"Something Good Tonight"director shares ministry
By Sarah Dash

What can be compared to the split-second decisions involved in directing live television? Perhaps flying a fighter plane for the US Army during a time of war.

Director David Cox was born into a family with a history of exciting careers-many of his relatives were US pilots. Cox has directed live television both locally and nationally and is now the director for ORU's nightly live healing program "The Hour of Healing/ Something Good Tonight," broadcast nationwide.

One thing Cox likes about live television is pulling off last-minute changes because it offers a thrill like flying or competing in sports. "Like a quarterback, the producer will give me the game plan," Cox said. "My job is to do my best to execute that game plan…That game plan usually changes, so you need to be able to roll with the punches."

Cox chose a television career while he was attending ORU as an undergraduate. As a transfer student from another university, he had seen a place without many rules. "I would hear standard student gripes [at ORU], and I would try to say, 'You guys don't know what you have.' Because I came from outside in, I found it interesting that some of the things [students] didn't like didn't bother me the slightest," he said.

When Cox first came to ORU, his major was undeclared because he was initially torn between television and music. Originally, Cox's interests lay in entering the film industry. "I've never wanted to be in front of the camera. I've always wanted to be behind the camera," Cox said. He wanted to make a difference in the movie industry as a director. "But the more I looked at the [film industry] system in Hollywood, the more I decided that television was for me. It's where I fit," he said.

When he graduated with a bachelor's degree in Telecommunications in 1984, Cox spent two years at a local production house in Tulsa. He knew that a short cut to reaching the top in the television industry would be "to go to a smaller market like Tyler, Tex., and work there for a couple of years." Since Cox lived in Tulsa, he preferred staying in a larger market and trying to work his way up there.

While working at Channel 6, Cox was a director for the Oklahoma Bombing Memorial Dedication. "I really liked being a part of presenting that story to people," Cox said. While he worked at local news stations, Cox enjoyed "being part of a group that provided good and timely information, whether it's about weather or about news or a medical event." Hinting at what a tough place the newsroom can be, Cox said, "If you don't let the calluses of experience jig you in the news business, you can do some good."

Cox believes he was led by God to work at ORU. His desire to work for a ministry began to grow and he applied at Oral Roberts Television. Cox described how he felt when ORU called him back: "Something inside me said, 'Yes!' Something inside of me leaped, and I decided to go in spite of everything that comes with a job change."

Just as presenting the Oklahoma Bombing Memorial story was important, Cox believes working for the ministry is even "more tangible." He said, "Our goals and our products I prefer over local news. I'm very thankful to be working for this ministry."

Cox believes the importance of the "Something Good Tonight" show "is the ministry to the partners, the ministry to people who have never seen us before…It's a healing service on television…People are led to Christ through the show. People are healed through the show. People have their needs met through the show."

Cox's interests reach beyond television. At age 41, his dream is to eventually take flight lessons and earn a private pilot's license. Pilots are in both his mother's and father's families, and one of his uncles flew fighter planes for the Army during World War II.

Cox once had the chance to fly in an antique World War II B17 Flying Fortress. "I'm very interested in the history of the Second World War. Because of my family, I'm interested in history involving flight, and this was an opportunity to sit at the controls of an old airplane. It was also an opportunity to fly and be in the plane and even remotely imagine what that generation of people did. And I have a great respect for anybody who did it during that period of time or any other conflict past and since," Cox said.

Soaring in the B17 was an opportunity to picture himself flying as he believes the World War II fighters did so bravely. As Army pilots are serious about performing their jobs accurately, Cox is sincere about working at his job. Just as he learned as an ORU student, Cox wants to go into every person's world in the area that God has called him to. "I want to work for the Lord in TV," Cox said.

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