WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:15.490 --> 00:00:18.910 Cailin: Welcome everyone to Faith and Purpose podcast. 00:00:19.670 --> 00:00:24.850 Each episode of this podcast contains the personal testimony of an ordinary person 00:00:24.869 --> 00:00:27.610 transformed by an extraordinary God. 00:00:28.280 --> 00:00:31.440 My name is Caitlin and I'm here to introduce this podcast 00:00:31.450 --> 00:00:32.980 for my friend Jesse Duke. 00:00:33.590 --> 00:00:39.279 Jesse is a husband, father, author, life recovery guide, lay counselor, 00:00:39.539 --> 00:00:43.619 and small group leader, but his most important role is disciple. 00:00:44.059 --> 00:00:45.389 As a disciple of Jesus. 00:00:45.989 --> 00:00:50.080 Jesse created this podcast to help other believers tell their faith stories. 00:00:50.629 --> 00:00:54.429 We'll be hearing the personal testimonies of all sorts of people 00:00:54.429 --> 00:00:58.360 who have one thing in common, Jesus has transformed their lives. 00:00:59.265 --> 00:01:03.355 Jesus used parables because he created us to learn best through story. 00:01:03.785 --> 00:01:08.575 And as we listen to how God has worked in others lives, we find encouragement 00:01:08.585 --> 00:01:10.875 and inspiration for our own faith walk. 00:01:11.364 --> 00:01:15.735 Whether you are already a believer, or just a curious seeker, we believe that 00:01:15.755 --> 00:01:20.044 as you listen to these stories, you will be encouraged on your own faith journey. 00:01:20.344 --> 00:01:24.594 We are sure that God can speak to you through one of these episodes, and that 00:01:24.594 --> 00:01:28.264 you will see that our Heavenly Father truly works all things together for 00:01:28.264 --> 00:01:33.160 our good, When we simply love and trust him if you are currently going through 00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:37.500 a trial We believe that you will come to see that your troubles Heartbreaks 00:01:37.520 --> 00:01:42.550 and failures are not gravestones, but stepping stones into new life in Christ. 00:01:42.980 --> 00:01:44.970 Here's Jesse with today's guest 00:02:00.333 --> 00:02:03.683 Welcome everybody to the Faith and Purpose podcast. 00:02:03.723 --> 00:02:08.443 Today we have my friend Keith Darnell from Woodruff, South Carolina. 00:02:08.453 --> 00:02:09.353 Welcome Keith. 00:02:09.373 --> 00:02:10.373 How are you doing today? 00:02:10.873 --> 00:02:11.703 I'm doing great. 00:02:11.703 --> 00:02:12.463 It's good to be here. 00:02:14.323 --> 00:02:16.013 Well, tell us your story. 00:02:16.073 --> 00:02:18.763 What, what is your, what's your life been about? 00:02:20.413 --> 00:02:27.433 My life has been a, I would say a fairground, lots of different rides, lots 00:02:27.433 --> 00:02:30.003 of different activities, experiences. 00:02:30.953 --> 00:02:33.223 Uh, grew up in Marietta, South Carolina. 00:02:33.923 --> 00:02:41.923 My dad was the, in a family where we had loggers, we cut putt wood. 00:02:42.453 --> 00:02:46.283 They did all kinds of different work and they also were bootleggers, moonshiners. 00:02:47.343 --> 00:02:50.823 And my dad was a runner in the moonshiners for a long while, 00:02:50.833 --> 00:02:52.993 which later on led him into racing. 00:02:53.033 --> 00:02:55.878 So grew up in this family. 00:02:55.878 --> 00:02:58.583 It was a great family in Marietta, South Carolina. 00:02:58.583 --> 00:03:03.043 It's up in the upper part of South Carolina, above Travels Rest 00:03:03.453 --> 00:03:04.703 in the Greenville County area. 00:03:05.433 --> 00:03:06.353 That was. 00:03:07.123 --> 00:03:13.803 I guess five years old, uh, my dad had been to jail for bootlegging 00:03:13.833 --> 00:03:17.003 and, and, and assault and battery and all kinds of crazy stuff. 00:03:17.773 --> 00:03:20.693 And when he got out of jail, they, uh, put him on probation. 00:03:21.303 --> 00:03:22.473 So he went to driving a truck. 00:03:23.453 --> 00:03:26.413 And so he was gone for long periods of time. 00:03:26.973 --> 00:03:29.143 Then he landed a job at engineer products. 00:03:29.393 --> 00:03:34.183 I'm just telling you this to get us to the beginning of my story where 00:03:34.183 --> 00:03:35.713 Christ begins to impact my life. 00:03:35.953 --> 00:03:37.113 So my dad. 00:03:38.143 --> 00:03:42.193 Gets a job with a company in Greenville, putting up storage racks 00:03:42.753 --> 00:03:44.283 and installing conveyor systems. 00:03:44.283 --> 00:03:48.573 And so now he's gone for two weeks, three weeks at a time out of state. 00:03:49.613 --> 00:03:53.363 And so we get to see him every now and then on the weekends and during racing 00:03:53.673 --> 00:03:59.863 season, he would come in and fix the car on Friday, race on Saturday and 00:03:59.863 --> 00:04:03.843 Sunday would be the family day and back out Sunday night or Monday morning. 00:04:05.193 --> 00:04:08.223 So during these periods of time, he was gone. 00:04:09.043 --> 00:04:11.063 My uncle began to invite us. 00:04:11.603 --> 00:04:15.273 To go to church, there was a church up in Marietta called Marietta First 00:04:15.283 --> 00:04:20.863 Baptist and they began to, uh, he began to attend that church and he 00:04:20.863 --> 00:04:23.903 wanted us boys to go with him because he knew we needed to be in church. 00:04:23.903 --> 00:04:29.623 He began to realize the need for us to be in church and so he started 00:04:29.623 --> 00:04:30.593 taking us to church with him. 00:04:31.273 --> 00:04:34.913 So one weekend, my dad comes home, I don't know the dates or times, I just 00:04:34.913 --> 00:04:36.373 know my dad came in on the weekend. 00:04:37.273 --> 00:04:40.633 And my uncle said, Hey, I'm coming to pick those boys up Sunday 00:04:40.633 --> 00:04:43.873 morning, take them to church and he and my dad, like best friends. 00:04:43.883 --> 00:04:46.653 So it's not like this was a truce. 00:04:46.653 --> 00:04:48.513 It was like doing what? 00:04:49.133 --> 00:04:52.003 And my dad said, no, Sunday's my only day with the boys. 00:04:52.383 --> 00:04:54.093 So we, we spend that day together. 00:04:54.853 --> 00:04:55.473 He said, okay. 00:04:55.473 --> 00:04:57.663 I just wanted to offer the opportunity. 00:04:58.043 --> 00:05:04.073 Well, we boys, according to my dad, we just bugged the hound out of him. 00:05:04.693 --> 00:05:06.363 Cause we enjoy going to church. 00:05:07.093 --> 00:05:08.713 Children's church at Mary the first. 00:05:09.063 --> 00:05:13.103 It was a blast and it still is to the day if I understand correctly. 00:05:13.503 --> 00:05:17.783 So anyway, that church put a priority on kids ministry and 00:05:17.783 --> 00:05:19.113 that got us wanting to be there. 00:05:19.973 --> 00:05:22.393 So we started begging and finally my dad called and said, all 00:05:22.393 --> 00:05:23.743 right, come on and get them. 00:05:24.823 --> 00:05:28.093 And then he said he waited around a few minutes, he said, wait a minute, I need to 00:05:28.093 --> 00:05:32.283 go find out what is going on up there that makes my kids want to go to that church. 00:05:32.993 --> 00:05:36.323 So my dad called him back and said, Hey, if they go into church, 00:05:36.773 --> 00:05:37.933 then I'll go to church with them. 00:05:38.943 --> 00:05:40.073 So they took us to church. 00:05:41.448 --> 00:05:47.138 And that was the beginning step that the Lord used to get my dad 00:05:47.208 --> 00:05:48.578 where he could hear the gospel. 00:05:49.498 --> 00:05:52.448 So the lead pastor at that point was absent. 00:05:53.348 --> 00:05:59.378 And there was a pastor called Bill Cashin, who is a missionary, retired, I 00:05:59.378 --> 00:06:01.458 believe today, but he's always on mission. 00:06:01.458 --> 00:06:04.588 He's a great guy, great servant of the Lord. 00:06:05.498 --> 00:06:07.978 He was a student at college. 00:06:08.808 --> 00:06:15.088 Uh, ministerial student came to Marietta first and the preacher said, 00:06:15.558 --> 00:06:16.868 Billy, you got your guns loaded? 00:06:16.868 --> 00:06:17.678 He said, yes, sir. 00:06:18.378 --> 00:06:19.678 Let me ready to preach. 00:06:20.118 --> 00:06:24.368 And so Billy just went up, you know, no ready, no prep, just went up to 00:06:24.368 --> 00:06:26.508 preach, got up and preach the gospel. 00:06:27.788 --> 00:06:31.588 And my dad said something happened to him during that service. 00:06:31.888 --> 00:06:33.078 He ran down the aisle. 00:06:33.288 --> 00:06:38.268 He was in the balcony, came all the way down and went to the front and accepted 00:06:38.268 --> 00:06:39.758 Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. 00:06:40.918 --> 00:06:43.078 And so I'm probably six years old at this point. 00:06:43.668 --> 00:06:48.618 In my life, but I can remember thinking, this is amazing. 00:06:49.368 --> 00:06:52.488 We get to go to church all the time, but Eddie just got saved. 00:06:53.088 --> 00:06:56.978 And my mom got involved in church and the church built a new building, a new 00:06:56.978 --> 00:07:01.228 worship center, new center school, new area, this old rock church that we've been 00:07:01.228 --> 00:07:03.418 going to, they tore it down eventually. 00:07:04.083 --> 00:07:08.953 And so anyway, we, I spent my entire life from that point on in church. 00:07:09.143 --> 00:07:14.163 My dad became a deacon, Sunday school teacher, student department leader. 00:07:14.493 --> 00:07:16.253 My mom became church secretary. 00:07:16.653 --> 00:07:18.113 She led in the WMU. 00:07:18.703 --> 00:07:23.923 So my parents got invested in church and my dad's testimony was amazing because 00:07:24.303 --> 00:07:30.323 throughout his life, he began to live his life on mission trips and always finding 00:07:30.323 --> 00:07:33.443 ways to do labor renewals and go out. 00:07:33.443 --> 00:07:35.663 He loved to go out and canvass communities. 00:07:35.963 --> 00:07:39.533 So his role model for me growing up through high school was pretty impressive. 00:07:40.333 --> 00:07:44.213 But in high school, I had, the thing is when I was about seven or eight. 00:07:45.058 --> 00:07:49.318 I got to a place where everybody in my church, all my family was 00:07:49.328 --> 00:07:50.708 going down and being baptized. 00:07:51.638 --> 00:07:55.498 So I was just curious, ignorant of the word of God, ignorant of 00:07:55.498 --> 00:07:57.238 the truth of what was going on. 00:07:57.248 --> 00:07:58.158 I want to be baptized. 00:07:59.038 --> 00:08:00.138 Everybody else is getting baptized. 00:08:00.178 --> 00:08:01.378 I want everybody to get baptized. 00:08:01.978 --> 00:08:05.108 Well, the pastor sent me back to talk to my parents. 00:08:05.853 --> 00:08:09.823 And I guess they didn't understand what they needed to say. 00:08:10.573 --> 00:08:16.493 But from that day till I was 18, no one ever, ever just sit down with me 00:08:16.493 --> 00:08:21.153 and talk through my experience and share the gospel with me, knowing the 00:08:21.153 --> 00:08:26.843 pastor never shared up at the front, never prayed with me, never, never 00:08:27.133 --> 00:08:31.363 shared with me what the steps I needed to take to make sure that I understood 00:08:31.763 --> 00:08:34.963 that I was accepting Christ as my Lord. 00:08:35.583 --> 00:08:39.903 Not just getting a salvation security, you know, he was going to be my Lord. 00:08:40.393 --> 00:08:41.493 No one ever said that now. 00:08:42.023 --> 00:08:45.953 And he probably thought that my parents did, but no one understood 00:08:45.953 --> 00:08:48.773 what to do at that point in my life. 00:08:48.773 --> 00:08:56.193 And, and so as I grew up, I was real rebellious because I was 00:08:56.213 --> 00:08:57.643 having to go to church all the time. 00:08:58.533 --> 00:08:59.788 And so church was like. 00:09:00.068 --> 00:09:04.338 It was like coming in, you know, you had to be in 11 o'clock every night. 00:09:04.688 --> 00:09:07.648 So church was not being in 11 o'clock, not something you had to do. 00:09:08.488 --> 00:09:11.318 So I grew up in church and it was probably good. 00:09:11.318 --> 00:09:13.948 Cause I got the influence of church. 00:09:14.448 --> 00:09:15.458 I have a Bible. 00:09:15.458 --> 00:09:16.768 I wish I had it with me this morning. 00:09:18.378 --> 00:09:21.288 My family has used it in their weddings. 00:09:21.768 --> 00:09:26.588 I have a Bible that I got when I was, uh, six years old in Crusaders, 00:09:27.178 --> 00:09:30.388 which is a program of the Southern Baptist Convention, of the RAs. 00:09:30.828 --> 00:09:35.698 And I was in Sunday school one morning and realized that all the other guys 00:09:36.088 --> 00:09:40.708 in my Crusader class had their Bibles in church and we would have to open and 00:09:40.708 --> 00:09:45.078 read, find verses and find scripture and I couldn't find none of that. 00:09:45.078 --> 00:09:50.748 But I noticed all their Bibles looked worn and wrinkled and, and, and 00:09:50.748 --> 00:09:53.128 was, was flared out at the edges. 00:09:53.903 --> 00:09:57.253 Mine was still gold, still up crisp. 00:09:58.043 --> 00:09:58.823 I was embarrassed. 00:09:59.353 --> 00:10:03.643 I went home that day and took my little Bible and I wrinkled every page. 00:10:04.133 --> 00:10:05.203 I spent an hour. 00:10:05.673 --> 00:10:08.983 If I'd have spent that much time every day reading the Bible, well, I would 00:10:08.983 --> 00:10:10.533 have understood why I needed to read it. 00:10:11.143 --> 00:10:15.813 But I wrinkled it because see, I was a poser and I learned 00:10:15.813 --> 00:10:16.973 to pose as a Christian. 00:10:17.353 --> 00:10:18.113 People say, Hey. 00:10:18.598 --> 00:10:19.228 Are you a Christian? 00:10:19.228 --> 00:10:19.708 I'm a Christian. 