In November 2009 I was selling homes at a prefabricated housing dealer.  Jesus called me to the ministry a year and a half prior and I had become very dissatisfied with my position and the environment.  I had no idea what to expect about this calling and I lived a very secular lifestyle prior to 2005.  Jesus was changing me over time and even my coworkers, who I previously loved to work with, grew to dislike me because of my transformation.  I told Jesus I was going to wait for Him and not go out in front of Him.  I had always blast doors open in my life, creating my own opportunities.  This time, I was telling Jesus I was going to let Him open the doors. 

Back to November 2009, my wife had taken our kids away for the day and I was studying in my living room, enjoying the peace and quiet.  I felt the air shift in the room and it filled up with the Holy Spirit.  I hit the floor in a “Here I am Lord” kind of moment. There was no physical appearance, but I knew the Holy Spirit was there.  I heard Him say one thing to me, “You can quit your job now.”  I said ecstatically, out loud, “I’ve been praying and fasting for this for a year and a half!”  Then negativity hit me – an attack from the enemy – and I also said out loud, “Wait a minute!  We’re having another baby, Christmas is coming, how am I going to support my family?”  Immediately, it was as if a big rolodex spun around in my brain – remember those antiquated desk top office tools?  As the rolodex spun around in my head, each index card contained a memory of when Jesus had taken care of me; even when I didn’t deserve it – as if I ever did.  The rolodex spun really fast, but I knew every card.  Amazing!  He was confirming to me that He was going to take care of me.  As I started sobbing I told Jesus, “Whatever you say.  I’ll do it.”  And He was gone. 

I called my wife, both crying and excited at the same time.  I told her that Jesus just visited me in the living room and told me I could quit my job.  She said “But we are getting ready to have our third child.  Christmas is coming.  How are we going to pay our bills?”  I replied, “That’s what I said!”  I then told her about the big rolodex Jesus put in my brain and she said, “How many people go their whole life and at the end say ‘I wish I had done more for Jesus.’  Let’s do it.”  She confirmed the calling. 

The next day, I was going in to work early to give my notice and again the negativity set in.  My flesh was questioning what I heard, so I pulled over and prayed down the street from my job.  I asked Jesus to give me confirmation…again.  About thirty seconds later, I received a phone call from a pastor friend of mine.  I asked him, “Why are you calling me right now?” He told me he didn’t know why he was calling, just felt like he should check in on me.  I told him where I was sitting and gave him the whole scenario and he gave me another word of confirmation. 

So, I drove in and sat in front of the owner and told him I felt I had to go.  I was the top producer in our office, within the top two or three in our company and the owner and I had a great relationship.  I think he thought I wasn’t happy, or leaving for a competitor because he offered me more money.  I told him, “It’s not about the money.  You know something’s changed in me this last year and a half.  It’s not about you, me, or money.  It’s about Jesus.  He’s calling me out.”  He agreed that I had definitely changed, but I’m not sure how he felt about the whole Jesus calling thing.  Doesn’t matter.  I offered him whatever he needed; I told him “…two weeks, two months, a year…whatever you need from me.”  He said, “I think two weeks is enough for me to transfer your deals and accounts.”

So, I worked out the notice in good standing.  I left and was out of work for another two weeks before running into a pastor who asked me a question about myself.  My answer made him cry and he offered me a position at his church as an intern to prepare me for church planting.  This is the point in my life when Jesus took over.  There’s plenty of story after this, but all the story lines always end here; at The Truth Project.