Why I’m a Member: Dusty and Tonya Burt

testimony

By abigail bass
march 2, 2018

Dusty Burt remembers watching his mom and dad shoot up cocaine from an early age. He also recalls the beatings that followed. At only 10 years old, he begged God to end his life. “I locked myself in my room and shouted for God to kill me,” he says. “It was just unbearable to get off the school bus every day knowing what would happen next.”

He picked up his first felony stealing a four-wheeler at age sixteen. Soon after, he began using methamphetamines. “I always wanted to be part of something, and the only time I felt part of a group was when I was in complete rebellion,” he says. He dropped out of school early and began collecting felonies. While his friends were joining the military or going off to college, Dusty had no direction. “I remember sitting in my trailer, with nothing to eat, unable to hold down a job. All I wanted to do was get high or steal from people.”

John 10:10a says, “The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy.” That same enemy woke Dusty each morning and directed his steps during the day. Dusty was thirty when he showed up in prison for charges ranging from kidnapping to aggravated robbery. “When I got there, I discovered I could be anyone I wanted to be. As long as I followed a basic set of rules, there really were no consequences.” As his fear of punishment diminished, Dusty found himself in and out of prison for the next 22 years. He decided his life was what he had always deserved and related to titles like convict, addict, thief, and loser.

Same Place, Different Person

One day, Dusty decided to drive down to a casino in Fort Smith, Arkansas. “I used my last US$33 in that casino and came out with US$8,000. Everyone knows you don’t give that kind of money to a junkie.” Dusty spent that night at the Flamingo Motel, a place he describes as “the classiest half-star rated joint in town.” Soon after he checked in, he shot the night’s casino winnings into his arm, closed his eyes, and settled into darkness while his body shut down.

Dusty woke with a paramedic hovering over him, defibrillator in hand. While he could not remember his name when prompted by EMTs, he would never forget what happened next. “Looking around the room, I saw a man standing in the doorway. He was not made like you and me; there was a glow about him. He looked at me with eyes like onyx stone and I heard Him speak, not with His mouth but with His spirit, ‘This is your last chance. You are not your own. You are bought at a price.’ Then He was gone.” For the first time in his life, Dusty was overcome with the knowledge he was separated from God.

Officers picked him up and walked him to a police car. This was a scene all too familiar to Dusty—the feeling of cuffs around his wrists and the view from the back seat of a cruiser had not bothered him in a long time. This ride was different. He thought about the words of the man he had seen in the doorway, and he felt his body shake.

Arriving at the prison, Dusty experienced a moment of reprieve as the familiar prisoner intake formalities had become a comfort to him. As he was led to his cell, he began to feel his old confidence again. The cell door opened, and he saw a man reading on the top bunk and another writing on the bottom bunk. “I immediately started to size them up, because there was no way I was sleeping on the floor.” Dusty took his shirt off to expose the gang affiliation tattooed on his side. One of his new cellmates saw the tattoo right away and said, “Oh, you’re affiliated… me too.” He stood to show Dusty a cross tattooed across the width of his entire back.

“I’m a Christian,” the man explained, “and so is that man,” he continued, nodding to the other cellmate.

Then he pointed back at Dusty’s side and said, “That has no dominion in here.” Dusty fell to the floor and began to cry. In fact, he continued crying for the next three days.

On the third day, a group of Gideons visited the prison. The suited men made their way through the blocks handing a Scripture to any man who would take one. Dusty walked up to one of the men and reached out to accept a Testament. The exchange was simple. Dusty walked back to his cell and began to consume his new reading material. “Something amazing happens when you open the Word of God—the author shows up and shows out,” he says. “He began to minister to me and tell me who I am to Him. Reading those words was like feeding a hunger I didn’t even know existed.”

“My Jesus is stunning, and His love is a reason to shout!” —Dusty

On October 28, 2012, Dusty fell to his knees and asked God to forgive his past and help him live an honorable life before Him. “Even after all I’ve done, the Bible says my Father has engraved my name into the palms of His hands.” (Isaiah 49:16)

Looking down at his own hands, Dusty smiles. He looks up with wet eyes, “Dusty Burt, written on my King’s hands. Man, if that doesn’t excite you, I don’t know what will!” Dusty had always wanted to be part of something, but what he realized that day was God had chased him all over Arkansas to invite him to be part of His family. Still, God had even more planned for building Dusty’s family.

All the Right Connections

 

The world would still have to be convinced of Dusty’s change of heart, so he remained in prison for some time after accepting Christ. A wall separated the facility into male and female living quarters. While Dusty enrolled in Biblical training classes on his side of the wall, Tonya Hartwick had experienced her own redemption story after receiving a Testament distributed by Gideons.

“Most people in prison, all they want are letters from home. When I was handed that Bible, I had the best letter,” she says.

Like Dusty, Tonya read her love letter from God until all she knew to do was surrender to the author and ask Him to forgive her past. “I remember the place where it happened, that day when I got on my knees and asked Jesus to come into my heart. I had a peace that day I had never known before.”

After serving two and a half years, Tonya was released. She started faithfully attending Mt. Olive Baptist Church, were Dusty’s grandmother also worshipped. “Dusty and I knew each other from high school. We met again years later through the drug culture in town. In fact, I was his dealer for several years before we were both arrested.”

Dusty’s grandmother asked Tonya if she would write to Dusty in prison to encourage him, and Tonya agreed. When Dusty was released two years later, Tonya planned on remaining strictly a friend for Dusty. “It’s hard to adjust back to the world after prison, especially if you’re trying to live a completely different life with new friends and habits,” she says.

Tonya began by inviting Dusty to church—the same church from which Dusty had stolen US$4,000 to support a drug addiction. At first, he was too ashamed. “Just come and try,” she said, “The first Sunday is the worst.” Dusty showed up for church at Mt. Olive Baptist, where he was met with a few cautious handshakes at the door. However, he continued to attend faithfully. Today, Dusty is serving on the church’s leadership council and praises the Lord for extending His forgiveness to the hearts of those he wronged years ago.

