Turning Points
Evading the Law and Entering Bible College
The parking lot was sticky and I-55 droned nearby. I was outside a Motel 6 smoking a cowboy killer while another scheme unfolded.
In a few hours I was in a sand colored brick administration building. The squat, utilitarian structure featured old, black framed windows with cantilevered ventilation panes at the bottom. I talked to the Dean of Students about why I wanted to attend Lincoln Christian College.
I was chasing a comment the preacher of my home church had made to my parents so many years ago. “Don’t be surprised if he becomes a preacher,” Preacher Powers said. I now realize that on that hot summer day I wasn’t leaning into a calling as much as I was grasping at straws.
My year at Oklahoma State started with pre-law intentions and ended in legal entanglement. How many legal citations and politically escaped indictments did an eighteen year old need to realize he was on the wrong path? Four, apparently.
As I sat in the chair across from the Dean, confessing numerous sins, drinking and skirt chasing high on the list, I was still running. During a recent in the dock confession I had decided to tell a court appointed alcohol evaluator the truth about my drinking. He concluded that I needed $6,000 of alcohol counseling. Since his determination carried the force of law, I decided I needed to leave Oklahoma.
A year of tuition, room, and board at LCC was less than the cost of the counseling. Especially with my home church paying for half of my tuition. Have I been hustling to provide a return on my church’s investment for twenty five years?
Quite possibly.