Craig Harris has been my friend for more than 20 years. We used to work together at KLTV-Channel 7 in the Tyler-Longview, Texas market. He was the photographer and I was the reporter. It's a team relationship that survived his Aggieness. Actually, I'm quite proud to know Craig. Here are a just a few reasons why...
Craig is a husband, father, award-winning journalist, pastor and author. His “Apparently So” parenting column is featured in newspapers across the country and on websites around the world. Craig believes parents should be deliberate in their effort to provide a happy, safe, secure home. The more fun a family has, the more the parents earn the right to pass their values on to their children. It can’t be all fun – after all, children need their parents to guide and protect them and not just be their friends – but he wants parents to realize how important it is that they establish a warm, emotionally stable relationship with their children. Harris currently serves as the Parent Involvement Coordinator for the Palestine Independent School District and is the pastor of a country church.
Craig was an Associated Press Award Winning TV Reporter and Photographer at KLTV until he left to became a full-time student minister. Harris has written seven books, Sharpen Your Acts!; Yikes! What Am I Teaching Wednesday Night?; Yikes Again!; Ground Your Faith!; Secrets of the Abundant Life; The Sixty-Year Honeymoon; and a novel called The Dead Peasants File (available soon!). He is a regular guest on radio talk shows and is available for speaking engagements. Craig and his wife, Jodi, have two children, David and Savannah. The family has a dachshund named Jello, whom you can see in the photo with Craig and me last Christmas-time.
I'm telling you all this about Craig because his ministry will encourage you.
LA: Craig, you have a Journalism degree, not a Theology degree. When did you feel called to go into ministry?
CH: I never thought I had to be a pastor to spread the Gospel. I’ve always felt I could do more good for the Kingdom by writing or reporting in the secular market with a Christian world view. That is something I still try to do with my column and fiction novels. I was a radio announcer in high school and had a Christian show every Thursday night called “Earthmaker.” I saw then how effective it was to integrate Christianity into the secular culture.
CH: I never thought I had to be a pastor to spread the Gospel. I’ve always felt I could do more good for the Kingdom by writing or reporting in the secular market with a Christian world view. That is something I still try to do with my column and fiction novels. I was a radio announcer in high school and had a Christian show every Thursday night called “Earthmaker.” I saw then how effective it was to integrate Christianity into the secular culture.
I enjoyed the television reporting job and tried to integrate my world view, but when I got a call offering me a job as a youth minister, I took it, even though it cut my salary in half. I was about to get married and I knew being a TV reporter was going to be hard on my marriage. For me, it was a chance to go home and get paid for what I really loved – teaching the Bible. I sometimes miss the rush of the newsroom, but it really can’t compare with leading someone to Christ. I still consider myself a journalist who happens to preach and not a professional preacher.
LA: Tell us about your passion for youth ministry.
CH: That passion began when I was a teenager. I was in a really good youth ministry and it was wonderful for me. At a time when I was making all of the big decisions for my life, I was seeking God. What a difference that made! Becoming a youth minister was my way of giving back.
I feel youth ministry is the cutting edge of ministry. If we can disciple teenagers, we can change the whole world. Teenagers will also bring their parents, friends and siblings to church if they see it offers answers. I left the youth ministry in 2002 to begin Sycamore Tree Publishing, and have been a senior pastor since 2003.
LA: You also have a ministry for parents. How did your newspaper column get started?
CH: I began writing a parenting column for my local paper ten years ago (1997). I saw it as a way to minister to parents in my hometown and also as good public relations for my church and ministry. Eventually, the newspaper editors began to put it in the same place each Sunday – next to the children’s pictures. I named it “Apparently So”. Friends and strangers began to tell me how much they loved the column. The paper has always let me say whatever I wanted, be it about Christianity or character. I’ve never received a penny for the column. The newspaper’s owners began to notice it on the web site and asked if I would offer it to other papers. So, now, it is offered to scores of newspapers across the country. Again, I don’t get paid for it, but what a great ministry it has become for me. Last year, I offered it to Happynews.com. It runs each week, so long as it’s not too spiritual.
LA: How has your newspaper column impacted your community and your church?
CH: I became the pastor of my church because of it. A lady in the church liked it and asked me to meet with the search committee. I’ve been there five years now. And I got my job at the Palestine Independent School District because of it, too. So, when I say I’ve never been paid for the column, I should really say I’ve never been paid directly for it. Several families have joined the church because they read the column and visited us because of it.
LA: Can you share your faith in public schools today?
CH: No, I can’t preach to students or parents. But I write a monthly newsletter that gets sent home to each parent in the district. In it, I talk about building character and instilling responsibility. To me, that is pointing families in the right direction.
LA: You also have a ministry for parents. How did your newspaper column get started?
CH: I began writing a parenting column for my local paper ten years ago (1997). I saw it as a way to minister to parents in my hometown and also as good public relations for my church and ministry. Eventually, the newspaper editors began to put it in the same place each Sunday – next to the children’s pictures. I named it “Apparently So”. Friends and strangers began to tell me how much they loved the column. The paper has always let me say whatever I wanted, be it about Christianity or character. I’ve never received a penny for the column. The newspaper’s owners began to notice it on the web site and asked if I would offer it to other papers. So, now, it is offered to scores of newspapers across the country. Again, I don’t get paid for it, but what a great ministry it has become for me. Last year, I offered it to Happynews.com. It runs each week, so long as it’s not too spiritual.
LA: How has your newspaper column impacted your community and your church?
CH: I became the pastor of my church because of it. A lady in the church liked it and asked me to meet with the search committee. I’ve been there five years now. And I got my job at the Palestine Independent School District because of it, too. So, when I say I’ve never been paid for the column, I should really say I’ve never been paid directly for it. Several families have joined the church because they read the column and visited us because of it.
LA: Can you share your faith in public schools today?
CH: No, I can’t preach to students or parents. But I write a monthly newsletter that gets sent home to each parent in the district. In it, I talk about building character and instilling responsibility. To me, that is pointing families in the right direction.
LA: Your partner in ministry is your lovely wife, Jodi. How does she encourage you?
CH: I couldn’t do it without her. She’s right behind me on everything I do. She pushes me to be better and tells me how proud of me she is. That means more than I can say. We’ve been on a honeymoon now for sixteen years and counting. My relationship with her is a daily proof that being a man of God is the only way to go.
LA: How can people get your youth ministry resources and read your column?
CH: I offer e-books for student ministry at www.sycamoretreepublishing.com. I post my columns at www.apparentlyso.net.
LA: Craig, what else would you like to add?
CH: I want to tell you, Lorri, that you and Mark have meant a lot to Jodi and me. I don’t have a whole lot of friends who really understand what I’m trying to do, but you guys do.
LA: Thank you for your sweet words, Craig.
CH: I also want to tell you to be on the lookout for my first fiction novel, The Dead Peasants File. It is about a company that takes your life the day you retire. People are standing in line to work there because it pays so well – with no thought about the end of their lives. It is a parable about life and salvation. I have an agent who is shopping it for me. Pray that God will hook me up with the right publisher!
LA: It is a great premise and a great book! I am sure all of the readers of this blog will pray for you, Craig. This is a book that will change lives. And I thank you for being such a good influence on my life. You are an encourager to so many.
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