“We had our own ministry as the feet of Satan. Now, we’re able to be the feet of Christ, and to serve Him in this ministry by sharing the Gospel.” —Tonya

Tonya also invited Dusty to attend a pastor’s banquet where she would be sharing her testimony. Dusty remembers looking around the room at all the men in suits and feeling out of place. “I will never be a Gideon,” he thought. “I can tell people about Jesus without wearing a tie.” He was right—anyone can share what Christ has done for them. However, what he still lacked was a mentor.

qualified for service

 

Gideon Bill Sivells attended Mt. Olive Baptist and took note of Dusty’s transformation. He began taking Dusty out to lunch. “It was great to have someone to pour all my doubts and fears into. He was the first person to tell me he wanted to see me succeed,” says Dusty. Eventually, Bill invited him to a prayer breakfast, which was easy for Dusty to accept. “I love prayer, and I love breakfast—of course I’ll go,” he said. During the course of the meal, the men asked Dusty to share his story. Then, they asked what he did for a living. They looked around at each other as if they were about to burst. “You’re qualified to be a Gideon, you know,” said Travis Acklin, president of the North Faulkner County Camp. Dusty thought about the word qualified. “I’d never been qualified for anything honorable in my whole life. So, I signed up.”

“Since joining, I’ve found The Gideons have a direction I can be a part of. Iron sharpens iron, and that’s why my life’s ‘board of directors’ is filled with Gideons. I have a Paul in my life – Bob Jones. Bob is the director of the prison ministry in the state of Arkansas, so we share a passion for inmates. He teaches me by example how to walk in the ways of the Lord.” According to Arkansas state law, Dusty’s record should hold him ineligible to participate in prison ministry of any kind. However, the Lord has opened doors for Dusty to do just that as a Gideon.

The first time Dusty returned to prison by his own free will, God used his witness to bring seven men to Himself. “My inmate number was 134728,” says Dusty. “But, thank God, I’ve traded in my inmate number. Today, I’m Gideon number 7982267, and I visit the men in jails and prisons I used to sit in myself. When you get to hold a man that you’ve done time with as he weeps before the King…life is just amazing.”

Dusty and Tonya were married in May 2017. The same day, Tonya’s Auxiliary application was sent off so she could serve alongside her husband. “I feel so blessed to be a part of a group of people all over the world who love the Lord the same way we do,” she says. “When you come from the places Dusty and I have, it’s amazing to be accepted and held accountable by men and women of the Lord.”

Recently Dusty shared his testimony at a Gideon event where he was able to meet Bill Freeman, the man who placed a Testament in his hand that day in prison. “When I saw him, I knew. I will never forget his eyes,” says Dusty. As Dusty shook his hand and thanked him, Bill’s face lit up. “He didn’t know that day who I was or what the Lord was doing in me. He reached out to a convict and God produced a miracle.” Bill Freeman is currently serving his 47th year as a Gideon and is part of the Fort Smith South Camp in Arkansas.

The excitement has not worn off for Dusty and Tonya. They continue to carry out their callings by serving in the North Faulkner County Camp. Tonya is studying Criminal Justice and Psychology through Colorado Christian University and will graduate this December to fulfill her calling as an addiction counselor. Dusty owns his own construction business, where he even gets to work with a few Gideons. They enjoy spending time pursuing their business while also ministering to one another and those around them during the workday. “God intertwined me with His family in every aspect of my life,” says Dusty. “When you’re given the opportunity to go to a church and speak, to love on the unlovable, or to pray for a brother, don’t pass it up. By being a Gideon, I get to do that every day.”

olympic medalist discovers christ

testimony


By kevin mccintosh
February 16, 2018

More than 2,900 athletes representing 92 nations are currently competing in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Viewers watch in anticipation of the next gold medal win, and athletes share their stories of overcoming adversity to fulfill their dreams of competing at this event.

For one athlete, her success as an Olympian is just part of her journey to a purposeful life. “I love the Olympics perhaps more than anyone,” says Kelly Clark.
“I think it’s very easy as an athlete to get caught up in this one pinnacle event every four years. But you don’t need to treat it as something that should define your career. It should be part of your journey. Not the end of your journey.”1       

By age 20, Kelly had already achieved the kind of success any athlete would envy—an Olympic gold medal, fame, and money. Alone in a hotel room in 2004, she thought about her success and how empty it felt. She could no longer identify who she was apart from the label of snowboarding champion.  

The next day, Kelly overheard one of her snowboarding competitors reassuring another competitor who had failed to qualify that it was okay, and that “God still loves you.” The statement stuck with Kelly, and she returned to her hotel room that night and opened up a Bible placed by The Gideons International.

Through that Scripture, God spoke to Kelly’s heart. She continued investigating Christ’s claims and within a few weeks, Kelly Clark received Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior. 

Kelly Clark, the Olympic gold medalist snowboarder who came to faith in Jesus after reading from a Gideon-placed Bible

“It ended up freeing up my snowboarding more so than ever,” says Kelly. “I was no longer going from event to event to feel good about myself. I had that apart from what I did. So my snowboarding has been dramatically impacted. My snowboarding got a lot more free.”2     

In January of 2012, the Olympian won her fourth SuperPipe gold in ESPN’s Winter X Games, earning her the title, “the greatest snowboard halfpipe rider in history” by ESPN. Just days ago in Pyeongchang, her fifth Olympic appearance, Kelly finished fourth in the Ladies’ Halfpipe. She still holds the position of the winningest athlete in snowboard history. Kelly takes her faith with her each time she steps up on the platform. Among the many sponsor logos that decorate her snowboard, one name sticks out at the top as the name above all names—Jesus.

We praise God for Kelly’s testimony, and for faithful Gideons who continue placing Bibles in hotel rooms worldwide.

“Many people look for something to help them define themselves. I believe it’s more fulfilling to learn to measure success by growth—as a person and an athlete.”3

1. Reid, Scott. “Snowboarder Kelly Clark still going strong in fifth Olympics.” https://www.ocregister.com. February 10, 2018. https://www.ocregister.com/2018/02/10/snowboarder-kelly-clark-still-going-strong-in-fifth-olympics/

2. Ellsworth, Tim. “OLYMPICS: Faith made Kelly Clark’s snowboarding ‘a lot more free’.” Bpnews. February 17, 2010.
http://www.bpnews.net/32312/

3. L Brunner, Jeryl. “Olympic Snowboarding Champ Kelly Clark On Staying Motivated To Pursue Your Dreams.” Forbes.com. February 13, 2018.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jerylbrunner/2018/02/13/olympic-snowboarding-champ-kelly-clark-on-staying-motivated-to-pursue-your-dreams/#7c34052502d7

seeking to be found

testimony



By allison ferguson
February 9, 2018

Sheri Boone was born in 1965 and raised in a loving, Jewish household in Los Angeles. She attended Hebrew School, and her family participated in regular temple activities. Sheri recalls the first time she believed in God, “When my mother disciplined us, she’d look up at the sky and say, ‘God give me strength.’” From the outside, Sheri was part of a typical Jewish family. It was only on high holy days, during the time for silent prayer, she felt God was far away. Sheri’s father died just before she turned seven years old, and her mother remarried a Jewish man who brought with him two more brothers for Sheri.

