Unashamed with the Robertson Family - Ep 439 | Phil and Jase Listen to the Emotional Testimony of a Dear Friend

Episode Date: March 7, 2022

Al, Phil, and Jase have guest, Paul Stephens, on to share his inspiring testimony with the "Unashamed" audience. Paul was the first man Phil ever shared Jesus with. Al share stories about Phil coaching and teaching at a Christian school and why he quit his job. Jase remembers a time when he was coaching a troubled kid's baseball team, and Paul encourages listeners to realize that they are not alone. Hardships in life are normal and do not affect your value. Watch the Unashamed overtime show, only on BlazeTV: https://BlazeTV.com/Unashamed Get Uncanceled by Phil Robertson, available now: https://www.amazon.com/Uncanceled-Finding-Meaning-Accusations-Condemnation/dp/1400230179 - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am unashamed. What about you? So now we are inviting for the first time to the unashamed layer, Mr. Paul Stevens. How's it going, Paul? Welcome. Hey, it's doing great. I appreciate y'all having me. I'm looking forward to this. So I don't know why I haven't thought this before, and I have to give credit where credits do. It was old Jace yesterday. Old Jays.

We were recording a podcast. And dad was talking about, we were doing it on Sunday. And so I had to get a fill in for him. So I mentioned your name. And then Jason's like, man, we need to have him on the podcast. He's got quite the story. And I was like, that's a great idea. So I called you yesterday.

And you graciously agreed to come out and be on the podcast with us. So we're glad you're on unashamed. What hit me, though, too, it was the first convert that you shared Jesus with, right, Phil? I think it pretty much. where it was. Yeah. And that was how many years ago? Well, it was at least 40.

45, 46. It was in 76. So when I saw you, I remember you were, I'm guessing 16, 17 maybe. Yeah, it was 17, I think. This is why I wanted to do this, because the funny story on this is that, you know, Phil comes to the Lord, gets his life right, and for some reason decided he was going to go teach in the high school education system. That's what he had done.

Go ahead. Well, you mean, somehow. That's what he had done before. I mean, I spent about, you know, five years plus. I get it, Phil. But I'm just was imagining the kids coming in and they're like, here's your new teacher. And there you are. Well, you got to realize that he was, I mean, he was clean cut and all that.

Oh, really? He fit the mold. I don't know. He fit the mold. Yeah, no beard. I felt awkward, you know. I'm not surprised. So you were shaving back then.

Oh, yeah. I'm teaching 10th graders how to use flawless English. Oh. He was. And he's also a PE teacher. Yep. He teacher. Physical ed.

Yeah, physical ed. I majored in physical ed at Louisiana Tech. that I minored in English. Most of them, it's history. They minored in history, most coaches. But in my case, I just, I went through a couple of them history professors, and I thought, I need to get out of here. Well, didn't you coach baseball, too?

He was. Actually, he was the first coach of Washington in football, but he was the first head coach of baseball. You know why I remember him coaching baseball? Why? Because I was standing beside him. and beside the catcher and the pitcher was warming up. He was like, you know, come out, you can come out here with me.

And the last thing I remember was seeing a fastball, which was about 10 yards wide right that hit me right below the sternum. Just poop. And it knocked the wind out of it. I was just laying on the ground. I don't know if y'all remember that. That'd be harder to forget when you're about seven years old. Yeah, and I was just,

and Phil's like get out of the way. Yeah, it was no compassion. It's like, what are you doing out here, boy? I was like, you need to get up and get out of the way. I was trying to say, well, you told me I could. You know, and then Phil was hollering at the pitcher. What are you doing? Well, I told Phil, I said, look, I can pick.

That may have been Paul that did it. That may have been because, look, I told him I could pitch. I was a pitcher. The first game that we played was against Sainsborough, I believe it was. And he put me in, and I don't think I made it out there in the end. I don't know. Oh, really? Yeah, I may have been plucking people, hitting people,

and trying to figure out how I throw a strike. I don't know, but he pulled me, and I don't think I, I never got another chance of pitch until my senior year. Right, Paul was the left-handed pitcher. And the reason I remember the baseball, Paul, is because I was the statistician. I was in the sixth or seven grade.

And I kept the book in the dugout, so I got to know all the older guys that were playing with baseball team. That's right. I forgot all about that, yeah. But you know what was interesting was, is that, you know, it was a brand new school, as a Christian school, and it's still there. I mean, Paul's been involved in coaching out there.

He's doing great. And they've had many baseball state championships. Jay's the sons that played for them. So it's kind of a long history, which is interesting. But I remember back in the day, we would have, you had a hard time finding people that would play you. So I remember we played at the juvenile detention facility. They call it LTI.

I remember that. And so we build it as the Christians versus, is the convicts. And I don't know what happened. I don't know who won. But I just remember there was no fences. I can tell you. I remember. Yeah, I remember.

Yeah, no fences, yeah. Well, actually, Larry McLemore was pitching. He's deaf. And these cats were over there in the dugout, screaming and hollering at him. They were so good at toning. They were trying to tone him. They were trying to get him off the cat.

