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| Rick Boone is the McComb Salvation Army’s new Corps Administrator. He will be introduced at a luncheon at noon Friday. (Aaron Rhoads | Enterprise-Journal) |
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Once at rock bottom, Boone finds Salvation
By Timothy Woerner | Enterprise-Journal
Posted: 07/24/08 - 12:30:33 pm CDT
When McComb’s Salvation Army formally introduces its new corps administrators at a luncheon Friday, those who haven’t met him already will find Rick Boone to be a warm, engaging man with a fervent love for his job.
His wife of 27 years, Darlene, is similarly cordial and involved.
Boone, 55, who is rebuilding the Salvation Army’s ministry locally, is constantly grateful, consistently smiling, always friendly. It’s hard to imagine him as anything other than an affable, dedicated, hard-working man.
But the man charged with building a church in McComb twice gave up on God.
The first time, Boone says, was after a divorce that came so early in life he was barely removed from a home with a single mother and later an alcoholic stepfather.
“I blamed God,” he said.
The next was a far greater hurdle: Struggling with the death of his mother by a bullet fired from his father’s gun, Boone turned to drugs and was stripped of everything, including his faith.
“I just went berserk,” he said. “I cursed God, the whole nine yards. I said I don’t want to serve a God that would allow that to happen.”
Boone lost his business, racked up debts, and over a period of about nine months, fell into crack cocaine addiction so intense he would scour the floor of his home looking for specks of dust that might get him another high.
“That was the worst thing that ever happened to me — the cocaine,” Boone said. “I’d rather see my mother get shot. ... That thing controlled me, and that’s frightening, man. I don’t like being under that kind of slavery.”
Rock bottom was the morning he caught himself testing the dried flakes of paint that had peeled off the toilet in his bathroom.
“When I got up, I looked at myself in the mirror,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it was me. ... I didn’t like what I saw.”
n n n
There’s a passage in the Bible that is a favorite of Boone’s.
Isaiah 1:18 reads, “Come now and let us reason together.”It is the subtle wisdom that repaired his relationship with God.
The process was a negotiation of sorts, Boone picking himself off that floor and promising to transform, whatever it took.
“I asked God that day to take this addiction away from me and I said, ‘I don’t blame you if I’m not even worth your time,’ ” Boone said. “It was just like God said, ‘I got you right where I want you.’ ”
Still, he never dreamed his path to salvation would be in paving a road for others. Boone was doing the one-day-at-a-time routine when he was approached about working for the Salvation Army.
“Initially, I was a little reluctant,” Boone said, joking that he thought it was a cult at first. “I didn’t think I was equipped, but I started putting my hand to the plow.”
After all, Boone remembered thinking, what was there to lose?
Each step was a challenge for which he felt unprepared. First, volunteer work — charity he’d been on the receiving end of before. Next, the invitation to minister to others, despite not having formal training as a pastor.
Darlene stuck by his side, reinforcing her own faith, too.
“I had made a wholehearted commitment to the Lord, and I was just determined to make this work,” Darlene said. “I looked at my children, and I didn’t want them to be without a father. I was willing to hang on in there because I had witnessed the power of the Lord Jesus Christ in my life. I knew he (Rick) would change: He would have to if he really knew the Lord.”
Pretty soon, Boone realized he was finding a perfect fit: the people who crossed into his life found not only a helping hand but a sympathetic ear.
“I’ve been there,” Boone said. “I’ve got a history. Two failed marriages. Crack cocaine addiction. Lying and cheating and stealing, and all these things in my past that I’m ashamed of. If God can have that kind of patience with me, then I’ll serve him to the end.”
And what better messenger than Boone?
“If he can pick me up out of the gutter, then I’ve got patience to work with people,” he said. “We can relate to the people that we minister to. I think that’s why they are able to respond to us. They can accept the messenger.”
n n n
In his younger days, Boone played guitar in soul groups, even appearing at the famed Apollo Theater four times. He met Kool and the Gang and James Brown working sound at a Manhattan Club, and spent time in recording studios in Philadelphia. “I play Hendrix-style,” Boone said.
Yet, the most surprising thing about Boone — other than his equal love for bluegrass — is the candor with which he opens up.
Frankly, he tells his story with the grace of a musician.
“I practice doing it, it’s not easy all of the time,” Boone said. “I’ve been hurt so much in the past that I don’t like to keep nothing in the dark. I’m free now. Sometimes it’s not good, it hurts. But I always keep myself accountable to somebody.”
And there’s something about that approach that makes it easy for Boone to sing background in others’ lives.
“I’ll give you tough love,” Boone said. “I’ll give you some challenges. But there’s always a mercy there for you.”
At times, it has meant putting on a show. He’ll sing during services, and not always the expected religious music. It’s whatever it takes to connect.
“He that wins the soul,” Boone starts. “If I have to put on some Willie Nelson, I will put on some Willie Nelson.”
The work is natural for Boone, even if it had to be coaxed out of him. He has been with the Salvation Army for 10 years: In Norfolk, Va., for four, Washington, D.C., for one and in Greenville the past five.
