Where did it start, this journey with Jesus? I was raised in church, as my Mother took me....er...drug me....forced me.....threatened me. As I grew up, I developed a love for church (denomination) and the people who surrounded me. They taught me, they nurtured me in the Word of God. Gallant First Baptist was a country church. It was the center of life in our community as it provided a place to meet socially. It was from this church I learned my basics of Christianity. The importance of reading the Word of God, as well as sharing with others this incredible story. I wasn't always very good at sharing, but I tried. Growing up in church was a safe time for me. As I grew older, I found myself being drawn to different people and different situations. I wasn't aware at the time, but God was stretching me and preparing me for what lay ahead.
The year --1968. The place--- Mrs. Hazel Hicks homeroom at Etowah High School, we sat in alphabetical order. The guy in front of me? One Mr. James David Bentley. Little did I know that God would connect the two of us together that would come full circle years later even to this day. We hit it off immediately and the why of this connection was a puzzle. We weren't anything alike. He was artistic, took French, whiz at math, Beta Club. Me, I spoke almost fluent English although I was linked to murdering said language time and time again. No wonder the two of us were often referred to as "The Odd Couple" in reference to a sit-com that came on ABC at the time. Jim was Felix Unger and I....I was Oscar Madison, the loveable slob.
As Jim and I (get it? Gemini? No I am not into astrology) got to know each other better we had a connection in two ways. 1.) Music and 2) God. These two things would become the foundation on which our relationship has grown over the years.
I do not remember the how's and the whys, but we became involved with Campus Crusade for Christ which had just moved into the area. The staff of CC for C were starting up home meetings for each of the High School in the area. They needed people who could play guitar and help lead worship. Ta Da! Bentley and Bynum was born. We volunteered and became a part of the recruitment for CC for C. The Four Spiritual Laws........The Spirit Filled Life.....all became an important part of our lives. I was asked to begin and teach a Bible Study for some guys from Emma Sansom High School. I would love to say it went great, but it didn't. In fact, I was a miserable failure. I was so insecure and doubted myself to the point that I asked to be relieved of that position.
Jim began to take on starting up a Coffee House for students. It would be open on Saturday nights and have live music. We named it THE OTHER DOOR. Reason being, you couldn't come in the front door, you had to go around to the side where the "other door" was. There wasn't anything else like it around. Excuse my "1960-ish" vocabulary but it was "Way Cool Beans...Groovy." Of course, once again, I could not see that God was doing a larger work that would be a part of my later years.
In the fall of 1968, Jim and I met Winston Kennedy, a staff member of CC for C at a local restaurant. I don't remember the particulars of the meeting, but I do remember that I walked away changed. That night, Winston spoke to us about Scripture. He told us things that we'd never heard taught before in our churches. As I sat and listened I remember the only thought I had was, "I being brain washed. There has to be something wrong with this since I'd never heard it taught in my church. What if I'm deceived? I could go to hell."
I wasn't deceived. It was truth. It left Jim and I both with a statement that has followed us all these years. "There has to be more to God than we know!" In other words, we both came away with a hunger to know God. The sheer fact of our understanding today could not be the complete deal. We found out that each day, as we followed God, brought us into situations and circumstances that only confirmed what we believed. There was more.
Campus Crusade For Christ played out and that brought us to Keith Greene and Chuck Smith. Eventually John Wimber came on the scene. I read books by Charles Finney and Rees Howell. I read the sermons of John Wesley and Johnathan Edwards. I studied George Whitfield and countless others who lived for the Gospel of Christ. Then I walked away and drifted into spiritual darkness for 7 years.
More later....
God on you....
mb
I do not remember the how's and the whys, but we became involved with Campus Crusade for Christ which had just moved into the area. The staff of CC for C were starting up home meetings for each of the High School in the area. They needed people who could play guitar and help lead worship. Ta Da! Bentley and Bynum was born. We volunteered and became a part of the recruitment for CC for C. The Four Spiritual Laws........The Spirit Filled Life.....all became an important part of our lives. I was asked to begin and teach a Bible Study for some guys from Emma Sansom High School. I would love to say it went great, but it didn't. In fact, I was a miserable failure. I was so insecure and doubted myself to the point that I asked to be relieved of that position.
Jim began to take on starting up a Coffee House for students. It would be open on Saturday nights and have live music. We named it THE OTHER DOOR. Reason being, you couldn't come in the front door, you had to go around to the side where the "other door" was. There wasn't anything else like it around. Excuse my "1960-ish" vocabulary but it was "Way Cool Beans...Groovy." Of course, once again, I could not see that God was doing a larger work that would be a part of my later years.
In the fall of 1968, Jim and I met Winston Kennedy, a staff member of CC for C at a local restaurant. I don't remember the particulars of the meeting, but I do remember that I walked away changed. That night, Winston spoke to us about Scripture. He told us things that we'd never heard taught before in our churches. As I sat and listened I remember the only thought I had was, "I being brain washed. There has to be something wrong with this since I'd never heard it taught in my church. What if I'm deceived? I could go to hell."
I wasn't deceived. It was truth. It left Jim and I both with a statement that has followed us all these years. "There has to be more to God than we know!" In other words, we both came away with a hunger to know God. The sheer fact of our understanding today could not be the complete deal. We found out that each day, as we followed God, brought us into situations and circumstances that only confirmed what we believed. There was more.
Campus Crusade For Christ played out and that brought us to Keith Greene and Chuck Smith. Eventually John Wimber came on the scene. I read books by Charles Finney and Rees Howell. I read the sermons of John Wesley and Johnathan Edwards. I studied George Whitfield and countless others who lived for the Gospel of Christ. Then I walked away and drifted into spiritual darkness for 7 years.
More later....
God on you....
mb
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