Faith & Purpose

Cailin: Welcome everyone to
Faith and Purpose Podcast.

Each episode of this podcast contains the
personal testimony of an ordinary person

transformed by an extraordinary guide.

My name is Kaylyn, and I'm
here to introduce this podcast

for my friend Jesse Duke.

Jesse is a husband, father,
author, life recovery guide, lay

counselor, and small group leader.

But his most important role is
disciple as a disciple of Jesus.

Jesse created this podcast to help other
believers tell their faith stories.

We'll be hearing the personal
testimonies of all sorts of people

who have one thing in common.

Jesus has transformed their lives.

Jesus used parables because he created
us to learn best through story.

And as we listen to how God has worked
in others' lives, we find encouragement

and inspiration for our own faith walk.

Whether you are already a believer or
just a curious seeker, we believe that

as you listen to these stories, you will
be encouraged on your own faith journey.

We are sure that God can speak to you
through one of these episodes and that

you will see that our Heavenly Father
truly works all things together for our

good when we simply love and trust him.

If you are currently going through a
trial, we believe that you will come

to see that your troubles, heartbreaks
and failures are not gravestones, but

stepping stones into new life in Christ.

Here's Jesse with today's guest.

Welcome everyone to Faith
and Purpose Podcast today.

I'm very happy and grateful to my
friends Johnny Burbank and Pastor

Zach Terry, a First Baptist Church,
Ferna Beach, Florida, for allowing

me to include an episode from
Pastor Zach's podcast, code Red.

I had asked Johnny Burbank to be on my
podcast but Pastor Zach had already gotten

to him and had done a great interview.

it was so well done.

I knew I couldn't add anything to it, so I
asked, and they both graciously agreed to.

Let me use the audio of that interview
for Faith and Purpose Podcast.

You can see the video.

On any podcast platform at Code
Red with Zach Terry, that's ZACH,

Terry, and he has some excellent and
expiring interviews there with other

believers that I know you would enjoy.

So check it out.

I'll put a link to it in the show notes.

But for now, here's the
audio version of Zach Terry.

And Johnny Burbank.

I didn't do any editing,
so here's the entire story.

I know you'll be blessed by it.

Johnny Burbank, it's good to have
you in the Code Red Studio today.

I'm glad to be here.

Well, we came down almost eight years ago.

Our family came down and I met
you as a leader in the church that

I was soon to be pastor of, and.

From all I knew.

You just had the perfect
background, perfect childhood.

You had always walked with Jesus and kind
of assumed a role of leadership as a, a

deacon in our church and all those things.

But I've come to know, 'cause if anybody's
met you, you tell your story pretty quick.

Little did you know, little did
I know it wasn't quite as rosy.

It was as I assumed it was, but
I don't regret regret any of it.

And, uh, it was quite a journey.

So still ongoing.

Yeah.

Awesome story of redemption as
we are all trophies of grace.

Amen.

But it's, it's really, uh, as I
came to hear the old Johnny, uh,

I think, I think people kind of
considered you a, a lovable drunk.

Right?

Right.

It's probably kind of an Otis.

Oh, we, yeah.

Around here had many a good
time, you know, and, uh, yeah.

How, how did you end up in
that, in that situation?

Well, uh, growing up at the docks,
you know, in a, uh, netting and we was

building shrimp nets, you know, our whole
life grew up, which is a big industry.

A big industry.

Yeah.

I mean, at eight years old, my grandfather
was teaching me the business and,

and later went in and worked with my
brothers and my father, and we were

the largest net makers in the world.

And, uh, built nests for n Rockwell, El
Salvador, Honduras, all the east coast.

And, and uh, and in, in that though, it
was also a lot of, uh, alcohol involved

in that environment down at the docks
so the largest net manufacturers in

the world, international operation.

And you grow up around, um,
those kind of guys, which.

Alcohol's involved in that.

Yes.

Yes.

It, you know, parties and, uh, we'd have
parties at the net shop and, uh, all

the shrimpers would come and everything.

And so alcohol was involved and,
and really and truly, I, uh, my,

my mother and father were both
alcoholics and I, did they know, did

they know that they were alcoholics?

We didn't even know what
alcoholics was back then.

We, you know, it was just a, a normal way.

It was a way of life.

We thought everybody, you know, kind
of growing up, we thought everybody

was kind of like that, you know?

Yeah.

And, uh, great people, don't get me
wrong, they called my dad Captain Daddy,

and they called my mom, captain Mama.

The, the locals and the young people
were always welcome at our house,

and you got thrown outta your house.

You come live with us, that type of thing.

Right.

I was the youngest of four brothers
and, uh, and our household was

like that, but we hit, you know,
they worked, we grew up working

hard and we had like a keg of beer.

And the refrigerator would tap on side.

So three o'clock every day.

It was just a normal thing.

We had to wait on Daddy to get one.

Soon as daddy got got him a colon, then
everybody keep, it was pregame then.

But what'd you say?

About three o'clock?

Yeah, about three o'clock.

Yeah.

That's called.

How old were you when
you had your first drink?

Uh, probably at one of those shrimp
boat parties, probably around, I

don't know, nine or 10 years old.

Okay.

Uh, and did it start out with, uh, beer?

Was it hard liquor or beer?

We start, you know, drinking beer
and, uh, and then liquor and then,

you know, just whatever down the road.

And, and did, did you, did you
sense at all the, the danger that

could be connected with, with
alcohol at an early age, or was

it just culturally what you knew?

Just culturally what we
knew, you know, it was.

But I, well, I knew it was, you
know, you knew it was dysfunctional,

but it was something that you,
you, you needed to work through.

I mean, in our household, if, you
know somebody run into the house

with the car, you know, they'd,
oh, we gotta get the brakes fixed.

Or somebody fall down the steps coming
down off the deck or the next, they'd

have you out of paint the steps.

Right.

Putting sand in it.

The steps was slippery, you know?

Yeah.

And things of that nature,
you know what I mean?

They never had nothing to
do with alcohol, but, right.

But there was, I knew there
was something wrong with it.

I mean, my mother and father at night,
after all of my other brothers had

left at, uh, at night, they would,
they would just about sometimes fight

and about kill each other, you know?

And then the next morning we're
sitting at the table, they're asking

me about school, you know, and I'm
like, school, you know, Hey, hey, we

about killed each other last night.

Now we're gonna talk about,
you know what I mean?

Right.

It was dysfunctional.

Totally.

How, how was your dad able to,
to grow that business and run

that, operate that business?

Well, he had four boys that.

That I look back on it, you know, he
had us there and, and uh, and picked

up the slack and he worked hard.

I mean, don't get me wrong.

I mean, we, we all worked hard and it,
it was a great business to be in as far

as fulfilling from, you know, we, uh,
shrimpers all the way down the east coast.

That was their livelihood.

And, uh, and when the, during the
season and all, sometimes they'd

go out and tear up all their nets.

I'd be going in the next day, had a
game plan of all, everything I was

going to do, you know, and I'd get
there, there'd be some shrimper backed

up there to the door, been there all
night, maybe drove from South Carolina,

North Carolina, Pam Co sound, you know.

But he'd be sitting there and, uh,
with every, all his nets in the back.

And so, you know, it was on us.

I'd get him all fixed back up,
get him going back to take care

of his family, you know, and
that's, that's how we got known as.

And, and, uh, we, we made friends with
all those Trumpers all those years.

And the, our background, you
know, a little bit of my story,

my, my dad's father was a severe
alcoholic and they had 12 children.

And it was the kind of thing,
you know, it affects different

people different ways, right.

But he was, he was mean.

Right?

So when he would drink, he, you know,
some people, life of the party, whatever.

Yeah.

Um, he, he brought a violence out in him.

Yeah.

And growing up, as you said in that
context, it's just normal to you.

But, you know, he dad said he never,
never heard his father say, I love you.

Right this entire life, you know, I
had a uncle, uncle Frank, he was an

alcoholic too, and, uh, uncle Frank.

Uh, wound up in Texas and he
finally left Texas and he came

back to live here and work with us.

And, uh, he, he came in one day and,
you know, and, and he called my dad,

dad, it was actually his brother, but
he said, Hey dad, he said, I need help.

And Daddy said, what's the matter?

Yeah.

Outta liquor, you know, that was buying
him cases of gin at that time, you know?

And, and Frank said,
no, I got, I gotta quit.

And, and my dad, I remember that quit.

You know, how do you do that?

They don't, didn't, nobody
knew that concept about quit.

So, but there was a, there was a
gentleman in town that, that we knew.

I just call him Nick, and
he was like the town drunk.

He was the oldest back then, and he got
sober and then he went on and ran a whole

fleet of boats for Solomon down in Key
West and all just a real brilliant man.

And, uh.

After he got sober.

After he got sober.

Wow.

And, and so Daddy knew we
knew him, you know, knew that.

Yeah.

So he called him up and, uh, so me, he
came, got my uncle and took him to a

charter by the sea, his place up on St.

Simons Island.

Mm-hmm.

And my uncle went in
there, 28 day program.

He came out and never drank again.

And, uh, so then we, we rock on.

And, uh, and then, so by this time,
I'm about 27 years old, married two

children, and I've done alcohol, had,
doesn't consume my life, you know, it's

just, and alcoholics we call, when you
cross that line, there's no going back.

And it doesn't happen for everybody.

Everybody's not an alcoholic.

Everybody's not an addict.

They don't, you know, they
never cross that line.

And, uh, and some people can drink
and they, they might find a, a problem

with it or whatever, and they can quit.

But a true alcoholic or addict,
whatever, once they cross that line,

there's no going back, you know?

So.

Okay.

Were there periods of sobriety
or was it just Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

It, and when, and actually at, uh, at age
27 and, uh, me and me and my wife Robin,

we decided it was time for us to grow up.

Now Robin was raised in church.

She was raised at First Baptist Church,
and, uh, my family was Episcopalian

and, uh, when we went, you know,
and, uh, my mother though, she was a

Baptist from way cross Georgia, and she
sang around the piano, sang gospels,

hymns with her, her mother playing
to Oregon with her brothers and all.

But she came down and married my dad.

And, and she, that's when
she became an alcoholic.

And she also had back injuries on her.

She had back problems and she was
on Valium, on prescription drugs.

And they, they took her out at age 42.

Alcohol and then, uh, and
prescription drugs, kidney

failure is what took her out.

How, how old were you?

I was 16.

16 years old.

And it was a big blow in my life.

But I remember my, Jay, I remember
mama when she would try to,

we didn't know anything about
alcoholics or even addicts back then.

It wasn't taught much.

And it was ironic.

We went by a AA building downtown behind
the library, drove by it every day, going

to work, didn't even know what it was.

Mm-hmm.

And didn't know, you know, didn't
know anything about alcohol.

That's anonymous or anything.

But anyhow, I.

When my mother would try to clean
herself up, or when she try to quit

on her own, I would, you know, I'd
immediately, immediately notice it and

she'd ask me to go to church with her.

And I was the youngest, uh, of the
boys, you know, and I was her baby.

And I, here it was when we'd go to
the Episcopal church and we'd go in

there and she'd light that place up.

Mm-hmm.

I mean, sing like an angel,
and everybody in there knew it.

And they tried to get her to join
the choir and everything else too.

But, and I can, all I can remember then
Zach was the Jesus, the stainless windows

behind the altar and the Episcopal church.

It was Jesus Peter on one
side and Mary on the other.

I think that's how it is,
you know, uh, up there.

