#MinistryNow LIVE with Ron and Hope Carpenter @DayStarTV Rebroadcast

Sa.

Hello, everybody. He's risen. He's risen.

Indeed.

Indeed.

Yes, Joni, I want to show everybody a picture that's just going to be so beautiful. And if we can go ahead and put that picture up now, about Easter. Look at that. What does it say, Joni?

It says it's not about a bunny. It's about the lamb. The Lamb of God.

Look at that. I love that.

Lambs are so cute and sweet, aren't they?

I hope so.

But they need a shepherd.

Yes, they do.

They definitely need a shepherd.

Sometimes the lambs act like goats instead of lambs. But not the lamb.

That's right.

The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Well, Joni and I have been gone for several days, but I know that daystar was in able hands with Jonathan and Susie, with Rachel and Josh, with Rebekah and Jonathan Weiss. And we want to thank them for their able fill in hosting duties. And, Joni, you got one of the. Well, the youngest of all the grandbabies, Mr. Judah Bray Brown.

In fact, I have to do this for my mother. Mother, if you're watching.

Hey, buddy.

Can I take it off for a minute, Ray? Just for a second.

I got it on there pretty tight now. We got his fuzzy hair all pulled up.

That's for you, Mama.

Look at that.

With a buddy.

He sits in his favorite.

Yes, he does all the planet shapes.

I see that puppy face. Dad's puppy's little tiny buddy.

There we go.

All right.

Well, gentlemen, let me tell you about our program today. It promises to be one of the most compelling, one of the most introspective and healing programs we've ever offered or shared with you. Pastors Ron and Hope Carpenter are here today. They have Redemption Church in San Jose, California, in Greenville, South Carolina. And Hope has written a book entitled the Most Beautiful Disaster. Yes, what a compelling title. The subtitle is How God Makes Miracles out of Our Mistakes. And, boy, I can say a big amen to that in my own life. I know many of you can, too. Thank you, Lord, for your abundant grace. You know what abundant means? More than enough. Not barely enough. Not just enough, but more than enough. And we're so grateful for the grace of God, aren't we?

Yes, we are. We sure are. And I tell you what, they have such a great, great of hope and healing. And that's interesting that that is Pastor Hope's name.

Hope.

Because her story is the story of her.

It's a prophetic name, isn't it?

You know, but one of the things that.

Are you trying to talk.

I think he is.

He's acting like a little monster.

He's also trying to stand.

Poppy.

Hey there.

Show it off to Poppy. I see that boy.

All right.

I see him.

Well, you want to throw it over there? To mom and dad, say, okay, take it away.

Take it away, mom and dad, I'm.

Getting so distracted looking at him. He has been carrying that Easter EG for, I think, 24 hours. He just loves Easter, doesn't he?

Yeah. We had a full on Easter weekend. We went to church and we had an Easter egg hunt. He had an Easter basket. And I have a photo. There's a photo of us outside of church.

We went to church three times.

Yes, we were. We were there. And then I wanted to show everyone his Easter outfit. There, you see on the screen. Mom, what do you think about this outfit? I feel like this is very Joni Lamb vibes.

Very reminiscent of the way I dressed Jonathan in Montgomery, Alabama. And I love it.

Except Jonathan would have been barefooted.

Well, yeah, he would, but he had to have some socks on because he was in the grass, I guess.

Yeah.

And. Cause Mama. Mama always says, you gotta put socks on Judah. So we wanted to. We wanted to make Mama happy. Hello, Mama, if you're watching over there in the Carolinas. But Marcus and Joanie, it's so good to have you back here at daystar. We missed you guys. Did you have a good trip?

We did. We had a great trip. And we actually ate at a hamburger place that you recommended.

Josh, was that the secret one?

Yes, that was the secret one. It was very good.

You have to go behind the curtain, and then it's for everyone in New York City. There's a great burger place. It's behind this curtain. It's not advertised, but it is one of the best burgers you'll get.

Yes. Did you have a good Easter?

I did.

I tell you what. Rachel makes things so special and memorable, and Judah and I, we are just along for the ride.

Love it.

Yeah.

So we have got. We're super excited because we're going to announce a new J Star program being added to the broadcast schedule. Dr. James Kennedy's truths that Transform, which tackles some of today's biggest cultural issues from a biblical perspective.

Although Dr. James Kennedy passed in 2007, his messages are still transforming lives today through the leadership and commentary of Dr. Frank Wright. In fact, Dr. Kennedy was inducted into the National Religious Broadcasters hall of Fame.

That's right, darling. So be sure to tune in to your Daystar every Saturday. Evening at 5pm Eastern Time. That's for those in America. If you're in Australia or Europe or Africa, you can check your local guides and make sure if you can't watch it live that you record it. Because I tell you what, the insights that comes from this program will impact your life in absolutely wonderful ways. Hey. Here's a sneak peek of what is yet to come.

D. James Kennedy Ministries presents Truths that Transform.

On Easter Sunday, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But did that really happen? Or is it just a myth derived from the fertile imaginations of his disciples?

I believe Jesus rose bodily from the.

Dead as he predicted because the historical.

Evidence strongly suggests this.

