The story of Clarence Simmon’s life makes it clear that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Clarence shares how one mercy after another kept coming to a boy and then finally a man in jail. Oddly, during his first moments in jail, a skinhead gave him a Bible. But this was just one event that connected many events along the way of his life where it was plain that the Lord was pursuing him. Then, he became a free man in prison. Clarence is now the father of eight children, a pastor at Mount Zion Baptist Church, and works at Chapel Library, distributing Christian literature all over the world.

Hey, welcome to the Church and Family Life podcast. Let me tell you a couple of things real quick before we get going. Hope you can come to our Theology of the Family Conference at Richcrest, North Carolina, May 20 through 23. Just Before that, a singles conference called Holiness to the Lord, May 19 and 20. Also, go to our website.

We have lots of resources, over 5,000. Churchandfamilylife.com. Also, I just published a book called The Family at Church, How Parents Are Tour Guides for Joy. I think this book could really help sweeten your local church experience. Okay, let's get on now with the podcast.

Welcome to the Church and Family Life podcast. Church and Family Life is dedicated to proclaiming the sufficiency of scripture for church and family life. So Jason Dole from Sovereign Redeemer Community Church, here we go again. Hello. Good deal.

This is exciting. We have one of our dear brothers who we appreciate so much to talk about his life story. Clarence Simmons, hello. Hi Scott, good to see you and Jason both. Great to see you.

So Clarence is a pastor at Mount Zion Church in Pensacola, Florida, and is pushing wonderful literature all over the world through chapel library. That's his whole life. Plus, he's got a million children and an absolutely fantastic wife named Candace, Clarence and Candace. And it's just such a delight to have you. I just wish I could see your family.

They're just so funny to watch. They're hilarious. And Anyway, so we're here to hear the story of how the Lord captured you and the story of His grace toward you. So we want you to tell us the story of your life and the power of God coming upon you. So, so let's hear it.

Let's hear the story of your salvation. Okay, just starting off by letting you know that I was born in that wonderful city of Charleston in South Carolina, two precious parents with three other siblings. And just coming up, we were not a family that went to church, but my mom did push us out of the house. It was a guy who used to come through the neighborhood in a van. And so to get rid of the children, She sent us off to church.

Oh boy. Anyways, that probably was bad for the church, but good for my mom. But anyways, my dad worked 12-hour shifts, so he was going a lot. And so coming up with that type of atmosphere, mindset, as I grew up a little more I got involved in football I was looking for a job one day I was in the fifth grade looking for a job and I came by a bait and tackle shop and saw a sign in the bait and tackle shop that I was going to to look for a job in fifth grade. And it had a number for a football team.

So I called it up. I memorized the number by the time I got home, I called up the number and sure enough, I ended up on a football team. Hence my football career, that idol I had started. And so I played football all the way through high school and everything. And that was my life.

And then I went to college for a little bit. And then I decided to come back home and had a job with the state and was working. And then a guy who played football with me when I originally started out playing football was Involved in drugs that I never did drugs or anything like that And he said well you were running on the football field man. I was making all of this money. I'm thinking, what?

So he said, I was making all this money. And I said, how can I get involved in something like that? And So he kind of brought me along and I got involved in drug dealing, not drug using, that was just a mercy of the Lord. I don't know why I didn't use, but I just didn't. And I got involved in drug dealing.

And so that kind of wrapped up my life that was my life and then one day that drug dealing came to an end I was I was caught in drug trafficking it landed me in a place that I call now the Crowbar Hotel, which is the jail. And I had the highest bond in the jail and I'm facing a judge whose daughter had an overdose so he didn't show drug dealers the slightest mercy. So now I'm incarcerated for the... I never went to prison ever in my life, so I'm incarcerated on a drug charge and I'm guilty as Judas, if I may say it that way, guilty as can be. And there was a guy, a young guy, I still remember his name.

I don't know if he's alive or not. His name was Byron Edwards. He was younger than myself. I was 24 years old at the time. And I said, any Christians, they said you need to talk to Edwards.

