Well, as stated in the last post, we moved into the pastorium at the Creek about a week or so before Christmas. Early in service as supply there, we had taken the youth to a couple of concerts. Al Denson had been at Emmanuel College and David and the Giants had been in Elberton. The youth were totally in awe. They had NEVER been introduced to contemporary Christian music. Really, they had NO clue it existed. They loved it, but some of the older adults thought it to be heresy. Long story short here, I became the youth worker/teacher. We did the normal youth things like fundraisers, Shine On & Super WOW trips, concerts, etc. While in our first year there, Chas' grandfather succumb to cancer. This was especially difficult for Chas. That same year, we experienced a house fire due to faulty wiring in the wall behind the clothes dryer. We spent 3 weeks in a motel room and almost 3 months in a rental while the house received a make-over. In the next two years, we experienced highs and lows in ministry and life in general. Sometime in that second year, we received a phone call early one morning (before daybreak). Chas' only brother had shot a man and was on the run. We were obviously shaken and concerned. Chas' brother turned himself in later that day. Some time later, he went to trial and was convicted of manslaughter. Chas' brother had been the true biker in the family and while there were odd circumstances in their family, Chas & his brother had been close in the past. We came to the painful realization that when we 'cleaned up and became what the church folk told us we needed to look like,' we had lost several connections. One of those connections lost was the connect Chas had with his brother. We determined then and there to go back to what we had surrendered to: to go into the highways and hedges and compel people to come in. We needed to reach people by being who we were and are in Christ. We began to be burdened for bikers more and more. Then, a guy with whom I had gone to school with and had many classes with who was a biker to the bone began to cross our path regularly. Speaking of people crossing our path regularly, I neglected to tell you all about a friend, Angie. She had been a friend from high school and we had gone our separate ways. While we were at Carnesville Baptist, we began to see her time and time again. We never failed to invite her to church. We ALWAYS invited her to come to church with us.....what we were supposed to do, right? WRONG!!!! Let me explain. We always invited her, but never took the time to tell her of the difference Jesus had made in our lives and marriage. Big mistake......Why? You ask? Well one Monday morning, I went to work and my boss was talking about this horrible accident which had happened in South Carolina. I didn't think much of it. Later that morning, my boss came to my classroom and asked me to take a call from Chas in her office instead of the classroom. I did. What Chas had to tell me is that the horrible accident in South Carolina had claimed the life of our friend, Angie. I was shaken, but not as much as when I went to the visitation. She was almost unrecognizable. That night, when I closed my eyes, all I could see was Angie behind/in flames asking me why I had not told her about Jesus. What a sobering moment so-to-speak. I realized that it is not about inviting people to go to church or even going to church. It is about Jesus and the love He has for us and desires for us to have for others.
Now, that we have taken that little side-trip to visit Angie and my conviction there, back to Sammy, the biker in our path. You see, Sammy had been locked up, had come to know Jesus and had even been to Bible College. After all that, he & his wife divorced and he had lost custody of his sons. Every time we would see him, he would tell us how he felt like Job. He had lost his wife, sons, bla, bla, bla....Well, I always told him he sounded more like Jonah than Job. He was living the old life again and running from the Lord. As our paths crossed more and more, the Lord began to bring him to the Creek. We ended up doing many things with Sammy & new wife, Laura. Sammy & Chas spent a lot of time discussing going to bikers and maybe starting a Christian bike club. They even batted ideas around about what colors we might design. Then, on Father's day of 1996, David and I took Chas out to lunch in Toccoa. We ate at the Bamboo House. To our joy and amazement, there was a couple in there who, get this, had leather vests and Christian colors. More specifically, His Blood Warriors Colors. We exchanged information and chatted briefly. Later that week, we received a phone call from one of the other members in the group telling us we were welcome to visit them at the clubhouse for Friday night Bible study. We were so excited. We went and immediately, we knew this group of people was the group for us. We were just not sure if they felt the same way. We went to a few meetings and on a particular night, we were asked to leave before business meeting. We prayed all the way back home that night, not knowing what was going on, but sensing that there was an issue within the group. As with all groups, there was & the very couple who had been at the Bamboo House and our first encounter were leaving the group. We continued to meet with HBW and go to events with them. We attended July Jam for Jesus, a Fall Festival in Gainesville, and Feast of Trumpets Rally with them. We expressed interest in joining the group, shared our testimonies and waited the required time. In the midst of all of this, we planned a church run for Shoal Creek. That night, Sammy's bike broke down on the way to the church and he rode in on it in the back of a truck. Many people at the church boycotted the event, but we still had over 100 people present. One member present, was so pleased to have all three of her children in church for the first time in years!