Find out the facts of the resurrection and see it through the eyes of one of history's greatest skeptics on today's truths that transform. Okay, One of the greatest men of God of his time, Dr. D. James Kennedy. We welcome him back to Daystar. You say, is it biblical to show programming by people who are not still on this earth? Well, he's not dead. He's more alive than he ever was. And Hebrews 11:4 says, Though he were dead, yet speaks. That's what Dee, James, Kendi is doing.

Joni, Rebecca, and Jonathan are standing by in the prayer courtyard. How are you two doing today?

We are great, and we are so happy to be here. And we actually have this cool video that we wanted to share. I didn't know if you wanted to pitch to it, mom, or if you wanted us to pitch to it. Which one is it?

Us.

Okay.

So, yes.

So this weekend was Resurrection Sunday, as I love to call it. And we brought Asher into the worship service with us, and he actually got a video of him worshiping, and we wanted to share it with our viewers.

I love how he has his hand up. It's like a fierce. He was like, posture. And the best part, too, is when he reaches up and gets a snack in between his worship.

Why not snack while you worship?

Yeah, of course.

I mean, look at that. Look at that.

Look.

He loves to sway. Little prayer dance, stomp right there. I mean, he incorporates all forms of praise into his worship.

Call him our little break dancer, because every night before he goes to bed, he starts doing these tornado spins throughout his entire room.

Actually can break dance.

No, we.

One day. It's hilarious. Okay, but we are here in the most important room at Daystar, the prayer courtyard. We're taking your calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And Jonathan actually picked out this verse.

To share with you guys out of Romans. It's Romans 8, 38, 39. It says, For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Messiah, Yeshua, our Lord. And I love that verse, especially coming after this weekend, Passover weekend. Because we cannot be separated from God's love. He paid the price. It is eternal. No matter what we do, no distance we travel, no matter how far we run, God's love is always there after you, thirsting to be with you, wanting to be you in his presence. So I just wanted to read that over everybody watching today.

That is such a powerful revelation that we need to grab a hold that God loves us, that nothing can separate us from his love, and that God is actively pursuing you and the enemy wants you to be covered in your guilt and shame. But God is saying there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. He wants you to embrace the love of God today. Back to you, mom and dad.

Okay, that is tremendous.

I love that.

Love seeing.

I love seeing worship. Yes. Yes. Jonathan is standing by. Susie is via the phone. What's going on, pal?

Hey there.

Yeah, Susie came down with some type of viral infection, so she is actually at home. But she's actually in good hands because when I'm not there to be by her side, we have our wonderful cat, Wally. We call him Nurse Wally. You can see right there on the screen to watch over and take care of you. Hey, babe, how's it going over there?

Hi, there. It's going really good. You're right. Wally has been doing an amazing job. In fact, he even gave me a foot massage the other day with his little paws. And I'm eternally grateful to God for this blessing of his life. But Jonathan has also been taking amazing care of me, so thank you. I'm so happy. Marx and Joni are back home.

Praise God.

We're so happy you're back. We missed you.

That's so true. We really did miss them. It's not the same about them for sure, but I have viewer feedback I'd like to share. I'll read and then Susie will follow me with viewer feedback as well. I have Joyce from Michigan. She says, I have been watching Daystar for almost a year and I love you, Marcus, your family, and all of your wonderful programming. I thank God every day for daystar. I love Marcus's sermons, and most of all, he is a wonderful pastor. I cannot thank you enough for the Seder program with Rabbi Khan. What a precious gift. It was my first time participating in a Jewish Passover, and I was stunned. I thought I understood Jesus and God's purpose, but I did not. Watching the Seder event made things seem like I was blind now, but I have now been reborn. Thank you, God, for each and every person who makes daystar such a wonderful source to us all. Thank you, Joyce.

And I have Stan from Texas. He says I often wake up in the middle of the night and I want to tell you how much the Reflections program speaks to my spirit. The music, the visuals of nature, and especially the variety of translations of scripture all come together in a wonderful, restful, inspiring way. I love the thoughts this program stimulates. Thank you for making it available. May the Holy one of Israel continue to bless you. Thank you, Stan. That's so beautifully said.

Absolutely. Well, we'd love to hear from our daystar viewers from all over the world. So please continue to write in. We would love to hear from you. You can connect with us on our social media, which you can see there on the screen, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. You can also email us commentsaystar.com back to you, dad.

Okay, thank you so much, Jonathan and Susie. Hope Susie gets well real soon. And no, she does not have Covid for inquiring minds that may want to know. Well, you want to stay tuned. Hope Carpenter is here today along with her husband Ron. They're going to talk about her new book, the most beautiful How God Makes Miracles out of Our Mistakes. How many of you have ever made a mistake? How many have ever made a bad mistake? How many have made more than one mistake? Well, I'm so glad that God is not only loving, but gracious. And just like we don't get rid of our kids, we don't kick our kids out, we don't divorce our kids. We love them in spite of their failures. We love them unconditionally. How much more does our Heavenly Father love us that way? I am very excited this Sunday to have been invited by Kenneth Copeland, he and Gloria to speak at their great church, Eagle Mountain International Church. And pastors George and Terri Pearsons are the pastors, but two great services. Why don't you go to your church one service this weekend and come on over to Eagle Mountain for one of the two services. We'll be taping it for television, the show on daystar around the world. And speaking of around the world, people are emailing or calling today from Australia, Oman, in the Middle East, South Africa, India, Spain, the United Kingdom, Canada, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Papua New Guinea, Sweden, Nigeria. From Israel, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago. From Pakistan. From Ireland. I love Ireland. I want to go visit there sometimes and see if it really is that green. From England, more from India. From Wales, New Zealand, the Bahamas. So God bless every one of you. From France, from Puerto Rico, so many other places. We welcome your viewership here on daystar. Well, Joni and the daystar singers and band are standing by. But, Joni, how glad are we to have our beloved Bonita back? I told her that we watched the movie yesterday about Mahalia Jackson, and every time I heard Mahalia singing that movie, I thought, sounds just like our Bonita, Joni.

