Participants: Danny Shelton (Host), Pr. Rick Blythe
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY015081A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:29 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:07 Hello and welcome to another 3ABN Today program. 01:10 Thank you for joining us as you do each and everyday. 01:13 And thank you for your love and your prayers 01:15 and financial support of 3ABN as we endeavor to take this 01:19 great gospel of the kingdom into all the world. 01:22 One of the things that I know that you like, 01:24 because you tell us, is you like to hear testimonies 01:27 that God is still alive, He's on the throne, 01:30 He's ever interceding at the right hand of the Father. 01:33 And that He's coming back very soon to claim 01:36 those who are willing to accept His blood 01:39 and His righteousness, as an atonement for our sins 01:42 that we can live forever with Him in heaven. 01:44 And today, I have a friend. 01:47 I've starting to say an old friend, 01:48 but I need to watch out about that, a long time friend. 01:50 I think that would be better to say. 01:53 Pastor, Pastor Rick Blythe. 01:54 Rick, it's good to have you here. 01:56 It's good to be here, Danny. All right. 01:58 And our folk need to know and want to know 02:01 that God is still in control. 02:03 Amen. 02:04 And that He didn't somewhere go to sleep. He never sleeps. 02:07 He never slumbers 02:08 and you are a testament to that, aren't you? 02:10 I'll tell you what. 02:11 I'm evidence of that, I can tell you. All right. 02:14 That no matter where we come from, 02:15 God has a plan for our lives, is that right? 02:17 Amen. And we're gonna do a testimony. 02:20 We're gonna have a little bit of music before that. 02:22 But just to give us a little background, 02:24 where you are from right now? 02:25 Where do you live and what do you do? 02:28 Well, I'm actually from Piedmont, Alabama. 02:32 My desire was to have a, a church there in that area. 02:36 There wasn't a church, it was Dark County. 02:38 And by God's grace I was able to raise up the church there. 02:42 Okay. So I'm back home. 02:45 Semi-retired, still leading the Piedmont congregation. 02:48 All right. Good. Well, what we're gonna do? 02:50 He's got a tremendous background. 02:52 So call your friends, your enemies, everybody, 02:54 tell them to tune in to 3ABN. 02:56 Now, Brother Rick, I'm gonna Rick, okay? 02:59 It's Pastor Rick. Absolutely. 03:00 Brother Rick, we've been known each other. 03:02 I don't know since late '70s or early '80s or some... 03:04 Early '80s. Early '80s? 03:06 Actually before 3ABN was on the air I think. 03:09 That's exactly right. And so... 03:10 You told your story... 03:12 One of the first churches 03:13 to tell the story was in the Noblesville, Indiana. 03:15 That's right. 03:17 Which is about little less than 100 miles from here. 03:19 And you all there and your wife Ginger. 03:21 And of course, kids some of them 03:23 you may have not had then, 03:24 and some were really young may be, so. 03:26 Three girls and they all married 03:28 Seventh-day Adventist pastors. 03:30 Oh, well that's great. All right. 03:32 So, you also will talk about chat radio station 03:35 over there or its television station. 03:37 Television station. Yeah, downlink... 03:39 500, 500 foot tower. 03:40 Yeah, that's amazing. 03:42 So we go back along way, 03:43 so if you'll forgive us a little bit today. 03:45 But Rick and his family been a great support of 3ABN. 03:50 And we want to support them 03:52 because a testimony that they have. 03:54 Now I'll give you a little bit of hint 03:56 and then you can be thinking about it. 03:58 KKK, see what that stands for 04:00 to somebody listening right now. 04:02 That's probably gonna peak your interest. 04:04 But I'm gonna leave you on hold. 04:06 Well, we have Pastor John Lomacang. 04:08 And I appreciate and love Pastor John and his wife Angie. 04:12 But today John is gonna be singing 04:14 "Wonderful Merciful Savior." 04:32 Wonderful, merciful Savior 04:38 Precious Redeemer and Friend 04:44 Who would've thought that a Lamb could 04:51 Rescue the souls of men 04:55 Oh, You rescue the souls of men 05:06 Counselor, Comforter, Keeper 05:12 Spirit we long to embrace 05:19 You offer hope when our hearts have 05:25 Hopelessly lost the way 05:30 Oh, we've hopelessly lost the way 05:38 You are the One that we praise 05:44 You are the One we adore 05:51 You give the healing and grace 05:55 Our hearts always hunger for 06:02 Oh, our hearts always hunger for 06:09 You are the One that we praise 06:16 You are the One we adore 06:22 You give the healing and grace 06:27 Our hearts always hunger for 06:33 Oh, our hearts always hunger for 06:44 Almighty, infinite Father 06:50 Faithfully loving Your own 06:57 Here in our weakness You find us 07:03 Falling before Your throne 07:08 Oh, we're falling before Your throne 07:16 You are the One that we praise 07:22 You are the One we adore 07:28 You give the healing and grace 07:33 Our hearts always hunger for 07:40 Oh, our hearts always hunger for 07:47 You are the One that we praise 07:54 You are the One we adore 08:00 You give the healing and grace 08:05 Our hearts always hunger for 08:11 Oh, our hearts always hunger for 08:33 Amen. Thank you, Pastor John. 08:35 Well, aren't you glad 08:36 that God is wonderful and merciful Savior? 08:39 I mean, without a wonderful, merciful Savior, 08:42 none of us would be here today, would we? 08:44 That's exactly right. I'm... 08:47 I'm just so overwhelmed by the way God has led in my life 08:52 and the miracle after miracle. 08:55 Its... 08:58 It's so hard, I hardly believe in myself. 