And that's who I was praying to.

And I all, I can remember praying, I was
like, God, please keep my mama like this.

You know, please keep my mama like this.

And that and her sober moments,
you praying that the Lord would

keep sober, praying, keep, keep her
sober, but it didn't, and the end.

And uh, and she ended up
it, she ended up dying.

And, uh, you know, you mentioned with
your uncle and, and also with your mother,

the, that they had such talent, gifts,
and ability when they were sober, but,

but alcohol and, you know, any addiction,
I don't wanna make it all just alcohol.

It could be so many things that people
just give their life over to slowly.

Yeah.

And one of the things I found with men is
if they're not motivated to say, well, I.

You know, Hey, my family's fine.

My wife tolerates it.

My kids love me.

They'll forgive me if I mess up.

Or, uh, whatever, whatever
the motive may be.

If a man can see how much potential is
being robbed from him through alcoholism

or pills or whatever it might be, uh,
that in itself can motivate a man if they

see it, if they see it, if they see it.

Right.

And some do.

Right?

Some do, but a lot don't.

What is it they used to say of the
Irish, if it hadn't been for alcohol,

they would've ruled the world.

Right.

And really, there's a lot of truth.

And, and you know.

Yeah.

And, uh, you find out that, that a lot
of people that I've helped and, and,

you know, alcoholics and addicts, their
personality, they're smart people.

They're, and not saying that I am,
I, I might be one of the few, but

that's not, but I'm just teasing.

But you find out that they are.

Uh, productive.

And when I say that the disease,
alcoholism and, and drug

addiction and all of it, and
it, it could even be depression.

It's a slow, it's a slow fade.

Mm-hmm.

You hear that song about it and
it just happens over time, time

it gets worse and worse and worse.

I mean, there's signs
that start happening.

It gets worse and worse and worse.

And for me, that's when
it was about 27 years old.

They did an intervention on me and, uh,
my wife and my, my oldest brothers, my

bro, all my brothers, and even my father.

And they were still drinking.

They're alcoholics.

They still, but they knew,
you know, that I needed help.

Well, that's what I was telling
you about my uncle, that he

went and charter by the sea.

He got sober, come out.

So naturally they gonna load me up
and take me to charter by the sea.

And of course, so I go to
Charter by Sea, 27 years old.

And so how so they, they
staged the intervention.

How did, how did it hit you?

Was it offensive to you?

Was it No, I knew.

You knew?

I already knew.

And, and I'd already tried to quit
on my own, uh, in that, in, uh, just

wasn't able to do it even at that age.

And, uh, and they did
an intervention on me.

And I thought, okay, so I went and I went
and told by sea and I knew, uh, without

a shadow of doubt, I was an alcoholic.

I mean, everything they
said made sense, everything.

And I was introduced to
Alcoholics Anonymous then.

And, uh, everything knew.

I, I knew and I had all the good
intentions, but I came back and, and

I, I, I didn't stay sober long at all.

You know what I mean?

I got back out.

Mm-hmm.

I went back to drinking.

And when you, when you
would go through that.

Did you think to yourself Just one
drink and then I'll get my phone?

Wh Oh yeah.

Just it's, it's, right.

Well, well, and it's different stages,
you know, that first you always think

you can control it and it, and uh, for
me that's, that was one of the biggest

things is, is I was, it was embarrassing
that something like that could whoop me.

'cause I, I just, I was
raised up to be proud.

Work hard, man, man.

Big guy.

Yeah.

You know?

Yeah.

And, uh, I, I always wanted to be the
best net maker, I mean, a competitor.

I wanted to be better than my brothers.

I wanted to be better, you know, I
wanted to be as good as my grandfather.

I wanted to be, we always, always wanted
to be the best we want, and we wanted

to have the best business, you know?

And, uh, so it was, it was like that.

And it was just a struggle.

But, you know, that was my first rehab
and then it, then it, from, from that age

until I didn't get sober till I was 40.

I mean, it was a battle.

I mean, rehabs.

And finally, I, I forget
exactly when, but.

Yeah.

One day, Robin, my wife, she says, you
know what, he, she knew I needed Jesus.

That's what she knew.

She, she drug me to church.

I mean, literally the church was downtown.

It was the old church on
fifth Street down there.

And I remember walking up those steps,
those big steps going, that was the hard,

one of the hardest things I'd ever done.

'cause I, I told her, I said,
Rob, those people know me.

They said, I said, I knew just enough
about the Bible that I said they

might take me out back stone me.

You know, because, uh,
and, but they didn't.

They loved me.

And I'm gonna tell you, I
actually, I wore that church out.

I wore out three pastors.

Mm-hmm.

James Dunham and, uh, Danny
Morris and, and all that.

They, they try all tried
to help me and help me.

And it's just like, so, so when you,
when you came into church, not, not being

from that kind of background, right.

Did you.

Did you come in with the idea that,
hey, I've got a, I've got a problem

and I want, want you to know about it.

I'm, I want to get right, or did you
come in with, um, trying to, to fool

'em or kind of what was your just Yeah.

Yeah.

You first come in, like, then you
just kind of wanna fit in, sweep

it under the rug, you know, back in
them gener back in those days, that's

about what you did with everything.

Anyhow, back in those day, everybody
sweat everything under the rug.

Tell, tell me this, at that time,
like something like this, we

would've never done back then.

You wouldn't admit you would.

Yeah.

That, you know, and that your
weakness, that's changed.

Oh, yeah.

Oh yeah.

We're thankful for that.

But, but at that time,
what were you ashamed?

Yeah.

To admit your problem or Ashamed.

Yeah, ashamed.

That, and I was still at that
point to where, yeah, I was

ashamed that I couldn't, I.

Handle it on my own.

Yeah.

You know what I mean?

I, I, I couldn't admit
that I really needed help.

Mm-hmm.

But, but I wanted to, I I was always tried
to do the best When they got, they, uh,

I'd show up, I'd wear a three piece suit.

I'd look like a church person.

Mm-hmm.

That's why I don't like to
wear suits today to church.

Right.

And, uh, because I did that, I
was dying on the inside, wearing

a three piece suit at church.

They, they, we started up the
TV ministry, James Dunham did.

I.

I'd film him, go around town, film
him, help him with the TV ministry.

I was, I was over it.

I was probably one of the
best directors they ever had.

Not bright or nothing, but
that's why they let me do it.

And had we had four cameras
and we was filming live, we, we

boom, it, it was over that day.

There wasn't no editing, no nothing.

Boom.

It went to the air.

I've heard some stories from back then.

Um, you, you weren't always on the
wagon when you were behind those

cameras, from what I understand.

Well, well, I'd be drunk on Saturday
night and be in there in church

the next day trying to, trying to
do, I wanted to do what's right.

I always wanted to be a good husband.

I wanna be a good father.

Right.

I wanted to do things right.

But that, that, that hangup.

That, that was in my way, you know?

And, uh, Lord had great people,
Steve Simmons, you know, he'd be

slipping me a peppermint, shaking his
head, and Jimmy wrote it for, was in

there with me back then, you know?

And, uh, Robin would be wanting
to kill me and all of them, you

know, for putting up with she,
she, oh yeah, she stayed with you.

She did.

And for that, that better or worse, she's
just, and, and Zach, it was her faith.

You know, we, we get onto this
story, so this rocks on and rocks on.

And, uh, and it eventually
just got worse and worse.

And, I mean, and I went to gateway
rehab and, uh, uh, you know,

just, just everything, detox and
I mean, and I did quit for like.

I think the longest I ever
made it was like six months.

Wow.

And at a time, and then,
you know, something.

Did you feel better
during that six months?

Oh yeah.

Yeah.

And, and you know, and just, and it's
just like a rollercoaster boom, I'd

build my life back up, everything going
good and all, and boom, it, it just,

would it, would it be a situation where

stress comes into your life and you
just wanted to have a drink or like,

could, would something trigger it?

Or did you get overconfident or what
would cause you to overconfident and all?

And, and really, you know, what I've
learned now about, about alcoholism and

I'm just with drug addiction all too.

It's really a threefold disease.

And when you, um, when you get
sober, first thing is physical.

There's physical, mental, and spiritual
first thing's physical, you've gotta

stay off of it long enough for the,
for the physical craving to go away.

Mm-hmm.

Because your body will actually
physically crave it gets used to alcohol.

It wants alcohol.

Yeah.

If it's drugs, it'd be drugs, you know,
whatever your drug drug of choice is.

Mine was alcohol.

And, um, your body CRAs it.

But if you stay off of it long
enough, that craving will go away.

Go.

You have to detox yourself,
but then it's mental.

It's a mental game.

Then you still got the mental
obsession you want to drink, you

know, but, you know, it's just kind
of, but you know better, you know.

But if I, if I drink, Robin's
gonna throw me out the house again.

You know, things is going
to go downhill quick.

So, and, but then what, then
what you do to, in recovery.

Then you go spiritual.

Alright?

If you go to aa, the God of you
understanding, you know where

you start getting some spiritual,
you know, or you go to church

start, you get spiritually filled.

And that helps you, that gives
you strength to overcome.

And then what'll happen
is you clipping along.

If you quit going to church, quit
reading your Bible or quit going to aa,

you know, quit calling your sponsor.

Quit going to fellow quit fellowship
with got people in recovery.

The next thing you know
you're back mental.

And then that mental obsession kicks in.

Then the next thing you know, you pick up.

Mm-hmm.

Once you pick up, boom, it's on again.

Mm-hmm.

And my, my uncle Fred used, used
to say is like a little bitty, like

right now, I haven't had a dream
24 year or February 1st was 20.

I picked up my 24 year chip.

And, but I got, I know there's a flame
in there, there's a little bitty flame.

And if I was to douse it with
alcohol, it would just, and you know,

that sounds crazy, but I relapsed
enough over that, over those years.

And you can talk to other
people and alcohol and that,

uh, AA and stuff that's done.

It, it, no, that, that
flame would ignite it.

It'd be, it'd be the
scariest thing in the world.

But today, I mean, it doesn't bother me
because the Lord took that away from me.

He took that.

Well, you have to and, and I want to, I
want to get to that part of the story.

'cause that that's the
glorious, that's the good part.

Yeah.

But, but I really do.

'cause there's people watching this.

Uh, you know, most, most guys who are
alcoholics, they're the last ones to

figure out that they have a problem.

Oh, yeah.

You know, and so I, I, I don't want
to glorify that stage, but at the

same time, just sharing the way you
remember it, there'll be somebody to

go, man, I felt that way, or, you know,
I, and, and it creates a cycle where.

Something stressful comes into
their life and they, they turn to a

drink, uh, then it escalates, right?

They have, then they have marriage
problems and that's more stress,

which the, the drink relieves the,
you know, so it creates this, this

cycle that just puts 'em in the bed.

That's, that's exactly right.

It is a cycle.

And you know that, that's the one
thing, that's why somebody that's

been through it, um, can help
somebody, because I understand.

Mm-hmm.

I know, I know how they feel.

I know what they're up against and it's
okay, you know, that they're there.

But, you know, I had somebody in
church, um, actually Sue Ellen,

told me one time, said, uh, says,
you know, it is not a shame.

To be an alcoholic.

It's not, you shouldn't be
ashamed to be an alcoholic.

The shame part is knowing
you're an alcoholic and not

doing something about it.

That kind of stuck with me.

Right.

You know, and uh, and just
little things like that.

God put so many people
in my life to help me.

And so generally just
got me on the mission.

