While at International Bible College (IBC), my student loan debt piled up. We moved from the white and blue house in Red Rock into a house owned by Debra's family on Hawk Pride Mountain. This saved money on rent. I had some choices to make. Did I finish the courses at IBC and rack up another two years of debt or did I stop my pursuit of a Bible degree? I had been preaching for the entire two years I was at IBC. Since one of the main reasons I was going to school was to become a preacher, I decided I had accomplished at least that goal. While it was true I would not be qualified to preach at larger congregations, I was happy preaching for the smaller groups. I decided to transfer to the University of North Alabama (UNA) and take some courses in Elementary Education.
Amos Black was a regular customer at Love's Convenience, the store I managed on Hwy. 72 in Tuscumbia. He was a member of the Chapel Hill Church of Christ, also on Hwy. 72 in Tuscumbia. He explained that their preacher could only be with them on Sundays. They needed someone to teach their adult class on Wednesday nights. I was teaching the class at Barton Church of Christ from 7:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Wednesdays. He told me that Chapel Hill would change their class time to 8:00 p.m. and sing until I drove from Barton. For several months I taught two Wednesday night classes. Chapel Hill's preacher decided it was too far for him to drive on Sundays. Now they were without a preacher. They asked if I would consider preaching for them. It was a lot closer to my home and my job. I decided to make the change. I will never forget the good folks at Barton Church of Christ for the 2 1/2 years of encouragement they gave my family. When I found out that they got John Hester, my mentor, to preach for them, I knew they would be just fine!
There is no way I will ever know where our lives would have taken Debra and I if we had stayed at IBC, stayed at the white and blue house in Red Rock, stayed at Barton Church of Christ, etc. When I look back, I sometimes wonder, but I don't look back very long because we didn't stay, we changed. These changes contributed to where we are today. I like where we are today, so why look back?
Amos Black was a regular customer at Love's Convenience, the store I managed on Hwy. 72 in Tuscumbia. He was a member of the Chapel Hill Church of Christ, also on Hwy. 72 in Tuscumbia. He explained that their preacher could only be with them on Sundays. They needed someone to teach their adult class on Wednesday nights. I was teaching the class at Barton Church of Christ from 7:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Wednesdays. He told me that Chapel Hill would change their class time to 8:00 p.m. and sing until I drove from Barton. For several months I taught two Wednesday night classes. Chapel Hill's preacher decided it was too far for him to drive on Sundays. Now they were without a preacher. They asked if I would consider preaching for them. It was a lot closer to my home and my job. I decided to make the change. I will never forget the good folks at Barton Church of Christ for the 2 1/2 years of encouragement they gave my family. When I found out that they got John Hester, my mentor, to preach for them, I knew they would be just fine!
There is no way I will ever know where our lives would have taken Debra and I if we had stayed at IBC, stayed at the white and blue house in Red Rock, stayed at Barton Church of Christ, etc. When I look back, I sometimes wonder, but I don't look back very long because we didn't stay, we changed. These changes contributed to where we are today. I like where we are today, so why look back?