There’s no secret who he’s aiming for on his journey.
“My heart is in getting that dad that’s in jail,” he said, explaining that he views it as the opening to affect whole families. “Children listen. Dad is dad and mom is mom. I don’t care if they’re drug dealers or prostitutes. ... We’re going after people that more than likely other people turn away. They need hope. And they need a message from a messenger that’s been there.”
Locally, Boone sees opportunities for spiritual growth to match community service.
“What the Salvation Army offers is not anything other than the Word of God,” Boone said. “We teach people how to work for themselves and take care of their families. ... We say, ‘Hey, God loves you, and you can do better than what you’re doing.’ We want to compel them to come and see the gospel is attractive.”
The types of outreach he envisions are varied, from education and fellowship to home ministry. Darlene adds ideas about women’s ministries and youth programs.
“The Salvation Army has always had a great reputation in McComb,” Boone said. “I don’t know what caused that (momentum) to stop, but I do know that people are asking for that atmosphere. ... That’s in our heart, that’s our passion. We’re not looking for the good life.”
n n n
So what to make of the trip from adversity to pastor?
Not to downplay his new role as an easy task, but in a way, it’s the simple part.
“God loves you,” Boone said. “And I’m going to hang around here and get that in your ear. And every now and then, you’ll get that one that hears it. ... It’s not about the masses, it’s about the one.”
In the meantime, there’s planning to be done.
“Our goal is to have our first service in August. ... We’re not out here to get a big name for ourselves. We want to see lives change,” he said.
work with people,” he said. “We can relate to the people that we minister to. I think that’s why they are able to respond to us. They can accept the messenger.”
He knows his target.
“My heart is in getting that Dad that’s in jail,” he said, explaining that he views it as the opening to affect whole families. “Children listen. Dad is dad and mom is mom, I don’t care if they’re drug dealers or prostitutes.”
nnn
In his younger days, Boone played in guitar in soul groups, even appearing at the famed Apollo Theatre four times. He met Kool and the Gang and James Brown working sound at a Manhattan Club, and spent time in recording studios in Philadelphia.
“I play Hendrix-style,” Boone said, smiling.
Yet, the most surprising thing about Boone — other than his equal love for bluegrass music — is the candor with which he tells his story.
Frankly, he tells it with the grace of a musician.
“I practice doing it, it’s not easy all of the time,” Boone said. “I’ve been hurt so much in the past that I don’t like to keep nothing in the dark. I’m free now. Sometimes it’s not good, it hurts. But I always keep myself accountable to somebody.”
And there’s something about that approach that makes it easy for Boone to sing background in others lives.
“I’ll give you tough love,” Boone said. “I’ll give you some challenges. But there’s always a mercy there for you.”
At times, it has meant putting on a show. He’ll sing during services, and not always with the expected religious music. It’s whatever it takes to connect.
“He that wins the soul,” Boone starts. “If I have to put on some Willie Nelson, I will put on some Willie Nelson.”
The work is natural for Boone, even if it had to be coached out of him.
He has been with the Salvation Army for ten years: In Norfolk, Va. for four, Washington D.C. for one and most recently Greenville for the last five.
“The biggest change was less traffic,” he joked of leaving D.C. “I think we added some extra years to my life.”
But there’s no secret who he’s aiming for on his journey.
“We’re going after people that more than likely other people turn away,” he said. “They need hope. And they need a message from a messenger that’s been there. We’re not here to intimidate any other ministry. We’re here to join in.”
Locally, Boone sees opportunities for spiritual growth to match community service.
“What the Salvation Army offers is not anything other than the Word of God,” Boone said. “We teach people how to work for themselves and take care of their families. ... We say, ‘Hey, God loves you and you can do better than what you’re doing.’ We want to compel them to come and see the Gospel is attractive.”
The types of outreach he can envision are varied, from education and fellowship to home ministry. Darlene adds ideas about women’s ministry and youth programs.
“The Salvation Army has always had a great reputation in McComb,” Boone said. “I don’t know what cause that to stop, but I do know that people are asking for that atmosphere. ... That’s in our heart, that’s our passion. We’re not looking for the good life.”
nnn
So what to make of the trip from adversity to pastor?
One observation from Boone:
“I didn’t deal with the prejudice that I thought I was going to deal with,” Boone said. “They said, ‘This might be a little different where you’re going this time.’ Maybe the Lord blinded my eyes to it or I got so wrapped up in my work that I didn’t notice.”
Not to downplay his new role as an easy task, but in a way, it’s the simple part.
“God loves you,” Boone said. “And I’m going to hang around here and get that in your ear. And every now and then, you’ll get that one that hears it.”
Adds Boone: “It’s not about the masses, it’s about the one.”
In the meantime, there’s planning to be done.
“Our goal is to have our first service in August,” Boone said. “We don’t want to sit back and wait. ... We’re not out here to get a big name for ourselves. We want to see lives change.”
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Jimmie Boone Amos wrote on Aug 11, 2008 7:04 PM: