Governor of Oklahoma
J. Kevin Stitt
J. Kevin Stitt is the 28th governor of Oklahoma. Governor Stitt is leading the state with a vision to become Top Ten in critical categories, from government efficiency to job growth, infrastructure, education, and healthcare.
Governor Stitt is an Oklahoman entrepreneur and businessman who founded a mortgage company, Gateway, in 2000 with $1,000 and a computer. By delivering strong leadership and vision, he grew Gateway into a nationwide mortgage company that today employs 1,200 people, has 164 field offices in 41 states, and holds a loan servicing portfolio of more than $16 billion.
Governor Stitt is a fourth-generation Oklahoman, raised in Norman where his dad was a pastor of a Bible church. He spent many summers as a youth in Skiatook where his grandfather owned a dairy farm. Stitt graduated from Norman High School and worked his way through Oklahoma State University by selling books with the Southwestern Company. Stitt is a man driven by faith and family. He has been married to his wife, Sarah, for nearly 20 years. Together, they have six children and call Tulsa home.
Dr. Robin McMurry, PhD, RNC
Dr. McMurry received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma, her master’s degree from Southern Nazarene University, and her doctoral degree from Oklahoma City University. She is a former chief nursing officer and chief operating officer in the hospital setting. Her clinical background consists of obstetrics, gynecology, newborn, pediatrics, general medical surgical patients and research.
Dr. McMurry is also nationally certified in Inpatient Obstetrics, Professor of Nursing for Oklahoma City Community College, an adjunct professor for the University of Central Oklahoma, Southwestern Oklahoma University, and Mid-America Christian University. She is an expert witness for medical malpractice lawsuits in her areas of training. Dr. McMurry is also a sexual assault nurse examiner, certified to conduct exams, collect forensic evidence, and provide treatment for both adult and pediatric patients in this population.
Dr. McMurry lives in Oklahoma City with her husband of 35 years and is a mother and grandmother. She enjoys gardening and canning in her spare time.
Sean Kouplen
Chairman & CEO of Regent Bank
Sean is an expert in leadership, called by Christ to be an Abundant businessman. He has been married to his beautiful bride, Angela, for over sixteen years, and they have three children; Emory, Kennedy and Finley. His family has been, and remains, the most important part of his life.
Sean is the Chairman & CEO of Regent Bank, a small businesses owner and investor, and a popular author and speaker. Kouplen has authored two best-selling books including – Twelve Life Lessons Every Graduate Should Know, targeted for high school and college graduates; and, The Priority Promise, a popular life management book for leaders. The success of his books has led to nationwide speaking engagements to business groups and universities.
On April 1, 2008, Kouplen fulfilled a lifelong dream by leading an investor group that purchased 110-year-old Regent Bank. Since that time, the bank has expanded to Tulsa and OKC, tripling in size from $72 million in assets to over $220 million in challenging economic times. Regent Bank has been named the Oklahoma Small Business Financial Services Champion by the Small Business Administration. Kouplen was the co-founder of Bixby Outreach Center and Bixby Community Church, where he serves as an Elder. He holds numerous local and statewide leadership positions, including OSU-Tulsa Board of Trustees, Tulsa Chamber Small Business Council, Eastern OK Donated Dental Services, Young President’s Organization and Chairman of the Board for OneFire Holding Company—the Creek Nation’s business holding company.
Kouplen’s many awards include: Journal Records Most Outstanding CEO, his fraternity’s top national young alumni award, Citizen of the Year in Bixby, and being named to Oklahoma Magazine and Tulsa Business Journal’s Top 40 Under 40 lists.
Sean would love to help you and your team discover how living Abundantly will transform your business, your family, and the world around you! He is a dynamic speaker who will engage immediately with every person in the audience.
Steve Green
President of National Bible Museum
Hobby Lobby began operation August 3, 1972, with three hundred square feet of retail space located in north Oklahoma City. This was a retail outgrowth of Greco Products, a miniature picture frame company founded in 1970 by Steve’s father, David Green, when he borrowed $600.00 to buy a molding chopper, set up shop in his garage at home, and started making miniature wooden picture frames. In 1972 the first retail operation was opened in a 600 square foot strip mall at NW 23rd and Robinson in Oklahoma City.
Steve graduated from high school in 1981 and began working full time as the Store Operations Supervisor. He was promoted to Executive Vice President in 2000 and named President of Hobby Lobby in December of 2004. In 2013, Green was presented with an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity Degree by Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary and in 2015, Mid-American Christian University presented him with an Honorary Doctorate of Biblical Literature.