While sleeping over at a friend’s house, Sheri was invited to a get-together for junior high students at her friend’s church. She decided to go to be with her friend. During the service, Sheri watched as kids her age raised their hands and praised God. She also heard the pastor talk about Jesus. After the meeting, Sheri approached the pastor and asked how she could know Jesus was real. The pastor told her to go home and ask Him. So, that’s just what she did, but nothing extraordinary happened.

Her Search Continued

One day while washing dishes, her mind strayed again to spiritual matters. She began thinking about her life. She was quite popular at school. She had a boyfriend and nice clothes. “I had everything television and the movies said would make me happy, but I wasn’t happy,” said Sheri. She wondered if it was all life had to offer.

“I had everything television and the movies said would make me happy, but I wasn’t happy,” said Sheri.

Sheri was 16 when she found her answer. Before heading to bed after a Friday night party, she noticed a New Testament lying in the laundry room. She later found out one of her step-brothers found it on the railroad tracks near their home lying next to an old, black jacket and some other lost and lonely items. He had put it in the laundry room to dry since it was wet from the rain. “I wondered what it was, so I brought it to my room and started reading portions from it each night,” she said. “The words brought me a feeling, which I now can explain as peace.”

What Sheri could not understand was why the book kept repeating the same story over and over again. In the New Testament, she read God is light. “I wanted to find that light,” she said. “I knew I couldn’t believe that Jesus was God as a Jewish girl. But light—now that was very Jewish.”

Answers Become Clear

For her sixteenth birthday, instead of a party, Sheri asked her parents to go to Israel. “Surely, I can find God in Israel,” she thought. Her parents were elated at her request, and they did not hesitate to send her on a month-long trip to learn the Hebrew language in Netanya, the Northern Central District in Israel. Sheri hid the New Testament in her backpack and headed to Israel with 50 other Jewish high schoolers. “I learned the Hebrew language, the ancient history, and the unique culture of my people. I met very interesting people, traveled to amazing sights, and even climbed Mount Masada, but at the end of the program, I returned to Los Angeles the same me,” she said.

One day shortly after that trip, my brother took me aside in the family room, closed the door, and said, “Sheri, I believe Jesus is the Messiah. Come to a Bible study with me.” Sheri normally did everything her popular brother did, but she wasn’t sure she could follow him to a Bible study. “Jesus was not for Jews. I actually thought he was meshugana,” said Sheri, using the Yiddish word for “crazy.” Somehow, he convinced Sheri to attend the study with him. At the end of the meeting, the group shared a prayer. Sheri’s heart had already been softened by reading the Word, and the Holy Spirit began to move for her in a real way. She started to cry.

One of the women at the meeting took Sheri aside and went through the plan of salvation with her. “I asked Jesus to forgive my sins, and He became my atonement,” she said. “The Bible says when we believe, God gives us the Holy Spirit to live inside of us. I felt my spirit alive for the first time in my life.” To this day, she remembers waking up the next morning and hearing the birds singing as if she had never heard a bird sing before.

She was baptized in a jacuzzi the following week during Bible study. When her parents heard about her decision to follow Jesus as Lord, they were not happy. “My dad was already upset with my brother, but now I was a Christian, as well. He did not talk to me for a very long time,” Sheri said. “He did, however, make me go see the rabbi, who thought I was a lost cause. But I knew the truth—I had finally been found.”

A year later, Sheri met with a faithful, Jewish friend, who took care of her biological father’s trust funds. She was in need of financial assistance in order to attend a Christian college. Her father’s friend was not too pleased to have spent so much time and effort growing the account only to find out its benefactor was now a born-again Christian. He decided to contact one of his Christian friends, Dan Boone, to meet with Sheri and make sure she was not taking part in some sort of cult. Dan took her to lunch and was happy to report back she was just fine. As God would have it, Sheri married Dan’s son, Chuck Boone, 10 years later.

“Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.” —Mark 10:29-30

Sheri’s Jewish friends were not supportive of her decision to become a follower of Christ, nor was her family. “That was scary for a 17-year-old believer to endure, but God sent a Jewish, Christian couple my way who taught me that I could be Jewish and believe in Jesus. They have been my spiritual parents for the last 32 years,” she said.

God, in His provision, opened the door for Sheri to attend Azusa Pacific University, where she was surrounded by Christian young people and solid, Biblical teaching. She received a teaching credential there and has been teaching for the last 30 years. She feels honored to be a staff sponsor for Fellowship of Christian Students, a small group of students at the high school where she teaches.

“My husband and I have a 16-year-old son who is a believer in Jesus Christ. My mother recently passed away, but she accepted Jesus as her Messiah towards the end of her life,” expressed Sheri. She continues to pray for her 87-year-old stepfather to come to know the Lord.

“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” —Jeremiah 29:12-13


Sheri (center) with her husband, Chuck (left), and son (right)

Michael Dimarco

testimony

By Daniel Kinkade
September 7, 2018

Sometimes we have to hit rock bottom to realize Jesus is exactly who He says He is. He wants a personal relationship with us that invades every single part of our lives. After his own rock bottom experience, Michael DiMarco came to the beautiful realization that Jesus is supreme—no person or thing is greater.    

Be a Good Boy

Michael was the youngest of six kids born to a draftsman and a school teacher in Eugene, Oregon. Along with his Italian and Irish heritage, he was brought up to be a devout Catholic—a “good kid” who believed in God and feared Him. His mom had a dream for him to one day be the Pope. Others had even mentioned he should be a priest or pastor someday. He heard about a personal relationship with Jesus for the first time as a senior in high school. It made sense in his mind, but it did not penetrate his heart and definitely not his will. After “accepting” Jesus at 17 years old, he continued trying to live the good, moral life he was brought up to live. Although his life looked good from the outside, internally, he knew he was really living life for himself. This continued through his 20’s and early 30’s.

good at gambling

After a decade of living for himself, burning through relationships and careers, Michael turned to gambling to fill the void in his life. He was attempting to find peace with God through other means than God Himself. At some point, he stopped caring and began to take money from his employer to further his gambling habit. He vividly remembers one gambling venture during a lunch break, sitting at a blackjack table in a casino, with US$1,500 of bets in front of him. He prayed, “God, I don’t care what you do, get me out of this.” He ended up losing all three of those hands. He had reached the end of his rope.

