EDITORIAL:
Speaking on his platform at Blaze TV, Anderson, S.C. area candidate Graham Allen says he hates church and Christianity.
Says Allen, “If you want to know where you can find the most self centered people on earth, they go to this place called church.“
Viewers can hear his statements in the 19 second video above.
THE HERO OF MY STORY
While Allen’s statements will shock most locals in Western Horry County, many in Allen’s generation (located in larger cities), where Graham typically hangs out, relate to those sentiments.
GRAHAM’S ENTIRE VIDEO VIEWED HERE
He could have even sold me that the “church” crowd was evil at an earlier time in my life. Like Allen, I was an opinionated, angry young man, constantly ranting.
I watched entirely too many John Wayne movies growing up.
Wayne could ride into town (all alone). Shoot all the bad guys and ride off with the girl in just over two hours. He was quite an independent hero. He didn’t need anybody.
At around age 6, I decided (like Wayne) I would be the hero of my story as well.
There is nothing quite like cropping “sand lugs” by hand on a ninety six degree summer’s day in a tobacco field alongside your Uncle Dub and your Uncle Johnny Jenerette in Joyner Swamp, S.C. Days are long, the sun will bake you, and time is tedious.
I told myself, “when I get my first chance, I am going to get out of here. I am going to be somebody. And I’ll save others from their misery as well.”
What I missed in the experience of growing up was how much I was loved and supported in the Bayboro community. I took for granted what the work, the church, and the family were actually pouring into me.
RAN AWAY – TOOK CONTROL
So I hauled butt to Myrtle Beach, finished Coastal Carolina and took complete control of my own life. I told myself I didn’t need anybody either.
AND THEN… I hurt people I didn’t mean to hurt. I worked through a few key relationships. I had a significant business failure. I found myself in bondage to me.
How Do I Stop Hurting Me & Others?
I was bright, talented, and hard working. Why was I having these problems?
In the middle of a horrible marital divorce, a stern but kind counselor spoke truth to me. In the Spiritual realm, I was attracting who I was, not what I wanted. My attempts to rescue hurting people was an outgrowth of my own need to find inner peace and healing. Heck, I couldn’t even save myself.
This marriage counselor told me, “to have something I never had before, I had to become something I had never been before.”
I asked, “How do I do that?” And he answered, “By doing things you have never been willing to do before.“
BREAKING VOWS
I had to break every vow I ever made about what I was going to will myself to be. I was sitting on a mighty throne of self righteousness, and I had to get down from it.
Mr. Allen, I was anything but a Christian. I saw Christians and judged them just as you do now.
BUT THEN THIS HAPPENED
What I didn’t know was that in the midst of my judgement and anger, someone powerful enough to be the hero of my story was pursuing me.
I simply had to “die” into it. It was that easy. As the judgements began to disappear, I actually got in touch with the Spirit of the God who created me.
I discovered why I was created.
God created me to write. I didn’t have to become somebody. I was somebody.
God had a special purpose in mind for me all along. I simply had to let him rule, lead, and control. He saved me from me.
AND like my Uncle Dub and my Uncle Johnny Jenerette, I became a servant instead of a hero.
Mr. Allen, Christ’s servants, living throughout Horry County, walk in the highest authority.
Horry County doesn’t need a hero, Mr. Allen. We need a surrendered servant.
WE BURIED MY MOM’S BROTHER HERE
It has been now over 2 years since we buried Pastor Johnny Jenerette at Berea Baptist Church. He preached there until the day he died. My Grandmother Callie Jenerette and my Uncle W.A. Turner attended this church as well. Callie and Dub’s father (Tommy Turner) is buried in this same place.
The next time you visit District 7, ask around. Johnny Jenerette never judged any man. He spent his life helping lost locals break free from the bondage of hate and self.