This is the final post of a three-part BoldMan Chronicles interview with Ken Davis, comedian, author and president of Dynamic Communications International. Ken speaks to audiences around the world using humor to share the seriously life-changing truth of the gospel. In our last post, Ken discussed the challenges and criticisms he's faced in pursuing his calling. In this final post, Ken evaluates his ministry success and discusses his vision for the future.

Ken Davis speaks to audiences around the world using humor to share the seriously life-changing truth of the gospel. In our last post, Ken described his early years and how he discovered his life purpose. In this post, the second of a three-part BoldMan Chronicles interview, Ken discusses the challenges and criticisms he's faced in pursuing his calling.

Ken Davis is a seriously funny guy. Speaking to audiences around the world, he combines side-splitting humor with the heart piercing truth of the gospel. His two-minute inspirational program, Lighten Up with Ken Davis, is heard on over 1,500 radio stations across the country and around the world. Ken's books have received national critical acclaim, including the "Book of the Year" award and the Gold Medallion Award.  As president of Dynamic Communications International, he teaches speaking skills to ministry professionals and corporate executives. BoldMan Chronicles had the opportunity to sit down with Ken Davis and discuss his life and ministry. This is the first of a three-part post of that interview.

This is the final post in our three part BoldMan Chronicles interview with Phil Downer, a Viet Nam veteran and the Founder and President of the Discipleship Network of America. This is the follow-up to our last interview (read here) where Phil described the effect the Viet Nam war had on his family, job, and personal life. 

In our last BoldMan Chronicles interview with Phil Downer, a Viet Nam veteran and President of the Discipleship Network of America, he described two particularly painful battles he endured while serving in Viet Nam.  Read that interview here.  We resume this interview having just learned that Phil had been downed by shot that hit his pack, when his best friend and gunner, John Atkinson, landed on him, dead in his arms.  Only three days earlier Atkinson had taken the position that Phil occupied prior to his promotion.  In Phil's words, "he died in my place."

Courage can be defined as confronting that which threatens to undo you. And some of the most courageous acts occur when we turn inward to do battle as a consequence of trauma in our lives. Phil Downer put his courage to the test as a young Marine serving in Viet Nam forty years ago; an experience that left deep and traumatic wounds. Earlier this year, Phil had an opportunity to once again put his courage into action by returning again to the very soil where so much blood was spilt. BoldMan Chronicles had the opportunity to get a personal debriefing of his trip. Phil is the President of the Discipleship Network of America and a great friend of BoldPath Life Strategies. Read his earlier BoldMan Chronicles interview.

Dr. Os Guinness (website) is a called man.  In fact, he wrote the book on it. The Call (Word, 1998) stands as a must-read, modern-day classic on the topic. But it's only one of the more than twenty books he has edited or written, including his most recent work, The Case for Civility: And Why Our Future Depends on It (Harper One, 2008). You might recognize the Guinness name - he is part of the Guinness beer-making family.  However, he's probably best known for his work as a Christian writer, lecturer, and social scientist. He is uniquely equipped to address the challenges to Christianity in the post-modern world. A frequent speaker and seminar leader at political and business conferences around the world, Guinness has lectured at many universities, including Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, and Stanford, and has spoken on Capitol Hill.  He was born in China to medical missionary parents, was educated in England, has traveled widely, and now resides in the United States. (Read his biography on Wikipedia)

Terry Esau (website) has taken the spiritual principle of practicing the presence of God to a level that all men can identify with by uttering this simple prayer, "Surprise me, God." Terry was a musician in his former career. He has written thousands of jingles for fortune 500 companies like Target, McDonalds, Pepsi, and Harley Davidson. As he transitioned from a career of writing songs to writing books, he has encountered many of the fears that men face when switching jobs and careers. He now travels around the country to speak in churches to help people discover how God desires to be a part of their everyday life, even in the mundane and routine tasks of life. Terry took the risk of asking God to barge into his life in any way that He pleases. He did this by embarking on a thirty day experiment of faith which he wrote about in a book published by NavPress, Surprise Me: A 30 Day Faith Experiment.

