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Tribute To Mike Quarles
28 Plays1 day ago
Mike Quarles, co-author of the book “Freedom From Addiction” and many others, passed away late last week. Vernon shares just a few personal reflections about his friend Mike.
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Transcript
00:00:20
Speaker
and Welcome, this is Vernon Terrell with Grace Ministries International and I wanted to just do this podcast and live broadcast to do a short a tribute ah to my friend and webinar partner for many years Mike Quarles I found out that Mike passed away I believe late last week and um His wife Julia had passed away about four months or so earlier but um
00:00:58
Speaker
I wanted just to let folks know, first of all, Mike had such a large impact on so many people. In his book, I think many of you know Freedom from Addiction that Mike and Julia wrote with Neil Anderson and also the big workbook, the Freedom from Addiction workbook that he wrote and there's also a conference manual that ah when Mike would do um seminars um and I remember I met Mike. I was being trained in the whole exchange life counseling model through First Baptist Atlanta and funny enough it was Grace Ministries
00:01:54
Speaker
ah back then, I think it was Grace Life, but Grace Ministries International actually started that counseling center at First Baptist and they went on later to help out North Point and started their hope ministry back then, and which is now Renew. But Mike was there teaching a section ah during that training. That's when I first met Mike And that was in the 90s, early mid 90s. And then shortly after that, yeah Mike had a little Sunday school class that um went over um another book that he wrote. And um that book was, it was
00:02:51
Speaker
freedom from prediction but actually it was um it was founded kind of based on that but then it was really on this book is devotional one day at a time and this is a a big devotional got like a and a hundred plus devotions in here my first wife Brenda ah before she passed away in 2015 for years we would hand this out like candy ah to folks that we were ministering to, working with, and that Sunday School class would go over these devotions. And so I was in that with Mike for a little bit, and and that was in the late 90s, early 2000s. And then I said, hey, Mike, there's this new medium that's coming up, and it's called podcasting.
00:03:47
Speaker
And in fact, the first podcast, I believe, the first RSS feed was in 2003. Mike and I started um Freedom Focus. Some of you who've been around me long enough may remember that.
00:04:03
Speaker
but back in 2005, we did a podcast brand new. No one was really doing these. um you know there were there There were some big ones that came on the scene and we just did our little freedom focus, had about 60 episodes um on that podcast and Mike and I would sit around his office or in the living room.
00:04:29
Speaker
And we would do the audio recording for Freedom Focus. And so that was our first kind of collaborative, well Sunday School was, but hey Sue, absolutely. um That was, wasn't that fun back then? Well, we did that and a lot of folks were blessed through Freedom Focus.
00:04:53
Speaker
And Mike was still doing seminars at the time. ah And he said, Vernon, the seminar ah seminars are kind of getting tougher to do. ah He would go to different churches, do seminars. And I said, well, Mike, there's this new thing. I was always thinking of these new things coming. I said, Mike, there's these new things called webinars.
00:05:19
Speaker
And that was back when GoToWebinar was big and WebEx, of course, was coming on the scene with GoToWebinar. They're the big the big platforms back then, like Zoom is now. And so I said, Mike, we need to do some webinars. And in 2000, and let's see, when was that? 2009, we did the first one, it was a leadership one.
00:05:49
Speaker
in 2009 and then in the fall of 2010 we did our first ah webinar and um We would all we started them and they would just fill up Every time we did two or three of them a year They were we had six week webinars the basic and then eight week the advanced and what we found was a lot of folks just never could make it through the eight weeks and We did that for a couple of years and then we just kept the six weeks. And then we did but created another webinar series on his other book. I don't think I have it handy here, but it was helping others um overcome addiction.
00:06:32
Speaker
and a more recent book and so we we did the basic webinar and then we did the helping others overcome addiction especially for those who were helping others and so we did that for goodness gracious what 15 or more years um we were doing either podcast or we did the the webinars and um so really I guess it was more like 12 years because then we stopped 10 or 12. We stopped those a little while back and
00:07:13
Speaker
But that's, uh, that's what Mike loved that Mike just loved doing that. And then, you know, Mike would always get questions and Mike and I would do, we would, um, do different speaking engagements together as he got a little older, couldn't drive. I would go with him and we would tag team on some speaking. Uh, but Mike would always get emails. And, uh, so he says, I want to put all my emails in a book.
