Victory In Jesus

Weekends were busy for me in high school. My newfound faith found new friends in the form of a local gospel team called The Christian Victors. Their theme verse was I Corinthians 15:57; their theme song was Victory In Jesus by E.M. Bartlett.

Buddy P. was the president. He was a mentally-challenged young man (older to me) with a heart of gold. He literally loved everyone. Always had a smile. Always spoke of God's love. He had a special desire to write to movie stars and tell them about Jesus. He wrote hundreds of letters --- and got many replies, including autographed photos.

The other two leaders were Joe N. and Denny S.. Joe was a robust fellow with big ideas. He was a great encourager and was instrumental in helping people to develop their potential. At one point during my high school years he owned and operated a small pizza place, where he sold pizza by the slice, didn't serve beer, and provided a place for teens to hang out. It attracted mostly Christian teens, who practised their testimonies on each other, ate pizza and drank Coke. It was just down the street from my house, so I was a regular.

Denny was a quiet, friendly fellow, who was engaged to a lady who was the sister of a temporary girlfriend of mine. I don't know what Denny did for a living, nor do I recall what he did for the Team. Denny, Joe and Buddy were the only adult influences in my life at that time, since I was an only child, and my folks were generally unavailable.

The Christian Victors went around to churches to share their testimonies in word and song, followed by some preaching. One Sunday at a church Joe was leading the group and asked if any of the team had anything else to share (we were near the end of the service). I raised my hand and said that I would like to sing a song. I had been singing at home along with my record player to the sounds of the Beatles, Elvis and Tennessee Ernie Ford. Since John Lennon didn't seem appropriate in church, and I imagined I had a rich bass voice like Ernie, I stood and sang a solo without accompaniment. To my surprise, most everyone loved it.

I found it easy to learn both tenor and bass parts, so I became a regular participant in quartets, trios, groups --- and now solos. This experience began to bring me out of my shyness, and I was more willing to share openly in front of any number of people.

Then a horrible automobile accident, in which I was driving, almost sent me permanently back into my shell.