Michael drove back to work. At this point, he had been gambling with work’s money for nearly two years, and the public university where he was employed caught on. The university filed a police report, and Michael was arrested and booked in the local county jail. The amount of money he had taken was enough to be filed as a Class A felony.

Be my Lord and Savior

The first night in jail, he found himself alone in a cell with only a worn pillow, small towel for showering, and a well-worn Gideon-placed Bible. Michael closed his eyes, picked up the Bible, and pointed to a verse. The verse his fingers happened to fall on was 2 Corinthians 5:17 which reads, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”At that moment, Michael dropped to his knees and prayed, “Jesus, I accepted you as my Savior when I was 17 years old, but I never made you Lord of my life.” The Word of God had saved Him that night. He realized that he had previously prayed a prayer of fire insurance, not actually a prayer to surrender his life to Christ.

meaningful growth

After his arrest, it was hard to find meaningful employment. When asked in job interviews, “How did you leave your last job,” he would reply, “I left my last job in the back of a police car.” This ended many interviews for him. In God’s providence, he was offered a position at a Bible software company. He accepted a customer service position, helping customers activate and use Bible software. He soon moved from customer service to publisher relations, finally landing in the ministry relations department. In ministry relations, he traveled and trained Bible teachers and seminary professors on how to use the Bible software program. He found the resources he was in front of on a daily basis to be a huge discipleship help in his spiritual journey.

While traveling with the company, he met his wife, Hayley, who was also in Christian publishing and an author herself. In 15 years of marriage, God has done incredible things in lives of the DiMarco’s. The once addicted gambler is now a married Christian author and publisher. Michael and Hayley have one daughter (Addison – age 13) and four dogs. Together, Michael and Hayley have published over 40 books (including four Bible studies and two devotional Bibles available in several translations and languages) and have sold over 1.5 million books.

Today, Michael DiMarco is the lead pastor of Friendship Community Church, in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. He has been leading this congregation for two years, and the congregation averages 600 in weekly attendance. From his mom saying he should be the Pope to youth and college leaders saying he should be a pastor, Michael is amazed at the hand of God in his life.

Faithful Living

Pastor Michael says one of the greatest challenges of leading an organization or congregation is focusing on a specific approach or method, which often leads to not recognizing the difference between effectiveness and faithfulness. It is important to keep a clear vision and purpose of loving God, loving our neighbor, and pursuing the Great Commission. “We tend to become closed-fisted with what God has entrusted to us instead of open-handed—in reality, God owns it all,” says Michael. “We have to remember to hold everything with open hands of faith, not just with the things we have but in how we accomplish things.” His desire is to lead his congregation to not be about excellence as much as being about faithfulness.

Finding my old school testament

My name is Pamela and I want to share my gratitude for the small red Bible I received from Irvine Royal Academy.

I received my Bible from yourselves when I was 12, in my first year at secondary school around 20 years ago. I wrote my name in it and kept it by my bed, occasionally picking it up but never really knowing where to start. I had been raised a Christian and always had my faith but as I reached the age of becoming an adult, work, college and social life sadly got in the way.

In 2015 I had my third baby. This was to me a special gift as my husband and I hadn’t planned a third so our plans were stopped or redirected. I felt very lost in myself.

Through this time I was directed back to thinking about my family and their faith in God. I started praying and very much wanted to start reading the Bible to learn more about the faith I had been brought up with but wasn’t sure where any of my Bibles were.

One day during a clear out, I found the small red Bible I was given at school. I couldn’t believe it had made it through two house moves. That day I opened it and read the introduction then started with the 30 day readings. From that day I have read it every morning and sometimes more when I feel I need that extra time with God. It has answered many of my questions and has helped make things clear to me from the last 17 years.

The answers truly are in God’s Word.

Thank you for that gift to a small, quiet 12 year old who never knew until her 30s exactly the power that was put into her hands.

Pamela

The Art of Knowing Him

By Abigail Bass
December 8, 2017

Not many kids grow up with their family lives printed in the morning newspaper. For Glen Keane, it was a daily guarantee – in fact, his family was not only featured, they were literally circled in print. His father, Bil Keane, began the popular comic The Family Circus in 1960. Glen himself was his father’s inspiration for the character of Billy, the comic’s oldest boy in the family.

While Glen had other hobbies as a boy, he does not remember a time he was not drawing. His father gave him a book on dynamic anatomy, and Glen began to focus on growing his skills in fine art. By the time he graduated high school, Glen knew he would either play college football, or he would go to art school. 

“My dad took me to drop off my portfolio at CalArts, the studio Walt Disney had created, but my portfolio ended up at the wrong school. Instead, I was accepted into the School of Film Graphics. It wasn’t long until I discovered that was what I was born to do,” says Glen. After two years of study, Glen heard about a training program at Walt Disney Animation Studios led by Walt Disney’s “nine old men,” the original group of artists who kick-started the animation sensation beginning with Snow White, Pinocchio, and Bambi. “These old guys began to sense the art form they had created may fade out with them, so they started a school to take in young talent and teach them. That’s where I learned everything I know about drawing, design, and storytelling.” 

an etch on glen’s heart

Glen was raised Catholic, but by the time he began studying under the Disney giants, he felt faith was no longer relevant to his life. Instead, he immersed himself in the world of illustration. “I will never forget the feeling of that day at Disney—and the smell. It was a combination of cigarettes, pencil shavings, and scotch.” While he was only making US$90 a week, Glen describes his first few months at Disney as an environment where creative license permeated the air and the products of imagination could have been soaked up with a sponge. 

However, while he was growing outwardly as an artist, something else was happening in his heart. “There was a weight of sin on my shoulders, and I became really concerned about where I stood with God,” he says. Glen remembers walking down the hallways of the studio, seeing everyone else passing by with their sketchbooks, happy and carefree. He wondered what could be wrong with him. He made time to visit a Catholic church in North Hollywood, where he confessed his sins to the priest. Leaving the church, he felt the weight lift from his shoulders. However, that night he lay awake wondering what right had been given that priest to forgive his sins. The weight quickly returned, and Glen could not shake the feeling he was hopelessly separated from God.

