{"id":304538,"date":"2017-06-07T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-06-07T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/hooked-on-christ\/"},"modified":"2017-06-07T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-06-07T15:00:00","slug":"hooked-on-christ","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/hooked-on-christ\/","title":{"rendered":"Hooked on Christ"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>guest: Hank Parker | Series: Gone Fishing With Hank Parker | Professional bass fisherman Hank Parker looks back on his life and the difficulties that could have derailed him for good. Raised by an alcoholic father after his mother abandoned the family when he was in grade school, Parker tells how he was often left on his own, which gave him plenty of time for stealing from vending machines and grocery stores. Hear how God radically changed his father&#8217;s life and influenced him to change his own life after a family tragedy.Show Notes &#038; ResourcesHankParker.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hank Parker looks back on his life and the difficulties that could have derailed him for good. Hear how God radically changed his father&#8217;s life and influenced him to change his own life after a family tragedy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/web.familylifetoday.com\/fl2017-06-07.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:31:10","filesize":"28.53M","filesize_raw":"29915218","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2906,2827],"tags":[4030,6156,6257,4299,4899],"podcast_series":[8213],"cwp_profile":[9458],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-304538","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-becoming-a-christian","category-repentance","tag-abandoned","tag-alcoholic-father","tag-come-to-faith","tag-faith","tag-tragedy","podcast_series-gone-fishing-with-hank-parker","cwp_profile-hank-parker","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/304538\/hooked-on-christ","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/304538\/hooked-on-christ","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"Qwe4fTSMm5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/hooked-on-christ\/\">Hooked on Christ<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/hooked-on-christ\/embed\/#?secret=Qwe4fTSMm5\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Hooked on Christ&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"Qwe4fTSMm5\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg",508,508,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"kfairris@familylife.com","author_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/author\/kfairrisfamilylife-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Hank Parker looks back on his life and the difficulties that could have derailed him for good. Hear how God radically changed his father's life and influenced him to change his own life after a family tragedy.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylifetoday.com\/fl2017-06-07.pdf","transcript_content":"<strong>Bob: <\/strong>Everybody in the little town where Hank Parker grew up knew that Hank\u2019s dad, Mo, was the town drunk. But he still had friends who never gave up on him, including one friend who dropped by the house one Saturday afternoon. Here\u2019s Mo Parker\u2019s son, Hank.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hank: <\/strong>He said, \u201cMo, I wanted to talk to you; but I see you\u2019ve got Hank here with you. I\u2018m not going to bother your father\/son time; but Mo, I want to leave you with one thought: \u201cIf you died today, where would you spend eternity?\u201d\u00a0 My dad was about half drunk. I heard him say later that he had drunk the rest of the bottle of alcohol and opened another one and could not get drunk enough to get that thought off his mind.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>This is <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> for Wednesday, June 7<sup>th<\/sup>. Our host is the President of FamilyLife<sup>\u00ae<\/sup>, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine. We\u2019ll hear about the dramatic turnaround in Mo Parker\u2019s life; and we\u2019ll meet his son, Hank, today. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>1:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tStay with us.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd welcome to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>. Thanks for joining us. So this is for real; right?\u2014\u201cthe rod-and-reel answer to Michael Jordan,\u201d\u2014that\u2019s what it says right here. That\u2019s the guy we\u2019ve got today?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>I\u2019m just telling you, Bob\u2014there is a big difference in fishing with a true professional fisherman and just being a good amateur.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>Help our listeners understand, because some of them are not fishermen or fisherwomen. They\u2019ve never been to a pond with a rod and a reel. They\u2019re going, \u201cSo you want me to listen to a guest who is a pro fisherman.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> Well, you\u2019re going to hear a compelling story of how the God of the universe created a young man to use for His purposes. But he didn\u2019t take the normal route to find that purpose. We are going to listen to Hank Parker\u2019s story today. Welcome to the broadcast, Hank.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hank: <\/strong>Well, it is certainly a privilege to be here. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>2:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI\u2019m excited.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> Yes; I thought Bob was actually going to ask you just about when you had me on your fishing show.