09:01 What we're gonna do today, 09:03 Rick's gonna tell a story to us. 09:05 Go in his background a little bit. 09:07 And I know you are really gonna be interested about it. 09:09 But I'm encouraging him to write a book 09:13 and I know you will too. 09:14 Because this is something I think that really 09:16 should be out there for the world to hear. 09:17 Let's take it back. 09:19 You are an Adventist pastor. 09:21 And as you mentioned you have several daughters, 09:23 they are all married to Adventist ministers. 09:26 And I'm sure you came from 09:27 a wonderful Seventh-day Adventist Christian home. 09:30 You probably never had a problem or care in your life. 09:32 You grew up with a silver spoon in your mouth. 09:34 How am I doing so far now? Not quite exactly. 09:37 Got it all backwards. All right. Well, good. 09:40 We want you to tell us. Tell us a little bit. 09:41 Man, you're about almost exactly the same age. 09:44 That's right. 09:45 And so I think you're two months older than me. 09:46 So I'll give you... 09:48 You know, I respect my elders. 09:49 I think you're born in March and me in May. Right. 09:51 But I want you to take us back 09:54 and tell us where you came from. 09:56 A little bit, where were you born and raised. 09:58 And tell us about your family. 09:59 Were you born in a Christian home 10:00 and give us a background. 10:02 Just take your time because it's an incredible story 10:05 of God's love and His mercy that you are even here today. 10:11 Exactly right. 10:12 And I, you know, I want to respond this, 10:14 something you said. 10:15 Yes, I wasn't raised in the Seventh-day Adventist home. 10:19 The only time I ever heard of an Adventist was in a joke. 10:23 I didn't even know what an Adventist was. 10:24 Oh, okay. 10:26 And I grew up in a very poverty conditions. 10:31 I was born in Piedmont, Alabama, 10:34 the very place that I raised up a church 10:37 and so I can have a church when I retire. 10:41 All right. 10:43 So, and actually I have a little picture of me 10:47 when I was, when a lot of this 10:50 was happening that I remembered. 10:51 Okay. All right. There we go. 10:54 Little red headed freckled fellow. 10:56 Okay. 10:57 And I was born in a small town in Alabama called Piedmont. 11:03 And I was-- to find out that very soon 11:07 that my father was deeply involved in the Ku Klux Klan. 11:11 Okay. Wow. 11:13 At that time I had no idea what it was. 11:16 But I just knew that he was into it. 11:19 Okay. 11:21 My father was very violent and a very abusive man. 11:27 But thank God I had a Christian mother. 11:30 And you know, if they gave medal of honor medals 11:34 to civilians, she would be one that got it. 11:36 Okay. All right. 11:38 My mother raised, there's four of us there, 11:41 but she actually ended up raising six children, 11:45 almost on her own. 11:46 Wow. 11:50 I like to give you a couple of stories 11:53 that happened when I was growing up, 11:56 that kind of illustrates my father. 12:00 One time I remember we were in town 12:04 and I have become thirsty, so I just bent down 12:08 to the water fountain, started taking the drink. 12:11 And all of a sudden I felt 12:13 this slap up to the side of my head. 12:16 My head went sideways and my head was just ringing. 12:20 And I remember my father saying, 12:22 "Boy, don't you ever drink from a colored fountain." 12:26 But he used the in word. Okay. 12:29 And he said, "You're liable to get sick. 12:31 You don't know what you're gonna get." 12:35 And this was... 12:36 I must been four, five years old and I... 12:39 But this is my early memories. 12:41 And I remember my dad... 12:43 We learned later that he actually 12:45 had another family in Birmingham 12:49 Oh, wow. Yes. 12:51 But he would, he would live there in comfort 12:55 and we lived in unpainted houses. 12:58 You know, the old, houses that are upon the stilts 13:02 and the dogs live under the boards, kit-- chickens. 13:05 Well, that was my life. Okay. 13:09 And he would come home on the weekends. 13:12 And oh, my... 13:14 Sometimes we would pray that he'd have to work over 13:17 or he have to work, so he wouldn't come home. 13:20 But I remember one night he came home. 13:23 My mother didn't know actually when he would arrive. 13:27 So she kept heating the supper, heating the supper. 13:31 He had stopped at a bar and he came home drunk. 13:34 And by the time he got there the supper was cold. 13:37 And he was so angry... 13:39 Well, she had prepared something then, 13:41 it was called Chef Boyardee. 13:43 Yeah. Sure. 13:45 It's a pizza in a box. Yeah. Okay. 13:47 And anyway he got so angry, he hit my mother. 13:52 And till the day she died, 13:54 she had Bell's palsy because of this. 13:56 Wow. Wow, that's terrible. 13:57 And he said, he said, 14:01 "I don't want any more wop food in my home." 14:04 Oh, okay. That's how Italian, or name for an Italian. 14:08 Yeah. 14:10 And, but during that night, during that night 14:15 I remember hearing gunshots. 14:19 And us children, you saw the picture of that. 14:22 We jump up and we'd run into see 14:25 if our mother was hurt. 14:28 Well, we'd be screaming and crying 14:30 and mother would get up and she would put us 14:33 back to bed and get us to sleep. 14:37 Finally, console us and get us back to sleep. 14:39 And I'm sorry this is a little... 14:42 Oh, sure, go ahead. It's a little emotional. But... 14:46 We would finally drift off to sleep 14:48 and get sleep and all of a sudden 14:50 we'd hear bang, bang, bang. 14:54 And here we were up again. 14:56 And you can just imagine the emotional turmoil that was. 15:00 And so this is kind of some of the early years 15:04 that I remember living with my father. 15:08 When were you old enough to understand about 15:11 the Ku Klux Klan and what role your father played in it? 15:15 Well, I grew up in the '60s and actually I grew up 15:21 when my school was integrated. 