Kurt & Chris Davis

From Our Perspective

Kurt & Chris Davis have been around Harvest Fellowship for a long time. When we chatted at their home recently, we talked about what's important in their lives, how their perspective has changed over the years, faith, raising kids, and how it all works together for them.
 

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brad:  So you guys have been around Harvest for a long time. How long has it been?

 

chris:  Almost 20 years. Our son, Tyler, was 3 and he's 22 now.

 

brad:  How did you end up at Harvest?

 

chris:  I ran into Kelley Barker and she invited me to her church.

 

kurt:  It just so happened we were actually looking at that time, so it was good timing. Prior to that we went to the Catholic church and were just kind of looking at that time, just to see what else was out there, you know. We knew we needed to be fed some other way, and both of us had that inkling that we needed to go somewhere else, so it was good timing.

 

brad:  Looking back, were you guys Christians when you came to Harvest?

 

kurt:  Yeah.

 

chris:  Yeah, we got saved at the end of 1987, so right before we got married we got saved, and then a couple years probably had passed, and we were looking for a new church. Then we found Harvest and we've been coming here ever since.

 

kurt:  We had a brief stint where my job moved us out of state for three years and then back to Indiana and Harvest again.

 

brad:  When you think about raising your kids and all the different influences that are on kids nowadays, do you feel like your kids learn most of what they learn from you guys at home, or do you think church plays a pretty large role in their lives How do you see that working?

 

chris:  I feel like Kurt and I pretty much bring the kids up; it's our number one priority. We spend the time with our kids praying and doing Bible reading with them, memorizing scriptures. It's really important, and then youth group and Sunday school are added influences.

 

kurt:  I think we've changed over the years. I would say with our first, which is almost 23 years ago, we probably had a different perspective. When we were young Christians, we probably looked to the church to be more of a role than today. Now we play a much more active role as the primary teachers to our kids and the church supports that.

 

brad:  Kind of comes along with the understanding that kids can learn a lot at church, but their mom and dad's example probably plays a bigger role than anything else?

 

kurt:  Yeah.

 

chris:  Yeah, it's huge for kids.

 

brad:  There are a lot of things about the organized church that make it probably not quite what it should be. But one of the prominent good things is that there are people who are trying to do the best they can to follow biblical examples as they best understand them. With all of the Churches' flaws and failures, sometimes, just associating with a group of people who are trying to do the right thing is enough to make it very valuable. What are some of the biggest challenges to your kids?

 

chris:  The biggest challenge right now—because they're so young and they're still very much learning—is just them understanding the perspective of what's the most important thing in our lives and how we live out our lives, making God the center of that. Kurt and I bring the kids in every night and pray with them and talk to them about world influences and what's important and standing firm in your faith and making God first in our lives, not living for ourselves. You know, just being obedient to what the Lord calls us to do.

 

We explain that, yeah, we're going to make mistakes, but by His grace we're forgiven when we ask for forgiveness.

 

I just want them to know that, yes, we're not perfect people, but we do have a perfect Savior, you know, and He loves us, and it's just important that we're under that protection of the Lord as they're walking out their faith.

 

brad:  Sort of real life applications?

 

chris:  Yeah, especially with the two oldest.

 

kurt:  Yeah.

 

chris:  You know, they're so much older than the little kid.

 

kurt:  There's obviously a big age gap there; we've got a few gaps. Each kid is in a different stage in their life, so it's very diverse. There are people going in different directions or having different priorities in their life and in a different stage in their life, obviously.

 

The last couple of years we've really tried to at least have that time together at night before everybody goes to bed or goes off and does whatever they need to, just for all of us as a family, like she said, pray and talk about a few things.

 

chris:  ...And read the Bible.

 

kurt:  It's that common bond that we have, otherwise everybody is off doing their busy things. Even at dinnertime, we're not the traditional dinner time/family time family because we've got so many things going on that it's really hard to do that.

 

So we find that prior to bed time is the best time. I really cherish that time with Bryce because I'm the put-him-to-bed parent, so that's our time together. It's nice.

 

brad:  Speaking of Harvest and of the church's application in our lives, you guys have definitely been valuable assets to Harvest. Chris, you've been involved with coordinating the women's Bible studies and Prayer Breakfasts. Both of you have been working to increase our home groups activities...

 

kurt:  It's a work in progress...

 

brad:  I think it's one of those things that has a lot of value, but people aren't maybe real open to it to begin with. Inviting people to your home is not as common as it used to be, but there's value in getting to know each other at that level.

 

I know you're also working on developing new "Welcome" kits to offer to newcomers to help them get plugged in.