Though his heart was heavy, Glen continued to excel in his training at Disney. Soon, it was announced all the trainees would be split into pairs. “Now, in this environment, you’re pretty insecure. Wherever you came from before, you used to be the best. But at Disney, you were surrounded by truly the best, and basically, you knew you stunk. All I wanted was to be part of the in-crowd, so I tried to eat lunch with a particular group of artists whenever I could.” However, he began to take notice of a man who always sat apart from the popular group at lunch. In fact, he sat alone on a park bench reading his Bible. Glen had never seen anyone willingly read a Bible, and he was impressed with the dedication of this man. When the time came to split the trainees into pairs, Glen was matched with this same man—Ron Husband, or “Huz” as he was known.

a new character develops

Ron Husband’s journey to Disney did not start with an aspiration to draw. Ron was raised in a Christian home and decided to follow Christ when he was 12 years old. Though he had a foundational knowledge of Christ, his faith waned as he grew up. In college, Ron’s future was in football. He played for the University of Las Vegas on scholarship and frequently traveled with the team. “As a young man, I felt like we were traveling the world. We always stayed in different hotels, and I noticed no matter where we stayed, there were these Bibles in the bedside drawers. For whatever reason, I began taking them home,” said Ron. Though he did not read the Bibles, this became a habit. His collection of Bibles grew as football seasons came and went.

 Ron Husband sketching a portrait

Ron graduated, started a family, and began taking various jobs from technical illustration to drafting. “I began to think there must be more to life than just working,” he said, “So, I began a journey to find some answers.” It wasn’t long before there was a knock at the Husbands’ door. Ron answered to find a couple from Jehovah’s Witnesses on the porch. “My wife and I became their first ‘converts’ of sorts, so they were experimenting on us, and I was experimenting with them,” said Ron. “My wife dropped out after a few weeks and went back to church, but I stuck it out for about a year.” Still, something didn’t match up in Ron’s heart as he studied their literature and doctrines, so he looked into other religions. “I tried Mormonism, Judaism, the occult, flying saucers – I really was just searching for answers anywhere.”

As Ron sought out answers anywhere, God followed Ron everywhere. His search led him back to that stash of Bibles, where he found the truths he learned as a 12-year-old to be the same truths he could count on as an adult. “It was like turning the light back on. Reading the Scriptures, I discovered it was me who walked away, and I had been searching for answers I’d always known,” he said. “I was so hungry for truth, I began to study apologetics. I wanted to grow in my understanding of Scripture – to get past the milk stage and get to the meat of understanding the Word of God. My study was also about rejecting the things that were not the truth, and to always be able to discern those things against the truth of the Gospel.”

“It was like turning the light back on. Reading the Scriptures, I discovered it was me who walked away, and I had been searching for answers I’d always known.”

During this time, Ron was also seeking a more creative outlet to serve God with his artistic gifts. He knew God had blessed him with a specific skill, and he always enjoyed drawing, but there were also long periods of time he did not pick up a pencil. For Ron, drawing came and went naturally, so when he heard about the training program at Disney, he decided to apply. Ron wanted to be around creative people, and though he had been kicked out of art class in high school, he knew learning with the artists at Disney would provide him the best training for furthering his career. “It’s funny, when I was accepted into the program at Disney, I knew nothing about animation. I had never even seen an animated film. I went in not to learn to draw, but to learn how to tell a story.”

the scene begins to unfold

So, on that park bench at Disney Studios in the Fall of 1975, Ron Husband sat reading his Bible during lunch as Glen Keane watched. The two would soon be thrown together in a small drafting room to learn the trade of animation. They seemed an unlikely pair to some, but time would tell a story much different. “Sometimes, I’d be working, and Huz would just tackle me or I’d do the same to him. We’d be wrestling, and you’d hear the smashing sound of things breaking in our office. And our manager would peek in and shake his head. It didn’t take long – I knew I had a friend for life,” recalled Glen.


Lifelong friends Ron Husband (left) and Glen Keane (right) sit in Glen’s West Hollywood studio.

One day, knowing Ron was a Christian, Glen asked him what the Bible said about getting right with God. Ron shared how no one can earn his way into God’s favor – it’s by grace alone a person is made right with God. He pulled out a small, green New Testament he had received back in college, handed it to Glen, and told him to read John 3:16. At lunch that day, Glen walked across the street to a restaurant carrying his little green book. “I remember like it was yesterday walking across the crosswalk reading John 3:16, and by the time I had reached the other side, I believed the words were real. I knew right then I would trust in Jesus, not in myself, for the rest of my life. I walked back into the studio an entirely new person,” said Glen.

Glen and Ron, along with a few other Christian artists, began a Bible study on the Disney lot, through which they encouraged one another and held one another accountable. It did not start out smoothly, as there was resistance from management. However, with prayer and persistence, Christian Fellowship officially began. The group even had a regular advertisement in the Disney Newsreel for meetings every Wednesday at noon. “You feel in a company like Disney that animation is obviously the ultimate thing, but we knew that wasn’t the case. We held to Colossians 3:23: ‘Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,’” said Ron. 

“I knew right then I would trust in Jesus, not in myself, for the rest of my life. I walked back into the studio an entirely new person.”

a new perspective

The Adam Raccoon series is one of many ways Glen shares his faith through his work.

After becoming a Christian, Glen started to seek out ways to express his faith in his art. He began teaching kids at church through writing and illustrating stories about Adam Raccoon, now a popular children’s book series. “There’s actually a moment when you’re animating that you’re portraying truth. Any time you touch truth, you’re really peeling away the layers and revealing God,” says Glen. “With Adam Raccoon, there is a Scripture in my head before my pencil ever touches paper. I think about how I can capture the theme of a verse and make it easy to understand and relatable to kids. Pretty soon, I’m picturing little Adam Raccoon, who is just like you and me, and King Aren, who is like Christ. And of course, Adam is constantly getting himself into trouble, and King Aren is constantly getting him out of it.”

Glen’s work in many blockbuster films carries an obvious theme of wholesome, family-friendly fantasy. Yet, to hear Glen talk about his popular characters, one finds the hand of the artist moved with Biblical inspiration. Glen talks about weaving his faith in and out of characters like Ariel, Tarzan, and the Beast, “When I was creating the transformation scene at the end of Beauty and the Beast, I had 2 Corinthians 5:17 written on my sketches. I really wanted to capture on paper the emotion of a new creation – of having this prince inside wanting to break free and bring redemption to the old creature.”

