By Bobby Davis
Religion can be confusing to some children, but it was downright baffling to Eric Dryden. “I grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, along the banks of the Mississippi River,” he says, “and my mother was a staunch Roman Catholic, while my father was a member of the Aaronic priesthood in the Mormon faith. Since they both believed strongly in their religions, we attended the Catholic church one Sunday, and the Mormon church the next. I remember being scared as a kid, because both religions seemed focused on sin, and both preached fire and damnation!
“But that all came to a complete halt when I was about nine years old,” he recalls. “Very suddenly, my parents decided that instead of going back and forth, we would all go to a Pentecostal church. We went from church rituals to speaking in tongues, and it all seemed very strange to me. My brothers just tuned it all out, but I was the observant child who paid very special attention to details, so it was really hard for me to switch gears. They talked about God and read the Bible, and that was a good thing. However, by the time I was 15 or 16, I’d decided that there were so many different churches and beliefs that no one could figure it out. I had started growing my hair out and playing heavy metal rock because they sang about stuff I felt, and I was done with religion. I believed in God, but I didn’t want anyone telling me if I was good or bad.
“At that point everything became a struggle,” he admits, “and my parents had to all but drag me to church.”
Work
While he was still in high school, Eric landed a job with the Top 40 station, KGRC, and was surprised to see his musical taste change. “Instead of music that talked about death and killing, I began listening to music that made me feel happy and alive,” he says. “Then, a friend suggested that I apply for a job at a restaurant, and that eventually led me to the chef position at the Hannibal Country Club.”
Work was exhilarating, but it soon dominated his life. Besides his job at the country club, Eric began working for the local Sheriff’s department—which led in time to another job with the federal government.
“All this took its toll on me,” he says, “and I now suffer from PTSD and only get a few hours of sleep each night. My work kept me away from my home, and I saw my marriage fail. However, we had two beautiful children who are the love of my life.”
A second marriage also ended with a broken heart, and Eric says he now felt a huge void in his life. “I missed having a church family, and felt I didn’t have anyone to talk to. As a last resort, I turned to prayer because no matter what was going on, I knew I could always talk to God.”
A Radio Station
While Eric worked at the military academy in Mexico, Missouri, he met his third wife. “We both changed jobs when we got married,” he says. “She began working for the State Mental Hospital, and I took a job as a representative for a high-end guitar company. Since she worked 30 miles away, I would often take her to work and then spend the day at a park. One day, the heavy metal CD I tried to play in my car wouldn’t work, so I switched to the radio. However, it seemed that the only thing I could get was KRFL-LP, a low-power FM radio station in Fulton, Missouri. The program I heard was called Your Story Hour, and it instantly brought me back to my childhood. There were those Bible stories I’d heard as a child, and they were exactly what I needed! The next program was with Pastor Doug Batchelor, and I enjoyed it so much, I just kept listening. I listened all day, before realizing it was time to pick up my wife. I’d gone through half a talk of fuel, since the engine had been running the whole time!
“I was hooked. The 3ABN Radio programs pulled me in, although my wife couldn’t stand them. I was addicted to 3ABN Radio, and I couldn’t pull away.”
Eventually, Eric heard Doug Batchelor suggest that he should look up and visit a local Seventh-day Adventist church. “KRFL Radio announced their local church services from time to time, and one day I was almost past the church when I saw it,” he says. “My law enforcement skills kicked in, and I turned my car sideways at 35 mph and pulled directly into the parking lot! It wasn’t even a second thought; it was like a magnet pulling me in. And as I walked in, I had the curious feeling that I was coming home!”
The Sabbath
Eric had never heard the word ‘Sabbath’ mentioned, except for the heavy metal band, Black Sabbath. “It was all new and strange to me, but I knew it was right. Sabbath was like breathing, and we all have to breathe, so I knew right away there was something right about it. The service started at 9:15, and when they served a vegetarian meal afterward, it was different, because I was a hunter and had always liked to hunt!
“After everything was over, though, I didn’t want it to end. I sat in my driveway and teared up. Wouldn’t it be nice to have Sabbath every single day? I thought. I know it can’t be that way right now, but someday it will be, in Heaven!”
Eric says he attended four or five Sabbaths consecutively, but then felt he needed to do some soul searching.
“I come from law enforcement, and I’ve been trained to take a step back and look at things objectively,” he explains. “I’ve dealt with people who get pulled into different things, but finally recognized that I felt much happier and safer when I was in church. That’s when I knew it was time—I wanted to be baptized and become a member of the Seventh-day Adventist church.”
An Amazing Facts series with Wyatt Alan was scheduled, and Eric says it had a great impact on his life. “I managed to talk my wife into coming to the meetings,” he says, “but she wasn’t happy, at first.”
Pastor Neil Dye, of the Fulton Church, recalls, “Eric and his wife were having some problems. She had struggled with alcohol and smoking, and we prayed for victory over these things. They attended every night, and by the end of our series, they’d both made commitments to follow the Lord. God did give her the victory, and I was thrilled to see Eric take a firm stand to support her when she told him she might have to quit her job if she couldn’t get Sabbaths off. She’s scheduled to be baptized soon,” he adds, “and they continue to soak in God’s Word.”
Eric is ecstatic. “My wife loves coming to church,” he says, “and she’s stopped smoking, too! She just received approval to have her Sabbaths off from working at the hospital, and I can’t wait to see her be baptized!”
A New Life
Eric says his own baptism was amazing. “I was baptized as a young kid, but I don’t remember that,” he says. “However, I do remember this one, because I actually cried! Two weeks later, I was driving and listening to KRFL but had to pull off the road because I was crying so hard. Something about this church has made me very emotional. And while I don’t like crying, somehow I love it, because these are tears of gratitude!
“This is the first time I’ve had a relationship with Jesus, and everything’s coming together for me. My job brings me in contact with professional musicians, and many of them are on the fence when it comes to the Lord. But they have problems, too, and whether I’m at a convention or talking one on one, I’ve been given the opportunity to share the peace I’ve found in Jesus Christ.”
Eric says his musical tastes have changed drastically, too. “One day I picked up a guitar and I tried playing a heavy metal tune, but kept stumbling over the simplest stuff! So I started playing a classical piece, and the next thing I knew, I’m playing Christian music! I realized the devil was just trying to kick me around, but the Lord has taken away my taste for Satan’s music, and today, I’m working on ‘The Old Rugged Cross.’
“I didn’t realize when I first heard KRFL that the Lord had stretched that signal many miles beyond what it normally reached. But that’s what He did for me, and I’m forever grateful.”
That radio station began with Leon Makovicka’s obedience to the Lord when He impressed him to apply for a construction permit and build the station. “As I stood and watched Eric be baptized, I thought, Here is one who was searching for truth and found it, because we followed Your impression to build this station, Lord. God provided the funds to build it, so it’s really His radio station.
“If God asks you to do something, do it! he continues. You may not know what to do, or where the funds will come from, but God does. I trusted Him and He provided. Then He gave me a faith experience that no man can ever take away—saving souls for Christ.”
Fulton Seventh-day Adventist Church
