A Chippendale Comes Home

About six years ago I was in town and decided to check out a midweek service at the Church where I attend. As the worship portion of the service ended, I scanned the crowd, as is my custom, to see if there were any new faces. As I did I noticed a young man that I had not seen before standing by himself toward the back of the sanctuary. At that moment the Holy Spirit whispered to me to go over and introduce myself. As I started toward the area where I had seen him, I noticed that he had left and gone to the altar. I felt strongly compelled to join him there. I prayed with him and gave him a card with my phone number and told him to call me if I could do anything for him. After we prayed we both returned to our seats. Having noticed that he was under the influence of drugs and also deeply troubled, I felt that I needed to get his phone number. When I went to go get it, I discovered that he had left. I went to the lobby to see if he was there. When I could not see him, I glanced out the window into the parking lot and saw him in his truck leaving. As he pulled away, I was able to make out the company information on the side of his van and quickly wrote it down.

As I drove home that evening, I was consumed with a desire to pray for this young man. As I prayed, the Lord spoke to me and said, "Keith, no matter what it takes I want you to find this fellow and tell him first of all that I love him with my whole heart. Secondly, tell him that I am returning soon and am calling him to reach those who do not yet know me with the Gospel”. When I arrived home I went straight to my office and called directory assistance for his phone number. The very next day I dialed the number and asked the fellow who answered if he was the young man that I had seen at the Church the night before. He said yes he was and went on to tell me that his name was David. I then told him who I was and asked him if it would be alright if I stopped in to see him. He said that it would be great so I went to his house.

When I knocked on their door I was greeted by David's Mother who invited me to come in and have a seat. When David entered the room I introduced myself and shared my reason for wanting to talk with him. Though apprehensive at first he soon began to open up and listen to what the Lord had told me to tell him. I then asked if he would tell me a little about himself. He started out by telling me that he had recently gone through a near-death experience at a local hospital as a result of a drug overdose where his heart stopped beating. After sharing the details of his ordeal with me he told me why I had seen him at Church. “I do not really know why I went to Church last night but all I can remember is driving past it and feeling something kind'a nudging me to go in". I then informed him that it was all part of a divine setup and explained to him what I meant. He told me that he owned a limousine company and did custom car and boat upholstery work on the side. He also said that he worked nights as an entertainer. Since I’ve played in a number of rock bands in the past, his entertainer statement caught my attention, as you can imagine. When I asked him about his work in the entertainment field, I could sense that he felt uncomfortable so I did not pursue the subject any further at that time.

After several weeks he opened up and told me that he had worked in clubs since he was seventeen years old as a Male Dancer. He went on to tell me that he had been a member of the famed Chippendale Dance Team and that he was currently dancing in local area clubs. After our conversation I said good bye to him and his Mom and headed home. While in the car I reflected on what David shared as well as what the Holy Spirit was starting to show me concerning what my next move should be. As I sought the Lord for wisdom to obtain a stategy for reaching David effectively, I heard "Simply befriend him!" I then made it a point to call him on a regular basis. After a few months I started to sense a release to confront David concerning some lifestyle changes that it was time for him to make. I began talking with him about his dancing and why it was not pleasing to God and how satan had actually been using the gift that God had given to him to lead scores of women into the sin of lust and vain imaginations. As you can imagine he was not thrilled about what I had to say since his dancing was his primary source of income. A few months later, David told me that he had quit dancing and was going to focus all of his attention on building his Limo business.

One day several months later, I decided to drop in on him unannounced. As we sat in his living room I glanced around and much to my surprise saw something I had not seen before standing in the corner. As I got up and went over to see what it was, I could not help but notice David growing uncomfortable. Standing in the corner in all of its glory was a five foot tall trophy with a very recent inscription reading "MR. VIRGINIA". As I turned to David and asked him what it was, he very quickly confessed that he messed up and had danced again in a recent contest. As he hung his head down, I simply said, "Brother it's time we move forward and stop looking back." We then prayed and asked the Lord to forgive us our sins. I then asked him if he would be willing to destroy the trophy as a show of his commitment to the Lord. Without hesitation David grabbed the trophy, took it out on his porch and proceeded to smash it over the railing. That act of surrender marked the beginning of monumental changes in his life.

David started meeting me regularly for Church and completely stopped dancing. We then began working painstakingly through defeating his terrible addiction to Crack-cocaine and GHB. As a result of the changes that they saw in his life, his parents gave their hearts to Jesus and also began regularly attending the church services. Life has not been the same for David and his family since. David is now instrumental in our reaching out to the outlaw bikers in our area. His drive, love for people and his generosity all come together to make it very plain to see why God wanted to call David into service for His Kingdom.

While in Church one Sunday morning God blessed David by introducing him to his soon-to-become life partner. David and his lovely wife Debbie were married soon thereafter during an actual church service where the entire congregation also celebrated with them. David's precious Mom and Dad have since gone to be with the Lord and I had the wonderful privilege of speaking at both of their funerals. We serve a God whose eyes continuously roam the earth looking for people who will listen for His voice and be obedient to fulfill His purposes. Only God Himself knows what would have happened if I had ignored the assignment that He had given me six years ago. That is not to say that they would have not come to Jesus, but I would have missed out on a wonderful opportunity to play a very important role in the lives of these precious people hence bringing joy to the heart of my King. Reaching folks for Christ isn't rocket science, it is simply practicing the dwindling art of being a friend !