00:10:19.708 --> 00:10:22.848 I was baptized when I was eight years old or seven years old, you know, and I 00:10:22.858 --> 00:10:27.368 would always tell people that so I learned to pretend to be a Christian all those 00:10:27.368 --> 00:10:31.068 years and so I graduated high school. 00:10:31.428 --> 00:10:33.668 Now in high school, I was in a lot of trouble. 00:10:34.368 --> 00:10:39.678 I was, I was drinking, using profanity all the time and had become 00:10:40.098 --> 00:10:42.048 sexually active when I was like 14. 00:10:42.878 --> 00:10:46.818 And so a lot of that stuff in my life had dominated my life. 00:10:47.783 --> 00:10:52.523 And had had, I would say it's like I had indulged my body. 00:10:53.043 --> 00:10:57.073 So my body craves those things and food was a big craving. 00:10:57.463 --> 00:11:01.613 So all those things that I loved in my life, I made them into cravings. 00:11:02.093 --> 00:11:08.503 And so when I graduated high school, I basically was just gonna go to work. 00:11:09.073 --> 00:11:12.683 So for two years, I went to work at my dad's business and I went all over 00:11:12.683 --> 00:11:16.983 the country working and I had the best of life for a young guy my age. 00:11:17.223 --> 00:11:20.503 I was making a lot of money and didn't know what to do. 00:11:20.503 --> 00:11:23.743 I was blowing it as I was making it on anything I can blow it 00:11:23.743 --> 00:11:25.973 on party and play and whatever. 00:11:26.623 --> 00:11:32.863 So one thing I had to stay connected, even though I had moved out of my home, 00:11:33.263 --> 00:11:36.803 my mom and I got, I moved out of my home when I was 18, because I was rebellious. 00:11:37.648 --> 00:11:42.198 And I moved in with my youth pastor, the youth pastor at our church, crazy, 00:11:42.838 --> 00:11:46.768 but, and he stayed on me all the time about things, trying to get me to 00:11:47.138 --> 00:11:51.878 realize the reality of what was, but what had happened up until I was 18 or 00:11:51.878 --> 00:11:55.598 when I was 18 years, my senior year. 00:11:56.328 --> 00:12:01.438 A youth trip, and I kind of had that, but I'm going back to it, my senior year, we 00:12:01.438 --> 00:12:06.248 did a church camp, and instead of doing the traditional kind of stuff, this new 00:12:06.248 --> 00:12:11.378 guy we hired from South Carolina, he's passed on now, he came, and he took us 00:12:11.398 --> 00:12:18.788 to Sumter, to this little state, South Carolina park camp, and didn't have 00:12:18.798 --> 00:12:24.258 hot water in the boys dorm area, and so, in the boys bath house, so we had 00:12:24.268 --> 00:12:28.873 to run water hoses to take showers, that's how bad it was, So anyway, it 00:12:28.873 --> 00:12:33.853 was way out there and from being up in the upstate, I'd never seen the 00:12:33.873 --> 00:12:40.213 horse flies and experienced mosquitoes and stuff like they had in Sumter and 00:12:40.213 --> 00:12:44.793 the air force base is not fair from there, so when they would drop bombs 00:12:44.793 --> 00:12:49.723 on the practice fields, you can feel the vibration coming through the water 00:12:49.723 --> 00:12:52.123 when you're like, wow, this is weird. 00:12:52.683 --> 00:12:55.443 You know, it's like, whoa, whoa, what in the world? 00:12:56.043 --> 00:12:58.363 And so we experienced a lot of things we never experienced. 00:12:59.288 --> 00:13:02.978 And so I had took my girlfriend, the only reason I really went, my 00:13:02.978 --> 00:13:06.788 dad was cooking, my grandmother was cooking, and my girlfriend was gone. 00:13:07.598 --> 00:13:10.428 So at the time I wanted to go because my girlfriend was going to be there. 00:13:10.808 --> 00:13:14.858 And my intentions, they were not holy or spiritual at all. 00:13:14.888 --> 00:13:19.998 My intentions was physical and because it was a have to situation. 00:13:20.698 --> 00:13:22.218 My dad didn't leave me a lot of options. 00:13:22.838 --> 00:13:24.048 It was like my last chance. 00:13:24.498 --> 00:13:26.978 I guess his last chance to help me see the light. 00:13:27.858 --> 00:13:28.918 So I'm at this camp. 00:13:29.348 --> 00:13:31.668 And all week I did what I wanted to do. 00:13:31.678 --> 00:13:32.968 My Aunt Rachel was there. 00:13:33.228 --> 00:13:34.608 She's passed on before 10. 00:13:35.268 --> 00:13:38.918 She was a Sunday school teacher in the youth, her whole life. 00:13:39.838 --> 00:13:43.418 That I remember when she accepted Christ, she began to teach girls 00:13:43.418 --> 00:13:45.298 in Sunday school for years. 00:13:45.878 --> 00:13:48.078 But she was always the one to call us up. 00:13:48.368 --> 00:13:49.328 She never got married. 00:13:49.878 --> 00:13:52.158 She was about four foot six. 00:13:52.548 --> 00:13:53.428 She'd call us up. 00:13:53.448 --> 00:13:55.738 She'd find out how we were doing. 00:13:56.098 --> 00:13:57.918 She'd see you doing something wrong, she'd get on you about it. 00:13:58.473 --> 00:14:00.193 So that week she was at camp too. 00:14:00.843 --> 00:14:05.113 All she did, I believe, was follow me around and call me out when I was 00:14:05.123 --> 00:14:06.193 somewhere I wasn't supposed to be. 00:14:06.833 --> 00:14:09.333 Whenever I'd get somewhere, that little girl, get out of my back there. 00:14:09.513 --> 00:14:10.703 You ain't supposed to be down there. 00:14:11.103 --> 00:14:12.863 It was on and on that way the whole week. 00:14:13.433 --> 00:14:17.863 I mean, she would nag me until I just, oh, about to just scream at her. 00:14:18.693 --> 00:14:20.963 But I knew I had to respect her because that was my dad's sister. 00:14:21.373 --> 00:14:22.783 I disrespected her, I'd be in trouble. 00:14:23.618 --> 00:14:26.608 So I had a lot of respect and fear for my dad because he was 00:14:26.608 --> 00:14:30.608 a godly man, but he knew how to bring down the wrath if he had to. 00:14:30.608 --> 00:14:36.238 Anyway, on Thursday night of that week, they did a passion play. 00:14:36.238 --> 00:14:39.568 Some college students from North Greenwood came down and they did a 00:14:40.188 --> 00:14:46.358 passion type play where where Jesus was tried and crucified and I saw that. 00:14:47.228 --> 00:14:51.748 And I'd really never seen it in that likeness, nor have I ever heard the 00:14:51.778 --> 00:14:57.258 gospel told in a narrated story, the way they told it that night, and 00:14:57.258 --> 00:14:59.928 it, it, it's just way into my heart. 00:15:00.928 --> 00:15:03.648 I had to get up and kind of move away from everybody. 00:15:03.648 --> 00:15:07.348 And I saw other people that night before I went to bed, kind of. 00:15:07.918 --> 00:15:12.188 Crying and praying and doing things emotionally. 00:15:12.698 --> 00:15:13.768 And I wasn't emotional. 00:15:14.128 --> 00:15:17.078 I was like, you know, why are these guys crying? 00:15:17.078 --> 00:15:20.458 I know that was impressive, but that wasn't, nobody got hurt. 00:15:21.938 --> 00:15:23.008 Well, no pain for us. 00:15:23.018 --> 00:15:23.948 Why don't we cry? 00:15:24.548 --> 00:15:25.538 So I didn't understand that. 00:15:25.538 --> 00:15:28.048 It sounds silly, but I'm just giving it to you the way it was. 00:15:28.798 --> 00:15:32.708 Then the next morning I go to our group meeting. 00:15:34.048 --> 00:15:38.778 My youth pastor, Mike, gets up and he starts to share his testimony and he talks 00:15:38.778 --> 00:15:40.498 about how his life was before Christ. 00:15:41.448 --> 00:15:48.588 And the crazy thing was his life before Christ sounded like my life right then. 00:15:49.948 --> 00:15:55.298 All the desires and things he was seeking in his life, I was seeking in my life. 00:15:56.088 --> 00:15:57.218 And none of it was good. 00:15:58.008 --> 00:15:59.278 And he said, that was before Christ. 00:15:59.278 --> 00:16:03.548 He said, and then he had written a song about it, but he talked about how. 00:16:03.978 --> 00:16:07.848 In the song, how his life was at a desperate end, he didn't 00:16:07.848 --> 00:16:08.628 want to live any longer. 00:16:09.438 --> 00:16:12.768 And then he met, then somebody had shared the gospel with him and he, 00:16:13.078 --> 00:16:16.618 and he repented and received Christ in his heart and how God had turned 00:16:16.618 --> 00:16:20.338 his life around and how his life had a new purpose, a new meaning. 00:16:21.118 --> 00:16:22.018 And I heard all that. 00:16:22.088 --> 00:16:22.958 And I was like, wait a minute. 00:16:24.218 --> 00:16:26.828 Man, maybe, maybe, maybe I'm not saved. 00:16:28.638 --> 00:16:29.868 Nothing about me is saved. 00:16:30.338 --> 00:16:34.698 Nothing about me is, I've never even thought about a relationship with Christ. 00:16:34.938 --> 00:16:37.918 What he's talking about is like, he's like talking to his dad. 00:16:38.728 --> 00:16:40.808 And I've never even thought about Jesus as my dad. 00:16:40.808 --> 00:16:42.648 My dad is my dad. 00:16:44.248 --> 00:16:47.638 But all of a sudden, you know, this year I'm going out for the football team. 00:16:48.038 --> 00:16:49.718 I'm going to be a senior, I'm going to be a football player. 00:16:50.408 --> 00:16:51.948 And I'm going to be a defensive lineman. 00:16:52.948 --> 00:16:54.148 And I'm thinking in my mind. 00:16:55.073 --> 00:16:55.873 I'm about to cry. 00:16:57.263 --> 00:17:01.113 Emotions are overcoming me, and I don't want nobody to see me crying. 00:17:01.783 --> 00:17:06.103 So I walked away from the crowd slowly and eased down the hill, and 00:17:06.333 --> 00:17:08.193 my Aunt Rachel didn't follow me. 00:17:09.163 --> 00:17:10.173 I don't know why, but she didn't. 00:17:10.183 --> 00:17:12.133 Maybe she did, and just didn't come down there. 00:17:12.543 --> 00:17:16.093 Because when I got down there, there was a bench by the lake where you 00:17:16.093 --> 00:17:20.543 could sit and fish, and I went down and sat on that bench, and that's 00:17:20.553 --> 00:17:22.233 where I had my Come to Jesus meeting. 00:17:23.093 --> 00:17:26.663 And I told the Lord, I said, Lord, I don't know what I did when I was baptized. 00:17:27.333 --> 00:17:29.573 But I know for a fact that I wasn't saved. 00:17:30.423 --> 00:17:34.503 I know for a fact if I died today, I would not be with you in eternity. 00:17:34.503 --> 00:17:36.903 I would be separate for eternity. 00:17:37.273 --> 00:17:41.583 And the wisdom to know how to say that had to come from the Holy 00:17:41.583 --> 00:17:45.663 Spirit because nothing in me was smart enough to think like that. 00:17:46.558 --> 00:17:51.058 But I remember those words and I remember out verbally articulating those words 00:17:51.058 --> 00:17:55.818 out loud, emotionally broken, knowing that I was lost and needed Jesus. 00:17:56.778 --> 00:18:00.168 And I remember just saying, God, I want to receive you. 00:18:00.168 --> 00:18:01.798 I want you to be my Lord and Savior. 00:18:02.628 --> 00:18:05.328 I want you to be the Lord of my life this day forward. 00:18:05.978 --> 00:18:07.438 I receive you as my Lord and Savior. 00:18:08.278 --> 00:18:09.278 I want to be saved. 00:18:10.193 --> 00:18:14.713 And that is the day that I will tell anybody that I was saved. 00:18:14.733 --> 00:18:18.473 Now, all of that up, that was a great experience. 00:18:18.873 --> 00:18:22.093 I didn't tell nobody I got home. 00:18:22.393 --> 00:18:27.503 Now my cousin had done the same thing and I overheard a conversation 00:18:27.503 --> 00:18:30.583 of two adults that were in church. 00:18:31.103 --> 00:18:36.903 Uh, one, uh, had just gotten saved and, uh, was being baptized. 00:18:36.903 --> 00:18:43.013 I had been baptized, but that next Sunday when we got home, my cousin 00:18:43.013 --> 00:18:44.683 went up forward and presented herself. 00:18:45.328 --> 00:18:47.088 As a candidate for Christianity and Baptism. 00:18:47.748 --> 00:18:52.188 Now she was baptized back when we all were, but I overheard two adults on the 00:18:52.448 --> 00:18:56.658 phone, and one of the conversations, one of the statements was made that 00:18:56.658 --> 00:19:01.848 it just seems silly that she would go up and be presented to be re baptized 00:19:01.848 --> 00:19:02.578 because she'd already been baptized. 00:19:03.288 --> 00:19:04.828 Why do we need to baptize her again? 00:19:06.078 --> 00:19:12.168 And so at that point, I thought, well, it's going to be embarrassing if I 00:19:12.198 --> 00:19:14.718 go tell people that I just got saved. 00:19:15.663 --> 00:19:21.843 And so I put it, I filed that next conversation of going to be baptized. 00:19:22.193 --> 00:19:26.983 I filed away two years later, now I'm working for my dad. 00:19:27.583 --> 00:19:36.233 I am going to camp as a helper, set up recreation guys. 00:19:36.793 --> 00:19:39.343 I had to set up recreation for them and all that kind of stuff. 00:19:40.068 --> 00:19:43.938 My senior year in high school was the best year academically and 00:19:43.938 --> 00:19:46.518 I was living it as a believer. 00:19:47.508 --> 00:19:48.098 Okay. 00:19:48.158 --> 00:19:51.488 Somewhere towards the end of my senior high school, I got caught up with 00:19:51.488 --> 00:19:55.178 some guys and, and doing a little bit of partying, but it wasn't the same. 00:19:55.178 --> 00:19:58.948 There was like, there was no longer a concern that my parents are going 00:19:58.948 --> 00:20:02.378 to catch me doing what I shouldn't be doing because I was aware of the 00:20:02.378 --> 00:20:04.578 fact that God had already caught me. 00:20:05.453 --> 00:20:09.993 I was under conviction that I never had before, which further confirms that 00:20:10.083 --> 00:20:12.703 my salvation was at 18, not later on. 00:20:13.263 --> 00:20:16.653 So as I went on, I still struggled. 