Phil 3:8 - 15
My name is Joe Winterman, I was born in Lima, Ohio in 1954. I grew up in
Wapakoneta, Ohio where I lived until after graduation in 1973. Since ''73, I
have lived in Florida (Daytona Beach first), then in ''74 I started going to
a Christian ministry in Ft. Lauderdale where I spent the next five years
training for the ministry. I was not altogether successful, however, because
when the ministry that I was involved with failed, I returned to a lifestyle
of drugs, now adding violence and a lawlessness to my character as well.
The years in Ft. Lauderdale were not completely wasted. I met a man in our
ministry, who was Evel Knievel's first bodyguard back in the early ''70s.
Neither one of us knew that we would ever see each other again after Ft.
Lauderdale, but I am here to tell you that Jesus reveals His Kingdom to those
who truly repent of their old lifestyle and want to live a new life. While I
was getting drunk, stoned, and wasting away my life for the next ten years,
(1980 - 1990), God had not abandoned me, and He had a plan for Gene and I to
meet up down the road!
During the years of 1978 - 1990. I got a job with American Express and I
transferred from Ft. Lauderdale to Phoenix, Arizona working in their large
main frame computers and international networking systems. I met a girl in
college during this time and I got her pregnant. We were married in 1986. I
was not happy, although the money was good, I had seniority in the company, I
worked a three day weekend shift and I was off four days a week, so I spent a
lot of time alone in the desert. I owned a nice house, had some money saved
up and a family. I was offered a job in Germany, with full expenses paid, a
great salary, and a management position. But I had touched something in Ft.
Lauderdale that I couldn't drink or smoke away.
We moved to Germany, but before I left, through some very strange
circumstances, I met up with Gene Sullivan again, the guy who was Kneivel's
bodyguard. He prayed for me and I stopped smoking, drinking, fighting, doing
drugs, and other lawless activities. I stayed in Germany for a few years, and
returned to the U.S. in late 1992. I had completed my duty to the German
corporation called Amadeus, a conjuction of Luftansa, Iberia, Air France, and
Sas Airlines. My job was to assist in establishing an online computer
reservation system for them, in the role of an online systems supervisor. I
acted as a project analyst throughout the test phase, with a three year
open-ended contract to support an online environment.
By now you may be asking yourself, how I had attained all this? Not being a
college graduate or a roll model for good behavior. The answer is that I
sought for a living God who was able to help me out of my self made prison of
drug addiction and lawlessness. And when I prayed, He spoke to me inside
myself. It was not an audible voice, but an interruption in my thoughts. A
voice inside me that said "find Gene Sullivan and have him pray for you... he
stands good with me." The Bible says that the fervent prayer of the righteous
man accomplishes much. When that man prayed for me, I knew beyond a shadow of
a doubt, that he was a man who had a personal relationship with Jesus that I
did not have but sorely needed. I could have stayed in Germany, but Gene and
several people from the church came to visit me -- they even flew my friend
and I back to Colorado to go elk hunting with them one year, all expenses
paid.
I realized that the temptations of success were greater than what I was able
to handle. I was wearing nice suits to work, driving a classic Mercedes, and
the women in Europe are a lot less moral that American women. Besides all of
this, I found a friendship with Gene and the folks at his church that was
rare. Not only were they people that you could depend on, but what they said
made sense. And they lived their lives according to how Christians are
supposed to act. So we packed up and I walked away from a computer career of
sixteen years. I got myself a value adjustment. All that stuff---the nice
house, traveling, money, a respected name, meant nothing.
We moved to Wyoming, and stayed there for several months, and then we moved
to Hawaii, where we were starting up a new church. This was 1993. I went from
a high paying prestigious job to making $6.00 per hour part time. I ended up
working in a department store (hardware and automotive) with a boss who
thought that I was a thief. I was over-qualified for everything exept
government and military computer jobs which were sowed up. I never had to
look for a job before moving to Hawaii. They were always handed to me. Now it
was time to eat humble pie. After six months working at the store, a guy in
our church went into partnership with me and taught me how to scuba dive. We
started a commercial tropical fish business. The business failed, however,
(though it had the making of great profit) because we both had a problem with
being lawless, even though we were in a position of church leadership. God
does not look lightly at church leaders who are not living uprightly, and the
business went bankrupt. My partner went to the South Pacific and started up
the fish business again. I went into full time ministry and left Hawaii in
1995 to return to the main church body located in Billings, Montana.
Since then I have been taking a look at my root sins from many years of past
problems that I had when I was young playing in rock bands for the local
dances and in general, making a fool out of myself. I have seen that my life
has been the testimony of someone who took what he wanted by whatever means
was available, but not one who expected to receive anything from the Lord, or
even asked God for anything because I was such a rebel, and was tormented
with rejection.
I am now working full-time in the ministry. I take no salary--I have no fancy
cars or suits. My wife and I divorced seeing that she loved and wanted the
ways that worldly living has to offer. My daughter is with me. My work is now
to travel wherever our evangelistic ministry is requested to come. As I was
saying earlier, Gene Sullivan, Evel's first bodyguard, left Ft. Lauderdale in
1978 and started jumping motorcycle over cars through a burning wall of fire
to demonstrate to people that the obstacles of life can be "jumped over" and
cleared--that the wall of fire which is symbolic of hell, awaits all of us at
the end of our lives, but can be broken through by accepting Jesus as the
Lord and Savior of our lives. I personally have found no worthier cause in
which to invest my life than to be able to share the life that Jesus has
invested in me these years, with others through the Jump for Jesus Ministry.
The writer in the book in the Bible called Ecclesiastes which many people
ascribe to being written by King Solomon, said it like this, "Vanity of
vanities, saith the preacher, all is vanity."
"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His
commandments for this is the whole duty of man. For God Shall bring every
work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether
it be evil."
God bless you,
Joe Winterman
If you’ve never had a true and personal relationship with Jesus Christ you can right now by clicking here.
Not quite ready to start your relationship with Christ? Click here to ask us any questions you may have.
Would you like us to contact the author of this story for you? Click here to let us know and we will see if they are available.