Gone Fishing!

     In the movie Forest Gump, Forest makes a life statement. He says: “ I used to run to get me where I was going, but I never thought it would take me anywhere”.  I feel the same way about Bass Fishing! As a kid I had a passion for professional bass fishing. As a matter of fact I am the only guy that I know that collects Big League Bass Pro trading cards. I have every BASS episode from 1985 to the present on tape! All of my heroes growing up were Bass Fishermen, I remember a guy coming to school one day saying “ Did you see how great Terry Bradshaw was yesterday?” My reply was: “ Never mind Terry Bradshaw did you see what Roland Martin Caught yesterday? He must have had 25 pounds!!”  Yes I can  say with assurance that I love the sport of Bass fishing, however just like old Forest, I never thought it would take me anywhere. God on the other hand knew exactly the plans he had for me.

     In 2008, I found out that the BASS Classic was going to be held about 40 miles from my front yard and I was #2 on the list to be a non-fishing observer in the “Super Bowl” of  Bass fishing. You know you have it bad when you sign up first to watch people fish. I was paired with the man that eventually ended up winning the Classic Mr. Alton Jones. During the course of the practice day, Alton looked at me and said: “ Chris, Randy Howell and I have been talking about the need for a Chaplain on the Elite Series tour. Your name keeps coming up, would you be interested in being the Chaplain? Being the spiritual giant that I am I replied: “ Well let me pray about that for about 2 seconds! Yes I would love to be the Chaplain!”

     I have served as the Chaplain for the Fellowship of Christian Anglers of the Bassmaster Elite Series for the past 5 years. I lead a Bible study for the Pros and Non Fishing Marshals before each event, and then I act as a Pastor to the pros and their families. Jeremiah 29:11 Says “ I know that plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harms, to give you a hope and a future.” I never imagined that God could use a love for Bass Fishing in my life, but He has done just that.

God has a way to taking the things of our life (even the things we think cannot be used) and using them for His purpose and glory. The next time time you think that the things in your life will never take you anywhere, turn and give those things to Him. You may be surprised at where you end up.  As for me, I’m going Fishing!

Fishing for Him,

Chris Wells

A Day on the Lake with Alton Jones

A Day on the Lake with Bassmaster Classic Champion

Alton Jones

(I did this interview for the Outdoor  Obsessions Magazine in 2008)

  Early in 2008, ESPN announced that the Bassmasters Classic would be taking place 40 minutes from my house. Two minutes after the announcement that the Bass Masters Classic was coming to my hometown, my friend Keith and his wife Brenda had our names on the list as observers.  I am a full time Christian speaker and I knew the chances were slim that I would not have a speaking engagement, but God had other plans. As it turned out I had one day free that weekend and the Bass Anglers Sportsmen Society said they could use my buddy Keith and me as non-fishing observers.  We arrived at the boatyard before daylight to find out which Pro we would be observing. I was assigned boat #4 and a big smile crossed my face as I found out that I would be observing a friend of mine. None other than Mr. Alton Jones. As we shook hands and climbed in the truck, we took off our hats and I led us in a prayer. I prayed that if it was God’s will that Alton would win the Classic. Well it was and he did!  Winning the Bass Masters Classic is like winning the Super Bowl of Bass fishing. I had the opportunity sit down with Alton and ask him a few questions about winning the Bass fishing’s top tournament.

CW:I’m here today with Bass Master Classic Champion Alton Jones. Alton tell us what you were thinking before you fished the Classic at Lake Hartwell. Did you think that you had a shot at winning this event and what was your mindset coming in here?

