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Short Story-Death Spiral At 8000 Ft

Sermons from the Past and Present

Eldoret, Kenya
2010

Dr Benjamin Bates

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

"But for the divine providence of God I may never have written my memoirs. Fact of the matter is, I wouldn't be here. It was by the mercy and grace of God that a couple of young men were walking Main Street in downtown Little Rock, Arkansas, late one cold Sunday afternoon in December 1947 passing out gospel tracts. I was a young man of twenty three whose fast life had brought me to the decision to take my own life. I had planned it all as I walked toward the Main Street Bridge that crosses the Arkansas River. I had turned my back on God and the Christian life I had chosen earlier in life. But God had other plans for my life. One of the young men offered me a tract and in my desperation I took it and stopped to read its message. In large caption I read these startling words: "Stop! Have You Considered Your Destiny?" I read every word of the tract; a message that God had providentially prepared for me. Turning around and walking back to the First Baptist Church, I attended the service which resulted in finding a loving and merciful Lord Jesus waiting to receive me and forgive every act of sin and hurt that I had caused in my own life and in the lives of others. That moment in time was the beginning of the rest of my life."

Dr Bates was born during extreme hard times; the first of five sons to a poverty stricken family just prior to the Great Depression. Through insurmountable hard times, Dr Bates' father eked out a meager living for his family by accepting menial farm jobs doing hard labor ~ always believing with strong determination that better days would come.
In his early teens Ben determined, with God's help, he would profit from memories of the past and set goals on higher things. As he reached early manhood, war came and he entered the Navy. Being far away from sheltered family life, Ben suddenly encountered temptations he had never known. His life began a downward spiral which culminated with that fateful night on which the Lord rescued Dr Bates from the brink and showed him the door that led to a life dedicated to His service.
In 1948 Dr Bates answered God's call to become a Baptist minister. He was trained at the California Baptist Seminary, Los Angeles, California and In 1958 was conferred the degree of Doctor of Divinity by The Southern California Seminary, El Cajon, CA. Evangelism has always played a great part in Dr Bates ministry. He has conducted more that 200 revivals, and has traveled widely in several foreign countries conducting crusades.
Dr Bates and his wife, Bettie Morgan Bates are members of First Baptist Church in Winter Haven, Florida. They have a son, Carey F Bates and a daughter, Dodie Bates Davis, both of whom also reside in Florida. At 84 Dr Bates is still very active in the ministry filling in for pastors who are away or for churches that have no pastor. Dr Bates is also an active chaplain for the Polk County Florida Sheriff's Department. He provides counsel for victims of tragic incidents and their families as well as for law enforcement officers who are going through personal trials or, more frequently, as they go through tragic events in the line of duty. Polk County Sheriff, Grady Judd says of Dr Bates, "To me, he epitomizes what a minister or a preacher should be. He is just very kind, very gentle, very hard-working. There aren't enough positive adjectives to describe what a wonderful man he is."