They didn't realize he was deaf. Oh, I was so sick and tired of hearing him holler. I looked over and said, look, hey, he's deaf. He's deaf. He can't hear you. you were making that up. Well, yeah, at first. And so he just stood and paying attention to him,

and then until they started making faces at him. Oh, my goodness. Well, one guy got on second base, so he gets on second base, and he's over jumping up and down, making faces at him, trying to get him off his game. And the center fielder comes, Ken Freeman, comes sneaking up behind him and picked him off.

And when he got in the dugout, they started pounding him. It was hilarious. I'm telling you. Well, somewhere, somewhere just to enlighten the audience, somewhere in there after about I think about four years teaching

coaching and teaching English and then right before I repented I go down there and I end up going to the little Christian school I said I think I'll hang around Christian people for a year or two here teach them and that would keep me

a little more grounded in the faith I told Ms. Kay that, your mother. But I said, but the longer I went with the coaching and the teaching English, it was less than a decade. But somewhere in there, I basically said to myself, get out of here. I need to have another line of work. And that's when I walked out there in the parking lot of where we were in the parking lot. That's where we didn't have a gym. so we'd have volleyball in the parking lot

doing the best we can, you know, before we got everything lined out. Christian school, they hadn't built a building yet and all that. We're meeting in churches, White's Ferry Road. So I left there after being around, I said, I'll tell you this, I told Ms. Kay, I said,

as far as kids go, I said, this is the best bunch of kids I've ever been around. So I said, this Christian thing, I'd see that it's more to it and I thought. So I was just getting on my feet. So that's where I decided after seven or eight years of that, I said, I'm just not the right man for that job. I said, it's just parents coming up, you know, graphing about this and that and other. So that's when I made the decision

to get out of town and get on the riverbank and try something else. I said, we're going to fish the river and I'm going to build these duck calls. But that's what spurred me on, which, looking back at it, you know. The Lord did use you in that capacity, even though you didn't recognize it, you know. Right. Well, because that was I was trying to get on my feet

spiritually, working with Christian kids, and it was, they were very Christian kids. I mean, I was amazed. Well, you and I had a lot in common because we, I mean, I was two years, you was just a Christian for two years. That's right. And so I was coming

in and looking and you and I started hanging out because you had the background that I had or a lot of it. And so we kind of connected there. But yeah, we were in the midst of a lot of great people. And it was like, okay, I got to learn how to figure out how to live in this. Yeah. Because it was all total different to me. Yep. Yeah, very much so.

Well, that's probably what we do y'all together. Well, it was. I think so. I think that was one of the draws was because, and I think that's why, Paul, you were the first. And then there was a lot of other kids who, a lot of the kids who were there grew up. up in the church. And so that's kind of some of the ones dad's describing. But a lot of people were in the school and they didn't have any church background. And you were one of those kids.

And I think that's why a dad was such a draw to those kids because he was right out of the world. So, I mean, there was a relationship there. And so what I loved about it is that quickly beyond Coach Robertson and P.E. teacher and the English teacher was him just sharing what Jesus had done for him. And I think that's that fruit. that started it right out there in that parking lot. I remember dad would sit out there with his Bible.

And some kid, like you, you were, what, 16 at the time, you would be sitting out there and y'all would be having a Bible study. And that's what began to unlock things, you know. Through the years, it surprised me through the years, as in about 40, after way after that era, that's down on the riverbank and all that. But during that little era, there's still to this day people who show up and they say, you remember me? And I'm looking at them.

I said, uh-huh. The face looks familiar a little bit there, but I don't remember them. But they said, you told me about Jesus here about 40 years ago while I was going to OCS or whatever. And I didn't take you up on it. I pretty well. And then they say, I just want to let you know. I get it now. So they tell me what I was talking to them about 40 years earlier.

And they said, I get it now. So I'm back. So I said, hey, welcome aboard. Well, you know, I started hanging out with you. And it was like you was trying to explain to me the gospel for about two weeks. And matter of fact, we drove by a bar that you see, you see those folks over there? Those folks, I don't know if they're going to make it or not. And I thought, well, because that's where my daddy hang out.

And so you started talking to me about that, and it was like two weeks into it. And then, yeah, we ended up in the parking lot. And you asked me that day, okay, look, this is it. And you started walking off. You explained the gospel to me and all that. And you got down to the lick line. You said, this is what you got to do.

You turned around and started walking on. And I said, whoa, whoa, wait a minute. Let's go. Come on. Let's go right now. And we did. And changed my life forever. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. What's ironic? I looked at it. One day I was looking around the table. And, of course, you and Dad and I are all elders at our church, along with a couple other guys, that were all a part of it. We were kids.

We were young. And Dad was the one that had led us all to Christ. And here we were 40 years later, serving to lead the church and the shepherds of it. And it just hit me. I thought, man, that's really what this whole thing in the New Testament, all the stuff we study. that's what it's all about is sharing your faith in such a way that people you'll get you'll grow old with and do life together because because and this is another thing for the audience we talk a lot about smith smith comes up a lot and because he was my mentor and he's the one that led dad to christ and

he was one of jace's mentors as well he's he was your father he married his daughter yeah yeah i told him i said look you got to be careful who you start converting and i may marry your daughter and that's exactly what it did. I married the preacher's daughter. Can you believe that? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That was. It's amazing. You know, we've been married 40 years now. Really? Yeah. And dad, and dad taught her to. Here's how long all that took. Here's how long all this took. Look.

