From Hopless and Drugs to Jesus - Randy Hornbeck's Story

In August of 1969 I entered the U.S. Army (shortly after graduating from Anderson High School). I was eventually stationed at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina with the 82nd Airborne Division. While at Ft. Bragg, I became more involved with drugs (I had begun to smoke dope in high school). Most of the guys I was hanging with were shooting heroin. I began to do lots of psychedelic drugs and was hanging out at a coffee house in Fayetteville. After eighteen months in the Army, and as a result of my involvement with the local antiwar movement, I went AWOL (absent without leave). I spent three months living in a commune in the Brushy Mountains of North Carolina. I came to the conclusion that I no longer wanted to be a part of Uncle Sam’s organization, so I hitch hiked to Ft. Meade, MD (just outside of D.C.), walked into the Military Police Station and turned myself in. Six weeks later I was released with an Undesirable Discharge.

When I returned to Anderson, I discovered that most of my friends had also become hippies, so I moved into the farm house that they had rented just outside of Summitville. There were several that lived there off and on that summer. None of us worked. Actually, I think Sharla was the only one that worked. We were selling drugs for a living. We were making trips to Atlanta and Cincinnati to buy. Obviously we were also doing a lot of drugs. I was starting to do a lot of introspective thinking. The more I considered the direction that my life had taken; about having been discharged with less than honorable conditions, getting high every day and not really having much hope for my future, the more I became depressed. I recall one afternoon I was the only one at the house and just began to wonder what my life would be like when I was fifty years old. I became very depressed thinking about it. The depression continued for several days.

One afternoon we went to a house in Anderson to sell some dope to some friends. There was a guy there named Terry. Terry and I had been very close in high school. I hadn't seen him for a long time. He had become a heroin addict and was living in Atlanta. The last time I saw Terry prior to this day, he looked terrible. Terry was sitting in the corner strumming a guitar. When I asked what he had been up to, he said something like "just praising God." He began to tell me that he was no longer strung out on heroin and he didn't do any drugs now because of what God had done for him. I remember having a negative reaction to his statement. He started telling me about some kind of meetings he was going to on 53rd Street and then he gave me a card that said, "Smile God Loves You."

The next day, some of us started talking about how much Terry seemed to have changed and how good he looked. Someone mentioned that we check out this place. We were supposed to go to a concert in Cincinnati, so I had mixed feelings. I wasn't really interested in religion and I really wanted to go to the concert, but I couldn't deny how much better Terry looked than the last time I saw him. I think subconsciously I was hoping that I could find some relief from my depression in the same way Terry was relieved of the heroin addiction. So several of us went and got there late.

The house was filled with young hippie types and smoke. The smoking didn’t bother me since I smoked cigarettes as well as joints. Since I had no religious background, I didn’t even think that the smoking might be a bit out of place for a Christian gathering. What did bother me was this old guy (Pop Bunch) that was preaching and he was freaking me out as he walked around the room and squinted at me with one eye closed. At the end of his preaching, he said he wanted to pray for anyone that wanted to receive Christ. I am paraphrasing and actually only assuming that's what he said because I didn't really know what he was talking about. I remember that a girl named Beth asked if I wanted to be prayed for. I was very hesitant at first. One of the guys with us, Jim, coaxed me into the circle that they had formed. I think he wanted me to be the guinea pig so he could see what this was all about. I recall that I approached the experience the same way I did drugs, I’ll try anything once. So I stepped into the circle and they all gathered around, put their hands on me and started making a whole lot of noise (I guess they were praying). I remember most everyone was saying something about Jesus. Almost immediately I felt my feet and legs begin to shake and this rumbling feeling began to engulf my whole body. I thought I was going to pass out.

Sharla then got in the middle and seemed to be having a similar experience as me. I recall that she seemed to get very emotional. When we left later that night, I knew I felt different. Not just different, but radically different. I could tell the depression was gone. I felt happy and hopeful. In the days that followed, Sharla and I wanted to go back, but none of the others were much interested. We began going every night and she and I decided we were finished with drugs. During this time we were letting a local band named Sunshine practice in our basement. One night the lead guitar player showed up for practice and it was the wrong night. They were to practice the following night. So, I stood and talked with him in the kitchen for awhile telling him about my experience at Jerry's. He was asking lots of questions and seemed really interested, so I asked him to come with Sharla and me. He said something like "well maybe this is why I came tonight." So we took him and by the end of the night we were praying for him too. That was Greg Hough’s introduction to Jerry's Place. (Editor’s note: Greg Hough later became lead guitarist for “Petra” one of the first nationally known Jesus Rock bands’. Greg played with the band for several years).I continued to live at the farm house for awhile.

One night I didn't go to Jerry's, I think because I didn’t have a ride. There were several people at the house getting high smoking dope. I was turning them down every time they passed the joint around. One of the guys, Mark, said something like "you can at least drink some wine with us." He seemed to be getting upset with me, so I decided to take a few drinks of the Boone's Farm. It wasn't long before I realized that he had laced the bottle of wine with LSD. Once I began to get off on the acid, Mark appeared to be the devil incarnate to me. I retreated upstairs and obviously had a very bad experience. I remember becoming very aware of the demonic realm that night.

I think I had my first spiritual revelation that night also: with friends like this, who needs enemies. I knew that I had to get out of this environment, so within a few days, I moved back home with my dad. I think Sharla also moved home soon after I did. I then continued going out to Jerry’s almost every night for about a year.

To be continued . . .