And I think that's something special
about our church is, you know, Baptists

don't have the best track record of
being nonjudgmental and, and that

sort of thing, but it's a unique thing
that nobody can take credit for it.

But it's something about our church that
they really do have empathy toward people.

And if they see somebody who is in
a pit of their own making, they'll,

they'll try to toss him a lifeline.

Exactly.

And, and love him until he takes it.

Yeah.

Oh yeah.

No doubt.

And you know, I think my
situation in our church.

Helped a lot of people that,
that, that are not alcoholics

or not as to understand Yeah.

And, and to, to be more open.

Yeah.

You know, we, we're open,
we're open door at our church.

Mm-hmm.

I mean, we, we not going to
condemn anybody and all, all we

gonna do is try to love them back.

Right.

But at the same time, just like they
were loving me, I needed somebody to look

me in the eye and say, Hey, whoa, whoa.

What you're doing is not right.

We gotta do something about this.

You know, don't just, you know,
don't keep sweeping under the rug.

And, uh, you know, that's one thing I say
about alcohol and that, and that's love.

Yes.

You know, you, words of a friend, you
learn that you, you know, you learn that.

And, uh, and that, that, that,
that's, that's how it is.

You learn that by the word.

Yeah.

The power's in the word Right.

Is what I learned and,
uh, and been learning for.

So when, at what point did you go
up to the Mennonites and, okay.

I, um, 40 years old and, uh.

I don't know exactly how it
happened or whatever, but about

that time, Robin, I, I, I was, you
know, wasn't doing good at all.

Had they, had they got you out
of the business at that point?

Yeah, yeah, at that point.

Right.

At that point, I was kicked out of the
business kind, or I just, I really just

kinda walked out, to be honest with you.

It ain't like they, they, they,
I just, I just had to get out and

Robin threw me out the house for
another, but I knew something.

This ta this last time, she threw me out.

Bless her heart.

She tried, I mean, she tried to
do, and, and that's the thing

about an alcoholic or, or a addict.

They, they think they're only
hurting herself, you know?

But, okay, so.

So you kind of hit, you kind
of hit a place, hit rock, hit

bottom again, hit rock bottom.

Your, your marriage is struggling.

Yeah.

And she had to do what she
was been told she had to do.

Mm-hmm.

She had to turn me loose, you know?

That's what I'm saying.

Now that I help people.

That's the hardest thing is helping
the parents, helping the, the spouse

not being able not to enable it.

It's so hard.

Mm-hmm.

Because Robin loved me and,
you know, it was her faith.

Her faith that she finally
had to turn me loose.

And it, it about destroyed her
to, to, to have to do that to me.

How did she come to that?

Did somebody just counsel her, or
how did she come to that conclusion?

Yeah.

Uh, you know, over that time, yeah,
she, I'm sure you know, people invested

in her life and it was probably some
of, some of the people I'd come in

contacted with, you know, like from
my first rehab, I'd been to aa, I

picked up 10,000 white chips in aa.

That's the surrender chip.

Yeah.

That's when you crawl back up the stairs.

Push the door open, crawl in
there and say, I surrender again.

I, so I surrender and over and over
and trying, you know, and I'm sure

somebody's counsel counseled heard
that you've gotta let him hit bottom.

Yeah.

You know, that's, that's
the thing in recovery.

They, they, they say, uh, yeah, they
gotta hit bottom, they gotta hit bottom.

Everybody's bottom's different, you know?

Mm-hmm.

But, but the promises are that
they tell you in there are true

jails, institution and death.

I mean, that's your three promises
of alcoholism, drug addiction.

And, and I, you know, I would dare
say depression, whatever, if you don't

help you help, it can take you out.

The, when, when my grandfather was, was
on one of these, you know, they would,

for him less about maybe two and a half
weeks to where I'm talking 24 7, he

was drinking something, you know, and.

I mean, he looked like a different person.

He didn't shave.

He, you know, he, he did, didn't bathe.

I mean, he had a, would, would
really go through a bad spell.

And I, I went to the pastor and
he, and he gave me that advice.

He said, you know, he probably loves you.

I was the only grand grandchild.

And he said, he probably loves you
more than anything in his life.

And if there's anything he loves
more than that bottle, it's you.

Right.

And so you, you've got to be the person
that says, I can't be around you.

Right.

When you're this way.

That's right.

And, and that, you know, that,
that will at least give him some

motivation to say That's right.

And, and it was a big factor that
last, there was something about the

last time that Robin threw me out.

Mm-hmm.

And my, and my daughter, and Amelia
and Lance, both my children, they, they

turned me loose and, uh, and I, I, I
kid How old were they at that time?

Johnny, uh, me was, they
were in high school.

Uh, Amelia was in high school
and Lance right behind her.

So, and that, that gets to a stage
where that can be embarrassing for them

just having a father just not at the
events or if he's there, he is not who.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Matter of fact, you know, they're
funny stories and I, we, we skiing

around and everything, but the funny
stories is when I was in, uh, rehab,

or I call it summer, we, they,
the kids name call it summer camp.

Dad's a summer camp, you
know, just kidding around.

But I was up there and they
had the father daughter banquet

and uh, I guess little women.

Yeah.

Father daughter banquet.

Yep.

And, uh, uh, Bruce, Mr.

Bruce in our church, he took
her to the father daughter bank.

Oh wow.

And I, at first I was mad.

Yeah.

I was mad.

I was like, dang, go on Bruce.

Take, you know, but I was
so forever grateful for him.

He just, another.

Part of church.

Yeah.

Where somebody in there steps up and was
ta and was being a dad role in my place.

Wow.

Not not to to bash me, but to help
me, you know, to help my daughter.

To help her.

Yeah.

And, uh, and what a, what a blessing.

You know, it was funny,
but, uh, things like that.

But, you know, so here, I, so here
I am, I, I say they kicked me off

the island, but, uh, but I ended up,
you know, and I said, you know what?

I'm gonna show them.

I'm gonna show, uh, my brothers in
the net business or show everybody

I said, so I went, I got me a job in
a plastic factory in Jacksonville.

You know, that was a nightmare.

But I'm living in the Pine Forest motel.

Everybody needs, every alcoholic
addict ought to live out there.

It's one of those fine,
that's one those jokes, right?

That's one of those jokes, you know,
that, uh, that that's where you end up.

And, uh, but.

So I'm driving over to Jacksonville,
working and for peanuts, well, you know,

best heart, not, not a whole lot of money.

And, uh, and drinking
and driving over there.

I mean, it was just a struggle.

Uh, the check you'd get, you would pay
the rent there like $165 a week, and

by the time you bought a half gallon
of vodka and some lamb of beans to

survive off of, that's all you had.

You was broke.

And the gas to get back and forth to
work, that's all you had, you know?

Yeah.

So that's the type of life I was living.

And then it was just, and I was, but
I was bent that I was going to go

out and show him, show, you know,
trying and it, it was just like up

against the wall and still drinking.

And finally, um, Luke Daniels that owns
the bail bonds place out there newly, I.

What a friend.

A friend, the whole Daniels family was
a friend of mine, mutt Daniels, Luke

Daniels, and no friends of mine back then,
family, friends that I knew all my life.

But Luke let me stay in the
bail bonds place for free.

So boy, I had a little
more money then, you know?

So I'm thinking, you know, I'm
think and and see people just

trying to be good for you.

Yeah.

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Mud.

Mud.

He gonna bring me a 12 pack thinking
that's what I needed, you know?

You know, bless MU's heart.

Yeah.

And he a good friend of mine,
and I hope he, he watches this,

but people, people don't know.

Yeah, they don't, they don't, you know.

Yeah.

No, no.

Mud and mud gave me a truck.

He gave me his truck and the 12 pack
said, come on Johnny, you can do it.

You know, you can go not
understanding fully, you know, either.

Yeah.

I didn't fully understand
alcoholism then either other than.

It was, it had me and, uh, I knew it.

And, and, and, and, you know,
and, uh, Zach and the alcohol,

and the alcohol is anonymous.

The, the 12 Step program.

See the right off the bat, you know, step
one admitted, I'm powerless over alcohol.

Admit, I admit that Step
Twos came to believe.

I look back on it all now.

I wanted to believe that there
was a power greater to myself

that could restore me to sanity.

That's what it is.

I look back on that and I thought,
oh yeah, I believe, I believe in God.

I remember we had a Bible under
there that, and my mama always

said, uh, uh, oral Roberts used
to say, I believe in miracles.

And the Bible Leonard, with all
the pictures with dust on it.

You know, I mean, I always thought
I believed, but I look back on it, I

don't, I didn't know after my mama died,
remember I asked him to save my mama.

I.

And he didn't.

He didn't.

Right.

So I wasn't sure.

And then step three is turn your
life and your will over to care.

God, did you understand him?

I mean, but that's, that's commitment.

That's, that's a salvation
step if you do it, you know?

Yeah.

Then, then you worked.

So I, I had, I skipped over all those.

That's why in the 12 step prob, and
that's why Alcoholic Anonymous never did

work for me because I never surrendered.

Yeah.

I never turned.

And uh, so anyhow, I'm living in the, uh,
bail bonds house out there and I just,

at one point after it was over with,
I kind of just gave up and I remember

Luke had these, uh, appliances in there.

He had a reclining chair and
there was a big screen TV in

there without no cable hook to it.

He just had a fuzzy picture.

But that's what I'm looking at.

I'm looking at a big
screen tv, fuzzy picture.

I got a half gallon of vodka over here.

I'm drinking and I was,
I drink a little bit.

And I'd cry and I'd cry out to God.

I started crying out to God.

God helped me.

You know, God helped me and I'd drink a
little bit cry, and that's where I was at.

I was just doing that.

I mean, I was just in that chair.

I couldn't hardly get out the chair.

I know.

And just lo and behold a man that
I haven't seen, I call him Ed Kay.

I hadn't seen him in a couple years,
but I knew him from Alcoholics

Anonymous, knew him from aa.

He happened to go by, seen my
little red truck and the places

lit up at night in there.

He see, he could see me sitting in there,
but you know, his first thoughts was, oh

no, I don't want to get involved in that.

You know what I mean?

And because he knew, they all knew that
I'd been trying to get sober a long time.

But Ed's story was, he turned
the corner at Ulee and made

it almost to Lofton Creek.

And God turned him around.

He drove all the way back out
there and come beat on that door.

And it was all I could do
to get up outta that chair.

And I got over there to the door,
unlocked it, and he opened the

door and he just looked at me.

And, uh, he says, you need help.

And I, I just, I, I think
I just nodded at him.

I don't know, you know, but
he didn't know what to do.

But he called a, he called a lady named
Ellen, LNS, that worked at Willing Way.

And, um, she knew me.

She says, oh, Johnny Will,
is Willie, is that a rehab?

Willie Ways Rehab.

Okay.

Yeah.

Yep.

And, uh, she says, Johnny, Johnny Burbank.

He's been trying to get sober a long time.

And, uh, she said he needs,
he needs long term help.

So the only place she knew of was a place
in Georgia called The Bridges of Hope.

And a man named George Sermons that
on that, uh, ran it started them.

He was an alcoholic himself.

That started the, the Bridges of Hope.

And that's another whole story.

You know, what a, what a man.

And, uh, that, that, uh, God used to
build the bridges of hope up there.

And, uh, so they get on the phone
with him and all, and the first thing

they ask you, does he have any money?

And I said, no, I ain't got no money.

