Christ Center, Lexington, KY. At the corner of Mill and Maxwell Streets where now stands Dudley Square stood the old Dudley school. The building had been empty for years when in 1966 Paul and Rebecca Petrie and Jim and Dixie Parker leased it and formed Christ Center which was designed to be a residential Christian community to help young people from the streets of Lexington coming out of drugs and violence. They had various programs and one of them was a prayer and speaker’s meeting every Tuesday night.
I was a sophomore in high school and had lost my way. After a series of mishaps, my mother recommended that I try this place. I got on my bicycle one Tuesday evening and headed there looking for a woman named Sheryl who was supposed to help me. Not finding Sheryl, I went in the prayer meeting, already in progress, and sat down on the floor, along with everybody else. People were taking turns praying when suddenly this guy, who I later determined to be descended from one of the first families in Massachusetts, got up and delivered a “prophecy” first in what sounded like a foreign tongue, then in English. I was astounded and badly frightened. But I stayed there. For some reason I kept praying for a buddy of mine whom I knew to be helplessly buried in drugs and alcohol. After the meeting I found Sheryl. We went in a room and she prayed for me. Suddenly I felt like electricity was coursing through me from head to toe.
I have never shared this in a public forum, but there’s a first for everything. At this point I became convinced that whatever power Jesus had I wanted and needed. That was in 1972, and for the last 48 years I have had my ups and downs with God but I cannot deny nor would wish to his absolute grip on my life. That doesn’t forestall problems or heartbreak, or my own negligence and even recalcitrance. Jesus Christ, despite all my shortcomings, is still and will be my Lord forever. And that is based on His power, not my own power to keep “doing the deal”.
This happened to me at Christ Center. I consider that place holy ground.