He Went to Bible College to Stay Out of Jail | Southern Storytelling | Episode 173

A preacher loses his footing on the church steps in front of his congregation. An elk-hunting guide faces a charging bear. And a man turns the key on a boat even though someone can still smell gasoline. In Episode 192 of the Hayden Alabama Podcast, three groups of Southern storytellers join us at the Great Outdoor Expo in Sumter, South Carolina. You'll hear church mishaps, a deer with no visible bullet hole, fishing memories, country childhood adventures, an Arkansas duck-hunting trip that calls out rescuers, and a father's frightening race to reach his little girl. Some of these stories will make you laugh. Others will make you grateful for how they turned out. We close with Scripture Time in 1 John 2:7–11, talking about loving others instead of holding on to hatred. Subscribe to the Hayden Alabama Podcast for true Southern stories, clean humor, family, faith, and the occasional bad decision. New episodes every Tuesday at 6 PM Central. We love our show sponsors and think you will too: - AmFirst Credit Union - Serving members since 1936. https://www.Amfirst.org - 1-800-633-8431 Facebook - facebook.com/AmFirst Instagram - instagram.com/amfirstcu/ LinkedIn - linkedin.com/company/amfirst YouTube - youtube.com/user/AmFirstFCU TikTok - tiktok.com/@amfirstcu - Eiland Law - https://www.eiland-law.com/ - Precision Graphics (Printing, Screen-Printing, and Embroidery) - https://www.precisiongraphicsinc.net About the Hayden Alabama Podcast: Our podcast celebrates Southern humor, Southern storytelling and Christian faith, right from the heart of Alabama. We share funny stories, true tales, and testimonies that resonate with anyone who grew up in the South (or just wishes they did!) all while keeping appropriate for all ages to watch. Tune in for new episodes every Tuesday at 6PM. 0:00 Three Stories, Three Groups 0:38 Welcome to Sumter, South Carolina 1:29 Big Steve at the Dove Shoot 4:50 The First Wood Duck 8:19 The Buck Nobody Expected 11:43 The Church Visit and the Mailbox 14:12 Another Mailbox Incident 16:38 A Very Slippery Sunday 20:07 Meet the Fishing Storytellers 20:27 His First Fish Scared Him 23:24 The Ten-Pound Bass Story 25:37 The Fish That Grew on the Way Home 28:25 Fishing Through a Child's Eyes 32:19 The Rough Boat Ride Home 35:34 A Deer With No Bullet Hole 39:10 Growing Up Country 44:28 Granddad Wanted Horses 46:00 Lessons From Stubborn Horses 47:15 The Runaway Horse Ride 49:13 The Feed Bucket Chase 51:27 Trying to Leave Work Early 56:13 Why "We" Matters 58:31 What the Word "Love" Means 1:00:03 Meet Our Final Storytellers 1:00:22 An Elk Hunt in Colorado 1:12:21 The Bear on the Bike Trail 1:14:23 Seven Guys Head to Arkansas 1:16:33 A Very Bad Boat Ride 1:19:12 The Search for the Hunters 1:20:21 The Problems Keep Coming 1:24:20 The Shrimping Trip 1:29:43 A Father's Terrifying Afternoon 1:37:27 Scripture Time: Love and Hatred 1:41:39 Closing Thoughts #HaydenAlabamaPodcast #SouthernStories #Storytelling #OutdoorStories #ChristianPodcast

