At 50, He Was Sure He'd Missed His Window. Today Horace Is an Ordained Pastor Planting a Church.

Horace Christian Jr. is a graduate of the Rise Discipleship men's home, and his story doesn't start where most of the others do. He never had a drug problem, never had an alcohol problem, never did any jail time. He was in church. He had a ministry, he even co-created and produced a Christian cartoon series. On paper, his life was pretty good.

But there was a quiet, simmering pride underneath it. If something made sense to Horace and he'd prayed about it, he was going to do it, regardless of what anyone said.

"I didn't have a drug or alcohol problem. But I had a sin problem. And the thing I was struggling with most was my purpose. What was I really supposed to be doing?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5cO4xVmL4s

The Lie of a Missed Window

Horace walked into the home at 50 years old, carrying a lie that had quietly taken over his whole outlook.

"I thought I had missed my window of opportunity. That I had forfeited all of God's blessings. That it was too late, it was over, I wasn't good enough, and I didn't have what it takes."

He believed a lie about God, too, that he had to earn His love, do enough good things, pray hard enough, and then maybe God would bless him. He hadn't yet understood grace. And he believed a lie about his future, that at his age, with the success he thought he should have had by now, he simply didn't have one.

The Bottom Behind the Smile

On the outside, Horace was all smiles, "God's gonna do it." On the inside, he was unraveling. He had gotten into a marriage he never should have entered, convinced it was God's path to a higher purpose. He moved to another state with no job, no accountability, and no one around him, and then the panic attacks started.

"I thought I was losing my mind. I was doubting my salvation. I was scared. Lord, I don't know what is going on."

The marriage ended after two months, and Horace felt like a coward who had walked out on God's promise. But in the wreckage, he finally saw what he actually needed. Not another Bible study he could skate through. Real discipleship, men of God around him, and an environment he couldn't control or walk out of on a whim.

How He Found It

The way Rise came onto his radar was almost accidental. His then-wife saw a news story about a former Disney star, the actor Orlando Brown, who had come to a place in Texas and was doing well. She turned to Horace and said, if it can work for him, it can work for you.

Horace called the number and felt an instant, unexplainable peace. He had never been to Abilene, but he knew that was where he needed to be.

Guarded, Then Broken Open

When the brothers met him at the bus and immediately started offering him food and asking his story, Horace was guarded. He had been burned before. But they kept showing up with the same love, day after day, until he understood it was real.

"We always say the most important person in the home is the new brother. And these guys, dudes who'd been in prison, tatted up, been through real hardship, they were serving me, when I felt like I should be serving them. That was the true love of Jesus."

His breakthrough came in the first day or two. Broken, beaten down by the voice telling him he wasn't good enough, Horace stood in the morning prayer room while men all around him cried out to God. He hadn't cried in years. He couldn't. And then it came.

"Alligator tears coming down my face. I felt like God was just hugging me, saying, I got you. It felt so good to release all that self-condemnation and give it to God."

Learning to Put Others First

Horace had spent his whole life, an only child, doing whatever he wanted. The home's accountability was brand new, and at first he chafed against it. But it taught him to stop and think instead of shooting from the hip. Then, a few months in, he was made the home overseer, responsible for 50 brothers, something he never wanted.

God used it to break the individualism and self-focus out of him, and to redirect his eyes: to God first, then to others. He learned to serve, to have real compassion, and to surrender even his beloved cartoon, which had quietly become an idol.

From Graduate to Pastor

Horace came in on October 7, 2020, and graduated in April 2021. Right away, a door opened to join the staff at Rise Church as Pastor Ray's administrative assistant. He had no plans and no agenda anymore, just a willingness to do whatever was asked. He edited video. He served on the media team. He did whatever needed doing.

Then Pastor Ray asked him to preach. It grew into a communications role, then a seat on the executive leadership team, and four years of learning leadership at a high level. And recently, Horace was officially ordained as a pastor at Rise.

Today, he is the lead pastor of Rise Austin, the very first church plant in the history of Rise Church.

"I thought I'd missed my window. That six months at the home was the best six months of my life. No question about it. God sees what we don't see. He knew what I needed."

If This Is You

Here is the thing about Horace's story: he wasn't an addict. He was a churchgoing, hardworking man who looked fine on the outside and knew, deep down, that something was off. Rise is for him too. So if that's you, or if someone you love has lost their sense of purpose and their way, don't wait. It's free, a real person answers day or night, and it starts with one call.

Ready to reach out? Get help now. Freedom really is just one phone call away. (325) 232-5449.

And it's all free because of people like you. As Horace says, it's not a rehab or a halfway house. He calls it superhero school, a discipleship home where men and women learn to become who God made them to be, three meals a day, a safe place to sleep, high-level leadership training, discipled for a full year, and completely free. Your giving is literally what makes pastors like Horace possible.

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If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or thoughts of suicide, you are not alone and help is available. Rise Discipleship's 24/7 helpline is (325) 232-5449.