Well, you know. Yeah. And we are so excited. So many of you have called and said, where's Bonita? And that you're praying for her. And of course, we have been praying for her every day. So just for all of you at home, that love, Benita, this is for you. I'm gonna go over here in tandem and hug her for you.

Bless the Lord. Bless the Lord. Thank you so much. Thank you, everybody, for every syllable.

Yes, but thank you. Continue to pray for Bonita, and she's doing good. And she's getting better and better and better and stronger. So continue to pray. And right now, we're gonna sing a song to bless you and your family. One of my favorite songs now, the blessing.

The Lord bless you and keep you. Make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn his face for you and give you peace. The Lord bless you and keep you. Make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. Amen. Amen. Amen. Am. Amen. Amen. Amen. May his favor be upon you and a thousand generations and your family and your children and their children and their children. May you. May his favor be upon you and a thousand generations and your family and your children and their children and their children. Be his presence go before you and behind you and beside you, all around you and within you. He is with you. He is with you in the morning, in the evening, in your coming and you go in your way and rejoicing. He is for you. He is for you. He is for you. He is for you. He is for you. He is for you. He is for you. He is for you. He is for you. He's for you. He is for you. Amen. May his favor go before you and a thousand generation and your family and your children and their Children and their children. I fall before you and around you. He with you. Glory of the Lord fills your house, feels your church. He feels your life. Oh, you're. Bless you. Bless you. Bless you. You are. Bless.

They have a passion for hope and for healing. We catch up with Ron and Hope Carpenter next.

Experience restoration with Marcus Lamb.

At Eagle Mountain International church on Sunday, April 11.

Winners don't quit and quitters don't.

Receive a powerful and insightful message from Marcus Lamb.

And every day you're led by the Holy Spirit will bring you into the ultimate will and plan of God for your life.

Eagle Mountain International Church welcomes Marcus Lamb, Sunday, April 11th in Newark, Texas.

I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for the Lord. I'm laying up treasures in heaven. I'm not doing this necessarily for a paycheck or an accolade or a pat on the back. Doing it for Jesus. Where has God assigned you? What you make happen for others, God will make happen for you.

So now that I've been born again in my spirit, I want to please God. I want to honor the word of God. I want to do things that would be pleasing unto him. I want my life to reflect it. But before much doesn't come from your spirit. Your soul makes the decision and your body carries it out, he says. So the will to do right is there, but how to perform it I do not find. So my want to and my actions are in conflict.

Okay. Redemption Church pastors Ron and Hope Carpenter. San Jose, California. On the west, Greenville, South Carolina and the east, the home.

That's where I was born.

Of the beloved green South Carolina lab.

Yes.

Hope is written an incredible book. It's going to help so many people.

How do you like that title?

That's one of the best titles.

The most beautiful disaster.

It would make me want to read.

Only God can turn a disaster into something beautiful.

Okay.

I want to read from my Joni's iPhone. IPhone.

Yeah.

Since Apple is right there in San Jose and Hope's backyard, maybe almost literally, Hope Carpenter nearly destroyed her family, her church and her ministry. Now, let me just say right here, the fact that she has written a book about this, the fact that she is appearing on worldwide television to be transparent, to show you her scars and her husband to stand by her side in support of her, what does that say about these people? That they want to glorify God and they want to help hurting people because such were they. But then God did something miraculous out of her brokenness. He made something beautiful as Co pastor of one of the nation's largest megachurches, Hope Carpenter had perfected the roles of supportive wife, good mother, devoted worship leader, and dutiful homemaker. But inside, she was secretly ashamed, sad, and afraid. She didn't know who she was, and she didn't know how to ask for help without bringing down the whole facade. A series of bad choices led to multiple affairs. Her husband kicked her out and announced from the pulpit. I listened to that announcement live, by the way, over the Internet. He announced it from the pulpit of their church that their marriage was over. Well, Ron may have thought that, and if I were him, I probably would have thought it, too. But God knew better. Please join Joni and me as we welcome back, from San Jose, California, pastors Ron and Hope Carpenter. Hello, young people. Well, it looks beautiful, Rod. You look big and strong as usual. I'm getting in the middle of a hug right here. That's all right. Okay. So first of all, to both of y', all, sincerely, thank you.

Yeah.

A lot of people wouldn't do this.

Yeah.

They would say it's all under the blood and it's none of your business. So I know that your only motivation is to glorify God and to help people. So, Hope, one of the things you said is that on yalls marriage day that you are leaving your childhood behind. What you mean by that?

