From Junkie to JerusalemNäide

Coming to the Foot of the Cross

Though the church that ran The Gospel Road was housed in an old building, it was a new church plant.

The young pastor, Ron Burrell, had been the lead singer and guitar player in a rock group called Eden, from Prescott, Arizona. Eden was the backup group for some leading rock and roll bands. They were in the process of signing a contract with Elektra Records when Ron suddenly gave his life to the Lord. The other band members eventually did the same, and their wild rock group transformed into a gospel rock and roll band. This caused a chain reaction, with hundreds of young people in the area deciding to follow the Lord. The Jesus movement had come to Arizona.

The Jesus movement became so widespread that Time magazine devoted cover stories in 1971 and 1972 to its impact on America.

Parts of the free-spirited hippie movement morphed into the Jesus movement, and it swept through Prescott. The new wave of Christian music served as a bridge to reach the younger generation. Eden’s members became part of the town’s Foursquare church and started a major youth movement there.

Now, Ron had brought the fire of the Jesus movement with him to pioneer this church in Flagstaff. After the movie, Pastor Ron gave an altar call, saying, “If you want to give your life to the Lord, come forward.” I had just realized that Jesus died for people like me, but I was not about to go forward in front of everyone! Nobody had greeted Rhonda and me or even made eye contact with us. Maybe it was the Colombian poncho I was wearing or the fact that I wore no shirt underneath it. I could be rather intimidating, with rings on every finger, bare feet, and needle marks up and down my arms, not to mention my long hair, the bags under my eyes, and my feather earrings.

Although that congregation would become my church and many of those people would become my friends, they didn’t know what to do with Rhonda and me that night.

Looking back, I realize it was what 1 Samuel 16:7 describes: Man looks on the outside, but God looks on the inside.

Rhonda and I needed Jesus, but we didn’t quite fit in.

Is that why I held off going forward? Maybe partly. I fiercely resisted the altar call, but the pebbles in my shoe kept nudging me. So, I watched as a few people went forward. Then, Rhonda leaned over and whispered, “What do you think?”

I just shrugged. The two of us were glued to our seats, not moving, but Pastor Ron kept saying, “I feel like there’s somebody else. I just feel like there’s somebody else.”

To this day, I don’t remember getting out of my seat and walking to the front, yet suddenly Rhonda and I were kneeling at that altar. It had to be God, because there we were, on our knees! Personally, I had no understanding of heaven, hell, or being born again. And I certainly didn’t know what to do.

However, there was something about seeing Jesus die on the streets that bypassed my understanding and went directly into my soul.

At that moment, I knew that He was what I was looking for.

People gathered around and prayed for all the others who had come forward, but nobody prayed with Rhonda and me. I realized that I still seemed intimidating to the people in the church, so they kept their distance. Only Bill Trujillo and Pastor Ron seemed unaffected by my appearance.

Undeterred by the distance I felt from the congregation, I said, “God, if You’re real, be real to me.” When the words came out, I instantly felt as though a million pounds lifted off my shoulders. I began to weep, crying real tears for the first time since the day my dad tried to give me away. What happened at that altar was a totally new experience. I had no idea what it was or what to call it. But like Bill Trujillo and my former college teammate had said, it was real.

While tears streamed down my face, Pastor Ron put his hand on my shoulder. “God really touched you, didn’t He, son?”

I pushed his hand away and said, “Well, somebody did.”

When the altar call was done, everybody went back to their seats. Still, nobody engaged with us except Pastor Ron and Bill. That was partly my fault. I didn’t trust anybody and showed a hard exterior that kept some people away.

Later in the van, Rhonda, who had also given her life to the Lord, asked (as if I knew the answer), “What was that?”

“Man, something powerful!”

We felt so good that we went and bought an expensive bag of dope and a bottle of whiskey to celebrate.

And still, God kept drawing us to Himself.

Want to read the rest of Pastor Larry Huch’s testimony? Check out his book, From Junkie to Jerusalem, available where books are sold.