Gary and Lisa Black are spiritual coaches for the World Race and have gone out and visited different WR squads in the field. They have a particular passion for orphans and spent last year with their family in Swaziland, Africa. Here is an interview with them:
1. Gary and Lisa, your love for family and community is evident; can you share a little bit about where you came from and the family environments in which you grew up?
I was raised in a very Godly home, way to religious! Performance, trying to please, never good enough; that was the picture I had of God, from my father; an angry guy that I could never please… it took some years, but my dad and I are best friends, he is my hero! But, growing up I knew God as the King and Judge, but not the Lover; when I first experienced the lover side of God, it changed my life radically!
2. How did God bring two passionate people like you together? Can you briefly tell about how you met?
Lisa had been a widow for 5 years; her first husband died tragically and left her and her two small daughters alone. I had an international youth ministry called Rock The Nations – we were just changing it into “The Call” – my first wife had major mental and physical issues. We were hit by a car driving to Church and she received head injuries and that was it. She left me and our three boys. Lisa was a counselor at the pregnancy center here in CO Springs; some of my interns from RTN were serving her in that ministry and we met. Come to find out that one of my friends was close to Lisa and set us up on a date, so God had a plan. Lisa explains; “When I first met Gary I thought; that would be the perfect guy for me, we both love the next generation, we both love the nations, to bad”! Been married 8 years this Nov with our six kids!!
3. You both have been married before and have children from other marriages. Without going into too much back-story or bringing up too many painful memories, how has the unique structure of your family shaped your ministry and calling?
It is everything! Jesus had a step-father and most of this generation is fatherless or has father/mother wounds that they just haven’t dealt with… God gave us our own wounded to know how to heal a generation!
4. Who are you guys, really? Besides being a married couple that is passionate about orphans, missions, and the kingdom of God – what makes you tick?
We love life and we really do live “Fully Alive” not that we don’t have our struggles and fights, but we really enjoy each other and we really love this generation. Life is simple, we work hard and we play hard! Our kids know they have us and we love them unconditionally, but they also know we are their parents before we are their friends… family, discipleship, preaching, Jesus.
5. What is your dream?
Disciple a core of Eph 4 young people, travel around the world releasing a generation, serving orphans/widows, establishing the Garden of Eden, (making the barren places, look like the Garden) all over the earth – having my family do it with me. Oh, I am living it!!
6. Why are you coaching the next squad of World Racers? What do you hope to give and what do you expect to receive?
We really can’t imagine doing anything else… we learn so much from them and we may have a little of life to give! My greatest thrill is when I see a young person “Switch on”! When they finally get that the are loved beyond anything the can or can’t do and that they get all of the Kingdom! When that revelation of the Father comes – I am rewarded beyond what you can imagine!! We get to take back more of the Kingdom…
7. You took your whole family to Africa last year, spending your time in Swaziland, caring for widows and orphans. What was that like? What did you learn about the kingdom and how you will apply that to what lies ahead?
It really did change everything for us as a family; the world looks a whole lot different. Our kids don’t need all the “Stuff” that most American kids think they need and Lisa and I parent much differently… At about the 5th month of living in Africa – we all hit a wall. It was hot, lonely; it seemed nobody cared that we were living where we lived. 3 and 4 year old baby girls were being raped everyday about a mile from our house. The kids had NO friends, you couldn’t go out after dark, it was hard. Each of the kids came to us in tears. “We want to go home, it is too hard to live here”, we felt there pain; the Lord had us tell each child to go find Him. “We can’t fix your pain. Pain is the greatest teacher; if we fly out of here and fix it, we won’t learn what God is trying to show us as a family”!
Every one of our kids found why God had called them to Africa. They dug deep, sought the Lord and he revealed why He had them in Swaziland. The stories and life change is amazing… (All blogged)
8. What advice do you have for the World Racers before they launch out for a year of ministry and self-discovery?
Press in now; the way you come in, is the way you will leave – if you’re not doing it now, you won’t do it when you’re out there some where! The Kingdom of God is now, and it’s where ever you are, right now, at this moment – are you bringing “Life” to everyone around you? The kingdom of God is not about right and wrong, it’s about life and death – this trip around the world will awaken you to REAL life, take you out of the American fog, but the measure you come, is the measure you will receive…