00:20:16.653 --> 00:20:21.313 I was given into peer pressure and those indulgences were calling my name. 00:20:22.218 --> 00:20:22.628 Okay. 00:20:22.688 --> 00:20:24.088 Eating was out of control. 00:20:24.118 --> 00:20:25.968 The eating disorder was out of control. 00:20:25.978 --> 00:20:27.988 A little bit of drinking, not a lot of drinking. 00:20:28.548 --> 00:20:34.728 The sexual misconduct, the, the, the, the, the looking and participating 00:20:34.728 --> 00:20:39.138 in things I probably shouldn't have been, was always a pressure, a draw. 00:20:40.018 --> 00:20:45.463 And so that was trying to rule me, but the conviction was overpowering me. 00:20:45.463 --> 00:20:48.028 I didn't go to church anymore because I had to. 00:20:48.308 --> 00:20:50.608 I went to church because I wanted to, I wanted to learn. 00:20:51.078 --> 00:20:51.998 I was way behind. 00:20:52.973 --> 00:20:56.073 I was way behind where I thought I should have been as 18, living that 00:20:56.073 --> 00:21:02.573 many years, over almost 20 years in church, excuse me, 10 years in church. 00:21:02.953 --> 00:21:06.633 And I should have known better than doing some of the things I was doing. 00:21:06.633 --> 00:21:09.203 So I was struggling with that in my life. 00:21:09.773 --> 00:21:16.273 And so finally, uh, my second year out of high school, helping at 00:21:16.273 --> 00:21:17.763 the camp, we were doing the drama. 00:21:18.023 --> 00:21:19.933 I was in the drama then, helping with it. 00:21:20.553 --> 00:21:24.373 And man, something about it just struck me and I just knew 00:21:24.763 --> 00:21:25.923 something special was going on. 00:21:26.683 --> 00:21:31.063 And I felt like a draw into ministry and I felt like man, cause the pastor 00:21:31.063 --> 00:21:34.223 said something near the invitation that maybe some of you sitting here, 00:21:34.603 --> 00:21:36.813 you just feel like there's something's going on in your life right now. 00:21:37.153 --> 00:21:38.773 Maybe God's trying to get your attention. 00:21:39.023 --> 00:21:40.913 He wants you to serve him for the rest of your life. 00:21:41.623 --> 00:21:44.393 And now that hit me like, that's exactly what I'm trying to figure out. 00:21:45.253 --> 00:21:46.383 That's what I'm trying to say. 00:21:47.423 --> 00:21:48.573 And so I went home. 00:21:48.573 --> 00:21:51.743 I tried to tell my dad, my mom and dad and my parents were like, 00:21:51.963 --> 00:21:55.003 look, we spent 12 years fighting. 00:21:55.003 --> 00:21:58.093 It's in your education and you've bowed through it away. 00:21:59.063 --> 00:22:00.853 And I'm like, look, I need to go back to college. 00:22:01.183 --> 00:22:02.823 They're like, you go to college, you go on your own. 00:22:03.323 --> 00:22:04.753 You know, we're not going to be part of that. 00:22:04.983 --> 00:22:06.003 Which was justifiable. 00:22:06.773 --> 00:22:10.383 As I played in school, I was, I could have been as smart as anybody wanted 00:22:10.383 --> 00:22:16.363 to be, but I threw it away because I was lazy and rebellious and just 00:22:16.363 --> 00:22:20.123 wanted to do what I had to do to make a passing grade to get through it. 00:22:21.033 --> 00:22:24.513 And that was evident when I had to go to summer school, take history in English 00:22:24.973 --> 00:22:29.843 and pass it with a B or not get credit for it my senior year before my senior year. 00:22:29.843 --> 00:22:31.893 And I went in and got A's and B's in both. 00:22:32.603 --> 00:22:34.033 And my mom was like, Oh, are you kidding me? 00:22:34.833 --> 00:22:38.033 So anyway, so they didn't want to invest. 00:22:38.043 --> 00:22:39.713 So my dad gave me some advice. 00:22:39.723 --> 00:22:42.153 I went in his office at his business and I said, Dad, I feel 00:22:42.153 --> 00:22:43.283 like God's calling me in ministry. 00:22:44.093 --> 00:22:48.313 The youth pastor and everybody's saying I need to go to school that 00:22:48.313 --> 00:22:49.613 they can get me in at North Greenville. 00:22:50.243 --> 00:22:51.853 And I think I probably need to do that. 00:22:51.883 --> 00:22:53.853 My dad was like, well, that's great. 00:22:54.053 --> 00:22:54.828 And so those. 00:22:56.008 --> 00:23:00.778 Somebody from North Greenville, I know his, his name was Mason Easterling. 00:23:00.788 --> 00:23:02.688 Great serve at North Greenville all them years. 00:23:02.878 --> 00:23:04.188 I think he serves at Anderson now. 00:23:04.618 --> 00:23:08.688 Mason came to my dad's work and tried to share with my dad, the 00:23:08.688 --> 00:23:12.378 importance of getting me in school and how they could help me And my 00:23:12.378 --> 00:23:13.488 dad called me back in his office. 00:23:13.508 --> 00:23:17.318 He said, all right, son, this is what we're going to do is if you're going to 00:23:17.318 --> 00:23:22.178 work for me one more year, at the end of that year, if you feel, if you still feel 00:23:22.178 --> 00:23:26.078 called to go to school, then we'll support you to do, I'll help you do whatever 00:23:26.078 --> 00:23:27.068 we need to do to get you in school. 00:23:28.498 --> 00:23:32.538 So one more year, I went to work traveling on the road, selling 00:23:32.538 --> 00:23:34.038 equipment, whatever we need to do. 00:23:34.628 --> 00:23:36.928 And so nothing changed. 00:23:37.458 --> 00:23:41.558 My commitment, my, my, my draw, my conviction was 00:23:41.558 --> 00:23:42.768 stronger that year than ever. 00:23:43.328 --> 00:23:45.098 My walk with the Lord increased daily. 00:23:45.528 --> 00:23:48.358 My youth pastor gave me a Bible that I still have today. 00:23:48.358 --> 00:23:51.368 It's duct taped together, but it was a Bible I read all the time. 00:23:52.108 --> 00:23:57.888 And so God, the Lord got my attention, got me on the right path. 00:23:58.468 --> 00:24:03.148 And I began to head towards that call into ministry. 00:24:04.198 --> 00:24:09.418 At the end of the year, the end of that year, I'm registering at North Greenville. 00:24:10.453 --> 00:24:11.653 Trying to get my finances together. 00:24:11.653 --> 00:24:14.923 And look, how am I going to get finances to go to a school? 00:24:14.923 --> 00:24:18.383 Of course, then it was only like 5, 500 a year. 00:24:19.163 --> 00:24:19.603 You know what I'm saying? 00:24:19.603 --> 00:24:23.273 Which was nothing, but to me, it was a lot making 300 a week. 00:24:23.393 --> 00:24:23.863 You know what I'm saying? 00:24:23.863 --> 00:24:25.363 So to me, it was a lot. 00:24:26.053 --> 00:24:30.823 My tech, my paycheck, I think was like 275 a week, normal 00:24:30.923 --> 00:24:33.313 hours, 40 hour week working. 00:24:34.593 --> 00:24:36.353 I got my confirmation letter. 00:24:36.753 --> 00:24:40.563 And my financial package letter from North Greenville one day, and when I 00:24:40.563 --> 00:24:45.843 opened it up, it was, I owed exactly 275. 00:24:48.998 --> 00:24:52.728 They somehow have fixed this thing just so that I can get in school. 00:24:53.348 --> 00:24:58.798 And so I never have, I never had to ask my parents to pay for my schooling. 00:24:59.248 --> 00:25:04.608 Now, once I left North Greenwood, went to Charleston Southern, and when 00:25:04.608 --> 00:25:10.518 I graduated college, I had an 1, 800 student loan that occurred over the time 00:25:10.518 --> 00:25:13.948 at North Greenville, and my mom picked that loan up and paid it off for me. 00:25:15.218 --> 00:25:18.978 So, basically, I had one little loan I paid off at Charleston Southern, 00:25:19.428 --> 00:25:22.918 but it was kind of paying itself off, because by the time I was a senior, 00:25:23.428 --> 00:25:24.758 I was getting all kinds of money. 00:25:25.418 --> 00:25:28.818 So, I graduated Charleston Southern University under the name 00:25:28.818 --> 00:25:29.958 of Babbage College, Charleston. 00:25:30.908 --> 00:25:31.668 So, I have two diplomas. 00:25:31.668 --> 00:25:34.738 So, I tell everybody, that's both my diplomas, all I need. 00:25:36.718 --> 00:25:38.298 Anyway, it was. 00:25:38.818 --> 00:25:40.088 Me taking those steps. 00:25:40.198 --> 00:25:42.188 So I left during the summers. 00:25:43.148 --> 00:25:47.838 Between, between one year in the Nakeson College, I took a job working 00:25:48.298 --> 00:25:52.298 at a place called Camp Pine Hill in Bennettsville, South Carolina. 00:25:52.658 --> 00:25:55.938 And I worked for a guy there, his name was Marion Lee, he passed on. 00:25:56.418 --> 00:26:01.368 His name, his real name that we called him was Bull Lee, B U L L. 00:26:01.888 --> 00:26:07.848 He was a football coach, graduated from Newberry College, football coach, big 00:26:07.848 --> 00:26:09.988 old rascal looking, had big old forearms. 00:26:10.188 --> 00:26:14.598 We called him Popeye Arms, you know, but he was just a great guy, loved the Lord. 00:26:15.128 --> 00:26:18.368 Share the gospel anywhere and anytime he could. 00:26:18.798 --> 00:26:19.618 What a great role model. 00:26:20.438 --> 00:26:23.128 And I remember my first year working with him, he would, he and I would go 00:26:23.128 --> 00:26:29.738 sit down and, uh, he would share a story about walking with Christ and, and he 00:26:29.738 --> 00:26:32.948 and I had a great relationship and he would pray for him and pray together. 00:26:33.768 --> 00:26:37.108 And so I worked the summers at a summer camp called Camp Pine Hill 00:26:37.718 --> 00:26:41.348 as my first year as a counselor, slash assistant director. 00:26:41.798 --> 00:26:43.928 And the rest of my years there was assistant director. 00:26:45.808 --> 00:26:47.868 I also met my wife there. 00:26:48.628 --> 00:26:52.678 At this camp and my first year, you know, I fall heads over 00:26:52.678 --> 00:26:55.528 heels for cause I'm just crazy. 00:26:56.278 --> 00:27:02.228 But I don't know how to respect God's gift because again, my indulgences are bad. 00:27:02.873 --> 00:27:06.033 And she's not going to put up with that kind of pressure 00:27:06.033 --> 00:27:06.963 or indulgence or whatever. 00:27:07.443 --> 00:27:08.793 And so I knew that from the get go. 00:27:08.843 --> 00:27:13.313 Plus, she's the perfect person for me to, to maybe get some of that out of 00:27:13.353 --> 00:27:17.463 my system and get my focus back on just having a relationship with the Lord. 00:27:18.223 --> 00:27:21.293 And so we kind of get together at the first summer, we were 00:27:21.293 --> 00:27:23.103 to camp, which was in 85. 00:27:23.763 --> 00:27:24.933 During that year. 00:27:25.388 --> 00:27:28.878 Things didn't, you know, because I was gone, she was gone, absence, 00:27:29.148 --> 00:27:32.488 you know, allowed us to kind of drift in different directions. 00:27:32.928 --> 00:27:36.548 She had kind of got back with an old guy, old boyfriend, which 00:27:36.598 --> 00:27:38.068 they eventually got engaged. 00:27:38.358 --> 00:27:44.118 So the next summer I'm out and, but, but in my mind, I know there's nobody else 00:27:44.148 --> 00:27:46.218 I would ever want to be with, but her. 00:27:47.448 --> 00:27:48.798 And so it's a tough situation. 00:27:48.798 --> 00:27:53.218 So another series of events, the Lord works things in mysterious ways. 00:27:53.568 --> 00:27:55.228 And mom got through all those events because. 00:27:55.873 --> 00:27:58.623 It could, it could lead people to ask crazy questions. 00:27:58.633 --> 00:28:00.863 But anyway, a series of events took place. 00:28:01.758 --> 00:28:10.918 Um, where my wife had to make some decisions that summer, cause her 00:28:10.918 --> 00:28:12.138 plan was to get married later on. 00:28:12.158 --> 00:28:20.218 So I ended up, she called the wedding off and she and I got 00:28:20.218 --> 00:28:21.468 together at the end of that summer. 00:28:21.868 --> 00:28:27.208 We began to work through things that next year and we had a great relationship. 00:28:28.678 --> 00:28:34.198 But it's just been one of those things at the camp the last Thursday night 00:28:34.338 --> 00:28:37.458 of the week, coach Bully told me. 00:28:37.953 --> 00:28:42.083 And Claire to stay down and put the fire out, which he never, we never did that. 00:28:42.083 --> 00:28:44.093 We never promoted relationships. 00:28:44.553 --> 00:28:46.093 That was tough to do when you're working together. 00:28:46.663 --> 00:28:51.943 We worked at Camp Pioneer for almost five years and we were dating the whole 00:28:51.943 --> 00:28:53.343 time and nobody ever knew we were dating. 00:28:53.923 --> 00:28:57.993 So he knew, Coach Lee knew that I was going to ask her to marry me that night. 00:28:58.743 --> 00:28:59.853 And I already laid the whole plan out. 00:28:59.853 --> 00:29:03.263 So he asked her to stay back, help me put the fire out and make sure everything 00:29:03.263 --> 00:29:04.493 was straightened up when we come back. 00:29:04.883 --> 00:29:07.173 Cause like the end of the summer, he wanted to make sure 00:29:07.173 --> 00:29:08.143 everything was done down there. 00:29:08.663 --> 00:29:10.253 So we walk up to the road, we're talking. 00:29:10.683 --> 00:29:17.053 And that summer we had did the master life study and that was our orientation. 00:29:17.593 --> 00:29:21.793 I led our counselors through master life and you know, the part of that 00:29:21.833 --> 00:29:24.503 master life deals with man, the cross. 00:29:25.008 --> 00:29:27.068 Talks about man being a man. 00:29:27.078 --> 00:29:30.008 The other part is talking about man's relationship with God, man's 00:29:30.008 --> 00:29:31.828 relationship with each other, man's relationship with God. 00:29:32.198 --> 00:29:34.408 So we built a prayer garden. 00:29:35.268 --> 00:29:39.018 Down by a well, and in the middle of that prayer garden, between the benches, 00:29:39.298 --> 00:29:45.668 we put a heart shaped bed of rocks, and in the rocks, we embedded a cross 00:29:45.678 --> 00:29:47.708 tie cross, built out of cross ties. 00:29:48.648 --> 00:29:49.308 It was on the ground. 