Fear Gripped Her

Michael Walker (pictured here) and our youngest, Luke, spent a ton of time together during their high school years. We got to know Michael well because of the many nights he spent at our house. At one point Luke and a girl he was dating broke up. Soon after that Michael started dating the very same girl. If a friendship can survive that, it can survive anything. Didn’t seem to bother either one of them one bit.

Luke was fortunate to have some great friends in high school and we thoroughly enjoyed those years with all the kids in and out of our house. Michael was one of the special ones. He entertained us many nights playing the guitar and singing. He could play anything on the guitar you could hum. If he was singing on American Idol this year Simon, Paula and Randy would like him. And America would be voting for him and he would still be on stage and in the top seven. In other words, he is talented. Gifted would be the better word.

As most people do that do high school together, Luke and Michael went their separate ways when they graduated. Michael moved to Mobile, AL to attend the University of Mobile. The son of an ENT Medical Doctor, Michael is pursuing a different path. He is studying to become a church Worship Leader. Luke, who is now in his junior year of college, began recently working part-time as a Youth Pastor at a local church.


I was not at all surprised as Luke was putting his first big event together for the youth of his church that he called on his old buddy to come help him out. Michael drove from Mobile to Warner Robins to do a concert tonight at the church. And he brought a drummer named Grant and a couple of other guitarists (Jeremy and Trey) with him. And they put on quite a show. It was a rock n roll Christian concert.

Something struck me as I was taking it all in tonight. And the truth is the thought brought tears to my eyes. These young men are standard bearers. In a world where many college students are out and about and doing God knows what on Saturday night, these guys dare to be different. They have dedicated their lives for the cause of Christ.

And not that it matters, but these guys are not nerds. They laugh and cut-up but they are born leaders and they do not follow the crowd. There is absolutely no telling how many lives these guys will impact before they are done. And it will happen in different places and in different ways.

But something else struck me. I ran into three other close friends of theirs who graduated from the same high school tonight. And these kids were also in and out of our house during their high school years as Luke was in and out of their homes. Two of them are Youth Pastors of different churches and the other one will be working this summer with the youth of a church.

What a great group of young men. And I can tell you they make me extremely proud.


By the way, Michael’s band is called “Fear Gripped Her.” (the band is pictured here with Luke). At least they were called that tonight. Luke asked Michael the name of the band so he could properly introduce them. Michael told him they really didn’t have a name so they agreed for Luke to open his Bible and wherever it fell to place his finger on the verse and that would be the name of the band.

Luke did that tonight in front of the packed out church. It kinda went like this: “And now ladies and gentlemen all the way from Mobile, Alabama" (as he opened his Bible and put his finger on a random verse) "please welcome ….. Fear Gripped Her”

At that moment, all I could do was shake my head.

But before the night was over all I could do was bow my head and give thanks for what I experienced tonight and for the potential I see in these young men who dare to be different and who dare to walk down the narrow road.

WOW, WOW AND WOW.