 

brad:  So how do you see that working?

 

chris:  It's really vital that once people do find a church they are willing to stay and grow in, to get them plugged in, to find out where their interests and needs are. It's really important that people start using their gifts and serving, too, because it's not just about being fed, it's about serving Christ where he's put you.

 

When you're new, you don't know where to go, you don't know what to do or who to talk to, and you can kind of get lost in the shuffle. We need to stay plugged in. We need to be encouraged, people need to be discipled, you know? The church is about reaching out into the community.

 

kurt:  I think there's the whole aspect of "the" church and "our" church that people miss out on. I mean, the Sunday piece is great. Paul's teaching is excellent, and the worship is great and all that. But then there's all these other things that really kind of round out your Christian walk and your fellowship with other believers,

 

You mentioned the home groups, and you know, the women's activities that are going on, et cetera. Everyone's busy, and it's easy to say I don't have time, but really you can't afford not to do those things. I know I was that way. Early in my Christian walk, I really didn't want to do anything extra, and I really missed out.

 

brad:  I'm always interested in the one-on-one relationships. Churches are great, and you come in and fellowship with a whole group of people, but it's just so easy to still be disconnected, to leave and really not get to know anyone else. You really can't help someone, you really can't serve someone, until you at least know what their needs are.

 

chris:  Right.

 

kurt:  Right.

 

brad:  Or what is beneficial to them, what's encouraging. So you have to get to know people a little bit to do that.

 

Maybe, Chris, that's the scary part for people: becoming a little vulnerable; letting someone into their lives a little.

 

Maybe you've seen this yourself when you visit a new church: Most of the time, the impression you have of the church when you leave hinges on maybe one or two people.

 

kurt:  Oh, yeah. It's huge.

 

brad:  A person who came up to you and was really friendly or made you feel welcomed.

 

kurt:  ...Showed an interest in you a little bit.

 

brad:  It's not all the people. It's one or two people who make a big difference.

 

chris:  Absolutely.

 

brad:  The three of us have different gifts; in some cases they overlap, in many cases they probably don't, so we're all necessary. But when we leave church and go out into the world and do our work, it's up to us then in terms of how we represent what we believe.

 

chris:  Right.

 

brad:  I believe that's a real strong part of Paul Mowery's ministry here at Harvest...that he really encourages people to personal responsibility.

 

chris:  Yes. He encourages everyone not to be pew warmers. We have to be proactive in our faith, you know, we need to make decisions in our life, not be lazy in the Lord. He's very challenging. Some of his messages can really punch you in the stomach, really wake you up, because we're all prone to laziness, but that's not what Christ called us to be, not to be lazy Christians, but to go into all the world and preach the gospel, preach the good news. And if that's just being a godly neighbor to someone who is lonely next door, praying for a coworker, you know, it's just -- it's like you said, we all have gifts and talents, but you know, it is our responsibility to reach out to other people.

 

Wherever you are in your walk in life, that's where God has placed you. Maybe we're not all going to reap a million souls into the kingdom, but you know what, if God's giving you two or three, we need to be faithful in doing what he has set before us.

 

brad:  Yeah. Sometimes it's easy to see how our gifts are being used, like with our own kids or in our own home.

 

chris:  Uh-huh.

 

brad:  Sometimes in the work place, it's a little harder to figure out what kind of impact you're having.

 

Kurt, can you tell us just a bit about the kind of work you do?

 

kurt:  I'm a systems analyst. Basically, I'm kind of a filter between the business and our IT department, so I kind of speak the geek and speak the business talk for our company. We're a third-party logistics company. So I basically work with a business to determine what kind of enhancements we need to make to our software applications, et cetera, computer systems applications, define those enhancements and get with the IT people and deliver those enhancements to the business.

 

kurt:  We deliver transportation and warehousing services for the high-tech industry. It could be medical computers, telecommunications equipment, stuff like that. I grew out of being a computer programmer many years ago, but I don't do that any more.

 

brad:  Most engineers I know tend to be somewhat black and white regarding their faith and their philosophy. Is that you?

 

kurt:  Yes.

 

brad:  How does your faith integrate into your work world?

 

kurt:  That's an interesting question. I think I probably do question more things than I should because I'm always approaching things from a logical side.

 

brad:  Looking for the absolute?

 

kurt:  Yeah. It's like, okay, this doesn't make sense to me, I need more...more black and white, you know. If this is this way, then what about this or what about that? You know, so I analyze a lot.

 

brad:  How about you, Chris, are you black and white or more gray in your philosophy?