00:29:49.308 --> 00:29:51.748 When you walk down there, you see the cross, see the heart shape, 00:29:52.008 --> 00:29:53.328 and the cross, Jesus in your heart. 00:29:54.018 --> 00:29:58.388 And so, that end of the summer, I walked her down to that cross. 00:29:59.018 --> 00:30:03.448 And I said, we sit down on the cross and I said, let's, let's go down here and pray. 00:30:03.448 --> 00:30:06.638 And thank the Lord for this great summer because this is where it all began. 00:30:06.988 --> 00:30:08.498 Me and her prayed, sat on that cross. 00:30:09.118 --> 00:30:14.308 So we went down there and we sat on the cross and, and I told her how God had 00:30:14.648 --> 00:30:16.788 put her in my life and that I needed her. 00:30:16.788 --> 00:30:20.348 And so it was all part of my spiritual journey, major part. 00:30:20.918 --> 00:30:24.288 And so that was on that cross that sat on those two, on that cross 00:30:24.288 --> 00:30:26.638 member that I asked her to be my wife. 00:30:27.518 --> 00:30:28.708 And she said, yes, thank goodness. 00:30:29.248 --> 00:30:31.148 And so we got engaged at Camp Pine Hill. 00:30:31.998 --> 00:30:37.568 And so I tell you that because we got married my last year 00:30:37.878 --> 00:30:38.938 at Charleston Southern. 00:30:39.298 --> 00:30:41.708 As a student, I was married, living in an apartment with her. 00:30:42.338 --> 00:30:49.458 I graduated Charleston Southern and we took the full time job at Camp Pine Hill. 00:30:49.978 --> 00:30:51.068 My wife is a school teacher. 00:30:51.068 --> 00:30:54.408 She, she, she got a job in Bennettsville and I was the camp director at 00:30:54.408 --> 00:30:56.078 Camp Pine Hill, living at camp. 00:30:56.538 --> 00:30:57.448 And that was in 89. 00:30:59.358 --> 00:31:01.438 We stayed there until 94. 00:31:02.218 --> 00:31:03.168 In 94. 00:31:03.753 --> 00:31:11.123 I felt a call to pastor a church or more toward the pastoral because the thing 00:31:11.123 --> 00:31:13.703 about camp is it's great in the summer. 00:31:14.223 --> 00:31:15.613 You can't top it in the summer. 00:31:16.143 --> 00:31:18.973 There's no spiritual mountains you can ever get to that is 00:31:18.973 --> 00:31:21.743 high as watching children come to Christ through the summer. 00:31:21.743 --> 00:31:25.913 But when the kids go home at last week and all the counselors leave and it's 00:31:25.913 --> 00:31:28.663 just me and Claire, it's a lonely place. 00:31:29.443 --> 00:31:32.953 And it's like, it'd be like sitting in a sanctuary of a 00:31:32.953 --> 00:31:35.853 church and nobody ever comes. 00:31:36.693 --> 00:31:38.313 Just sitting there waiting for the next group. 00:31:39.368 --> 00:31:41.808 And the groups would come, they just wanted you, at that 00:31:41.808 --> 00:31:46.818 point you became a facility, a facility caretaker at the camp. 00:31:46.948 --> 00:31:52.078 And so, I didn't understand, I was too young to understand what I needed 00:31:52.078 --> 00:31:53.528 to do spiritually to make it work. 00:31:54.268 --> 00:31:57.438 And so I was doing work because the camp couldn't pay us a lot. 00:31:57.448 --> 00:32:02.528 So I was all sitting in my paid camp with other work and doing some work with my 00:32:02.528 --> 00:32:06.668 dad still on the road that was anywhere close I could drive to get home in a day. 00:32:07.598 --> 00:32:09.178 And so camp was fun. 00:32:09.688 --> 00:32:13.288 We'd start hiring our counselors in January, but by the time summer 00:32:13.288 --> 00:32:15.448 came, we were ready to go and boom. 00:32:15.788 --> 00:32:18.558 And then you had that letdown at the end of August. 00:32:18.558 --> 00:32:23.478 And it was like, Oh, and so you had a whole three, four months of just. 00:32:24.093 --> 00:32:27.063 Trying to figure things out, and I'm not built for that. 00:32:27.153 --> 00:32:30.443 I'm built for a continuous, something's going to be happening in my life. 00:32:30.963 --> 00:32:33.763 I don't want this sitting back waiting or being idle. 00:32:34.113 --> 00:32:35.803 We were very active in our churches. 00:32:36.653 --> 00:32:41.133 Matter of fact, I was a deacon at the church we attended in Bennettsville, but 00:32:41.133 --> 00:32:45.153 I also took the job as the interim pastor of a church, Bruton Fort Baptist Church 00:32:45.153 --> 00:32:49.913 in Bennettsville, which was the first church, the chairman of deacons there 00:32:49.913 --> 00:32:52.373 was on the board of trustees at the camp. 00:32:53.273 --> 00:32:59.913 And so in 1994, Or during that summer, we were talking, and he 00:32:59.913 --> 00:33:01.053 knew how summers were for me. 00:33:01.683 --> 00:33:04.143 And he asked me, he said, is camp what you say you're doing 00:33:04.193 --> 00:33:04.763 for the rest of your life? 00:33:04.763 --> 00:33:05.203 I said, I don't know. 00:33:05.203 --> 00:33:05.693 I love it. 00:33:05.753 --> 00:33:06.263 I love it. 00:33:06.863 --> 00:33:08.733 But I don't know that that's what I really need to be doing. 00:33:09.443 --> 00:33:14.063 And he said, well, would you consider being the full time pastor of the church? 00:33:15.353 --> 00:33:17.573 And I'm like, I've never really thought about that. 00:33:17.573 --> 00:33:18.173 Let me pray about it. 00:33:18.173 --> 00:33:19.883 Let me put that to the Lord and see. 00:33:19.893 --> 00:33:23.663 In the back of my mind, I knew that I already, in my heart, 00:33:23.663 --> 00:33:24.873 knew that's where I needed to be. 00:33:25.783 --> 00:33:28.163 And so I think it was 1994. 00:33:28.778 --> 00:33:32.638 I resigned from camp and took Bruton Fork as full time pastor. 00:33:33.488 --> 00:33:36.358 And I was there until 2000, to the year 2000. 00:33:37.018 --> 00:33:37.978 We celebrated Y2K! 00:33:40.738 --> 00:33:44.478 I remember the little 2000 confetti we were throwing around 00:33:44.478 --> 00:33:46.368 and the world didn't shut down. 00:33:47.548 --> 00:33:51.208 It was so much fun, you know, so I was pastored there. 00:33:51.218 --> 00:33:52.578 It was a great experience being a pastor. 00:33:53.318 --> 00:33:57.458 I still felt called toward young people, but, and we, and that was 00:33:57.458 --> 00:34:02.188 Intel cause we went to a church and had about the first time I went there. 00:34:02.503 --> 00:34:06.543 We had seven people, we had like 12, 13 people, then at night 00:34:06.543 --> 00:34:07.563 we came back and we had seven. 00:34:08.503 --> 00:34:09.393 So that's where we started. 00:34:10.083 --> 00:34:14.253 And then we left there and we're averaging around 78 to 80 people. 00:34:15.273 --> 00:34:17.223 But, uh, a lot of those were young people. 00:34:17.943 --> 00:34:21.233 My wife started driving the van, picking up kids, bringing them. 00:34:21.233 --> 00:34:22.923 And it was just a great experience. 00:34:22.983 --> 00:34:27.533 And we're, but I began to deal with some things in church in my life. 00:34:27.843 --> 00:34:33.773 Personally that I wasn't ready for it was church politics didn't, didn't like it. 00:34:34.513 --> 00:34:35.683 Didn't understand it. 00:34:36.273 --> 00:34:39.223 I began to go to the convention meetings and I was watching 00:34:39.243 --> 00:34:43.943 things happen on a global scale that I really didn't understand. 00:34:44.573 --> 00:34:48.373 And it was just, y'all ain't what in the world's happening, you know? 00:34:49.443 --> 00:34:52.783 And when I was at Bruton Fork, one of the big challenges we had there. 00:34:54.043 --> 00:34:57.723 One of the big ones was I got to a place where I began to realize that we're 00:34:57.723 --> 00:35:00.853 out here in the country, a bunch of farmers, I can sit on the front porch. 00:35:00.853 --> 00:35:03.553 When I'm doing my Bible study and wave at my neighbor, going down the road on 00:35:03.553 --> 00:35:05.083 his tractor, you know what I'm saying? 00:35:05.083 --> 00:35:07.133 So it's like, we're in a farm land. 00:35:08.053 --> 00:35:11.283 And on Sunday morning, I'm looking out and nobody in church has got a 00:35:11.283 --> 00:35:15.807 town, but me, I'm looking at my suit and tie, my double breasted suit, my 00:35:15.807 --> 00:35:20.413 tie that I'm having to spend three, 400 on, but I'm weighing 350 pounds. 00:35:20.413 --> 00:35:24.843 You don't say I'm a big old boy and I got to go to a special place to buy suits. 00:35:25.438 --> 00:35:27.038 And I'm like, this is what am I doing? 00:35:27.668 --> 00:35:29.018 I'm up here like a dad gone. 00:35:29.848 --> 00:35:37.518 I felt like I was a million dollar portrait just sit in the country. 00:35:38.168 --> 00:35:40.933 And it was doing them a sit and nobody understood it. 00:35:41.443 --> 00:35:44.323 It didn't mean nothing to anybody, it was just sitting there, going to waste, 00:35:44.323 --> 00:35:48.203 cause the people who really appreciated it, wouldn't even, you know, wasn't there. 00:35:49.333 --> 00:35:53.683 And so I'd heard a story, or I went to a conference where this guy was 00:35:53.813 --> 00:35:59.263 talking about, in his church, they were very casual, and uh, they just quit. 00:35:59.533 --> 00:36:02.963 They just threw the dress code out, and started inviting people. 00:36:02.963 --> 00:36:06.083 And I remember as a kid growing up, with my granddaddy, who was my hero 00:36:06.083 --> 00:36:09.833 as a boy, He died when I, right in the year I graduated college, 00:36:09.903 --> 00:36:14.533 high school, but my granddaddy got saved when he was 62 years old. 00:36:15.623 --> 00:36:20.113 And I remember our pastor making the comment that he'd go to my granddaddy 00:36:20.113 --> 00:36:21.183 and try to invite him to church. 00:36:21.513 --> 00:36:23.293 And my granddaddy said, I ain't got nothing but overalls. 00:36:24.093 --> 00:36:26.753 And the pastor said, if you wear overalls, I'll wear overalls to preach you. 00:36:28.223 --> 00:36:28.963 That's what the pastor told him. 00:36:29.623 --> 00:36:33.043 But anyway, my granddaddy ended up getting saved when he was like 61 or 62. 00:36:33.723 --> 00:36:35.873 He died like the next year or so. 00:36:36.533 --> 00:36:39.793 But I remember I used to go over on Wednesday nights after church, and he'd 00:36:39.793 --> 00:36:43.873 play the banjo and sing him old bluegrass songs, just before he was even saved. 00:36:44.303 --> 00:36:47.593 But after he got saved, was the only one not talking to him, and my granddaddy 00:36:47.593 --> 00:36:53.833 said, son, said, said, said, I've searched for happiness for many, many years. 00:36:54.813 --> 00:36:57.893 He said, I never had true happiness until I found Jesus. 00:36:59.063 --> 00:37:00.983 He said, whatever y'all boys do, don't waste your life. 00:37:01.793 --> 00:37:02.713 I remember him saying that. 00:37:02.733 --> 00:37:04.293 It stuck in my mind. 00:37:04.743 --> 00:37:07.243 How old were you when he told you that? 00:37:07.923 --> 00:37:10.753 That was probably when I was, that was 17. 00:37:11.253 --> 00:37:13.773 That was leading up to the conviction coming. 00:37:13.783 --> 00:37:15.583 The Lord was preparing my heart for all that. 00:37:16.193 --> 00:37:17.683 Because I was beginning to see things. 00:37:18.273 --> 00:37:19.583 At a realer standpoint. 00:37:20.343 --> 00:37:26.443 And so that was the, the kicker when I accepted the call to ministry. 00:37:26.743 --> 00:37:27.683 Let me take you back there. 00:37:28.203 --> 00:37:34.683 When I come home that year, I guess it was 1992, 93, 93. 00:37:35.353 --> 00:37:37.003 I came home from summer camp that year. 00:37:37.633 --> 00:37:40.933 And my dad was like, son, I think you really called. 00:37:41.333 --> 00:37:42.213 And I got that letter. 00:37:42.213 --> 00:37:42.873 I've skipped this open. 00:37:42.913 --> 00:37:43.743 I apologize for that. 00:37:44.133 --> 00:37:47.243 I got that letter from North Greenwood acceptance letter. 00:37:47.693 --> 00:37:49.803 And all I owed was as much money as I had in my pocket. 00:37:51.243 --> 00:37:51.533 Right. 00:37:51.533 --> 00:37:52.573 Then I just cashed my check. 00:37:53.353 --> 00:37:55.768 I owed that much money, and I just humbucked it up 00:37:55.768 --> 00:37:56.563 and sent it to North Green. 00:37:57.313 --> 00:38:04.313 So I went to my granddaddy's grave up on Holiness Hill, and I sat down by his 00:38:04.313 --> 00:38:07.433 grave, not because I thought he was there. 00:38:08.178 --> 00:38:09.058 I knew he was in heaven. 00:38:09.468 --> 00:38:12.868 I sat down by his grave and I said this to the Lord, I said, Lord, my 00:38:12.868 --> 00:38:14.488 granddaddy taught me a powerful lesson. 00:38:14.938 --> 00:38:17.888 Probably one of the few lessons that he taught me that were real and good. 00:38:18.818 --> 00:38:22.798 He taught me that he wasted his life and he asked me not to do that. 00:38:22.798 --> 00:38:23.688 I don't want to do that. 00:38:23.688 --> 00:38:24.638 I don't want to waste my life. 00:38:25.168 --> 00:38:28.468 So from this day forward, whatever I can do to serve you, I want to do that. 00:38:29.858 --> 00:38:34.478 When I said to call the ministry, I said it at my granddaddy's grave and that's 00:38:34.478 --> 00:38:36.048 where I made that prayer of commitment. 00:38:39.733 --> 00:38:46.403 So anyway, I'm going to jump you back forward now to where we're, we're at 00:38:46.403 --> 00:38:50.433 this church, Pastor in this church, and some cool things have happened. 00:38:51.593 --> 00:38:54.573 We've started having some revivals, people getting saved, our 00:38:54.663 --> 00:38:56.233 little, our small little church. 00:38:56.753 --> 00:39:00.113 Led our association and baptism was like a couple of years in a row 00:39:01.313 --> 00:39:02.193 because people were getting saved. 