Dawson McAllister Has Talked to Thousands of Teens and Young Adults

I talked to more teenagers and young adults in one week than any other youth worker in America. But that does not make me immune to heartache or immune to having issues in my own family. And my oldest son, who's now 27 has issues, struggling with drugs and alcohol and has been doing so since he was 15 and really living on the destructive edge. You say, well, Dawson, thousands of kids come to ask you questions. What about your own? What happened here? And I said the same thing to my son. I said, son, thousands of people, your age, want to talk to me about answers? And I'm sitting here. Why aren't you asking?

In 2010 Dawson's oldest son, Fulton, was in a horrific car accident that left him disabled and, in a coma,

He wasn't asking. Because he didn't want the answer, right? There is a God who's ready to listen at a moment's notice. And he has the answer. So then why don't more people ask him, because they're afraid of the answer they might have to change their life. They might have to admit that they're in rebellion towards God. So, at any rate you know, I've told my son, you'll be dead by the time you're 30. He's been in four or five or three or four car accidents where he should have been killed. And this last one that happened, my son was in a horrific car accident, and they thought he was dead. It was awful.

Everything I Ever Believed About God Was Tested

It happened three months ago. And as I'm looking at you now, he's still in a coma. He has not yet come out of his coma and he may never, or he might two minutes from now. It has been an amazing three months. Everything that I ever believed about God has been tested; the goodness of God, the love of God and I've seen the power of God and the wonder of God.

I talked to him, I talked to him, and he understands that his hand is like this. And I say, son, if you can hear me, give me a thumbs up. You know, he starts doing the most beautiful sight in the world for a father who loves his son. He's hearing me. And he's saying, yes, I had a powerful moment this morning. We do church together. I'm the pastor. He's the congregation. Son, you and I are going to team up as one, man. We're going to talk to God about your issues and mine. I said, do you want to pray?

Have You Really Messed up Your Life?

Now look at, let this, my son's twisted hand, represent your life. Let me, for example, in a way represent God and I am God saying to you, you've really messed up your hand. You've really messed up your life. Do you want to turn to God? Do you want to turn to me? Do you want to give your life to Christ and just start in? But God, I want to, but I've done too many things. You can never accept me. Yes I will. Well then will happen to me. I really want to. And then finally you get the thumb up as far as you can, to God.

It's the most beautiful thing he'll ever see as far as you're concerned. Maybe you don't know God, and maybe you're really messed up and you've had brushes with death and maybe God's knocked you off your horse to get your attention, give him a thumbs-up, give God a chance. Sometimes it takes my son three minutes to get his thumb up and gentle persuasion. Sometimes I say, give me the thumb and I step back and it starts moving.

We Have Days We Think We Can't Go On

Why don't you take your mangled life, if that's what you have and apart from Christ, I know you do and say, God, I don't have any strength, just enough strength to get my thumb up. That's all God's looking for. He'll take care of the rest. We have days where we don't think we can go on. So, we wait, and we wait, but in our darkest hour, God is there. Sounds like a cliché, I'm not into clichés.

God's not into odds. God doesn't play dice. The impossible means nothing to him. He's God.

I'm believing for full recovery, but at this stage of the game, you'll take what you can get and be grateful for it. Besides what's God owe us anyway, judgment. That's about the only thing we've deserved. Anything beyond that is straight grace. So, he's 27. So, we've had 27 years. Some of them heartaches, but if I had to do it over again, I'd do it over again. And so out of all of this, something very good will happen and is happening.

My Experience Has Made Me Better

I'm a better radio talk show host now than I was three months ago. You say you're bragging, nope. I'm telling you the truth. I'm a lot more compassionate because I've been hit pretty hard. Either you'll become better, or you'll become bitter, but you won't be the same again.

Have you tried everything to find hope, to feel loved, to find something to hold onto, to find purpose? Do you still feel unfulfilled? Consider this...