AJ: Well Chris I had never fished Lake Hartwell before but I did spend some time before the cut off doing some “Pre –fishing”. I put quotes around “Pre-fishing” because basically I road around and looked at the lake. I have a good friend named Glen Finely that lives on Hartwell and I did spend some time riding around the lake with him before hand. You know I have always been a firm believer that preparation is more important than what happens on “Game day”. Because preparation really sets the foundation for the possibility for what might happen once the game starts. I didn’t have any intuition that I was going to win this Classic or anything like that. I did feel Divinely appointed as I prefished and I felt God’s hand in it. Looking back on it now I see His hand all over me winning the Classic. It wasn’t anything that I alone accomplished. It was just a way for God to expand my platform. Just an example: the night before the Classic started, that’s a long night because you have all you tackle that you have been working on. Your game plan is formulated and practice is over. Starting the Classic is always the biggest point in your career at that point. Win, lose. or draw. I was laying in bed praying and something- I didn’t hear a voice but the prompting of the Holy Spirit said: Go write this prayer down. Again I didn’t know I was going to win the Classic but I wanted to pour my heart out so that other people could see what is in my heart before a big day like that. Looking back now having won the Classic, God has used that as a testimony in itself. If people want to read it they can go to my web site and scroll down through the blog. It’s titled Alton’s Classic Prayer. It’s really just praying for God’s will in our life. That’s really the basis of it, but also you know just turning your concerns over to Him. I was real anxious that night before hand and just saying God I’m going to give you this anxiety. I’m not going to deal with it. I don’t have to because your yoke is easy and your burden is light. Learning how to take that anxiety and cast them on Christ and let Him carry the weight.

CW: I got a chance observe you on the official practice day. You were pretty dialed in. Day one you have a great day. Day 2 you are leading the Classic. Then comes day 3. What was Day 3 like for you?

AJ: You know day 3 was very surreal. People that talk to me say “May you were really poised and calm under pressure” and I tell you that’s not like me to be that way. That’s kinda against my grain. I’m usually a nervous wreck and I hit the panic button real quick. So again I have to point to God’s providence in my life that particular day. Because I only got 5 bites that whole day. I had about 70 boats following me at different points during the day. I always had at least 50. You know its not like golf. When you have a crowd watching you in golf the hole is still there, and if you make the swing it is still going in the hole. The bass that we are chasing, those 50 boats may cause him to swim to the next county. He’s not even going to be there. The hole that you are shooting for isn’t even around anymore. But for some reason, I really felt a peace about it. Again I didn’t think “Hey God’s gonna give me this victory” or something like that. But I knew that Christ was right there in the boat with me. Win, lose or draw. I think if there is one thing that came out that day, that God has been working on in my life. Is that the foundation of my life is not in a good bag of fish or a good season. Those things can come crashing down around me. But learning to have my foundation in Christ. He may provide the fish this day or that day or He may not, but when its not your foundation in life. You know the circumstances of that day don’t dictate the mood of your life or the success of your life. So that’s just one of the big lessons that God continues to teach me.

CW: You won the Classic. I got to tell you I was on pins and needles, and I sent you an excited text when you won. Tell me: what had life been like after winning the Classic?

AJ: Part of the preparation that allowed me to win the Classic. You were there in the boat with me and I’ll never forget, you and I went out that day. I had found the fish and I knew how they were positioned, but after the early bite was over, I didn’t know how to catch them. You were in the boat when I finally figured out that I could catch them deep on a jig, and I could catch them all day long. And Ill never forget about the 3^rd big bite I put my rod down and cranking up and High fiving you That is something I never will forget. That was incredible. Since the Classic life has been a whirlwind. There has been so many opportunities Right now if I wanted to book myself that busy, I could have a speaking engagement every day of the year. I have had a lot of ministry opportunities and a lot of business opportunities. One of the neat things that we got to do is a couple of days after the Classic I got a call from President Bush. He invited me and my family to meet with him in the Oval office and take a tour with him of the White House. You know getting to share that with my kids, my family and my wife, that’s something my kids will tell their grandkids about. The day they went to the White House to see the President. So it’s been incredible. It does change the way the public views you. I don’t know if that is the right way to say that. You are more recognizable after winning the Classic It’s been amazing to me how winning that won tournament changes your level of recognition with the general public. There are struggles in learning how to deal with that. In some ways it’s really awkward because you have people you never met before coming up to you and shaking your hand. People look at you through eyes of “ you have accomplished this great thing” and I don’t see myself that way. It’s awkward so if people want to just pray for me about something is for God to teach me how to handle that with grace and to use it for His purposes.