Yep. It was quick. It was just yesterday. It is ironic. The guy that led you to the Lord, then the first guy you led to the Lord would turn out to be his son-in-law. What are the odds of that? I don't know. Oh, my neat. You know, even in our family, Jace, you know, Stone, Stone was working down at the country corner there in Calhoun, a little quick stop. And old Rick Fortenberry started, you know, inviting him to come to church.

And, of course, he was a hunter. And so he wanted to meet you and dad. And he did. And you all wind up leading him to Christ. And then he wound up marrying my daughter. So, again, you live in such a way. because Paul's right. You never know when the guy that you're talking to

and sharing G's with may marry one of your kids. Yeah. Yeah. Kim, Kim kind of liked the bad boys syndrome thing anyway. I watched him close for probably a year or two. Jace, he came with Jace Duck on. One day I just told him, I said, you know, Stone, I've been watching you like a hawk.

I said, you know, you're a good shot. You can call ducks. I said, you don't talk them. hands ears off. I said, you served the, served in the military and risked your life. I said, I've officially betted you to marry my granddaughter. He said, that was one of the most awkward moments in the duck mind I've ever had, because he looked at me and I was like, think he just said you need to marry this. I mean, we hadn't got to the dating phase. This was like, no dating, nothing. Phil said, have you seen her?

And he just didn't have much to say. Well, he said, well, I don't think she's not by 17. I said, that's why I'm telling you to be. Move early. I said, don't wait until she gets to be 20. Yeah. Move now, son. Yeah, it got awkward.

I said, now you've got to clear that with Al. I said, but tell him, I said, you've been vetted and found to be a man a good standing. Yeah. I said, go talk down. 17 years later, it all worked out. Thank you, thank the Lord for that. So how did he approach you when he wanted to marry your daughter? He approached me with fear and trepidation.

He was very humble. But it's worked out well. He cooks for me all the time. Let's take a break. So, Paul, I wanted to, I wanted you to tell a little bit because we just touched on it a bit. But you being at OCS, obviously someone saw and wanted you at an environment. that could change your life. You have quite the testimony.

I want you to share with the audience just a bit about how you grew up before that, what led you to wind up at OCS and obviously then becoming a Christian in the man you are today. Tell us a little bit about your background. Well, yeah, my background is that I grew up in a dysfunctional home with a daddy that was an alcoholic. And it was, he was violent. But, you know, when Daddy went drinking, he was a great. man, he would do anything for you. I mean, literally he would, I mean, we would take groceries out of our own

refrigerator and freezer and take it to the guys that was down on their luck, you know, and different things like that, or he would build anything for you. You wouldn't ever charge you anything, but he had that problem with alcohol. He drank the old crow, and he drank a fifth a day. And it got pretty rough, yeah. And then he started in on, he started. He'd come home and beat mama if he got mad about something or different things like that. But I don't know how far you.

I want me to go with this, but I can go as far as you want me to go. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, how old were you when you started noticing? Well, it was even as a little boy. I mean, it was then as a little boy. Because I remember one time that for whatever reason, I didn't understand why, but he got mad about something.

And then he got the lighter fluid and started squirting on the cabinets, kitchen cabinets and stuff was fixing to burn the house down. And I remember us having to run outside. And I remember to start hiding behind the car in the yard and looking around at him, wondering why my hero was trying to. And he was standing there on, I could see him. He was standing there with a pistol in his hand looking for us. And I'm thinking, why is he wanting to kill us?

I mean, I don't understand this. Yeah, because it's impossible. So I was a little boy that I couldn't even understand that. Yeah. And another time I was my, we was so little that my sister and I were in, taking a bath together. You know, you always took bath together, it seemed like, but when you're little. And we was in there, and then all of a sudden I hear,

pow, paw, paw, paw, in the house. So we're looking at each other as little children thinking he just killed Mama. Yeah. And we didn't, we didn't know what was going on. We just sit there. and it seemed like forever and then finally mom walked in and said all right y'all need to get out and get dried off

so we can go to bed I'm like okay so we was relieved that she was still alive yeah I mean that just sounds like terror and fear to a level that's hard to even comprehend you know for a little bit well when Paul describes it you know when he's going through his whole testimony

I've always I always marvel at how children you just kind of have to live it's guerrilla warfare right paul mean you're just in survival mode you are and your mom is too and everybody seems to be in just in survival mode when you know that you don't know what to do i know daddy daddy i knew him better than anybody to be honest with you and uh even being the youngest child we would come in from hunting or working outside or just being gone and mama would have to ask me how he's doing uh how is he today well i'd say oh yeah he's fine today or yeah it ain't it ain't

It's not good. And then you could see her getting cringing and she would just start working, you know, start doing dishes or start cooking or whatever she could do just to stay busy to keep, maybe to keep him from doing anything to her. And you had how many older sisters did you have? I had four older sisters. Yeah. Four older sisters.