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> I was going to get there, because he came back <em>bragging<\/em> about\u2014[Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> Oh, I was <em>not<\/em> bragging.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> He said, \u201cI could do that. I could be just like Hank Palmer.\u201d That\u2019s what he was telling us. [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> No; I did not say that, Hank. I came back and I said, \u201cThere is a <em>big<\/em> difference between someone who has won the national championship of bass fishing <em>twice<\/em> and the rest of us who grew up on little lakes and streams around the country.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>We should explain you have a television show, where you go\u2014you take people fishing on your show; right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hank: <\/strong>I had Dennis Rainey as a guest. How big is that? [Laughter] He did <em>well<\/em>.Let me tell you\u2014he\u2019s being modest.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> He took me to a fish hatchery. [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hank:<\/strong> Yes; we were fishing in a great place, no doubt. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> Hank, I have to ask you this\u2014you had an ambition, as a boy, at the age of 15.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>3:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hank: <\/strong>Yes; I didn\u2019t have a lot of options. I was not an academic achiever\u2014that is an absolute understatement. I don\u2019t know\u2014when I was just a kid, I went fishing and just fell in love with it. It just mesmerized me. It was bigger than life itself to me. I started reading about these guys, who were making a living bass fishing; and I said: \u201cThat is me. That\u2019s what I\u2019m going to do.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> I want to go back to a statement you just kind of slipped by. [Laughter] You said you were not an academic achiever. There was something taking place in you\u2014you didn\u2019t understand until you became an adult, later on. Explain to our listeners what happened.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hank: <\/strong>Yes; I had dyslexia. The little school system I was in\u2014we were in a little small town of Maiden, North Carolina\u2014about 2,400 people I think. I may be off some there\u2014but a very, very small town\u2014just a little school. I don\u2019t know that <em>any<\/em> schools knew anything about dyslexia in 1958 or -9. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>4:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI just read everything backwards. The harder I tried, the worse it became. I felt like I was the dumbest guy in the world.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tMy mom would sit down with me at times and <em>really<\/em> try to get me to buckle down and do my homework. The <em>more<\/em> I tried to really get it right, the more I got it wrong. I just felt <em>stupid<\/em>.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>Did you grow up with nobody believing in you?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hank: <\/strong>Pretty much I did. I had a very dysfunctional home. My dad was a drunk. My mother later\u2014by the time I was probably in the third grade\u2014by that time, my mom had really started taking medication for [depression]\u2014antidepressants. She\u2019d stay in the bed all the time. So pretty much after the time I was probably fourth\/fifth grade on, I was kind of on my own.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> \u2014like into the wee hours of the night on your own.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hank: <\/strong>Yes; I would do whatever. My mom and my dad separated. My dad was a drunk \/ my mom finally got tired of that\u2014she left. At that time, it was no adult supervision or guidance; or I didn\u2019t have to report to anyone. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>5:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>And no spiritual direction in your life at that point?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hank: <\/strong>No; we had gone to church when I was a kid. We went to a church that was not really a Bible-basic church. I never heard the gospel until I was 16 years old.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>You actually robbed vending machines to get cash to do what?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hank: <\/strong>To get money for whatever\u2014to be able to go to a movie or just to have money to buy food or anything else.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>I\u2019ve got to ask you this question\u2014I was really kind of praying about when to ask it: \u201cHank, what\u2019s the most courageous thing you\u2019ve ever done in all your life?\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hank: <\/strong>I was speaking at a wild game dinner in Georgia\u2014I am giving my testimony. I am a high school dropout\u2014I never told that ever in public \/ my wife Martha did not even know that. I\u2019m giving my testimony\u2014the Holy Spirit says: \u201cTell them,\u201d\u2014I mean\u2014\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>6:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u201cYou\u2019ve come here\u2014you\u2019re the Michael Jordan \/ you\u2019re the world champion\u2014you\u2019re somebody; but they all think you are self-achieved. Tell them who you really are. Tell them really where I\u2019ve brought you from. You\u2019re a high school dropout. You were mad at the world\u2014you had a bad attitude. I gave you salvation, and grounded you, and gave you a life. I want you to tell that story.