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"One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see."
(John 9:25)
Robbie Gallaty has quite a story. I met Robby years ago at a conference we were both attending, and we spoke to each other in the hotel gym. He is hard to miss. He is around 6'5" and is one very strong young man. He is a pastor today, but previously, he was a very different man. In fact, in 2016, the church where he serves as pastor, Long Hollow Baptist Church in Hendersonville, TN, had a billboard that said, "Robby Gallaty isn't who you think he is." They ran this billboard for a few weeks leading up to their Easter services. It caused quite a stir and roused much curiosity about this new pastor.
The billboard's message garnered lots of attention. It mimicked a smear campaign, so people did not know what was going to happen on Easter Sunday. So, they showed up. People came from all over. The church usually has around 7,000 people worship there on a Sunday, but on this Sunday, they had double that: 14,000 people.
Those who attended realized this was not a smear campaign; in fact, it was just the reverse. They heard how the Robby Gallaty that spoke to them as a pastor was a totally different man growing up in Louisiana.
"But the intent of this jarring billboard message went beyond piquing the interest of locals and getting them through the doors at Long Hollow to hear the gospel preached; it was a preview of Gallaty's testimony of radical life change."
(See source.)
Robby grew up as a Catholic and said he really did not have a relationship with Jesus. He equated Jesus with the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus. He attended William Carey College in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and it was there that for the first time, he clearly heard the Gospel. He said it would be seven years before he gave his life to Christ.
When Robby got out of college, he got jobs as a bouncer and a bartender. He also got into MMA fighting and trained for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. But his life greatly changed on November 22, 1999, when he was rear-ended by an 18-wheeler. His life began to spiral downward at this point. He got addicted to pharmaceutical drugs which led to his addiction to other drugs. He lost everything and even stole $15,000 from his parents. He went to two rehab centers, and when he came home from the second rehab, he remembered what a friend shared with him back in college, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He surrendered his life to Jesus, and Robby was a changed man. Reflecting back on the person who first told him about Jesus, he said, "So, I like to encourage people, to tell them, 'Don't ever underestimate the power of the sown seeds of the Gospel.'"
A seminary student at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary began to disciple Robby. That man was David Platt. Many today recognize Platt as the author of the book, Radical. David encouraged Robby to attend NOBTS (New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary). The following is a critical conversation that Platt and Gallaty had:
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"'David, I don't even know English. How am I going to know Greek and Hebrew?' And I'll never forget what he told me. He said, 'Robby, you need to look at this as an ax sharpening season. You're going to sharpen your spiritual journey and your maturity and growth in Christ for the next four to eight years, and that's going to prepare you for the next 40 years of ministry.' And that resonated with me."
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(See source.)
I love stories like this. Jesus is still opening blinded eyes and setting people free. Do you know Christ as your Lord and Savior? If not, call upon Him today in prayer to save you, and He surely will!
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Podcast of the Week
10 Principles for Effective Living: Love
Pastor Danny focuses this episode on the principle of Love, including what it really means to love God, love others, and love oneself.
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