Do They Think I'm Crazy?

I always smile and shake my head when I pull up at places where I’m scheduled to speak and see my name on a sign.

I was checking into a hotel at Disney World late one night and they could not find my room reservation. I looked to the left and there was a huge picture of me on an easel right to the left of the registration desk. I pointed to the easel and said, “I’m that guy right there.” The lady found me a room in a hurry.

Sometimes I’m surprised at what I see. I have always enjoyed the names of groups people come up with. Gerry Lewis and the Playboys. Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones. Bruce Goddard and the Peachland Quartet.

My first business at that particular church was to be sure they did realize I was not a singer.

I have a booking agent now so I’m a little more prepared for what to expect when I get to an event than I used to be. For years I would pull up at an engagement not knowing if I was speaking to 50 or 500. And I have been surprised more than a few times.

And there is no telling how many times I’ve arrived at the last minute to find out I was the only person there in a coat and tie. And just as many times I arrived to find out everybody had on a coat and tie but me.

And there have been a few times I couldn’t find the place at all and there was another time I arrived early. Exactly one month to the day early.

The money thing was always a hit and miss thing too. For the first few years I spoke to any group that would have me. I told them I would accept whatever they wanted to give me to help defray my expenses. I came in late one night after having driven four hours round trip for a speaking engagement. I woke my wife up when I laughed after I opened the envelope. They had given me a love offering to help defray my expenses.

A check payable to Bruce Goddard in the amount of $5.00.

Not much love in that offering.

After that I decided I needed to start charging people for my speaking services to make it worth the time. My then assistant, Sheri, did a good job asking for money. I deferred everyone to her because I knew I didn’t have the heart to charge folks and she didn’t mind at all.

I’ll never forget the day a small church in South Georgia called to ask if I could speak at their mid week prayer service on Wednesday night. Sheri told them I would be more than happy to come. For the very reasonable price of one thousand dollars. After picking herself up off the floor, the lady at the church said she could get Billy Graham to come speak for that kind of money.

I told Sheri we probably need to re-think charging churches.

I spoke at a FFA camp in Hot Springs Arkansas recently somewhere between Little Rock and Texarkana.

You just don’t drive up to those places. You have to know where you are going. My GPS device came in real handy that day.

I could go on and on about the experiences I’ve had as a public speaker. That could be another book in itself.

I have hundreds and hundreds of letters from people who have been in my audiences or from people who were thanking me for coming to speak for them.

But I got a letter today that may top them all off. I had to read it twice.

The essence of the letter was they were letting me know that they had picked someone else to be their pastor but they sure did appreciate me coming to try out.

If I had known I was trying out to be the pastor I would never have told the story about Eula Maude driving Syd around on the hood of the car to cool off after applying too much medicine for the jock itch.

I also would never have left there without taking up a love offering.

Do they think I’m crazy?