My Testimony

A true story... And it's mine....

As the old saying goes, “My fall from grace was truly a sight to see.”

Hard times? I've lived them.

Alcohol and drug abuse nearly killed me more than once. PTSD haunted me like a shadow I couldn’t shake. I slept in an old pickup truck in a Home Depot parking lot for two years. I was homeless. Lost. Jailed more then once, and a convicted felon. Shunned by some Christians and even more by the unchurched.

Labeled. Judged. An outcast.

I was the true definition of sin.

I didn’t need anyone to tell me I was broken, I knew it every time I looked in the truck mirror. I wore shame like a second skin. I felt forgotten by the world and abandoned by God, though deep down, somewhere, I knew He never left my side.

Then something happened. Something, supernatural

I walked into a church revival as the church sound man, still living with desperation, still drinking, and was going to church, yes, half of it was out of curiosity, and there, I encountered Jesus in a way I never had before. Not religion. Not tradition. Not a sermon that tickled the ears. Jesus. The risen Savior. The chain-breaker. The One who looks past the dirt, scars, the labels and sees purpose.

That night, I gave my life to Christ. I laid my brokenness at His feet. And He picked me up, not just to clean me off, but to “call” me.

I started my humble journey in His ministry with no title, just a testimony. No pulpit, just a purpose. Eventually, God called me to be a pastor. Not because I was perfect, but because His grace “is”. I didn’t climb some holy ladder, I crawled out of a pit and was, lifted, by grace.

Today, I am a man of God.

I don’t back up.

I don’t shut up.

And, I don’t give up.

Even now, as I walk through this season of my life, facing Stage 2 Colon Cancer, I still stand. Not because I’m strong, but because “He is”.

Cancer may touch my body, but it can’t touch my faith. My past may be messy, but it’s proof that God can turn ashes into anointing. That He can call the least likely and raise them to do mighty things.

I’m not who I was, and that’s the power of Jesus.

So, to anyone who thinks they’re too far gone, too broken, too dirty, too lost, just look at me.

If He did it for me, He can do it for you.

Grace found me in the gutter.

Now I walk in purpose.

And I’m just getting started.