When Coty heard his truck alarm deep in the woods, he ran up the hill and found a stranger inside his truck wearing his yellow rain suit. In this episode of the Hayden Alabama Podcast, we talk through that unbelievable story, plus a near-drowning at the beach, a Make-A-Wish trip that turned into a 17-hour travel day, a truck driven through a pond, a barbed-wire crash, tubing chaos, and more. We also close with a testimony about God’s timing and a Scripture Time segment from Matthew 18 on forgiveness. If you enjoy Southern storytelling, real-life family stories, and faith-filled conversation, be sure to like, comment, and subscribe. New episodes every Tuesday at 6 PM! OUR SHOW SPONSORS We love our show sponsors, and we think you will too! AmFirst Credit Union Serving members since 1936. Website: https://www.amfirst.org Phone: 1-800-633-8431 Facebook: https://facebook.com/AmFirst Instagram: https://instagram.com/amfirstcu/ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/amfirst YouTube: https://youtube.com/user/AmFirstFCU TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@amfirstcu Eiland Law Website: https://www.eiland-law.com/ Precision Graphics Printing, Screen-Printing, and Embroidery Website: https://www.precisiongraphicsinc.net ABOUT THE HAYDEN ALABAMA PODCAST Our podcast celebrates Southern humor, Southern storytelling, and Christian faith, right from the heart of Alabama. We share funny stories, true tales, and testimonies that resonate with anyone who grew up in the South (or just wishes they did!), all while keeping our content appropriate for all ages. Tune in for new episodes every Tuesday at 6 PM! EPISODE 191 CHAPTERS 0:00 - Stranger in the Truck Cold Open 0:47 - Welcome Back to the Podcast 2:31 - The Woman in Cody's Truck 31:36 - Swept Out in the Ocean 35:49 - The Make-A-Wish Trip to New York 47:30 - Driving a Tacoma Through a Pond 54:00 - Cheap Dates and Learning Consequences 59:15 - Thrown Into a Barbed-Wire Fence 1:09:15 - Phillip's Lawnmower Story 1:11:26 - "You Can't Throw Me Off" Tubing Story 1:15:35 - Concession Stand Food Bracket 1:19:22 - Testimony: Praying for a Place to Live 1:24:15 - Scripture Time: Forgiveness Is More Than Saying "I Forgive You" 1:32:58 - Closing #HaydenAlabamaPodcast #SouthernStories #Podcast

Andy Andrews and two buddies caught 2,000 pounds of shrimp in one night. They thought they had figured out how to get rich. Two days later, what they were doing was illegal. And somehow, that is only one of the stories in Episode 190. Andy joins Phillip and Walt at Lackluster Cabin for stories involving Nick Saban, a serial-killer investigation, an opening-day dove hunt gone wrong, the Mobile Bay Jubilee, Cher, Kenny Rogers, Bob Hope, one painfully quiet comedy show, and several situations that sound made up until Andy explains what actually happened. Then the conversation turns toward something deeper: why Andy believes what he believes, the evidence for the resurrection, surrender, wanting God's will, where real peace comes from, and what 1 John 1:5–2:2 says about walking in the light. The Hayden Alabama Podcast is Southern storytelling about ordinary people, unusual situations, faith, family, mistakes, laughter, and the stories you can't quit telling. Subscribe and join us for a new episode each week. Andy Andrews - https://www.facebook.com/AndyAndrews Walt Merrell - https://www.facebook.com/shepherdingoutdoors We love our show sponsors and think you will too: - AmFirst Credit Union - Serving members since 1936. Amfirst.org - 1-800-633-8431 Facebook - facebook.com/AmFirst Instagram - instagram.com/amfirstcu/ LinkedIn - linkedin.com/company/amfirst YouTube - youtube.com/user/AmFirstFCU TikTok - tiktok.com/@amfirstcu - Eiland Law - https://www.eiland-law.com/ - Precision Graphics (Printing, Screen-Printing, and Embroidery) - https://www.precisiongraphicsinc.net About the Hayden Alabama Podcast: Our podcast celebrates Southern humor, Southern storytelling and Christian faith, right from the heart of Alabama. We share funny stories, true tales, and testimonies that resonate with anyone who grew up in the South (or just wishes they did!) all while keeping appropriate for all ages to watch. Tune in for new episodes every Tuesday at 6PM. 0:00 The Gulf Coast Was the Wild West 1:06 Welcome to Lackluster Cabin 2:06 Meet Andy Andrews 5:55 The Date That Went Sideways 9:19 Andy and Nick Saban 15:15 A Serial Killer Case Comes Back 24:32 Dad, the Dove Hunt & the Game Warden 28:27 The Shrimp Idea That Worked Too Well 37:03 What Is a Mobile Bay Jubilee? 47:36 Touring With Some Famous People 55:49 Kenny Rogers and the Silent Arena 1:01:03 Andy's Worst Night on Stage 1:11:42 The Fried Apple Pie Misunderstanding 1:14:36 The Story T-Shirt & Why Andy Believes 1:27:45 Surrender, God's Will & Finding Peace 1:35:04 Scripture Time — 1 John 1:5–2:2 #HaydenAlabamaPodcast #AndyAndrews #SouthernStorytelling #Alabama #ChristianPodcast