Wow. Here we go. You start off hard, don't you? Well, I don't think there's anybody who's raised in a perfect home. First of all, you know, we all have issues, and parents can only give what they have. They give what they know. You know? You know the old saying, we did the best we could with the knowledge we had. You know, I've heard it a million times, but it's true. You know, you can only give.

It's like when you bring the first baby home and you think you're prepared, but there's no way that you're not prepared.

No. So I was raised in a very, very strict. Is what they called it home. A Christian home. But it was a whole temperature of perfection. You just had to be perfect at everything.

Great grades, great rules and regulations.

Oh, yeah.

Great grades. Can't wear this. Don't go there, you. Cause they wanted us to do good. They didn't choose.

And chores on my evening. At 8 years old, you had a toothbrush.

Scrubbing the tile. Yeah, Scrubbing the tile.

Oh, my goodness.

And you couldn't miss.

I didn't even have it that hard.

Well, we like a clean house. Now, and I'm still a little bit like that, but yeah. So things like that, you know, and you don't realize how your childhood affects you. You really don't realize the patterns it sets up in your life. And so the punishment was pretty, pretty strict, and it was a lot of consequences. So I would get in the same amount of trouble if I didn't clean the tile or if I came in drunk. So it was the same severity, very harsh punishment. We going to call it being strict.

So a performance. You kind of grew up feeling I.

Had to be perfect.

That you had to be perfect and that you were trying. You were actually. Were performing.

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

I think a lot of people hope don't realize that things that have happened to you in your childhood affect you so much more than you realize.

Oh, yeah.

And I know I'm jumping ahead a little bit, of course, but we love our dear friend Denise from Living With Love.

Oh, isn't she the best?

She is great.

You introduce her to us.

Anointed woman of God.

And she's been here now several times. Such an incredible blessing. But one of the things that she really digs into those deeper parts. But before we get into that, I just want to say today that the Holy Spirit may illuminate something to your heart and mind today as you listen to this story about things that happened to you, maybe even as a child. And you don't realize that you're carrying that into situations that are going on right now.

And I just want to add that another huge layer on top of this that most people, even our wonderful Christian family, don't realize that if you're the pastor and the pastor's wife and the pastor's kids, the expectation level is off the charts. You get again into that performance thing, and it's impossible to live up to the expectations of church people, isn't it?

Yeah. And especially a child, you know, there's no child that. That's our whole formative years. That's when we're figuring everything out. So there's no way a child can be expected to be perfect. So, I mean, we're going to mess up as children, and that's to be expected. But, you know, the temperature in the home was. So they argued a lot and fought a lot. The threat of divorce was always on their lips. And so that brought fear into our little hearts. And so we didn't have that feeling of safety. And so then I was raped when I was 15. So I couldn't tell them that because that would have been My fault, you know, was I dressed wrong or did I do something wrong? Because here you are again in performing. So I kept all this stuff down for years. So the question you asked was, you know, when I thought I was leaving my childhood behind, that's what I thought. I was leaving and marrying this amazing guy that I had met. You know, my mom had always told me, she said, you're going to marry a preacher. And I said, I'm not going to marry a fat, ugly preacher.

Oh, no.

Because that's all I thought there was. You know, that's what I'd seen. So I thought, I'm not married a.

Preacher because you couldn't do anything but eat.

Right. Right. Because everything else was a sin.

Right?

Yeah, yeah.

So when I saw him and we fell in love, I was like, man, I hit the jackpot. I got preacher and he's good looking.

And he's in good shape.

Yeah, yeah, right. So I thought, we're just going to walk, you know, waltz out of here and everything's going to be fine. And for a while it was. But immediately when we got married, my body started breaking down and I didn't even understand that. I started having colitis and had to go to the emergency room for spastic colon and didn't understand why that's very painful. I mean, for years. And found out later, you know, that it was just anxiety and.

But these were actual triggers from your childhood that were coming up because that had never been healed and all of these unresolved issues, even you being raped, et cetera. And Ron, you could have had no idea of some of the things that Hope went through when you married her.

That was all it was, in shame.

Yeah.

So when we met, I was already in Bible school. I went basketball, I didn't go to go to Bible school. Got my life turned around. But I had one of those, what you call old time conversions. I mean, I had a 180 when it gave up. My basketball scholarship entered the pastoral curriculum and she met me. She was there the next year and I was already a preacher boy. So when we started dating, none of these things were revealed. None of them were revealed because, remember, I had to be perfect and, you know, I didn't expect perfection of her. But at the same time, when we had those talks, when the relationship was progressing, none of those things were. And she had to hold all these things in silence. And secrets are like plutonium.

Yeah, they are.

I mean, especially on that level, having your innocence taken away from you in a rape, that's so Traumatic and to just stuff it, because who do you talk to? And so when I started seeing all these things manifesting, it was a. It was a slow, steady decline. But I'm not a clinician. I didn't know what was happening.

And on top of this, y' all had, like, immediate success.

We had.

I mean, every church was growing.

I hate the term megachurch, but we had. We had a megachurch in a small town.

Yeah, yeah.

So the scrutiny, the glass house was unbelievable already. So I've always thought, you know, the stress and the weight of that. So if you've got a cracked foundation and you just keep stacking weight on it, it's going to pull apart.

Yeah.

And hope, I know that there's no way that any of us, especially us men, could begin to understand what being raped would be like. All right, so what else? What then began to happen?