00:39:02.193 --> 00:39:03.213 And we were sharing the gospel. 00:39:03.223 --> 00:39:05.123 Listen, I overshare the gospel. 00:39:05.953 --> 00:39:09.383 I make sure they understand that it's not just about a prayer. 00:39:09.383 --> 00:39:11.293 You say it's about something you feel in your heart. 00:39:11.893 --> 00:39:14.823 It's got to be an experience that you know, because nobody gets saved 00:39:14.823 --> 00:39:18.603 without Christ, without Jesus drawn, Holy spirit, drawing them to Jesus. 00:39:19.033 --> 00:39:21.923 Nobody comes to the father without Christ drawing them in. 00:39:22.373 --> 00:39:27.183 So I know that there's a spiritual movement happening where Christ 00:39:27.183 --> 00:39:29.333 is out there drawing people. 00:39:29.953 --> 00:39:33.783 But I also believe in the heart of that we've got a 00:39:33.783 --> 00:39:35.223 responsibility to share that gospel. 00:39:36.093 --> 00:39:39.283 So I've always shared the gospel because I don't ever want people to go through 00:39:39.283 --> 00:39:43.573 what I went through as a kid and be opposed to their life in their lifetime 00:39:44.013 --> 00:39:48.113 and not know who Christ is genuinely and have a relationship with him. 00:39:49.563 --> 00:39:54.723 So while I was at Bruton Fort, I got a situation where a lady came to 00:39:54.723 --> 00:39:56.443 my office after a revival meeting. 00:39:57.273 --> 00:40:00.213 Reverend Paul Noe preached revival in our church. 00:40:00.963 --> 00:40:05.153 And one night after the revival meeting, a lady came in my office and she 00:40:05.153 --> 00:40:06.993 said, Pastor, I mean, I got to pray. 00:40:06.993 --> 00:40:07.613 I got to do it. 00:40:08.103 --> 00:40:11.663 She said, when I was eight years old, I got baptized at my church as a kid, and 00:40:11.663 --> 00:40:13.123 I thought I meant it, but I'm not sure. 00:40:13.963 --> 00:40:17.073 She said, but I do know for certain tonight that I received 00:40:17.073 --> 00:40:18.043 Jesus as my Lord and Savior. 00:40:19.133 --> 00:40:21.703 And I said, first of all, just know that I don't believe you can lose your salvation. 00:40:22.833 --> 00:40:26.113 So you need to know right now, if you believe tonight was the night that you 00:40:26.113 --> 00:40:27.513 got saved, the night you got saved. 00:40:27.973 --> 00:40:29.873 She said, well, my question is not about that. 00:40:30.233 --> 00:40:33.793 But I know tonight I got saved, but do I need to be re baptized? 00:40:35.583 --> 00:40:39.953 So I called my mentor pastor, Maurice Ensign, who asked me numerous times 00:40:40.263 --> 00:40:45.533 before he ordained me in the ministry to share if I was sure that when I was 00:40:45.533 --> 00:40:50.233 a kid, and I passed up numerous times to confess, I got saved when I was 18. 00:40:50.263 --> 00:40:53.773 I had many opportunities that I kept passing up, kept passing up. 00:40:54.113 --> 00:40:56.123 So here I am now, pastor of a church. 00:40:57.143 --> 00:40:58.673 I said, well, here's my problem, Maurice. 00:40:58.673 --> 00:40:59.533 I need to tell you something. 00:40:59.593 --> 00:41:01.713 I told him, I said, I should have told you. 00:41:02.478 --> 00:41:05.078 As I guess I was just embarrassed or my pride. 00:41:05.858 --> 00:41:06.568 I said, here I am. 00:41:06.588 --> 00:41:07.368 I'm still posing. 00:41:08.218 --> 00:41:09.368 I've been posing as a pastor. 00:41:09.378 --> 00:41:11.208 I'm trying to be Charles Stanley or Agent Rogers. 00:41:11.508 --> 00:41:13.348 I'm still trying to be somebody that I'm not. 00:41:13.348 --> 00:41:16.558 And he told me, he said, you need to read Wild at Heart. 00:41:17.318 --> 00:41:18.408 And I said, okay, I'll read it. 00:41:18.438 --> 00:41:19.918 Let me, when I get a chance, I'll read it. 00:41:20.408 --> 00:41:23.758 So anyway, he said, yes, you do need to be baptized. 00:41:24.788 --> 00:41:28.468 So I called the Cherry Creek Dickens Eye Church, which was Allen Evans. 00:41:29.583 --> 00:41:33.023 And I said, Alan, I said, I'm doing baptism service Sunday. 00:41:33.133 --> 00:41:35.633 He always, he would always come and fill the water up and put the 00:41:35.643 --> 00:41:37.293 heat in it and get it all ready. 00:41:37.983 --> 00:41:39.393 I said, Alan, we're doing baptism Sunday. 00:41:39.393 --> 00:41:40.593 He said, I know, I got your water ready. 00:41:41.233 --> 00:41:42.553 I said, well, you need to bring a change of clothes. 00:41:42.553 --> 00:41:43.133 He said, why? 00:41:44.013 --> 00:41:45.813 I said, because you got to baptize me first. 00:41:46.913 --> 00:41:49.693 And so, so 00:41:56.253 --> 00:41:57.093 that's Sunday morning. 00:42:00.698 --> 00:42:05.858 I got up and told my story to the congregation that I was pastoring, 00:42:06.938 --> 00:42:08.468 and they gave me an ovation. 00:42:09.908 --> 00:42:13.398 And I went in to baptize, baptize the martyrs, I was baptized. 00:42:17.288 --> 00:42:18.708 And then I baptized five more people. 00:42:20.378 --> 00:42:24.958 So the Lord is doing work, and that lady was, and those people are still in church. 00:42:25.718 --> 00:42:26.718 Still committed to the Lord. 00:42:27.528 --> 00:42:30.808 God done some great work in my life during that period. 00:42:31.418 --> 00:42:32.418 I knew some growing up. 00:42:32.758 --> 00:42:35.488 Let me ask you a question about the baptism. 00:42:35.568 --> 00:42:40.508 So what you were up against was the traditional belief that if you 00:42:40.508 --> 00:42:46.768 were baptized as a child or any time previously, that you weren't 00:42:46.768 --> 00:42:48.588 supposed to get baptized again. 00:42:48.818 --> 00:42:50.368 Is that what you're talking about? 00:42:51.448 --> 00:42:56.478 What I was up against was the belief that baptism is for believers. 00:42:57.228 --> 00:42:57.758 Right. 00:42:57.938 --> 00:43:00.568 A person who had believed, had received Christ in their heart, 00:43:01.318 --> 00:43:03.228 because it's a following up of baptism. 00:43:03.298 --> 00:43:06.808 It's a representation of, I have died to myself. 00:43:07.518 --> 00:43:12.258 I'm burying my old life in the grave, and I'm being resurrected, 00:43:12.688 --> 00:43:13.958 that I will be in the future. 00:43:14.368 --> 00:43:17.568 I'll be resurrected a new person in Christ Jesus. 00:43:18.148 --> 00:43:19.438 That's what baptism represents. 00:43:19.848 --> 00:43:21.518 That's what the Bible teaches about baptism. 00:43:22.068 --> 00:43:25.678 And so that's why I believe. 00:43:26.138 --> 00:43:30.568 That I had to be rebaptized because I had never been baptized as a believer Being 00:43:30.608 --> 00:43:32.488 baptized as a kid is just getting wet. 00:43:33.018 --> 00:43:37.348 I know that's a hard say for some people But it's we don't live about what we 00:43:37.348 --> 00:43:43.348 feel nor about what some theologian came up with We live about what the bible 00:43:43.378 --> 00:43:47.438 teaches And I know this that there's one right interpretation of the bible 00:43:47.438 --> 00:43:52.358 and that's god's interpretation through the holy spirit And man, there's a 00:43:52.358 --> 00:43:58.948 lot of people out there today that do infant baptisms even, that they still 00:43:59.738 --> 00:44:02.128 will do submersion baptism as an adult. 00:44:02.358 --> 00:44:05.538 If you come back later on and say, Hey, I need to be baptized. 00:44:06.268 --> 00:44:09.598 I won't mention any names, but I know some great pastors that 00:44:09.598 --> 00:44:11.408 practice submersion baptism. 00:44:11.998 --> 00:44:15.288 Cause later on people come back who are in their denomination. 00:44:15.848 --> 00:44:16.978 They say, Hey, I've got to be baptized. 00:44:18.538 --> 00:44:19.508 The Bible is true. 00:44:19.958 --> 00:44:22.808 We live in by the Bible and God's word. 00:44:23.188 --> 00:44:28.408 And when the Bible says baptizing them and the word baptism means to take under. 00:44:29.278 --> 00:44:29.808 You know what I'm saying? 00:44:30.028 --> 00:44:35.258 Okay, now I know what you mean, because my parents had me sprinkled as a baby 00:44:35.258 --> 00:44:38.578 in the Methodist church, thinking that would kick me out of hell. 00:44:39.528 --> 00:44:42.998 But it wasn't my free will decision, you know, I was just a baby. 00:44:43.658 --> 00:44:50.278 So, many years later, after I was actually born again, I asked my Presbyterian 00:44:50.278 --> 00:44:54.573 pastor about getting baptized, and he said something like, It would be 00:44:54.573 --> 00:44:59.583 an act of unbelief to get baptized again, but the opposite was true. 00:44:59.623 --> 00:45:04.523 I needed to get baptized as a true believer because that fire insurance my 00:45:04.523 --> 00:45:09.333 parents had gotten for me wasn't, wasn't biblical because I was just a baby. 00:45:09.333 --> 00:45:10.643 I didn't make that decision. 00:45:11.493 --> 00:45:14.333 So, later on, I did get submerged. 00:45:14.803 --> 00:45:19.853 About 20 years ago, I got submerged, uh, by a non denominational pastor 00:45:19.853 --> 00:45:22.473 at a, at a YMCA swimming pool. 00:45:23.173 --> 00:45:29.518 Uh, To testify to my belief and it was the right thing to do because 00:45:29.548 --> 00:45:32.093 then I was a believing believer. 00:45:32.513 --> 00:45:35.673 So I, I think that's something like what you were doing. 00:45:36.113 --> 00:45:38.633 When Jesus was baptized, John the Baptist baptized him. 00:45:38.963 --> 00:45:41.513 It was a representation of, hey, I'm going to die. 00:45:41.743 --> 00:45:42.593 I'm going to be buried. 00:45:42.783 --> 00:45:43.793 I'm going to be resurrected. 00:45:44.053 --> 00:45:46.753 John the Baptist knew what baptism meant. 00:45:47.273 --> 00:45:48.593 He knew who Christ was. 00:45:48.753 --> 00:45:49.913 He knew he was going to be killed. 00:45:49.913 --> 00:45:51.653 He knew he was going to be buried. 00:45:51.783 --> 00:45:54.953 He knew he was going to resurrect because the scriptures in the Old 00:45:54.953 --> 00:45:56.593 Testament tell us he's coming back. 00:45:57.173 --> 00:45:58.933 He's going to read three days in the grave. 00:45:59.603 --> 00:46:03.383 Jesus kept prophesying that whole time. 00:46:03.543 --> 00:46:07.413 I'm going to be dead, buried, resurrected in three days. 00:46:07.643 --> 00:46:08.223 I'll come back. 00:46:08.673 --> 00:46:09.333 Turn this temple down. 00:46:09.453 --> 00:46:10.993 He wasn't talking about the big temple. 00:46:11.203 --> 00:46:12.413 He was talking about this temple. 00:46:12.968 --> 00:46:14.578 The body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. 00:46:15.108 --> 00:46:16.418 Carried down three days, I'm coming back. 00:46:16.878 --> 00:46:21.498 The Bible teaches me that when I am absent, when I'm dead in the 00:46:21.498 --> 00:46:24.178 flesh, when I'm absent from the body, I am present with the Lord. 00:46:25.968 --> 00:46:28.018 Just like that, I'll be with God. 00:46:28.668 --> 00:46:31.438 So anyway, that's why we went through the baptism. 00:46:31.448 --> 00:46:34.878 That was why that experience is impactful for me today. 00:46:35.628 --> 00:46:41.578 I have not lost my fire and my zeal to do exactly what I did that day. 00:46:42.078 --> 00:46:42.898 and to share Jesus. 00:46:42.898 --> 00:46:43.878 Man, I get a chance to share Jesus. 00:46:43.878 --> 00:46:45.108 I'm gonna do it. 00:46:45.108 --> 00:46:45.908 Give me an opportunity. 00:46:45.918 --> 00:46:46.648 Give me a person. 00:46:47.028 --> 00:46:49.318 I've learned some of the things I've learned growing up. 00:46:49.598 --> 00:46:52.388 I went through a thing called experiencing God through Henry Blackaby. 00:46:52.998 --> 00:46:53.868 Great study. 00:46:54.178 --> 00:46:56.038 And people liked it and they disliked it. 00:46:56.038 --> 00:46:56.368 I don't care. 00:46:56.928 --> 00:47:01.568 For me, the Lord uses all kinds of tools to train us and equip us and 00:47:01.568 --> 00:47:03.278 prepare us for the work of the ministry. 00:47:03.863 --> 00:47:07.113 But in there is where I began to realize that there was some things 00:47:07.113 --> 00:47:09.783 in my life that wasn't right. 00:47:10.063 --> 00:47:11.733 The book Wild at Heart by John Eldredge. 00:47:12.033 --> 00:47:12.603 Great book. 00:47:13.513 --> 00:47:14.033 I read it. 00:47:14.403 --> 00:47:16.963 All of a sudden I began to realize that I was a poser. 00:47:17.863 --> 00:47:21.493 There was a lot of things I was doing in my life that wasn't adding up to 00:47:21.493 --> 00:47:22.833 what God had called me to do still. 00:47:23.043 --> 00:47:26.503 I was trying to be somebody else's ministry instead of being who I am. 00:47:27.638 --> 00:47:32.138 I didn't call this polished, clean cut, finished guy. 00:47:32.658 --> 00:47:37.218 He called old redneck hillbilly out of the mountains to come and preach 00:47:37.218 --> 00:47:39.838 the gospel to people who would look at him and say, man, you ain't 00:47:39.838 --> 00:47:41.948 there, but a simple minded hillbilly. 00:47:42.148 --> 00:47:42.998 That's okay. 00:47:43.328 --> 00:47:44.488 Who were the disciples? 00:47:45.258 --> 00:47:45.948 You know what I'm saying? 00:47:46.338 --> 00:47:49.568 Why do I need, why does God need me to be somebody he's already got 00:47:49.988 --> 00:47:51.298 when he don't have anybody like me? 00:47:51.298 --> 00:47:52.128 So I didn't be me. 00:47:52.848 --> 00:47:54.698 So I began to try to be me and I brought all that up. 00:47:55.118 --> 00:47:55.898 That long story. 00:47:55.898 --> 00:47:57.328 I know to bring you to this point. 00:47:59.268 --> 00:48:04.198 One of the issues we had at the church was, I stopped wearing a suit and tie. 00:48:06.048 --> 00:48:09.248 I just wore a casual shirt, maybe a t shirt. 