Encountering the Jesus Movement

After my Wednesday evening experience at church, (Se my post about Coming to Christ) I began to try and attend church on a somewhat regular basis. The church was made up of about 100 working class people and part of the Assembly of God denomination. There was a small teen group in the church which I was immediately shuffled into. I didn’t last long there.  To me it was a group of a few bored church kids being treated like little kids, playing silly church games led by two adult leaders. I remember thinking to myself, “This is not what I got saved for.” The regular church services where better, and I particularly enjoyed the Wednesday night service. The singing and personal stories and Bible study actually fed me. Still, I didn’t fit in. It didn’t help that the church was 30 miles away in another community.

Outside of church I was struggling.  I did tell a few friends what had happened and one close friend actually came to a Wednesday night with me and prayed to receive Christ. However he never went back. Another close friend outright rejected what I said and it caused a rift in our friendship. I did purchase a Bible, though I wasn’t sure how to read it and no one at the church helped with that.  I began to read some Christian books and that helped solidify my experience.  My mom was off on her own and I rarely saw her. My father, whom I also worked for, was highly skeptical and at times mocked my newfound faith.

I had met another young man at church who was my age. He was a good guy, but definitely a “church kid.” He recognized my struggle to fit into the church culture and told me of someone who knew some Christians who were like me, meaning long haired hippy types. After church on a Sunday I drove to the address he gave me and parked in front of a small house. There was a sign that said, Solomon’s Porch. I knocked on the door and was invited in.  There were some college age guys, hippies, yet Christians. We talked for a while and I could tell that these were “Jesus People,” like I had heard about.  We talked for a while. I visited again and they invited me to a meeting they were doing in Indianapolis. I went along, but I never really clicked with this group.

I was near to graduating from high school. It was a confusing time. I had no plans for my future and no one to help direct me. No one in my family came to my graduation. My parents, at my father’s insistence had finalized their divorce the day after my graduation. It was almost a relief to me, knowing the fights and screaming would end. I began to work for a family friend and continued to work for my father. For an 18-year-old I was making decent money, and my dad had purchased an older, but decent car for me.  Many of my friends were now using drugs. I dabbled a few times. I tried dating a few girls, but I was pretty awkward with them and nothing worked out. Part of this was because the Spirit of God was chasing me and I knew I should be with a girl who would follow Christ. Through all this drifting I was trying to understand what it meant to follow Christ. At the same time my church attendance slowed down to almost nothing and no one at the church reached out to me. I continued to keep in loose contact with the hippie Christians from Solomon’s Porch through the summer.

As summer drifted into fall my father came to me with a proposal. He offered to pay the rent on an apartment for my mother and myself if I would move out of his house. As I had no other options I agreed. Part of me hoped I would be able to rescue my mother from her alcoholism.  We rented a small apartment in another town, the place where my mom did her drinking. I could see this would never work so just a few weeks later I convinced her to move to Anderson, where most of her family lived. I was hoping being near her brothers and sister might help her stop drinking. Within a few weeks it was clear that this would not work either. She kept drinking and I was responsible to pick her up when the bars closed. This was not the life I wanted. One evening I decided I had had enough. I took my mother, who was drunk at the time, and drove to my Dad’s house and just dropped her off. The next day I rented a small apartment and from then on, I was on my own.

I was able to get a part-time job at a local department store. Between that and my dad still paying the rent I was able to get by.  I still was not attending church, but knew I needed to do so. One night while driving from work, I spoke out loud saying, “I wish I had something to read tonight.” As soon as I said this, I saw a rolled-up newspaper lying in the street. I stopped and picked it up to read later at home. While reading the paper I came across a small notice of a “Jesus People” meeting happening that weekend at a church in Muncie, Indiana. I decided to go.

It was a meeting sponsored by a Baptist church and some students from Taylor university. I remember there being some music groups, testimony, etc. The meetings took place Friday evening and all-day Saturday. The last act was a former biker, now piano playing evangelist. His songs and testimony touched me, yet I was still a bit confused about what I needed to do in order to follow Christ. As the meeting concluded I hung around, determined to speak with him before he left.  Eventually it was just him and me in the sanctuary and he asked me if I needed to talk. I told him that I was confused. I thought I had come to Christ but was still unsure if I was saved. He walked me through a couple of Scriptures including 1 John 5:13, and Romans 10:9&10, and he prayed with me. I felt the uncertainty lift and just knew that I indeed was saved and was following Christ. From that time till now, I have never doubted that Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross was sufficient for my salvation and redemption.

 The Fishermen and Jerry’s

Just shortly after attending the meetings in Muncie I also learned that The Fishermen, the group from Solomon’s, were singing at an evening meeting at a church in Pendleton, IN. I decided to go and see them.  The meeting was small, 20-30 people. The Fishermen played and sang, preaching a little bit and giving testimonies. It was a typical “Jesus People” type meeting.  As it ended, and I was walking toward my car, I was approached by a young woman about my age. She handed me a business card that said on one side, “Smile. God Loves You.” On the other side listed a ministry called, “Where angels Rejoice,” with the address, phone number and two scriptures. She invited me to attend the meetings that were held nightly. I took the card, but as I went toward my car, I felt compelled to return to the church. Once inside, while the Fishermen where packing up, I knelt at the altar and began to weep uncontrollably. Looking back, I can see that the Holy Spirit was doing some inner healing in me.  I finally stopped crying and was the approached by one of the guys from the Fishermen. He apologized for having been rude to me the last time I had been at Solomon’s porch. I accepted his apology and then left for home.

The next day I called the phone number on the card that I had been given. I reached a woman who told me that there were meetings every night at her home. Her son, Jerry, led the meetings and she said I was welcome, and that a lot of young people attended. I decided to attend that evening.  In my mind I pictured a small gathering of young people seated in a circle, studying the Bible while an adult led.  I was in for a surprise.

Read about my surprise in my post about Jerry's called "First Impressions several pages below this entry.