In 2013, Glen Keane was named a Disney Legend. His work in films like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Tarzan, and Tangled are testaments to his momentous role in the world of animation.

Today, Glen remains as humble as ever, and continues to work the talents he attributes to the Lord alone. His small office space in West Hollywood is shared by his son, Max, and a few other artists who come and go as projects arise. His message to The Gideons is one of gratitude and encouragement. “I’ve kept that green New Testament with me as a reminder of the divine spark I encountered that day in 1975. I was only 20 years old, and reading those words changed my life. There is a power to Scripture, and I am so thankful for a Gideon who gave my friend Ron the New Testament that ended up in my hands so I could be reading John 3:16 crossing the street that day,” says Glen. “I want to encourage every Gideon to continue the work of making God’s Word available to the next generation. There is nothing more important than such a calling.”

For Ron Husband, faith and art are inseparable. His daily practices include quick sketches of moments he sees in everyday life, and daily prayer and Scripture reading. “The Word is so rich, you’re constantly growing as you read it. I’ve read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation a couple times by now to gather the context of Scripture, and I still enjoy watching how it breathes truths into my life,” says Ron. On September 18, 1989, Ron read the book of Ephesians for the first time, all six chapters. The next day, he got up and read the same six chapters. In fact, every day for the past 28 years, Ron has read those six chapters in Ephesians, along with whatever else the Lord has him studying. “It always has something new and fresh to say to me. I waited ten years before telling anyone I was doing that. I just love the Word.”

the story continues

So, what happened to all those Bibles young Ron Husband collected from bedside drawers in hotels? He blushed when asked, and said that well had dried up long ago, “To this day, I do not have a Gideon-placed Bible. At the time, I had so many, but once I started actually reading them, I discovered how important it was to share them rather than to hoard them. I have given all those Bibles back out to others as an encouragement to seek out the truth about God. I want to thank Gideons who dispense God’s truth because, in today’s world, it is so needed. It’s a tremendous legacy The Gideons are leaving.”

Receiving a Bible in HMP Wymott

The following letter arrived in the post this morning:

Dear Sir/Madam

I am a prisoner currently residing in HMP Wymott.

It’s almost a cliché about prisoners finding God in jail but He has been very patient with me and I have come to realise the love that Jesus has for every one of us, prisoner and saint alike.

I was in church last Sunday and was given a Gideon Bible by one of the Chaplains. On the inside of the Bible it says that I can write if I have been helped. This letter is a thank you for this wonderful gift of God’s Word. I find so much hope and inspiration in what Jesus did and His sacrifice for all of us.

So thank you for spreading the Word of God.

Yours sincerely

Martin

Changing My Life

We recently received the following email entitled ‘Changing My Life’:

Hi

I live in South Africa and last year my parents were on a trip in the UK just before Christmas. They were walking down the street when someone offered them both a little red pocket Bible.

My parents aren’t usually the kind of people to take things like this. Living in South Africa you know not to take anything that has been given to you on the street but for some reason or other my parents made the exception and even asked the lady if they could have three more, one for myself, my brother and my boyfriend. The lady, with a smile and without hesitation, handed them three more.

At first, this Bible was just something that was in my bag but as the year progressed I started reading it more and more until it became something very, very dear to me and that I couldn’t do without.

Although I have always been a Christian, my life has significantly changed since picking up this Bible and really starting to read it. Although I understand that it is God’s Word that has worked with me and in me and has spoken to me through this Bible, I just want to thank whoever it was in your organisation for their kindness. For giving away five Bibles to my family and enabling me to build and rebuild my relationship with my Saviour, Jesus Christ.

I pray that your organisation is blessed and that you will continue to change people’s lives and introduce them to the Word of God.

Thank you very very much.

Once in Mississippi

By Kevin Mcintosh
October 31, 2017
“The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in His way;” Psalm 37:23

When Anthony was eight years old, his mom put him on a train in New York City bound for Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to visit his grandmother whom he called “Nanny.” Once in Mississippi, Anthony shared with her some of the illegal activities he was being exposed to by family members back in New York. Nanny decided it was in the boy’s best interest for her to raise him, and his mother agreed. So, Nanny raised Anthony, and she took him with her to True Light Missionary Baptist Church every time the doors were open.

Just around the corner from Nanny’s house lived another woman about the same age as his grandmother. That woman’s grown son lived with her, and he was Anthony’s biological father. Though he knew his son was now living just around the block, Anthony’s father showed little interest in getting to know him. Each day, Anthony would see his dad walk by his grandmother’s house, usually drunk.

The whole family always believed young Anthony would someday grow up to be successful.

On one occasion, Anthony’s dad promised to come and spend some time with him. With the sun beating down, Anthony waited in the yard, long past when his dad was supposed to arrive. Nanny was watching from the front porch. Her heart was breaking as she realized her grandson was about to suffer another disappointment from his dad. Finally, she said, “Your dad isn’t going to show up, Anthony. You need to come back up here on the porch out of that hot sun.”

For Anthony, this incident was the breaking point, and he began to shut down emotionally. The void in his heart led Anthony to again become involved with illegal activities, including theft. In his late teens, he was charged with grand larceny. A few months into his three-year sentence, he escaped the juvenile facility.

On the Path to Destruction

A fugitive on the move, Anthony started trafficking drugs from city to city. He also became addicted to drugs himself during this time. He would get paid for the drugs he was trafficking and then use the money to support his own addiction.

His mother and stepfather became aware of Anthony’s problems, and his grandmother and aunts were seriously concerned. Anthony had been the one grandson the whole family always believed could make it. They knew he was a boy with exceptional intelligence.

He dropped to his knees and cried out, “If there’s a God, please take this pain away from me. I’ll do whatever you want.”

One evening, Anthony hit rock bottom. He was tired and wanted to die, so he prepared to end his life with one last overdose. Just as he injected a needle into his arm, he realized he had made another bad choice in life. He dropped to his knees and cried out, “If there’s a God, please take this pain away from me. I’ll do whatever you want.”

Anthony heard no response – only silence.