00:07:39
Speaker
I said, okay. And you know so we did this little book, FAQs that Mike put together. I said, Mike, your answers are to these emails are generally the same almost. He goes, well, Vernon, the truth is the truth. It's like, yeah, ah that's true. Good point. So, but we put it out there.
00:08:04
Speaker
and That was a fun project that that we did together. and I just want to let folks know that um Mike um passed away. and Yes, absolutely, Sue. He is celebrating face-to-face with the Lord. He is having a great time. Two things he loved. um He loved his family. Always talked about his family.
00:08:27
Speaker
His daughter's granddaughter just love talking about his family his son Talked about him often and and He loved number two. Well, he loved Jesus. He loved the truth. Number one loved his family and he loved Alabama football I mean it and I just I bet I um He watched that last you know Alabama when Alabama beat Georgia to my chagrin. But um ah that was his another love. He would just get all into Alabama football. So um that that was some of my experiences with Mike.
00:09:14
Speaker
And you know, Mike would always say, cause he struggled, you know, Mike, if you know his testimony at all, Mike was, you know, he was a successful in stocks and finances and he would, was then a pastor and he would tell me, he goes, yeah, I preach on Sunday, get drunk on Monday. And he was just stuck.
00:09:39
Speaker
in this um this bondage to addiction. And the traditional church, what he was taught anyways, just did not have an answer. And he would always tell me, when I heard half a verse, he goes, I read it, I memorized it, but when I really believed and understood that I died and was raised as a brand new creation in Christ,
00:10:04
Speaker
and I was dead to sin. He goes, when when I got a hold of that half of verse that I was dead to sin and alive to God, everything changed. He realized ah that he wasn't a ah sinner saved by grace. He's a saint, a brand new creation. It's that subtle, the truth never changed.
00:10:31
Speaker
But as his connection to the truth that did, his understanding, he believed it, that he actually died to sin and that he was made new in Christ. That shift was all it took for Mike.
00:10:52
Speaker
And he built his ministry, started with um with Freedom in Christ Ministries. Actually, he was on staff at Grace Ministries International for a while, too, back in the day. He was with Freedom in Christ Ministries for a long time, where he and Neil collaborated and and wrote so many different books and booklets to help folks who struggle with addiction.
00:11:19
Speaker
and did that for years, got involved with his good friend Steve McVeigh, and um with Grace Walk Recovery Ministries, and just continued what he had always done himself. No matter what banner, what organization that he was under, he always wanted to proclaim the truth, that it's Jesus plus nothing. That it's Jesus who sets free.
00:11:50
Speaker
And he would say you know that AA, when folks who wanna go through AA, he'd say, look, AA has a place. They've got all kind of recent, whether it's AA, NA, SA, all the different um addiction resources, that they have a place, they've got a ton of resources and folks who are very caring and loving. But one thing he would say, that doesn't set you free.
00:12:16
Speaker
Only Jesus sets you free. Whatever your addiction or your life controlling problem is, it's Jesus and Him alone who not only sets free, but has past tense already. If you're a believer in Jesus Christ, if you have received Christ as your savior, received His forgiveness in life, Him alone has past tense.
00:12:45
Speaker
Set you free. That was the message. And his his response would always be, because every webinar we did, over the years, we would get the same question over and over. So what must I do? What do I need to do to get free? And Mike's answer was always the same.
00:13:11
Speaker
There's nothing more for you to do. Jesus has done it all for your freedom. He has set you free. Do you believe it? Will you believe it that he has made you brand new? And that was the message. And He would get emails, you know, everyday people would call. He would talk to people on the phone all the time. And one thing he would say that he really, um that he resonated with was, it takes what it takes. It just takes what it takes. God is patient. And whatever your addiction or life controlling behavior might be, whether it's drugs, alcohol, it could be work.
