It would be a little while before they came to a saving faith of their own, but God was working in their lives; that was clear. He’s always working. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’ve been, or where you’re going. God has a plan, and he’s calling you to himself—step by step on a thousand-step journey to him.
Chapter 14
The Body Never Forgets
Across the bay from New Orleans, forty miles up the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, is a tiny Louisiana town called Madisonville. One day in 2003, a telephone rang in a small home there. The call was picked up by Jeremy Brown, my old friend from college who had told me everything I knew about Jesus Christ; Jeremy, who had planted the truth in my mind that no matter what I did, no matter how much trouble I got in, God still loved me and would forgive me.
My old friend picked up the phone and said, “Hello?”
“Jeremy! This is Robby, man! How’s it going?”
“Robby? Are you kidding me? Hey, it’s great to hear from you! What’s up?”
“I just got saved! So listen, Jeremy—God has called me to be a preacher and also to start a ministry with you.”
“What? Robby—what are you talking about? I haven’t heard from you in seven years. Slow down! First of all, you’re saying you got saved? And this time, for real?”
“Absolutely! Greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. I’m not the same person I used to be. Jeremy, I wrecked my life, man. I was on drugs, but God broke through to me, and he used everything you told me back in college.”
“Okay! And second of all, you’re saying you’ve got a call to preach?”
“Already started! I shared my testimony and saw several guys come to the Lord, and—”
“Wait, wait—will you slow down? Man, this is too much at one time. We haven’t talked in seven years, and you call up, and just like that you want me to take off with you and do some kind of ministry? I know you’re crazy, Robby, and I love that about you. But I have a church job here. I’m a youth pastor. God hasn’t told me he wants us to be in ministry together.”
“Well, seems like I remember, Jesus walked up to folks and said, ‘Follow me,’ and they put down their fishing nets and walked away with him, right?”
“Yeah, well, that’s true, but you ain’t Jesus, and I’m not a fisherman. I can’t just uproot my life and take off because Robby has another wild idea. Two things. First, you’re going to have to tell me more about what’s been going on with you. Second, I’m going to have to pray about this thing.” We agreed to circle back to the idea later.
I understood how most of the rest of the world looked before they leaped, unlike how I did things. I was willing to be patient this time. Then again, I was on fire and blazing away. Jeremy understood how to follow Jesus, how to grow as a disciple, and I knew he and I had great chemistry. It seemed like a perfect combination for us to work together.
He called me back a week or two later. “Well, I prayed about it,” he said. “I was out driving when suddenly I had this urge to pull over by the side of the road and talk to God about this thing. And when I did, the Lord impressed on my heart that I should say yes. I can’t believe that happened. I felt like I needed to warn God about you, but I guess he knows you better than I do. So here’s what I’m thinking. This thing can work if we start out ministering at student events. That’s where you and I could connect best. Do you still do those magic tricks?”
“Like riding a bike. Muscle memory—the body never forgets.”
“Well, students love magic tricks. We saw that ourselves. Could you work a gospel presentation around some tricks?”
“Oh sure! I’ve been thinking about a few illusions that would work. Since I’m the one that does the tricks, I would need to be the one sharing about Jesus while I did them. You still play guitar and sing, right?”
“Yep. I play for the students in my ministry. I’ll lead worship.”
“Well, there we have it! How do we find some venues?”
“I know some people that can probably get us booked—youth retreats, ski retreats, church events. We’d have to start small and let word-of-mouth conversations open doors for us.”
“I’m ready yesterday.”
“Let’s keep praying about it, and ask God to really bless this ministry, Robby.”
That’s how Gallaty and Brown Ministries began, and it would become a huge growing experience for me. Apparently, youth pastors loved booking events in which someone drew students in with magic tricks, or “illusions,” as some in church circles reminded me. Gallaty and Brown Ministries was on its way up. We had T-shirts, devotional CDs, even a website to create excitement—somewhat of a novelty in 2003. Jeremy would lead the audience in some praise songs, then he’d introduce me. I would capture the crowd’s interest quickly with some of my better illusions, then I would read a couple of Bible verses, talk about their meaning, and demonstrate with a trick. We could feel the Lord’s hand on what we were doing.
The highlight of our experience had to be the ski trip we attended in West Virginia, with a huge crowd of kids. I was still really new at this thing, and the way I saw it, the best thing to do was to let the Holy Spirit lead me in what to teach. So as we got on the bus, Jeremy asked me, “What are your messages going to be for the retreat?”
“No clue,” I smiled.
“What? You’re yanking my