I was the youngest of all of them. He was abusive to your mom and to them as well and to the kids? No, no. No, he was, yeah, I'm sorry, what? No, go ahead. He was, he was abusive to my mom only, but it was so bad around there that my sisters ended up just marrying to get out, and they all got out of the house, and it left me and my little sister there.

She's older than me, but she was my baby sister. They left us there, and I say they left us there, it was okay, but I mean, and then eventually he started turning on us. And so one night I heard a commotion outside in the living room and I got up to go see. And it was my dad slapping my sister around because she had left the milk out or some stupid, something like that. Well, then I went and grabbed his arm and my daddy was six, four, two, thirty-five, just so sinking strong. But anyway, he said, I got something for you too.

and I went back, got toward my room, and then he hit me and put me on the couch. And then he started beating me. But, you know, down deep inside, though, when he was beating me, it was okay because he wouldn't hit my sister anymore. And come to find out, look, I'm going to tell you how bad it is. I didn't even know some of the stuff that I'd actually did. My sister come up, I told, I said, well, look, I told my testimony, and I said something about you.

And she said, well, you've always been my protector. And I said, what are you talking about? And she said, don't you remember that every time Daddy would get on me, you'd come over there and get in between us. Or you would grab his arm or you would do something different. And I'm like, no, I don't remember those times. It was hard for me to remember. She said, do you remember the night you came out with your shotgun going to kill him? And I said, I'm sitting there trying to think about that.

I remember coming out one time with a gun, going to try to end it all. But it was when he shot the guy in the front yard. But I'll get to that in a minute. but I couldn't remember doing that. Then I was sitting there trying to remember, and then I thought, okay, it seems like I do because I remember she said, don't shoot him because you make miss. And I thought, I'm not going to miss.

But she taught me into taking my gun and putting it back up. But I'm like, I don't even remember this stuff. She did, but I didn't. Because, you know, you go into these. I've spent my whole life trying to forget this stuff. But, you know, and you taught me into telling it one time. Yeah. And then so, but you know what? It's been good because it's helped a lot of people because there was more people out there like me than I ever dreamed. I thought I was only one. I thought it was by myself. But you're not. Yeah, because I think the time I brought the gun out, I don't know what I was doing. You're just a kid. But the guy pulled up too close to the doorsteps and he had lost a fifth of whiskey that day and he was mad already, but he always carried a pistol in his pocket. And the guy pulled up too close to the doorstep and he said, back. back that SOB up.

And so he backed up about three foot and Daddy got up and went open that door up and beat that man all the way back to the end of the driveway. And meanwhile, the door, Daddy jerked the door all but off the car.

And then when he got him in the driveway, he pulled his pistol out and shot him in the head. And I don't know. He was running around the car holding his head with blood running down his arms and his wife was eight months pregnant,

running around screaming, hollering, it was a mess. Well, how did he even get out? of that. How did I get out of that? No, I mean, how did your daddy? I mean, well, you got to understand. Well, he went to spent one night, uh, but you got to understand back then they paid the old boy off. I mean, that was that was, that was, he made so much money for the company, he worked for. They, they took good care of him and stuff like that and got him out. It was kind of a good old boy system thing, you know. Oh, gee, well, yes. Yeah, it ain't, it ain't, it ain't, it ain't, it ain't, it, it's not like

it used to be. It's not, that, that, uh, no, that, that, it ain't the same as a A lot of times culturally, especially around where we grew up, you know, people just kind of, as crazy as it sounds now, they just overlooked that kind of behavior because it was like, well, you just, you know, like you said, he was in his moments of not being drunk. I'm sure everybody loved him. Oh, they did. Oh, that's what the guy came over for. He came over to see him because he liked him. But he was drunk and mad already, so it was like just a bad combination for that old boy. Well, let's take another break. So Paul, so tell our audience what happened. What happened?

It was, I guess, a tragic ending to the whole thing. But what happened on the faithful night, I call it? The faithful night. Yeah, well, okay, so, yeah. My sister comes to the door, and I don't know anything that's happening. She comes to the door because I don't hear it. I don't hear anything. And she comes to the door and she said, hey, Paul, get up.

Well, there's a certain tone that you know, like to smell, the sights, to hear, you know, there's a certain sound that she made in her voice, and I knew that was trouble. And I said, what is it? And she said, just come here. And I said, what happened? She said, Paul, just come here. So I got up and went to the living room, and my mom was on the couch with that thousand-yard stair. And hang on, man. And she looked up at me.

and she said, son, I killed your daddy. And I said, okay. And I sit down beside her and I just said, Mom, it's going to be all right. It's going to be all right. We'll be all right. Because, I mean, y'all don't understand the beatings that she took. And it was mostly for us, but then he started beating us.

And I think that she was like, nobody's going to beat my kids like that and get away with it, you know. Yeah. So I think as long as it was her, it was all right. but when it started in on the kids, then it was a different ballgame. And she had waited until he went to sleep and took a shotgun and stuck it to the head and pulled the trigger and ended it off for all of us. And, well, we had to go to the grand jury and testifying her behalf. And she spent a few days in jail, but they let her out, and long as long as none of the kids said anything. they wouldn't going to do anything to her.

