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Jan. 31, 2020 - Jim Bakker Show
06:12
Johnny Cash and The Biggest Sunday School Ever
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Time Text
Crazy Ideas That Worked 00:06:06
And then you would tell the Johnny Cash thing.
That's quite a story.
I think this historically, he did something so crazy.
And you always had ideas.
And I wanted to ask, and then we'll go into about your crazy.
Can we call them crazy ideas, fun ideas, big ideas?
They really are, yes.
Yeah.
Because you would have ideas.
He's starting his journey.
So when his wife was trying to settle in with things, and so he went to pastor, he said, I'm going to settle down and pastor a church in this little church.
Where was that located?
It was my dad's church in Kansas City.
I became his associate pastor.
And then I went to Davenport.
Davenport.
76 people.
76.
You said mean people in this book.
Is that wrong to say?
Meanest people you ever did see.
They had six pastors that had in the last 10 years.
Oh, my.
And I never pastor.
The totally income.
And you had never pastor to church.
No.
I couldn't get a good church.
They all turned me down.
You know, I was a well-known evangelist.
And then when I announced I wanted to become a pastor, I put my name in all the big churches.
Yes.
And they didn't respond.
So I put my name all the medium-sized.
They didn't respond.
I put my name all the small churches.
They didn't even respond.
So finally I said, God, no matter who invites me, I will go.
That's where you want to be anyway.
You're desperate.
That's right.
It was Davenport, Iowa.
Wow.
76 people.
The building, we sold it for $10,000.
Oh.
The building.
The total income of the church was $25,000 for the entire year.
Wow.
They paid the preacher out of it, the bills out of it.
It was very, very, very rough church to pastor.
But here was the big one.
I went to Jimmy Snow, a revival.
Hank Snow.
Hank Snow.
Son.
Hank Snow was one of my partners.
One of the greatest greatest country stars of all time.
I've been told that Hank Snow.
Oh, there it is.
Yeah.
And is his son?
Pastored a church there.
Is he alive right now?
He's still alive.
He's my age, and he's still preaching.
Start a church or another church.
I got to have him on the show or something.
His dad was my faithful partner.
Wonderful man.
See, everybody in your book.
I know them.
They're all there.
And so when I went to the church, him and June walked in.
It wasn't a big church, small church.
And when all the call was given, I talked to them.
And I'm not a little foggy on whether they knew Christ then or the week later they accepted.
And I know, okay.
So a few months later, I was at the main auditorium in my city.
Yes.
And Johnny Cash came in and had a big concert.
When it was over, I walked to the back.
I had a plan.
I said to the guard, would you tell Mr. Cash there's a Tommy Barnett here that wants to talk to him?
I didn't know it, but he was right behind the curtain.
And he said, send the Reverend M.
And I walked in and said, Mr. Cash, I've got a dream.
I want to have the world's biggest Sunday school.
And I said, if you would come and we'll rent John O'Donnell's Stadium and you sing and I'll preach.
Yes.
I believe we can have the world's biggest Sunday school.
I said, Jerry Falwell now has a record for the world's biggest Sunday school.
But I just love to beat the Baptists.
And I said, will you come and sing and I'll preach?
Yes.
And he said, Reverend, he didn't even pause.
I'll do it.
He brought two semi-trucks.
He brought his caravan.
He brought the blue suede shoes, Carls Perkins.
Yes.
He brought the Carter singers.
He charged at that time $100,000 for an appearance.
And I saved up all that I could get saved up for him.
And he came, he brought his entire caravan.
And I preached that day after he, we had 30,000 people.
30,000 people.
The largest crowd in the history.
of Davenport at that time.
And when I gave the altar call, there were 6,000 that came forward as he's saying, come home, come home, it's supper time.
It's like a Billy Graham crusade.
So when it was over, I said, Johnny Cash, that was what you call crazy ideas, but I don't think they're crazy.
I love your ideas.
I tell you what was different about it.
Nobody had people like that.
He had never been on Billy Graham's program.
And he said, today, would you mind?
Remember, I had a very, very, very holiness-oriented church.
And he said, would you mind if I would open up with a secular song?
Because I don't want these people to think that I just use them.
Oh, my.
And I said, well, of course.
I said, what do you want to sing?
He said, I want to sing Sunday Morning Coming Down.
And the opening part of it was.
Somebody in the audience.
And the beer I had for breakfast.
You remember that?
And one of the lines was, and the beer I had for breakfast was so good I had one more for the road.
I thought they're going to run me out of town.
Did they run you out?
Oh, nobody said a word about it.
It was Jane Kai.
Because Johnny Cash.
They love your country.
You love Johnny.
I said, can I pay you?
I've got an offering I want to give you.
I didn't say, can I?
I said, what I need?
Never Charge Him 00:00:21
And his pastor won't take a penny.
He'd paid all of his expenses, stayed in the hotel, would not take a penny.
And three years later, he came back and did it a second time.
Oh, my land.
And they charge you.
Never charge him.
That was a miracle, too.
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