BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Putting the Brakes on Debt “For the first time in my life I prayed and turned the care of our finances over to God,” Barry says. “Then I made a vow to the Lord that I would never borrow another dime. I was determined to get settled on God’s Word and walk in His ways.” The first thing Barry had to do, was talk with Shirley. He had to be honest with her about the state of their finances, and tell her about his vow to God. Then, together, they would have to tell Ben that he would not be able to enroll in college. “He was disappointed, but we were honest with him and that helped him understand what we were up against,” Barry said. “I told him I would send him as soon as I could do it without debt.” Ben got two part-time jobs to help with the finances. “We’d always tithed, but I scraped anything off that I could, like tithing on the net instead of the gross,” Barry recalled. “Those days were over. We gave the full tithe and started giving. Naming our seed, we planted for our mortgage to be paid off, for the kids’ educations, and to be free from the bondage of debt.” One of the things Barry had admired about Brother Copeland was that he was a pilot. “I’d dreamed of flying since childhood,” he said. “At 21, I’d taken my first flying lesson and had been a student pilot off and on for years. Now I planted seed for an airplane. “I know there must have been a lag time but it seemed as though everything changed at once. I started getting calls to do big projects that I’d never done. More jobs and more money started coming in and I got caught up on our house payments. Little by little, I started paying off debts. In addition to having more income, things stopped breaking. The devourer was being rebuked.” One day Ben came home from work frustrated. “Mom,” he said, “here are my paychecks from both jobs. That’s not enough money to do anything!” “What are you going to do?” Shirley asked. “The only thing I can do. I’m going to plant it and let it grow!” Shirley and Barry rejoiced over Ben’s decision. They had always believed, children learn more from what their parents do than by what they say. They prayed and confessed that their children would never be caught in the bondage of debt, but live by God’s principles. Shirley and Barry were seeing their seed take root and grow. In 2006, two years after Ben had planned to begin college, he moved to California and enrolled in the Los Angeles Film School. Barry paid cash for Ben’s education, and when he graduated with a degree in production design, Ben didn’t owe a cent. He was surprised at the number of graduating students who faced mountains of debt. In retrospect, the two-year wait had been worth it. Within six years of Barry committing their finances to God and putting the brakes on debt, the Sharps had paid off all their debts, including their mortgage. They were debt free and stress free. Meanwhile Barry had gotten his pilot’s license. Now, he paid cash for a Cessna 172 airplane. In 2015, having become instrument rated, Barry paid cash for a Piper Comanche 260B. “When Barry was 16, he went to church camp and gave away his car in an offering,” Shirley explains. “During our married life, a harvest of many cars has come to us as a result of that seed. So in addition to Barry’s two airplanes, his hangar is home to an old Cadillac, two Corvettes, a Camaro SS convertible, a TR3 Triumph Roadster and a motorcycle. When his hangar became so full that something had to go, he sold his Cessna. Barry has become an excellent businessman and won my respect.” These days Barry and Shirley Sharp fly to Fort Worth for the Believers’ Convention in their own plane, and stay in a nice hotel. When their adult children—none of whom have debt—join them there, they often tease their mother, saying: “Mom, this just doesn’t seem like convention. Our room doesn’t smell like bologna and cantaloupe.” “We got tired of milkshake religion and living under the bondage of debt,” says Barry. “Partnership with KCM and obedience to God’s Word freed us from both. When we started living the Word that says, ‘Give and it shall be given unto you...’ our world changed and we truly are blessed in all we do. The blessing of the Lord has made us rich.” V * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * “We got tired of milkshake religion and living under the bondage of debt. Partnership with KCM and obedience to God’s Word freed us from both.” partner with us today! kcm.org/partner 1-800-600-7395 (U.S. only) BVOV : 13

• Cover