Just a few weeks prior to the Church Run, we had been at Super WOW with the youth. Chas came to me after one of Ken Smith's messages and said, 'We need to talk.' He said that he didn't know how I would feel about what he was about to say, but he felt we needed to go to seminary. I simply opened my journal that I had taken notes in and showed him what I had written in the margin. It simply read, 'Look out seminary, here we come.' So, we talked to Ken and he suggested that we visit a little college in Graceville, FL, which was for ministers who had only gone to high school, been called into ministry and were a little older than most who enroll in college. We visited the school anticipating to visit many more schools before making a decision. We didn't need to visit any more, we knew immediately that this was the school for us. We struggled with telling those we served and loved. We had been conducting a weeknight Bible study at the house. While it had been open for anyone who wanted to attend, only two ladies chose to do so. We had done the Experiencing God, Mind of Christ, In His Presence, and When God Speaks with these ladies. We were near the end of the last one when Chas resigned. The ladies told us that they knew God was dealing with us and they would even leave our house and go down the road, stop & pray for us. Our last Sunday there was the last Sunday in October 1996. We went on a Church Run with HBW the following Sunday and met with those two ladies on Tuesday night to have the final Bible Study. One of them even picked up Chas' favorite meal for the night...the Varsity hotdogs. We drove all night to get to Graceville and Chas slept that day to be able to begin the night shift job he had gotten. Shoal Creek was a roller coaster ride for sure. We, again, have relationships with some from the Creek that we are ever grateful for and are blessed to remain in contact with. However, like most every place of service, some thanked God & Greyhound we were gone. The best things to come from the Creek were the relationships, which we still have and our introduction to HBW.
Next post: the Graceville years...We finally PATCH OUT WITH HIS BLOOD WARRIORS.
Now, that we have taken that little side-trip to visit Angie and my conviction there, back to Sammy, the biker in our path. You see, Sammy had been locked up, had come to know Jesus and had even been to Bible College. After all that, he & his wife divorced and he had lost custody of his sons. Every time we would see him, he would tell us how he felt like Job. He had lost his wife, sons, bla, bla, bla....Well, I always told him he sounded more like Jonah than Job. He was living the old life again and running from the Lord. As our paths crossed more and more, the Lord began to bring him to the Creek. We ended up doing many things with Sammy & new wife, Laura. Sammy & Chas spent a lot of time discussing going to bikers and maybe starting a Christian bike club. They even batted ideas around about what colors we might design. Then, on Father's day of 1996, David and I took Chas out to lunch in Toccoa. We ate at the Bamboo House. To our joy and amazement, there was a couple in there who, get this, had leather vests and Christian colors. More specifically, His Blood Warriors Colors. We exchanged information and chatted briefly. Later that week, we received a phone call from one of the other members in the group telling us we were welcome to visit them at the clubhouse for Friday night Bible study. We were so excited. We went and immediately, we knew this group of people was the group for us. We were just not sure if they felt the same way. We went to a few meetings and on a particular night, we were asked to leave before business meeting. We prayed all the way back home that night, not knowing what was going on, but sensing that there was an issue within the group. As with all groups, there was & the very couple who had been at the Bamboo House and our first encounter were leaving the group. We continued to meet with HBW and go to events with them. We attended July Jam for Jesus, a Fall Festival in Gainesville, and Feast of Trumpets Rally with them. We expressed interest in joining the group, shared our testimonies and waited the required time. In the midst of all of this, we planned a church run for Shoal Creek. That night, Sammy's bike broke down on the way to the church and he rode in on it in the back of a truck. Many people at the church boycotted the event, but we still had over 100 people present. One member present, was so pleased to have all three of her children in church for the first time in years!
Just a few weeks prior to the Church Run, we had been at Super WOW with the youth. Chas came to me after one of Ken Smith's messages and said, 'We need to talk.' He said that he didn't know how I would feel about what he was about to say, but he felt we needed to go to seminary. I simply opened my journal that I had taken notes in and showed him what I had written in the margin. It simply read, 'Look out seminary, here we come.' So, we talked to Ken and he suggested that we visit a little college in Graceville, FL, which was for ministers who had only gone to high school, been called into ministry and were a little older than most who enroll in college. We visited the school anticipating to visit many more schools before making a decision. We didn't need to visit any more, we knew immediately that this was the school for us. We struggled with telling those we served and loved. We had been conducting a weeknight Bible study at the house. While it had been open for anyone who wanted to attend, only two ladies chose to do so. We had done the Experiencing God, Mind of Christ, In His Presence, and When God Speaks with these ladies. We were near the end of the last one when Chas resigned. The ladies told us that they knew God was dealing with us and they would even leave our house and go down the road, stop & pray for us. Our last Sunday there was the last Sunday in October 1996. We went on a Church Run with HBW the following Sunday and met with those two ladies on Tuesday night to have the final Bible Study. One of them even picked up Chas' favorite meal for the night...the Varsity hotdogs. We drove all night to get to Graceville and Chas slept that day to be able to begin the night shift job he had gotten. Shoal Creek was a roller coaster ride for sure. We, again, have relationships with some from the Creek that we are ever grateful for and are blessed to remain in contact with. However, like most every place of service, some thanked God & Greyhound we were gone. The best things to come from the Creek were the relationships, which we still have and our introduction to HBW.
Next post: the Graceville years...We finally PATCH OUT WITH HIS BLOOD WARRIORS.
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