Telling Our Stories
I want to take a few days and tell you some of the stories from my life. It is not that I am anyone special or that my life is exceptional. I am just a regular guy living a pretty plain life. However, it has been a great blessing to me to have the Lord lead me through each phase of my life. I know He will lead you, if you will be open and listen to Him.
God saved me at 14 years of age, and He called me into the ministry at 17. I won't tell you those two stories again here, but suffice it to say that both were very real encounters with a Holy God. Then, I began to pray and seek His will for where to go to college. As I spoke to my parents and my pastor, God showed us all that Baylor University was the right place to go. I loaded the 1963 Studebaker and set out for Waco, Texas near the end of August 1973.
I drove all day, and I made better time than I thought I would, so I stayed at a motel across the interstate from the campus my first night in Texas. I did not know a soul in that huge state, except for a great aunt in Amarillo. I prayed for God's will and slept some that night. The next morning as I moved into the dorm, I had an attack of loneliness, so I dropped to my knees and prayed for a friend. He was standing behind me when I stood up from praying. Isn't God good?
Then, I prayed for direction about which church to attend. I did not feel comfortable with the churches around the campus. God put a restlessness in my soul. That same friend rode his bicycle 10 miles south of the campus, and turned around in the parking lot of a small Baptist Church. Minnie Pearl Baxley came out and asked him if he wanted to be their youth director. He told her, no, but he might know someone. When he got back to the dorm, he told me, and the next Sunday, my roommate and I went to Downsville Baptist Church. After the service I told the pastor, I was interested in being their youth director. One thing led to another, and less than a month later, they asked me to take the position. They paid me $40 a week to do what I loved.
Here was a young man who knew no one in Waco. I had no training in the ministry to speak of, and yet, God had provided a church 10 miles from campus, when other students were driving 50 to 100 miles to serve in a church. I knew I was particularly blessed, and I set out to do my best for the Lord. It was a great start to the ministry, and I can't thank God enough for His provision. That is one reason why I know the Lord is the Great Provider, and He can and will do the same for you, if you trust Him.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Matthew 22-24.
God saved me at 14 years of age, and He called me into the ministry at 17. I won't tell you those two stories again here, but suffice it to say that both were very real encounters with a Holy God. Then, I began to pray and seek His will for where to go to college. As I spoke to my parents and my pastor, God showed us all that Baylor University was the right place to go. I loaded the 1963 Studebaker and set out for Waco, Texas near the end of August 1973.
I drove all day, and I made better time than I thought I would, so I stayed at a motel across the interstate from the campus my first night in Texas. I did not know a soul in that huge state, except for a great aunt in Amarillo. I prayed for God's will and slept some that night. The next morning as I moved into the dorm, I had an attack of loneliness, so I dropped to my knees and prayed for a friend. He was standing behind me when I stood up from praying. Isn't God good?
Then, I prayed for direction about which church to attend. I did not feel comfortable with the churches around the campus. God put a restlessness in my soul. That same friend rode his bicycle 10 miles south of the campus, and turned around in the parking lot of a small Baptist Church. Minnie Pearl Baxley came out and asked him if he wanted to be their youth director. He told her, no, but he might know someone. When he got back to the dorm, he told me, and the next Sunday, my roommate and I went to Downsville Baptist Church. After the service I told the pastor, I was interested in being their youth director. One thing led to another, and less than a month later, they asked me to take the position. They paid me $40 a week to do what I loved.
Here was a young man who knew no one in Waco. I had no training in the ministry to speak of, and yet, God had provided a church 10 miles from campus, when other students were driving 50 to 100 miles to serve in a church. I knew I was particularly blessed, and I set out to do my best for the Lord. It was a great start to the ministry, and I can't thank God enough for His provision. That is one reason why I know the Lord is the Great Provider, and He can and will do the same for you, if you trust Him.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Matthew 22-24.