So marriage, having children, no insurance. We started our church. So we have pressure up child income. Yeah, I think I paid Chase off when he was 7.

At least he didn't get foreclosed.

Well, several times I thought about giving him back. It was a tough one. But we paid him off when he was 7.

And even while you were pregnant. Think about that. All of this turmoil that was going.

On during the pregnancy transferred into him.

We graduated. Excuse me, I graduated Bible school on a Thursday. She still had a year of school. So we got married the next Saturday and we started the church the next Sunday.

Do not recommend it.

It's not a recipe for success, by the way. But that's the way we did it.

But in God's grace, he helped us.

Yeah, yeah.

But yes. So we continue. You know, children, the church is growing. And all this time I'm feeling this pressure on the inside of me building. And in the natural. I'm like, why do I feel like this? You know, why am I miserable? Why do I feel like I want to run away? I have a wonderful husband. Our church is growing. God's been good to us. We paid off our child. You know, we're having more children. We got insurance this time.

It almost like it didn't make sense. It's like you couldn't even really figure out what was going on with you.

No, I couldn't. And I certainly couldn't say it because that would be an indictment again. I couldn't go to him because I felt like he wouldn't understand. Like, hope, I'm working so hard, you know, the church is good. Why are you miserable? It just kept growing and growing and growing. The pressure and about 35 years old, I said. I woke up one day and I said, I can't live like this anymore. And I didn't know what that meant. I just knew I had reached an end. And I said, I can't do this another day. I can't perform. I can't.

Please.

I can't be perfect. So this is what I did. And it's kind of funny now that I say it out loud. I went and bought three secular CDs.

Ooh.

And I bought a two piece bathing suit. Because in my world, you couldn't wear that. You know, you had to wear the one piece. Maybe even a skirt and culottes. Yeah, maybe. And some tennis shoes. And then I bought a six pack of beer. Because in my world, that was a. No, no. So I went and put on the bathing suit, listened to that was Easter Sunday.

That was Easter Sunday.

She.

We had a little place.

Oh, my goodness.

And here we are.

We had a little place at the lake. And I came back. You gotta understand, I've never seen this.

Yeah.

So I came back and she was sitting on the dock of our little. We just had a little cabinet lake house. She's sitting on the dock. And there's my wife. I'd never seen her in a two piece. She's there in a two piece. She's blasting secular music and drinking beer.

Yeah, that had to.

And I'm walking in there, taking my Easter suit off, going.

He's like, what is happening to you? And for the craziest feeling, I felt so much relief. Even though what I was doing, you know, wasn't the norm and it wasn't what was expected of me. Just doing what I chose to do for the first time in my life. The weight just so that's. Then the lie of the enemy comes. See, make your own choices and you'll feel better. You've been doing what they want you to do.

Do what makes you happy.

Yeah, do what makes you. Makes you happy. And I write that in the book.

You're the important one here.

Yeah. What about me? You know, and so I write that in the book. That that's a huge red flag. It's a trigger when you first start saying, what about me?

What about me is dangerous?

It's very dangerous. Because, you know, the life that we're called to is a crucified life.

Yeah.

It's not about us at all. But that's the alive. The enemy who comes and says, do what makes you feel good.

So this would span for how long?

Oh, about Nine years.

Oh, wow. And so the whole time, Ron, you're trying to.

It's little by little, it's full blown all years.

Oh, that's just hard.

It was awful. I mean, I'm sitting here a little bit now shaking, and I'm the most calm person in the world. But this is really our first interview like this. And you feel vulnerable because number one, I told her, I said, I don't want to get up there and lose it. Because you're talking about unbelievable amounts of emotion. The death of love and trust. You're talking about blowing a million holes inside of you and then looking at the journey of what it will take to plug all those holes again. That was overwhelming. It was painful. Painful to the home. But I watched this decline. Erratic decision making. Always wanting to be going on trips, really bringing the worst people into her life, who reinforced it. But I loved her deeply. You know, I'm a different kind. I don't love a lot, but I love a few. And I love hard.

Yeah.

So I don't love a big circle. But if I love you, I'll go to the bottom of the ocean with you, you know? And I remember just at night, you.

Were rolling around on the bottom.

And that's the way I'm built. I don't know why I'm built like that. I think even before Christ, I was kind of built that way.

Yeah.

And. But I saw this craziness and so here goes. Trying to put a shield up between thousands of people sitting in a church and my wife all of a sudden walking in church in miniskirts. And I can't explain it, and I don't know what's going on, but to confront. It was nuclear.

But my legs were finally tanned.

She was able to lay out in the sun. But it was. I remember at nighttime, probably four or five nights a week, she would lay there and I would, man, this is.

This is so true. This is good.

I would. She'd be asleep. I just put my hands about three inches above her head.

Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord.

I'd say, God, bring my wife back to me. I don't know what's going on in there. It's crazy. But bring back.

Thank you, Jesus.

You know, this is kind of what I didn't want to happen.

Okay.

And what's weird is we're going to tell the story and we've had many conversations about this because you go through intense ministry to try to put all this stuff in your rearview mirror, and then you're going to. After you finally get it to a place where you can embrace your journey and the ups and downs that came with it. Then you're going to go out and start talking about it. And so this is for her and me both. Like, are we ready to do this? Because we've never told our story. We just. People knew the testimony and we. But we've never told it in the raw emotion of it.