00:48:09.308 --> 00:48:10.478 Now, it was clean. 00:48:10.518 --> 00:48:11.478 I didn't look like a bum. 00:48:11.748 --> 00:48:13.758 I didn't go up there dressed like a junkie, you know. 00:48:14.018 --> 00:48:16.748 I went in there like a regular guy. 00:48:17.478 --> 00:48:19.048 Sometimes I wear blue jeans, you know what I'm saying? 00:48:19.873 --> 00:48:23.133 And so I knew I didn't want to take it too far, but I tried to, I just tried 00:48:23.143 --> 00:48:27.943 to be casual and I led the church to understand that people can come to do 00:48:27.943 --> 00:48:31.883 not, I had church members saying to people, well, if you need a suit, I'll 00:48:31.883 --> 00:48:33.553 go buy you one, which is probably nice. 00:48:33.553 --> 00:48:36.153 They couldn't go buy them a suit, but they didn't need a suit. 00:48:36.203 --> 00:48:37.953 They didn't need to go buy them a suit to come to church. 00:48:38.873 --> 00:48:43.013 And so that was one of the, the, the rough areas of that ministry, that 00:48:43.013 --> 00:48:48.473 church, uh, they couldn't, they didn't like the fact that I was not willing 00:48:48.473 --> 00:48:49.883 to, that I didn't want to wear a tie. 00:48:50.113 --> 00:48:50.983 I could, I was willing. 00:48:51.513 --> 00:48:55.073 Anytime we did a wedding or a funeral, I'd work tiny time, but I just 00:48:55.073 --> 00:48:56.563 wanted to share the gospel as it was. 00:48:57.263 --> 00:48:57.513 Right. 00:48:57.523 --> 00:48:59.723 I wanted to preach the word and teach the word as I was. 00:49:00.363 --> 00:49:01.313 It wasn't a distraction. 00:49:02.163 --> 00:49:05.343 And I understood that on the mission field that all missionaries have to understand 00:49:05.683 --> 00:49:08.463 as Paul says, there's some times you got to become all things to all people. 00:49:09.513 --> 00:49:11.913 And Jesus said, I ain't come to heal the ones that are 00:49:11.913 --> 00:49:13.593 well, I come to heal the sick. 00:49:14.523 --> 00:49:16.573 The sick aren't going out to buy a suit to come to church. 00:49:17.113 --> 00:49:18.773 The sick, sick are far from God. 00:49:19.753 --> 00:49:23.243 They're not gonna, they don't, they don't care if I got a tile or not. 00:49:23.843 --> 00:49:25.253 Matter of fact, they're gonna feel bad if I don't. 00:49:26.483 --> 00:49:30.173 So that was my point of, the message I was trying to get across 00:49:30.183 --> 00:49:33.123 was that I'm here for the loss. 00:49:34.143 --> 00:49:35.733 And a lot of us don't care about the things of God. 00:49:35.733 --> 00:49:39.573 A lot of us don't care about our steeples, don't care about the new 00:49:39.603 --> 00:49:43.833 paint on the walls, the walkways, the crosses sitting all around our buildings, 00:49:44.133 --> 00:49:45.093 they don't care about none of that. 00:49:46.503 --> 00:49:49.993 What they want to know is, what is it about your life 00:49:51.843 --> 00:49:52.793 that's different than my life? 00:49:55.353 --> 00:50:00.893 And so that was where I began to grow as a Christian for the first time, really grow. 00:50:01.563 --> 00:50:06.283 I began to realize that I had to start taking some real steps toward maturity. 00:50:06.713 --> 00:50:10.393 I ended up going from there, from Root Fort, going back into student 00:50:10.393 --> 00:50:14.363 ministry, student education, because I wanted to, I wanted to try to get 00:50:14.463 --> 00:50:17.863 Sunday schools and, and different Sunday schools in the Baptist church. 00:50:18.493 --> 00:50:20.743 Most of the traditional churches have a Sunday school department. 00:50:21.243 --> 00:50:22.693 And so I was an education pastor. 00:50:23.143 --> 00:50:27.823 I wanted to try to guide Sunday schools into a place where we begin to, to 00:50:27.833 --> 00:50:32.563 have Bible studies other than what was bringing through Sunday school quarterly, 00:50:33.723 --> 00:50:37.983 into small group type stuff, finding ways to mentor people and, and making 00:50:37.983 --> 00:50:41.583 sure our curriculum was Bible based, not some kind of curriculum that tells 00:50:41.583 --> 00:50:43.453 a story and adds a Bible verse to it. 00:50:44.338 --> 00:50:46.568 I wanted it to be a curriculum that taught the Bible. 00:50:46.958 --> 00:50:48.968 Bible says faith comes by hearing, hearing by the Word of God. 00:50:49.828 --> 00:50:52.418 And so I want them to hear the Word of God. 00:50:53.038 --> 00:50:56.578 I had a situation once at a church I was at where a lady that went to church, 00:50:56.578 --> 00:50:59.658 who worked at the church, when you had a conversation with her, you could tell 00:51:00.068 --> 00:51:01.798 her spiritual depth was kind of shallow. 00:51:03.268 --> 00:51:06.588 She was very committed, very dedicated to attending church every week. 00:51:07.208 --> 00:51:09.368 If you have a spiritual conversation, it wasn't very deep. 00:51:10.458 --> 00:51:12.768 It was very shallow and very worldly. 00:51:13.358 --> 00:51:16.798 Kind of a worldly, well, you know, I watched such and such 00:51:16.798 --> 00:51:18.768 on TV and this is what they say. 00:51:18.768 --> 00:51:19.728 And I kind of agree with that. 00:51:19.728 --> 00:51:21.168 And I'm like, that's totally wrong. 00:51:21.988 --> 00:51:22.798 That's totally wrong. 00:51:23.458 --> 00:51:29.398 So either way, we had a program called Awana that we started and Awana has this 00:51:29.398 --> 00:51:34.178 thing called a listening room and every kid memorizes Bible verses every week. 00:51:34.808 --> 00:51:38.558 And they would come, you had me adults sitting at these tables in the listening 00:51:38.558 --> 00:51:43.178 room and these kids one on one come to that listening room and quote that 00:51:43.178 --> 00:51:45.223 Bible verse, scripture and verse. 00:51:45.223 --> 00:51:45.478 That's totally wrong. 00:51:45.478 --> 00:51:45.733 That's totally wrong. 00:51:46.263 --> 00:51:52.683 One after the other, over and over again, year after year, that 00:51:52.683 --> 00:51:57.413 lady sit in my listening room and heard kids quote the Bible. 00:51:58.833 --> 00:52:01.513 And years later, when that church went through a big traumatic 00:52:01.893 --> 00:52:06.213 experience, that lady was one of the spiritual leaders in that church. 00:52:07.308 --> 00:52:09.548 Cause she didn't let them deviate from God's word. 00:52:10.628 --> 00:52:16.108 She didn't let them, you can go to her right now, throw out some false ideology. 00:52:16.108 --> 00:52:16.778 It sounds good. 00:52:17.608 --> 00:52:19.568 And she'd laugh at you cause she knows God's word. 00:52:20.338 --> 00:52:21.658 Cause she got a hunger for God's word. 00:52:22.058 --> 00:52:24.648 And I'm telling you, faith comes back here and the only way to 00:52:24.648 --> 00:52:26.118 please God, it takes faith. 00:52:27.178 --> 00:52:28.168 You want to obey God. 00:52:28.178 --> 00:52:29.268 You want to do what God wants you to do. 00:52:29.598 --> 00:52:30.308 You got to have faith. 00:52:30.328 --> 00:52:31.948 You got to be willing to move forward. 00:52:31.948 --> 00:52:33.648 And the only way you're gonna move forward is faith. 00:52:34.198 --> 00:52:37.498 And the only way you're gonna have faith is to trust God's word and to realize 00:52:37.498 --> 00:52:38.668 that God's word's already covered this. 00:52:38.683 --> 00:52:40.573 That's right. 00:52:40.853 --> 00:52:45.423 That nothing we're facing, it's caught God off guard, you know what I'm saying? 00:52:45.463 --> 00:52:49.023 Everything that we face in life, no matter how modern we think we are, 00:52:49.223 --> 00:52:53.533 no matter how great technology is, and no matter how, what was the word 00:52:53.543 --> 00:52:54.623 they used on the news the other night? 00:52:55.463 --> 00:52:55.993 Progressive. 00:52:56.573 --> 00:53:01.353 No matter how progressive we think we're getting, God's word, as old as 00:53:01.353 --> 00:53:04.653 time, is still relevant and alive. 00:53:05.328 --> 00:53:08.678 And it still changes lives today. 00:53:08.678 --> 00:53:11.828 And so that's an awesome point. 00:53:12.348 --> 00:53:12.698 Yeah. 00:53:12.728 --> 00:53:15.338 So we follow that story. 00:53:15.338 --> 00:53:19.668 I leave, I go from there to Calvary Baptist church in Augusta and I 00:53:19.688 --> 00:53:21.518 stayed there for a couple of years. 00:53:21.958 --> 00:53:24.958 It was kind of a stopover because my next journey was Jackson first 00:53:24.968 --> 00:53:26.698 Baptist church in Jackson, Georgia. 00:53:27.398 --> 00:53:33.048 And we left Calvary to go to Jackson and at Jackson, we, we 00:53:33.048 --> 00:53:34.928 encountered a great experience. 00:53:34.968 --> 00:53:36.858 They're just a great pastor. 00:53:36.868 --> 00:53:37.678 And we got there. 00:53:38.608 --> 00:53:42.828 Who was all about discipleship, and he, he actually does a thing called, 00:53:43.448 --> 00:53:47.218 he had a ministry called Renewing the Right Spirit, and which is based on, he 00:53:47.218 --> 00:53:49.658 was part of the Henry Blackabee videos. 00:53:50.408 --> 00:53:52.888 Him and his wife were sitting in the videos, if you ever buy 00:53:52.888 --> 00:53:54.538 the video series of that series. 00:53:55.008 --> 00:53:57.958 And so he was big into that, part of that link up. 00:53:57.958 --> 00:54:02.388 So that was kind of a help to begin to realize that God's at work around us 00:54:02.388 --> 00:54:05.308 at all times, and to see God at work. 00:54:05.938 --> 00:54:06.838 Learn those markers. 00:54:06.958 --> 00:54:08.108 God called me to ministry. 00:54:08.118 --> 00:54:10.668 There's specific things that God used in my life. 00:54:10.818 --> 00:54:14.588 First of all, when God got my attention, he got my attention by 00:54:14.588 --> 00:54:19.138 showing me when I was lost, that I was lost, that I needed a savior. 00:54:19.788 --> 00:54:24.578 And I'll never forget how he did that through testimony, through realizing in my 00:54:24.578 --> 00:54:30.098 own spirit where I was and understanding that what God's trying to do. 00:54:31.148 --> 00:54:32.028 And that's why I got saved. 00:54:32.818 --> 00:54:36.408 Then when he called me to ministry, realizing In ministry, what was going on 00:54:36.408 --> 00:54:40.998 around me and my circumstances, but also realizing that what I was experiencing in 00:54:40.998 --> 00:54:46.378 my own life through God's word was guiding me to go preach and teach the word of God. 00:54:47.638 --> 00:54:51.658 And so step for step, I began to realize how God was speaking to my 00:54:51.658 --> 00:54:53.398 heart, how God speaks in my life. 00:54:53.898 --> 00:54:57.908 It's not an audible word that I hear, it's not a dog talking or donkey talking. 00:54:58.348 --> 00:55:01.068 It's a spiritual movement inside of me. 00:55:01.893 --> 00:55:07.143 It's a reckoning from, here I am, and here's where I need to be, and I got 00:55:07.143 --> 00:55:10.833 to do this and this to get there, and this is, but why do I need to get there? 00:55:12.183 --> 00:55:16.593 And that's where I begin to realize, it's like, I know I'm not saved, I know 00:55:16.593 --> 00:55:21.983 I need to be saved, and this is where I need to be over here, but here I am, and 00:55:21.983 --> 00:55:23.153 so what do I need to do to get there? 00:55:23.763 --> 00:55:27.143 And so, God leading me through that journey. 00:55:27.868 --> 00:55:30.508 And that next few minutes to accept Him as my Lord and Savior. 00:55:30.958 --> 00:55:32.058 God leading me through that journey. 00:55:32.368 --> 00:55:33.578 Here I am not in ministry. 00:55:33.578 --> 00:55:34.338 Here I need to be in ministry. 00:55:34.708 --> 00:55:35.578 Boy, I need to get there. 00:55:36.178 --> 00:55:41.548 Understanding the surrender, the total surrender of my life, my everything, 00:55:41.548 --> 00:55:45.168 my trust that God financially would have handled me, take care 00:55:45.168 --> 00:55:47.838 of me, that I don't have to worry about money anymore in my life. 00:55:47.838 --> 00:55:48.688 You know what I'm saying? 00:55:48.728 --> 00:55:50.258 Never do I have to worry about money again. 00:55:50.588 --> 00:55:54.998 And I'm not rich, but I've never had, anytime we're at, we're at the bottom. 00:55:55.568 --> 00:55:56.398 There may be a need. 00:55:57.418 --> 00:56:01.048 I know you want me to share a story too, from experience of struggles. 00:56:01.308 --> 00:56:02.018 Let me give you this one. 00:56:02.448 --> 00:56:06.238 When my daughter Hannah was born, my wife decided to take a year off from teaching. 00:56:06.978 --> 00:56:10.918 This I'm pastor at Bruton Fort church, Baptist church, and they're 00:56:10.918 --> 00:56:13.048 paying me about 18, 19, 000 a year. 00:56:14.118 --> 00:56:14.518 All right. 00:56:14.668 --> 00:56:17.258 Hannah makes our fourth child. 00:56:17.658 --> 00:56:18.228 Okay. 00:56:18.818 --> 00:56:20.098 So we've got three kids already. 00:56:20.108 --> 00:56:20.818 We've got another one coming. 00:56:21.248 --> 00:56:25.328 And my wife who is making a lot more money than I'm making is teaching 00:56:25.328 --> 00:56:28.088 school is taking a year off. 00:56:28.668 --> 00:56:30.278 And we trust that God's gonna take care of us. 00:56:30.728 --> 00:56:34.158 I remember going through that year, and I got up one Sunday, I said, what 00:56:34.158 --> 00:56:34.968 do you want to do for lunch today? 00:56:34.968 --> 00:56:35.628 And she said, I don't know. 00:56:36.508 --> 00:56:39.498 And I said, well, let's see what we got in the cabinet. 00:56:39.988 --> 00:56:42.518 Opened up the cabinet, we had a couple cans of soup. 00:56:43.678 --> 00:56:44.908 Opened up the freezer, there was no meat. 00:56:45.488 --> 00:56:46.918 Refrigerator had a couple little things. 