Jim – Traveling Troubadour
Like all the other children (except
Elliott), Jim attended Midwest Bible Camp, and later served as a
counselor. In 1984 Jim graduated from
Washington High School. That fall he enrolled
at Abilene Christian University and formed several friendships with people who
have been important to him throughout his life.
At ACU, he sang with a contemporary Christian music grown known as Daybreak. Later he spent a summer
traveling with a group called Take Four. They
were involved in recruiting students for ACU.
They traveled from the Midwest to West Coast.
The group had some remarkable
experiences during those summer travels.
They visited churches, youth camps, and other venues. Sometimes church imposed strict rules about
their performances. Some churches let
them sing, but insisted that there be no applause. I guess it didn’t seem reverent enough. They sold tapes along the way, and managed to
make meal money that way. They read
books aloud while traveling and that triggered some active discussions. Jim was the tenor, and Brandon Scott Thomas,
who later headed up the group known as Zoe, was the bass.
On one occasion, they sang for the
Yosemite Encampment in California, which was held in the national park. They got there in the middle of the night and
learned that the camp had overlooking making arrangements for their
lodging. Burl McCoy, an ACU faculty
member, had a family singing group, and they had gone there for the entire
week. Burl is the grandfather of Colt
McCoy, who would later distinguish himself as the quarterback for the
University of Texas football team. Burl
and his family managed to find a place for them at their camp site. In lots of ways they barely survived, but
they had some rich experiences along the way.
When they returned to Abilene, they
were invited to sing for the incoming Freshmen at ACU. They were somewhat excited to learn that
Barbara Mandrell was going to be in the audience. Her son was among the new freshmen.
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