the Stembridge Family website

Full Circle

Way back in 1983, I was finishing my senior year at Winder, Barrow High School,  and made an unusual friend, with an even more unusual message. His name was John Barrett, and he was an athlete.

I had never had a friend quite like John  before, he was a really nice person, that listened. I had just started school in a new community, and a new state after my parents divorced. I was very lonely, and sought friendships quickly. Two friends I met were John and Wes King (yeah… the singer). They were really fun to be around, and always seemed to be happy. John was an athlete, and Wes was just plain funny!

One night we were sitting at the local McDonalds, in downtown Winder, and we noticed emergency vehicles screaming down the Atlanta Hwy. We wondered what had happened, and guessed out load. We figured it was an accident. A little later, we saw a slow moving vehicle with the words CORONER on the side, and decided we better go check this out. It was about 10 miles outside of town, going towards Atlanta. A car had been stolen by some teens; there were 5 in the car. They had been going at a high rate of speed, and tried passing a car on a curve. They lost control, and the car flipped, and collided with the car they had just passed. One teen was thrown from the car as it flipped, and received no injuries. Everyone else died, including a Nun who was driving the other vehicle. She was driving back from St. Mary’s Hospital to Atlanta.

I remember the smells of that night more than anything. It was a sultry summer evening, and the air was thick. The smell of burned engine oil was strong, with other smells I couldn’t identify. Seeing the vehicles, with sheets draped over bodies was incredibly overwhelming. I had never experienced anything quite like it. I was so scared, and couldn’t quite imagine being dead at such a young age. John, Wes and I talked about this for some time; but we went on our own was a little later. It was this experience, and John’s willingness to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with me that later allowed God to enter my life, and my heart. My life was completely changed. This was my first true step of faith.
This incident stayed with me for years; but time went by. I experienced growth the first couple years; but seemed to drift from my faith after that and though I always kept my beliefs about God, they became more and more impersonal and distant.

I began attending John and Wes’ church, New Life Presbyterian, a PCA church. Warren Gardner was the Pastor, and the church taught some very unusual things I hadn’t heard of before… like predestination, and Covenant Children.

Through the years, I have learned that being a Christian doesn’t pivot on a particular moment in time; but an ongoing process, that is clearly evident in a believer’s life.

Many years after my first encounter with Christ, I find myself at a conservative Southern Baptist Church, where my Pastor has been helping me better understand that we are chosen. There was a time in my life where I believed that we chose God; but I now realize that God chooses us!

I may expand on this a little later; but just recently began to see this wonderful truth from God’s Word evident in my life, and many around me.