So how old were you, Paul, that night? I was 14. Wow. 14 years old. So I ran up on you about two to three years after that. Yep. Yep. Yep.

It was, I don't know, it kind of all went downhill for me after that. You know, you start trying to think you're a man. My daddy always told me when he died, I was going to be a man. You know, and he said, yeah, son, when these boots fit your shoes, these boots fit your feet, then you'll be a man. Well, I tried his boots on the next day, and they fit. And so, therefore, I thought I was a man. At 14 years old, started living like one, you know.

You start doing all the things men do, and that's drinking and drugging and running women. And that's exactly what I did at 14 years old. As a matter of fact, I was living with a girl at 16, because I worked over to horse ranch, and, well, I lived at the top of that barn, and she just come move in with me. And just think of the ones that you've talked to since then that this kind of behavior didn't end with him.

It still, it's tough out there. It is tough out there. Matter of fact, you know what, and I'm going to tell you, a lot of people think they're all alone. I did until that Sunday morning that I preached at our church and gave my testimony that time that Al taught me into doing. because I never would talk about it. I never talked about it. I always was trying to get rid of it. I just didn't want to think about it no more.

And I pack it down, you know. You just... Oh, I knew you for years, and I never knew that had happened until you spoke that morning. Yeah. I mean, it was crushing. Well, I knew you since he was like six years old. Oh, I was so surprised. I was like, I mean, this is incredible.

I never knew this. Yeah. Well, it's not... You just didn't go around talking about it. I all knew about it. about it because he and I, we hung out and not, and we talked about it. And just family and some people that you hang out with, mostly, is the ones that even knew anything about it.

He told me his story while we were sharing. Yeah. Sharing Jesus with him. I said, man. Yeah. Yep. Well, I think God led you all together for that to occur because you had a history of alcohol abuse.

I'm glad you came my way back in then, Paul. Yeah. I don't know how many times I've thought this, and I can't thank God enough for you for taking that time. Look, you just don't understand how wonderful that was. Because I was actually at about 15, I was so sick and tired of living that way. I was just so tired.

And I remember I can take you back to the spot where I started begging God to save me. And yet I still end up doing all those things. because that's all I knew to do. All I knew to do was what I grew up in. And so I knew there had to be something better. And so what I'd do is come home and I'd have my Bible, and I would get it out either drunk and high or both, and I'd just start reading, trying to figure it out.

So you was the answer to the prayer. When you took me in. But see, here goes even further than that. You allowed me to go and be with you in your home. Ms. Gage fed me mini meal. And I stayed down there with y'all. I don't know if you remember all this. But during school nights and all of it, I was with y'all at your house.

Yep. And we'd get up in the mornings and go run nets or chaps and then go to school. And during home room, I'd sell fish. Was there attempting that from 14 to 16 to try to get, you know, some kind of counseling or, I mean, did? I didn't even know anything about that. Nobody, no, you're just in survival mode. You know, you're just trying to figure things out. and now where I was hearing.

I remember his look was, you know, when I saw him the first time, his hair was down to his waist. Which is not frowned upon by you. It was back in those days, as far as the hippie movement, it was a full, full throttle. Okay, look. But he had a look about him with hair down to his waist and two or three people had him and said,

why are you running around that old boy? I said, it's a long story. doing. Well, look, I want to take credit for the bandana and the long hair that y'all have because I was cool before cool was cool. You sure were. Always find it comical when Phil is commenting on people's hair care in fashion. Really?

Yeah, we overlooked everything. As far as the look goes, he was in there with them, you know. I thought, yeah. Yeah, but you know what? He used to think about it is. I thought it was pretty cool. that you did a sermon, Paul, that called yesterday, or when you filled in for dad, about what it's like to be normal.

I heard that, I heard that was the name of your lesson. I was like, boy. It was. It was about how to be normal. And I used the Robertson and the Smith family as an example. I told him, I said, well, you know, I live with the Robertsons hanging out with those guys down there, and I thought that was normal. But it was better than what I had, but I figured out it wasn't normal.

And then the Smith family, they was a different family too. And I was trying to figure out if they was normal and they really wouldn't either. So, you know, as far as what would people think normal is. But you know what? What normal is is that we are normal because we're Christians. That's right. We're children of God Almighty. We're in his family and that is normal because if you're walking in the spirit as he's in a spirit

because that's how we were designed. And that's what if you're doing that, then you are normal. Now, we may do abnormal things, but still we're normal. We're in a normal. From time to time, we might do some things that seem a little odd to others, but. I'm glad you said it, though, because people from the outside looking in from the world, they're looking at this is completely abnormal. That we're believing in this invisible God that you can't see as create a universe

and that we actually are reading this Bible as it's a love letter from the creator of the universe. That's just the craziest thing. That just seems so abnormal. But that is normal. I guarantee it. It makes more sense to me than just saying I'm going to a grave one day and I have no plan. I don't know why I'm here or how I got here. And there's a few of us.

There's one sitting there. That's a tough, tough story coming up to 17 years old, 14, 15 years old. Well, and I think that's the idea is how it shapes us. Let's take another break. So that's why I wanted to pick up the story, Paul. So, so, you know, our families grew up together. You and Kim, you had two boys. We had two girls.