15:24 And I remember the first time of the integration and, 15:31 but I had a secret. 15:32 You see my favorite president was Abraham Lincoln 15:35 and my hero was George Washington Carver, 15:40 but I couldn't express that, you see. 15:42 Oh, I guess not. So I... 15:48 I forgot the question. Yeah. 15:50 Your father as far as knowing that 15:52 what he actually did with the Klan. 15:54 Well, he was such a violent man. 15:57 And I would remember hearing him 16:00 talk about the blacks and the Jews and the Catholics 16:04 in a very derogatory way. 16:06 And then eventually I would see a robe 16:10 or I would see a Klan sign out. 16:12 By the way which I have today. Yeah, wow. 16:16 I have those. And... 16:19 So now what was his position in the Klan? 16:22 Well, he started out as a regular Klan's member, 16:25 but he eventually rose in the ranks. 16:28 And he became, eventually became 16:31 the grand dragon of the Ku Klux Clan 16:33 for the State of Alabama. 16:34 Oh, wow, that's right to top position. 16:37 In the state, yes, in the state. 16:38 Yeah. Have mercy. Okay. 16:40 So his feelings though... 16:42 But here's the thing, it's always interesting to me. 16:44 These guys, they hate everybody, 16:47 you know, other races other nationalities, all of this. 16:50 But they don't even... 16:51 They didn't really like he was white, 16:53 but he didn't really love white people. 16:54 Didn't even really seemed to love his own kids. 16:57 So it's the matter you may want to have an excuse 17:00 to take it on everybody else. 17:03 But when it really comes down to it, it wasn't like okay, 17:06 I just don't like these other people, 17:07 but I love, you know, my own race. 17:09 I love my own kids, own family. 17:11 So a person like that really doesn't love anybody. 17:14 They just want to do what they want to do. 17:16 I mean, I hate to say that, 17:17 but that's what it sounds like to me 17:19 because you didn't see much love in your home. 17:22 Well, that's true. 17:24 In fact, my father was abusive to my sisters. 17:28 He was abusive generally. 17:31 And we didn't see a lot of love. 17:34 I do want to be honest, you know, he was my father, 17:36 I did love him. 17:38 Sure. I wanted his love, but... 17:39 Yeah. Of course. 17:43 You are exactly right. 17:44 He was an angry man and, and in pretending 17:51 to protect the race and so forth, 17:54 he didn't care for his own family. 17:57 And in fact, he lived 100 miles away 18:00 and my mother basically had to support six kids. 18:04 We lived in poverty. 18:06 And I actually started to work at 12 18:09 and I have been working ever since. 18:11 You know, God has blessed me. 18:12 One thing He did teach me was work ethic. Okay. 18:15 I started working at 12 years old. All right. 18:17 And I have never had applied for a job 18:20 and I have never been out of work. 18:22 Okay. 18:23 So and another thing He taught me was... 18:27 He taught me what not to do. 18:29 Yeah. Okay. 18:30 And, but we also found that out later 18:33 that he actually had a second family in Birmingham. 18:38 So he had two families. 18:39 He'd come home with you on weekends and there's times 18:42 that you were praying that maybe 18:44 he wouldn't come home, sounded like. 18:46 Now this happened in your early years, 18:48 four, five, six, seven, eight. 18:50 What was going on when you were 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 years old 18:55 in your relationship with your father? 18:58 Well, about 12 years old, I began to work. 19:02 My aunt owned... 19:04 It was like a Dairy Queen and she owned this. 19:07 And so my brother and I, 12 and 11 went to work for her. 19:12 And we worked all the way through high school. 19:16 And in fact, I could even tell a story about... 19:19 When I was working there I remember a black fellow 19:23 came into the restaurant. 19:25 And I remember seeing my uncle jumped the counter 19:28 with an axe handle and ran him out of the... 19:33 And you know in my heart, you see thank God 19:36 I had this godly Christian mother 19:39 and my mother never, never felt this way. 19:43 But she was afraid to express it. Yeah. 19:47 In fact, I'll tell you this. 19:48 Most of the people that I knew in the South 19:50 did not feel this way, 19:52 but they were afraid to speak up. 19:55 So... 19:59 When my father would come home, 20:02 he was interested that we were working 20:06 because we paid for the phone, we paid for the television, 20:11 we even bought the car. 20:12 Okay. 20:15 He would come home and make sure 20:16 that we were working and then he would leave again. 20:19 But during these times, this racial unrest 20:24 was happening during the '60s. 20:26 And a lot of it was secretive, but I could hear him talking 20:32 to other people about his involvement in the Klan. 20:35 And I remember looking in the automobile one day 20:39 and I opened up the dash and there was actually a letter 20:43 to someone that was in Chicago about the Klan. 20:48 And so I began to realize that 20:50 he was actually involved, member of the Klan. 20:55 And so you saw-- 20:56 Did he ever tried to persuade you 21:00 or did he always just try to keep it from you, 21:02 from the kids that his involvement 21:05 there as a Klan member? 21:09 It's funny that you would ask me that 21:10 because no, not as a child. 21:12 But I remember after I became a minister, 21:16 I would go back to the house, his house to visit him. 21:19 And I remember looking through the bedroom door 21:21 and his robe was hanging up. 21:23 Have mercy. 