And the reason we tell it is because the first week we were separated, and I was really at a crossroads. Honestly, when we separated, I didn't know if we would be back together. I didn't know if God would ever even use me again. I didn't know. But I told the Lord, I said, God, I'm going to get to the bottom of me. I'm going to dig down and I'm going to get the healing that I need. Not that you'll ever use me again. Not that you'll ever. I'll ever preach again. Not that I'll ever even be by his side. But, God, I want you to heal me. And he gave me a promise. He said, Genesis 50:20. What the devil meant for evil. Yes, I've meant for your good, for the salvation of many. He said, this isn't even about you, Hope. This is about the people who's going to hear this story years down the road. And you're going to be a vessel of healing to people's lives. And that's why we tell it.

Okay. For a pastor to get up in any size church, especially a mega church, internationally known, because I listened to it live. And you told the whole world a little of what had happened after years. Justified it after years that it was over. Buddy, that's the nuclear option right there. And I just was, like, shocked and felt so bad.

I was in survival then, though, because this was my message to hope. I love you, but living with you is too painful.

Yeah.

So I went into. Not me, me, me. I just went into preservation. But I can't survive anymore like this. This was a decade.

Okay, so what then caused you to get help from Living Waters in North Carolina? Denise Boggs. Tremendous. We unreservedly recommend her.

Yes.

How did you make that decision?

Well, you made that prayer you just said earlier.

I did.

Where you just finally said, okay, God, I need you to show me.

Well, he.

When I had the know you were at that time, when everything manifest, it was awful. You got to understand she was a mess.

Yeah, I didn't.

I wouldn't say mental breakdown, but she was an emotional basket.

I came To Ron in October of 2013, I just couldn't live like this anymore. I was about to really lose it. Just the pain and the struggle of all the anxiety that built up to it, and then the anxiety of trying to hide, trying to live like that and hide and still maintain my role at church. And I was just thought I was losing my mind. So I came to him, I said, I can't live like this anymore, Ron. This is what's going on. And Ron had always been my savior. I mean, the perfect husband. I thought he was going to help me, you know, get me out of this. And really he said, hope, I really want you to leave. And I thought at that point, I thought, I have nowhere to go. I don't have anybody to call, because everybody in our world worked for him. So of course they were going to choose his side. You know, I was the one who did wrong. So I didn't have nowhere to go. I got in my car. Car and I thought, where am I going to go? And so Ron called me when I was leaving, and he said, I've called Lee and Denise Boggs, and they said, you could come there if you wanted to come there. So I called her and I said, I don't want ministry now. I just need a bed. I just need to get. Figure out what I'm going to do. And she said, come on. And so I got there, and she let me have a bed and let me go to just rest that night. And the next. Next morning, she came in. She said, well, you know how Denise did her little shirt? She said, well, you ready to get to work?

And I said, I love that.

What? She said, yep, we're going to get to. We're going to get to work. She said, give me your keys. Give me your phone. She said, you're going to have no. No call, no nothing to the outside world. They took my phone out with a hammer, and Pastor Lee beat my phone up. I was like, no, my grandbaby's pictures are in there. I didn't get to keep my grandbaby's pictures. And I had to give my keys over. And Ron had somebody come up and get the car. And I said, you know what? I am at a crossroads. I could leave here. Nobody was making me stay.

You know, but you needed something pretty dramatic at that point. I did.

She wasn't in a good place.

That was toxic. Yes. So God knew what I needed. And I said, you know what? I'm going to do this. I'm going to get to the root of this, I'm going to get to the bottom of me. I'm going to find out what's been driving me this whole time. And so I stayed there. And I stayed there almost a year. Almost a year.

We're going to put a pause on this. Two reasons. One is so compelling, you're going to forget about the book. So you need to know about that. This will help you. It'll help others. Number two, I want to mention about Ron Carpenter television here on Daystar, Mondays at 10:30pm Eastern Time. So I want you to know about that. And then if you need prayer at just a few minutes, the lines are going to jam. But if you want Hope and Ron to pray for you, maybe you're depressed, maybe you are emotionally hurting, maybe you're suicidal, maybe there's problems in your marriage. Whatever it is, if you want prayer for healing and restoration, I want you to go to the phone right now. They will jam. So then go to daystar.com, click on Prayer. You can get through that way and the prayer request will come back. So we're going to take a break and we're going to come back in less than a minute.

Stay tuned for more from Ron and Hope Carpenter.

Our Father in heaven, how would be your name?

Ardently, affectionately, the chorus of a prayerful people echo righteously in his ear. For the Lord is near to all.

Who call on him.

Whenever you, whatever it is, we are here for you. All right, I know this interview is so compelling with Hope and Ron Carpenter. And of course, I'm from the Greenville, South Carolina area, so I knew about their church for so long. But okay, so people are watching right now and they're saying, so you went for counseling. So what were some of those deep rooted things that you had to get to Hope for healing?

