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Originally appeared in APeX Attack #3 (January 1999)
An Interview with Brad Farmer
(This interview with Brad Farmer was conducted by Apex
correspondent Bradley T. Farmer.)
Rumors have been abounding that spikey-haired co-founder and
co-juggler of APeX Youth Ministries, Brad Farmer, is engaged
to be married. To get to the bottom of these allegations once
and for all, we arranged an interview with the man himself...
AA(Apex Attacks, not Alcoholics Anonymous): Now, Mr.
Farmer, I’m not going to beat around the bush with you,
but just cut straight to the heart of the matter... What’s
up with these rumors we’ve been hearing?
Brad: True. They’re all true. Except the ones
about my hygeine habits. Gene takes me out in the back yard and
hoses me off once a month... if I need it or not!
AA: So you really are getting married? What have people’s
reaction been to this?
Brad: Yes, I really do intend to marry the very beautiful
and very talented diva songbird, Joia Ladd. It’s been said
that hearts can be heard breaking across the country, but I think
that’s just the rats in our alley, or the two legged raccoon
getting into our trash again— (That’s right a two-legged
raccoon in our inner-city DC neighborhood!...) But when people
find that it is part of my plot to build an army for purposes
I can’t yet divulge, they are more understanding— No...
In all reality, several people express their excitement for me
by saying, “You’re what?! What’s going to happen
to Apex?!”
AA: What is going to happen to Apex?
Brad: It’s going to continue as long as God chooses
to use that ministry as a vehicle for spreading His Word. Gene
and I have recognized from the beginning that this ministry is
not our own. We see this as a calling, a vocation. This is a
place in our lives that God has led us to and I see it as the
best use of my particular gifts and talents to build up the Body
of Christ. Now marriage is also a vocation. It is a time when
a person decides to make a lifelong commitment to put another
person (and the possibility of a family) above and beyond their
desires, their career, and everything else in their lives, even
their very selves. The only thing that should take priority in
that person’s life over their beloved is their God. After
a great deal of thought and a whole lot of prayer, I feel that
God is calling me to make that commitment. I believe that I have
found someone who was set apart for my life from before time
began. I believe that God has a definite plan for my life and
this vocation, the sacrament of matrimony, is a part of that
plan. I feel, both mentally and spiritually, that God has called
me to both of these vocations. I don’t think He’s asking
me to choose. Joia is incredibly supportive of our ministry.
She doesn’t like me being gone too much, but she believes
that what we are doing is impacting lives and she wouldn’t
want to prevent that. Being married would, of course, mean that
I would want to be around more often (Apex keeps us on the road
a lot), but that certainly doesn’t mean I should abandon
the ministry God has created in me.
AA: Thank you so much for your wonderful insight.
Brad: No, thank you. I always enjoy every opportunity
to chat with you. You know, you’re one of my very best friends!
Note: Brad Framer married Joia Ladd on July 31st, 1999
in Casper, WY |