00:56:47.358 --> 00:56:49.098 Had some milk for breakfast, you know, a little bit. 00:56:49.468 --> 00:56:51.238 But we were, we were strapped. 00:56:51.878 --> 00:56:57.368 Financially, at that moment, right there, we had nothing really to eat, substantial, 00:56:58.428 --> 00:57:05.158 but a few little things, which was no big deal to us, and we had no income, so we 00:57:05.158 --> 00:57:06.798 just paid all our bills to go get moving. 00:57:08.738 --> 00:57:11.878 And I said, well, after church, we'll just make do with what 00:57:11.878 --> 00:57:13.588 we got, the Lord will provide. 00:57:14.388 --> 00:57:19.458 After church, a lady in our church, her and her husband owned 00:57:19.468 --> 00:57:20.978 a grocery store in Bennettsville. 00:57:22.188 --> 00:57:23.988 Her dad worked with her at that grocery store. 00:57:24.858 --> 00:57:26.048 They rotated crops, they rotated. 00:57:27.073 --> 00:57:30.323 Stock that morning on Sunday morning, they had to do it once a year. 00:57:30.323 --> 00:57:33.403 They had to rotate once every so often they had to rotate stock. 00:57:34.323 --> 00:57:40.773 They backed up to my front door and reloaded crate after crate after 00:57:40.853 --> 00:57:48.943 crate, fresh milk, orange juice, cereal foods, all these meats. 00:57:49.913 --> 00:57:53.693 We, my wife and I literally went up and down the road, 00:57:54.413 --> 00:57:56.143 giving people food that morning. 00:57:57.228 --> 00:58:00.298 Afternoon that they had brought to our house, delivered milk. 00:58:00.303 --> 00:58:04.328 We knew we couldn't make all that milk, but that day we had enough food to 00:58:04.328 --> 00:58:06.038 sustain us for probably two, three months. 00:58:06.548 --> 00:58:07.508 Great story. 00:58:08.258 --> 00:58:09.638 So that was, that's the story. 00:58:09.638 --> 00:58:13.228 How God has taken care of that and all my life, God has taken care of 00:58:13.228 --> 00:58:15.108 that we need to come back to another. 00:58:15.378 --> 00:58:18.398 What we need to do is come back to another podcast where I just 00:58:18.398 --> 00:58:19.778 share some highlights of ministry. 00:58:20.368 --> 00:58:23.398 Yeah, I'd like and I'll just come back and share some stories because I got 00:58:23.398 --> 00:58:27.208 some funny funny stories and some great highlights how God's where to be very 00:58:27.208 --> 00:58:29.098 emotional, but it'd be a good story. 00:58:29.538 --> 00:58:34.908 So let me move on to Jackson cause faith was getting out there 00:58:35.348 --> 00:58:37.558 that faith that my wife had. 00:58:37.948 --> 00:58:41.618 She's always had great faith and I have I have learned her faith. 00:58:42.128 --> 00:58:46.038 Over the years and, and her faith is a push for me to keep moving on and 00:58:46.038 --> 00:58:50.078 keep working hard and keep finding ways to, to do what God wants me to do. 00:58:50.528 --> 00:58:51.308 So go to Jackson. 00:58:51.378 --> 00:58:57.468 We started in Jackson four years, the same children and education there. 00:58:57.468 --> 00:58:59.118 We saw God do some great work. 00:58:59.518 --> 00:59:03.238 We read, we revamped their committee structure and made it 00:59:03.238 --> 00:59:05.208 teams, more of a team structure. 00:59:05.638 --> 00:59:06.928 And then everybody's like, well, we've got to call them teams. 00:59:06.938 --> 00:59:07.618 Well, we don't have to. 00:59:07.618 --> 00:59:11.788 But the thing about a committee is you've got a set committee, but a team is anybody 00:59:11.788 --> 00:59:12.743 who wants to be a part of the team. 00:59:14.073 --> 00:59:20.073 I said, so if you're on a Benevolence team, and your job is to take care 00:59:20.073 --> 00:59:24.483 of people when there's bereavement, Benevolence, take care of anything 00:59:24.483 --> 00:59:28.613 the church does food wise to take care of ministry need, then you need more 00:59:28.613 --> 00:59:29.743 than three or four people on the team. 00:59:30.993 --> 00:59:32.193 So y'all need a big team. 00:59:32.493 --> 00:59:34.903 You need about, I think, 16 or 17 people at one time. 00:59:35.513 --> 00:59:36.103 I believe that's true. 00:59:36.463 --> 00:59:40.273 So anyway, so all these people on the team, and we fixed all 00:59:40.273 --> 00:59:42.763 the teams so they could increase their numbers if they needed to. 00:59:44.578 --> 00:59:48.028 Try to use the teams instead of doing so much of the capital 00:59:48.028 --> 00:59:49.398 improvement campaign stuff. 00:59:49.888 --> 00:59:54.518 Just use your team already built in and then use that same concept and go forward. 00:59:55.088 --> 00:59:56.498 You already got people doing the work. 00:59:56.788 --> 01:00:01.878 Why go out and get a whole new group and get them involved instead of utilize your 01:00:01.878 --> 01:00:06.848 teams and let your teams grow if they need to grow, let them grow to fit the need. 01:00:07.838 --> 01:00:10.038 And so anyway, we're able to do that. 01:00:10.578 --> 01:00:12.528 And that's a lot of people except Christ there. 01:00:13.278 --> 01:00:17.398 We left that to go to Myrtle beach. 01:00:18.363 --> 01:00:22.073 Took a job there at Beach Church, was confronted with probably 01:00:22.073 --> 01:00:23.193 one of the biggest dilemmas. 01:00:23.973 --> 01:00:26.383 I was actually told by a pastor there at the church. 01:00:27.038 --> 01:00:34.878 That I didn't fit at the beach, that, that I was a redneck country boy, 01:00:35.608 --> 01:00:37.008 and I didn't really belong there. 01:00:37.618 --> 01:00:38.198 The pastor told me that. 01:00:38.888 --> 01:00:42.078 And the truth is I think he wanted my salary back because 01:00:42.078 --> 01:00:43.498 I was hired before he came. 01:00:44.248 --> 01:00:47.158 And I was getting a real pretty substantial salary for my 01:00:47.158 --> 01:00:48.598 position, for what he needed. 01:00:49.438 --> 01:00:53.808 And he ended up putting my part time people in the position I had 01:00:54.258 --> 01:00:55.538 and then using that money to hire. 01:00:56.023 --> 01:00:58.573 Uh, somebody to come in and do the small groups, lead small groups, 01:00:58.893 --> 01:01:00.233 probably smart on that point. 01:01:00.503 --> 01:01:01.723 He didn't have to break me down. 01:01:02.513 --> 01:01:04.423 The breakdown was humbling for me though, I needed it. 01:01:04.883 --> 01:01:05.683 It was hurtful. 01:01:06.383 --> 01:01:10.573 Brought out a lot of emotions and some of that redneck carnal 01:01:10.573 --> 01:01:13.533 pride was, he, he called it out. 01:01:13.583 --> 01:01:14.203 I'm about to show it. 01:01:14.203 --> 01:01:15.293 It was like crazy. 01:01:15.763 --> 01:01:20.173 But he and I, we ended up, it was one of those things where the Holy 01:01:20.173 --> 01:01:22.523 Spirit through his conviction wouldn't just let you walk away from it. 01:01:23.228 --> 01:01:28.208 He continued to bring us, me and him, back together to, to forgive each other 01:01:28.208 --> 01:01:30.928 and to, although I was getting angry too, I was saying things about him. 01:01:31.408 --> 01:01:33.498 I shouldn't have said, I would never say that about a, a 01:01:33.498 --> 01:01:34.548 leading pastor of a church. 01:01:34.998 --> 01:01:35.598 Here I am now. 01:01:35.598 --> 01:01:36.398 I'm angry now. 01:01:36.958 --> 01:01:41.818 I'm letting my flesh win and because I'm angry and I didn't 01:01:41.818 --> 01:01:42.798 feel like I was being disciple. 01:01:42.798 --> 01:01:45.428 So anyway, I just resigned. 01:01:46.038 --> 01:01:46.778 Didn't have a job. 01:01:47.168 --> 01:01:48.008 I just resigned. 01:01:48.818 --> 01:01:53.503 And out of frustration, out of feeling unwanted, Just resigned. 01:01:55.643 --> 01:01:59.143 It was a church that had over 80 some volunteers in my department, 01:02:00.003 --> 01:02:01.923 uh, 200 some kids every week. 01:02:02.813 --> 01:02:05.143 Um, my pride is probably why I went there. 01:02:05.363 --> 01:02:06.753 I probably should have never left Jackson. 01:02:07.093 --> 01:02:10.273 I'm second guessing some of that because I didn't really have that marker to go, 01:02:10.863 --> 01:02:12.343 but I saw the opportunity to go and went. 01:02:13.393 --> 01:02:18.173 And, uh, instead of cleaning up some mess that I had in Jackson, I just walked, 01:02:18.413 --> 01:02:24.793 I just kind of said, well, it's not my place to fix that and walked away from it. 01:02:25.243 --> 01:02:26.063 I'm a peacemaker. 01:02:26.733 --> 01:02:27.823 My job is to make peace. 01:02:28.418 --> 01:02:31.578 And when I try to make peace and don't make, I need to find 01:02:31.578 --> 01:02:32.838 another way, find a way to do it. 01:02:33.558 --> 01:02:37.498 And there's one situation when I left Jackson that I had opportunity 01:02:37.498 --> 01:02:41.948 to make peace between some people and I didn't finish it. 01:02:42.988 --> 01:02:47.058 When the pastor said, I'm not doing that, I said, fine. 01:02:47.888 --> 01:02:54.738 And I took the job and left, ended up in the pastor, ended up having to leave 01:02:54.738 --> 01:03:00.388 the church and within the next year or so, big split in the church, all 01:03:00.388 --> 01:03:01.528 the work we'd done so It's all good. 01:03:02.198 --> 01:03:03.548 Was just all up in arms. 01:03:03.848 --> 01:03:08.398 They recovered because like I said, that lady, people like that lady, there 01:03:08.398 --> 01:03:09.508 was a lot of other people in that. 01:03:09.948 --> 01:03:10.908 There were leaders in that church. 01:03:10.908 --> 01:03:11.598 People didn't know who they were. 01:03:11.598 --> 01:03:13.428 Leaders were in them listening rooms. 01:03:14.308 --> 01:03:16.678 And a lot of those people have led that church and still 01:03:16.678 --> 01:03:17.518 leading that church today. 01:03:18.068 --> 01:03:18.308 Wow. 01:03:18.338 --> 01:03:22.518 But they recovered and they did well, and that pastor has recovered 01:03:22.548 --> 01:03:27.238 and gone on and I think he finally retired, but, but it was just. 01:03:27.938 --> 01:03:29.908 When you know what you need to do, when you, the Bible says, 01:03:29.908 --> 01:03:32.468 when you know what's right to do and you don't do it, it's a sin. 01:03:33.778 --> 01:03:34.418 You see what I'm saying? 01:03:34.708 --> 01:03:37.938 So anytime we know what's the right thing to do, the right thing to say, the 01:03:37.938 --> 01:03:40.318 right way to respond, we need to do it. 01:03:40.698 --> 01:03:43.338 And that was a situation where I didn't complete that. 01:03:43.398 --> 01:03:49.128 I just, I felt like, well, this guy, he, he knows what's going to need to be done. 01:03:49.208 --> 01:03:53.308 And so I left and it kind of left the church in a lurch because even 01:03:53.308 --> 01:03:56.868 today, right now, right now, if that church called me and said, 01:03:56.868 --> 01:03:58.803 Hey, Would you be willing to come? 01:03:58.813 --> 01:04:03.593 If I knew the Lord, if I saw no blocks in my way, I knew it was an open door 01:04:03.593 --> 01:04:04.663 for me to go back down and serve. 01:04:05.033 --> 01:04:06.433 I would be there in a heartbeat. 01:04:07.683 --> 01:04:10.423 And, uh, probably when I, when Claire retires teaching, there's 01:04:10.423 --> 01:04:11.863 a chance we may end up moving. 01:04:13.373 --> 01:04:14.793 The only problem would be our grandkids. 01:04:14.793 --> 01:04:17.563 They right here with us, but we may end up moving to Jackson just 01:04:17.563 --> 01:04:18.633 to finish our life out, you know? 01:04:18.633 --> 01:04:21.353 But a lot of our friends are still in Jackson. 01:04:23.053 --> 01:04:25.303 I mean, a lot of, a lot of my wife's been, I know we're in Jackson. 01:04:25.753 --> 01:04:27.393 She's doing a women's retreat this weekend. 01:04:27.443 --> 01:04:30.173 She's there right now with the women from that church. 01:04:30.703 --> 01:04:31.273 Wow. 01:04:31.523 --> 01:04:37.803 And a lady from that church helps her do all those ministry weekends. 01:04:39.123 --> 01:04:43.273 And that's a whole different story, but so we're going to, we're going to have 01:04:43.273 --> 01:04:49.443 to start wrapping it up because I want to try to keep it, keep it down to the 01:04:49.483 --> 01:04:57.053 podcast itself down to about an hour or so, but I would like to, well, unless you 01:04:57.053 --> 01:04:59.073 got something else you want to add on. 01:04:59.223 --> 01:05:00.123 Let me close with this. 01:05:00.123 --> 01:05:00.723 Let me close with this. 01:05:00.793 --> 01:05:01.073 Yeah. 01:05:01.073 --> 01:05:01.323 Yeah. 01:05:01.323 --> 01:05:01.673 Good. 01:05:02.513 --> 01:05:03.783 We are in Myrtle Beach. 01:05:04.258 --> 01:05:05.798 Is where I kind of semi retired. 01:05:06.708 --> 01:05:08.748 I decided we went to Palmetto shores there. 01:05:08.748 --> 01:05:10.888 Then we went, we planted a church called the hub. 01:05:11.508 --> 01:05:14.548 We tried a church plant and I'm not, I'm not a church planter. 01:05:15.168 --> 01:05:16.098 That wasn't my call. 01:05:16.098 --> 01:05:18.318 I don't know why I did that either, but a couple of things I've done. 01:05:18.318 --> 01:05:20.968 I probably shouldn't have, but, but it was a fun experience. 01:05:20.968 --> 01:05:25.588 And, and listen, my kids and my wife would tell you that we, that they loved it. 01:05:25.708 --> 01:05:26.648 We had a great time there. 01:05:27.168 --> 01:05:32.228 So what I saw was a failure because I guess, again, that, I guess I had 01:05:32.228 --> 01:05:33.378 this thing about me, about posing. 01:05:33.988 --> 01:05:35.898 I wanted to be like everybody else to plant a church. 