Imagine a piano falling on you.

I don’t mean literally. I mean figuratively.

Said another way, imagine losing something (or someone) that hits you like a ton of bricks. 

Something that shakes your life to its foundation.

Something that showed what you thought was true... actually wasn't. At least not in the way you envisioned it.

What does one do in such circumstances? How does one cope? How does one adapt? How does one survive?

The Church Boy Who Encountered Troubled Waters is a story about such a calamity. 

It’s a story about a young black boy who went through life changing storms and came out victorious.

It’s a story about a black boy whose world fell apart… and then came together again in an amazing way.

Just know this. While his story will amaze you, it’s just one page in the greatest story never told… the Black experience in America.

The greatest story never told is our story.

The greatest story never told is your story.

So, let’s get on with your story, shall we?

The Church Boy Who Encountered Troubled Waters - Part 1

Johnny Stephens… and His Church  

Our little boy’s name was Johnny Stephens.

Johnny grew up “in church” as they say. But not just any church.

He grew up in a Pentecostal church whose congregation was fire-baptized and filled with the Holy Ghost.

Their services were filled with shouting, stomping, dancing in the spirit, and speaking in tongues.

From a block away, you could hear their soulful singing... accompanied by tambourines, drums, an organ, and shouts of "thank you Jesus".

Johnny's church was a no-nonsense church. They preached the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

They were ultra-conservative and fundamentalist to the core. 

Women couldn’t wear skirts that came above the knee. 

They were discouraged from wearing jewelry, which was considered worldly.

Wearing makeup was discouraged because it meant the wearer had the spirit of Jezebel, the harlot.

Going to movies and listening to the radio?

Forget about it.

These were frowned upon because wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction.

No... Johnny’s congregation did not play church.

They were s-e-r-i-o-u-s... do you hear me?

The First Family

Johnny’s family was also the foundation of their church. 

To be accurate, they were the pillars too!

And the roof as well.

Johnny’s grandfather was the pastor.

His grandmother, who Johnny adored, was the First Lady and also served as the church pianist and organist. 

His mother was the choir director.

His father was a deacon who served in many additional roles.

His ministries included teaching Sunday School, playing the drums, singing in the choir, and driving the van that picked up people for church on Sunday mornings.

When Johnny’s grandfather retired from the pulpit, his uncle took over as pastor. 

Are you starting to get the picture? Are you feelin' me?

They were devoted to the Lord in every way. 

Their zeal… was for real.

Taught at Home

The church was Johnny’s world from the day he was born and shaped every aspect of his existence. 

The Stephens were in church throughout the week. Their routine included Sunday services, revival services, weekday Bible studies, choir rehearsals and church meetings. 

So passionate were they about biblical values, and so committed were they to raising their children right, that they educated their children themselves.

Johnny was homeschooled all the way from infancy through the 6^th grade.

His mother taught Johnny and his siblings from a conservative Christian curriculum called The Abeka Academy.

She taught them well too. There was no half-stepping in her home school.

Because of that, Johnny was a model student who was several years ahead of other kids his age. 

He was even featured on the front page of their local newspaper. 

The headline announced that Johnny Stephens, who had recently won the district spelling bee, was the product of home teaching.

Mama, I Want to Sing

Because church was at the center of the Stephens' lives, gospel music was their ever-present soundtrack.

And because his parents and grandmother were leaders of the choir, Johnny was always at their rehearsals.

Being immersed in music, he developed a love for it at an early age.

This led to him taking classical piano lessons at age four.

Even as a small child, Johnny wanted to sing in the choir... which, by the way, was an all-adult choir.

Saying he was waaaaay too young, his mother and grandmother refused to let him sing. 

A five-year-old in the church choir? Ain't happening! 

Singing for God was serious business. And as we've already discussed, the Stephens did not play church.

But little Johnny kept pestering them.

Finally, when he was seven, they relented and allowed him to join the choir. Being the only child member, he had to have a special robe made just for him.

Johnny's grandmother was the choir's pianist and organist, and he was especially close to her. 

She played the piano with such an incredible anointing that he revered her.

On Sunday’s, after church, he would go to her house where she mentored him and taught him to play “gospel” piano.

A Model Family

By all accounts, the Stephens were what you might call a model family. They were prominent in the community, and everyone looked up to them.

Johnny’s dad was an easy-going factory worker that built trucks for a living. In addition to his church duties, he also pursued his artistic passions as a painter and tailor on the side. 

His mother was a brilliant, bright light in the community. She was beautiful, whip smart, and had a gorgeous singing voice. She became a beloved local celebrity who sang in black churches throughout the area. 

If there was a wedding or a funeral, there was a good chance that Johnny’s grandfather or uncle would be officiating, and his mother would be singing. 

As Johnny grew a little older, she would take him along to sing with her.

The Stephens were what families were meant to be. Wonderful, serving God, serving their fellow man, and giving their children a solid foundation.

Hit by a Storm 

Sadly, the good times and good vibrations were about to change.

The Stephens didn't know it, but there was a giant piano hanging over their heads... massive, menacing and waiting to fall.

And fall it did.

When Johnny was 10 years old, like a lightning bolt from a sunny, cloudless sky, his beloved grandmother collapsed and died of heart failure.

It happened so fast. One minute she was alive, smiling and vibrant. 

The next minute… she wasn't.

She was gone.

His grandmother was just 59.

Her sudden passing left the Stephens family devastated and disoriented.

It was hard to believe.

They just couldn't process it.

They had been faithful.

They had served the Lord with all their might. 

They had served their fellow man too. 

And now this? 

After years of faithful service... this was their reward?

How could God do this to them?

It made no sense!

Another Blow 

If his grandmother’s tragic passing made no sense, what happened next wasn’t going to make sense either.

They didn’t realize it then, but there was a second piano hanging above their heads.  

It too was massive.

It too would soon fall.

And it too would leave them stunned and shaking their heads in utter confusion. 

Next Sunday… we’ll find out about the second piano and how these tragic blows shaped Johnny’s life and eventually turned his trials into a testimony. 

My compliments to you for hanging in here with Johnny's story. 

Rest assured... you will be rewarded. The juice is definitely worth the squeeze.

So, join me next Sunday for The Church Boy Who Encountered Troubled Waters, Part 2.