So I went and talked to Byron Edwards and show enough I started talking to him about the scripture but prior to that when I first entered into the jail I think this part is important When I first entered into the jail, Jason, they put me in the cell with a skinhead. So that's the first place I was in the cell with the skinhead. And that skinhead let me know he was a skinhead. And we were the only two in there with the cell door closed. And he said, you know what?

You need a Bible. And I said, what? And he gave me a New Testament and he told me, he said, read it and believe it. And then they opened up the doors and they called my name Simmons. And I was just for a few hours in the cell with that skinhead.

And I started reading that, I started reading, my reading skills were poor. I started reading that New Testament and I read Matthew chapter six. And I thought about verse nine through 13, our father which art in heaven. And funny as that may be, Scott, it gripped me because I learned that prayer playing football. I was taught it by my football coach.

He went to a Baptist church. I didn't know what a Baptist was, but he taught the team that prayer. And I had it memorized. I memorized it. I even taught the high school football team because I was the captain.

I taught them that prayer that I learned when I played little league football. So I taught the whole team that prayer. I didn't even know what it meant, but I said, wait, you play football, this is what you say, right? You said, how about it? So that's what I did.

So I saw it in Matthew and I said, you've got to be kidding me. This is in the Bible. This is in the Bible. This prayer I've been praying all these years is in the Bible. I can't believe this.

So here I am, here I am reading, reading Matthew and I'm reading out loud, working on my skills so I can hear it and see it. I'm not a Bible reader. I didn't like reading period. I was in the sports, I hated reading. So I'm reading it aloud and another guy comes to me after they moved me from the skinhead to another part of the jail.

Another guy comes to me and he sees me reading. He said, I've never seen anyone do that. And I'm looking at him, I said, read? He said, I've never seen anyone do that. And I'm looking at him, I said, read?

He said, I've never seen anyone read the Bible out loud and walk around. So he said, I got the whole Bible for you. And so he went down and gave me the whole Bible and I'm wondering what's going on. Here I am two different places in this jail. One guy gives me, he's a skinhead, he doesn't like black people, he gives me a New Testament.

I go over on another side and this guy gives me the whole Bible. So I started reading that Bible, starting in Genesis, reading that Bible and I get to Genesis chapter six and I said God's killing people. Wow, God's killing people. I've never heard about this. He's literally killing people.

And so I'm reading on and on and Jason, I was so perplexed. I said, I have to put this book down. I can't read this thing. And then I kept putting picking it back up. I said, Why do I keep picking up this book?

I don't even like reading. I hate reading. I don't understand what's going on. So I kept reading through the scriptures, and I get the Exodus chapter 20. And the third commandment thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain and All I could have is flash before my mind Are those times when I just use God's name in vain?

And I was scared to death. I literally thought God was going to kill me and I said I would I would not eat and everything. I lost literally Jason. I lost 40 pounds 40 pounds I said God is gonna kill me. He's gonna kill me.

He said I will not hold him guiltless and I would be up even the officers would come by and say, Simmons, you okay? I said, no, I'm not okay. I'm not okay. He said, don't use his name in vain. He's not gonna hold me guiltless.

I know he's gonna kill me. I know he's gonna kill me. I know he's gonna kill me. Well, thankfully he kept me alive and I'm reading the scriptures, Jason. I'm working through the scriptures.

And then I said, I need to put this book down and I keep reading the scriptures. He takes the wise and his own craftiness and all of these things are just spooking me. And I said, God has to kill me. He has to kill me. He has to.

He just has to. And I said, I can't read anymore that book. And I would keep day after day, I would keep picking up the book. And I said, I said, is there a Bible study somewhere? They said, Oh, Mr.

Edwards can tell you about it. And so this guy was telling you about earlier, Byron Edwards, I ran him crazy. I read something in scripture and I run to him and say, hey, I read this in the Bible. This is in the Bible. This is in the Bible.

He'll be asleep and I'll wake him up. This is in the Bible. I can't believe it. What is he talking about? And so he said, you could go to Bible study.

And the officer said, well, Simmons, in order to go to Bible study, you have to be on the list, but we'll let you go anyways. And so they let me go to this Bible study, even though I was on the list to go to the Bible study. And I went and there was this short man, and he introduced himself to me. He said, Hi, my name is Rex. I'm a Baptist minister and I'm a Calvinist.