Hobby Lobby is foremost an arts & crafts store, but includes many departments such as hobbies, picture framing, jewelry making, fashion fabrics, floral, cards & party, baskets, wearable art, home accents and holiday merchandise. Hobby Lobby employs approximately 32,000 people and operates over 750 stores in 47 states. Hobby Lobby sales for 2016 total more than $4.4 billion. Hobby Lobby is the largest privately-owned arts and crafts retailer in the world. The headquarters are in a 9.2 million square foot manufacturing, distribution and office complex in Oklahoma City. Affiliated companies include Hemispheres, a fine furnishings store and Mardel, a popular Christian office and educational supply chain found in six states. Hobby Lobby also has offices in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China.
Steve’s father, David, is the Founder and C.E.O. of Hobby Lobby and his mother, Barbara, is a Buyer for Hobby Lobby and Hemispheres. His brother, Mart Green, is the Founder of Mardel Stores and currently serves as Chief Strategy Officer for the Green family businesses. His sister, Darsee Lett, is the Vice President of Hobby Lobby Art/Creative.
In 2009, the Green family purchased its first biblical artifact and has since acquired tens of thousands of items which now comprise the Green Collection, and is on loan to Museum of the Bible. Steve devotes a significant amount of his time to supporting this endeavor and its related projects, including the Museum of the Bible Scholars Initiative, education, traveling exhibits and research. The Green Collection is among the world’s newest and largest private collections of rare biblical texts and artifacts. The collection will eventually become the core of an international, non-sectarian Museum of the Bible and will be the subject of ongoing scholarly research through the Museum of the Bible Scholars Initiative which was formed in 2010. In the summer of 2011, 400 items from the collection were put on display in a traveling exhibit called Passages which began in Oklahoma City and then moved to Atlanta, Charlotte, Colorado Springs, Springfield, MO and Santa Clarita, CA. On March 1, 2012, over 100 items were put on display at the Vatican in Rome during Lent in an international traveling exhibit called Verbum Domini. This international exhibit has since gone to Cuba, returned to the Vatican in 2014 and returned to Cuba in 2016. The Book of Books exhibit was on display in Israel from 2013 thru 2014. The 430,000 square foot Museum of the Bible is currently under construction in Washington, DC and is scheduled to open in the fall of 2017, three blocks from the U.S. Capitol.
Green has authored three books. His first, Faith in America, was published in 2011 by Looking Glass Books and tells the history of the advertisements that Hobby Lobby places in newspapers across the United States each year to share the real meaning of Christmas, Easter and Independence Day. In his second book, The Bible in America, published in 2013, Steve presents a never seen before view of who we are as a nation and as individuals and how the Bible has guided our history and continues to shape our national and personal destiny. Both can be purchased at Hobby Lobby stores across the nation. Steve’s third book This Dangerous Book, written with his wife Jackie, released with Zondervan and can be found on Amazon and in your favorite books stores across the nation.
Steve and his wife, Jackie, have been married over 30 years and reside in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They are the proud parents of one son and five daughters. Within the past several years they have added a daughter-in-law, three sons-in-law and four beautiful grandchildren. They are actively involved at their church, as well as many other national and international Christian ministries and charities.
District Judge
Thad Balkman
“Serving the people of Cleveland County as district judge is a responsibility and honor that I take seriously. It is challenging and rewarding. I hope to continue serving as district judge, and I pledge to uphold the U.S. and Oklahoma Constitutions and to do my best to uphold the guarantee of justice for all,” Judge Balkman announced.
Balkman was appointed district judge for the 21st judicial district (Cleveland, Garvin and McClain counties) on Oct. 7, 2013, by Gov. Mary Fallin. His appointment followed the retirement of Judge Tom Lucas. Balkman’s duties include handling felonies, civil cases, divorces and the truancy docket.
He has also presided over the community sentencing docket and Anna McBride (mental health) Court. He served as the chief judge for the 21st judicial district in 2016.
Balkman currently serves as president of the Oklahoma Judicial Conference, a leadership position he was elected to by appellate- and trial-level judges from across the state.
Balkman was appointed by the chief justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court to serve as a member of the Civil Oklahoma Uniform Jury Instruction Committee. In this capacity, he has revised and drafted civil jury instructions for the last two years.
Balkman is also a member of the Oklahoma Judges Association’s Executive Board and works as the association’s liaison with the Legislature. He is frequently called upon to meet with legislative leaders on matters concerning the courts and has been asked to testify before legislative committees on judicial redistricting and on reducing incarceration for failure to pay court costs and fees.
Balkman is an active member of the Oklahoma Bar Association and he is a graduate of Oklahoma Bar Leadership Academy. He serves on the OBA’s Communications Committee, Civil Procedure and Evidence Committee and Bench and Bar Committee. He has been a delegate to the OBA House of Delegates for the last three years.
Prior to his appointment, Balkman was in private practice as an associate with the Stanley M. Ward law office in Norman. In 2000, he was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives, where he served three terms. During his tenure in the House, Balkman was a member of the Judiciary Committee and was elected majority caucus chairman.
Balkman returned to private practice in 2007, where he focused on alternative energy law, start-ups and political and legislative affairs. Balkman also served as general counsel for the Association of Professional Oklahoma Educators from 2003 through 2004.