Uh, you know, he don't have nothing, you
know, and, uh, they said, well, we don't,

we don't know if we got a bed or not.

You know, they talked
to the guy and they, Mr.

George happened to be at that
particular Bridge of Hope.

It was the one in, uh, Chauncey.

He happened to be there.

Just, you know, all these coincidence
just happened to be there.

And they said, Mr.

George, we got a guy, he ain't
got no money and all that.

And they said, what is his name?

He said his name Johnny Burbank.

Burbank.

Ask, ask him if he knows Billy Burbank.

And uh, and he said,
yeah, that's his daddy.

And he says.

Send him on up.

Bring him on and turn
to come to find out Mr.

George, before he got sober, he spent
the last $30,000 he had on a shrimp boat.

And we used to, I used to fix
his nets when I was a little boy.

Wow.

Is they tear him all up.

And we helped, my daddy helped
him out time after time.

But he ended up in favor.

He ended up losing his
house on Crooked River.

Alcoholic, lost his
boat, all lost $30,000.

That's before he hit rock bottom.

And, um, so, but anyhow,
what a coincidence.

So here he go.

They, they taped me up there.

Let me, let me pause you right here.

Okay.

Just for a second.

Just, just pointing out, um, you,
you're drunk watching a fuzzy tv.

What'd you say?

Half gallon of vodka.

Half.

Yeah.

It was probably, and you're
praying, God help me.

God help me.

Somebody.

They said the Lord turn their car around.

So, so, even.

The prayer of a drunk.

Of a drunk, the Lord will hear it.

Blessed.

Yes.

If it's, if it's a prayer of
faith, crying out to the Lord in a

moment of despair and desperation.

Sometimes I think as men especially,
we can say, well, I'm not gonna

talk to him while I'm like this.

You know, he deserves better than that.

Or, or I'm ashamed to talk to him just
like Adam running from God in the garden.

Right.

But even in that moment of desperation,
he wants you to call out to him.

Amen.

Amen.

And he hears, and he'll, he'll respond.

He heard me and uh, and he,
and he turned it around.

It just so happened that he get that.

He calls her Ellen, and Ellen hooks me
up with Bridges of Hope, and there's Mr.

George saying, send that
Burbank boy up here.

I know that family.

They helped me, you know?

And so here I go and I get up there
to the Bridges of Hope and uh.

Start sobering up now.

Now, is this the Mennonites?

No.

At this point no Uhuh.

Okay.

No, this is not, this is
just the Bridges of hope.

Okay.

In Chauncey, Georgia.

There's one in Argyle, there's
one in Chauncey, and, uh,

which is near like Eastman.

And, uh, I, I'm all, I
didn't know where I was at.

I just knew I was in the
middle of Georgia up there.

But I get there and I'm, I remember
just trying to eat scrambled eggs.

I got there, so I'm detoxing, you
know, so I'm going through it.

It took me two or three days just to
where I could even get it outta here

system just to chase and you going on.

And they had me on, uh, I was going
around scooping up dog poopoo.

That's your first job
at the Bridges of Hope.

You go around, clean the yard up a
little bit, give something to do,

and, uh, but I'll never forget, after
about three days, they finally said,

uh, they called me and they said, Mr.

George won't see.

So I went in there and I'm sitting
at, just across from the like

table, like you sitting there, Ms.

George says, uh.

Alright, tell me about yourself, boy.

And I said, I, I said, okay.

And I start, he said, I'll shut up.

He said, let me tell you.

And he says, you, uh, you know, he,
he just flat out told me, you know,

that I was drunk and I was, you
know, self-centered, egotistical,

you know, and just like thousands of
others, you know, and I mean, he, he

busted my bow, he ripped me up, down.

But then he says, all right,
but now we going to get sober

now, you know, and, and go.

But he sent, sent me on out.

So I, I'd go out and I think my first,
my first, uh, job was on the garden crew.

Uh, yeah, I think it was in the garden.

And, uh, but I, I wasn't, I hadn't been
there two weeks, but as I got sober,

here's what started happening to me.

As I sobered up, my mind started
replaying over and over in my head.

The reality of what was happening.

So here, the, the reality was, here
I am 40 years old, all my dreams,

everything I'd worked for my whole life,
all everything I've done and all those,

all that I, you know, I went through
to try to get sober, to quit, to try

to do, try, you know, the TV ministry,
just everything, you know, all that.

Just playing through my mind
and I was about to go nuts.

I mean, I was really, was about to read
about me in the newspaper or something.

I don't know.

You know, I don't know.

You felt like I went suicidal,
but you know, I don't remember.

You just felt like you were too
far gone to reveal, too far gone.

I thought physically life was over.

I thought physically, mentally, and at
this point really, I thought it was over.

I mean, really, I was sitting there and
I hadn't slept in about three nights.

And I'll just remember this one night.

It was a couple weeks in one
night I finally, about three

o'clock in the morning, I got
up off, I was on the top bunk.

I climbed outta there and I went
outside and I got, went up under

them trees and I'm looking up at them
stars and I called, I called God out.

I said, okay, God.

What, you know, and I started blaming him.

I was telling him, I says, I, I felt
like Lieutenant Dan and Bubba Gump, but

I didn't do all that cussing he did.

But that's how I felt
me and God was having.

And I, and I was trying to tell God.

I says, I said, I was head of
your TV ministry, you know,

I joined the Awanas Club.

That's what I told him.

I said, I was coaching the All Stars,
you know, after all the good things

that I did tried to do, you know,
and I was telling him, and, and,

and look at how you let it turn out.

You know, I was blaming it all on him.

And I said, you know, I don't, that's
how our mind works, you know, really.

It really is.

We, we, we blame shift and we put
it, you know, it's never our fault.

But Zach, I'm telling you,
he let me get through.

And I, and after I got through, I'm
sitting there and it was kind of quiet and

I heard him and he said, Johnny, you know,
my name's John, but my friend called me.

Johnny was, boy, God called me Johnny.

He said, Johnny, you know what he said?

I said, I don't care about all that.

And I'm thinking, don't
care about all that.

You know, you supposed to love
me or whatever, you know, I'm

thinking You don't care about that.

I'm thinking and myself.

And then he said it, I want you.

And I, I said, you want me?

I said, I want, he said it one more time.

He said, I want you.

And that was, that was all he said.

And I, and I remember
saying, well, you got me.

And I surrendered and I meant it.

And you know what?

I surrendered everything.

I surrendered my family.

Mm-hmm.

I surrendered the net business.

Wow.

I surrendered everything.

I, I'm just, yeah.

It's not, it's not that I want, I,
I'm concerned about this one area.

I've already done all that.

Yeah.

You know, he wants everything.

He wants it all.

He, yeah.

So when you say he spoke to you,
'cause you've said, I've heard

you tell this story many times.

I heard always tell it the same way.

Was it audible y Yeah, but
you know, it ain't like.

You hear it, but you don't know
if you really heard it in years.

But you hear it though.

Yeah.

I mean, I heard it, I heard
him say, I want you, it was

more I heard him call my name.

It was just an passing thought.

Yeah.

You, this was the creator.

Oh, no, no.

He said to you, said, when he said,
Johnny, I, I immediately knew.

He, he caught my attention and, and
I, so I knew when he talked and I

knew when he, when he quit talking
'cause it wasn't there, you know.

Wow.

And, um, so, and I'm going
to tell you just, hey, that

piece, I mean, it fell on me.

I went back in there and I
ain't slept three nights.

I went back in there and got
in that bunk and I slept.

They come wake you up seven o'clock.

So I ain't slept long, but
I'm telling you, when I got up

that morning, I felt different.

Mm.

I felt, I mean, I just felt different.

I got up and I went on out and there
was a bunch of men sitting on the porch.

They're out there smoking and like they
do in the mornings, you know, but there

was a dock down there on the lake.

There's a little bitty lake down there.

And, uh.

I'd been down there that late before and
in the mornings, didn't really know what

to say, you know, to pray or anything.

That's when you're supposed to do
your devotional and go, yeah, right.

Yeah.

But I went back down there this
morning and I'm sitting there on

that dock and, and on a bench.

And that water wasn't a ripple in it.

The sun's coming up over the trees.

There's not, it's quiet,
there's not, you know what?

The bird, you couldn't hear anything.

But I'm seeing that sun's kind of
shining in that water and kind.

There's something about light, the
sun, the light with God every time.

A couple times in my life when
God's really moved in my life, the

light's been there and that light
was in that water that morning.

And uh, and I sat there and I says,
I said, Lord, I says, I don't know.

I don't even know what to say.

I don't know what to pray.

I said, but I'm, all I know is
I meant what I said last night.

And I said, I Jesus.

I don't know where we're going.

I'm following you.

I said, I don't know where we're going
from here, but I'm going with you.

And that's all I know.

And that was my prayer.

I didn't know anything else, you
know, wasn't, and that's all I knew.

I said, I'm going, I meant what
I said and I'm going with you.

And when I went to get up a wild gobbler,
just gobbled seven times, I remember

he double gobbled, he gobbled once
and then double gobbled three times.

I remember that.

And it set me back down
on the, on the seat.

The her on the back of my neck stood up.

Uh, 'cause it, I'm like, what Andy World?

And I'm looking at Ain't no Turkey.

Where did that come from?

You know?

And I'm telling you, I get so
I, but I knew it was God, I.

I knew God.

He just answered my prayer through
a gob, a Turkey, and that's what

I, and I immediately got up.

This is what I'm talking about, the
belief, you know, come to belief.

And I, you know, it says, what does
this say in the Bible says, when you

believe that's what salvation is.

Belief that who he is, let me say, because
people watching, they don't know you.

And, and I know that that can probably
sound to some people like, so you heard a

Turkey and you, you knew it was the Lord.

And people who don't know you,
I can say, I can vouch for your,

your character and your sanity to
say, no, this, this is legitimate.

Like Johnny, whatever happened that
day that you, you sincerely believed.

That was somehow God was using
that sound and that moment to

convey his presence in your life.

Exactly.

And you know, now I had doubts right
then, you know, I, when I got up after

that happened, so I started going up
the hill and, and let me say, you're

not the kind of person that comes
up with this stuff all the time.

You don't walk around and
go, oh, that's all Bluebird.

That must mean something.

No, that's not you at all.

No, no.

So, you know, I just wanna give 'em
the context is to hear this and, and,

and immediately as I'm walking up
that hill though, there's this voice

telling me that, that that wasn't him.

There's a, there's a voice telling
me that wasn't him and I'm going.

You know, where's that coming from?

You know, that wasn't him.

There's this little doubt hanging on here.

Mm-hmm.

And I'm, I am thinking, no, that was him.

You know?

But I, I, I just remember it was almost
like Satan immediately was trying

to, I think he knew, I think Satan
knew I'm fixing to lose this guy.

Yeah.

This guy's fixing it.

Mm-hmm.

This guy's going the other way quick.

And, and I went up that hill and
those guys sitting there smoking

those cigarettes, I asked them,
they said, oh, how you doing Johnny?

Whatever.

I said, fine.

I said, I said, boy, that
Turkey Goggled didn't he?

They looked at me like I was nuts.

Like I had three eyes, you know.

I said, they said, what tur,
what are you talking about?

I said, y'all didn't hear that Turkey?

They didn't hear it.

Oh man.

And I looked, there's two guys standing
outside the kitchen over there.

They had to have heard it.

That Turkey was out.

I took off over there.

Same thing.

They ain't heard nothing.

I went in there and I ate my
breakfast, and I'm thinking about that.

