John Wayne (His father admired the movie star) Whitehead became a hippie who thought that all politicians were the epitome of phoniness and you could not trust them. He loved taking on the establishment during his college days.
John married a church-going Carol but continued on his self-indulgent ways, fixated on his own urges and desires. This is why he associated with Rick and Tom. But he also shot hoops with a kind of beefy guy who was not athletic at all and so John usually won. But this guy kept lifting up Jesus and over ten games found a way to lay out the entire plan of salvation in bits and pieces. John sneered at every element but it didn’t stop this missionary–he kept coming back for more. Later John bought The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey because he thought it was a science fiction book. John was fascinated with Lindsey’s premise that the Bible’s prophecies came true and started to consider that just maybe the Bible was a competent source of information.
But John was not going to let this change his lifestyle. So on Thanksgiving 1974, John refused to go along to the families’ Thanksgiving festivities in Illinois and stayed home to work and party. On November 28th John was reading Matthew as a serious document about the life of Christ. But on the 29th he was ready to let loose at Rick’s house. Beer and smoking got the party going. Then John began to get up tight. Rick tried to relax John and they began playing cards. Then Rick began to speak to John without moving his lips in a “mind voice,” a form of telepathy. “John, there’s more to life than what you see. There’s spiritual power higher and stronger than us. He can help you in many ways.” John also responded without using his voice: “Who are you talking about?” And the answer snapped him awake: “Satan.” In John’s haste to leave, John’s crucifix flipped outside of his shirt causing the other three to forcefully turn away their heads. They could not look at the cross. John was begged to stay but left the room and began walking down the driveway into the street of this middle-class subdivision. Rick and Tom knew it was too cold for John to walk all the way home and soon pulled up beside him. “We can’t let you walk home…We need to talk.” In the car the smell of sulfur was stifling and again John heard a mind voice: “John, you have to let things go…If you stick with us, you can do well. You won’t have any worries.”
John responded to this by looking up to the sky and saying, “Jesus Christ, You are my Savior.” Suddenly he was enveloped by a strong but benevolent rush and an amazing feeling poured over him like warm milk flowing down his throat. He accepted this as the Spirit of God rushing through his body. At this same time, Rick and Tom began to moan audibly, as if they were in pain. Then John amazed himself by saying, “You need to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Repent and believe on Christ and you’ll be saved.” There was silence so John repeated it again. John got out at his house. There was no friendly goodbyes.
Now John wanted to phone Carol. “I’ve become a Christian. I’ve accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior.” Carol was stunned and finally said, “Are you drunk?” “No, this is for real. I’m flying to Peoria tomorrow.” John was feeling full of energy so he next called a minister he had spoken to earlier. When John told him that he believed in Jesus Christ, the minister responded: “I’ve never believed in Jesus Christ. All that stuff is just a myth.” John tried one more call to his dad to end the evening on a more positive note. His Dad’s voice was full of cynicism: “Sure you are. You’re a Christian lawyer who helps all those people get a divorce. Really sounds like a Christian thing to me.” But in the morning, John knew he had changed when he felt no longing for his former habits.
John is still helping those abused by authority. He has represented other victims of sexual harassment and even a gay man, beat up as he was leaving a restaurant. John feels that God is using him and accepts criticisms without holding grudges. He wants to be free to do the much work to be done.
SLAYING DRAGONS, John W. Whitehead, 1999
John Wayne Movie Legend
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John Wayne, Volume Two: The Shootist / Big Jake / Cahill, United States Marshall John Wayne, Volume Two features recordings from the soundtracks of The Shootist, Big Jake and Cahill, United States Marshall, composed by Elmer Bernstein. Track listing: The Shootist 1. Main Title 2. Ride 3. In The Fire 4. Epilogue Cahill, United States Marshall 5. Necktie Party 6. Nocturne Big Jake 7. Riders 8. Reunion 9. All Jake 10. Buzzards 11. Going Home – Finale… |