Balkman was a founding member of the Oklahoma Lawyers Association in 2008 and served as its executive director. He was recognized by Oklahoma Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in government relations and by The Journal Record as an Achiever Under 40.
Balkman is past president of the Brigham Young University Management Society Oklahoma City Chapter and served as the Sooner district chair for the Boy Scouts of America Last Frontier Council.
His honors include Eagle Scout, membership in the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy’s Child Advocates Hall of Fame and Oklahoma Substance Abuse Services Alliance Legislator of the Year.
Balkman and his wife, Amy, have been married for 24 years. They live in east Norman and have five children. They are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Balkman graduated from Brigham Young University in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in political science, and he earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1998.
Pastors Lawrence & Tracy Neisent
Destiny Christian Center
Pastor Neisent is the lead pastor of Destiny Christian Center in Oklahoma City, which is a Church and has a Christian School with an enrollment of well over 600 students. He serves as an Elder with several churches as well as serving in various board and advisory roles with non-church organizations. Lawrence is an international speaker seeking to equip the church to be a relevant voice of prophetic. and her husband have influence in local, national and global community. His wife, Tracy, is also a pastor and attorney. She and her husband have influence in the local, national and global community. The Neisents have two beautiful teenage daughters and live in S.E. Edmond.
Marty Grubbs
Senior Pastor, Crossings Community Church
Marty Grubbs is the Senior Pastor of Crossings Community Church based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Originally from Dayton, Ohio, he pursued his passion for music at Anderson University where he received his undergraduate degree in Religious Studies and Sacred Music and his honorary doctorate.
Marty joined the Crossings staff in 1981 as Minister of Youth and Music and has been Senior Pastor since 1985. From the earliest days when the church was known as Westridge Hills, Crossings has been driven by the foundational and ever-relevant elements of the church in Acts 2. Crossings celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2019, and Marty continues to inspire the congregation to live out their mission statement: to be a Christ-centered church committed to live by faith, be a voice of hope, and be known by love.
As part of this vision, Marty has inspired the church to build and operate Crossings Community Center and Clinic, Crossings Christian School, and satellite campus, Crossings Edmond. Additionally, the church’s newest satellite site was established in 2018 at Joseph Harp Correctional Center where 200 inmates attend services each week. Under Marty’s leadership, the church has grown from an average of 143 weekly attendees to more than 8,000 between Crossings OKC, Crossings Edmond, Crossings Joseph Harp, and online campuses.
Larry Harrison
Pastor of Worship Arts, Crossings Community Church
Larry and his wife of 25 years, Kim, have one daughter, Halle. Larry grew up in and around the church – his father is still a pastor in Arkansas. He served at Henderson Hills Baptist Church in Edmond for 15 years before he began his most recent role as Worship Pastor of Second Baptist Church Houston, Texas. Over the past seven years, Larry has led worship, led the choir and orchestra, and developed the Worship Ministry of Second Baptist. Kim has developed the School of Performing Arts at Second Baptist.
Cole and Karlie Grubbs
Worship Leader, Crossings Community Church
Husband and wife Cole and Karlie Grubbs met at a worship rehearsal in 2015, and ever since have had the privilege to lead worship together at Crossings Community Church (Crossings Edmond). Married in 2018, Cole and Karlie have had various opportunities to serve the great city of Oklahoma City and various churches and events held within it. Their desire is to create and share music that points hearts to Jesus, His spirit, and the life-changing love of God.
Mike Jestes
Chairman of National Day of Prayer Task Force
Mike and his wife Donna have 3 children. As a father, Mike took the time every year to take his children to the Capitol to meet with their legislators. Mike was determined to be an influence in the lives of those who represented them at our state capitol, understanding that leaders could be influenced if real people with conviction voiced their opinions.
Since 2004 Mike has served on the Oklahoma National Day of Prayer Task Force and currently is the Chairman. In 1998, Mike became the executive director of the Oklahoma Family Policy Council (OFPC), which was affiliated with Focus on the Family and Family Research Council. In this position, Mike represented family values at our state capitol, helping host thousands of families at an annual “Family Day” held at the capitol. Additionally, Mike founded and implemented the Kids Eagerly Endorsing Purity Program (KEEP), a state-wide character-based abstinence education program that reached over 60,000 teens. As Executive Director of OFPC, Mike had the opportunity to interface with state and national government agencies, legislators, elected officials, social agencies, and faith community leaders and directed interim studies at the Oklahoma State Capitol on family issues.
Currently, Mike is the Divisional Director of Resources & Gifts for The Salvation Army, Arkansas/Oklahoma Division. Mike earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Central Oklahoma and holds a master’s degree in Public Administration. Mike and his wife Donna have been married 43 years and have 3 children and 6 grandchildren and reside in Oklahoma City.