He who is faithful in little will be faithful in much. Hello and welcome to another great day here on Destined for Victory, where we feature the preaching ministry of Pastor Paul Shepard.
Well, we've got a real treat for you today, an interview Pastor Paul had with a police officer named Terry Brown. Terry showed himself to be faithful in the little things, and the Lord saw fit to give him an opportunity he never would have expected. It's his story to tell, and he'll share it with us next. Remember, all of our recent messages can be listened to on demand at pastorpaul.net. That's pastorpaul.net.
No. Here's Pastor Paul's Destined for Victory message: becoming an excellent steward of our talents. All right, so as you know, we're in the series, the year-long. series Becoming Excellent Stewarts And I'm unpacking different areas of stewardship. The first half of the year just worked out, where the first half of the year we covered four.
areas of stewardship. But now I'm going to cover Four more, and I'm in the fifth now, which I launched the last time, which is stewardship of our talents. But as I mentioned, I am broadening the topic to not just talk about our talents in terms of our gifts and abilities. I want to talk about the fact that God. Wants to use us in lots of different ways.
And he makes who he has made us to be part. Of our testimony, and part of the way we represent Him in the earth, and part of the way that. We bless the world. And so today I want to illustrate that. By interviewing a friend, a former member of our church, of my First pastorate, I should say.
His name is Terry Brown. He joined our church. I believe, according to the testimony, it was in 1996. And that was when my first pastorate, Abundant Life. Was in its seventh year under my leadership.
We had been praying for years that God would bring about the vision He had given me that sent me to California. He said I was going to. Be a soul winner and a discipler, and thousands would be won and discipled as a result of me coming to California. We were in the seventh year of that pastorate, and the church was at about 250 members. I was still saying, Lord, when are you going to fulfill what you said?
And one of the people who joined in those days was Terry Brown. But the reason I wanted to interview him was because of the unique way God used his experience of. Of being part of our church and seeking first the kingdom. And God ended up catapulting it into. A very wonderful and promising career.
So I want to. Let you hear a phone interview. He was going to come in person, and that was our plan when we first set this up. You will hear in the interview, he is the personal bodyguard of Kevin Hart. And so he literally could not be here.
They just got back a few days ago from being in Europe for almost two weeks. And they're now in Vegas. And he said, Pastor, I want to get there, but he got me in Vegas this weekend. And so I told him, I said, Tell you what, let's just do a phone interview. And then he said, I'll be free next week.
I said, I won't work. I need you Sunday.
So that's why we said we would do the phone interview.
So you're going to hear this phone interview. And what it is is an example of the truism that you find in Proverbs 18:16, where David said, A man's gift makes room for him and brings him before great men. And it's just a truism that talks about the fact that. If you will utilize all of the passions and the things God puts in your life. That They will open doors by themselves just by you being faithful over the things that God brings you into encounters with.
So with that in mind, I'm going to air. I edited it down to, because he and I chatted for quite a while, because we hadn't talked in a while, but I edited it down to 13 minutes, and that's the first 13 minutes, and then I'll say some things after that, and we'll be done for the day.
So here is my phone interview two days ago with Terry Brown. This is Pastor Paul Shepard speaking with my friend and brother. Terry Brown. And I just want to briefly and informally interview him and allow you all to hear a little bit of our story together.
So, Terry, thanks for joining me. Would you share with my audience to your best recollection when you first joined my church when I was the pastor of Abundant Life Christian Fellowship? I think I first joined. The interesting thing, can I tell the story of why? Sure, I joined it.
You know, like you said, I was a police officer in East Paul Alto. This is probably around 1996, I believe. I remember being My house. and um Keith Richardson. who grew up with my wife Kim.
was telling me about you. And your church. And Keith's words were: he's a cool brother from Philly.
So I remember at that particular time kind of praying about You know, am I doing everything I could for my kids? and always wanted to be a great father. you know, and I knew I was always going to take care of my wife and everything, but I always wanted to be a great father and bringing kids up in a world that are going to be productive and good citizens. And God kind of spoke to me and said, you know, hey, you know, are you exposing them to me? And at that time, no, I wasn't.