So, do you know I'm processing this?

I mean, it happened.

And I'm thinking, where in the world?

You know?

So my last ditch e effort to
prove that, that it wasn't God.

I, I was going to put my tray up and
the manager was sitting there, Mr.

Perry.

And, uh, Mr.

Perry said, how you doing Johnny?

And, but you know, Zach, he said, I said,
I'm doing good after I'm, and uh, he says,

you know, he looked at me, he says, you
know, you look like you're doing better.

He saw something in me immediately.

I just surrendered to the
king the night that night.

You know, the next day
all this is going on.

But he, he said, you look
like you're doing better.

He said, but I said, let
me ask you something.

He said, what's that?

I said, how long you been here?

And he said, I've been
here about five years.

And I said, have you ever,
uh, seen a, have you ever

heard any turkeys around here?

And he looked at me laughed.

He said, no, ain't there,
ain't no turkeys around.

I hadn't.

I said, you ain't seen a feather a track,
you ain't not a Turkey ring anywhere.

He says, no Uhuh.

He laughed and he said something
about, uh, about 20 miles down

there that that horse farm we
gonna lay some sod at and all that.

They got turkeys down there,
but I hadn't seen anything here.

He said, why?

I said, oh, no, no problem.

I went on over there and I put my
tray down and I walked outside.

Zach and I, I just looked up at
Sky and I said, God, I heard you.

And, and I looked back.

That was a covenant.

God made a covenant me
through a wild Turkey.

But, and I always looked back to that
day, any, any of my baddest days.

Now, in 24 years, I walked,
I can look back to day.

That was, that, that was the
moment that me and God and, and

that he, he spoke back to me.

But the, the proof in the pudding is.

As I go out to work that day,
I go out to work in the garden

and I'm hoeing cantaloupe.

They, uh, they, they called
my name over the loudspeaker,

Johnny Burbank to the office.

Johnny Burbank come to the office.

So now I ain't been there,
but what, two weeks, right?

So I go to the office and the little
guy up there, the office says, uh,

just wanna let you know you're gonna
be going out to work in the morning.

And I said, going out to work.

I said, you're not, you can't go out
to work till you've been here like

90 days, three months, you know?

And, uh, the bullet boys
said, I, I don't, Mr.

Burbank.

I don't know.

Uh, I'm just telling you what
they told me to tell you.

So immediately the rules
were getting broke my favor.

Mm.

Somehow.

So the next day I, the, the, the way that
you responded, I, I'm just reminded, you

know, we're in Luke studying through the
Gospel of Luke right after, you know,

Jesus has been raised from the dead.

Which is just as bizarre to them
as God speaking through a Turkey.

Right.

You know, and Jesus has
been raised from the dead.

Two of the people that they
knew and trusted came back

and said, I, we've seen him.

He comes through the wall into the
room that the disciples are sitting

in and he says, behold the scars.

Even with him, right in front of him, it
says that they were bewildered and not

sure exactly what was going, you know?

Right.

It's just, that's how our mind works.

We're not accustomed to the supernatural.

We're not accustomed to divine encounters.

And what you, the, the struggle
you were having is, is typical when

somebody has that kind of Right.

That kind of sign.

Yeah.

But, but you, you, you got confirmation.

You're verifying it.

Then this opportunity opens up.

What then?

I, I immediately, I go out to work.

Um, first day on the job, you
know, I meet, uh, CL Tucker at,

uh, feed the largest feeding seed
in McCrae, Georgia, or the largest

area seed store right there.

Um, Tucker Seed and, um, throw,
he, he, for immediately CL

Tucker tells me his story.

He's a recovering alcoholic.

He was on the, he is on the
board at the Bridges of Hope.

And, uh, he's passed away now,
but, and I go back to work.

So I'm back there sweeping
floors, stacking seed, checking

rat traps, and who'd I meet?

I meet, his grandson happened to be
there and they called him Little Tuck.

Mm-hmm.

So here's Little Tuck.

And it dawned on me that that school
was in session and I asked Little Tuck,

I said, how come you ain't in school?

Well, turned out he was
suspended, alcohol and marijuana.

So my first day on the job, I'm, when,
when I say first day on the job, I

ain't talking about the seed and feed.

I'm talking about my first
day on the job with Jesus.

Yeah.

He's got me witnessing to a teenager and
I told him, and I, I told him the story.

I said, well, you ain't
gonna believe this.

I just surrendered to Jesus Christ
last night and then this morning of,

or it was two days, two days ago.

And then, uh, he answered me through a,
a wild gobbler and now I'm, I'm walking

with Jesus, you know, I'm telling you the
first day on the job, you know, here we

go, my testimony, and, and here we, and.

If things got good, God blessed me there.

You know how you get, I tell
Robin, get mad at me because

I said I was exalted in rehab.

You know, I got to where I
could take, I had my own truck.

I could take any of the guys
with me that wanted to work.

We'd doing all kind of stuff.

We was working at C'S house,
doing that kind of stuff.

I mean, I was just kinda
exalted rehab, making money.

Yeah.

Sending some money home, you know?

Well, that's the nature of
when God's favor is on you and

you're fully surrendered to him.

You know, we could see, we can see
Joseph exalted as Prime Minister

of Egypt, but also as a prisoner.

Right.

And, but God's favor.

It, it expresses itself in
different ways like that.

Exactly.

Exactly.

And you know, then one day I come
in, um, from Word and they said, uh.

Mr.

George wants to see you.

And I said, oh, no, Mr.

George wants to see you.

And I, I thought maybe he
wanted me to do my fifth step.

And alcohol is no four steps.

You make a search in the fearless moral
inventory of himself, and the fifth step

is you share it with another human being
and God, the exact nature of your wrongs.

And, but I hadn't done before step
yet, and I, oh, he's gonna get on me.

But that what it was.

I came in, he sat down and he
says, uh, he said, boy, let

me, let me tell you something.

He says, um, I know you're doing good.

And sobriety comes first.

I know you're doing good here.

He said, but I'm building a new
Bridges of Hope in Louisville, Georgia.

And he said, I'd like for you to go.

And, uh, I said, okay.

I said, but I said, Mr.

Georgia, I don't know nothing about.

I said, I'm a net man.

I said, I don't know nothing about
building any buildings and all that.

And he said, I know, I know.

He said, but I just feel you
got some leadership qualities.

I want you to go.

And, uh, but he said,
but you don't have to.

He says, uh, but make your mind
that they or I was leaving.

I said, I said, I think about it,
you know, he said, well, think quick.

I noticed they was loading the
truck with bricks out there.

When I came in.

He says, that's your ride out there.

I said, oh.

So I was walking back to the dorm
and I was thinking, wait, if I go

there, I'm gonna be working for
the Bridges not making no money.

God's blessing me here.

You know, I'm being blessed.

But that I heard the voice.

I heard it again.

And he called me right at it.

And he said, Johnny, he called
me on, he always calls Johnny.

Johnny, you said you would go
and do something like that, you

know, to that, I mean, I knew.

I stopped in my tracks.

I said, oh, you're the, you're
the one wanting me to go.

I said, I understand.

So I turned right around.

I went back in there.

I didn't tell Mr.

George that I, I said, Mr.

George, if you want me to go, I'll go.

But I was going because I
knew it was what, right.

I, I thought it was what
the Lord wanted me today.

And I, so I went in there
and packed my stuff up.

Boom.

I was in that truck, ended
up in Lewisville, Georgia.

I get to Lewisville, Georgia and it's hot.

Oh, it's 110 degrees.

We dig footers to fix, to pull concrete,
to, uh, raise this big building up on.

And, uh, I don't know, it was just,
and it was these other 12 guys there.

They was all, you know,
I don't want to judge.

I don't want to judge 'em.

But they were all lost.

They was worried about watching
wrestling on tv, arguing over

what tv, you know what I mean?

And, but anyhow, I started
questioning God again.

I was like, it's almost like.

You know, and I quit praying, kinda, I
don't know, I kind of got downhearted.

I just was going through a season
there and I, I just remember it

and I, I almost came to blows with
a guy and he didn't wanna be there

no more than I wanted to be there.

And we almost came blows.

And, but through that, it made me
realize how far I'd slipped from God.

You know?

I was, I was in there walking
with Jesus and everything's good.

I get over there, run against
some opposition things on, and

immediately I, I, I, I backslid,
you know, but I realized it.

And the Holy Spirit, I, I, it.

And I went in there that night and got on
my knees, and I asked God to forgive me.

I said, Lord, I said, Lord,
forgive me for feeling like this.

I, I, you've been so good to me.

You know, what am I doing?

You know, but I, and I'm
gonna tell you something.

The grace fell back on me that, I mean,
immediately I felt that feeling again.

You know what I mean?

It's like he let me drift.

But when I came back and when I repented,
boom, that grace was back on me.

So the next day, I just went
out with a new attitude.

Let's dig, let's build
this thing, you know?

And, uh, the mud was coming.

I had my boots on.

We getting ready to pour some concrete.

Well, about 10 o'clock that day,
just how quick everything's happened.

The manager comes by and said, Johnny,
the, uh, do you know something about nets?

Somebody said, you knew you
knew something about nets.

I said, yeah, I know a little bit why I.

And, uh, he said, well,
there's some Mennonites.

I said, some what?

He said, Mennonite.

I said, what in the world's a Mennonite?

He said, well, they got beards and
the women wear long dresses and they

got their own church, you know, and,
uh, that's about all I really know.

But they got, they got these catfish
ponds and they got a catfish scene

and they called a big stump in it.

And I heard him talking at, at
the hardware store, and I thought

you might could help him with it.

And, uh, I said, yeah, I
probably could, you know?

So he said, okay.

And, uh, that night he told me, he
said, uh, the Mennonites gonna come

by and pick you up in the morning.

So this little old bitty man
with a beard, come pick me up the

next morning in this old truck.

And we get back over there and here's
about seven or eight Mennonite men.

They got the net spread out on the
side of the road, big rip in it.

And they said, can you, can
you do anything with that?

And I, I said, yeah.

I said, uh, I said, y'all
have any, uh, twine?

Uh, a needle or you go, ain't
twine to patch it with, you know?

And they said, we got, well, we got a
patch kit they sent with a net, and it was

a ball of twine with a needle stuck in it.

So I got that and, uh, and
I said, anybody got a knife?

Which they all had knives in there.

So I got a knife and I threaded
that needle and I mended that rip in

that net and just a matter of time.

And they're all, where'd you learn that?

What'd you do?

And I said, well, I've been doing
this since I was eight years old.

You know, that's what I am.

I'm, I'm a professional net baker.

Been building nets my whole life.

What are you doing here?

I said, well, I'm an alcoholic,
you know, and I'm trying to

get my life straightened out.

Well, here we go.

Well, the, that particular saying
belonged to one man, but there was a

community, Mennonite community saying
that they had been praying about because

it was about to fall out the lines.

It was old and, and they didn't
have the money for a new one.

And, uh.

They was just, and they knew, and
to take it back and get it fixed and

Mississippi was gonna be about $6,000.

They really didn't feel
like they had that.

So they've been praying about this thing.

And uh, Allen was one of the pastor's
sons, and, and he happened to be

kicked out of the fold at that time.

Now he's still saying in Catfish,
he still can go to church, but he's

kind of outta the fold because he
had fell off of one of those big

sprinkler systems and hurt his back.

He got hooked on pain pills and he
is flying around acting like a nut.

And the elders, they called him in.

