Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/1074597
WheelsOfGrace.com | Volume 10 Issue 4 | 23 W.O.G. So you've had Biblical training and been to seminary. Doc.: I a ended several different seminaries. First, The Seventh-day Adven st Theological Seminary; then Lincoln Chris an Seminary and finally Luther Rice Seminary, which was Southern Bap st. I have the equivalent of a Masters Divinity degree and was ordained back in 1993 a er coming back from being a missionary in Japan. W.O.G. That's right, you have men oned that to me before, what was that like? Doc.: Yes, a er gradua ng from my masters program I went over to plant a church in Japan. W.O.G. What year was that? Doc.: It was 1990. W.O.G. How long were you there? Doc.: Three years. W.O.G. Would you do it again? Would you serve as a missionary long term? Doc.: Not if I had that same mentality. I had no rela onship with God. I was ro en to the core but felt as though I was stuck being a minister/missionary. I was afraid to do anything else so the hatred that I felt towards God and everyone for that ma er ran rampant in my life. I got into pornography, ba led shame and guilt and almost beat up the director of the mission one night when I became enraged at something he had said. I was simply a cking me bomb. W.O.G. Tell us about something that truly impacted your life, when you were in Japan. Doc.: It was when I was in Japan that I truly understood that I had an anger problem and that I was going to erupt. Most nights I could not sleep because of my inner turmoil and I would sit up on the floor, knees to my chest rocking back and forth. I could not eat, hardly slept and hated everything about who I was and what I was doing. But I felt trapped, like it was a long prison sentence that I had to serve. W.O.G. Pre y intense my friend! What about Diena? We have met with you and Diena several mes. Who is Diena and what is her role with B.A.T.? Doc.: Diena is my partner in life. We met years ago through a church interac on and just became friends. Then when I decided to start an addic on treatment center I asked if she would be interested in working for me. A er working together for a few years we grew close and during that me we started Bikers Against Trafficking. W.O.G. How old were you when you read the Bible for the first me? Doc.: I was raised on the Bible. Each night my dad or grandmother read to us from Bible Story books. We were raised in church and so we went to church each weekend and were molested and beaten it seemed, daily. My dad at one me was a leader in the church and on the side he was dealing drugs and killing people. You can imagine the interes ng view of God that one develops as a child with that type of combo. W.O.G. OK... so, leader in the church and dealing drugs, inappropriate behavior with young ones and even commi ng murder…? Hence where the Grace of God comes in and o en has NOTHING to do with the church. Therefore the difference between Religion, and Rela onship with God. For someone that is reading this interview and does not have a rela onship with God what would you tell them about reading the Bible? Doc.: To be honest, those early readings hounded me. When my life took its worst turn and we lived on the run for those five years I became a terrible human being and the only thing that kept me from falling off the edge were those Bible stories that kept cropping up from me to me. www.BikersAgainstTrafficking.org