There are several of us all around the same age. And so we're in house churches together. And that's how I got to know you. And we played softball together, you know, church softball and all these, you know, we were just living life together and we're doing it all at the church. And, of course, Smith was my mentor. I'm working for the church. And so you were,

You were a welder by trade. But, you know, I always knew you had something more to offer the kingdom. And so you had been involved at OCS, kind of as taking care of stuff. And you also were a baseball coach, just kind of, I think, volunteering, if I'm right, because you probably didn't get paid much. But we were looking for somebody to take care of our facility in our building. And so, but I have to say, I mean, that was kind of the impetus for us to hire you. but I always, because I knew you so well,

I knew you had way more to offer than just that, although that's important. I knew there was more. And so Barry Stevens was our preacher back then. And so I convinced Barry that we needed to hire you to work with us. But I kind of always had in the back of my mind that that would grow into a lot more than just taking care of the facilities. And so you and I worked together for over 20 years.

And I have to say and tell our audience, I mean, you're not going to find a guy. with, and you heard his story. So, I mean, it's, it's amazing what God did, but you won't find a guy with a bigger heart and a better heart than this guy. And I think that's always shine through. It shines through your kids, now your grandkids. And you've been a, I mean, what you've done for the church in terms of just taking care of

people and sharing the gospel has been remarkable. So are your kids married now? Oh, yeah. Married and I got six grandkids. Oh, they married. Yeah. Yeah. See, I'm here and look at it.

You know, I'm hearing the story, but it was crisscrossing now. I'm over here across the river. Yeah. But that all happened like a blink. It did. Yeah, it did. Yeah, really, it did. Because just yesterday they were little boys.

And I first saw you, you know, you had the long dreds look, but your whiskers were not white. Now they're white. Well, and Paul and I got to be good friends along the way, and I referred to this when I recommended that we have you on the show. I was like, he took a year out of his life and helped me coach a bunch of kids who were, I think they were 13 and 14 years old. Yeah, 13, 14. And we drafted kids who came from difficulty on purpose.

Yeah. And we spent a year trying to, you know, plant the seed in those kids. And it was really kind of a bad news bear. type story. It really was. Because, I mean, it was completely dysfunctional and it began to, we got involved with the parents

and we had all these rules. You know, I kicked one of the parents out of the game on the first game. She had to I said, go smoke your cigarettes down there 300 yards away because you're putting too much pressure on your kid who's very talented. But

he just threw his first pitch and the umpire. It looked like a strike. umpire's like ball and he just comes unglued the mom's hailing four letter words and i'm like time out which usually an umpire would throw them out but i threw her out and then took the kid you know and said that's it you're you're we don't show this kind of character you know out there but i mean to make a long story short i just i saw because i didn't have any parents helping us i just i just took the best men I knew who knew baseball and said, y'all want to help some kids. And it was very rewarding, although difficult and bumpy along the way in all these conversations,

but look, I've had numerous of those kids return through the years and said, most fun I ever had, and it was, you know, most inspiring. But I don't know what your take on that was. It was a complete act of service on your behalf to be coaching baseball 30 years and then just devote to those. kids. Yeah, that was fun year. That was a great year. You know what? I ended up converting and baptizing one of the parents. Okay. Yeah. So I ended up doing counseling with them and a bunch of other stuff with them. So, yeah, working with one of the kids for a long term for a while. And so it ended up, if nothing else, that's what came out of that. But it was a lot of fun to

spend that time with them, especially Cole. Yeah. My son was on the, I was the only parent coach, but I was like, I'm doing this for the Lord. I'm not going to be biased. So here's what was funny to me, because Cole and I, I didn't realize it, but Cole and I had conversations. He'd ride with me where we was going or we'd go different places. Because he was a pitcher and I was a pitching coach and we would talk about things and stuff like that.

And I went over to Martin. I said, well, Cole and I was talking about this. And he goes, you talk to Cole talk to you? And I said, well, yeah, like, why wouldn't he? I can't get him to say three words for me. Yeah, he was. I felt pretty good about that that Martin couldn't have. Well, and you really helped him out, and I think, you know, it takes other people because he was real quiet and shy at that stage of his life.

But at that time, no one knew that he was a brain. Well, right. He was thinking. Yeah, yeah. Just thinking. But what we did, we made that place to say. He's like one of Pepperdine's leading scholars came out of there. I mean, that's pretty tough.