Well, I had no clue what I was about to dive into. I had not one clue that Pastor Denise was going to uncover what she uncovered. And I really believe I went through a type of deliverance, first of all. Yeah, because it was very prophetic as well. There was so much enemy traffic in my mind and things I'd opened myself up to. And I remember the second night I was there, she came into the room and she said, she said, I just feel the enemy in your mind. She said, what is he saying to you? What lies he telling you right now? I said, Pastor Denise, I don't hear him saying anything, but I hear laughter. I just hear laughter, laughter, laughter. And she said, that is a mocking spirit. He's mocking you. He's trying to tell you you're never coming out of this. She said, I also hear Georgia. Georgia. I hear that. What's that old song? That old violin song. And then immediately I said, the devil went down to Georgia. That old song. She said, say the words. And I started saying it. He was looking for a soul to steal. Oh, wow. And then I stopped. I said, pastor Denise, I was born in Georgia. We lived in South Carolina, but my parents had to drive across the bridge because there was no hospital there. And I was born in Georgia. She said, you have been marked since an early age from the enemy because of your talents, your gifts. He knew that you were going to do something powerful and he's tried to kill you. She said, the first thing we're going to do is mark every death experience in your life. So I had to go back. Two weeks old, almost died in the hospital from pneumonia. Just started marking them. We got on a board and started. So huge revelation, major things going on there. And then we pinpointed the. Like I told you earlier, the home I was brought up in was very perfection oriented. So that set up for me a pattern of lying. Because when a child lies, they're lying because they don't want to get in trouble. Right. So that pattern started setting up in me. Anytime, any trigger, any trouble, any accusation, even in our marriage, Ron would say, how much did you spend at the grocery store? He's never yelled at me, never been crazy like that. But immediately I would lie just because it was a pattern, because I felt confronted. Yeah. So we started pinpointing all of these things in my life that were like.

Revelation to me and stones in your heart.

Oh.

And how you have to pull those.

Out one by one because of the unmet needs as a child. Yeah, yeah.

So as you begin to do that, of course, you said you were there nine months.

Ten months. Uh huh. Ten months.

So ten months.

They did testing. She brought clinicians for ten days. They double and triple team hope. They had professionals, they had ministry, they were doing tests because she, you know, we can't explain it right here in the interview. She was at a bad place. Yeah, I was worried about her.

Yeah.

I lost £23 in one month. I call it the devastation Diet and I don't recommend it.

And at that point, as you're seeking the Lord, you also have to understand those of you watching is that you really had no hope of your marriage being restored.

Not at that time, no.

Okay, so when did Ron come into the picture?

That's the. How many years the wrestling with God.

Two months.

It was about two months we had not talked. The only time we would speak was to yell to get information. And she did most of the bill paying. All of a sudden I was doing all those things. It was just so chaotic. The media was killing us. My kids come home, run into a room, slam the doors. It was awful. It was just so.

Everything was falling apart.

It was awful. It was awful. I was on every talk radio show. I mean, just people blowing us up. Somebody started a website, whereishope.com because they thought I'd killed her. I mean, it was nuts. And I'd sent her off somewhere where they couldn't find her.

Yeah.

But I had a night because I was deeply in love. I got a lot of texts, very disappointingly from pastors all over America. Go on, find you somebody who'll treat you right. Go on, get you some. And that was very discouraging when that happened. And I'm not here to call people out, but it happened. And, you know, I didn't want to go on or move on. I pretty much resolved I was going to be single because whatever it was, I gave Hope. I didn't feel like I had two of them. That was the only one I had, and I gave it away fully. But I had a night, I call it my Jacob experience, where it was the most horrendous night with God. I mean, covers in the floor, pillows thrown, lamps down. I mean, screaming at the ceiling and God, me and God just going at it. Finally, the next morning, I mean, hair messed up, pajamas on, look like. Looked like I'd been in a ten round boxing match. I called my secretary, said, cancel all my appointments. I'm in no shape to come in today. And the Lord said, I want you to call Hope and tell her you will not abandon her.

Wow.

And this was how many months into that?

This was about two months. And I mean, there was no feeling. I did that out of fear, obedience.

But I have to say this, prior to that, I was at a very. I was at a place where I was giving up hope. I'd been praying and believing for my marriage. But in two months into it, he's still here. He's still in this place. Where? No, I've already talked to lawyers. You got to sign the papers. And I'm telling my children to believe. I said, don't listen to what your daddy's saying. Just believe God. Pray and believe God. And so I had gone.

And you've been working for two months?

Nine years. I dug in my Heels, believing for my marriage. I can't do it no more. She went to get ministry. She dug in her heels.

Yeah, I'm gaining ground. I'm getting healing, getting understanding. But I'm believing for a miracle. That's all I knew, to pray. I just prayed in the spirit. And I said, God, I just need a miracle. So that day, I had gotten very depressed because he had said no.

Okay, so you called. Tell us about the call. You've got a phone in your hands.

Denise brought her in a comfort room because she had submitted her life to them. And so you can't restore yourself. That's very important in restoration. You can't say, I'm back. You have to be restored back. Because when your character is fractured, your name is no longer good. So somebody whose name everybody trusts has to rebuild you.

So there is a submission and surrender.

I called them. I called them and asked them permission to take her on her first day. And we've been married 20 years. That's how submitted we were. So long and short. I made that phone call. I heard her start squalling. It was a conference call because that was God's answer. And I was still. Even then. I don't know what this means. I don't be thinking because I was doing that just because I was obeying God. But anyway, after that, Pastor Denise called me after that conference call on my cell phone, and she said, the woman I'm about to send you, you've never met. I got to be honest, Ms. Joni, that. That freaked me out, too.