And so I was working graveyard at the time and When Keith told me about you and your church. I said, okay, well, got off on a Sunday morning. I said, let me go over here. And it was just simple. Thought process.
If you keep me awake, I'm in there. I'm in there. And so I I came to a service. And you kept me awake. I was intrigued.
I was excited about what God was going to do for me and my family if I attended the church. I remember you sharing with me one time that when you were patrolling East Palo Alto, sometimes with that graveyard shift, you would pull your car up next to my house. Can you remember what prompted you to do that and kind of what that experience was like? Hey, you were my guy, you were my pastor. And I felt like, you know, as dangerous as East Palo Alto was in those days, I mean, this is before the rebuilding of it and, you know, before things kind of got better there, it was a pretty dangerous and violent city.
And I just remember, you know, okay, that's my pastor. I'm going to make sure, if anything, I'm going to make sure him and his family were safe at night.
So I used to park my car. Across the street from your house, people weren't, you know, they knew not to mess with me. But also, I had great relationships in the community as well. And so I just wanted to make sure. that you guys slept Peacefully and rested with knowing that someone was there watching and making sure that you guys were good.
Our church was meeting in a warehouse that we had converted into a worship center in East Menlo Park, which were the same kind of dynamics as East Palo Alto. And in those days, we were beginning to get involved with ministries that had armor bearers who looked out for the pastor and the leaders and the general congregation. What do you recall about those days of exposure and how that eventually started moving you away from law enforcement in general into a different form of taking care of people?
So, yeah, I remember specifically things that were going on at that particular time. One of which you were sick with a cold that you couldn't get rid of. I don't know if you remember, but in those days, between the different services, You were out trying to, you know, Be available to our congregation. Oh, yeah. You really didn't have, yeah, you didn't have a lot of time.
you know, to rest and nourish your body and do all the things necessary to be healthy. And at that particular time, because you had a cold, was to get healthy.
So I remember having a meeting You, the meeting was: hey, maybe we ought to establish an armor bearer team so that we can make sure that we act as buffers so that you can kind of get the things that you needed in order to continue your day on Sundays because those were long days. One of the things that came up in the meeting was Your mentor at the time, Bishop Thompson, had trained. armor bearers for other pastors. The idea came up where, okay, why don't we send you know, some guys to Boston. to train under armor be as armor bearers.
And so that's basically how it started. We went out there and got trained by the guys that were commissioned to protect him. And um They did a very good job because they made an imp Impression, at least on me, of what That responsibility was like. Wow, that's great. And so, I want to help people understand that all you were doing was seeking first to be a good family man, which means you wanted to get your family exposed to the teaching of the word of God, and that that brought you into the church.
And then from there, you got exposed to armor bearer taking care of a man of God and his key leaders, his wife, his family, and his key leaders, and eventually building something that would help make the entire church feel safe when they came, especially when you're worshiping in an environment that's not all pristine and easygoing.
Now, let's talk about when you stepped away from being a law enforcement officer and how God led you to use this newfound passion of taking care of an executive, and in that case, the spiritual executive, but broadening it into a different career. Talk about how that transition took place. Mm. Still ahead, the second half of today's Destined for Victory message featuring the teaching ministry of Pastor Paul Shepard. All of our recent messages, including the series on stewardship you're hearing now, are archived at our website, pastorpaul.
net. That's pastorpaul. net. You can also listen and subscribe to the podcast at Spotify, at Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Destined for Victory comes your way each day only through the faithful prayer and financial support of people just like you.
Thanks for that. To give your generous gift now, please visit pastorpaul.net. That's pastorpaul.net or call 855-339-5500.
Well, Officer Brown had showed himself to be faithful in the small things, but what happened next was something even he would have never envisioned. The second half of today's Destined for Victory message now: becoming an excellent steward of our talents. You know, what's interesting, I'm listening to you. It's taking me back to that time. And I used to tell people all the time, I got out of law enforcement because I was bored.
Maybe I wasn't bored. Maybe that was just God. Speaking to me, I am really thinking about that now. Maybe I wasn't really, I mean, I was in these altars. That's not boring.
Righty. You know, so I'm just wondering, you know, God That's God. Yes, sir.
