Interview with Brad Stailey

    While home from college for the summer, Brad Stailey has been keeping busy by remodeling his family’s properties and staying actively involved in the life of his home church. Recently, he even gave the Sunday morning message, emphasizing having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and what a difference it has made in his life.

   Brad grew up in Porterville, graduating from Granite Hills High School, where his younger sister, Katie, will be a senior this fall. He attributes his strong faith to his parents, the youth pastor at his church and friends at Oral Roberts University, all of whom have influenced him in a positive way. Ryan Ridenour, Brad’s high school youth pastor, describes him as having an infectious, positive, loving nature and being a young man of genuine integrity. 

   As a high school senior, he began researching colleges, mainly those along the coast of California, like UC San Diego! His mother however, suggested he move out to Tulsa, Oklahoma (a long way from the Pacific Ocean!) after  reading about Oral Roberts University and learning that its motto was to prepare all ORU students to be “physically, mentally and spiritually fit.” 

   A visit to the school made a great impression on him, especially that students wanted to stay up all night talking about scripture! “I felt God’s presence there.” Brad hadn’t understood how seriously someone could take his faith and still be a ‘normal’ person! He applied to ORU and was accepted, along with an award of the Quest Whole Person Scholarship. Oral Robert’s vision to raise up students to “ hear My voice, to go where My light is dim, where My voice is heard small, and My healing power is not known, even to the uttermost bounds of the earth…” resonated with him.

   After his freshman year, Brad stayed on campus to attend summer school from 8:00-2:00 and then worked at his job from 2:30-10:00 p.m. While going from school to work, then home to sleep and repeating that routine daily, he received a ‘wake-up’ call from a Christian friend who shared Revelation 3: 15-16 with him: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth!”  

   Brad realized that he really was spiritually lukewarm. It was the beginning of a change in his life, a turn around which led him into a closer walk with Christ.

   During his first three years at ORU, Brad became involved in his dorm as an academic peer, a campus chaplain, and a resident advisor. He focused on a nursing career and helped organize a student nurses’ association on campus. Recently however, with the guidance of a mentor, he has decided that he would like to go into business counseling and has changed his major to Industrial-Organizational Psychology. In laymen’s terms, he will be assisting business people to have maximum productivity in their occupations. Brad also feels called to be involved in the strengthening of moral values in the business world.

    In July, 2014, Brad reached a turning point by deciding that he wanted to surrender his life completely to the Lord.  “I’m either doing life for me or for you,” he prayed. “I don’t care what others think. I want to live for you.” He began diligently reading and studying the Bible, desiring to acknowledge God in every aspect of his life. “I want to guard against pride and against taking any glory for myself. I want to do everything for His glory.” A noble goal, don’t you think?

 “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” Acts 20:24 NIV

Photo: Brad Stailey, from Porterville, California