21:25 Yeah. And he noticed my eye catch it. 21:27 This would've been in the '70s? 21:30 '70s, '80s. Yeah. 21:33 Still doing that in the '70s or '80s or still supported it? 21:37 He was actually the grand dragon in the '80s. 21:40 Oh, my, my... In the '80s. 21:42 And as I looked at that robe, he said, well, son, he said, 21:46 why don't you join us? 21:48 I said, "Well, Dad," I said, 21:51 "You know, you know I'm a minister." 21:54 He said, "Oh." 21:55 He said, "We've got ministers, we got lawyers, we got judges." 21:58 Oh, my, my... And, so, so yes... 22:01 Is he telling the truth? 22:03 Do you think he was telling the truth? 22:04 Oh, yes, he was telling the truth. 22:05 There were ministers who could justify be in the KKK. 22:09 There were... Unfortunately. 22:11 Unfortunately, yes. Have mercy. 22:14 So... But something struck me because 22:20 I remember him saying, you know, growing up early 22:22 one of the things that he indicated. 22:24 He always said that problems of the country 22:26 were because of the blacks and the Jews. 22:29 Okay. 22:30 And he had invited me to breakfast. 22:33 And so it was on Sabbath and I said no. 22:37 I said I have to be... I'm at church tomorrow. 22:40 And he said, "Oh, I forgot." 22:42 He said, "You are just an old Jew." 22:44 Oh. Okay. 22:45 So then it clicked to me that... 22:49 Oh, the problem of the country is 22:52 are Jews and blacks and I'm an old Jew. 22:54 Okay. Okay. 22:56 So it became very personal to him. 22:59 Oh, yeah. 23:01 What age were you when you ended up? 23:03 I think there was a shooting that went on. 23:06 And I want you to tell us about that. 23:08 Yes. 23:10 Well, first of all, I think I have some 23:12 pictures of my dad in a roadblock. 23:17 This was a roadblock where they actually will take up 23:21 donations for the Klan. 23:22 What? 23:24 Yeah. I've never seen that before. 23:27 I've seen this. Like the fire department dress here. 23:29 Yeah, yeah, absolutely. 23:31 They did there and then here's my dad in his robe. 23:36 I actually had some of him handcuffed. 23:38 That was brazen. 23:39 I've cut some where they handcuffed him 23:41 and arrested him many times. 23:42 Oh, really? Okay. 23:44 He's had many encounters with Al Sharpton. 23:49 Oh, yeah. Yes. 23:52 By the way I need to let you know 23:54 that my dad has since passed. 23:55 Yeah, okay. 23:57 And then I have a picture of my sister 24:01 that I want to show you because this is important 24:06 to what we're talking about and the shooting. 24:07 Sure. Yeah. 24:09 Well, this is a very, very difficult thing to tell. 24:12 But when I was about 17 years old, 24:16 my dad's violence had escalated and escalated. 24:19 And it came to a point where he was drinking 24:25 and he was taking pills and he was just, 24:29 almost like you would see somebody on PCP. 24:32 You know, it just, he'd come to just an outrage. 24:37 And he was unable to drive and so he wanted my sister 24:41 who was like 15 years old. 24:44 He wanted her to drive him to the Georgia line. 24:48 Alabama was dry. 24:49 So he wanted this unlicensed daughter of his to drive him 24:55 to get more beer or booze. 24:58 And so there was an objection to it. 25:02 And this domestic violence began 25:06 to escalate and the house was full of guns. 25:10 I mean there were billy clubs and guns 25:12 and knives all over the house. 25:14 And, anyway my mother refused. 25:20 So there began to be a fight. 25:22 And I remember my dad stomping 25:24 my sisters in the belly and hitting them. 25:29 And he actually got a gun. 25:31 It's a 25 magnum with dumdum bullets. 25:35 And he pointed at my mother's head 25:39 and he was holding my little sister 25:40 then who was two years old and he pulled the hammer back. 25:44 Well, I had, I had told my other sister to find me a gun. 25:52 And she got it to me and I had put it upon the shift robe. 25:56 And when my dad put that pistol to my mother's head 26:01 and pulled the hammer back. 26:06 Something snapped in me and I, I ran and I got that pistol. 26:12 And... I was going to stop him from shooting my mother. 26:18 Well, even in that state my mother 26:21 instinct was to protect my father. 26:24 So my mother jumped up and went in-front of me. 26:29 And when she did, I went around like this and I shot. 26:34 He fell and he fell in a chair in the living room. 26:39 He fell there. And he was unconscious. 26:44 And I thought I had killed him. 26:47 But at that time, this picture that I showed you of my sister. 26:52 She came out of the bedroom 26:55 and she was coming out of the bedroom... 26:59 Later on we found out this, this young lady here... 27:02 As she was coming out of the bedroom the bullet had... 27:06 What she said, she paled out her hands like this 27:09 and she said, mother, I've been shot. 27:11 She said no, honey, it was your dad. 27:13 And she put her hands out there 27:15 and there were blood all over her hands 27:16 and she was bleeding from the abdomen. 27:19 And... One shot? 27:25 Or did you shoot several? 27:26 I only shot once, but it went through him and hit her. 27:30 Oh, okay. 27:31 And even to this day a fragment of that bullet 27:34 is lodged close to her spine and she's been paralyzed once. 27:38 But she is living and she's... We're very close today. 27:43 Okay. 27:45 But at that moment, at that moment 27:50 something just snapped again 'cause I... 27:52 So I ran out the door and when I did my head hit the, 27:57 overhead on the porch and I went back, 28:01 my head hit the concrete and I went unconscious. 28:05 Wow. 28:06 When I woke up I was in the back of the car. 28:10 My dad had regained consciousness. 28:14 He was driving. 28:16 My short sister was in the middle of the seat 28:18 and my mother was on the passenger side 28:21 and I was somehow he had dragged me to the car 28:26 and I was in the back seat. 28:28 And he was driving with one hand and he had a rifle, 28:33 rifle at my throat with the other hand. 28:36 Oh, wow. 28:38 And he says to me, if this girl dies... 28:41 He says, he says I'm gonna shoot, shoot all of you 28:44 and then shoot myself. 