Call

After accepting Christ, my family returned to our home church.  This church did not preach the Gospel, but they did accept African-American families.

Although First Baptist is where I trusted Christ as my Savior, I'm told that they were not in favor of an integrated church.

Our home church was dull, and pointless.  I can remember many a-Sundays wishing for the day I could leave this church.

Well, that day came.  When I graduated from High School, I enrolled at a State university ... and stopped going to church.  I soon found out that college was NOT for me.

I returned Danville, and picked up my career at a local restaurant.  Later, I was promoted to Personnel Manager, and transferred to Peoria, IL.  It was there that I met Scott & Becky Line. 

I remember that they looked like brother and sister. But, they were married.  They were attending a local Bible college.  They professed Christ as their Savior, as did I, but there was a world of difference between our lifestyles.  I hired them, and began to watch their lives.

After a short period of observation, I realized that the difference between me and the Lines is that they served God, and I served self.  It was the fall of 1983, a full 11-years since I became a Christian ... and I had  very little fruit to show for it!

I resigned my position with the restaurant, and enrolled in the Bible College that Scott and Becky were attending.  My goal: to get 'caught up' in my Christian knowledge, so that my walk, matched my talk!

It was about two weeks into the first semester that I discovered everyone in this school was called to be a pastor, evangelist, worship leader, or the wife of one.  I KNEW that I was in the wrong place.

After all of those years in my 'home' church, I KNEW that I didn't want to be a preacher, pastor or anything close to it.  At that moment, God told me that I was in the right place, and that He had worked things out the way He did, because He knew I wouldn't volunteer.

So, I stay in school ... as a preacher of the Gospel!