CW: I noticed one thing that is different about you winning the Classic is that usually guys don’t have a great year after winning it. That doesn’t seem to be the case for you. I think as of today you are in 7^th place for Angler of  the year so far. How have you been able to do that/?

AJ: You know I haven’t put any more effort than usual so far. I try and put maximum effort all the time. I think there is a little momentum coming off of winning the Classic. It helps your self-confidence. So much of success in fishing is being confident in your decision making abilities and just trusting in the Lord that win, lose or draw He is going to put me in the position where He can use me the best. I have been fishing well and I have been pleased with that. One thing is there is a lot less pressure. When you win the Classic, you automatically get a berth in the next Classic to defend your title. So I don’t really have to worry about point from that standpoint. It allows me to take a few more risks when I am fishing. If there is a goal that I am fishing for this year is that Angler of the Year title. All it takes is one slip up in the year and that dream dies. So far we are about half way through and God still has that door open. We will see what happens.

(I have been the Chaplain for the Elite Series for 5 years now, and we have an awesome group that attend our Bible Study including this year's winner Cliff Pace)

If I could only write one more Love Letter to Pam...

I remember the day I saw Pam for the first time as if it were yesterday. She had the most beautiful black hair I had ever seen, coupled with a smile that took my breath. We were facing each other in the serving line at White Oak Conference Center at Suppertime. Her first words to me were "Would you like Peas or Carrots". My first to her were "I want you". Now Pam doesn't remember it that way, but in my mind it plays exactly like that every time. So on this Valentines day I wanted to do or say something special. Something that would hopefully be remembered long after $40 Roses are wilted and gone. Now when Pam and I dated it was long before Cell phones, email, and Face Time, and back in the day I wrote quite a few love letters. So as I thought about today and doing something out of the ordinary I began to wonder what I would say if I only had one letter left to write. If I could only correspond once more before I entered eternity what would I say? As I pondered this I began to do some study on great love letters that have been written, and that's when I discovered The last letter of Sullivan Ballou. Sullivan served in the United States Army during the Civil war. One week before the battle of Bull Run, he penned the words that perfectly capture my sentiments if I were writing Pam for the last time.

 July the 14th, 1861
 Washington D.C.

 My very dear Sarah:(Pam)

 The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days—perhaps tomorrow. Lest I should not be able to write you again, I feel impelled to write lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more.
Our movement may be one of a few days duration and full of pleasure—and it may be one of severe conflict and death to me. Not my will, but thine O God, be done. If it is necessary that I should fall on the battlefield for my country, I am ready. I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in, the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter. I know how strongly American Civilization now leans upon the triumph of the Government, and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and suffering of the Revolution. And I am willing—perfectly willing—to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain this Government, and to pay that debt.

 But, my dear wife, when I know that with my own joys I lay down nearly all of yours, and replace them in this life with cares and sorrows—when, after having eaten for long years the bitter fruit of orphanage myself, I must offer it as their only sustenance to my dear little children—is it weak or dishonorable, while the banner of my purpose floats calmly and proudly in the breeze, that my unbounded love for you, my darling wife and children, should struggle in fierce, though useless, contest with my love of country.

 (Pam)Sarah, my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me to you with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break; and yet my love of Country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me irresistibly on with all these chains to the battlefield.

 The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them so long. And hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years, when God willing, we might still have lived and loved together and seen our sons grow up to honorable manhood around us. I have, I know, but few and small claims upon Divine Providence, but something whispers to me—perhaps it is the wafted prayer of my little Edgar—that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed. If I do not, my dear(Pam) Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, it will whisper your name.

Forgive my many faults, and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless and foolish I have often been! How gladly would I wash out with my tears every little spot upon your happiness, and struggle with all the misfortune of this world, to shield you and my children from harm. But I cannot. I must watch you from the spirit land and hover near you, while you buffet the storms with your precious little freight, and wait with sad patience till we meet to part no more.