I said, What? I said, what? I don't know either one of those terms. So I said, okay, I'll sit in the class. And the guy would talk about the faithfulness of God, Brother Scott.

I hated him. I hated him. I said, I am never coming back to this class again, never. So I left out of his class. It was two hours long, the class.

I left out of his class. They took me back. They're called Bible study the next day. They did it four days a week. Bible study.

I said, excuse me, officer, can I go? And I'll go and I said, why do I keep coming to this class? I don't like the guy. And so I can understand what was happening four days a week. I'm not on the list.

I shouldn't even be going and I'm going to the class and he's hammering on God's faithfulness. He's hammering on God's sovereignty. He said, you go in that courtroom and you tell the truth even if the judge gives you 25 years. You go into, I said, this guy's crazy. I said, he's crazy.

I want to go home. I don't want to stay in jail and and I'll go again every time they ask for the class I'll keep going and keep going and keep going to that class And I leave the class every time Jason and say I am NOT coming back here again And I went I went I Was read I was I was looking at a television program And I'm not saying I heard an audible voice and No scripture came to me. I Determined to know nothing among you saved Jesus Christ and him crucified. I determined to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified. I determined to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified.

I went to the room, I said, I need to bang my head against the wall because I can't get this out of my so I went back and I said now I'm going back and watch this watch this TV program. I determined to do nothing among you saved Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I ran and I got down on my knees and I said, Lord, I'm so evil. I am so evil. Would you please do something with me?

Brother Scott, I was involved in witchcraft prior to that. I used to go to the witch doctor, have the chicken head chopped off, blood poured out, walked around with an quote, lucky rabbit's foot in my pocket, throw jelly beans out the window to feed the so-called gods and all of these things I was involved in. I called up the witch doctor. I called up the witch doctor, said, I need to know what's going on. I need to know what's going on.

I need to know what's going on. His wife said he just died. I said why he just died? Wait a minute. I'm in jail.

The witch doctor I was going to have died. Everything's coming apart. I said everything's coming apart. So I go back to those scriptures. I determined to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

I said Lord do something with me. Do something with me. I don't even know who you are but would you Please do something with me. I am so evil, do something with me. And he did.

I felt like pilgrim. I didn't even know pilgrim man. The burden kind of fell off. I used to look out the window and say, When is Jesus coming back? And Matthew chapter 11 became so sweet unto me, come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.

And the Lord just peeled back and just opened up my heart. I couldn't explain this at the time because I would cry. I would spend days crying because I did not know what was going on. And I went to that same man who did that Bible study. And every time he would preach, I'd sit there and I'd cry.

Tears would just come out my eyes. I'd just cry. I'd just cry. And I was the only one in the jail they allowed to go to the Bible study four days straight. You either went Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday, and they let me go all day long.

And I would just cry every time he preached. And he said, he said, oh, look so serious. And I read a scripture. I said, let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him in all good things. And I was just hanging on everything he was saying, the same guy that I hated and I couldn't explain what was going on.

He said, the Lord has saved this man. And I'm thinking, what? I think What? All I knew that the things I used to do, I didn't want to do. I didn't like to even see people doing those things.

And so it just broke my heart. And I just started praying for everyone in the jail. I started talking to everyone, officers, inmates, everyone about Jesus Christ, every single person I was talking to about Jesus Christ. And so now I got this name called preacher and I never wanted to be a preacher. I don't even know what that was.

I say, oh, I know this book. I can't put this book down. I can't put this book down. I can't put this book down. I read it and read it over and over again.

It ripped me up. And then the Lord used it to heal me up. So from that, just real quickly from that, I end up being sentenced. I went in the courtroom and told the truth. I end up being sentenced, going off to prison, and still the same, just reading my eyeballs out, connecting with other Christians.

And then someone, As I transferred to another facility, someone gave me a free-grids broadcaster. It was issue number 156 on repentance at the time. I read an article in there by Samuel Bolton on heart surgery, And that was one powerful article. And I said, can I keep this? And the guy asked me, he said, you read that thing?