Yeah.

Because I kind of liked that girl I fell in love with. I dated her three and a half years. I was married to her. Fifteen.

Yeah.

And there was a lot that I liked about her. So when she said that, I think she said it to comfort me. That was not comforting to me. What does that even mean?

Yeah.

And. But she was right. Because when we finally laid eyes on each other, I could see it right here. I could see it. I could see it right in her eyes. Something.

I could see it, too.

Yeah. Something miraculous had happened. If you look at the pictures, it's unreal when. If you look before and after picture, just right here. And I knew something had happened, but I was so wounded. I was so wounded. So then she brought me in, and supposedly I agreed to come and support. Well, then she started digging in on me. So all that was a great big setup. This was a long journey. This was not easy.

It wasn't quick at all.

It wasn't quick. It's the road Less traveled. But that was the way it initiated back and then finally I wanted to see her. And I called and I said, can I come drive up and take her out to eat? I didn't know she had lost all this weight, you know, almost unrecognizable. She looked peaceful, but she. You could tell she'd been through something traumatic.

Yeah.

And you can tell now I'm healed when I saw her.

I see you on Instagram with all your date nights in these great restaurants.

So anyway, I pulled up and, you know, the weirdness. You haven't seen each other. Do you touch? Do you hug? You know, you feel the dual conflict of I need to hold you so bad and I don't want you to touch me.

Yeah.

At the same time you're feeling broken.

I have to tell this, though. The first night he came and he spent the night, Pastor Denise said, y' all can stay in the same room now. Felt like teenagers, you know, y' all can stay in the same room. Well, guess what happens to Hope. I get a stomach virus and he has to take care of me all night.

Oh, my goodness.

The Lord just wanted to make sure that he was all in, you know. So here I am, sick all night.

I don't even know if I want to be there. And I got a nurse take care.

Of me and I had to take.

Her to doctor, so.

So, okay, so nine months. It's interesting. Nine years and nine months. It almost took a month for every year. And of course, you had to experience healing as well.

Yeah, he did.

And things I'm sure that were hidden, that God had to restore with you.

I think forgiveness, forgiveness is a decision. And that happens pretty easy with me. I am an easy guy. I'm a teddy bear type guy. That decision to accept the blood of Jesus as payment for her sins against me, I was able to get there and get there pretty quickly. Rebuilding trust is awful. One of our most memorable, most powerful moments was on the one year anniversary of us getting back together. I took her out to dinner on that anniversary and I gave her a cell phone. And I mean, I handed her that phone with my hands.

Because that cell phone had caused pain.

Yeah, yeah. But I was willing to be scrutinized, you know, And I think that's so important that you don't say, well, I've proven to you, you know, it's been a year, I've done better. I was willing to let it be.

One of the things too, is that here you have my phone. Anytime you look at, you know, and passwords and all that's so important even today.

But it was. You have to allow someone to over scrutinize you in the area you violated, and you have to allow for that. And the process is called restitution, like Zach is. You know, I will repay four times what I've taken from anybody. I will go above and beyond in the rebuilding trust stages of even what is normally expected of me. She did. I preached a message on restoration two weeks ago. And the process of it, not even knowing it at that time, which is about nine, 10 years ago, she did every one of them to a T. Wow. Every single one of them you'd have to do to be restored back. She obeyed them. And that time we didn't even know what that was. But the thing is now, you know, people want to go somewhere two or three weeks and sit down and come back and sit down, back. That was not what happened.

I think that's so important. And, you know, all of us were raised in traditional Pentecostal churches. We know the Holy Spirit can perform a miracle. The Spirit holy. And when you talk about years and years and years of trauma, Christian, godly Christian, Holy Spirit counseling is amazing.

Oh, it is. It's so good.

It is so amazing. And I know some of you are watching today and you're thinking, wow, you know, I just don't even know if God can move in my situation. I want you to know that he can. The Bible says he's no respecter of persons. And just as he touched this marriage and he turned. What is the name of the book? The Beautiful Disaster. You want to get the book? Hope tells the whole story in the book, tells what they went through and the healing process. And Ron, could you have ever imagined that God could heal her to the extent that she is today?

Not at that time, no. I wouldn't trade what we have for anything in the world. It's amazing. The journey I would not have chosen for myself, but the prize at the end of the process has been more than worth it.

We'll continue to call and we're going to pray over all the prayer requests that come in even after we leave the air. So if you're believing God for a miracle today, call. And Ron, will you lead us in prayer over these that have called Jesus.

Lord, we thank you.

Thank you, Lord.

That behind every number there's a name. Behind every name there's a story. And all of these pieces of paper do not represent pieces of paper. They represent stories and lives and pain and tears and hurt and I ask God that just as you have given miracles, I ask you to do it again in other people's lives. I always thought that the miracle belonged to somebody else. And then one day you brought one to my house.

Thank you, Lord.

And now, God, I'm asking that all these people that said, well, the miracle must be theirs, because I don't see one coming for me. I thank you, God, for a great visitation right now, even in this moment. And I'm just asking that you move and give them a testimony like you gave us. In Jesus mighty name, Amen.