Ernie 5

Today I was racking my brain to come up with some of my favorite memories with Ernie.  Today it hit me and I don’t know how I didn’t think of it sooner.

Young life is all about meeting kids where they are, meeting them in dark places in hopes of giving them a meaningful encounter with Jesus.  The hardest part of leading YL is when we get a glimpse of how lost and broken our high school friends really are, as we may have forgotten the depths that Jesus has redeemed us from.

A few years ago on a single digit temperature Friday night the toolbox guys were hanging out and things were winding down when my phone rang.  It was a friend of mine from Shenandoah County.  He was black out drunk and he called me to tell me that he was at a JMU party.  As if this wasn’t bad enough he told me that he was about to drive 40 minutes home back to Woodstock.

…my heart sank in my chest.

Ernie had seen me get up off the couch and walk out into the hall.  I walked around upstairs and was trying to reason with my dear friend, pleading with him not to drive anywhere, even to my house.  I eventually got him to let slip where he was, or at least which of the Port road communities he was in.  I begged him to stay put and that I would be there soon.

As I hit the end button on my phone I turned around in the hall to see Ernie with keys in hand and to hear him say “so…Where are we going?”

We took off; I was wearing jeans, sandals and a tee shirt with no jacket because of wanting to rush to His side.  We began the crawl of Devon lane and hunters ridge in search of his car but more importantly his friends.

30 minutes of searching passed…

…an hour passed.

An hour and a half passed then at 1:15am struck as my dear friend and his two friends crested the hill coming to his car.  I jumped out of the car and intercept him before he reached the drivers side door.

I explained how much I love him and how I wanted him to come to my house and spend the night…he said I didn’t love him and refused to come to my house.  I explained what was going on and we talked for a while.  We finally came to an agreement, his sober friend would drive his car to one of the freshman dorms at JMU then he would come with us to the toolbox.

            When we got to the dorm he told me he had changed his mind and he was going to stay in the dorm with his girlfriend.  I told him that wasn’t the deal and that he needed to come with me.  I called my friend, co-leader and area director for YL in Shenandoah County to ask for help and wisdom…oh yea, it was also the NIGHT BEFORE CARTER’S WEDDING.

My friend began to get upset at Carter and me.  He began to yell at me, telling me to go home and to leave him alone.

At one point he began to scream “JUST GIVE UP! JUST GIVE UP ON ME! I DON’T CARE WHY YOU’RE HERE AND I DON’T CARE ABOUT GOD.”

He began to weep and quietly this time asked me to give up on him.  I told him that I refuse to give up on him and that I just wanted him to be safe.

I asked him to give me his keys and I told him that if he didn’t I was going to take a wheel off of his car so that he couldn’t drive.  I also told him that he was going to have to call his Mom in the morning in order for me to give his keys back.


I looked him in the eyes "I love you, dude.  I'm not giving up on you...get some sleep.  I'll see you in the morning."


I turned and walked away.

By this point I was shivering, broken and crying…

I turned around and began to walk to Ernie’s car and what did I see.  Ernie standing arms spread to give me a hug and tell me that in the end, I was doing the right thing.

I love this story because at one point in my life I was exactly where my friend was, and in another I was the person in the story and now in the future I hope to be Ernie.

Ernie’s role, though background, is one of courage and loyalty.  Ernie is fiercely loyal and wants to equip the people in his life to do what is right regardless of circumstance.

May we begin to see our lives from the vantage point of Christ as a fiercely loyal and determined reconciler.

May we learn when we are being the high schooler, begging for Jesus to give up on us, to let go of the keys.

May we fight the good fight…fighting for what is right.

I pray that we would continue to push back what is dark in this world in light of the truth of Christ.