Growing in Brokenness (Part 7: The Misunderstanding of Christianity)

Our volunteer ministry and start up church in the poorest area of Franklin (that we had given so much time and effort to) was being forced to close due to lack of funds and no place to meet. It was heart-breaking to see it fall apart. It felt like a failure, but most of all it saddened us that we were going to miss the people we had come to love.

A few years earlier Ernie whose income as an accomplished and busy corporate trainer had been our main source of support had given up some clients as my speaking business had slowly grown. She wanted to spend more time with our young daughter. Then my voice problems began to cause my speaking opportunities to decline.

Gradually our financial situation had grown desperate to the point that some of our friends were giving us money. It was humbling to learn to receive. One group of friends even brought us a van load of nonperishable groceries. We ate on them for months. And God was doing financial miracles in the midst of our brokenness.

Once when we were in need of two thousand dollars, there was a knock on our door. A man was with the water department. They wanted to put a new pipe across our front yard and offered to pay us $600. I told him we’d take it without consulting with Ernie.

When he left, she told me we were supposed to hold out for $2000. About a week later there was a knock on our door. The man said that our neighbors on both sides of us insisted on $2000 and he handed us a check for $2000. Another time we got a check in the mail for about $1000 from the phone company saying they had overcharged us for a period of time in the past.

One family member gave us $4000. Another forgave a debt I owed. It was a very humbling yet very much a blessing to see that God and people loved us so much.

Despite all of that we urgently needed to sell our house. It had been on the market for almost two years. Once we got a contract on it and put a contract on another house. The night before closing the person buying our house backed out. We were devastated.

My voice problems had gotten so bad I could hardly speak. I was still getting an occasional speaking opportunity, but now they were very humbling and embarrassing. A doctor at Vanderbilt Voice Clinic told me that my voice would never get any better and that as a motivational speaker I should apply for disability. He even wrote me a letter to give to the Social Security Administration.

Ernie and I prayed about it and felt like that was a trap. We were humbled and broken but our dependence was on what God can do. I tore up the letter.

Meanwhile I continued to try to sell (and find a publisher) for the two motivational books I had written and self-published. When I made speeches they sold well, but without audiences to sell them to, they were bringing in no income. As you can see, I love to write. It was very disappointing that my books were not moving out of our garage.

We were both looking for work. One day Ernie saw a want ad for a part-time counselor and sent in her resume. A few days later she received a call from a woman with The Salvation Army. She said that they need to hire a counselor to work with 86 men who were struggling with alcohol and drug addiction.

The woman was shocked to discover that Ernie is a woman and that made the call awkward for both of them. The lady explained that it was a 30-hour parttime job working from 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm 5 days per week.

Then she told Ernie that it was in a dangerous part of downtown Nashville near a truck stop. She said that the counselor is the only staff person in the building after 5:00 pm. Without the woman saying it, Ernie got the idea that they wanted a man for the job and asked her to wait for a moment.

Ernie located me in another room and said something like, “I think I’ve found you a job.” She led me to the phone (a landline) and handed it to me.

Then the situation became even more awkward. The lady and I were both confused. She finally asked, “Do you have counseling experience?” As a pastor I could say yes. Then she asked me to bring my resume and come in for an interview.

My interview was with Major Paul White. He explained the job to me. I would be the counselor in an 86-bed Adult Rehabilitation Center (ARC) for men in addiction recovery. He said that The Salvation Army had an ARC in most of the larger cities in the USA and asked if I was interested in the job.

I said yes. However, I had no idea what I was getting into. I have never been drunk in my life. How was I going to counsel addicts? Ernie and I thought The Salvation Army was a military-style charity. We didn’t know that it was a Christian denomination that had churches.

A couple of days later Major White called and offered me the job. I accepted. Ernie’s answering a want ad was about to make many powerful changes in our lives during a 15-year season of wonderful ministry and spiritual growth in communities of brokenness.

Several months after I got the new job our house finally sold. It took more than two years. Ernie loved that house and it broke her heart for us to sell it. We downsized and had enough money to pay off our ever-increasing debt and still have enough left over for a downpayment on our next home. God is so good!

Next up — Part 8 of The Misunderstanding of Christianity — Stepping into a Community of Brokenness.