Bro Gary Hawkins 21: Let's PRIASE the Lord

[mango_fandango]

I totally forgot… I did do Easter egg hunts as a kid  Not in the sense of “collecting as many eggs as possible”, though. My “main” chocolate egg (large, hollow chocolate one) would be hidden somewhere, and my dad would come up with cryptic clues. So it was more like a treasure hunt round the house. One year one of the clues was “QWERTY?” or something very similar, and I didn’t know what it was so had to ask. Naturally the next clue was hidden under Dad’s computer keyboard. I don’t think it happened every year though, although my parents would probably remember better.

[thoughtful]

On 4/15/2023 at 11:28 AM, postscript said:

The extraneous o at the end sends my mind to Gilbert & Sullivan - “I have a song to sing-o/Sing me your song-o.” Fortunately, I love the song, because it will now be running through my head all day. 

They were paying homage to/parodying the kind of song I was thinking of, so I think we can call this a case of great minds thinking alike - you, me, and those two blokes, Gilbert and Sullivan.

 

[AmazonGrace]

Spoiler

You don't have to leave your place of service. 

I think it's cute he assumes that other people have steady jobs doing something useful. 

[thoughtful]

6 hours ago, AmazonGrace said:

  Hide contents

You don't have to leave your place of service. 

I think it's cute he assumes that other people have steady jobs doing something useful. 

I suspect he means wherever people are serving (or, as he would say, "servicing") the LORD. Working in an actual job, in Gary's mind, is not service.

 

[thoughtful]

After days of posting nothing, Gary says:

It seems very un-Gary, somehow. Doesn't he claim to know about the Rapture and the afterlife, and all of that, and say it's wrong to quit?

Are you depressed, Gary?

[thoughtful]

Charles reminded Gary of the party line:

[Bluebirdbluebell]

1 hour ago, thoughtful said:

After days of posting nothing, Gary says:

It seems very un-Gary, somehow. Doesn't he claim to know about the Rapture and the afterlife, and all of that, and say it's wrong to quit?

Are you depressed, Gary?

He means if we knew our futures before we die, we'd quit. It's like if we knew all the bad things that will happen to us in our lifetimes, it would be depressing.  Like if a couple knew they would get divorced, they wouldn't get married.

It sounds like Gary is depressed or upset about a misfortune that has happened.

[AmazonGrace]

But, but, I thought Jesus will see him through everything. It bible.

[thoughtful]

Becky has MS. I don't know whether Gary has been any help during all of this, and whether they stopped traveling and he stopped preaching. Their videos stopped five months ago, and I don't know if it was related to any of this.

Spoiler

She got lots of supportive comments, with both prayer and some more practical thoughts, and, of course, there had to be one of these:

Spoiler

 

She also posted this:

Spoiler

 

[Ozlsn]

I wonder if Gary will stay with her and provide care or feel "called to preach" and take off for weeks while using her as an inspirational story. I hope she isn't dragged along on trips, continuity of care and more stable living would be helpful.

[AverageGiraffe]

4 hours ago, Ozlsn said:

I wonder if Gary will stay with her and provide care or feel "called to preach" and take off for weeks while using her as an inspirational story. I hope she isn't dragged along on trips, continuity of care and more stable living would be helpful.

I think Gary will want to keep preaching, but if she isn't physically able to go, he won't. He's demonstrated time and time again both with words and actions that he's absolutely not capable of being on his own. I'd be surprised if he can manage day to day self care tasks without her, let alone the logistics of travelling. 

[thoughtful]

Whether Gary would give up (or has given up) preaching for Becky's sake is an interesting toss-up.  It's such an incredible high for his ego, it satisfies his restlessness, and leaves him free of responsibility for anything he doesn't feel like doing.

But, as you said, @AverageGiraffe, he can't function without Becky. He's pretty much a screaming infant, it's just that his screaming is done in a pulpit. So I don't think he could tour without her still doing a lot of the work, let alone not coming along at all.

For all that Gary is such a user, I think that Becky is as precious to him as any human can be. I bet that, in the balloon full of buzzing insects that is his mind, there is actually fear of losing Becky, not just as his servant, but as herself.

But who knows? It's Gary.

Whatever she is going through, she still cooks elaborate Chinese meals for him, as well as steak. Speaking of the steak, I am now wondering if the wheelchair we saw in that picture was one that Becky needs to use sometimes.

[Alisamer]

Ooof. Hope Becky gets the proper care she needs and takes care of herself well. And has some kind of actual health insurance. 

It's got to be a confusing time for them, but especially for Gary. As awful as he is, he does seem to genuinely adore her. But, they are basically homeless, any income he brings in is from his traveling preacher gig, and he's shown he'd essentially be lost at sea without Becky keeping things together. She cooks for him when he can't finagle a free meal. She does the grocery shopping. It's highly likely she is the one who does much of the arranging for their travels. She homeschools Gary's kid. She cares for the dog. She sings as part of his "ministry", plays the piano, and is a vital component of his work. And on top of that she is constantly dabbling in MLMs to bring in more money. 

