Kenneth R. Walls - Up From the Ashes

Up from the Ashes

The Redemption of a Fallen Saint

Kenneth Walls

H.R. Schorr

This book is a true story, though some names have been falsified.

A publication of:

Engage Faith Press

PO Box 2222

Poulsbo, WA 98370

2012 by Kenneth R. Walls and Henry R. Schorr

All rights reserved. Published 2012

Printed in the United States of America

16 15 14 13 12 1 2 3 4

ISBN (paperback): 978-1-936672-31-8

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012944688

Books distributed to the trade by:

Seattle Book Company

http://seattlebookcompany.com

Cover by Sheila Cowley, Creative Fuel Studios

Scripture taken from:

The King James Version of the Holy Bible.

The NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

The New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

To our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for His tender mercy and grace.

To my beautiful wife, Kim. You have stood by me through the toughest of times, and I have seen you grow in the Lord and truly become a Proverbs 31 woman. I love you!

FOREWORD

U p from the Ashes is a story of restoration and redemption. It is not a script for Reality TV, nor is it a fictional yarn hatched in an imaginative mind. Rather, it is the drama of real life. The author, Ken Walls, knows it is a true story, because he lived it.

We often say that experience is a great teacher, but what it teaches us has two sides. On one side, good experiences tell us what we want to repeatbehaviors worth continuing, conduct that adds value, and relationships that need to be perpetuated. But on the other side, bad experiences also provide lessons, hard lessons. They tell us where we do not want to go again. Every life has both good and bad.

So why, when we have experienced the best, would we choose the worst? How could we fall hard and fast to the bottom after having been at the top?

In this stark account, Ken gives us answers by tracing his fall from successful pastoral ministry to unfaithfulness and adultery. His account bleeds authenticity. He is painfully honest. Every reader can learn from his tragic experience: heed the words of the Apostle Paul, So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you dont fall (1 Corinthians 10:12 niv ).

Redemption is not designed for good people but for sinners, and that includes you and me. None of us can point fingers at Ken Walls and ask, How could you, because we also have fallenperhaps not as noticeably and dramatically as Ken, but fallen nonetheless.

As a stumbling pilgrim, I am always encouraged when I read these words to a prophet who was disobedient and angry and had a bad attitude: The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time (Jonah 3:1 niv ). When we fail God, as Ken did and as we all do, our faithful God comes a second and third and fourth timeas many times as neededand offers us a redemptive, restorative word. He is indeed the God of a second chance. From the ashes of our fallen lives, He rekindles the flame of passion for Him.

I am happy to recommend Kens story to you, because it is intertwined with the story of Jesus. Without Jesus, the story would end badly. But Jesus made the difference for Ken, and He will for you too.

Warren D. Bullock

Executive Presbyter,

Northwest Region,

General Council of the Assemblies of God

PREFACE

Hello, Rubber. Im Road.

H ow many times have you heard the Come to Jesus, and all your problems will go away message? Far too many, Id guess. Frankly, Im sick of hearing it. If youve been a Christian for any length of time, you know it rarely happens that way. This story is not that message.

Ken Walls story is one of real Christianity, experienced by a real man in the dirty, grimy real world. It doesnt take long talking with Ken to discover that hes an authentic, straightforward guy. He is, as my Grandaddy used to say, more real than Coca-cola. Kens life is an open book. (Youre holding it!) There is sin, and there is redemption. There are epic failures, and there are epic victories. There are the best of times, and there are the worst of times.

As J.R.R. Tolkien said, All stories are ultimately about the Fall. This story is no exception. But the Fall doesnt have to be the end. The Bible doesnt end in Genesis. Kens story doesnt end with adultery. God does redeem us, even when we feel we are unredeemable, because all stories are part of Gods story, and Gods story ultimately has a happy ending.

When a mutual friend first proposed the project, I wasnt sure this co-authoring thing would work out. Journalistic interviews have never really been my style. Im very introverted and far more comfortable on Tattooine or Middle-Earth than Planet Earth. Besides which, Im a make-it-up-on-the-fly kind of writer. My wife (another English major) and I sometimes joke that our degrees could be labeled, BA in BS. So I wasnt thrilled at the prospect of hundreds of hours interviewing, reviewing tapes, transcribing, rewriting, rearranging, reinterviewing, and rewriting again.

Then I met Ken Walls, and I heard his passion for healing broken lives. Then I knew that I wanted to be a part of this project. When I read Kens first book, Falling off the Mountain , I found the core of a powerful story about Gods amazing grace, but I felt more needed to be told. Context is key to understanding Scripture; how much more when seeking to understand a mans choices. How did Kens first marriage start? What kind of baggage did they bring into it? What were the Lords promises and the miracles Ken alluded to?

As important as they were, though, questions about the past werent nearly as important as those about the present. Kens second marriage began with an adulterous affair, yet it has been going strong for over a decade! Relationship experts will tell you that just doesnt happen. And Ken will be the first to tell you that theyre absolutely correct: without Christ, it doesnt. Kens life proves Gods claim that with Christ, all thingseven a return to ministry after falling into sinare possible.

But how did he get right with Christ? Some of the most helpful feedback Ken received about the first book was the desire to learn more about repentance. To that end, weve included an Appendix where Ken has expounded on that process. Though the details will look different in each case of repentance, Kens experience provides a pattern for how the rest of us can return to Christ and stay there. To paraphrase Paul, we can follow Ken as he follows Christ
(1 Corinthians 11:1).

As I said before, this isnt about Jesus providing a trouble-free existence. This is the story of a lifelong Christian with real struggles, a man who didnt always win his battles. Jesus promised that we would have trouble in this world, that the world would hate us, and that the devil would try to destroy us. Kens experience testifies to all of that. But more than any of it, Kens experience testifies that God is love and His arm is never too short to save us.

With Gods salvation comes a promise never to leave us, even in the hardest times. Ken Walls can confirm that promise. God called Ken early in life and proved His faithfulness by confirming that call even after Ken thought all was lost. The Lord stayed with Ken through the fire and lifted him up from the ashes.

H.R. Schorr

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Kenneth would like to thank: