The Testimony of Scott Bishop - Our Youth Pastor

“And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.”
2 Corinthians 5:15 

“Generation X” is the time frame in which my story begins.  When I was four, mom and dad broke their vow before God and divorced. I found myself living with a single mom and two brothers on the “Outer Banks” of North Carolina.

At a very early age, I saw lives that were searching, lives that were in turmoil, lives without peace.  As a boy I sought satisfaction in making good grades and playing ball.  Life consisted of visitation with dad on the weekends and ball during the week.

Before long, ball lost its luster and surfing consumed my every thought.  Surfing brought new friends with new values.  I began to spend more and more time away from home.  Drugs and alcohol were prevalent with my new-found companions.  It was not long till I was experimenting with both.

The experimental stage with drugs and alcohol did not last long.  What I mean is that drugs and alcohol played a daily role in my life from the seventh grade through high school.  When I was not “high” I was a very angry young man.  When I wasn’t under the influence of something, I did not like who I was and neither did many others.  The loneliness I felt drove me to one shallow relationship after another.  I had no purpose.  I clouded reality as much as possible with friends, hobbies and addictions.

This was just the beginning.  My best friend’s older brother (my drug dealer) committed suicide when I was in the seventh grade.  This event shook my life.  I remember thinking “Maybe this is the way out.”  The hurt I saw around me I cannot express in words.  I saw broken families with broken children everywhere.  My friends were being sent off to wilderness camps and boys’ homes.  It was truly a mess.

I turned my focus away from my trouble seeking friends and fixed my gaze upon a young lady in high school that I all but worshipped.  She drove a nice car and loved to sit on the beach and take pictures of surfers.  (Not to mention she was very pretty.)  At the end of my eleventh grade summer, this young lady was raped.  The helplessness that I had felt for years now spiked to a point of no return.  I knew who raped her.  I was determined to hurt him or hurt myself.  I knew something had to be done.

During these days of trauma, a man I had surfed with many times approached me about studying the Bible.  I agreed to meet him weekly and study the book of Proverbs.  I learned about the immoral woman, the fool and scoffer.

From this point on I believe there was an all-out battle for my soul.  This faithful servant of the Lord clearly communicated to me the love God had for me.  I was unwilling to turn to my friend’s loving God because I had grown to love my lifestyle.  The battle within continued throughout my senior year in high school but now I knew that the God of the universe was opposed to my way of life and was angry at the wrong I had committed.  I could not find a drug to cloud this reality.

In February of 2000, I found myself regularly attending church services but without a relationship with God.  On one cold February afternoon, sometime after the morning church service, I went toe-to-toe with my dad.  I got the worst end of that deal.  Within minutes, I was jobless, homeless and bleeding profusely from my nose.

I packed my things quickly and drove to a nearby beach to gain my composure.  On the way, friends flagged me down and tried to entice me to make a drug run with them.  I declined.  I knew something had to change.  On the beach I cried out to a God I had only heard about.  I knew my rebellion against Him and I knew His love for me.  I understood that God died on a cross, wearing my rebellion and law-breaking, that I might be forgiven.  I had a change of mind and heart toward my lifestyle of sin and I turned to Jesus pleading for His forgiveness.

I received Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and Lord over eleven years ago.  I no longer lack purpose in life; He is my purpose.  I no longer lack peace; He is my peace.  When Christ died on that cross 2,000 years ago He was making the way for me to have peace with God.  Jesus paid the price for all the wrong I did and ever will do and I love Him for it.  I am certain because of what Christ has done in my heart that I now have eternal life and I shall never perish because I am safe in my Heavenly Father’s hand.

God provided some of His key servants to disciple me and teach me how to do the work of my Lord. Following the leadership of the Holy Spirit and the counsel of my Pastor, I enrolled in Piedmont Baptist College’s biblical studies program.

I have been serving as the youth pastor at Marshall Baptist for the past eight years. I am happily married and have two beautiful children, all because of the grace of God. To God be the glory, great things He has done – 2 Corinthians 5:15.