Showing Up Broken
How One Church Service Wrecked My Plans
Ben Fuller
That night before church, I remember thinking: What am I doing? Because the truth was—I didn’t feel like I belonged in a church. I wasn’t some clean-cut, buttoned-up guy who knew how to “do” church. I had beer in my pockets—literally. I was still cussing up a storm, still drinking, still carrying all the broken pieces of who I was.
But the Davenports? They loved me right where I was. They weren’t judging me for my mess. They weren’t handing me a list of things I needed to “fix” before I could walk through those church doors.
So, I showed up.
I was walking into Church of the City in Franklin, Tennessee, following the family toward the sanctuary. And then I heard it—that low rumble of worship music coming from the auditorium.
And I just… stopped.
God knows exactly what will draw you to Him.
I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t know why it hit me the way it did. But something inside me needed to be in that room. So, I ditched the Davenport family and just beelined straight through the double doors into the sanctuary. And there I stood. Right there in the aisle, frozen, watching 2,000 people lift their hands in worship.
A High Like No Other
For 14 and a half years, I had used drugs. I had chased highs. I had numbed myself with whatever I could get my hands on. But in that moment—standing in the middle of that church service, surrounded by people singing to a God I barely knew—I had never been higher in my life. I didn’t even have words for it.
Peace. Power. Something I had been searching for but never found.
And then, somewhere deep inside me, the words came: “Jesus, help me.”
That was it.
No fancy prayer. No perfect words. Just—Jesus, help me. And something inside me shifted.
Because they made space for me before I cleaned myself up, I got to experience Jesus.
I think about that dinner invitation a lot. If the Davenport family hadn’t invited me to church, I might have never walked into that moment. I might have never heard that music. I might have never felt the Holy Spirit move in my life for the first time. But because they opened their home, because they made space for me before I cleaned myself up, I got to experience Jesus.
And now I have to wonder—how many other people like me are just waiting for an invitation?
- Maybe they’re one dinner away from meeting Jesus.
- Maybe they’re one church service away from their entire life being transformed.
- Maybe they just need someone to say, “Come sit with me.”
I didn’t get saved that night. It wasn’t like I had this sudden, radical conversion moment. I still had years of struggles, doubts, and battles ahead. But something started that day—because God knows exactly what will draw you to Him.
For me, it wasn’t a sermon. It wasn’t a perfectly crafted gospel message. It was the music. The sound of worship. The feeling of something bigger than me filling the room.
One Step Forward
Maybe you’re not looking for God—just like I wasn’t. Maybe you’re not sure if you belong in a church. Maybe you’re still carrying beers in your pockets and a mouth full of cuss words.
That doesn’t scare Jesus. He wants you right now, exactly as you are.
So ask yourself today:
- What’s holding me back from accepting an invitation?
- Is there someone in my life who needs to know they’re welcome—right now, as they are?
- What if my simple “yes” to showing up could change everything?
If you’ve been waiting for a sign—this is it. Say yes to the invitation. You never know what God has waiting for you on the other side of those doors.
Key Scripture for Today
“Come and see,” said Philip said (John 1:46).
Just come and see. Jesus will take care of the rest.
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