The West Virginia Batman brought his personal testimony on Saturday to Lucas Avenue Baptist Church during a 45-minute talk to people assembled there, on a busy day in Laurens and as the culmination of a week speaking to the children of School District 55. His presentation for District 56 was at Davidson Street Baptist Church during the week.
His message was more of a personal relationship with God than his schools' presentation, but the message followed the same four guiding principles:
Never give up.
Always do the right thing.
Help other people.
Never be a bully.
Batman talked specifically about "saving the children," but he also left grown-ups with a message: "It is never too late to redefine your life. Never. As long as you're above the dirt, you can change; but you'll never get there if you use the pain that's been dealt to you from your past as an excuse to do nothing."
Batman asked us to step aside from divisive politics (four days after the presidential election) and the distraction of "selfies" and work for the betterment of all children, and to guide them, and all young people, away from "the S word" - saying he did not want to use the word with children present because of its sensitive nature.
But he acknowledged being close to "the S word" during his life in which he described finding The Bible and God in a jail cell. Once that faith conversion happened, Batman qualified to be a firefighter, worked with firefighting in the service in Iraq, came back to experience a difficult time transitioning to civilian life, but was able to receive two pardons and an expungement of his criminal record as a result of his community service. He described that during his transition back into a civilian, God placed on his heart becoming Batman, and led the way to a near-miracle in finding the authentic Batman suit - on Ebay. He also expressed gratitude for being able to give his message to 5,000 schoolchildren this past week through the work of local sponsors. He especially thanked District 55 Superintendent Jody Penland for being receptive to having the Bat-message provided to the schools. He also met with clients of the Laurens County Disabilities & Special Needs Board and with first responders, also honoring Veterans on this past Veterans Day extended weekend (this also was Squealin' on the Square weekend in downtown Laurens and St. James United Methodist Church, next door to Lucas Ave. in the Wattsville community, sponsored a well-attended Holiday Fair - not to mention a full slate of high school and college football).
Thanking those who came to see him Saturday morning, Batman said, "There is no me without you. That's all there is to it, and I am grateful for that."