They had one simple goal: create a believable Bigfoot sighting in rural Alabama and get people talking. The plan worked—possibly a little too well. From a fake Bigfoot standing beside a backroad to an encounter with an emu, church situations nobody quite knew how to handle, and some youth-ministry ideas that went spectacularly sideways, this episode has no shortage of stories that escalated far beyond the original plan. But the conversation eventually goes somewhere deeper. Joey shares how being around Christianity was very different from actually knowing Christ, the people God used during some of the hardest moments of his life, and how events he knew nothing about were already shaping the ministry he would one day lead. The episode closes by looking at the kind of fellowship John describes in 1 John 1:1–4. The Hayden Alabama Podcast is Southern storytelling about family, faith, bad decisions, strange situations, and the people you never forget. If that sounds like your kind of conversation, subscribe and come hang out with us each week. We love our show sponsors and think you will too: - AmFirst Credit Union - Serving members since 1936. Amfirst.org - 1-800-633-8431 Facebook - facebook.com/AmFirst Instagram - instagram.com/amfirstcu/ LinkedIn - linkedin.com/company/amfirst YouTube - youtube.com/user/AmFirstFCU TikTok - tiktok.com/@amfirstcu - Eiland Law - https://www.eiland-law.com/ - Precision Graphics (Printing, Screen-Printing, and Embroidery) - https://www.precisiongraphicsinc.net About the Hayden Alabama Podcast: Our podcast celebrates Southern humor, Southern storytelling and Christian faith, right from the heart of Alabama. We share funny stories, true tales, and testimonies that resonate with anyone who grew up in the South (or just wishes they did!) all while keeping appropriate for all ages to watch. Tune in for new episodes every Tuesday at 6PM. 0:00 The Church Problem Nobody Wanted 0:53 Welcome to Episode 189 1:54 The Bigfoot Plan 14:15 One Very Bad Beach Day 24:38 The 19-Year-Old Music Director 34:19 The Emu 41:39 Dinosaurs, the Moon & AI 46:35 Cousin It 58:51 Barrels of Fire 1:08:56 The Couple He Couldn't Place 1:14:58 The Band Name Story 1:18:24 The 90s Country Bracket 1:22:06 Joey's Testimony 1:36:27 High Point Community Church 1:39:21 Scripture Time — 1 John 1:1–4 1:58:22 Closing #HaydenAlabamaPodcast #SouthernStories #Bigfoot #Alabama #storytelling

A horse gets hauled home standing in the back of a pickup, a tiny grocery store somehow goes through 72 employees, and one family has enough stories involving burned houses, broken windows, BB guns, school paddlings, and questionable decisions to last a lifetime. And somehow, every story seems to lead to another one. But underneath the funny and unbelievable stories is something deeper. Neil looks back at the way he was raised, the things he carried into fatherhood, the things he wishes he had done differently, and what he hoped to pass on to Trey and Trent. The conversation eventually turns to faith, family, and the lessons that only make sense after you’ve lived long enough to look back. This is the Hayden Alabama Podcast—Southern storytellers, real conversations, and the kinds of stories you usually only hear sitting around with family and friends. Subscribe and join us each week. Poncho Outdoors: Get $10 off your first order at https://www.ponchooutdoors.com/haydenalabama when you enter your email. We love our show sponsors and think you will too: - AmFirst Credit Union - Serving members since 1936. Amfirst.org - 1-800-633-8431 Facebook - facebook.com/AmFirst Instagram - instagram.com/amfirstcu/ LinkedIn - linkedin.com/company/amfirst YouTube - youtube.com/user/AmFirstFCU TikTok - tiktok.com/@amfirstcu - Eiland Law - https://www.eiland-law.com/ - Precision Graphics (Printing, Screen-Printing, and Embroidery) - https://www.precisiongraphicsinc.net About the Hayden Alabama Podcast: Our podcast celebrates Southern humor, Southern storytelling and Christian faith, right from the heart of Alabama. We share funny stories, true tales, and testimonies that resonate with anyone who grew up in the South (or just wishes they did!) all while keeping appropriate for all ages to watch. Tune in for new episodes every Tuesday at 6PM. 00:00 A Horse in the Back of a Pickup 00:39 Welcome to Mooreville, Mississippi 02:11 What Neil Refused to Pass Down 07:45 The Grocery Store Years 14:48 Becoming a Different Kind of Dad 20:27 “Let’s Make Some New Mistakes” 28:31 The House Fire Stories 38:53 Why Dad Kept the Paper Sacks 47:24 The Horse Story 49:28 Growing Up Poor 58:16 Why Trey Never Pushed the Limit 01:03:09 The 69¢ Mistake 01:07:36 The Hunting Trip That Changed Everything 01:24:48 Trent Finds a Loophole at School 01:30:11 Poncho Outdoors 01:31:41 Sit-Down Restaurant Bracket 01:34:53 Neil’s Testimony 01:39:55 Scripture Time — Matthew 13:44–46 #SouthernStories #Storytelling #FamilyStories #HaydenAlabamaPodcast #SouthernCulture