We made the baseball field a safe place for those kids. And Paul really led the way because having to deal with the trauma that he dealt with. I mean, here's all these young boys, you know, several times a couple of, they showed up crying. And because back home is just a complete nightmare. It was. And so I, once I, I would go talk to the parents a lot about there will be no negativity

in this place at any time. Because I said all this beforehand. I was like, you agree to do this. And I kind of used the, because we had the show and all. I mean, I was like, you agree that I have the right to remove you if you're being negative. We're going to make this a safe place for your kids. They need it. They need a safe place to get their head right and be involved in something, you know,

and learn how to be selfless and, you know, have a healthy distraction for all their problems. And what was crazy about it was we know. ever thought about actually winning. We lost the first couple games, and then we won the rest of them. And then all of a sudden, all these other teams who had in mind, they're into all-stars and who's going to be on the team. But whoever wins the league, that's who the all-star coach is. And so then it's-

That was the last thing we wanted. Well, right, but they didn't know that. And so then we began being persecuted, and I felt like railroaded a lot of times with the umpires, but we never said a negative word. There was never an argument on a call. Nothing. We were always positive no matter what happened. And so the highlight of that personally was at the end,

so we win the league. I go to the All-Star coaches. They're all just like heads hung. It's the worst possible scenario has happened because they've lost all-control. Look, they already had it set up who was going to be the All-Star coach. They had it all figured out. They had it all lined out,

and who was going to be on the team. and all that. And then when we roll in and upset all that? Well, I purposely showed up five minutes late to the meeting. I stuck my head in there and I said, just wanted you all to know that it's been a great year and I don't want to be the coach, nor does any of my other coaches.

So good luck to you. Thanks for a wonderful season. And so that was it because it really wasn't about that. It was about, you know, helping those kids. And that's why I just. saw that connection. Here's a man, I mean, you just heard Paul's story. I just don't think it can get any worse than that for a kid.

And the reason I asked you about that counseling and all, it's just crazy to me that the power of God saw you through that. And, I mean, you've been not only just a productive member of our society for the last 40 years despite that, but an encourager and have affected thousands of other people and even kids in situations like. that and I think it truly is a testimony to the power of God. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. In matter fact, in the school systems, I mean, even in elementary school, I was kicked out. I got suspended twice in the elementary school. And I'm like, but I'm really a good guy. I think I don't know why y'all

keep running me off, but. But no wonder. I mean, look at what you have at your house. Yeah. Then in junior high. Yeah, that is, I remember, I remember that guy told me, you need to leave. And next time you come back, you need to bring your daddy back. And I look. I said, I'll bring my mom back because I'm thinking I'm doing you a favor. Because if my dad comes back here, it ain't going to be good for you. I know that. But you think about it. Let's take a break.

You think about it, Paul, I mean, how many, that's why you have to have empathy for kids, and especially for trouble kids, because you don't know what's going on at their house. And you don't know what they're going through. And a lot of times kids act out in different ways. I know there's a lot of educators and coaches that watch and, listen to our podcast because I hear from a lot of you. And I hope you're hearing in that whole story about the baseball and even what dad did is that there has to be an intentionality about kind of how you go when it comes to kids because they need you. I mean, there's going to be kids

in there that are in the same type situation Paul was in and they need a word. I mean, you know, it was a middle school coach, if I'm recalling, right, Paul, that got you to come to OCS, which then exposed you to the people you were exposed to, which changed their whole life. And so that was somebody that had an awareness and was living intentionally for the kingdom. So a lot of times people say, well, you know, I'm just a coach or a teacher. You know, I don't know what I can do, but you may be the one light that guides somebody to the changes their destiny. I was wondering how that happened, how who reached out to you to get you to go to OCS, which eventually you met Phil. Well, when I was kicked out of West Monroe, they asked me to leave,

not come back, which I don't blame them. I mean, but anyway, because I mean, I mean, But they didn't even know your story. No, no, they did. I didn't tell. I mean, I think some of them knew it because it happened when I was in junior high or middle school. And, yeah, I remember the old boy coming and telling me that I had to leave. And he had that look in his eye of, this kid ain't going to never make nothing. We've got to get rid of him.

And rightfully so, I mean, I don't blame the man. I mean, because, you know, I earned that, you know, because I wouldn't be a very good student. But anyway, I could play ball. I was an athlete. And so Wayne Spruill gave me the chance, and I can't thank him enough for that. He came to our house after I had been kicked out, and they put me in an alternative school. And he said for that summer, what he would do is he would get half my tuition paid, and he'd get me a summer job, which ended up working with the Westmore Police Department.

How I'll run it. Yeah, that was that was. Kind of, yeah, because I was still doing drugs, too, and doing all that stuff and working at the police department. So that was a little, you know, anyway, that was a little weird. But I met William Geithner, too, by the way. He's our city marshal, and I tell you what, that guy has really poured a lot into me, too. Yeah, I know him well myself.

He's a wonderful man, and I love him dearly. But anyway, so after that summer job with William Guyton, Wayne Spruill was going to be the head coach at I watched our Christians, so he recruited me over to come play at this new, brand-new Christian school. And that's where Phil was. And then he and I just hit it off right off the bat. And then he and I started hanging out. And then he shared the gospel with me, and I obeyed the gospel.

And then I started bringing all them heathens I knew to him. Yeah, I mean, I started, I mean, it was one right after another. You remember that? Oh, yeah. Oh, I've dragged one after another to him. I'm like, God, you got to hear this story. Because they saw the change in me. because I went back to that horse ranch I worked out.

Then old boys said, we want to smoke a joint and drink some beer, and I'm like, I don't do that no more. And they just looked at me like, what? And I said, guys, I found something a whole lot better than that. His name is Jesus. And so I only knew one scripture, going to the world and teach the gospel

and whoever believes the baptized shall be safe. Now, that's what I did. I mean, that's all I knew, and I keep telling that scripture. And I told them that, and I said, but y'all got to come hear this story. And I drug them to him, and he started telling them all. So that's kind of where that started.