 

chris:  Kurt's totally the opposite of the way I am. He's more of a show-me-the-proof kind of person, and I'm...I don't know. What would you say?

 

kurt:  I think you're more, if that's what The Bible says, then I believe it and I move on; God's word is absolute, and that's just the way it is, and I'm fine with that.

 

I'm a little bit different. I'm like, well, what about this and what about that? I believe, one hundred percent in God's word...it's just that there are a lot of different ways you can perceive what's being communicated.

 

brad:  So if the two of you were having a conversation on the heavy topic of the day, you might approach things a little differently?

 

kurt:  Yeah. It leads to some interesting discussions.

 

chris:  Oh, yeah.

 

kurt:  I'm kind of one that likes to bring up subjects just to see what happens, to ruffle a few feathers at times.

 

brad:  Sometimes I wish things were a little more absolute for me, but they're not, so I'm content to just be who God made me.

 

Are you guys both from the Fort Wayne area?

 

kurt:  Uh-huh.

 

brad:  How did you meet?

 

kurt:  We met right after graduation, we were both 18, and I actually crashed a party that she was at.

 

chris:  And we weren't saved at that time.

 

kurt:  Yeah. That's how we met, at a party. It was actually the day before my 18th birthday.

 

chris:  And it was love at first sight!

 

brad:  That was it?

 

kurt:  For her.

 

chris:  For me. I saw him and I loved him, and that was the truth.

 

kurt:  I'm happy with my decision, my choice!

 

brad:  Sometimes it works like that.

 

kurt:  Yeah.

 

brad:  So how long have you been married now?

 

kurt:  Going on 24 years.

 

brad:  So when you look forward in your lives together with your family, considering the way you see the world and your gifts and all that, each of you tell me what is it that gives your life a sense of purpose, a sense of value.

 

chris:  Well, I guess I've come to know what some of my spiritual gifts are and the areas that the Lord has called me to work in. The area of prayer is probably my number one priority in my Christian walk. Prayer, intercession, you know, I like to encourage people to pray in groups.

 

I like to work with the kids in Sunday school, teaching the little ones about the Lord, I would say that's probably one of my giftings. I love doing it. It's really important to raise up those little ones, to teach them about the Lord. It's always been an area of great interest for me.

 

I do some visiting at the nursing home, and I love being with the elderly, you know, the ones that are very lonely that don't have families. I'm definitely a people person, I love being around people, whoever the Lord leads me to, you know.

 

brad:  It sounds like you're a willing servant.

 

kurt:  She is.

 

brad:  That's a very good thing. When you take someone's gifts and combine them with a willing attitude, that's a pretty potent combination. Chris, you don't seem easily riled up. Are you sort of a calm person by nature?

 

chris:  I'm better than I used to be. I used to be a real hothead. I can be pretty intensive at times.

 

kurt:  She's a very passionate person. And if she feels passionately about something, she'll let you know. She pretty much makes her mind up to do something and then does it.

 

brad:  What about you, Kurt, what do you do that you feel gives your life purpose?

 

kurt:  You know, right now my purpose, my main purpose obviously, is I have to be the main provider of this family, so it's really centered around my kids, making sure they grow up to be young men that love the Lord and, you know, are just good people. So just to be there for my kids and my family.

 

You know, to be honest with you, I've found that it seems like as my life progresses, that God just keeps taking me down different little paths.

 

Chris seems to have the sense of, I know right where I'm going and I'm willing to do whatever God's leading me to do. I wouldn't say I have any one passion that I could put my finger on to say this is it. I guess I'm a willing vessel to do whatever.

 

brad:  Yeah. I wonder if, sometimes, we overthink that. Maybe there's too much pressure on us sometimes to figure out what are we good at.

 

kurt:  Yeah.

 

brad:  Maybe we're just designed by God to be the way we are and maybe we often play that out without even really realizing it.

 

chris:  I would say Kurt is more of a behind-the-scenes person, helping people when no one even knows about it, whether it's his mom, his family, the neighbor, you know, driving over to somebody's house to help them for several hours to do something they need help with. He's always been a helper; that's definitely one of his gifts.

 

brad:  Well, I appreciate all your comments and appreciate your work at Harvest and the fact that you guys have really helped to make it a worthwhile and encouraging place to hang out over all these years.

 

kurt:  Our pleasure.

 

chris:  Yeah.

 

brad:  Thanks, guys!

 

chris:  You're welcome.

 

 

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photography: Brad Wieland

 

Written by Brad Wieland, this story is part of a series called Spotlight on the Harvest Fellowship website. As new stories are added, you can check out other people's stories on the archive page.

 

published 06/01/2011