Lisa Harper

and told Brother Jimmy, you know, I wanted to know Jesus because I wanted a dad who wouldn't walk away.

But during that same period of time, some men came and went from our family who were pretty abusive.

So I got the whole my heart is dirty and I need Jesus conflated with I'm dirty.

So as best I understood as a five-year-old, I gave my heart to Jesus.

But I lived the story I identify with most in the Gospels is the woman who has been over for 13 years.

Because even though I knew him as my savior, I just thought I've got to do better, be better, do better, be better.

And I lived really thinking if God pays attention, he's going to be really disappointed that he lowered the bar to let me into heaven.

So I tried to be really good in high school, went to college, went into youth ministry after that.

There was no youth ministry for women there.

When I was coming through, there are a few outliers, but I thought I'm going to have to learn to cross stitch, you know, or be a pastor or go to China.

And so a youth job opened up here in Nashville, Tennessee.

And so that's what brought me to Nashville.

First time around, I thought I do not like grits and I do not like country music.

I'm going to be in trouble.

And then the first time I saw all these kids in high school come to Christ, that was back in the day.

They would send me out with a paper map.

to high schools all over Tennessee, and my job was to get past the front office and talk them into letting me speak.

And sometimes I'd just worm my way in to the administrators.

I mean, can you imagine doing this today?

Oh, yeah.