Why don't you tell folks here about that guy, in detail, And your relationship with him...it will help filks here understand you better, and the feedback may help you understand all that better, and the impact it had on your life.
Alright.
When I was sixteen I lived with my mother on Ten Yard Springs. We didn't have running water and kept our eggs and milk in the spring to keep them cool. I spent most of my time at the library reading about direct mail and advertising. I run some ads in the local papers for something (I forget now, something I ordered) and was getting mail. It was my first attempt at starting a business. It would have never amounted to nothing.
Every once in a while a guy named James came to visit my mother and her husband. I was mostly bored living there accept for going to the library, there just wasn't anything going on. James had an old ragged car but always smiling. All he talked about was the bible and Jesus. I told my mom that guy is always happy! He always tried to get us to come to church. He said God anointed him a Prophet of God.
One day he came over and told us Charlie Fisher Murphy was having a tent revival and invited my mother. That day we went over to my uncles house and was watching TV. We didn't have a TV so it was an event for us. My mother decided to go to the revival and ask if me and my brother wanted to go. We said, "no" but she said we would have to walk home the next day if we didn't go. She made us go basically.
I was in for a surprise because this was a big ass tent. With speakers you could hear from a mile away! People running, praising God, speaking in tongues, passing out, getting healed. I didn't believe any of it. The preacher was a fiery preacher and painted on the pulpit was, "Charlie 'Fisher of Men' Murphy" (later I find out that Fisher was his birth name). Steve Martin in "Leap of Faith" had nothing on this guy! They don't make like him anymore!
He preached "Oneness" ...one, one, one! He was a oneness man.
Anyway, I wanted to ask him a question but I was shy so I got my brother to ask. The question was, "what happens to the people who die and never get to hear about God or Jesus." He didn't hesitate and gave to my mind a reasonable answer. Even James when ever he came over he always talked about Charlie Murphy. James and about everyone said he was a true anointed Man of God, Evangelist.
That night he preached about watching TV. It was a sin because the Bible said, "set no evil thing before thine eyes". The TV was evil because women on it with very little clothes and "enough make-up to paint a battleship and enough powder to blow it up!" and a lot more. That night I stopped watching TV.
a few days later James came over and I had lots of questions. He said he was going down Brother Charlie's and ask if I wanted to come and I said yes.
I didn't think we were ever going to get there because he live WAY out in the country. Winding roads and down a very steep mountain. We had to cross a creek to get to his house. His house was an old two story frame house with a full length porch and looked like it needed painting about 20 years ago. Chickens, goats, and children running around everywhere with two big buses packed full of revival stuff. He had 16 kids by the same woman.
Walking into his house you couldn't help but notice swords, shields, bible quotes, eagles, angels and amour figures everywhere. But you didn't see any pictures of Jesus or any crosses. He would tell you it was a shame for a man to ware long hair and Jesus wasn't a hippy-Jesus and he didn't like crosses because that was what killed Jesus. He didn't have running water because he lived to far out.
All he talked about was the "word".
He had an biblical answer for any question I could come up with. He lived what he preached, I must say. And he believed a lot!
Women did not wear clothes that pertain to a man.
Women did not cut their hair (their glory)
From Friday sunset till Saturday sunset was the Sabbath and one didn't work, play, buy and sell etc.
One did not eat unclean meat
Jesus Was God
One did not eat "devils food cake"
Of course no drinking, smoking, pot.
One did not "put the bottle to the mouth of another"
A man shaved his face, and cut his hair
A man did not wear anything that pertain to a women
One did not listen to worldly music
On and on and on
Actually later I learn he didn't believe the world was round because the bible said it had four corners, light didn't "travel" ...we debated this a long time.
The Church was called, "Church of Jesus Christ". He would say the Bible said do all things in the name of Jesus Christ and that meant name your church also. He would tell you about him fasting for forty days until he fell off the tractor and about his visions.
Anytime he drove by a tobacco field he would raise his hand and rebuke it in the name of Jesus Christ.
He was a poor man who spent any money he got on the Lords stuff, i.e. tent stuff, and church stuff. You better not bump a speaker. Everything for the church was taken care of, painted, polished ...because oil sometimes would come out of the walls.
He really did heal some people too.
Anyhow, I started living everything almost overnight. Forgot about my business stuff completely. Train my mind to not even look at a woman with any thought of sex. And rebuked any "worldly music" until I actually forgot them.
A few weeks after visiting Brother Charlie my mother and her husband was moving away and I started living with James and his wife for a while. Then I moved in a milk barn and hitch-hike to church. Sometimes I would leave church with another member or spend the night in a shed out back and hitch-hick back in the morning.
I also lived with Charlie for about a year. We go to jails, radio broadcast, old folks homes, tent revivals. They always wanted me to be a deacon but I never was. I just mostly listen and ask questions.
There was another member name Johnny who I admired very much. He was a beautiful singer. There was a song he wrote that was my all time favorite gospel song. You can't find it anywhere, here it is:
BE READY
Be ready
For there is an hour
When you think he wont come
and he'll come and catch you sleeping
Be ready
Keep a bright light burning
His coming is near
He's not far from here
Your going to see his face
And when you look into his eyes
you wont despised
all the sacrifices your making
to be ready...
to be ready...
So if your wondering
if you should keep on watching
there's nothing else I can do
but tell you it's true
he'll come back like he said
And when you look into his eyes
you wont despise
all the sacrifices your making
to be ready...
to be ready...
So be ready
It has some beautiful music with it.
That was my life for about four years. But I never spoke in tongues, or felt what some of these people were experiencing. It was hard to stop church because everyone was my friend and I worked with the church people too.
Even after quitting church I still was around church people for a long time.
Charlie said he wanted to die in church and one day while singing in church he fell. I blood vain busted in his head. probablt from preaching so hard!
Then after a few years I started getting back into my business stuff. Then reading business books I would run into something spiritual and get side tracked.
There you go. Overkill.
