he knows that during those 38 years of alcohol-
ism there were many times he could easily have
died. The depth of Phil's addiction makes his
rebirth all the more remarkable.
gospel songs on the piano.
says, "but to the glory of God I continued to go
to church alone!" Phil worshipped at a church
directly across the street from his house. "My
father would be asleep when I left the house to
go to church. In the midst of a lot of bad things
going on in my family, church was my refuge for
much of my childhood."
diction "took my focus away from Jesus, and as
I grew further away from Him, I grew closer to
catastrophe because I was powerless to resist
me," he says.
town of Philadelphia. There, he met Ted Lewis,
who would become something of a mentor to him.
I missed that one," Phil says. "Ted didn't give
up on me, and he made another appointment
adds that keeping this appointment was the best
thing he could have done. "There I met Majors
anointed preaching and her singing that enabled
my heart to open up, and Jesus stepped in!"
nings program in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He
would have gone on to training college to become
a Salvation Army officer if not for his age. Now,
Phil is a faithful soldier in the Lancaster Cita-
del Corps. He plays his bass guitar in the corps'
praise band and enjoys attending several Bible
study groups per week.
hol. I also have a heart to minister to young men
who are without a father-figure--both are where
I
the Wilderness