\u201d I didn\u2019t want to tell it. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI\u2019m going to tell you\u2014people came to me in <em>droves<\/em>, saying: \u201cNo one knows. I\u2019ve never told anybody. I\u2019ve got a great job. I\u2019ve got a good income,\u201d\u2014or whatever is going on in their life\u2014\u201cbut I, too, dropped out of school.\u201d God opened the floodgates that night. Most every time I give my testimony or do a wild game dinner, I clarify, from the beginning: \u201cI am nobody. I am nothing. I am the son of a drunk that God used. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tEven though I had no education, He gave me hope. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>7:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI realized, if the King of kings \/ the Creator of this universe loved me enough to die for me, I\u2019m a pretty special guy. All this time that I felt like a dummy and a failure, the Lord of lords gave His life for me. [Emotion in voice] So, I\u2019m a pretty special guy. I started believing in <em>myself<\/em>, not because of me, but because of <em>Him<\/em>. I started thinking about: \u201cLet\u2019s don\u2019t worry about the past. There is no future in the past. The past is history. You can\u2019t go back and rewrite it. So what do we do <em>now<\/em> that we are where we are in our life? What do we do to improve our life?\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tFrom that point on, I thought: \u201cMy dad used to tell me, \u2018We all cannot be everything we want to be; but we can all be faithful, and we can all be honest.\u2019 So let\u2019s start with that. Let\u2019s start with a basic foundation: \u201cHere you are\u2014a dishonest person. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>8:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u201cYou\u2019re the biggest liar that ever exists\u2014you\u2019re a crook \/ you have a <em>horrible<\/em> attitude. Let\u2019s fix all of that. Let\u2019s set our priorities straight. Let\u2019s start living our life and trying to become the Christian that God would like us to be to be a faithful witness.\u201d From that point forward, it all just fell into place. It was not as if I got some great revelation and I decided, \u201cOkay; here\u2019s my business plan for my life.\u201d It was <em>none<\/em> of that at all\u2014it was taking one day at a time with <em>no earthly<\/em> idea what I was doing.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIt was just being led by my conscience, which I later learned was the Holy Spirit that we receive with salvation. I started changing my life. I didn\u2019t set down with a plan: \u201cHey; I\u2019m going to get saved and change my life.\u201d The Bible says, \u201cOld things are passed away. All things become new,\u201d\u2014that was total reality in my life. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>9:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> [Emotion in voice] Hank, I wept as you told that story; because we live in a culture that makes education sacred, like you\u2019re worth more. That is exactly the opposite of how you felt. You said you felt like you were a dummy\u2014you were worthless\/ didn\u2019t have value. I just thought: \u201cIsn\u2019t that really fascinating how God takes us to our lowest point and that\u2019s where He redeems us? He takes us from that, and He can make you a new creature.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tJesus Christ defeated death\u2014He\u2019s alive today. What He did for <em>you<\/em>, as a 16-year-old young man, he can do for a listener, right now, who is listening to you, going, \u201cYou know, I have my own set of pride problems, my own deficiencies, and my own past that\u2019s lurking back there.\u201d But people just need to hear what you just said, because He\u2019s <em>alive<\/em>\u2014He redeems people \/ He <em>forgives<\/em> people who have failed. It\u2019s not some story out of some fantasy land. This is more real than this planet we\u2019re living on.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>10:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hank: <\/strong>I think, when you\u2019re willing\u2014and the Holy Spirit forced me to be willing \/ I didn\u2019t volunteer\u2014I was drafted to tell my story. [Laughter] I think once you put that robe of humility on, people will come to you that have all sorts of problems. I\u2019ve heard lots and lots of problems. I\u2019m sure there\u2019s millions and millions of problems, but there\u2019s one answer\u2014that\u2019s what\u2019s cool.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>So, a 16-year-old dyslexic dropout, son of an alcoholic father and a mom who is on antidepressants hears the gospel. What were the circumstances around which you heard the gospel?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hank: <\/strong>My grandfather, on my mother\u2019s side, was what we would call wealthy. He was lower middle class; but we were so dirt poor, he was very wealthy to us. My grandfather had sent my dad to rehab, after rehab, after rehab. My dad was named Mo. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>11:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI heard my grandfather say that \u201dMo Parker will go to rehab, stay three weeks, be home two days, and be drunk again. He is absolutely hopeless. He\u2019s going to live a drunk, and he\u2019s going to die a drunk.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tMy dad, when I was 16 years old\u2014my mom and dad were separated\u2014I was in our home with my dad when a guy came by to see us one Saturday. He said, \u201cMo, I wanted to talk to you; but I see you have Hank here with you. I\u2019m not going to bother your father\/son time; but Mo, I want to leave you with one thought: \u2018If you died today, where would you spend eternity?