I said, oh yeah, I read it. He said, people don't read stuff like that. You read it? I said, oh yeah, can I keep it? I wanna keep it.

And so I read the whole thing and he let me keep it. And then I transferred to another facility and I asked the guy when I transferred the facility, I went to the chapel and I said, do you have anything by Jonathan Edwards? Because the chaplain used to read things by Jonathan Edwards, it was Charles Spurgeon. And he said, yeah, we do. And this place was like four or five hours away that I transferred to.

So I went there, he said, come in the back, let me give you some literature. So he took me in the back and it was a stack of material he gave me from Chapel library And I said well who are these people? Who I've been at two different facility and now I have material from Chapel library So I started writing them and asking for Bible study courses. And so I started doing all the courses and reading all the material and then ordering boxes of material for the whole prison compound so I can flood everything. And the chaplain actually called him up and let me get on the phone with him and everything.

And he's not supposed to do that, I don't think. Got on the phone and I said, can you send us some material? We want to flood the compound with literature. So he would and they did. And we did just that.

We passed out literature everywhere, all over the compound. And the Lord was kind to me. And I said, I got to get down to chapel library. The literature has helped me so much. And one day I came for a visit and I told them who I was.

They said, who are you? I said, Clarence Simmons. They said, Clarence Simmons? And he took me into the office. And in the office on a court board was all the cards I sent over the years and I just started crying.

I didn't even know they had the cards on the wall. So I started crying and in the Lord, I had another job and I would come down here and volunteer and they say, hey, why don't you come on board? So I've been here ever since. That's my quick story. Love it, oh my, that is so great.

What a joy, what a joy to hear that. So you came on board with Chapel Library, and so, you know, who were some of the people that really have affected you since You showed up at Chappell Library. That's so that's so big. You know, I started off, I love. Listening to preaching, I used to love listening to Al Martin.

I would listen to Al Martin preach his heart out. I would feast on J.C. Rowe because he's so simple, I can understand him. He's just so sweet with his words and so powerful at the same time that he sticks a dagger in you and you don't even know it's in you until you see the blood. And so I just love that.

And so I've listened to several. Brother Jeff has been really helpful. Pastor Shelton was just a sweet and dear man. Just to hear him pray, he just prays the roof off of the building. And so several ones like that, Spurgeon, reading Spurgeon was very, very helpful and encouraging to my heart and helped to shape some of my thinking.

Plus, reading the scriptures, and no doubt, others along the way, that has been really encouraging. So Clarence, both of us have met your wife, Candice. How did you meet her? How did that develop? How does she marry you?

You probably should say, why does she marry me? Well, that too. I told her, I told her to. I did. Scott's trying to take credit for this.

Jeff Pollard called me up and he said, hey, I want you to talk to this woman. And there's something going on with Clarence so I want you to talk to her. And so I was so happy you're interested in her because she anyway whatever she's great. Okay well just just real real brief I was in Tallahassee I was in Tallahassee a storm was coming I think it was Hurricane Dennis or something like that and a friend of mine said hey you need to come up this way Georgia hurricanes coming I said no I got a friend right over here, Toronto and Tallahassee, that's closer. So I'm going to Tallahassee.

So when I went to Tallahassee, I called up my older lady that was there who would call down for literature from chapel. And I said, well, I'm in Tallahassee. I'm gonna be here over Sunday. I need to find out where services, I need to get the service somewhere. And so he said, we're meeting here at a school.

So I met at the school and my wife, someone called my wife now on the phone, called on the phone, so I was talking and she was listening on the phone. And so she listened to the conversation. All I had to say, I talked about the ministry, share some things about Christ and so on with this group. And then I came back to Pensacola. Well, I was heading to Georgia and I called the same lady who was almost 60, I believe.

I called her up and I said, I'm heading to Georgia. Now she just came to mind out of the blue. I called her up and I said, I'm going to Georgia. Do you have anyone you want me to give some literature to while I'm there? Now Atlanta is a big place.

And she said, she said, well, there is Candace. I said, Candace. I said, okay. I said, well, I'll hang around until you call back. Cause she said, I'll call you back.

