BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Although the classes he needed began at 7:30 in the morning, Barry completed the requirements and graduated in 1968. “I had no work ethic at all,” Barry admits. “I hired on to different jobs, but I didn’t actually do anything. I was like a nice display window, with nothing in the warehouse. “I couldn’t keep a job until I went to work for Winthrop Rockefeller during his campaign for governor of Arkansas. It was nonstop partying. Rockefeller financed the booze, provided free barbecue and hosted people like Johnny Cash. He won the election, which meant my party was over. I wasn’t political, but I liked the benefits of working in politics and wanted to find a similar position.” Finding a Wife The imposing dome of the Arkansas State Capitol building stood tall against a sapphire sky as Barry jogged up the steps. Inside, he saw Susie Brishin walking through the rotunda. Barry knew Susie from when they were both students at Arkansas State. Back then, he would have never considered asking her out on a date. He had a well-earned reputation as a bad boy, and it was well-known that Susie was born again. Very born again. Now she worked for the secretary of state. Despite his past, Barry decided he would ask Susie to go out with him. Turning on the charm, he persevered until finally she agreed. Barry and Susie went on a date the following Monday. Then, the two went out again on Tuesday. When Barry took Susie out for a third time—on Wednesday—he proposed. To his surprise and amazement, she accepted. Though his proposal was sincere, it came with one caveat: “If we get married, I’ve got to be No. 1 in your life,” Barry told Susie. “There can be nothing or no one else except me.” “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that,” Susie replied. “Why not?” “Because Jesus has first place in my life.” “Jesus? What does He have to do with this?” Barry was angry, but he realized the only way to get Susie to marry him was to agree to her terms. “I was agnostic,” Barry says. “Totally self-centered. A mixed-up guy who spouted Socrates and humanism. Susie was not only a Christian, her family was Baptist, and her dad, Eldon, was a deacon in the church. “We married in February 1969, and things didn’t go well from the beginning. Susie worked during the day, and I ran a beer joint all night. We never saw one another. I lied…a lot. Her parents had me figured out. “Susie’s parents were friends with Johnny and Suzanne Best, a couple who were close with Kenneth and Gloria Copeland,” Barry recalled. “One day Suzanne invited Sue’s mother, Wilra, to a meeting. Wilra came home baptized in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. Sue’s whole family was horrified. They wanted no part of it. Meanwhile, Suzanne and Wilra decided to take me on as a prayer project. They met regularly to pray for me. Sue began talking to me about God and would even leave her Bible lying open to John 3:16. “I felt pressured, and I resented it, so I came up with a plan to solve the problem. I agreed to attend a service with Sue during a revival. I walked down the aisle and pretended to become a Christian. Everyone shook my hand, but of course there was no heart change because I didn’t mean it.” One Last Opportunity That night, however, Barry woke up in the middle of the night in excruciating pain. Every muscle in his body contracted in a spasm, pulling him into a fetal position. He had lost total control of his body, unable to move so much as a finger. What was happening? He hadn’t been sick. If he had the ability to move, his body would have been shaking with fear. Was he going to be this way for the rest of his life? Barry wondered. Suddenly, a vision opened before him. A light…and a Presence. Barry knew right away it was the One he had mocked and pretended to believe in—the One whose very existence he had denied. The Presence didn’t need to introduce Himself. 'Here we are,' the Lord said. 'You’ve rejected Me all these years. I’m giving you one last opportunity. You have two choices. You can follow Me. Or you can go your own way. This is your last opportunity.' BVOV : 17

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