28:47 Well, my brother just younger than I was. 28:50 He went for the police. 28:56 He went for the police and so the police stopped us. 29:02 When they stopped us my dad 29:03 took the riffle and pointed at them. 29:06 And they said, Donald, what's going on here? 29:09 He said this is a family matter. And if you... 29:13 If you... Interfere. 29:17 If you interfere, he says,... 29:20 He said you best not. And so they left him alone. 29:24 Really? They left him alone. 29:27 They knew him They knew him. 29:29 And so went to the next town where there was a hospital. 29:35 And so when we got to the hospital, 29:38 apparently the police there had been notified 29:40 and the lights were going and the sirens were blowing 29:45 and I remember it was... 29:47 The police came over and they took us out of the car 29:50 and they threw us up against and put our hands 29:53 behind our back and handcuffed us. 29:54 And they took us both off to jail. 29:58 And I told them, I said, look, 30:01 I don't mind you put me in jail, 30:03 but please do not put me in the cell with this man. 30:07 Well, unbeknownst to me 30:08 I found this out for my sister later. 30:10 But, he had told the police that I had just lost my mind 30:16 and I'd gone in there andstarted shooting everybody. 30:18 Oh, wow. 30:20 So they let him out and he was in the hospital room 30:22 with his daughter, my sister. 30:25 And, but she began to fidget. 30:31 She began to act very uncomfortable. 30:33 And so they told him that for medical reasons 30:36 he need to leave and 30:38 they asked her what really happened. 30:41 And so they put him back in jail and... 30:46 And where was his wounds also? Apparently he... 30:48 Well, what happened is this that it went through, 30:51 in his abdomen, but it apparently didn't hit 30:55 anything that blocked it and 30:56 they went through him and then it hit by sister 31:00 accidentally when she was coming out. 31:04 And of course, for many years I felt guilty about that. 31:08 But my sister, she said, no, 31:12 my mother would be dead today if you hadn't done that. 31:16 So... 31:17 So they put him back in jail and they let you out, then? 31:20 Well, they eventually let me out. 31:23 And after that my mother finally divorced him. 31:27 And he moved back to Birmingham with his own family. 31:31 Did they go to court? 31:34 No, you know, things were different back then. 31:36 Yeah. It was a domestic situation. 31:39 Yeah. And... 31:41 Shoot each other and they let you go. 31:43 Well, they put a restraining order on him. 31:48 Yeah. 31:49 Well, that restraining order didn't do much 31:53 because he used to comeback and terrorize us 31:57 drive by the house and shoot at the house. 32:00 And I remember... Really? Wow. 32:02 I remember nights that we would go 32:05 and sleep in the barn in the middle of January, 32:10 trying to divert him from the house. 32:14 I even remember. 32:15 Even my wife after we were... 32:18 I was in the ministry. 32:19 After I left the navy, he would call at 3 or 4 o'clock 32:24 in the morning and threaten, talked to my wife 32:28 and threatened my grandchildren 32:30 Threaten his grandchildren? 32:34 I mean, his grandchildren, I'm sorry. 32:35 Yeah. Have mercy. I'm sorry this is... 32:37 Yeah. No, no, no, it's okay. So tell me a little bit. 32:40 After this happened... 32:41 So you didn't end up spending any other jail time? 32:44 So with family as you say 32:46 things were different back then. 32:48 Then you joined the navy. 32:52 I joined the navy in... I'm just trying to... 32:56 Your thinking was get away from everything? 32:59 Yeah, just get away from everything. 33:01 See, my mother had been involved with 33:03 "The Worldwide Church of God." 33:05 We had already understood the Sabbath. 33:08 And I even planned to be conscientious objector. 33:12 But that didn't look... It didn't look good 33:14 being a conscientious objector 33:16 when you just shot your father. 33:17 Absolutely. Yeah. 33:19 So I thought, well, my life well just turned upside down. 33:23 I didn't know what to do. So I just joined the navy. 33:26 Okay. 33:27 To get away. I joined up for six and half years. 33:31 And so I went... I joined the navy. 33:34 One of the reasons was to running from the Lord. 33:38 I just felt that Lord had let me down. 33:41 And, but when I got to my first... 33:47 After boot camp and so forth and 33:49 I went to Santiago, California. 33:52 One day I was working in this... 33:55 We're getting this new boss coming in. 33:57 And they said, we don't know about him, 33:59 but he's very smart, hard worker, 34:02 but he won't work on Saturday, he's an- he's a grass eater. 34:07 A grass eater. Right. 34:09 But it turns out that he was a Seventh-day Adventist 34:12 and he invited me to several meetings. 34:15 And after going to these meetings, 34:17 my wife and I... 34:19 After two and a half series 34:21 we became Seventh-day Adventists. 34:24 Wow. Now where did you meet Ginger? 34:27 I met Ginger on a blind date. 34:29 Okay. 34:31 Well, one of the things that I didn't tell you is that, 34:32 after I joined the navy 34:35 I was engaged to be married to a young lady 34:39 who actually lived across from the street 34:43 where we built the church, really, Piedmont. 34:44 Oh, okay. All right. 34:46 And I used to sit there on the couch, 34:49 holding her hands 34:50 and look at the pasture where our church is. 34:53 So... Anyway so... 34:57 She had written me a "Dear John, letter." 35:00 And so I ended up three days in the mental ward 35:05 for acute anxiety and I was in a straitjacket 35:10 for like two days. 35:13 And I met Moses and Jesus in this place. 