Greg Albrecht: I'm talking with a good friend, Steve McVey of Grace Walk Ministries. Steve is the president of Grace Walk Ministries. Steve, I've got to tell you that I wish there were more people in this world who are proclaiming radical grace.
Steve: When we talk about grace we're talking about Jesus, and I think folks need to have that firmly in their minds, that grace personified is Jesus Christ. So to those who say, well, that's great to talk about grace but there are other things too, I say, well, what else is there? The grace of Jesus Christ is the gospel. Radical grace—I like that. For those who may not know, let's remind them the word "radical" comes from the Latin word radic or radix which means root—like radish. The etymology of the word means the root. So when you and I proclaim radical grace (and I commend you— I have long had a respect for you and your proclamation of radical grace) let's remind people this "radical" doesn't mean "off the wall." Radical grace means taking people back to the roots of the gospel, because that's what we do—that's our goal.
Greg: Let's talk a bit more about you. How did God lead you, and what circumstances happened in your life to lead you to do what you've been doing for the better part of the last two decades?
Steve: At the risk of sounding self-serving, I'll say that my first book, Grace Walk, is my story. It tells how I came out of legalism and into an understanding of God's grace that I have today. Not that I've come to complete understanding— we're always on a continuum and still learning, but I wrote my story in the book. The short version of it is that I grew up in a Christian home, went to church all my life, started preaching at 16 years old and became a senior pastor at 19 years old.