00:14:05
Speaker
to my friends on LinkedIn, it could be work, workaholism, rampant, where we're trying to get validation and fulfillment out of work. It doesn't mean work doesn't have a measure of fulfillment, but if we're trying to get our sense of significance and value and worth and security out of work,
00:14:30
Speaker
Doesn't happen because it's all found in Christ. When you can rest in the truth that you are secure in Christ, that you are worthy in Him, because He made you worthy, if you can rest in the fact that you are loved, period, not according to anything you do, ministry, work, service, you are loved, period, because of Jesus Christ. When you can rest in your acceptance in Him,
00:15:00
Speaker
Other people may reject you. You are accepted 100% because of Jesus Christ. When you can rest in those truths that because of the cross and the resurrection, you're made new and you are His and He is yours. He lives in you. When you can rest in that, then you can work out of His fullness. You can love and minister out of His fullness. One thing Mike always said,
00:15:28
Speaker
because Mike lived 100% on support. He depended on the generosity of others that God would touch and provide. God never failed. It was tough at times, absolutely. I remember talking to Mike at times and he says, yeah, I don't know how we're gonna make it. And then somehow God would just provide. So it wasn't always easy. It was challenging at times.
00:15:58
Speaker
But Mike would say, yeah, God provides. God is the one. God loves us more than we could ever know. And He wants us to rest and receive that love. He wants us to receive His provision. He provides. He wants us to rest in that. That's something that we're learning at Grace Ministries, you know, that, yeah, God provides.
00:16:27
Speaker
you know We've got a golf tournament coming up and we're raising money to help those who are struggling with counseling costs and we want to help supplement where we can. God provides. He just does. and we're looking We're just trusting Him for that. I have no idea how this thing is going to turn out. We're going to trust Him.
00:16:50
Speaker
We'll go where he leads us to go. We'll go and talk to folks and we'll encourage folks to give. But the end of the day, as Mike would say, God provides. I remember when Mike would send out his newsletter, say, Mike, you got this typo and this, what? He goes, Vernon, doesn't have to be perfect. We just put it out there. Put the need out there. God provides. And that's, I think, the testimony for Mike.
00:17:17
Speaker
that he always looked to the Lord to provide everything. And so I just wanted to share this short time just to really to honor my friend, Mike, to honor what he has written over the years as ministry with freedom from addiction. We still recommend and use that book at Grace Ministries. And um I have, what I may do is put together some ah more, um some some things that Mike did. Mike and I actually, was it a couple of years ago? Two years ago maybe? I was at Mike's house and we just did a sit down, Facebook, live, kind of an interview thing. We were just on the couch just talking.
00:18:08
Speaker
about addiction and his thoughts on that. I think I may um post that, repost that again. because some yeah If ever on the webinar, any of these webinars, and I'll see if I can make those available too. And there's some other folks who have that some of this out there um that i Mike gave permission to do and to use, but Mike,
00:18:37
Speaker
his, on you could not miss that accent, that Southern Alabama accent, especially when he would talk about the Coon story and about the Coons going up the tree. um That's one I got to finally give you a clip on. But if you um know someone who knew Mike or um let them know,
00:19:04
Speaker
that Mike is ah having a blast right now in heaven. He is free from the pain. As you know, Mike had developed neuropathy and he couldn't walk well. His mind was still sharp as attack. and um But he is walking, jumping and running and dancing ah right now, probably even listening to the Alabama fight song. I don't know.
00:19:27
Speaker
But um let folks know that um Mike did pass away and um pray for his family. I know that they would appreciate that. And um in fact, and right now, I'm just going to pray, um pray for them and that God would continue to use oh what Mike has taught all of us and
00:19:57
Speaker
Let's just pray now. Father, thank you for Mike, for his life, his legacy. Just continue to use what he wrote, his words of encouragement and insight. I pray they would continue to move forward and just thank you that he impacted so many. And I just pray we can honor him and his legacy and show us how we could support the family too as they grieve the loss. And we look to you and just thank you for all of this in Jesus name. Amen. So thank you guys for just hanging in there with me as I give this tribute to Mike and um I'll close out the podcast with something that um
00:20:50
Speaker
I always say, and Mike was very keen on, that you know we know this, we know the truth, but sometimes we we don't um we know it up here, and it needs to come just a little bit lower into our heart, and then we, by faith, we need to walk it. And so, as I always, or most of the time, I'll say,
00:21:17
Speaker
I don't want you just to talk about this stuff and I think even in in honor of Mike, if you would just stop talking about the truth and the power and the victory that you have right now and by faith, believe the truth and start walking. We'll see you next time.
00:21:45
Speaker
You've been listening to Walking Free, a production of Grace Ministries