About 8 years ago, I was speaking at North Greenville University when a skinny kid with a buzz practically attacked me before the message.  I will never forget what he said to me. ”Clayton King, my name is Steven Furtick, and I am going to work for you one day.  What is it gonna take for me to come and meet with you?”  I immediately knew that this guy was dangerous.  He was going to do great damage to the kingdom of darkness, and I wanted to be friends with him.   He graduated and he and his wife Holly moved to Boiling Springs where he traveled as an itinerant speaker for Crossroads for several years.  He also co-hosted my syndicated radio show with me for about 2 years, but his ultimate calling was to pastor a church that would change a city for Christ.  He told me this when was just 19 years old.  When Steven was a senior in college, he called me one day while I was on the road.  The conversation went like this…   “Clayton, a student here at North Greenville said he heard you cuss in a sermon once, and that he loved it!  He said it took alot of guts to say what you said.”   “Steven, I have never cussed in a sermon.  I am certain of that.  He must have me confused with Tony Campolo.  I give you my word, it has never happened.  I have too much respect for the pulpit to do that.”   “Thanks, Clayton, I will take care of it.”   End of  coversation.   Steven personally gathered every guy that lived in the house where this guy lived and asked all the guys who had heard the rumor to get everyone together that may have heard it from them.  Then with several dozen college boys sitting in a big room, Steven told them that he had spoken with me, that I had assured him I had never cursed in a sermon, and that though he had never heard every single sermon I had preached, he trusted my integrity and believed me.  He told every guy in the room to not only stop spreading the rumor, but to go back and find everyone they had told it to and correct themselves to protect my honor among those guys.   You might be thinking, “That is no big deal at all, so what?”  That is my point.  If he had my back for something as small as an untrue rumor about my pulpit language, think of how quickly he would get my back if it were something of greater significance.   I have the honor to preach for Pastor Steven tomorrow at Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC.   They were the fastest growing church in America last year numerically, and in just over 2 years, they have gone from 4 to 4,000 people in attendance.  Thanks Bishop, for believing me and for getting my back.

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