35:17 Well, and so in my mind, you know, 35:22 I was just hearing all this. 35:24 I was just messed up and here I was away from my family. 35:28 So a good friend of mine called me up and he said, 35:32 "What you need is a date." 35:34 And so it happened to be Ginger. 35:36 So I met my wife on a blind date. 35:38 Ginger had no idea what she was jumping into, did she? 35:40 She had no clue. She had no clue. 35:43 And, anyway I met my wife on a blind date 35:48 on rebound from a "Dear John, letter." 35:50 Yeah. Have mercy. Have mercy. 35:53 So you guys ended up getting married 35:54 and then she's in San Diego with you? 35:57 In San Diego we were, exactly. Okay. 36:00 And we were baptized together on February the 2nd, 36:04 Groundhog's Day, 1974. 36:07 1974, all right. 36:08 Yeah, that's my rebirth day. Yeah. 36:11 So tell me then how becoming 36:14 a Seventh-day Adventist Christian, 36:16 you still have those scars, but how did you deal with it? 36:18 Because you're saying, you know, 36:20 had mental, put me in straitjacket. 36:23 You know I've snapped with my dad. 36:26 I mean, how does becoming a Christian, does that really... 36:30 Is that all gone from your life? 36:32 I mean, there's people watching here today 36:33 that's right exactly where you were, Rick. 36:36 They are sitting here and saying, you know, 36:38 I've just done some terrible things or I just, 36:40 you know, my life's a wreck. 36:42 I mean, this has been a long time ago, 1974. 36:45 So we're looking over 40 years. Yes. Yes. 36:48 And yet I've known you for 30 some 36:49 and you have been straight up Christian, 36:52 loving the Lord and doing the best you know how 36:56 and raising a family and having a good life. 37:00 Just accepting Jesus, can that do that for you? 37:04 Absolutely. 37:06 And you know, from our early years 37:07 I knew God was calling me. 37:09 You know, Jeremiah 1, "Before you were born I knew you." 37:14 My great grandmother first time she saw me, 37:16 she looked at me and she looked at my mother 37:18 and she said, one day this man will be a preacher. 37:21 Wow. And I live with that. 37:24 And, but I was like Jonah running from God and-- 37:30 but you see, I was running from the Sabbath 37:32 and I went and joined the navy to get away 37:34 from all that and I ran into a Seventh-day Adventist. 37:38 So you don't tell me that, that's not providence. 37:42 And so this happened, but yes, I ... 37:47 You know, before when I was... 37:49 as a Baptist I learned about the great grace of God. 37:52 And when I was in the Worldwide Church of God 37:54 I learned about the great... 37:59 You know, the law of God and His justice. 38:02 And when I became the Seventh-day Adventist 38:04 I married the grace and the justice together, 38:06 the law together. 38:08 Okay. 38:09 And it just changed my whole life. 38:10 It was a, it was a faith of power that I could, 38:13 I didn't have to. 38:14 And I made this pledge. 38:16 I said, by God's grace I will not live and I will not-- 38:20 my mother will not live... 38:22 My wife will not live in the hell that my mother did. 38:26 And my children will never live in the fear that I lived here. 38:30 Oh, praise the Lord. 38:31 And yes, it just turned my life around and I said, Lord, 38:38 you have called me and I will serve you. 38:41 And I never planned to be a minister. 38:45 Me and my wife... How did that happen? 38:47 Well, we were just so... We were shy. We were shy. 38:50 We couldn't speak before a group of people. 38:54 And I went to the Island of Guam in the navy. 38:59 And I would say there I became a missionary 39:01 at Uncle Sam's expense. 39:03 Oh, okay. 39:04 Because it was there that Dr. Robert Stalnaker 39:10 he was our pastor then. 39:12 And he told me he was going on vacation 39:14 and would I preach for him? 39:16 And so I did. 39:18 And afterwards he said, "I have sent a telegram 39:24 to Southern Missionary College, 39:26 recommended you for the ministry." 39:28 And I'm like... 39:31 And so we sent our third tier 10,000 miles away 39:36 to Chattanooga, Tennessee and set in storage. 39:39 I have never seen Southern College. 39:41 I never heard of it. 39:43 Didn't know where it was, didn't have a job, 39:45 had been accepted, but I sent it to Chattanooga. 39:47 Have mercy. 39:48 The day that I found an apartment and got a job, 39:53 was the day that my furniture lease ran out 39:57 and so we started Southern 40:00 and it was just like God led me there. 40:03 you knew, you knew at that point 40:05 you were gonna go into the ministry 40:07 and not just be that shy person. 40:09 So you've had to say, "Okay, 40:12 Lord, this is not my first deal. 40:13 I'm not anxious to get upfront and speak. 40:16 But if this is what You want me to do, I'm willing." 40:19 Well, yes. 40:21 You have to remember that I still had this, this calling. 40:25 I believed God called me. Yes, absolutely. 40:28 Before I was born. Absolutely. 40:30 And it was running from that. 40:33 And so it's just seem like, 40:35 it's like when you're putting your hand and mine, 40:37 I'll lead you and you can have the victory. 40:41 And I have just seen miracle after 40:44 miracle and victory after victory. 40:47 It's just... It's so important. 40:50 I mean, it's so exciting, 40:51 it just makes chills go up my spine. 40:54 When I think about it, recount these things. 40:56 Absolutely. 40:57 We've kind of seen each other over the years 40:59 and what has happened and this was way back 30, 41:02 you know, years ago. 41:03 And before that actually when we met 41:05 and then seen you as you transitioned 41:07 and then was down at your church at Piedmont, 41:10 was happy to be there and you had a tornado. 