01:05:36.738 --> 01:05:40.018 So maybe God wanted us to there for those four years to do what 01:05:40.018 --> 01:05:41.088 we did and accomplish what we did. 01:05:41.613 --> 01:05:44.703 Because those people are still in church, still, I still watch them on Facebook. 01:05:44.763 --> 01:05:47.283 They're still serving the Lord and different churches. 01:05:47.283 --> 01:05:49.863 So maybe they needed a little bit what we had. 01:05:50.363 --> 01:05:55.033 We came, we came to Woodruff from the beach and we moved here. 01:05:55.033 --> 01:05:59.543 I took a job as a facility manager at a plant and now I'm in my own 01:05:59.543 --> 01:06:04.273 business, but we joined a church called the meal and a church of the meal. 01:06:04.273 --> 01:06:05.253 And we served there. 01:06:05.758 --> 01:06:06.598 My wife's a counselor. 01:06:06.658 --> 01:06:07.838 We have served a small group. 01:06:08.208 --> 01:06:09.878 We've taught Sunday school for the youth there. 01:06:10.538 --> 01:06:13.328 And right now I do one of my other loves is cooking. 01:06:13.948 --> 01:06:19.028 I cook Zach's chicken fingers on Wednesday nights, 12 to 1400 chicken fingers every 01:06:19.028 --> 01:06:21.763 Wednesday night during the year program. 01:06:21.763 --> 01:06:22.406 Wow. 01:06:22.406 --> 01:06:25.913 And any opportunity we get to share the Lord, we do it. 01:06:28.613 --> 01:06:34.043 You've had a long, uh, career doing various ministries and 01:06:34.043 --> 01:06:35.713 you've learned a lot along the way. 01:06:36.803 --> 01:06:39.713 I know this is going to be a tough question and it's going to 01:06:39.723 --> 01:06:43.203 be hard to narrow things down. 01:06:43.203 --> 01:06:47.683 But I'm wondering if there was just one bit of advice that you could pass 01:06:47.743 --> 01:06:50.373 along to people out there in the. 01:06:51.113 --> 01:06:56.013 And never, never, and podcast land, you know, maybe somebody might be listening 01:06:56.013 --> 01:07:01.053 to this a hundred years from now, who knows, but what, what one eternal 01:07:01.573 --> 01:07:06.353 truth would you pass along to, to somebody that might be listening today? 01:07:07.333 --> 01:07:08.663 Galatians 2 20. 01:07:08.943 --> 01:07:10.283 I am crucified with Christ. 01:07:10.733 --> 01:07:12.763 It's no longer how I live, but Christ lives in me. 01:07:13.283 --> 01:07:14.963 The life I live now in the flesh. 01:07:15.363 --> 01:07:18.813 I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. 01:07:19.643 --> 01:07:20.743 That's my life verse. 01:07:21.603 --> 01:07:24.913 And what I'm saying by that verse, Bo Lee gave me that verse when I 01:07:24.913 --> 01:07:26.853 went to work at Camp Pine Hill. 01:07:27.743 --> 01:07:31.163 But what that, what I've learned, I learned from that verse every, every day, 01:07:32.153 --> 01:07:33.953 but that's my verse to not be opposing. 01:07:33.953 --> 01:07:37.083 The life I live is the life God called me to. 01:07:37.653 --> 01:07:39.923 My life that I wanted to live is dead and gone. 01:07:40.593 --> 01:07:42.583 I need to live the life that God called me to. 01:07:43.203 --> 01:07:43.993 And he called me. 01:07:44.593 --> 01:07:45.403 I need to be original. 01:07:45.403 --> 01:07:46.143 I need to be me. 01:07:46.143 --> 01:07:47.423 I need to be myself. 01:07:48.178 --> 01:07:50.318 I need to be the Christian that God called me to be. 01:07:50.778 --> 01:07:52.478 Don't try to be somebody else's Christian. 01:07:53.308 --> 01:07:56.868 Follow their example, live through their mistakes, learn from their 01:07:56.868 --> 01:08:01.498 mistakes and not make the same ones, but be you, be you, Christ 01:08:01.498 --> 01:08:03.578 has called you into the ministry. 01:08:03.588 --> 01:08:05.168 Your personality is distinct. 01:08:05.478 --> 01:08:09.108 Your fingerprint is your own fingerprint. 01:08:10.108 --> 01:08:12.598 Your spiritual fingerprint is just the same. 01:08:12.978 --> 01:08:14.158 It's going to mean the same thing. 01:08:14.348 --> 01:08:16.718 Nobody else's story is going to be like mine. 01:08:17.398 --> 01:08:19.508 And I shouldn't try to make mine like somebody else's. 01:08:20.518 --> 01:08:21.208 That's what I've learned. 01:08:21.958 --> 01:08:26.018 So that's what I would say to anybody, be yourself, be who Christ makes you to be. 01:08:26.628 --> 01:08:27.968 Let Christ develop you. 01:08:28.798 --> 01:08:30.858 Don't try to look at, well, I want to be like these people over here. 01:08:30.858 --> 01:08:32.048 I want to be like that up there. 01:08:32.428 --> 01:08:35.648 Preachers, when I went to this church, Bruton Forge, they said, well, Bruton 01:08:35.688 --> 01:08:37.408 Forge is a stepping stone church. 01:08:37.668 --> 01:08:38.598 I said, that's got to stop. 01:08:39.918 --> 01:08:42.058 God don't need no stepping stone churches. 01:08:43.128 --> 01:08:48.458 God needs so many gospel preaching churches that do the work. 01:08:48.988 --> 01:08:52.458 Every little church, I learned this in Cyprus, every little church. 01:08:52.883 --> 01:08:55.463 We need every church in every community and we're going to 01:08:55.463 --> 01:08:56.763 win the people for Christ. 01:08:57.313 --> 01:08:58.503 We're losing the world. 01:08:58.733 --> 01:09:01.453 There's more lost people in the world than there is saved people. 01:09:02.483 --> 01:09:05.573 There's more lost people in this town Woodruff than there is saved people. 01:09:05.833 --> 01:09:08.533 And there's 10, 000 more coming in the next two years. 01:09:09.733 --> 01:09:15.243 So we're losing the battle for the lost souls and they're ours. 01:09:15.843 --> 01:09:16.773 They don't belong to Satan. 01:09:17.083 --> 01:09:18.173 They belong to God. 01:09:18.953 --> 01:09:21.363 We just got to go out and live Christ. 01:09:21.833 --> 01:09:22.613 Be real. 01:09:23.113 --> 01:09:25.343 If you make a mistake, I'll make the mistakes. 01:09:26.003 --> 01:09:26.883 I'm the mistake maker. 01:09:27.983 --> 01:09:32.833 I said, I'm a rebel hillbilly redneck from Marietta, South Carolina. 01:09:33.423 --> 01:09:36.413 And I am that rebel, but I am who I am. 01:09:37.063 --> 01:09:38.783 When I made those mistakes, I go fix them. 01:09:39.513 --> 01:09:43.313 I go repent, ask forgiveness, step forward, move to the next level. 01:09:44.043 --> 01:09:45.343 Cause I'm going to make, I'm not perfect. 01:09:46.573 --> 01:09:50.523 And I had to hone it when the Holy spirit said, Hey, you should have said it. 01:09:50.523 --> 01:09:53.443 As soon as you were since the Holy spirit said, you shouldn't have done that. 01:09:53.763 --> 01:09:54.653 Go fix it right there. 01:09:54.683 --> 01:09:55.283 Don't wait. 01:09:55.913 --> 01:09:57.238 Don't try to correct it right there. 01:09:57.618 --> 01:09:58.038 Right. 01:09:58.193 --> 01:09:58.543 Right. 01:09:59.698 --> 01:10:01.228 Well, wow, this has been great. 01:10:01.228 --> 01:10:03.778 We do need to do another one in the, in the future. 01:10:03.988 --> 01:10:06.538 I will, I'd love doing some of my funny stories and some of 01:10:06.538 --> 01:10:07.948 our, some of our faith moments. 01:10:08.658 --> 01:10:11.808 Well, would you pray for, pray for our listeners right now? 01:10:11.808 --> 01:10:12.378 I will, buddy. 01:10:12.528 --> 01:10:12.948 I'll pray up. 01:10:13.968 --> 01:10:14.448 Let's do it. 01:10:15.298 --> 01:10:16.228 Lord Jesus, we love you. 01:10:16.228 --> 01:10:18.118 We praise you, God, for all that you do in our lives. 01:10:19.428 --> 01:10:25.548 Lord, I, us thank you that you know us and you know us before we even think things. 01:10:25.548 --> 01:10:26.449 You already know we're gonna think 'em. 01:10:27.543 --> 01:10:28.563 It's how awesome you are. 01:10:29.483 --> 01:10:31.643 So Lord, we ask you, first of all, just to forgive us for our sins. 01:10:31.683 --> 01:10:34.953 Lord, I want you to, to convict the hearts of all people who are listening to this, 01:10:34.953 --> 01:10:38.153 that they know that they can receive forgiveness for anything they've done. 01:10:38.153 --> 01:10:40.353 All they gotta do is ask, because you already know in 01:10:40.353 --> 01:10:41.223 advance they're going to do it. 01:10:41.223 --> 01:10:45.883 And so you, you, you love us enough that you died on the cross to give us a 01:10:45.883 --> 01:10:51.323 chance to be washed clean by your blood of all the sins that's in our life before 01:10:51.323 --> 01:10:53.123 Christ, before we became Christians. 01:10:53.788 --> 01:10:57.408 And even after we become Christians, your blood cleanses us of all 01:10:57.408 --> 01:10:59.198 sin, and we thank you for that. 01:10:59.418 --> 01:11:02.068 And God, I pray for the listener right now, that they will 01:11:02.078 --> 01:11:03.778 hear this, God, in some way. 01:11:04.148 --> 01:11:07.698 Lord, don't, don't, don't hear this old boy, let them hear your word in me. 01:11:08.408 --> 01:11:10.418 Let them hear your spirit and your spirit. 01:11:10.418 --> 01:11:14.508 Take my words and translate them into their hearts that their 01:11:14.508 --> 01:11:15.578 life can be made different. 01:11:15.888 --> 01:11:18.798 They will be made stronger and God, I pray that they'll have, they'll 01:11:18.798 --> 01:11:22.988 desire walk with you that's really personal and their life will be turned 01:11:22.988 --> 01:11:24.708 upside down from this day forward. 01:11:25.088 --> 01:11:28.808 And they'll find so much joy and peace in serving you, but they'll never 01:11:28.808 --> 01:11:30.408 understand and be able to explain it. 01:11:30.798 --> 01:11:31.598 And we love you, God. 01:11:31.598 --> 01:11:32.798 We praise you for what you're going to do. 01:11:33.138 --> 01:11:35.798 And I thank you for this opportunity to share this word. 01:11:36.248 --> 01:11:38.538 It can last now until you come again. 01:11:39.023 --> 01:11:40.003 In Jesus name we pray. 01:11:40.433 --> 01:11:40.823 Amen. 01:11:43.113 --> 01:11:43.693 Thank you, Jesse. 01:11:44.483 --> 01:11:45.233 Thank you, Keith. 01:11:45.233 --> 01:11:47.923 I appreciate your taking the time to do this. 01:11:47.933 --> 01:11:52.053 It means, it means a lot, not just to me, but I'm sure to a lot of 01:11:52.063 --> 01:11:53.883 people that are going to hear it. 01:11:54.463 --> 01:11:55.563 Well, I appreciate you guys, man. 01:11:55.563 --> 01:11:57.653 I appreciate y'all praying for me when I was going through all 01:11:57.653 --> 01:12:01.203 my stuff with my knee and all the stuff that you did for me. 01:12:01.223 --> 01:12:02.163 I appreciate y'all. 01:12:10.535 --> 01:12:12.755 Cailin: We hope you've been blessed by today's story. 01:12:13.225 --> 01:12:16.935 In case you haven't noticed, there are no advertisements on this podcast 01:12:17.305 --> 01:12:18.855 and we hope to keep it that way. 01:12:19.515 --> 01:12:23.655 So if you've heard something that you think could help someone you know, please 01:12:23.665 --> 01:12:25.785 share it using the link in the show notes. 01:12:26.615 --> 01:12:30.965 Also, if you will give Faith and Purpose a positive review on your podcast platform, 01:12:31.395 --> 01:12:33.065 you could help more people find it. 01:12:33.645 --> 01:12:37.705 You will probably never know how that small effort can make a big 01:12:37.715 --> 01:12:39.305 difference in someone's life. 01:12:39.590 --> 01:12:41.270 But our Heavenly Father knows. 01:12:41.750 --> 01:12:46.600 Speaking of sharing, if you know a Jesus follower with a story to tell, please send 01:12:46.600 --> 01:12:49.000 them a link to Faith and Purpose Podcast. 01:12:49.480 --> 01:12:51.630 It may encourage them to tell their story. 01:12:52.060 --> 01:12:53.610 That person may even be you. 01:12:54.100 --> 01:12:57.260 Our only criteria is that Jesus be glorified. 01:12:58.020 --> 01:13:01.520 Most Christians don't share their faith because they mistakenly think 01:13:01.530 --> 01:13:03.870 their story is not interesting enough. 01:13:04.340 --> 01:13:06.710 Or that it's self centered to talk about themselves. 01:13:07.130 --> 01:13:10.940 Or that they are not competent to explain the gospel correctly. 01:13:11.390 --> 01:13:12.650 But none of that is relevant. 01:13:13.040 --> 01:13:16.490 If Jesus has changed your life, you have a story to tell. 01:13:17.400 --> 01:13:19.410 All of our stories are completely unique. 01:13:19.965 --> 01:13:24.695 No one has a story like yours, and you may be the only one who can reach someone 01:13:24.695 --> 01:13:27.055 else through telling your experience. 01:13:27.565 --> 01:13:29.965 All of our stories are completely unique. 01:13:30.315 --> 01:13:35.065 No one has a story like yours, and you may be the only one who can reach someone 01:13:35.065 --> 01:13:36.965 else through telling your experience. 01:13:37.385 --> 01:13:38.735 So don't be intimidated. 01:13:39.125 --> 01:13:43.425 A story is just that, a true account of your own experience. 01:13:43.840 --> 01:13:46.550 And no one can disagree with your experience. 01:13:47.450 --> 01:13:51.630 When we tell what Jesus has done in our lives, we are being obedient to his 01:13:51.630 --> 01:13:55.840 command to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 01:13:56.260 --> 01:14:00.070 It's not about theology, and it's not about how interesting or special you are. 01:14:00.450 --> 01:14:02.310 It's all about Jesus. 01:14:02.885 --> 01:14:07.585 So when you're ready to tell how Jesus has impacted your life, you can let Jesse 01:14:07.585 --> 01:14:10.685 know at his ministry website, jesseduke. 01:14:10.725 --> 01:14:11.045 net. 01:14:11.595 --> 01:14:14.615 There you can download guidelines that will make it easy to 01:14:14.615 --> 01:14:16.155 prepare to tell your story. 01:14:16.685 --> 01:14:19.175 Thank you for listening today and Shalom.