NOTE: The following part of the SGT story deals with a
very special event that touched me more deeply than I can express. But not only me, for it has brought tears to
the eyes of many as I have shared this incredible incident. I pray that it will bless you and strengthen
your faith as it did mine.
God had given Stained Glass Theatre a
new home (200 E. Commercial) and had provided the miracle of the contractor who
met ALL the building expenses. Basic
construction was completed in October of 1985, just in time for the opening of NATHANIEL THE GRUBLET, our second show
of the 1985-86 season. Things seemed to
be turning around for us, but many problems still needed to be solved: finishing construction, preparing new shows,
building attendance, and meeting the ever-present financial needs. Old debts, our modern day Midianites, still
kept us in bondage. The problems were
still there, but we could finally see some light at the end of the tunnel. We began to breathe more easily as we grew
spiritually and began to trust more in the miracle-working power of the Lord.
Around the first of December, two
months after moving to our new theatre, a series of events taught me new
meanings for the words obedience, faith, and sacrifice. It began while I was attending a chapel
service at Southwest Baptist University where I teach. I went that morning expecting, as usual, to
have a brief time of praise and worship and then continue the routine of my
day. But by the time the chapel service
was over, God had spoken to me in a powerful way, reminding me of a commitment
I had made to Him when we started the theatre company three years earlier: “Not to allow the theatre to go into
debt.” We had kept that commitment for
the first year, but as hard times came, I broke my pledge, and we soon fell
deep into debt. As God spoke to me that
morning, I knew in no uncertain terms that He wanted and expected me to have
the theatre debt free by the end of the year.
I left that service full of fear. We were still over $1,000 in debt, and I knew
that if we were to be debt free by December 31st, I had less than
four weeks to raise the money, which meant that I would have to ask people for
donations: a thing I truly hate to
do. God quickly led me to some very
generous people, and by the end of the first week, we had $450.
For the next two weeks, I asked
everyone I knew for money: friends,
teachers, businessmen, students—everyone.
People were generous, but I was running out of time and was still far
short of my goal. At the end of the
third week and on the last day of school before Christmas break, I woke up with
a heavy burden on my heart and cried out to God with tears in my eyes, “God,
I’m not going to make it. I know you
wanted me to do this, but I’m not going to make it. Father, I only have $900, and everyone is
leaving for Christmas. I don’t even know
anyone else to ask, Father. I’m sorry,
but I’m not going to make it.”
I went to school that morning knowing I
had failed. The next day I would have to
go to Ft. Worth, Texas, to care for my parents who were ill. When I returned, the year would be over. I had failed, but God’s command was still
absolute in my heart: “End this year debt free!”
God sent Todd and Jim, two tremendous
young Christian students, into my office at about ten o’clock that
morning. None of us knew at the time that
God had a special reason for them to be there.
One of them was to deliver a powerful message, the other was to be an
instrument of God’s miraculous power.
Jim and his wife had already given to the theatre; however, I had not
asked Todd to give because he was a typical student, struggling to work his way
through school. Finances were always
tight for Todd, so I hadn’t wanted to burden him, but as we sat there, the Holy
Spirit prompted me to ask him.
I awkwardly approached the subject,
“Todd, have you spent all your Christmas money yet?”
His answer was what I expected, “What
Christmas money? Why? What is it you want?”
I explained what I was trying to do and
then told him, “so I thought you might want to give a Christmas gift to Stained
Glass—$5 or $10, whatever, every little bit helps.” Todd said he thought he could help.
Jim spoke up, “You know, Ron, your
trying to raise money here at Christmas time when everyone else has presents to
buy, sort of reminds me of Gideon."
“Gideon? What do you mean?”
“I don’t know, it just does. Gideon had to get rid of all those
Midianites, and God told him to send most of his army home—all but three
hundred men. And that just somehow reminds
me of you.” It didn’t make sense then—it would
later. The discussion ended, Todd told
me that he would get his checkbook and stop by after his final exam, and I
thought no more about it. I completed my
office work and went to lunch.
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| Todd |
About one o’clock, Todd, with his
checkbook in hand, came into the little store that I own and we went into the
back room. Then Todd, the boy I thought might scrape together $5, sat down and
wrote out a check for THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS.
I was stunned. I managed to say,
“Todd, I can’t accept this.”
He replied, “No, don’t try to talk me
out of it. I know more than anything I
have ever known in my life that I’m supposed to give you this money. God has been good to me, providing me with
money that I needed for school. Each
time, I told God that I would give Him part of it, but I never did. I know
I’m supposed to do it now.” Then he said
something that tore my heart out. “Quite
frankly, it’s all I’ve got, but I want you to have it. I have some bills I need to pay, but I know
God will take care of them.”
Tears of joy filled my eyes all afternoon. Not only was it the exact amount I needed to
set the theatre free from debt, but it also taught me a lesson I’ll never
forget about sacrificial giving. All my
life I had heard stories of people who had given all they had, but now I had
seen it firsthand. Later in the afternoon, God spoke to my
spirit, revealing the truth behind the Gideon message which had been delivered
that morning. Through Todd’s sacrificial
gift, God showed me that just as it was not Gideon who defeated the Midianites,
but God—that it was not I who was raising money for SGT, but GOD!
So, thanks to God, some generous
people, and our Gideon with his $300, we ended 1985 debt free! At SGT we looked
at the miraculous power of God and understood how the Gideon of old felt when
“all he could do was just stand there worshiping God!” (Judges 7:15)
[The
following summer, someone sent me a script entitled Gideon. I do not believe that it was a coincidence
that I received the script at that time. I feel that God was continuing to
speak to me concerning the importance of being obedient to Him, even if it meant
sacrificing—not just money, but pride and self-reliance. That fall, Todd Barnett began his senior year. The following spring, SBU Theatre produced Gideon,
and Todd was cast in the title role. I
personally believe this was God’s blessing for Todd who had obeyed Him by
giving sacrificially. It is also
important to note that Todd Barnett was in several productions at Stained GlassTheatre during those early years.]
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| Artist's rendition of Todd Barnett as Gideon |
COMING
NEXT: BILLBOARD BLESSINGS
See how God
continues to use special people to bring about miracles for SGT.