If Gary has sense, he'll find himself a full time (or at least long-term interim) preaching position at a church somewhere, preferably one with a parsonage they can live in. But that would require him actually working, planning, and having more than a handful of canned sermons and stories to share. He could settle down and work a real job, and that would be even better, but I think it's highly unlikely. 

Becky has always been a conundrum to me. Sometimes she seems like she'd be a nice friendly person anyone could get along with, then sometimes she is judgemental and hateful and awful. She had real work, she had a family, and yet. Somehow here she is, homeless traveling around in a car with Gary and his kid while trying to make ends meet on love offerings and MLMs.

[thoughtful]

Gary preached, and posted a video. He says it's his home church, but that is clearly not a family member's kitchen!

Spoiler

This is the church's Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/familybaptistchurch.me

Someone has commented "Good to hear Brother Gary preacher in again."

I'll watch it and recap.

ETA - this church is almost 500 miles from where Gary's folks live.

Edited April 27, 2023 by thoughtful

[Xan]

I watched it too, @thoughtful.  It seems that a miracle has occurred.  Bro Gary is now working.  He says he's been working at the dump for 4 months.  Gary says that he was on the road for 10 years before taking this job.  I suppose that maybe Becky is from that area or has family.  His preaching hasn't improved but he sounds nervous and admits that out loud.  Several times he's used the line "am I making sense tonight?"

This church is in Columbia, Tennessee but Gary's family is still in North Carolina.  I think that Gary calling this his "home church" means that he and Becky have moved there.  Maybe they were offered at place to live to he found a job there.  Honestly, I'm glad that he cared enough about Becky to get off the road and find employment.

ETA:  He says that before he took this job, he worked for DoorDash.

Edited April 27, 2023 by Xan

[thoughtful]

I see  @Xan  has gotten the basics. I am having trouble getting the video to play picture-in-picture, and I need to get to bed, so I will listen for details and any piquant Garyisms tomorrow.

But I am amazed that Gary stopped wandering and actually went to work. Becky has had serious health problems in the past, and it never seemed to wake him up to the possibility that he needed to be unselfish.

It definitely sounds like they are living in that area. I think Becky grew up in west Virginia - I don't know if either of them have relatives in Tennessee.

I hope he has had a wake-up call - we shall see!

 

 

 

 

[postscript]

Amazed and  delighted as I am that Gary is working, thank goodness he’s no longer employed by DoorDash. I can see him using it as an opportunity to proselytize. Just imagine finding a tract with your dinner or worse, Gary himself at your door, demanding to know if you’ve been saved before handing over your burritos. 

Getting off the road is the best possible decision for both of them, given Becky’s health issues. I’m surprised Gary was that sensible, but I’m sure he saw it as God telling him to settle down for now. I’m also surprised anyone was willing to hire him, given his sketchy work history and need to be in church whenever the doors are open. Gary may be able to guest preach at local churches to keep his hand in, but my guess is his ultimate plan is to take over Daddy Danny’s church when Danny shuffles off to the Great Beyond.

 

[thoughtful]

23 minutes ago, postscript said:

thank goodness he’s no longer employed by DoorDash. I can see him using it as an opportunity to proselytize. Just imagine finding a tract with your dinner or worse, Gary himself at your door, demanding to know if you’ve been saved before handing over your burritos. 

I agree. I wonder if we will hear stories about his trying to convert customers.

 

25 minutes ago, postscript said:

I’m also surprised anyone was willing to hire him, given his sketchy work history and need to be in church whenever the doors are open.

I am guessing that the job at the dump was a result of a chain of church connections, friends and/or family.

[Xan]

1 hour ago, postscript said:

Amazed and  delighted as I am that Gary is working, thank goodness he’s no longer employed by DoorDash. I can see him using it as an opportunity to proselytize. Just imagine finding a tract with your dinner or worse, Gary himself at your door, demanding to know if you’ve been saved before handing over your burritos. 

I can't force myself to listen to him again but I do think he said that he gave out tracts while working for DoorDash.  

1 hour ago, postscript said:

Gary may be able to guest preach at local churches to keep his hand in, but my guess is his ultimate plan is to take over Daddy Danny’s church when Danny shuffles off to the Great Beyond.

Yeah.  I don't see him doing this job for long.  He's spent the last ten years sleeping late, driving around, and being treated to free meals.  Laziness is a hard habit to break.  The only problem is that Danny has also had to keep a job to survive since his church is so small.  It's pretty hard to make a living when your congregation fits into your living room.  If Gary had any sense he'd take one of those open jobs for preaching that he's talked about in the past.  It wouldn't be a great fit but at least he'd be able to yell at people from the pulpit several times a week.

[postscript]

2 hours ago, Xan said:

I can't force myself to listen to him again but I do think he said that he gave out tracts while working for DoorDash.  

 

Which may be why he’s no longer employed by DoorDash.

[Alisamer]

Miracle of miracles, Gary got a JOB!