So what were your first steps in that transition from law enforcement in that particular police department and using your passion in terms of learning how what it means to be an armor bearer and moving into a different career? When I first left the police department, I um Went to and worked for a private investigator. Being an armor bearer for you in the background. kind of kept that fresh. And what I mean by that is when I stepped away and went to the private investigator and started working in sales and marketing for him, there at times were needs for us to protect our clients by putting security with them.
And so, you know, obviously, the way God moves, a friend of mine. Who worked for Netscape? And then he and the Founder of Netscape started their own company. called LaoCloud. And so he called me one day because I guess they had well, actually, his wife called me.
And basically, I didn't really understand what she was saying.
So I called her husband Ben, and Ben told me, No, everybody's fine. It's just someone broke car windows in the parking lot. He said, asked me if I could send someone out. They really like the person that I sent out. And they said, hey, Why don't we can we can we sign a contract with you?
One thing led to another in terms of responsibility, and we started doing. personal protection not only for executives of the company, But we started doing security where I was traveling with his father, who was an author. and speaker. And so that's when I kind of I went and got trained to do personal protection. And At the same time, I'm still performing my duties as an armor bearer for you.
So now I'm starting to see the correlation. Between What I'm doing professionally, and then what was going on, what I was doing spiritually, you know, with you. And so I liked what I was doing enough to say, you know what, maybe. I can make a go at this from a business perspective.
So I know of the major client that you have been working with over the past, whatever the number of years is, but how did that connection take place? Yeah, so the person you're speaking about is Kevin Hart. Over the years, I've done. Other people, Jamie Foxx to Paul Rove, different industries. But with Kevin, I got a call from a guy.
He's a filmmaker, and he called me. He knew I had a security company. He knew what we did. And he said, hey, Terry, I have it. Red carpet event that I'm doing with Jamie Fox.
Can you do security for my VIPs? And I have done. Things for him in the past.
So it was the easy yes. You know, it was like nine people we had to do security for, one of which was Kevin. Kevin was in his late 20s at the time. Kevin wasn't that big. I really just found out who he was.
I didn't even know that he was a stand-up comedian. I thought he was kind of a C-rated actor. At the time Yeah, he you know, he wasn't that bad.
So I got my team together and I put myself on Kevin only because I figured I don't have to worry about him. No one knows who he is. I I just found out that he he was a stand up comedian. And so I uh Put myself on him, got my team together, put everybody, I put two people on Jamie Foxx. And uh we had Danny Glover uh Ron our test.
Mm-hmm. Get in play and some other people. And so I worked at detail. I managed the detail from afar. Um Kevin didn't performed that day Um but he was in a in a green room with All the other uh comedians And who did perform?
And so at the end of the night, I was putting him in the car. And he said, Hey, He said, I like the way you move. Can you go? I'm about to start my tour. Can you go out on a road with me?
I said, we'll talk about it. And as a businessman, You know, I never get excited until that ink is dried on a contract. You know, it may not be a good fit. I don't know. But, you know, we'll see.
And one thing led to another, and here I am. nearly seventeen years later. And now uh what Kind of schedule do you have to keep? Because over those years, Kevin has blown up in a major way. Uh, what has that resulted in in terms of your family life and how you make all of this work, taking care of somebody at that level of notoriety?
Kim and I, she's very, very. support of of what I do and she takes care of home. You know, I did not do this. without her Being so supportive and being responsible enough to take care of some of the things that. Normally, I've taken care of over time.
But you know, that's when it's really. Spain. when you're evenly yoked in a relationship. Because you know, I can go away and know that things are okay.
Well, I really appreciate you taking, I'm sure, it's pretty much a lunch break for you before Kevin comes back, and you all got more things to do as you get ready for the rest of this week. But thank you for giving me these minutes to share with my audience how God has transitioned you from When we met back in the nineties, and uh how what looked to be rather accidental Was actually the purpose of God not only propelling you to be a major player in my life in those years, into now also using you on the world stage and being a representative for Christ everywhere you go.
So, thank you, my brother. Proud of what God is doing in your life. And I look forward to a time when we can at least find some more times to be back together in person. But blessings to you and your family. And thank you for sharing this time with us.
