The Hank Williams Story
The following story was written by Hank Williams, an ADEP student who happily and sacrificially gave $60,000 for the development of GBS’s online courses. Hank’s testimony and his life glorify God and show how He is using distance education to be a blessing to others:
As we ordered another round of shots, my business partner Jeff asked me just to imagine how successful we could be if we were to let the drinking go. He said that we should make a pact to try it for awhile. Of course we drunkenly agreed and later that night, as I walked the streets near the motel in search of an after hours bar, I knew that once again I’d have to hide my habit (more realistically, dissolve our partnership of several months, try to salvage the friendship, move on to the next gig, and do it all over once again – nothing new).
It was Christmas Day in New Castle, Indiana, two days later, when I awoke with a massive hangover knowing I’d have to keep it together for just a few more hours while I visited Jeff and his family to open gifts. Afterwards, several days of vodka straight kept away the headaches, but the “Great Depression” (as I call it) had once again returned, its visits of late becoming more frequent, relentless, and all too long.
Whatever happened to the kid who graduated from college with several degrees, who at 34 had $2.6 million in the bank, who was a keynote speaker at a national convention of auto lenders because he closed the first asset-backed, non-prime bond offering after being up all night smoking crack; who, twice, woke up broke and homeless only to recover and found national companies, who could walk with the respectable by day and embrace the counterculture at night? The unsuccessful 30 day visits to rehab, the occasional suicide attempt, the endless string of pseudo friendships, the alienation of family, and being deserted by the only woman I had ever loved had left me feeling hopeless. Something had to change.
A few days later, I wandered past the book section of Wal-Mart and for some inexplicable reason left with a King James Bible and nothing else. That night, for a while on my knees and for a while on my bed, I cried to God in prayer, begging for help: “Just something, anything, just please, please help.” I didn’t care how or what. Prayed out and cried out, I began reading the Bible from the beginning, and then fell asleep.
That next morning, Sunday, I woke with the urge to go to the little church I had seen around the corner, whose sign I’d made a point of reading as I’d passed by the past few weeks. The service was uneventful, but the welcome was extraordinary; I can’t express the strange, subtle feelings and emotions of comfort, peace, and confusion that remained with me all week.
The “Great Depression” made its permanent exit that special Sunday morning, and I never had the desire or the inclination to drink or do drugs again; those old friends were gone and have never since revisited or been missed. A few Sundays later I found myself once again in tears, but this time at the church altar. And yes, I did humbly repent of the intolerable burden of my sin; I begged for Christ’s saving grace; I promised Him my faith in heart, body, mind, and soul; and I prayed for His help in keeping that promise. For the first time since my childhood, I was happy, perhaps poor in possessions, but in comfortable peace.
That first few Sunday services at the church led to even more Sunday services, to Wednesday services, to group Bible studies, to welcome visits from the pastor’s son, to true friendships, to enthusiastic worship participation; and the Pilgrim Holiness Church in New Castle, Indiana became my first real home in so many years and its congregants, my family.
Several months later, after I'd dissolved my partnership with Jeff
and had left Indiana, I was driving to Indianapolis to work a week long
automotive sales event. I was lost in thought about this wonderful God who had literally freed me from a living hell and who continued to bless and change me. I thought about my growing desire to deepen my knowledge of God. In spite of my Bible reading and church attendance, I didn’t seem to know much about Him. My internet searches of Bible study courses had been less than encouraging; most seemed to teach a different God than I saw in the Bible or had come to know. My worst fear was separation from Him by adopting false teachings.
As I approached Lexington, I thought of a musical group that had performed at the Pilgrim Holiness Church and I began to miss the friends I’d made there. While reminiscing about those times, I missed my turnoff for Indy and found myself just outside Cincinnati. It then occurred to me that the musical group was from a place in Cincinnati called God’s Bible School & College, and, what’s more, many of my friends at the Pilgrim Holiness church had attended that school. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to check it out; after all, I was practically there.
Although the rest of that day seems a bit blurry, I remember sitting in front of Betty Jo Cochran, the Aldersgate Coordinator, as she not only encouraged me to enroll, but reflected that love of the Christ I so dearly wanted to know. Deep in fervent prayer, I immediately drove to New Castle to discuss my future with my trusted friend and pastor, Tom Sproles. He encouraged me to attend, stated that he would support me in any way possible, and remarked that I could possibly regret it for life if I didn’t. Knowing what I know now, he was right on the money; I can’t begin to fathom what my life might be like now – had I bought back into the world and succumbed to peer pressure, had I followed the rabbit trails of false syncretistic teachings, or had my passion for my Savior faded away.
Mark Bird, the Aldersgate Director at GBS has become my pastor, advisor, and friend; GBS’s staff and students alike have held my hand and guided me down my spiritual path. They all reflect our Savior’s love and patience, and they teach the Bible accurately. With the exception of my deceased parents and the congregation at Pilgrim Holiness Church, I’ve never witnessed or experienced this grace from humanity.
I can’t tell you how or when I realized that I had fallen deeply in love with Christ; it happened subtly over time. He’s blessed me in good times and has given me peace, courage, and strength in the face of near financial ruin, personal disappointment, and spiritual attack. I do see reality in new and utter clarity, and I’m certainly never alone. My past actions and attitudes exemplified all that God abhors, and all that I now find repugnant. A grace so great as to rescue me can do anything, anywhere, anytime; being in relationship with Jesus Christ and walking according to God’s teaching is indescribably spectacular. One great blessing from God is that my relationship with my wife has been restored. We are in a love that grows daily, and we both acknowledge that any human relationship, especially marriage, is deficient without the heart’s love for God.
If any who read this have any doubt whatsoever that God is actively seeking a relationship with you; if you don’t believe that our Lord’s grace is not only available but infinitely sufficient to heal your wounds and provide a lasting peace; and if you don’t believe that His promises are true, I implore you to take a closer look at my life. I’m living proof that God wants to work a miracle in you; He’s waiting to answer your prayer.
|
 |
Dr. Mark Bird, ADEP Director,
President Michael Avery, and
Henry Williams, ADEP student
and donor.
|