41:12 And I think we had a program on once here, 41:14 where you re-built your church and... 41:17 Absolutely. 41:18 And when I was in the Evansvillemy electronics... 41:22 I was a electronic technician in the navy. 41:25 And so that electronics ability 41:26 helped to raise up a 500 foot, 41:30 rebroadcast that tower, 41:32 re-broadcasting station for 3ABN. 41:35 One of our first downlink stations. 41:36 That's right. That's right. 41:38 We broadcasting in that area... 41:39 And that in itself was a miracle. 41:40 And I believed that... I'll tell you. 41:45 When I was on Island of Guam, 41:47 there was a Seventh-day Adventist there. 41:49 His name was Mel Hemp and he owned alarm system. 41:54 And he tried to get me to go work for him, 41:57 when I was trying to decide to go to Southern Missionary. 42:01 I didn't. 42:03 Well, few years-- 42:05 four, five years ago he invited. 42:07 He had moved, retired, 42:09 sold his business and moved to California. 42:14 And I remember he had this yacht, this big, big yacht. 42:20 And we were floating down the river 42:23 and we went until San Francisco Bay 42:25 and we spent a night at San Francisco Bay. 42:28 When we were on our way back, he said, 42:30 "Rick, if you had come to me," he said, 42:32 "you-- look what you could have had." 42:34 And I said, "You know, Mel," I said, 42:37 "You maybe right, but guess what." 42:39 I said, "I'm on this boat, 42:43 I had this great excursion and I had this great joy. 42:46 And I don't have the mortgage payments 42:48 and still God allowed me to do it. 42:52 So this is... That's the way to do it. 42:53 This is the miracles that God can give. 42:57 And can I tell one story? 42:58 Oh, absolutely. You can. 43:00 When I was growing up, I remember reading these 43:04 Readers Digest condensed stories. 43:07 And I was reading this 43:08 and I just had this attraction for the islands. 43:13 You know, the palm trees, little lagoons and all this. 43:17 And I remember of this, the story of a young man. 43:20 He said that he was in a lagoon 43:23 and he saw the moon up there and he saw the moon 43:28 right in the cross of these two palm trees, 43:31 reflection in this blue lagoon. 43:35 And I remember when I become a missionary 43:38 to the Marshall Islands and I was sitting there 43:43 on a coconut with my pastor, with my local pastor. 43:47 Well, I was actually his supervisor, 43:49 but we were - which means telling stories. 43:54 Okay. 43:55 And, and as we were sitting there 43:58 the sun went down, the moon came up. 44:01 Oh, wow. And I saw the moon. 44:05 Okay. 44:06 I saw that the moon go right 44:09 in the cross of those palm trees 44:11 and I saw the reflection in the lagoon. 44:14 And tears came to my eyes, so I looked up and I said, 44:17 this old country boy that used to pick cotton, 44:21 had no hopes of going to some exotic islands. 44:27 But I said, You, You've given me a miracle today. 44:32 Yeah, it's all right. 44:33 It was just like a light turned on. 44:34 Yeah, absolutely. 44:36 I'm sorry I can't-- I got a little bit... 44:37 No, no, no, no, we love it. 44:38 We love it. It's great. 44:40 Those are tears of joy, we liked those kind of, 44:43 those tears of joy, knowing that God has a plan for you. 44:46 You asked me one time about how I managed this. 44:50 Well, of course my great faith 44:51 in God knowing He's there for me, 44:53 not forgetting the miracles that 44:55 He's given me in the past, but also humor. 44:59 Sometimes you know, 45:00 people might think that, make light of it. 45:03 But you know, I tell people that, 45:05 some people think that my wife married me 45:08 because of my good looks and some people think 45:10 she married me for my money, but it wasn't any of those. 45:13 What, neither one? 45:14 It was because I was funny. 45:16 There you go. All right. 45:17 And humor helps also. Yeah. 45:21 A merry heart, it does helps you cope with these things. 45:25 Do as good like a medicine. 45:26 Amen. I want to go back. 45:28 We have a few more minutes, but I want to talk. 45:29 You mentioned about visiting your dad later on in life. 45:34 You said I used to... 45:35 I love my dad. Of course, he's my dad. 45:38 How did your relationship... 45:40 the last we heard we was peppering the house 45:43 with gunshots and all that. 45:46 That may have been in the '70s, I don't know what happened. 45:48 '80s, '90s, I don't know how long he lived. 45:51 How did your relationship, 45:52 did you ever form any kind of a bond 45:55 with him before he, before he died? 45:58 Well, you know, I'm glad you asked this question because 46:00 this is an important part of the story. 46:03 When I was... 46:04 When I had come back my dad had moved back to my hometown. 46:08 And he had kind of melted somewhat... 46:11 This is what years, some where? 46:13 We were in the '80s. Okay. 46:14 He had melted-- well, actually it's late '70s. 46:18 And he had melted some and there, 46:20 there was kind of tension off, tension in, 46:22 you know this kind of thing. 46:25 But when I joined the navy I went to... 46:28 After leaving the navy and going to Southern, 46:32 it was about two and half hours from where I grew up. 46:34 So I had interaction with my home. 46:37 And I knew that I was gonna 46:39 have to encounter my dad again. 46:41 So I prayed about this and prayed about, 46:44 because you know I'd shot him. 46:45 Yeah, absolutely. 46:47 So I actually grouped the courage 46:50 and said, Lord, help me. 46:52 So I went to him and I set up a meeting 46:56 and I sat right across like this. 46:58 And I said, "Look, Dad," I said 47:00 "I know what has happened with us in the past," and I said, 47:04 "but I want you to know that I've given my heart, 47:07 my life completely to God. 47:09 So I'm God's man now." 47:11 And I said, "I want you to know," 47:13 and I used something to my advantage because he always 47:17 considered himself a hell bound backsliding Baptist. 