Let me start by saying that I am a believer and follower of Jesus Christ. I believe that the only reason that I am still alive and able to write this is through His grace and mercy that has been bestowed upon me.
I was not raised in church; other than weddings and funerals, I would say that I stepped into a church less than five times up to the age of 25 years. My grandfather, father, mother and two brothers were, and or are alcoholics. My parents separated and divorced when I was about two years old. I grew up in an atmosphere that was seemingly normal and I always had everything I needed and more.
I do, however, remember a very casual attitude toward alcohol use and as I entered my pre-teens, I had already been allowed to "taste" alcohol. My brothers were much older than me and began to do drugs around me also. Needless to say, I was off to the races.
I freely and excessively used marijuana and alcohol, along with several other drug experiments, until August 12, 1991.
That day, by the grace of God, my wife Jeanne and I walked into a small storefront church in North Myrtle Beach. I heard a pastor talk of how Jesus could love and forgive anyone, even a sinner like me. That day I rushed from the back of that little church to have that man pray with me and I accepted Jesus into my heart.
Within two weeks I had quit drinking and using drugs. I broke albums and tapes that I believed were detrimental to my growing in Christ. I changed many things, beginning a journey of changing my life. I attended church every Sunday and Wednesday, went to special meetings and prayer nights. I began a search of myself and my purpose in life. Pastor was a great teacher and I actually feel that in my nine years with him I went to bible school. I also began a long journey with counselors and self help groups and anything else I could find.
As our church grew, I began to work with the children. I have always loved kids and it seemed so natural for me to teach them. After a few years I had become the children's pastor and began really feeling the annointing and saw changes in not only myself but many of the children I worked with.
During the fall of 2000 my pastor asked if I might pray about coming aboard full time and taking charge of all the children's ministries. This would be a big leap of faith for me, as I was very successful and established in upper management with a Wendy's franchise.
After much deliberation and prayer, I accepted and left my job for full time ministry. It was great, God continued to meet all of my families needs and I really felt that I was where I should be.
Then the storm came. Within two months, my pastor fell and left the church. We were devastated. New pastors from our "covering ministry" were shipped in. All of the existing staff were evaluated and found to be "tainted" by our pastor and were "relieved" of our positions.
I'll stop right there. More testimony to come.
God Bless....
