Derek Loux

This afternoon I was working on school stuff when I got a call from a friend who told me that Derek Loux had passed away last night. He was on a ministry trip in another state, drove on black ice, and died. At first, I didn't want to believe that. If you've been a reader of my blog for any length of time, you know that death is always something that makes me pause and ponder. Today has not been any different. I've been pondering...

For those of you not in the IHOP-KC arena, Derek was a leader at the International House of Prayer and was director of the Forerunner Music Academy (F.M.A.).

Years ago when Derek first became a part of IHOP-KC, I heard him speak several times as he told his testimony about a son he and his wife had lost, as well as his journey to be a part of IHOP-KC. I remember that prior to his move to IHOP-KC, he was part of a House of Prayer somewhere else, and they called IHOP-KC the "Mecca." I've always remembered that. I thought that was cool.

I never met Derek. I attended MANY conferences over the years where he led worship, preached, and appeared in various promo videos. It didn't take long for me to become a fan of Derek's preaching. He was a man who had an incredible heart for worship, which led me to buy several of his sermons on Worship. I also loved how he used his daughters in his sermons. You could always count on laughter when you heard Derek preach. While the stories were funny, there were always direct applications to my life from the stories. Many of those stories still come to my mind from time to time when I'm walking this walk out and I get stuck.

Finally, what I have really pondered today is how one life can make a difference. I mean, I never met Derek, but I am closer to God because of what he shared in the sermons he preached. I'm not one to listen to sermons over and over, or even buy them, but I have two of his sermons in my car that I listen to from time to time just because I can hear the heart of the Father when I listen to them. I never met him, but I was always jazzed when I heard he was going to preach or lead worship that day because I was ALWAYS closer to God afterward.

I pray that I can lead a life that can inspire others and draw them closer to God just as Derek did in my life.

Derek will definitely be missed at IHOP-KC, but I guarantee he will not be forgotten because I know I'm not the only one closer to God because of Derek.

Cool.