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Another Special Life in Christ
These testimony lives are not stories of "role models". Jesus is the
role model!
These are lives wonderfully touched & changed by Jesus!
But, he sensed that everyone still whispered, "I
don't think Ted Stone will ever amount to anything." Never having tasted alcohol, and in a
fit of frustration, he called a social-drinker buddy and said, "Ride with me to Daytona
Beach; I'm gonna get smashed drunk." He did get sick drunk, and it was the last time. He
turned back to his grounding in the church, becoming a deacon. Then a "friend" introduced him
to "speed" (amphetamines); and, in 14 months, he went from 2 per day to 15. He quit church,
quit going home, and tried to kick God out of his life. During hospitalization at Duke U.
because he overdosed on speed, he began to fantasize that he might become really special as a
master criminal. The 7 armed robberies of convenience stores gave him huge doses of addicting
excitement; but he shot, and nearly killed, a man in the last robbery. Somewhere in all of
this, he got into pot and on to barbiturates, then LSD. Caught, convicted, and jailed at
first in a desperately lonely single cell, he was transferred to Caledonia Prison Farm where
he was locked up within a group of 40 men. "I went through everything your hear about going
on in those situations."
The prison chaplain somehow got to him and
convinced him to stand up and give his Christian testimony to those men...then later
convinced him to preach. After the sermon, one of the inmates came forward to accept Jesus as
his Lord & savior. Later, Ted Stone, in a fit of anguish and remorse, cried out to God,
"I'll do anything you want me to do, and I'll do it for the rest of my life! I'll even die
for You!" He got up off the floor and made two irrevocable decisions: (1) no more drugs; and,
(2) "I asked God to take charge of my life." After 4+ years in prison, he was released in
1976.
Ted G. Stone has become really special and
successful! He is the man who has walked across America 3 times taking the message of the
danger of alcohol and drugs and the good news of Jesus the Christ. In 1997
(trip #1, east to west), he walked from Washington, D. C. south to Jacksonville and then west
to Los Angeles; and he carried "Old Glory"...the flag of the United States...the entire
westward leg of that walk. In 1998 (trip #2, west to east), he walked across America from San
Francisco to Fort Worth. And in 2000 (trip #3, south to north), he came out of Mexico and up
through St. Louis to Detroit. Convinced that one person can make a difference and that many
Americans working together can make a HUGE difference, he speaks to around 200 churches or
groups each trip with the message of Jesus. AND his 3-pronged personal message/plea to
Americans is: (1) pledge to abstain from any substance that will have a negative impact on
your behavior; (2) pledge to abstain likewise from making any negative-impact example to
others; and, (3) pledge to offer assistance to those around you who are suffering from drug
& alcohol related problems. Further, and this role having a great influence on future
pastors, Ted Stone became a member of the 40-member Board of Trustees of Southwestern Baptist
Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, the world's largest Christian seminary. In 1999. I was
privileged to hear his moving testimony 23 July 2000 at Northside Baptist Church, West
Columbia, S. C.
Boyhood dream almost "ate" his soul: He grew up
with a persistent and tenacious dream to become somebody really special...to be really
successful. At age 10, this future armed robber...due to the influences of a Godly
grandmother, Sunday-school teachers, and his pastor (parents were not practicing
Christians)...walked the aisle of his church and accepted Jesus as his Lord & savior.
Thinking he'd been "called" to be a preacher, he graduated from Wake-Forrest U. and seminary
and was a preacher for 7 years. But the dream... He became a high-powered, hard-charging
businessman: real estate, florist, miniature golf, etc., around his hometown of Durham, N.
C.
***give me your comments about this
page***
(posted August 2000)
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You have just read a very brief example of the
powerful, supernatural transformation of a person's life which is possible through the
acceptance of Jesus as your savior. Are you tired of life as it now is for you? He will
accept you just as you are right this second! Consider accepting Jesus now
[check it
out]!
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