And so then one day, so one day we're at Fieldhouse and this kid they're in from Alexandria. I don't know if you remember this, but it was the bunch out of Ellick. You get me, but I don't. No, it's okay to want the bunch out of Ellick. You remember?

Oh, you're talking about the riders. Yeah, riders. Well, they brought a kid with him. They brought a kid up there with him. And I was waiting on you to share the gospel with him. And you said, you were sitting there taking that nap, and you said, Steve is sharing the gospel of that boy.

And I was like, oh, no, you know, now I've got to do it. So then, but that's when it started for me. And then it just lit that fire in me that I couldn't wait to tell more people about Jesus and share the gospel with them. So that's what to let my fire in order to start training myself and started studying and doing those things. So actually, and here's what's crazy about this is, is that the very handout that these sent all over the world is the one I wrote up of sharing the gospel. and it came from Phil, Bill, and Barry Stevens. Those are the ones I used some of the things they said, and I just put my own twist to it and stuff.

So it's that very thing that gets sent all over the world so people can hear the gospel. It's just word for word, just like I was saying it to them. Yeah, isn't that cool? It is. I can't believe, I cannot still believe that God is using me to do things like this. And I walk down at hall, and my name's on one of those doors. And all these other guys has got these degrees and all that.

And I tell them, so I got a degree of hard knots. I got the knots to prove my experience. Well, God had a plan for you. I know it's not difficult, even though you've shared, you know, a few times. And because a lot of people out there you think about it, I mean, we live in an evil world and bad things happen. And just things happen in nature. We're perishable. A lot of our pain, you know, comes from our own sin.

but sometimes it comes from somebody else's sin and just dealing with that. But it just shows you that no matter what happens, that there's a God that's faithful and provides ways for us to get on our feet and be productive. Yeah, the little text that says when Jesus and John 8 said, if you hold them a teaching, then you'll really be my disciple, then you'll know the truth. Truth is set you free. There's living proof right there.

Is that free? Set free. is exactly what it was Satan sin guilt law the grave you like I I just smiled all the time when I I mean after I come up out of that water I was just like okay this is my new life and it was so and it's been wonderful well you still have the fire in your bones well that's a good thing oh yeah man I still love of doing what I'm doing I've been at the church for now over 22 years just about 23 years and I can thank Al for that man Al you've you've done more for me than than most and I'm just say thank you so much for that like uh well the whole robinson family really has you know i mean

all making me feel old this morning well i'm well i feel well i feel old too but it really is i mean up for miss hey i think what the deal is we are old that's exactly right well k you know kay's done a lot for me i remember her uh her making her banana pudding for my birthday and stuff like that and so yeah you bunch look guys when when you come out of uh when you come out of nothing you're uh nothing you're making her a and you have people like y'all to love somebody like me. That was, you guys have a great influence on me. And I can't thank you enough. Hey.

Yeah. Well, I think it's made us all a little bit emotional. And you just think about how close we are as brothers. I'll close with one of my favorite stories about Paul. He was right around 16 or 17. He was a brand new Christian. And he had been out to help Dad run the Nets. and we had a wooden boat.

Remember those old cypress boats we had down there? I remember this story. He made them. And so they caught a... I haven't forgotten this story. Oh, I haven't. I never forget this story. They caught a loggerhead turtle that day, along with the fish.

And that turtle got back there and got to snapping around old Paul's feet. And he got a little bit nervous when they were coming in, so he wasn't watching where he was going. There was a snag right behind where we parked the boats, sticking up out of the water, about two feet inside. Paul just centered that thing. He did. And just everything came to a complete stop. Oh, well, y'all, hauling the bottom.

The snag was through the boat like this. Water was coming in. That's right. Okay, because I'm driving the boat, and I'm looking, down this turtle just comes alive. And he's coming through there, and we're all barefooted anyway. And he can take your fingers off. Oh, look, and I know this, because he was huge.

He was this big around, you know, he was huge. Snap and turtle. Yeah. And so I had my, I was trying to get my feet out of the way, and I'm trying to look, and all I heard was, watch you, watch you, watch it. And I looked. Wow. And I hit that thing and everything went forward. And we, like I said, we hadn't been Christians that long.

But Phil looked back at me and said, boy. And I don't know what else he said because I was just too shocked anyway. He jumped out of the boat, picked the boat up off the snag because good thing we wasn't that far from the bank. But, yeah, we got to the bank. Yeah, we patched it up. Patsed it up. moved on for 30 years there was a jug tied on the top of that snag to let everybody know don't go there so we're out of time we got a little

overtime segment i saved one story that i want you to tell paul in our overtime segment which is one that's very very powerful to me so we'll we'll save that one we'll catch it in overtime thanks for listening to the unashamed podcast help us out by rating us on iTunes and don't miss an episode by subscribing on YouTube and be sure to click that little bell to get notified about new episodes. And for even more content that you won't get anywhere else, subscribe to blazed TV at blazedtv.com slash unashamed.