Yes, indeed. Again, he was going to be here in person, and we had set that up, and we were going to do that same thing right here. uh on the stage but um But when they got back from Europe, Kevin said, All right, we'll be in Vegas. I got to do some shows there, and I'm going somewhere else, and then you eventually get back home. That's the way it worked out.
So I just called him and we did that. But um I wanted to share this with you. When we got to the part of the series where we were going to talk about how God wants to use our talents with the things He's put in us. And I'm expanding it, as I said last week, to talk more than about our gifts, our spiritual gifts, natural gifts, and talents. I want to look at it more from the.
The Rick Warren paradigm of shape. You know, Rick uses the word shape, and S stands for spiritual gifts. H stands for your heart. God gives you. A stands for your aptitude, the things that God has given you the ability to do and to do well.
And P stands for personality. And temperament kind of things. And then E is very important. It stands for your experiences. God uses everything that happens in our lives for some specific reason.
So, you know, a lot of people say everything happens for a reason. That's not exactly what the Bible teaches. The Bible doesn't teach everything happens for a reason.
Some stuff just happens. But what God does is takes what happened, even if what happened wasn't necessarily His will. And y'all who were abused and all kinds of horrible things have happened wasn't the will of God. But God takes what happens, and He says, if you'll give it to me, I'll work it together. For good.
So it wasn't good. In some cases, but I work it for good. Because you're called according to my purpose. At the end of the day, God says, it is my purpose that prevails in the life of a child of God. And so I thought.
Um, when we got to this section, and I called him, we were still in one of the other tees. I said, I'm going to get to a section, and I need you to slip down and spend a Sunday with me. I want to interview. He said, Oh man, that'd be so exciting. And so then it turned out, you know, he couldn't do it because he's in Vegas right now with Kevin.
But I called him and said he was on his lunch break. I said, How much time you got? He said, I got about an hour and a half. I said, Oh, I don't need that much time. Let's go on and do this right now.
And that's what we just had this chat.
So the fact is, I want you to hear. He started out first of all saying, Lord, I want to make sure I'm doing right by my kids as now the father. And he said, The Lord told him, Then you got to get your family in church. You can't raise kids and raise them outside of faith and think they're going to turn out the way you want them to turn out. Such a great story, and an important reminder to all of us to be faithful in what the Lord has given us and use those gifts to bless others and to glorify God.
So glad you stopped by for today's Destined for Victory message, becoming an excellent steward of our talents. If you joined us late, or if you want to hear the full message one more time, stop by pastorpaul. net. That's pastorpaul. net.
Well, shortly before Pastor Paul went home to be with the Lord earlier this year, he was teaching a group of messages about stewardship, a series we're airing now on Destined for Victory. But right in the middle of it, he took a one-week detour and inserted a special message that was weighing heavily on his heart. The message is called Sometimes You Have to Encourage Yourself. It's filled with practical advice, and as he always did, he delivered that message with his signature humor and down-to-earth style.
Now, this message has never been aired before on Destined for Victory. It's not available anywhere else but right here, right now. But this month, in appreciation of your most generous gift to Destined for Victory, we'll send you this exclusive message as either a D V D or a streaming link. Again, that's sometimes you have to encourage yourself. One of the last messages Pastor Paul ever preached, and it's only available right here for your most generous donation to Destined for Victory.
You can give by phone by calling 855-339-5500. That's eight five five three three nine fifty five hundred Or visit pastorpaul.net to make a safe and secure donation online. You can also mail your gift to Destined for Victory, post office box 1767-456. Fremont, California, 94538. And here destined for victory, we believe in the power of prayer.
So today we'd like to pray for you. Please use the contact feature at the top of our homepage, pastorpaul.net, and share your request with us. That's pastorpaul.net. He didn't give you gifts that he doesn't want you to use. If you have a gift, you're supposed to use it.
If you have a talent, even if it's not a quote-unquote spiritual gift, you can consecrate it in such a way that it functions like a spiritual gift. And so you use that for his glory. That's tomorrow in our continuing Destined for Victory message: becoming an excellent steward of our talents. But until then remember. He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.
In Christ, you are destined for victory.