Anthony made it back to his mom’s house later that evening and she rushed him to a treatment center. Lying in a patient room, Anthony began to experience the darkest hours of his life. He started hearing voices. It struck Anthony he was about to lose the one thing he had been able to count on his entire life—his mind. “Please, God, don’t take away my mind,” he pleaded, though not even knowing the God to whom he prayed.

Anthony’s mother came to visit him at the treatment center. She told him she was going to see his grandmother in Mississippi, who was ill with late stage Parkinson’s Disease. Anthony wanted to go and apologize to Nanny in person for the heartbreak he had put her through over the years. The walls he had built up inside his heart were slowly starting to come down.

returning home to see nanny

Anthony and his mother left for Mississippi. During that drive, Anthony had time to think about all Nanny had done for him. He had time to consider how over the past few years he had become so consumed in darkness, he had missed many opportunities in life, including the chance to care for his grandmother as she had grown ill.

In Hattiesburg, when Anthony entered Nanny’s room, he saw his grandmother in a chair by her bed. The strong, godly woman he knew was now feeble with illness.

Anthony knelt by her. “Nanny, I have changed.”

Then, as if nudged by the Lord, Nanny became alert. She looked at Anthony and spoke two words: “I’m glad.”

That tender moment lifted a huge weight from Anthony. However, the fact remained he was still a fugitive, as well as a sinner who had yet to receive Jesus as his Lord and Savior. After being in Mississippi a few weeks, the authorities spotted him and he was apprehended. This time, the charges against him were far more serious.

As a wanted fugitive, Anthony was now looking at a possible sentence of eight years in prison. He awaited his sentencing in the local jail.

A Gideon Walked In

Buck Mann served as a Gideon in Hattiesburg. His wife, Peggy, was active as an Auxiliary. Along with other Gideons and Auxiliary, the couple held regular Bible studies for the inmates in the Forrest County Jail, where Anthony was being held.

Anthony began attending the Gideon-led Bible study. Week after week of hearing God’s Word started to have an impact on him. After one of the meetings, Anthony waited until the rest of the crowd had left and he approached Buck.

“Buck, I hear you talking about being born again. Is that talking about me?”

Buck replied, “Do you know God?”

“Well I’ve had experiences,” Anthony said, referring to moments of crying out to God, such as the night he had tried to end his life.

When Anthony returned to his jail cell that evening, he pulled out his personal journal and wrote, “This is as free as I’ve felt my entire life.”

Buck then pulled out a New Testament and pointed to the series of passages in Romans that explain God’s plan of salvation. Anthony followed along with Buck, reading, and letting God’s Word speak truth into his soul. There in that jailhouse on April 19, 1983, Anthony prayed to receive Jesus as his Lord and Savior. It was the day before his birthday.

When Anthony returned to his jail cell that evening, he pulled out his personal journal and wrote, “This is as free as I’ve felt my entire life.”

Buck and Anthony’s friendship continued to grow during those jailhouse Bible studies. Finally, Buck asked, “Anthony, why are you locked up?”

Anthony could not provide a simple answer, so he handed Buck his journal, in which he had been writing his life’s story. Buck was so moved after reading the experiences of Anthony’s life, he asked Anthony if he could share the journal with his daughter, who was an English teacher. Buck suggested she could edit Anthony’s story, and they could share it with other people in the community.

Anthony wasn’t sure where this would lead, but he trusted Buck. “Sure,” he replied.

It just so happened Buck was also discipling another young man in town who worked as an attorney. He shared Anthony’s story with the attorney and returned to the jail a few days later with a plan. The attorney drew up a petition to release Anthony from his sentence, based on his change of heart and profession of faith in Jesus as his Lord and Savior. However, he would still need enough signatures from people testifying on Anthony’s behalf that he was a changed man.

Buck circulated the petition. Anthony’s mom, his two aunts, and Nanny all signed. But it wasn’t enough. Thankfully, Buck had several more people in mind—the Gideons and their wives leading the jail Bible studies, who had also come to know Anthony and had seen the change in him since accepting Jesus. They also signed the petition, for a total of 18 signatures, in addition to the signatures from Anthony’s family.

The day of sentencing came. The attorney approached the judge, handed him the petition, and requested Anthony be released into the custody of Buck. The judge saw the list of names, all testifying they believed Anthony was a changed man. The judge looked up at Anthony and the others in the courtroom. “I don’t have a problem with letting this man go. Case dismissed.”

When Anthony stepped outside of the jailhouse that evening, Buck and Peggy were there to greet him. Now freed from jail and freed from sin by Jesus, a new life was beginning for Anthony far from anything he could have imagined only weeks earlier.

For Anthony, Buck was the first steady Christian role model in his life. Buck modeled what Jesus taught—love for God and love for neighbors. He modeled values of honesty and reliability.

For the next three years, Anthony stayed in Hattiesburg and cared for Nanny until her passing. Buck continued to disciple Anthony and helped him pick up various jobs to earn money.

For Anthony, Buck was the first steady Christian role model in his life. Buck modeled what Jesus taught—love for God and love for neighbors. He modeled values of honesty and reliability.

Anthony continued to grow in his faith, and he eventually felt the Lord calling him to go back to school and enter into full-time ministry. He learned there was a Bible college in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he needed to go to study. He shared the news with Buck, who was proud to see Anthony take such a huge step of faith. Buck wrote a check for Anthony’s bus ticket and gave him some pocket money as well.

anthony pursues the ministry

In Fort Wayne, Anthony stayed in the basement of his mom and stepdad’s house as he began Bible college. He also got a job at a factory. Buck continued to check on Anthony, calling him regularly to see how things were going. He even provided funds to cover the down-payment on a car to help Anthony get to work and school.

 Reverend Payton with his wife, Sandy

During this time, Anthony began attending a Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Wayne. While serving in their bus ministry, he met a young Christian lady named Sandy. The two fell in love and eventually married.

After college, Anthony started working as a machine operator in an engineering company, while still planning on entering the ministry full-time. Each day, the company’s owner, a Christian man named Jack, would walk by and watch Anthony work. One day, Anthony was called to Jack’s office. Anthony thought Jack was perhaps going to fire him.

Instead, Jack said, “I like you, Anthony. You seem to be committed to what you believe. I need someone who has ethics and believes in doing what’s right. I’d like to make you my plant manager.” Anthony was surprised since his formal education was centered around preaching God’s Word, not running a business. However, with a wife and now a child, Anthony realized the offer was a blessing that would help provide for his family, and he accepted the position.