I think the dump is about the perfect place for him, too. If it's anything like my local "dump" what it really is, is basically a place with a bunch of dumpsters and compactors. There's somebody at a little kiosk at the gate, punching your "garb card" you've bought to throw away garbage, or telling you that you've brought enough recyclables to  be allowed to throw away your trash without the card. He'll sit there, check people's cards, tell them they have to break down their boxes, direct them which dumpster to put each type of recyclable in, whether they are taking appliances and if so where to put them, and occasionally turn on the compactors. If it's like mine it's only open during standard work hours except for short weekend hours, to make it extra difficult for people to go there, and the recycling bins are nearly always full so they tell you to just dump everything in the trash dumpster anyway. 

[thoughtful]

Gary begins his 4/26 message at Family Baptist Church in Columbia TN with his familiar "Well, amen, it's good to be in church!" He not only doesn't berate them for not reacting strongly enough to that, he says "I could be in the bed raht now though - we'lll figure out whether ah shoulda stayed home or not."

True modesty or just his usual false modesty?

He announces the chapter, then says something about a preacher who'd said, "a coupla weeks ago, that uh - that he had got chickens an' you're gonna hear a lot about chicken stories. Well, ah work for the dumpster place - we're gonna talk about trash tonaht, amen?"

It sounds like he then says that they have some chickens, too, but he'll leave the chicken stories to the other preacher. Imagine Gary settled down enough to keep chickens!

One bad habit he has kept - he doesn't tell them the verse until right before he reads, and he still says "verses" for a single verse.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+18%3A7-9&version=KJV

I don't think I've ever heard Gary read this passage, which is all about being honest and working!

Some errors:

KJV: The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
Bro Gary Version: The words of the talebearer are wounded - wounds, and they go down to the innermost parts of the belly.

KJV: He also that is slothful in his work is  brother to him that is a great waster
BGV: He also that is slothful in his works is a brother to him that is a greater - a great waster

The captions think the bible is discussing a cabbage dish:

Spoiler

"When ah was asked th' opportunity t'preach, th' Lord th'other day got t'thinkin' ah got t'lookin', ah deal with trash every day. Y'know what trash smells lahk? Stinks."

Ah, the bizarre poetry of Gary's brain. I can't say I've missed it, but I'm glad to know I can still understand some of what he's saying. Throughout the next part of the message, he occasionally just blurts out "But trash!" to get himself back on topic.

"An' ahma tellya raht now, ah never - ah ah ah - y'know - ah've never messed with trash until now other than mah own garbage takin' it out, but people are nasty."

He goes on to talk about how disgusting trash is, and starts to talk about how people gossip (I think he's on his way to an analogy), then veers off to issue his usual warning about how it will take longer to get out of there if he has to say all the amens himself. Some people yell amen.

Back to trash. He says he has family members, who he won't name, who go "trash diggin'or dumpster-diggin' or whatever ya wanna call it. She even brought us some Christmas presents one tahm an' ah told her she could have mahn. amen? Ah'm not too keen about stuff that comes outta th'garbage dump. After - after workin' for, what? three or four months that ah worked for th' dumpster, ah'm tellin' ya raht now, ah'be heard stories, of things that's in the - that's been in  the - matter of fact, somebody brought us a fox that they killed the other day an' give it  to us an' we had t'smell that thing the resta th'day.  Trash stinks, amen? Am ah makin' sense t'naht?"

He start to make the analogy, saying that we have a lot of trash in our lives. But then he's back to actual trash, saying "Ah let mah wahf take the trash out, ah don't even lahk it, ah haveta deal with it fahv days a week, ah figure that's enough for me amen?"

So much for helping Becky - that sounds like the old Gary.

He says we can dump or burn trash, and remembers when they first got into a "good, bahble-believin' church," they were asked to bring in their records and tapes to burn them. "We need to spir't'lly, once in a whahl, burn our trash, amen? Am ah makin' sense?"

"Go to Exodus chapter four, real quick-lahk."

I'll resume in another post.

[thoughtful]

Family Baptist starts its Facebook videos while people are still settling in and greeting one another, so it was pretty easy to scroll back and find the earliest service in which I could see Becky and Gary in the pews. The earliest, as far as I can tell (I could be wrong) was November 20:

Spoiler

I spotted them over and over as I scrolled down, and never saw any sign of Jacob.

[Black Aliss]

Gary sounds like he is suffering mightily from having to work at all, never mind work with trash! I give him another month, tops.

I sincerely hope Jacob is living with other family members, ideally someone who will care enough about him to put him in school where he can catch up academically and socially.

[Xan]

It might be that they didn't have decent health insurance.  That would explain why they've been in Tennessee for over 4 months but she just recently got diagnosed.   He might have needed to find a job where they could get health coverage.  If that's true then whether or not he keeps the job will depend upon her complete diagnosis and how much medical care/drug treatment that she needs.  If it turns out that she doesn't have MS, he might drag her back out on the road again.