They, they, they called him in and
addressed the situation and he didn't

repent like they wanted him to.

And so he kicked out a fold.

That's the way the Mennonites do.

So here we go.

I meet Alan, he's out the fold
with a, with a drug problem.

But we, but the problem is
they got this old, this net.

He takes off and go, gets it,
and brings it back, spreads

it out, say, can you fix this?

And I looked at it, I said, well, yeah,
it's going to need a lot of mending,

probably going to need some webbing,
needs to be rehung, you know, and

we're talking 1600 foot long net now
it's going to take a little while.

So they said, will you do it?

I said, well, yeah.

I mean, I don't got nothing else to do.

I said, but I belong to the Bridges.

I'm over here at the Bridges of Hope.

You gotta go ask them.

So Allen, when he go takes me back,
he's asking what after to call Mr.

George.

And they, they said, Mr.

George, the Mennonites want
Johnny to come fix their catfish

saying and work with them.

And, uh, would that be all right?

And he's laughing on the
other end, I can hear him.

He said, yeah, yeah.

Let him go.

I ended up, I have my own net shop rehab.

Wow.

And, but I started going with those
Mennonites every day, but then I

started going to church with 'em.

I'm in Sunday school with the
Mennonites and we're talking about

whether sin or not to have air
condition in a tractor, or is it, yeah.

Is it increasing production,
theological, yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, radio was definitely out.

Young guys wanted radio,
that kind of stuff for them.

That's a, those are big, big because,
and, and what they do, one thing I really

like that those communities do is if
something new comes along like that,

rather than everybody adopted, they'll
have one family and they'll let the,

like, like for example when, um, when
cell phones came out, they would let one

family have a cell phone and they'd watch
and see how did it affect their marriage,

how did it affect them as parents?

All this kinda stuff.

And if it seemed like it was a
positive spiritually right, then

they would spread it to more people.

So I, I've always thought that's
kind of a brilliant way to.

You know?

Yeah.

Test something out.

Well, you know the tv, they
called it the One-Eyed Devil.

Yep.

Yeah.

So that was not allowed.

Right.

But they all had cell phones.

Yeah.

They knew if the Atlanta Braves
was winning and they knew.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And all that kind of stuff.

And, uh.

But it was just neat and, and going,
you know, we'd, uh, go to church with

'em and they'd, you know, they had
three pastors and every one of 'em

was ready to preach every Sunday.

But they would, they'd get, but
those three pastors would gather

back there and they would pray.

And they were one that felt led.

That was the one that
gave the sermon that week.

And, uh, and I mean, they was preaching
the word and, and, uh, I didn't know it

at that time, but God showed me later on.

I, I know.

Or we could talk for days, but God showed
me later on that the power's in the word.

Mm.

And uh, and I, I need to really tell that.

But those menonite, so I have
built a relationship with 'em, and

we sain and I rebuilt that scene.

I built 'em a new one.

And you know, I'll tell you
something else that happened.

It's really, really unique.

While I was in there, I'm over
there building a brand new

scene in Allen's backyard.

And this one particular
day, I'm there by myself.

Allen had to take Liz to the doctor.

So I'm at their house by
myself in the backyard.

I got a tractor, got the sane pulled, tied
to a oak tree over here and pulled tight.

And I'm hanging, I'm putting floats on the
top line, putting lids, and then the bunt

on the bottom line, you know, and all.

And as I'm going, I hear this loud noise.

I hear this truck.

And I could, and I started
smelling, uh, chicken manure.

Here's this truck over there
spreading this ammonia or

chicken manure on a, in a field.

I could see him over there.

And, but when he gets through with
that field here, he comes flying up in

the, in the yard, that big truck, and
this big old huge man gets out with his

overalls on, and he walks over there
and he says, whoa, what are you doing?

I said, I'm, I'm building
this catfish thing for Allen.

And he said, Hey, and he's watching me.

And Where'd you learn how to do that?

I said, well, I've been
building nets my whole life.

And I told him a little
bit about the nets.

He said, well, what are you doing here?

You ain't no Mennonite?

I said, no, I'm, I said, I'm
an alcoholic, an alcoholic.

I said, yeah.

I said, yeah, I'm over here
at the Bridge of Hope, trying

to get my life straight down.

I mean, know, you know, and he, we talked
a little bit more and all that, but

right before we left, he says, hang on.

He says, he says, you want to
not never want to drink again.

I said, I said, well, do I, I said, yeah,
that's what I'm up here for, you know.

And he said, hang on.

So he goes back to the strut and
he comes back with this little

one of them little old flip pads
and a little wore out pencil.

Looked like a pup putt pencil.

And he said, write your name on there.

I wrote John Burbank.

And, uh, he folded it up and put
it in his, in his overalls and, and

left, you know, didn't say nothing
else and just said, I see you.

And then he left.

That's all he, and I'm, I
go back and hang on my dad.

I, I'm thinking the twilight.

I ne ne, you know what I mean?

And, you know, I forgot about that
for, and, and, uh, but it was about

two weeks later, couple weeks later,
happened to be the same situation.

Allen and them had to go somewhere.

Some, I was by myself again in
that backyard hanging on that net.

I smelled fertilizer.

I looked over there.

There he is on another field over there.

I see him over there, you
know, and I'm wondering if he's

going to come or not today.

You know?

And sure enough, he gets through,
he comes out in that big old

truck, and, uh, he gets out and
he says, you in the same place?

I said, yeah, but there
those big hydraulic reels.

So as I hang the top, whoop,
excuse me, you're okay.

As I'd hang the top, and I thought
with my hands, you know, I'd

hang the top and bottom line,
you'd reel it up on that thing.

So I'm in the same spot.

Looks like you.

But I, yeah, he was a kid with me.

He knew.

I said, all right, that's
bunching that up there.

And, uh, so we talked a little bit
and all that, and he said, oh, by

the way, so he went back to his truck
and he come back with that little

thing and he, he opened it up and
he tore it out and handed it to me.

He said, the elders of my church prayed
over your name, and they anointed it,

and there was an oil print on my name.

He says, you won't never
want to drink again.

I said, okay.

And he messed around and then left,
you know, left me holding that, holding

in that thing, and I'm thinking, so
I folded it and I got my wallet out

and I had a million, and Robin's
picture in there is one of those,

I had her picture on this side, me,
I put it in between their picture.

That's where I put it.

And I put it while and, and
didn't think much more about it.

But you know, you look back on
it and I never did after that.

The phenomenal we call it in the, in,
uh, alcohol No, or in in recovery.

We, it is called a phenomenal craving.

And that, that it is phenomenal.

That's the thing that gets you, that's
the one that takes 'em to the grave

and, uh, drugs, alcohol, whatever, is
phenomenal craving of the, of that.

But, but God took that away from
me and that was just one thing

that happened and I went on.

Well, it's, it's, it's fascinating to
see when, when you have these moments

where you get back in sync with the Lord.

You, you surrender to him.

Life is is ordinary life.

Oh, it's, it is, but it's beautiful.

Yeah, it is beautiful.

Raku the last 24 years has been
absolutely, you just wake up

wondering what's he going to do?

You know, that's what he did.

He kept just putting people, you
know, before I, before I ever went

to Louisville, I forgot about it.

There was a, they brought
a Sunday school lesson.

A blind Baptist deacon had lost his
sight to diabetes, and his and his

partner would walk him in, bring him in.

He taught his Sunday school.

And, you know, that was before then.

I just, different people
God puts in your life.

And I'll never forget that.

I'll never forget the, the day that, uh,
I, I came in there and I was a little

bit down and I did, I, I didn't say
anything but that Blind Baptist deacon.

He, he, he just, he, he said, Johnny.

What's wrong?

I mean, he just sensed it, just
sensed my f you know, and whatever.

But, and that was just another person,
but then I want to tell you about this.

So I did all that would've Mennonites
and, and, uh, going through all that time.

Stay.

John, what, what time
do you have to be done?

I just wanna make sure I don't, uh, 4 45.

Alright, we got, we got about 30 minutes.

Okay.

I just wanted get an idea.

I don't want Jack to be mad at
Yeah, no, I just gotta tell you.

And, uh, and, uh, so, uh, the
deacon, blind Deacon, yeah.

Blind, but, but, uh, yeah.

How God puts different people
in your life that old way.

But, but so this is, so I walk in
with, with all, with the Mennonites

and God's discipling me and going, you
know, and I'm gaining his faith and his

strength and, you know, that was the one
thing that I knew God, the Mennonites

needed a net man, but I needed faith.

Mm-hmm.

You know what I mean?

I, I needed some faith to get
me through this, you know?

And so, but it came time
by time for me to go home.

Now Robin started coming up,
brought the kids, and when I was

over with the Mennonites, we kind
of broke the rules a little bit.

'cause your family ain't
supposed to be able to come

see you except on family days.

But they came up and
stayed with the Mennonite.

Oh.

And you know, funny, it's funny
about the Mennonites and Robin.

So here, here comes Robin.

You know I told Robin, I said, don't
be wearing your leopard up there.

Yeah.

And your jewelry and all.

I said, you gotta come plain.

You know, plain is Robb.

She's a southern debutante
and the plain is robbing.

Could be.

We go.

And, uh, of course the women sit on one
side of the church and men on the other.

So Robin's sitting over there with them.

But afterwards, we all went and, and had
dinner at one of the midnight's house.

And, uh, I could hear them in the
kitchen, the women, and they was, they

was grilling Robin, checking Robin out.

Robin was telling 'em all at that
time, she was director, Jack and

Jill men, you know, and everything.

Well, Robin excused herself to go
to the restroom, and I could hear

those Mennonite women in there.

One of 'em said, oh,
she's going to heaven.

Oh, she's, she's going.

Yeah.

You know what I mean?

They was in there taking her
inventory, you know, bless my heart.

But, uh, but anyhow, Robin and
the family got to come and see me.

So when I got out, I was coming back home.

I mean, God had done restored.

That was that scary.

Going back into real life.

Well, here's, let me tell you, as,
as, as it came down to the wire, okay?

I'm going home in a.

In two weeks, man, I
started getting scared.

Oh, buddy.

I started my mind, you know,
you, and this is one thing Mr.

George taught me.

You know, your mind's a powerful thing.

Yeah.

All of us.

It's our own worst enemy.

Yeah.

We're, we're our worst enemy.

If we, if we leave our mind.

And that's, I guess, that God
te teaches us, you know, to

control your thoughts, you know?

And, uh, because your mind, so my Board
of Wills started turning my mind, and

I started crying out to God again.

I started praying.

I said, Lord, I, I need something else.

I, I don't know, I don't know what else
you got for me, but I need some, I don't

feel like I, and I, I was reminding
God, I said, there's a liquor store on

every corner, you know, in front of me.

Well, and it's funny how.

So many people avoid
rehab because of fear.

Yeah.

They're afraid to go into it.

But, but once you've recovered to,
to some degree, real life, boom.

Now, now that's that.

I've got you in the shape to begin with.

I'm not, I'm just, you know, I'm
like, I'm telling God, I said, God,

you know, I, I'd just soon, let's
stay up here with the Mennonite.

I'll be a farmer.

I didn't learn how to drive a
tractor dog, you know, but, but I

knew, but where does God send me?

He sent me right back, you know, and
I told God, I says, I said, Lord,

I fell on my face time after time.

They all know me.

There is the town drunk, you
know, they all know to fail.

I'm a failure, you know, the big loser.

I used to do like that.

I put the big loser on my head, but.

