He was left alone with his daughter that night. She began to be upset and agitated. She said, "Daddy, I don't want to be away from you."
"How's that?" He asked.
"Daddy, when I die, I'm going to heaven and you're going to Hell. We will be forever separated."
That was the turning point. My friend decided to attend church that night and join his wife in the pew. Soon he turned his life over to Jesus Christ and became a changed man.
He was changed in life direction and changed in his calling.
Gary soon became a worker and minister at his church. Over time, the church allowed him to go out and start a "Biker church" to reach people just like himself. This ecclectic gathering reaches people that many in the "established churches" don't want to mess with. They are located in a crack neighborhood. Many of the attenders have addiction issues as well as other hangups. The neat thing is that they don't know what a traditional church is. They don't even know how to act.
Pastor Gary tells me that he sometimes has to go to people and say, "No, we don't do that here." His wife suggested he write these incidents down for future book. Gary says, "I really don't want to remember!"
I became pastor of the more established and traditional churches. But our paths crossed again a little over a week ago. It sure was good to catch up on old times and acquaintances. Some of the people we grew up with now go to his church. One has come out of prison and is leading their addiction recovery ministry.
God uses broken people. Really, though, that's the only kind of people he has to use. We are all broken in some way.
Some just are more broken than others.
But it takes all of the same amazing grace to save and change us all.
I'm so glad to have caught up with this brother in the ministry again. I look forward to preaching at his church on a Tuesday night soon.
Look for me there.
Just don't look for me to ride in on a 'cycle.
Now, that's another story....
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