	A Chippendale Comes Home About six years ago I was in town and decided to check out a midweek service at the Church where I attend. As the worship portion of the service ended, I scanned the crowd, as is my custom, to see if there were any new faces. As I did I noticed a young man that I had not seen before standing by himself toward the back of the sanctuary. At that moment the Holy Spirit whispered to me to go over and introduce myself. As I started toward the area where I had seen him, I noticed that he had left and gone to the altar. I felt strongly compelled to join him there. I prayed with him and gave him a card with my phone number and told him to call me if I could do anything for him. After we prayed we both returned to our seats. Having noticed that he was under the influence of drugs and also deeply troubled, I felt that I needed to get his phone number. When I went to go get it, I discovered that he had left. I went to the lobby to see if he was there. When I could not see him, I glanced out the window into the parking lot and saw him in his truck leaving. As he pulled away, I was able to make out the company information on the side of his van and quickly wrote it down. As I drove home that evening, I was consumed with a desire to pray for this young man. As I prayed, the Lord spoke to me and said, "Keith, no matter what it takes I want you to find this fellow and tell him first of all that I love him with my whole heart. Secondly, tell him that I am returning soon and am calling him to reach those who do not yet know me with the Gospel”. When I arrived home I went straight to my office and called directory assistance for his phone number. The very next day I dialed the number and asked the fellow who answered if he was the young man that I had seen at the Church the night before. He said yes he was and went on to tell me that his name was David. I then told him who I was and asked him if it would be alright if I stopped in to see him. He said that it would be great so I went to his house. When I knocked on their door I was greeted by David's Mother who invited me to come in and have a seat. When David entered the room I introduced myself and shared my reason for wanting to talk with him. Though apprehensive at first he soon began to open up and listen to what the Lord had told me to tell him. I then asked if he would tell me a little about himself. He started out by telling me that he had recently gone through a near-death experience at a local hospital as a result of a drug overdose where his heart stopped beating. After sharing the details of his ordeal with me he told me why I had seen him at Church. “I do not really know why I went to Church last night but all I can remember is driving past it and feeling something kind'a nudging me to go in". I then informed him that it was all part of a divine setup and explained to him what I meant. He told me that he owned a limousine company and did custom car and boat upholstery work on the side. He also said that he worked nights as an entertainer. Since I’ve played in a number of rock bands in the past, his entertainer statement caught my attention, as you can imagine. When I asked him about his work in the entertainment field, I could sense that he felt uncomfortable so I did not pursue the subject any further at that time. After several weeks he opened up and told me that he had worked in clubs since he was seventeen years old as a Male Dancer. He went on to tell me that he had been a member of the famed Chippendale Dance Team and that he was currently dancing in local area clubs. After our conversation I said good bye to him and his Mom and headed home. While in the car I reflected on what David shared as well as what the Holy Spirit was starting to show me concerning what my next move should be. As I sought the Lord for wisdom to obtain a stategy for reaching David effectively, I heard "Simply befriend him!" I then made it a point to call him on a regular basis. After a few months I started to sense a release to confront David concerning some lifestyle changes that it was time for him to make. I began talking with him about his dancing and why it was not pleasing to God and how satan had actually been using the gift that God had given to him to lead scores of women into the sin of lust and vain imaginations. As you can imagine he was not thrilled about what I had to say since his dancing was his primary source of income. A few months later, David told me that he had quit dancing and was going to focus all of his attention on building his Limo business. One day several months later, I decided to drop in on him unannounced. As we sat in his living room I glanced around and much to my surprise saw something I had not seen before standing in the corner. As I got up and went over to see what it was, I could not help but notice David growing uncomfortable. Standing in the corner in all of its glory was a five foot tall trophy with a very recent inscription reading "MR. VIRGINIA". As I turned to David and asked him what it was, he very quickly confessed that he messed up and had danced again in a recent contest. As he hung his head down, I simply said, "Brother it's time we move forward and stop looking back." We then prayed and asked the Lord to forgive us our sins. I then asked him if he would be willing to destroy the trophy as a show of his commitment to the Lord. Without hesitation David grabbed the trophy, took it out on his porch and proceeded to smash it over the railing. That act of surrender marked the beginning of monumental changes in his life. David started meeting me regularly for Church and completely stopped dancing. We then began working painstakingly through defeating his terrible addiction to Crack-cocaine and GHB. As a result of the changes that they saw in his life, his parents gave their hearts to Jesus and also began regularly attending the church services. Life has not been the same for David and his family since. David is now instrumental in our reaching out to the outlaw bikers in our area. His drive, love for people and his generosity all come together to make it very plain to see why God wanted to call David into service for His Kingdom. While in Church one Sunday morning God blessed David by introducing him to his soon-to-become life partner. David and his lovely wife Debbie were married soon thereafter during an actual church service where the entire congregation also celebrated with them. David's precious Mom and Dad have since gone to be with the Lord and I had the wonderful privilege of speaking at both of their funerals. We serve a God whose eyes continuously roam the earth looking for people who will listen for His voice and be obedient to fulfill His purposes. Only God Himself knows what would have happened if I had ignored the assignment that He had given me six years ago. That is not to say that they would have not come to Jesus, but I would have missed out on a wonderful opportunity to play a very important role in the lives of these precious people hence bringing joy to the heart of my King. Reaching folks for Christ isn't rocket science, it is simply practicing the dwindling art of being a friend !
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