But that was, you know, and, and
I didn't hear nothing from him.

Didn't hear nothing from him
while, and then one Saturday on

the weekends, I didn't work with
him, Mennonites just a week.

But this one particular Saturday called me
in and said, Hey, the Mennonites is here.

Wanted to know if you'll work,
go help 'em in Augusta today.

I said, oh yeah, 'cause
I love being around them.

I said, oh yeah, I'll go.

So we went to Augusta, me and Allen
and his daddy, they had some rental

properties in Augusta, Georgia, and
they had this big gas tank up, up the

hill, and they wanted to run a gas line
down to the rental unit down below.

And, uh, so we was just digging a,
a line, gonna run a line underground

down there, doing that all day long.

And I was too embarrassed
to tell 'em that.

I was embarrassed to tell 'em that
I was scared about going home.

Now here I was, all that I was
supposed to be full of faith, them

been walking with 'em in the word,
you know, supposed to be strong.

And here I was scared to
death that about failing.

And, uh, and I didn't, I
didn't wanna tell him back.

Allen.

So we get in the truck to go home.

Allen said, Hey, before I take you
back, I'm going to feed you a steak.

I said, that sounds good.

So we went to the Western Sizzler in
Augusta, and uh, we're sitting there,

Allen's sitting over there like you are,
and we're looking, talking and each other,

and Allen starts grinning and laughing.

I didn't know what he was doing.

And all of a sudden this huge
black man walks up and he's just

chiseled out of a piece of granite.

Turns out that he's an ex St.

Louis Cardinal football player.

He owns, he owns half the Gold's Gym
and he owns that Western Sizzler.

And he sits down and Alan introduced him.

We start talking.

He was a, as the guy was telling
you, he's like a walking king James.

He quoted scripture to everything
we went to say he had a scripture

that related to what was going on.

He just, just just kept on and on.

And I'm sitting there listening and
listening and there was another gentleman

sitting over here eating a steak.

He kind of got in on a conversation.

Next thing I knew, this
man led him to the Lord.

And they, at then, they was
exchanging phone numbers.

He was gonna pick him up and
take him to church Sunday.

Mm-hmm.

And he, but he accepted to Christ
right in front of my, and, and

that, and I just never forget it.

And, and we were going home,
uh, Allen taking me back.

It just dawned on me how power
it just, it, I was intrigued.

Power of the word.

I was just went to bed that
night thinking, and I was

just laughing about it.

I said, Alan, you ever heard?

He says, no.

That guy, he, he knew
the scripture, didn't he?

I said, oh, yeah.

I went to bed that night thinking about,
uh, how powerful the word of God is.

The next morning, Sunday, here
come the Baptist Deacons in

with a Sunday school lesson.

But, uh, this particular, uh,
doodle wasn't with him this week.

It was just Barry and, uh, but he had
a, had this skinny white boy with him,

with long blonde hair, and he had on a
Jesus Freak T-shirt, and he kinda remind

my brother during the surfing days,
Tommy, you know, and, uh, but guess what?

He, he started interacting
with those guys in there.

He could, he was quoting scripture.

Just off the top of his head,
like it was nobody's business.

And just, and I was sitting there
listening, and then I heard that voice

again, that voice, that same voice.

He said, Johnny, he says, my
word is going to keep you sober.

My word is your strength.

And, and it was like, oh, that,
that same feeling, same feeling as

when I, when I received salvation.

Same feeling that, that night at three
o'clock in the morning, same one when

I, I kneeled down and surrendered again,
you know, and asked for forgiveness.

That same feeling, just, just
that warm feeling fell over

me and boom, I was at peace.

That was, that was it.

I knew.

So, so going back to, going back to
Fernandina, coming back into reality.

Did, did the family and the
business receive you back with open

arms and say, now you're sober.

You did good before, but
you're gonna do so much better?

No, not right off.

Not right off the bat.

When I, when I first, when I
first came back, I started working

for a, a boy that I had trained
in the shrimp, that business.

It had his own business.

And I went, so I started, I went
back and I was working with him.

We was building shrimp nets.

He, and, uh, that's a whole nother
long story, but that's where I was at.

But the key to the thing about
what happened was though, is me and

Robins driving back from up there,
I'm thinking about what God told me

about the power of being his word.

I'm already kind of thinking,
planning out what I'm gonna be

doing, you know, and I really didn't
know where I was gonna work then.

But I told, I said, well, you know,
I don't need to go back to aa.

Because they, they're not
teaching the word over there.

You know what I mean?

The word's being taught at church is where
we go, so I need to get my Bible out.

I need to go back to church.

But that voice, Jesus
says, oh, no, no, no, no.

He stopped me, dead my tracks when
I, by that thought, he said, no,

you're going back over there because
you're going to tell 'em about me.

Mm-hmm.

And I said, I said, Lord,
I'm gonna tell 'em about you.

I says, you know, they don't
talk about Jesus over there.

You know, not saying that some,
that's not their higher power.

Right.

But it's not, it's not pushed.

Yeah.

And, and the Bible's not open over there.

Whatever.

Jesus said, no, you're going back
over there to tell 'em about me.

You know?

I said, okay.

And I did.

And I remember when I went over there,
and as, as time went on, it was just,

but here's what, here's what, and
this was the biggest big, one of the

biggest things in my whole recovery,
and walked my walk with God two weeks.

I what?

It was about two weeks.

Well, it was about two weeks in.

I'm going over there to the mail
room, that's what it's called.

And, uh, I'm breaking all the anonymities.

But, you know, I feel like one, one of the
things wrong with alcohol is anonymous.

It's a little too anonymous.

Yeah.

That's, that's something I've noticed
in this community especially, um, you

know, culture's changed and the way that
the taboo of alcoholism, but, but that's

changed in this community, in, in region.

It has changed.

Yeah.

And you're probably a lot of the
reason for that is just I take the

blame, you know, you've got to at
some point, um, you recognize that,

that we're all broken somehow.

And, and it's, it's not something
to hide in shame, you know, it's

the kind of thing that, that the
light bring it into the light.

And, and there's a lot of hope there.

I'm glad that there's
anonymity to start with.

'cause some guys would never
go Right exactly for that.

And I think that's, that's the reason.

But eventually it's, there's not
shame, but that's, there's healing.

And that's when you get healed, right?

That's when, when you admit
and, you know, and, uh, there's

a funny story about that too.

But, but this big thing, Jack, so I'm
going about two weeks in, I'm going to

the mail room and I'm sitting there and
I'm looking over there and there's this

chalkboard and you could barely read it.

And, and, but I think I'm looking at that
thing, trying to figure out what it says.

And, uh, finally I asked this old timer
in there, I said, what, what does that

chalkboard, what does that say up there?

He said, he said, oh,
that's the jail ministry.

I said, what?

The jail ministry?

He said, yeah.

He said they used to carry a meeting
out to the Nassau County Jail on

Tuesday nights at seven o'clock.

And I said, they don't do it anymore.

He says, ah, it ain't nobody's been in
a couple years that I know of, you know.

And he said, why?

I said, oh, oh, don't worry about it.

And I.

When I heard the jail, I said,
well, I'm trying to stay outta jail.

But that thing called my, every
time I went in there, I'm going,

and finally I said, I said Jesus.

I said, Lord, you want
me to go to the jail?

I didn't hear nothing this time.

I didn't hear nothing, but I knew,
I said, I said, I'll go to the jail.

And as soon as I said that, that feeling,
it just like that was my reaffirmations.

It's just like fresh wind.

I always think about,
well, Jim Sim, fresh Wind.

Fresh fire.

Mm-hmm.

That's what it remind me of is,
uh, boom, he just kicked me out.

I said, I knew it was right.

Yeah.

So what I do next Tuesday night,
I grabbed the alcoholics, no book

grabbed the big book they call it.

And uh, I go out there
and I, and it's do jail.

And I knock on the, I knock on the
door and the guy comes and I said, uh,

I, they used to have a, a jail, uh,
alcoholic Anonymous meeting out here

at seven o'clock on Tuesday nights.

I was just wondering if I can have one.

And the guy, you know, he
kinda, he said, I, I don't know.

He said, but I, I'll check,
see, well, about 10 minutes

later he comes back, come on in.

I went in there.

They didn't ask me for my
driver's license, didn't even

ask me for my name, nothing.

I go back there and there's a
picnic table outside the pod.

In the old jail.

You could see in the pod, you
see all the guys in there.

So I'm sitting down at the picnic table
and the guard goes over there, opens

the door, and he hollers aa, aa meeting,
you know, and, and they all looking

at it, you know, one guy comes out.

So me and one guy have a meeting and,
and we just talk and, and, uh, and

just had a AA meeting, you know, share.

There's just two of us.

So we had a long time to talk.

Then we got through, at, at the end
of every AA meeting, we all hold

hands and say The Lord's Prayer.

Our father, we are in heaven.

So me and him held hands
and said The Lord's Prayer.

All those guys watched it.

So there, there we go.

Next week I go back out there again.

Well, this time there's
about 12 guys came out.

We had a meeting, went on next time,
about 17, next time's about 30.

Next time it was getting big.

So just, just there we go.

Having meetings at the jail.

Having meetings at the jail.

And then we moved from the old jail to the
new jail when out there and the new jail,

you go out there and get buzzed in ya
going and you gotta sign up there walking

the mile over the, over the old pod.

And so I did that for 16 years.

Wow.

And uh.

I'll never forget the first time I
really, the really big breakthrough

is one, I took Tony Nolan in there
and, uh, you know, he's an evangelist.

Evangelist, yeah.

And Tony was coming to do a, a crusade,
or a revival revival at our church.

And I asked Tony if
he'd go to jail with me.

He said, ah, sure.

He put his leather jacket on,
kind of kicked his hair up.

Crazy.

And we went in there that
night and 27 got saved.

Wow.

I mean, he, he just, you know
how he does, you know, he just,

he's telling him how he grew up.

His mother was a prostitute and
he was a drug dealer, sin city.

That's where Tony grew up, is in,
uh, Atlantic Beach over there.

Sent what they call Sin
City in Jacksonville.

And, uh, he sucked 'em all in and all
then he just flipped the switch and who,

what he is now, what he's doing now,
and how much God loves him and all that.

And you could just see him, you know,
he just, just, the guys just remember.

And so that, and that's
the way it went over time.

I, I can't tell you how many got
saved over there in 16 years.

It was just at, at some point you're,
you're clean, you're sober, you're

serving Jesus, and you're, you're
faithful in the word and church.

At what point did you look at those shrimp
nets and say they could be something more,

you know?

Well, um, before I ever got sober,
you know, we had kind of switched

from, uh, or, or we started filling
in with baseball during the slow

times of the shrimp net business.

I mean, we were all about, you know,
making money and doing what and

survive and doing what you need to do.

So that was already kind of
there, but it was in rehab.

It was in, it was up there sitting,
sitting on the porch out there with know.

As long as I was thinking, and, and you
know, at first when I was in rehab, I,

at Bridge of Hope, Bri, I was thinking,
I don't know if I'm gonna do nets.

I, I might be a farmer, right?

Meite or I don't know
what I'm gonna to do.

That's all I ever done, but I don't know
if I'm gonna do that or, but then what?

But then God hooks me up with the
midnight, so I'm building catfish things.

Mm-hmm.

I say, okay, God, I'm gonna be a net man.

You know, I kind of, I
kind of took that on.

I'm gonna be a net man until I die.

So, but I gotta thinking, I
said, you know what though?

