Going "Unshackled"
University of Mobile Alumnus Shares Message of Faith
Rodney WIlliams, left, and his wife, Jennifer, right, meet with Flossie McNeil, middle, at Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago, Ill. McNeil is the director of the "Unshackled" program on which Williams' story was broadcast.
By LINDSAY MOTT
Mississippi Press Correspondent
(Courtesy of the Mississippi Press 2008© All rights reserved.
reprinted with permission )
One local pastor takes time to spread his message of salvation with young people in the hopes they will not follow the path he took into drugs.
Over the next two weeks, his message will spread around the world as part of the "Unshackled" radio program.
The Rev. Rodney Williams spent more than 20 years under the influence of drugs. After turning his life around, he has written a book and spends his time speaking to all kinds of groups in hope that just one person's life will be changed.
Earlier this year, his story was picked up by the Pacific Garden Mission, which has broadcast "Unshackled" since the 1950s. According to Williams, the show is the longest running radio drama in history and reaches people worldwide in Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Romanian Polish, Korean and Japanese.
His testimony has been added to the program and will be broadcast over the next two weeks on radio stations all over the world. Locally, the show is set to air on Ocean Springs' WOSM - 103.1 at 8:30 a.m. today and Dec. 14.
Williams is working to share his message with others in an effort to save them from what he went through. When he felt called to write his book, "Club Meth to Christ," also the name of his non-profit ministry, he prayed that God would "use it as a vessel to touch countless lives."
Since it was published about three years ago, approximately 12,000 copies have been published.
He has taken his message to schools, youth groups, prisons and other organizations like the Home of Grace in an effort to help people "make the right choices for the future." He said that young people often make mistakes without realizing the consequences.
Williams did not feel the consequences of his addiction until after numerous people he knew had died, and he was caught in a methamphetamine explosion that left burns on his body. He started doing the drugs for fun and excitement, not realizing the consequences.
"Before you know it, it's a bondage and you can't get out of it," he said. "You don't expect to be an addict. You can't choose the consequences."
Twenty years later, he was finally set free. Williams said that on his way to the hospital, suffering from second and third-degree burns, he decided to follow "God's way and not Rodney's way."
After leaving the hospital, he went to the Home of Grace in Vancleave for rehabilitation and decided to do whatever it took to get clean.
He then attended the University of Mobile and earned a bachelor's degree in religion and a minor in communication.
He has since become a pastor and preaches at Pathway Baptist Church in Big Point, along with his community speaking engagements. He is trying to show others the importance of a spiritual foundation "because people go looking to the world to fill the void in their lives," he said.
Williams said he hopes people will hear his story and avoid the direction of drugs that he followed.
To listen to the Unshackled broadcasts featuring UM alumnus Rodney Williams, visit http://www.unshackled.org/listen_08.html . To talk with Williams about speaking to your group, which he does free of charge, send an e-mail to rodney.williams@clubmethtochrist.com.
Last modified :
Wednesday, January 7, 2009 8:19 PM
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