47:22 And so I pointed at him and I said, 47:24 "Look, I don't live that way anymore," 47:28 and I said "if you harm me or my children," 47:32 I said "you will answer personally to God." 47:35 And I'll tell you... 47:37 One time my other brother who was in navy came home 47:41 and he and my dad had gotten drunk 47:44 and they got in altercation. 47:46 And my dad was a disable man, 47:48 but he took up his cane and he hit my brother on the jaw, 47:52 broke his jaw, pushed him out into the road 47:54 and then ran over him. 47:56 Oh, my, my. 47:57 Broke his leg and hence, 48:03 he was in the hospital there at Piedmont. 48:05 He was able to do all that? Have mercy. 48:08 They put him... 48:09 They put him in the hospital at Fort McClellan. 48:12 And my mother called me and during all 48:16 this I went down and got my brother 48:18 and brought him back and interacted with my dad. 48:21 And you know, till the day he died, 48:24 he never, never gave me anymore trouble. 48:28 Wow. Okay. 48:31 And in the end I don't know. People asked me if he changed. 48:36 But he allowed us to take down the cross out of his house, 48:42 all the Klan paraphernalia. 48:44 And my hope is that he did change 48:50 but you know, I don't know his heart. 48:52 No. And it's not for us to judge. 48:55 But you know, as people get older, 48:57 we realized that you are only here for a little bit. 48:59 I'm sure he began to think about 49:01 what he had done in the past. 49:03 So that's between he and God, but I wondered how your 49:05 relationship because I can imagine. 49:07 I love my grandparents, my grandkids more than life. 49:11 I can't imagine threatening my daughters or my grandkids 49:15 or any of that, just it's not, you know, that's totally out. 49:19 You can't even picture. 49:21 Well, it eased up some, but one thing my dad told me. 49:24 But by the way my dad got cancer. 49:27 It went through his brain. 49:29 He had grand mal seizures and we have a saying 49:32 Down South "live hard, die hard." 49:34 Yeah, yeah. 49:36 And he died one of the most violent deaths 49:37 of any man I've ever seen. 49:39 And one of the things he told me. 49:41 Two things he told me before he died. 49:43 I said, "Dad," I asked him. 49:46 I said, "if you could change 49:47 anything in your life, what would it be?" 49:50 He said, "I would have never taken," 49:52 and he used ex parte. 49:53 So I won't use those, but, he said 49:56 "I would have never taken the first blank drink, 49:58 because it stole my family. 50:00 And I would have never, 50:02 never taken the first cigarette 50:04 because it stole my life." 50:06 Wow. Wow. 50:07 So I thought that was quite an admission. 50:09 Absolutely yes. 50:11 We got just a couple of minutes left here 50:12 before we go to our news break. 50:14 But, Rick, there's people watching there. 50:16 I want you to look into the camera in just a moment. 50:18 There's people that, that are watching today 50:20 and there's still in that turmoil, 50:22 there's still in a mess right now. 50:24 We've had people... Well, how do we know? 50:26 People have said I was watching your program, 50:27 getting ready to, to kill myself and someone spoke. 50:31 You know the Lord spoke through someone. 50:33 There's someone I will almost assure you today, 50:37 their life is a mess, they see no hope 50:39 and yet for the last 40 some odd years, 50:42 God has given you a peace in the midst of the storm. 50:45 He had given you a great family and daughters 50:47 and grandchildren and son-in-laws 50:49 that are pastors and Christians 50:51 and their lives is so different than your life. 50:54 What do they do right now? 50:55 There's somebody that doesn't know what to do. 50:57 They feel like there's no hope for them. 50:58 What would you say? 51:00 Well, first of all I want you to know 51:02 that there is hope 51:03 There is hope. 51:05 You know, I believe that it's not 51:09 how man lives in good times, 51:12 that is a measure of his character, 51:15 but it's how he lives in the bad times. 51:18 And if you really believe and if you just hold on, God... 51:23 And I've told people this. I don't know... 51:27 It may not just be how it happened with me, 51:30 but God worked miracles in my life 51:32 and He will make a miracle in your life. 51:35 Oh, I like it. 51:37 I don't know how He will, but just trust that He will. 51:40 He cared for you. 51:42 He cares for the person watching, right? 51:43 Absolutely. 51:45 I have reason to believe in miracles 51:46 like the dawn expects the sun and I will not accept defeat 51:49 for my trust in Him is complete, 51:50 my victory is already been won. 51:53 And not only that... 51:56 I am evidence that God can work in your life. 52:01 Just a poor common cotton picker, 52:04 God raised me up to, 52:07 to be a missionary to do wonderful things for Him. 52:10 And there are people that start out with 52:14 a lot more advantage than I do. 52:15 And I know if He can do it for me, 52:18 I know He can do it for you. 52:19 Amen. All right. Thank you so much. 52:21 What we'd like to do, if you'd like to contact Pastor Rick, 52:25 we're gonna put up an address 52:26 and then we're gonna go to news break 52:28 and comeback for a closing thought. 52:32 If you like to contact Rick, you can do so by writing to, 52:35 Peidmont Seventh-day Adventist Church, 52:38 Post Office Box 519, Peidmont, Alabama 36272. 52:43 That's Peidmont Seventh-day Adventist Church, 52:46 Post Office Box 519, Peidmont, Alabama 36272. 52:52 You can call 256-452-5846. 52:57 That's 256-452-5846. 53:01 Or you can email him at rickblythe@mac.com. 53:07 That's rickblythe@mac.com. |
Revised 2015-11-30