\u2019\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tMy dad was about half drunk. It was about 11:00 in the morning\u2014my dad was about half drunk. I heard him say later that he had drunk the rest of the bottle of alcohol that he had in the house and opened another one and could not get drunk enough to get that thought off his mind. The next day was Sunday. He called the same man that came by our home and asked for a ride to church. He left our home about 11:00 one Sunday morning, a drunk. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>12:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe came back in, about 1:00 to 1:30, a saint. My dad started talking to me about Jesus, and giving me the gospel, and giving me a gospel tract every time I moved. He <em>desperately<\/em> wanted his boys\u2014my brother and I\u2014to be saved more than anything in the world. That was his <em>whole<\/em> desire in his life was that his two boys would be saved.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>Do you remember that Sunday afternoon at 1:30 when your dad comes back in the house and says, \u201cSomething happened this morning\u201d?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hank: <\/strong>Well, yes; I do. I remember him saying, \u201cBoys, I got saved.\u201d I had <em>no clue<\/em> on the face of this earth what that meant. I thought: \u201cOkay; he\u2019s found religion. There have been times that he\u2019s gone to these rehab centers and focus groups and he\u2019s come home and stayed sober for a <em>whole week<\/em>. So maybe he\u2019ll set the record this time. Maybe he\u2019ll stay sober two or three weeks\u2014he\u2019s found religion.\u201d I didn\u2019t know what that meant. It took <em>time<\/em> for me watching him to <em>see<\/em> that this transformation, that was so unbelievable, was real. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>13:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe turned our whole little community upside down\u2014<em>hundreds<\/em> of people. There was revival like you would not believe. I\u2019m not saying it was all because of his salvation. There was a church\u2014people would pull over on the side of the road and get saved in the parking lot. I mean, it was just <em>crazy<\/em>\u2014I mean, not even on a worship day \/ it was just <em>so dramatic<\/em>. After a period of time, my mom came home. She cleaned up her life for a period of time. I mean, it was a whole different world. It was very obvious, in a <em>short<\/em> period of time: \u201cThis thing is for real. My dad is for real.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI loved my dad\u2014I thought it was great that he was saved, and it changed his life. He needed a dramatic salvation experience. I\u2019m now beyond my breaking in stores. I\u2019ve stepped it up\u2014I\u2019m now focused on fishing\u2014so all of that bad stuff is in my rearview mirror \/ I\u2019m now a good guy. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>14:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI don\u2019t need a dramatic salvation experience, and it\u2019s irritating me that my dad keeps insisting that I do. So, I had now got\u2014in a very short period of time \/ probably six or seven months\u2014I\u2019m on defense now instead of rejoicing.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>He just kept coming after you.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hank: <\/strong>He turned up the heat.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> He prayed for you\u2014he prayed for you every day, and he told you he was doing that too.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hank: <\/strong>Oh, yes; all the time, he would put gospel tracts in my socks. He would put them in my dry storage. He\u2019d roll them up in my rain suit in my boat. He\u2019d put them in my tackle box. He\u2019d have them on the dash of my car. Any creative place you could find to put a gospel tract\u2014he had one. [Laughter] \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> So share with our listeners what it took to get your attention, because this is one <em>amazing<\/em> story. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hank: <\/strong>My dad\u2014he stayed consistent, and it broke all fellowship. I wouldn\u2019t hang around him very long at all. We didn\u2019t go fishing together any more\u2014it just got too intense. I had gotten to the point that he drew that line in the sand and we could not have fellowship unless I would receive Christ. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>15:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo, we were pretty alienated. He was devastated by it\u2014I didn\u2019t realize how devastated\u2014but he was devastated by the decision that both my brother and I had made that we just weren\u2019t going to hang around our dad. We <em>avoided<\/em> him at all costs. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe went with a group of men from New Life Baptist Church in Lincolnton, North Carolina, to White City, Kansas, to build a youth home in 1975 over the 4<sup>th<\/sup> of July holiday. My dad got saved in 1970\u2014so this is five years later. My dad loved to cut up\u2014he had a sense of humor like you would not believe\u2014he was one funny guy. When they got to White City, Kansas, all the deacons and all the men there from the church\u2014my dad was always an entertainer\u2014he wasn\u2019t entertaining \/ he was in a different mood. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe preacher had stayed back home and preached on Sunday\u2014so he didn\u2019t get there until Monday. All the men told the preacher immediately\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>16:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u2014they said: \u201cThere\u2019s something wrong with brother Mo. I don\u2019t know what it is, but I\u2019ve never seen him in this mood. I don\u2019t know if he\u2019s sick \/ I don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on, but something\u2019s wrong.\u201d Well, my dad and his pastor had become best friends in the five years my dad had been saved\u2014so they roomed together. That night, his pastor asked him, \u201cMo, what in the world is wrong with you?\u201d He said, \u201cYou know, pastor, my boys have just\u2014they ignore the gospel.\u201d He said: \u201cI\u2019ve prayed for them. I\u2019ve witnessed to then. I\u2019ve given then gospel tracts. I\u2019ve done everything I know to do.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tMy dad was so smart with me\u2014he would never argue with me. I can never remember my dad arguing. I\u2019d always want to argue the Scripture, and he would let me talk. I would say certain things\u2014he would say, \u201cWell, son, let\u2019s go back and see what the Bible says about that.\u201d And he would refer to Scripture\u2014so he had me arguing with God\u2014so it was very uncomfortable. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe said: \u201cI have tried every way \/ everything I know.\u201d He said, \u201cI don\u2019t know what to do.\u201d His pastor said, \u201cWell, Mo, let\u2019s just keep praying.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>17:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo that night, before they turned the lights out, my dad said, \u201cYou know, pastor, I would gladly give my life if my boys would be saved.\u201d That was the last thing he said that night. When they loaded up to come back, there were seven men in a van. There was an accident\u2014one man was killed, and it was my dad. He had left a note in his Bible. The pastor was just reading the footnotes, and flipping through the Bible, and he found a note my dad had written\u2014it said: \u201cPastor if you find this note before I am buried, I have one final request and it is\u2014instead of you preaching a traditional funeral service at my funeral\u2014that you would preach the gospel. I have two boys that are lost and that may be the last time, this side of eternity, they hear the gospel.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI got saved at my dad\u2019s funeral. [Emotion in voice] My brother did too. [Laughter] All has been different\u2014the sky has never been so blue, the air has never smelt so fresh, and I never knew what it was like to be set free. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>18:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI\u2019d never ever in my whole life measured up. I\u2019d never been good enough for anything. All of a sudden, I\u2019m free\u2014I didn\u2019t know what that was like\u2014it was <em>so incredible<\/em>. It\u2019s more incredible, 40 years later, than it was when it happened. Amazing what God can do!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> And to the person, who is listening right now, who goes, \u201cThat\u2019s me!\u201d Tell them what he needs to do\u2014or her.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hank: <\/strong>Bury it all\u2014give it to Him\u2014He\u2019s there, waiting. No matter who you\u2019ve been, how bad you\u2019ve been, what you\u2019ve been through\u2014I said earlier there\u2019s a <em>million<\/em> problems, but there\u2019s one answer. I can\u2019t believe, with all the bondage and the pit that I was in, in just a matter of opening my heart and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide me to accept Jesus Christ\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>19:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u2014I cannot imagine how all of that bondage to chains was broken in just the blink of an eye. People said: \u201cWell, you\u2019re emotional. It was your father\u2019s funeral. You\u2019re making an irrational decision based on bereavement and circumstances. It won\u2019t last.\u201d That was in 1975, and it is greater today than it was then. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> And you use every opportunity you have to tell others about that Savior.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hank:<\/strong> I\u2019d like to say that, from the very moment I got saved, I hit the path and all I did was preach the gospel. But I lived a very selfish period of my life, and I did a lot of things. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAbout 15 years ago or so\u2014I circled the wagons, and I realized what is truly important in this world. I\u2019ve made friends \/ I\u2019ve won world championships. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>20:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI\u2019ve made lots of money that I never thought\u2014beyond what I ever dreamt could happen in my life. The realization came to me, through a set of circumstances, that it\u2019s not what you have\u2014it\u2019s not outside \/ it\u2019s not circumstances\u2014it\u2019s in your heart \/ it\u2019s the peace. I\u2019ve served Jesus for a lot of years, kind of because I did it the way I thought you were supposed to do it. The last 15 years, I\u2019ve served him out of pure love\u2014I know how much He loves me. I\u2019m telling you\u2014there\u2019s no hope outside of Jesus Christ. People say,\u201d Well, this world\u2019s corrupt \/ this worlds fallen down.\u201d It doesn\u2019t matter what condition the world\u2019s in\u2014it\u2019s been this way\u2014and that\u2019s why Jesus came to the earth. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>We\u2019re going to talk more about that; but he may be a world champion bass fisherman, Bob\u2014he won that twice\u2014but he\u2019s more of an evangelist than anything else. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>21:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat was clear after spending a couple of days with Hank as we went fishing together a little over a year ago.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>I hope our listeners get a chance to see the video. I know it\u2019s running on the Outdoor Channel, off and on. If folks would like more information about Hank, and his fishing, and what he\u2019s doing, we have a link to his website at FamilyLifeToday.com. You can find out more about where you\u2019re speaking in different locations and just about what you\u2019re up to these days. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou know, as we\u2019ve talked about the family dynamic and your dad\u2019s impact in your life, I was thinking about dads I\u2019ve talked to who have taken time to get together with their sons\u2014and maybe other dads and sons\u2014and all of them go through the <em>Stepping Up<\/em><sup>\u00ae<\/sup> video series together. A lot of the dads I have talked to, who have done that, have come back and just said it was a <em>great<\/em> study to go through together\u2014father and son\u2014just being honest with each other \/ transparent with what\u2019s going on in your life\u2014 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>22:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u2014the challenges you face, as a man\u2014helping initiate your sons into adulthood \/ into manhood. I hope that we\u2019ve got listeners who, this summer, will make that a priority\u2014some father\/son time\u2014maybe with other fathers and sons\u2014go through the <em>Stepping Up <\/em>video series. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThere\u2019s information about the series on our website at FamilyLifeToday.com. You can order the videos and the workbooks from us; or if you have any questions, give us a call at 1-800-FL-TODAY. We have a team of folks who would love to answer any questions you have and help you get set up to have a father\/son <em>Stepping Up<\/em> group during the summer months. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou know, listening to your story today, Hank, I\u2019m reminded that all of us have deficits in our background\u2014all of us look back with regret on some of the events of our lives. The good news of the gospel is that God provides forgiveness and redemption. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>23:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe transforms our lives so that we can be trophies of His grace. Our goal, here, at FamilyLife is to make sure that that message is loud and clear\u2014to every mom\/dad, husband\/wife\u2014everyone, who looks at their family situation and says, \u201cThere was a lot of brokenness here.\u201dThat\u2019s God\u2019s specialty\u2014to step in and fix the brokenness through the power of the gospel. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou know, we are grateful for listeners who share our burden to see every home become a godly home. Those of you who support the ministry of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> with donations, we are so thankful for your participation in this ministry. As you give, you make it possible for more people to hear God\u2019s good news about marriage and family every day. We\u2019re pleased to partner with you in that ministry. You can donate, right now, to <em>FamilyLife<\/em> online at FamiyLifeToday.com; or you can call 1-800-FL-TODAY to make a donation. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>24:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tOr you can mail your donation to <em>FamilyLifeToday<\/em> at PO Box 7111, Little Rock, AR; and our zip code is 72223.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe hope you can be back with us again tomorrow. We\u2019ll talk more with Hank Parker. We\u2019re going to hear about how the pursuit of becoming a world champion fisherman cost Hank something very special \/ something very valuable. We\u2019ll hear about that tomorrow. I hope you can be with us for that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, along with our entire broadcast production team. On behalf of our host, Dennis Rainey, I'm Bob Lepine. We will see you back next time for another edition of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\tHelp for today. Hope for tomorrow.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts to you. However, there is a cost to produce them for our website. If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright <sup>\u00a9<\/sup> 2017 FamilyLife. All rights reserved.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/\">www.FamilyLife.com<\/a>\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t1\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>","theme_header_position":"","post_header_is_sticky":"","is_header_overlay":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast\/304538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/podcast"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=304538"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=304538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=304538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=304538"},{"taxonomy":"podcast_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast_series?post=304538"},{"taxonomy":"cwp_profile","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cwp_profile?post=304538"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=304538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}