David Murrow is an ordinary guy who began looking for answers as to why so many guys hated going to church. His research culminated in a book published in 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Why Men Hate Going To Church. In it he provides insights to why men struggle with church attendance and provides solutions to win them back.

Patrick Morley, chairman and CEO of Man in the Mirror, Inc. is one of the nation's leading authorities on the issues facing men. In 1989 he wrote The Man in the Mirror, a landmark book that poured from his own search for meaning, purpose, and a deeper relationship with God. With nearly 3,000,000 copies, this best-selling book has captured the imaginations of hundreds of thousands of men worldwide, and was selected as one of "the 100 Christian books that changed the twentieth century." BoldMan Chronicles caught up with Pat to talk about his most recent book and his life as a bold man.

Gordon MacDonald is a resilient man, though he admits to inheriting a 'quitter's gene'. That observation, coupled with the involvement of a few life mentors and his faith in Christ, formed his resiliency. Serving as a pastor and author for more than forty years, Gordon is editor at large of Leadership Journal and chairman of World Relief. His books include: The Life God Blesses, Renewing Your Spiritual Passion, Rebuilding Your Broken World, When Men Think Private Thoughts, and the best-seller and Gold Medallion Award winner Ordering Your Private World. BoldMan Chronicles spoke with him about his most recent book, A Resilient Life.

Steve Siler is the Founder and Director of Music for the Soul, a non-profit ministry committed to providing life-changing healing through music and song.  Steve is a Dove Award winning songwriter, having had over 500 of his songs recorded in the Christian, pop, & country markets.  His songs have been recorded by Point of Grace, Avalon, Anointed, Clay Crosse, The Martins, Aaron Jeoffrey, Greg Long, Be Be Winans, Bob Carlisle, Sandi Patty, Scott Krippayne, Tammy Trent, and Larnelle Harris among others. Steve has just completed Music for the Soul's eighth CD,  After the Storm: Rebuilding Lives...Reclaiming Hope, which has been distributed to more than 15,000 victims of the gulf coast hurricanes.  His previous project, Somebody's Daughter, is directed at men who struggle with pornography. BoldMan Chronicles sat down with Steve to talk about Somebody's Daughter and his ministry.

Rick Kingham has invested his life in ministry.  As one of the original 72 men who founded Promise Keepers, he went on to become Vice-President of U.S. Field Ministries and Vice-President of Worship for that organization.  Seven years ago, Rick became Senior Pastor of Overlake Christian Church in Redmond, WA, church home to about 9,000 Puget Sound residents.   In addition to leading Overlake Christian Church, Rick is the President of the National Coalition of Men's Ministries, an organization of more than 75 ministries across the nation dedicated to strengthening men in their faith.  Rick speaks frequently about men's issues, having recently addressed his 100th Promise Keepers conference.  He and his wife, Tracey, have been married 33 years, have three children and three grandchildren.  BoldMan Chronicles caught up with him recently to talk to him about living out our faith intentionally in the workplace.

It's no surprise that CEO's have a lot of demands put on them.  Heightened scrutiny and regulatory requirements placed on officers of publicly-traded companies add even more pressure at the top.  For Christian chief executives, the demands of growing a firm and maintaining a healthy spiritual walk can test the resolve of the most fervent followers of Christ.  One who has consistently passed that test is Jay Coughlan, who, until recently, was CEO of Lawson Software, a $360M publicly traded software firm.  BoldMan Chronicles talked with Jay about balancing life at the top and his recent decision to leave Lawson.

Phil Downer has a passion and he takes it with him wherever he goes.  It happens to be the same one that Jesus Christ had and commanded: to make disciples (Matt 28:19).  In fact, Phil's so sold out to his passion that he created an organization around it.  Having been president of CBMC for ten years, in 2001, Phil founded Discipleship Network of America to equip and encourage people to make disciples.  Through conferences, books and multimedia, Phil, his wife Susy and their six children engage thousands every year with practical instruction on leadership, marriage, sexual purity, management and discipleship and a host of topics to help believers grow as disciples of Christ.  BoldMan Chronicles had the opportunity to ask Phil about his transition to full-time ministry.