This Saturday I was on my way to Clemson with my two sons (8 and 6 years old) to speak to over 1000 students at the FCA Rally in the Valley event sponsored by the adult chapter of Clemson’s FCA (the largest chapter in the nation!).
About 10 miles outside of Clemson I passed by two teenagers pulling 4 suitcases. I don’t always pick up individuals who are on the side of the road and especially when I have my boys with me but as I passed them the Holy Spirit prompted me to turn around. You know what I’m talking about if it has ever happened to you. That thought of “You are going to speak to 1000 students, but what about them?”
So I told the boys as I turned around that we were going to help them. Caden is a bit more cautious than Connor and was a bit concerned, and it didn’t help matters when Connor exclaimed, “He’s smoking a cigarette Daddy!” I assured them that I wouldn’t allow him to smoke in the car :>. I got out and asked them where they were going. They said they were going to Seneca. It turned out that the young lady was from a struggling home and that she was going to a homeless shelter and the boyfriend was helping her get there. I don’t know how accurate their story was, and quite frankly I don’t care. Here were two kids who needed help. God loved them and died for them and for that reason they are valuable. I told them I could take them to Clemson.
So they got in the car and we began to chat about their life. Their names were Hastings and Patricia. They were boy freshman at a technical school. She made the statement that her family frequently told her they hated her, and that they had never told her they loved her. It is hard to imagine teenagers growing up in these types of homes, but they are.
So I pulled up to Littlejohn Colliseum and they got out. I prayed for them and Connor gave them a pocket Bible he had in the car. It happened to be orange! Then I asked them if they wanted to come to the rally with me that we were going to. They both agreed.
So now as they walk in, unbeknownst to them, they are celebrities because they are with the featured speaker. They get a free pass in. God is wild in how he does things. My wife and Rokeem were supposed to come with me, but they didn’t come. Therefore, I had 2 extra tickets to the Clemson game. So I approached them and said, “Would you two like to be my guests at the Clemson game. You can sit with me.” Eyes wide open they said, “Sure!”
The music was great and they played some games. One side of the Colliseum was filled up with teenagers. Then it was time for me to speak. You’ll never guess the message that I had prepared…the story of the prodigal son. At the conclusion of the message I challenged the students to not be a “Gameplayer” but a “Gamechanger”. To repent of their sin and confess Jesus as Lord of their life. To do as the prodigal son did, “Get up and go to the Father.”
Over 150 students stood up to confess Christ as Lord, and their was one in the crowd that caught my eye….Hastings. According to a youth minister that was sitting beside him he told his girlfriend who was clinging to his hand, “I’ve got to go and talk to someone.”
So, Patricia walks down to wear I was on the front row during the music and says in tears, “I have to tell you something. No one in my life, including my own family has ever been as nice to me as you have been to me today. Thank you so much.” I whispered in her ear, “It’s because of the Father. Your heavenly father loves you more than I ever would. Run to him. His will was not for your family to treat you the way they have. He desires to restore you.”
And then…we partied. We went to the Clemson game and they sat with us. Laughing and eating pop corn. It didn’t even matter that Wofford was beating us in the third quarter. Connor asked them a 1000 questions and they didn’t seem to mind it. Including, “Why don’t you just live with him instead of going to the homeless shelter?” He assured him that it wouldn’t be right to have his girlfriend live with him. He said, “You can sleep on the couch.”
As we left, I was deeply moved as to how God granted me the pleasure of partnering with him that day. Not just the 100′s of kids who stood for Christ expressing their desire to repent of their sin. But it was the 1 that really rocked my world.
Patricia and Hastings, thank you for letting me share your story. I hope to see you again one day. Thanks for being a gamechanger.