ROGER MCGUINN'S STORY

When I lived in Malibu California, I arrived home and found a young man sitting on a bench under the large oak tree, in my front yard. He was all smiles and said that Jesus had directed him there, and wanted him to give me some songs that he'd written. He made me a little nervous because I thought he was crazy, and I didn't want to have anything to do with him or his songs. He was persistent though, and couldn't understand why, if Jesus had told him to bring me these songs, that I didn't want to hear them. I went into the house and locked all the doors behind me. Finally the man went away. The next day I noticed that the house across the street had a barbed wire fence, an electric gate and a closed circuit television camera to monitor visitors in the driveway. There was a sign that read, "H & H Securities," with a phone number which I immediately called. They sent someone to give me an estimate, and within two weeks, I had my protection installed. I thought I was safe. But iron gates couldn't keep Jesus out! Something strange had begun to happen to me. Another Christian appeared while I was playing a show in Oklahoma City. This fellow was grinning at me from the bottom of a flight of stairs. Normally, I would have ignored him, but I was high on cocaine, and I found his grin rather irritating. The drugs had destroyed my sense of humor and I couldn't have smiled if I'd wanted to. I asked him what he was grinning about and he said, "The Lord just told me that you're going to come to Him." I thought he was crazy and said "Yeah, that'll be great when it happens." He kept grinning and said, "It sure will!" Right after that, I ran into Jennifer Warnes at my manager's house. I was on my way to Magic Mountain to ride the Revolution roller coaster, so I asked her if she wanted to join me for a wild ride. She did, and we had a wonderful time, flying upside down, with the wind blowing through our hair. We stayed for a performance by Three Dog Night, and I took her back stage to meet the band. I really enjoyed being with her and called her the next day. She invited me to her house, where we ended up talking about religion. What had sparked the conversation, was a picture of Jesus that she kept on her dresser. I told her I believed that Jesus was just one of the prophets, and that all spiritual roads spiraled to the same peak at the top of the mountain. She disagreed and told me that Jesus was the only way to get through to God. I'd never heard anyone, whom I respected, tell me that before. Her words made a strong impression on me. Elvis Presley had just died, and that really shook me up. It was a complete shock to read that he was a victim of prescription drugs. I had been getting prescription drugs from a series of doctors for years; speed and quaaludes, both of which apparently Elvis had depended upon heavily. I was doing illegal drugs as well, and Elvis was only seven years older than I was when he died. I thought, "Man, I've only got seven years left." and I panicked. The functioning lobes of my brain began demanding that I investigate what was going on spiritually in the world. Some self preservation instincts were kicking in. Suddenly a horrible new feeling began to plague me. It felt as though an elephant was standing on my chest and my arms were as heavy as lead. Right after I began to experience this sensation, I met a jazz piano player, named Billy. He was also a Christian, and when I told him about the "heavy" feeling that I had been having, he thought it was spiritual oppression of some kind. He asked me if I believed in the power of prayer. I did, after having read "The Power of Positive Thinking," by Norman Vincent Peale. Billy prayed with me, "Lord, I pray that you come into this man's heart, in your own time, slowly and surely and take away this bad feeling, in Jesus name, amen." Nothing happened. The crushing feeling came and went for no apparent reason. One day while I was sitting on the couch in my girlfriend's living room, I began to get that "heavy" feeling again. Suddenly I found myself in prayer, "Oh Lord how can I keep from feeling like this?" An answer came to my spirit, "Well, you could accept Jesus." I said silently, "all right, I accept Jesus." The "heavy" feeling left me and I could feel the Holy Spirit moving in me physically and it felt good to have Jesus in my heart. That was over twenty years ago. The Lord has richly blessed me with a wonderful wife and a fulfilling life. I don't perform gospel music. I prayed about it, and received that I was to stay where I was when I was called. So I put a positive spin on all my songs and hopefully, with the Lord's help, will continue to light up the darkness in a different way.
Roger http://mcguinn.com