Jack helped Anthony progress at the factory, and under Anthony’s leadership, the company experienced great growth. It was a job Anthony really enjoyed and for which he was well compensated. However, Anthony began to feel like he was off-purpose from his calling to serve as a full-time pastor, so he gave Jack his resignation. Impressed with Anthony’s giant step of faith, Jack let him keep his company car. He also gave him a very generous severance package, which would allow Anthony time to pursue his calling in terms of finding a full-time pastor position.

Anthony received a call from a mental health hospital that wanted to interview him for a counseling position. He hadn’t studied psychology, so he was reluctant to interview. However, the recruiter was aware of Anthony’s background and pleaded for him to come interview. Anthony interviewed and was immediately offered the job. He accepted.

Anthony loved the opportunity to help people overcome the same addictions that nearly killed him. Such a role was preparing Anthony for the next step in his spiritual journey.

During that time, gangs were growing in the area. Kids were dying senselessly. A new pastor came to town, and he wanted to bring Anthony on staff to serve. Anthony accepted as the church teaching pastor, and the Lord blessed his faithfulness. The church grew from 20 people to about 1,500 people in just three years. Their outreach to the street gangs in the community was having a great impact.


Reverend Payton with his youth group during a missions trip in Brazil.

One Step of Faith Too Many?

In 1995, Anthony was invited to be a guest speaker at a very small church across town. As soon as he walked into the church building, he felt the Lord saying it would be his first church to serve as senior pastor. The congregation only had 12 members. Though he had not been offered a position, Anthony felt convinced the Lord had plans for him to begin serving there immediately. He took a huge step of faith and resigned from his counseling position at the mental health facility.

His supervisor was shocked and tried to persuade him to stay. Anthony resisted, saying he needed to go away for a few days with his family for a vacation. He was certain by the time he returned to town, he would be coming back to serve full-time at the small congregation.

Reverend Payton’s book reveals how God uses challenges to develop great leaders.

Sandy never questioned Anthony’s decision, as he had always been right about hearing the Lord’s call. They packed up the car and headed north for a few days of vacation. The days passed by, and no job offer had been made. There was one day left before they had to drive back to Fort Wayne. Had Anthony finally taken one step of faith too many? Memories of growing up and his own dad not supporting the family began to haunt him.

The last day of the vacation, he received a call from the church. “Anthony, we would like you to come serve full-time as our pastor.” He said, “Yes.”

As they all sat down to discuss the church’s financial situation, Anthony found out what the church planned to pay him—$25 a week. How was he going to provide for his family? This would take a toll on his life savings.

In the middle of these challenges, Anthony was scheduled to speak at a major Christian event in front of thousands of men. Anthony stood on the stage and launched into his story of Buck Mann. He told how Buck had been instrumental in leading him to the Lord, mentoring him, and even providing for him financially.

After his presentation, Anthony arrived at the merchandise table, and he was speechless. All the merchandise was sold out. Suddenly, he had invitations to speak all over the country. Those opportunities provided financially for his family in ways far beyond what he ever imagined. “God opened up doors for us that were incredible,” says Anthony, who for over twenty years has been the lead pastor at that same church, known today as Come As You Are Community Church.

“If you are faithful toward what God has called you to do, he will provide for you. In the words of David in Psalm 37:25, ‘I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.’”

A pair of shoes launches a dream

When Anthony first arrived in Fort Wayne, he had one pair of shoes. It was the pair of black dress shoes he’d been given years earlier by his mom and Nanny as a ninth-grade graduation gift. Through all Anthony has gained and lost, that pair of shoes is the one possession Anthony has held on to over all the years.

The shoes represented Anthony’s childhood dream to own his own shoe company. A friend of Anthony’s in Brazil, whom he met on a mission trip, was aware of Anthony’s dream. The friend asked a man there who owned a product design company if he could design a shoe prototype. He explained it was for a friend back in the USA named Anthony Payton.

“Anthony Payton!” the man replied. “Is he a pastor?”

The friend said, “Yes. Do you know him?”


The Anthony Payton Signature Shoes brand offers creative kids in the inner city a chance to achieve dreams the Lord has placed in their hearts.

The man said, “No, I’ve never met him, but I watch his sermons online.” The man was more than happy to create a prototype for the shoe, and the design was well-received.

In 2016, the Anthony Payton Signature Shoes brand was launched. The shoes are handmade and hand-painted. Anthony says the brand is all about continuing to touch lives for Christ.

The goal is to offer creative kids in the inner city a chance to achieve dreams the Lord has placed in their hearts.

Young people from Fort Wayne are selected for a competition in which they travel to Brazil to work with artisans to design a shoe. The students come back to the USA and present the design and marketing plans to a team to select the shoe design and marketing plan they believe is best. The winning shoe goes into production and 50% of the proceeds goes toward that young person’s college education, 25% goes to a local charity, and 25% goes toward the continuation of the program.

a call to stay on mission

Anthony stays focused largely by staying on task with his own mission statement: “I exist to recognize, inspire, and promote the purpose of God in an individual and collective life.”

“That is what Buck did with me,” says Anthony. “It’s all about building the relationship. That’s what changes people.”

“Christians have to get back to accountability, in terms of who we are and what our mission is. We’ve allowed ourselves to get so divided on other things and we’ve missed the main thing—making disciples.”

Speaking in front of thousands of guests at the Pastors Banquet during the International Convention this summer in Kansas City, Anthony shared how that relationship with Buck resulted in the Gospel touching lives even beyond his own. “Buck was the first person in my life who held me accountable as a saved man,” said Anthony. “He passed the baton on to Jack.”

“Christians have to get back to accountability, in terms of who we are and what our mission is. We’ve allowed ourselves to get so divided on other things and we’ve missed the main thing—making disciples.”

Buck and Peggy Mann have gone on to be with the Lord. The last time Anthony saw them was in their nursing home.

Anthony and the congregation at Come As You Are Community Church still welcome Gideons to make a presentation each year. Anthony has a message for Gideons and Auxiliary serving today. “You may not think you’re making a difference, but you are. There’s an Anthony out there waiting for you.”

“There are people in Brazil who have received the Gospel because Gideons went to a jail in Hattiesburg. There are professional athletes with whom I have been able to share the Gospel, because Gideons went to a jail in Hattiesburg. No opportunity I get is a result of Anthony. It’s a result of those Gideons being faithful to what God called them to do.”


Reverend Payton ministers as he prays with a stranger in the park.