Brad Hagan

I was saved on May 10, 2000 on my John Deere tractor. The tractor became my altar. I had often thought about God, Jesus, and the Bible while I was on that tractor. The tractor actually became a fleece, as well. I was, at first, fearful that the tractor would be sold (it was a used one at John Deere) because it was being advertised at a very reasonable price. So, I laid out my ‘fleece’ and the tractor was still available for a reasonable price, even after weeks had passed, so I purchased it.

I was saved while cutting in the fields, on our property, (Liz, mine, the kids and God’s) at a slow speed.  A great amount of attention to the job is not necessary. Many of my thoughts revolved around people that God had sent my way. My wife, being one of those people, has always been a conduit to Christian thinking and true spiritualism. I was never moved (probably because I was too afraid) to approach the altar in front of a group of people. However, during altar prayers, I always felt like I was at the right place with the right people at the right time. I know now that God knew that I was too afraid to seek Him in front of people, so he came to me when I was alone.

I also have to mention, not any less important, that same evening, (unknown to me) that Victory Church, Tim Binion, and Liz, were praying very hard for me. I believe it was what Brother Binion calls ‘hooking up with Jesus’ at the very same time that I was saved. I know that they didn’t save me, but I believe their prayers were answered by Jesus Christ.

It felt a little like a chill, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable feeling at all. In fact, it was kind of like a feeling of calm and peace, a feeling of strength, a feeling of knowledge or of understanding how Jesus could save me when I hadn’t been saved before. Due to my religious upbringing (Catholic) and its doctrines, I still wasn’t sure if it had really happened. I then proceeded with what some people call ‘working out’ my Salvation. On that John Deere tractor, Christ had started a fire down in my soul and inner being, which over time; He just kept increasing the heat and strength of. At about that same time, something that I had probably heard before, but didn’t pay attention to, was the statement that stuck in my mind, “We (Missionary Baptists) don’t tell you you’re saved, you’ll tell us when you’ve been saved.” That ‘fire’ kept growing until I could barely stay in my seat at church when the doors of the church were opened ‘to join’.

I continued to feel I was letting my fellow brothers and sisters down. Even more importantly, I felt that I was letting Jesus Christ down, by not telling of my Salvation. The scripture, “If you don’t confess me before men, I won’t confess you before the Father” kept coming to my mind. On the Sunday morning that Shandra gave her testimony and joined the church, I remained seated and felt terrible, because I was weak. While the handshaking was occurring, I knew that I had to tell what a great thing that Christ had done for me or I would continue to feel embarrassed inside and before God on judgment day. When that day is going to be, we don’t know, but I was tired of trying to convince myself that I still had plenty of time.

When I approached Brother Binion, I told him that “I got saved on that tractor.” I know that he knew that I liked to ‘kid’ a lot about things, mostly to take out some of the tension that is in almost everyone’s life. He looked at me with those dark piercing eyes and said “Are you sure?” and I said, “I’m sure.” He told me after that morning service, that it was my ‘call’ to announce it, not his. I wanted to testify Sunday night, but I still couldn’t stand up to testify. I then felt so terrible, that I was letting the old fears control me instead of the ‘Spirit.’ The following Wednesday night, I just knew I had to testify, or I was going to ‘bust.’ On my way to church that Wednesday night, I had planned my activities to allow me to arrive at church in plenty of time to get myself together and not interfere with what I had to do. However, I was detained by several things and got to church a little bit late, slightly angered and frazzled. I was beginning to think, as I had so many times in the past, “this probably isn’t the right time to testify”.  Brother Binion varied from the usual sequence of procedures by preaching a mini sermon prior to asking prayer, etc. That was what I needed to get settled down, get courage from God and be ready to ‘spring’ out of that seat to tell of my Salvation. I did just that, that night, and have had no fear of testifying since then. I pray that I never have that fear anymore and can ‘spit’ in the devil’s eye when he comes to intimidate me. I desire to intimidate him with the help of Jesus Christ, God, the great ‘I AM.’

I completed Chiropractic College in St. Louis, Missouri in 1977, moved to Hendersonville in 1978, and have had many good friendships with my fellow brothers and sisters for many years. I began working with my wife in our computer software business in 2000. We like to do boating, and take care of our small farm, our dog, cat, and horses. The animals, the property and everything else were all made available to us by the generosity of God. My other interests, outside of church, include watching and attending automobile racing, and trading good clean jokes. My wife, Liz, has been a member of a Missionary Baptist church since 1973 and has currently been a member of Victory Missionary Baptist Church since 2000.

I would like to tell everyone that isn’t saved, to keep searching for Christ, He’s real, and if I can find Him, so can you. To me, the best way to find Him, is to spend time listening to ‘constructive preaching’ and avoid heresy. Be careful not to idolize any man or woman, because they will fall short of perfection. It took a long time for me to realize the difference between ‘counterfeit’ and ‘real’ God-inspired preaching, and I’m sure that I still occasionally am misled. However, Jesus has ‘opened’ my eyes to the ‘Truth,’ and it will set you free. Victory Missionary Baptist Church was an unusual church for me. As Brother Binion says to visitors, “I pray that you see that we believe Jesus Christ is the ‘Main Attraction.’” Any analogies that I use, I use with the utmost respect of God and His people. I also have to mention that many, many Missionary Baptist preachers and Carol Carver have prayed, counseled, and not ‘pushed’ me, but lead me to seek Jesus Christ and find Him as a very personal, strong, and caring Savior.

Based on Victory Messenger April 2001 Volume IV, Issue 2 Page 4 Brad Hagan (baptized by Bro. Tim Binion)