And she finally called back. And she said, here's Candace's number. And I said, okay. And so I got into Georgia at night and I called Candice up. I said, Miss Candice, this is Clarence from Pensacola.

I have some literature here for you that Miss Kathleen wanted me to give to you. I don't meet ladies at night. So if I could meet you tomorrow, I'm gonna be heading back to Pensacola. I like to drop that literature off to you. And so I met her at a Steinmark outside of Steinmark is that's what she told me to meet her.

And we sat down on a bench outside. I had the literature with me and I said, Hi, Clarence, good to meet you. And we sat down and I said, you know what, before I leave to go back to Pensacola, let me take you and your husband out to dinner. I mean, the lunch before I head back out to Pensacola. And she said, I'm not married.

I said, oh. Anyways, because she's kind of like what Adam said when he saw Eve. I think it's pretty much right. So, so, so, rather Scott, she, she, she was talking about the sovereignty of God and the power of God and I was just captivated. I was, I was sitting like, wow, wow.

And I said, I gotta get back to Pensacola. I said, I left off one item. I left off J.C. Rowell's Holiness. I said, I need to send you that book.

So if you would give me an address, I'll mail it to you. So she said, okay, I'll do that. And my custom has always been if I have a long drive or something, I left your house, I would call and let you know I arrived home safely. So that's what I did. I called her up and I said, I want you to know I made it back to Pensacola safely.

Can I call you sometimes? And she said, Sure, sure. Sure. So I told brother Jeff, you gotta talk to this woman, you have to talk. I mean, you just have to.

And so anyways, anyways, that's how we that's how we that's how we met. So we just started talking over the phone. So, Clarence, you may or may not remember this. It was 2005, and we did a conference in Birmingham, Alabama. And that's the first time I ever met you.

I think it might be the first time Scott ever met you, but you and Jeff came up to that conference. Do you remember Birmingham 2005? And Candice came to that conference. This was well before you were married. Yeah, she drove over from Georgia.

That's exactly right. I do remember that. Yeah. We were having a prayer meeting before the conference. The speakers were praying before the conference.

And there's this black guy across the circle and he's just praying heaven open, you know, and I thought, who is that guy? It was Clarence Simmons. There you go. It was Clarence Simmons. Wow.

So Clarence, Tell us about your family now. Well, that family consists of my wife, whom you have been praying for, and eight children, four boys and four girls. I won't get all the names because we won't remember them all, but they are just a treasure to me. My wife is so gracious and so patient and so wise, and my children so patient at the same time. They need it because they have me as a father.

And I just thank the Lord so much from where he where he brought me, Brother Scott. I still remember my dad sitting down telling me, he said, I heard some things about you being on the streets. And you know, you're being young, you think your parents would never find out anything. And it never crossed my mind that my dad knows way more people than I do. And he said, I heard this about you.

He said, I want you to know if you get in trouble, I'm not going to help you because you don't have to do what you're doing. I looked him in the eyes, told him a lie, not me, not me. He said, I am not going to help you. And one of the best things he ever did, brother Jason, is keep his word there. He did not help me.

And I had to learn. And I told him that was one of the best things you ever did. I know you know a lot of people, but you warned me and I didn't listen. And the Lord used that. He used it to save me.

He actually used it. It's incredible. Incredible. Well, Clarence, it's been such a joy. Thank you for taking the time to tell us this marvelous story of the goodness of God in your life and those eight kids and Candace and all the other people all over the world who've been affected by that grace that broke out in your heart.

Amen. Thank you so much. Oh, you're welcome. Thank you, brother. We're very thankful for you.

We love working with you. Yeah. Amen. Thank you, Brother Jason. Well, thank you for joining us at Church and Family Life.

And our desire is to exalt the Word of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is sufficient for everything and so powerful to save the lost. Thanks Clarence, God bless you. Thank you, thank you. Bye. We'll see you.

Bye. Bye. Thanks for listening to the Church and Family Life podcast. We have thousands of resources on our website, announcements of conferences coming up. Hope you can join us.

Go to churchandfamilylife.com. See you next Monday for our next broadcast of the Church and Family Life podcast.