 But, O(Pam) Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the brightest day and in the darkest night—amidst your happiest scenes and gloomiest hours—always, always; and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath; or the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by.

(Pam) Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for me, for we shall meet again. As for my little boys, they will grow as I have done, and never know a father's love and care. Little Willie is too young to remember me long, and my blue-eyed Edgar will keep my frolics with him among the dimmest memories of his childhood. (Pam)Sarah, I have unlimited confidence in your maternal care and your development of their characters. Tell my two mothers his and hers I call God's blessing upon them. O (Pam)Sarah, I wait for you there! Come to me, and lead thither my children.

 Sullivan

(Sullivan Ballou Died a week later at the First Battle of Bull Run)

I love you Pam, and will forever!

Chris

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Holiday-Giving.html?soid=1101259243028&aid=1q2DSciVLdU

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Holiday-Giving.html?soid=1101259243028&aid=1q2DSciVLdU

I'll have the Baby Jesus Combo, Hold the Cross, Repentance, and No Resurrection Please.

As far as speaking goes the month of December is not the "Most wonderful time of the year" for Wellspoken Ministries. Churches sit the speakers on the bench in favor of Cantatas, Parties, and Living Christmas trees. It does however afford me some much needed time of promotion, writing, and devout self introspection. I have for instance had some time read, reflect, and on occasion even turn on the old television. Of course the Christmas theme is in full swing, and in between shows I am inundated with a barrage of commercials selling every thing from dog food to donuts and everything else under the sun. This Past weekend my youngest son went to spend the night with a friend, and with the teenager entrenched in his room with headphones a blazing, Pam and I sat down together to watch tv. As I flipped from channel to channel and show to show, I began to have the awareness of an interesting dichotomy. Have you ever noticed that during Christmas our country and our world has very little problem with the baby Jesus? I will even go a step further. If I didn't know better(and I do) I could get the impression that everyone is on board with Christianity, and Jesus is in the lives of the vast majority of tv personalities and actors. I saw sitcoms, movies, cartoons, talks shows, news casts, annoucments, and even Matt Lauer mention the baby Jesus! And as far as music goes, oh my, I heard Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesnee, Tim McGraw, and Brad Paisley all sing christian carols with gusto! Shoot you can even go on I-tunes and find Silent Night sung by Rick Springfield, Sting, Justin Beiber, Blake Shelton, Wilson Phillips, Rod Stewart,Stevie Nicks and Boys to Men! I would dare say that outside King Herod, the Baby Jesus is a rock star! So why in the world is the Jesus who is so celebrated and sung about by so many, get to be so hated by the time Easter rolls around? Why is the baby embraced, while the man who dies on the cross scorned? I think my favorite secular author and Native South Carolinian captured it best in his book the Great Santini. In this book Pat Conroy's lead character is a teenager named Ben Meechum. He describes his feelings on the baby Jesus vs the Jesus of the cross.

"Ben believed in God on Christmas Eve above all other times, and on this night, he turned always away from the stern man on the cross, and ceased to believe in the hellmaker, the fire lover, the predatory creator, the godly carnivore who flung men and angels into a place of darkness and devastation, pain and endless fire. On this night he gave himself to the child, not the gnarled carpenter who himself was nailed to the wood he once worked with until he was called to walk among the Jews. The child would not send anyone to the flames. Ben knew this; felt it; hoped it."

Our world has a fundamental blindness concerning why this Jesus was born at all. We seem to want a fast food Jesus that is gentle, soft, and requires nothing. We want Jesus like Ricky Bobby does...... "Baby Jesus". However the birth of Jesus means nothing without the Cross, and the cross means absolutely nothing without the Resurrection! The world rushes to sing about the Babys birth, and then cowers at the Saviors death. And utterly refuses the saviors Resurrection. God sent His son into the world to get the entire job done. He didn't just start, he was born, lived a perfect life for me, died on a cross a death that I deserved, and then becomes an all sufficient savior by coming back to life in bodily form! My favorite place to eat a Burger has always been Burger King. I get to have it my way at Burger King. That is not the case with Jesus. The Bible speaks plainly that the sins of man, my sins demand a sacrifice. A sacrifice that I am unable by my very nature to make. And even as the world clamors for Jesus to remain the baby. He did not. Thank God He did not. "Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me. This Christmas don't settle for having it your way. Embrace fully "The Way".