Those long days of building shrimp nets,
12 hour days trying to make it ends meet,

we'd it done been in baseball long enough.

I knew it was more profitable.

And I done I, I and I, but I asked
the Lord, I said, Lord, if it's all

right with you, I think I just want
to go back and do baseball and sports.

And these are the nets, like at the
backstop back, the backstops, the batting

cages, all the screens and everything.

And I'd already started installing.

I, I actually put my first backstop
up when I was about 16, about when,

when my mama died, and uh mm-hmm.

So I'd been doing it a long time,
but it's hard, you know, it's

hard to install backstops and do
anything, drink, you know, drunk.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So it's hard to do a sofa, I Sure, yeah.

But it is a lot easier
sofa and, uh, and so.

When I came back, that was, in my
mind, that was the vision I had.

But I didn't know how
I was gonna get there.

I was just one day at a
time, one step at a time.

And, but, and actually I tell
everybody now, you know, it's like

I surrendered, I tried to write the
story of my life for 40 years, you

know, and I did a terrible job of it.

It, it got bad, you know what I mean?

It, it was a mess.

Yeah.

You know, I didn't wanna read it
and certainly nobody else would.

So that night, three o'clock
in the morning, I pretty much

just turned a pen over to God.

And I said, okay, you write it.

I'm going with you.

I dunno where we're going.

You write it.

And he, and that's the
way it's been ever since.

And he started writing this thing.

And, uh, so I get back and I'm
working with this other boy.

And then, and then at, at some
point, uh, my brother asked me

to come back to work for him.

I wasn't sure.

Wasn't sure about it, but, you
know, and I prayed about it.

I, I actually took Robin and my kids, we
all went out and met with him and all,

but it was something, something there.

The family and I'm, I'm a family guy.

Mm-hmm.

Family means a lot to me.

And so I, but I told, I told
him, I said, I'll come back.

I said, but I'm not doing
shrimp nets anymore.

And nothing again, I love the
shrimp and I miss that, you know?

I said, but I'm, I wanna
go sports baseball.

I, I done made up my mind that,
oh yeah, yeah, that's fine.

So let's do it.

And so we did.

And God just blessed us and, and
we built a beautiful business.

And, uh, he put, you know, people in my
life, he put a son-in-law in my life.

A great Christian man, as good as gold.

And Utah, one of the biggest
blessings of my life has been him.

Hmm.

And, uh, just how, how
it is all turned out.

I can tell.

I can tell and I can, I can see the way
that you've influenced Eli and, and the

impact that you've made in his life.

And that's been, that's
been beautiful to watch.

Yeah.

And, and that works both ways.

Yeah.

What a great, what a blessing.

Tell me, tell me about netting
professionals right now.

Not to, you know, toot your
horn or whatever, but just to

show what God's done, um, you
install for the Atlanta Braves.

Atlanta Braves.

And who are some of the pro teams?

Rockies?

Uh, I did, uh, the Washington National's
new stadium when it was built.

Fastest stadium ever built.

We was in the middle of that.

Me and one guy showed up, they
want to know where the crew was.

I said, you're looking at it.

And about four days later we were
waving by and, uh, division one.

Division one, just about.

Oh, you know, all the A-C-C-S-C-C
schools and all over in Oklahoma

and out in that area, Oregon.

Uh, it's, it is unbelievable.

I've seen, I've seen pictures of you
with, you know, legendary coaches.

Yeah.

You've met so many people.

So many people.

Just, and just to watch, you know,
just like we said earlier, if, if

the Irish had been sober, you know.

Yeah.

What done Exactly.

You know, it's never too late.

No.

And how old were you when you 40, 40
years old when I got sober, 40 years

old and, and didn't, we didn't start
netting professionals until I was 50.

So at 50, kind of at 52, I think 52.

This, this, this amazing
business that, that you've been

able to build at 52 years old.

Um, our Lord can restore the
years, the locust of eating.

He can, he can, you know, and I see
you and Robin and, and just a, uh.

I, I, I don't know anybody who
would look at y'all's marriage

and not envy what y'all have.

Y'all are best friends.

Oh, we are.

We've, we've been through it, you know,
and it was her faith and, you know,

before we even moved there, I wanna
say, will, you know, God put Will in

my life, will Miner is, uh, and Eli and
Amelia, they're like just best friends.

Mm-hmm.

And when we started that
business, God put us together.

You know, Will's a
brilliant mind and Right.

And, but he's a great
Christian, a good man.

He just talks too much.

That's his, yeah.

He, he don't say a whole lot,
but he, he's like EF hu though.

When he does say something, you listen.

That's true.

He is, he's a humble and a brilliant
guy and that you really gotta know.

You, you just love him.

And, uh, and Eli, it's, it
is been a beautiful thing.

And looking at, looking at it, I
mean, from, from your children,

you know, that your associates.

The losing your, losing your, your,
your building, uh, and then God

giving you a new, a new, new facility.

That state of the art, a new
facility, state of the art.

Um, just seeing all of those things I
from, from a a, a man who's not a pastor.

Right.

Um, I don't know many people
who've made the impact on the

community and a, a lasting legacy.

Well see, even like, like you see,
you don't realize this, but you don't,

you, you got your own ideas of how
you ended up in Fernandina, but you

don't realize, I prayed you here.

I'm certain, because it was a,
it was a time when, when our,

when our last pastor left and,
and, and uh, went somewhere else.

I'm saying like, oh, wait a minute,
now here's my, you know, because

the whole time I was sober, I
was under his tage, you know?

And I'm like, okay, God, now what?

What's this going on?

You know?

And you always have
different seasons, you know.

So, got a new season.

We had an intern, but the whole
time I'm praying, I said, alright,

Lord, I know the power's in the
word and I need somebody to.

I need that mainstay of my life
still bringing me to worse.

I start praying, praying, praying.

And how you got here.

You know, our, our, uh, team,
when Sue Ellen, it was a

little miracle to work there.

She ended up being chairman.

Next thing you know, boom.

Here comes, here comes
Zach, Terry, you know?

And, uh, and what a blessing
you've been in my life.

Well, it's been a amazing for us.

I mean, I've, I've hung on on
every word you've said, and

I've learned so much more.

Every, every, every sermon
there's something to be learned.

And it is, and other things that you've
taught, just like we was talking about

earlier, about being intentional,
never think about it and all that,

but when I, you know, in 24 years,
that's what God's called me to do.

Help others.

And in that alcohol abuse and drug
abuse, a lot of it is marriage.

It's a lot of relational, you know,
and I tell 'em all the time, I say,

look, if you want your marriage
to be work, you, you know, you

certainly, you gotta put God first.

You gotta be intentional.

Mm-hmm.

And you, you're what with God.

You gotta be intentional, right?

It ain't, you can't just sit
back and say, okay, God, do it.

Right.

No, you've gotta seek the word.

You've gotta go, you gotta
get up and go to church.

You gotta go help others.

Study the word you got,
you gotta be intentional.

And that's what anything, and the
business that's netting professionals,

we, we were intentional about
being the best and building a good

business, a good Christian business.

And, and we've definitely
succeeded in doing that.

And it's, it's been,
it's been a joy to watch.

And, you know, a lot of people
have preconceived ideas about

preachers, about First Baptist
churches, whatever it might be.

And so I hope, I hope a lot of people
see this, but I hope that the right

people see it, that see that you
and I have a genuine friendship.

Amen.

That it's like family.

Like I, amen.

I never knew you before we came here,
but it's just like we grew up together.

I, I'd never forget too, when you first
came United quiz you or you came in.

The, the body to ask you
questions and all that, right?

Somebody asked, you said,
what can we do for you?

How can we help you?

And all I remember, I'll never
forget you just said, be my friend.

Right.

Uh, just be my friend.

And, and, and that's what you,
I've seen, I've watched you grow.

I've sitting back, you know, I'm.

65 just turned 65.

And, uh, but I've saw, I've seen you grow.

I've seen your family grow.

I've seen your kids grow and there
it is been, it's been beautiful.

And it is, it's a ministry
That's probably, hopefully,

you know what I've got here.

I've got a awesome
congregation that's yes.

Very much filled with friends.

Not every pastor's got that.

And I think, I think preachers
just by nature can be peculiar

and difficult to connect with.

But, um, but you know, be
a friend of your pastor.

Exactly.

Some lonely people out there, you
know, and give 'em some space and go

and help 'em out when they need you.

I know, weird.

They, they're, they're a little weird.

Let 'em be that way.

Love them Anyway.

Um.

You've, you've been good to me and
brought me a, brought me a bag of shrimp.

Hey, well that's, you know, I don't,
that's like been a tradition of mine.

I used to do it for brother
Jeff and all, and that's one,

the only one thing I offered.

I still know the shrimpers.

I, I know what a fresh shrimp is.

That's right.

And, uh, it ain't some frozen
store ball thing, you know?

Right.

I like to get 'em fresh off the
boat caught that day and, uh, and

like to get 'em to you and that,
that's just my way of loving on you.

I don't know.

Well, it's, it's spelt I appreciate it,
you know, and, uh, and your family and,

and I tell you, the church has been such
a blessing to grow up so many people.

I mean, you see the mentors in there
that, that I've, I've held on to,

you know, and, and just growed over
the years, you know, just, you know,

you can hold on somebody else's faith
so long, but there comes a time when

you gotta cross the Jordan on alone.

Right.

And that's when you grow.

As you grow.

And I, well, my, my prayer in doing this
is that there's somebody watching that,

that hopefully they get a little glimpse.

Of what the future could be like.

Amen.

And, and it can.

Mm-hmm.

It can, but you got, and you gotta
realize no matter how, how far down

you've gone, no matter what stage of
life you're in or what you're doing,

no matter how wrecked your life is and
everything, you're just, all it is is one.

Surrender away.

That's right.

One.

And if, if the gospel doesn't
work, then it doesn't work at all.

It doesn't work.

Exactly.

Thank you for being here today, Johnny.

It's been a privilege to
have you in the studio.

I enjoyed it.

Cailin: We hope you've been
blessed by today's story.

In case you haven't noticed, there
are no advertisements on this podcast

and we hope to keep it that way.

So if you've heard something that you
think could help someone you know, please

share it using the link in the show notes.

Also, if you will give Faith and purpose a
positive review on your podcast platform,

you could help more people find it.

You'll probably never know
how that small effort.

Can make a big difference in someone's
life, but our Heavenly Father knows.

Speaking of sharing, if you know a Jesus
follower with a story to tell, please send

them a link to Faith and Purpose Podcast.

It may encourage them to tell their story.

That person may even be you.

Our only criteria is
that Jesus be glorified.

Most Christians don't share their
faith because they mistakenly think

their story is not interesting enough.

Or that it's self-centered to talk
about themselves or that they are

not competent to explain the gospel
correctly, but none of that is relevant.

If Jesus has changed your
life, you have a story to tell.

All of our stories are completely unique.

No one has a story like yours, and you
may be the only one who can reach someone

else through telling your experience.

So don't be intimidated.

A story is just that a true account
of your own experience, and no one

can disagree with your experience.

When we tell what Jesus has done in
our lives, we are being obedient to his

command to go into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature.

It's not about theology and it's not
about how interesting or special you are.

It's all about Jesus.

So when you are ready to tell
how Jesus has impacted your life,

you can let Jesse know at his
ministry website, jesse duke.net.

There you can download guidelines
that will make it easy to

prepare to tell your story.

Thank you for listening today and shalom.