The commandments of the "Chaplain"

Some of the Commandments of being a "Sports" Chaplain as outlined by South Carolina Football Chaplain Adrian Despres reads like this:
1)Never Coach.
2)Never Get in the Way.
3)Never be a fan.
4)Never deal with the media.

Most of these are pretty simple for me. Even though I am a Bass Fisherman I have never had the temptation to try and teach Dean Rojas how to fish a frog or instruct KVD on my spinnerbait ideas.
I was asked by Bernie Schultz once to move my motorcycle helmet while he was fighting 5 pounder at Lake wheeler. (He caught the fish BTW). As far as the media goes, I am pretty much invisible on the BASS Scene. No reporters are beating down the door to get the opinion of the Bass Chaplain. I would say that out of the 4 "Chaplain commandments" only one gives me a little trouble.

"Never be a fan" is difficult for a guy who's heroes were all BASS Pros growing up. I mean I still get the shakes when I speak to Paul Elias, Shaw Grigsby, and Rick Clunn. This past season proved to be a real struggle for the "Never be a fan" command. Out of the top 5 finishers for the Angler of the year title,(AOY) 4 of them were FOCAS members, and attend our Bible Study on a regular Basis.

This year on the Tour we tried something a little different with our worship times. In the past we have traditionally had the FOCAS meeting before the Pre Tournament meeting. We elected to try it afterwards this year. We improved the number of Pros that attend our meetings, but lost most of the Marshalls.(Marshalls are amateurs that ride along with the Pros during the event).

On the Final tournament we decided to do both. We had a meeting before which was mostly Marshalls, and a meeting after for the Pros. We ended up seeing 9 Marshalls Pray to receive Christ. The plan for next year is to do 2 (FOCAS) meetings per BASS Elite Series Event.

When you think of Mission work often times visions of far away and exotic lands come to mind. That is certainly a part of our Mission as followers of Christ. We don't often envision a guy that rides in a $60,000 Bass boat as a "Mission" Field. However a person's financial status does not determine where he or she spends eternity. The fact is that everyone not matter where they are or what their social status is needs Jesus. I've got the 4 Chaplain Commandments down. It's the great commandment in Matthew 28:16-20 that I'm working on now.

A Face for Video or Radio?

Now I have to tell you that of all the people that I know who should not be doing anything on Video, my name should top the list. Now there was a time when my abs had a six pack,but as of late I have a 3 liter......ok a mini keg!  However, with that being said the old BASS Chaplain is heading into the Video age with a full head of Steam! I am partnering with Mike Lord Outdoors to create an exciting and hopefully amazing series of Videos for Men! Our goal is to create a 30 day devotional series aimed at guys who may have a little trouble spending time with God. Most men have heard they need to spend time with God, shoot they even know and believe they should spend time with God. The problem is that they just don't do it! I want to give guys like that a helpful resource that will help enable them to stop wanting to spend time with God, but rather start doing it!

The Series will have a 3-5 minute devotional that can be downloaded to any computer or smart phone. Each day will include  relevant Bible teaching (usually from the outdoors) designed to meet men right where they are. For 30 days men will be able to have the Bass Chaplain lead them into life changing habits that God honors!! No one who gets in the presence of God can remain the same!

The Series will also have 4 Longer teaching sessions so a Church or Men's Ministry can use this a small group Study or in their Sunday School. We are very excited about this new step that we have taken to bring Men to the forefront of Church and family leadership. Please pray for us this month as filming has already started.

This week ill be headed to Toledo Bend for the BASS Elite Series Event. I will be documenting my journey each day on Social cam. Make sure  you tune it to check it out!!