AMAZING STORY
Rocker Becomes a Radical Voice for God
By Tim Smith
The 700 Club
CBN.com -“We were on our way,” says Bob. “We started opening up for bands like Foghat, Blue Oyster Cult, Pat Travers, Molly Hatchet, John Kay and Steppenwolf, The Outlaws, Red Rider. We were in negotiations with CBS Records to sign a record deal.
Bob Colquhoun’s quick rise to fame started in smalltown Iowa. In high school, he excelled in swimming and theatre. After his performance in the musical “Hair”, Bob was approached by a member of the group “Hurricane”, a popular rock band in Florida.
“So the following Friday, I went to a bar and they invited me on stage and the rest is history,” says Bob.
Bob’s vocal talent was just what they needed, and their fame started to grow.
“There’s a line outside all night long to get in. The deck out on the ocean was packed. You know, it’s the ’80s. I’m the lead singer of one of the most popular bands in Florida, and everybody wants to feed you cocaine and marijuana, and it all just took control of my life. Marijuana was my drug of choice. I became addicted to cocaine. Not only in the high of it, but my mindset was, ‘If this is the drug I’m going to do, it’s highly expensive. How can I do this and not pay for it? Ah, I can sell it because I do know some people who are buying it’. So I started selling cocaine - small amounts to get what I was doing fro free.”
The band was offered a record contract and began touring with some of the top acts of the day. But just when the band was about to break out, they imploded.
“A couple of the band members were missing their girlfriends. We had a huge concert set up, and two days before the concert, the drummer and our other guitar player left the band in the middle of the night. There was no band to come back to. So the first thing I did was what I knew how to do to make money. I started selling cocaine here and there.”
Bob met Lisa in 1986, and they married two years later. Their son Timothy was born 12 weeks prematurely. For the first time in his life, Bob began to pray.
“I was on my knees pleading day in and day out. I was trying to cop a deal. I’ll give up rock and roll. I’ll give up drugs, just let my son live.”
Timothy lived, but Bob forgot his “foxhole” prayer.
“Realistic, at that time in my life, it was all about me. And at that time in my life, not knowing who God truly is. I thought I could just pull a deal with him and back out.”
As his addictions got worse, Bob started stealing cars and motorcycles.
“It was like a rush, an adrenaline rush.”
Bob joined a new group called “Trilogy” and he got a shocking offer from their promoter.
“He said, ‘From the day I heard you, I’ve told you you’re the greatest rock and roll singer of all times, but honestly I don’t think you’re ever going to make it.’ He said ‘I believe your wife and your family’s holding you back.’ He said ‘I’ll tell you what. You can come live with me. You don’t have to pay any rent. Just sing. So for crystal meth and rock and roll I left my family and I never looked back.
“I was to the point in my life, I could hit a red light, I had everything right there in my console, fill a spoon, drop the dope, stir it up, put a little water, crush it, pull it, shoot it before the light turned green.”
One night, Bob and a friend were stopped in a stolen car and bob was detained without bail on an immigration charge.
“I was born in Germany of American parents, on an American military base. I’m an American citizen. But for some reason there was an immigration hold on me.”
The “immigration hold” was just a ploy to hold Bob. What they really had on him was undercover surveillance of the last 2½ years of his life.
“He said, ‘Following you was like going to a candy store. You led us to hundreds of people in the drug world.’”
He was sentenced to 7½ years in prison for robbery, theft, and probation violations.
“There I was sitting in county jail, sick and tired of being sick and tired. And I remember calling my mom and saying, ‘Okay, I’m ready. I’m ready to figure this out, send me a Bible.’”
So his mother sent him a Bible, and Bob read it. He also stumbled upon a small paperback book.
“I remember getting a book on a library cart, More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell. And I remember reading it, and I think at that moment, the Holy Spirit almost became awake in me. Because I read this book and I thought, ‘How could this intelligent man who didn’t believe, take these men and travel the world to prove that the Bible wasn’t true, and in doing so, become believers? How is that possible?’ And that little simple book gave me enough incentive to go, ‘Maybe I need to rethink this.’”
Bob decided to go to a chapel service at the prison.
“I walked into this building, and there was a convict, standing behind the pulpit, preaching the Word of God like he was Billy Graham. And although there were maybe 50 or 60 guys, as far as I was concerned, the room was completely empty, and he was talking to me. Forgiveness, hope, born again. And I’ll say this man’s name. His name is Keith White, doing life for murder. From Iowa. This man from Iowa was going to lead this man from Iowa, introduced me to Jesus Christ. Not a story in a book, not a song, but a Jesus Christ ready to take me for who I am and for what I am, to come into my life and change me from the inside out. And I got out of prison December 31, 2001, on fire for God!
Bob never touched drugs again. Today, he’s a single dad, raising his daughter, Eden. Bob is a territory manager and technician for a mobile medical company and he and his daughter live in Iowa.
“Being sold out for God is amazing. And if you’re sitting there as a skeptic, saying ‘I’ve tried this, I’ve tried that, I went to church, I did this, and nothing’s changed,’ you haven’t truly sold yourself out. There’s always going to be highs and lows here on earth. This is not our destination. We are promised paradise and eternal oneness with God. The story is the God of the universe, the Creator of all, can take you as you are, whatever you’ve done, no matter what you think you’ve done, or you’re not worthy, and take you and give you hope, life, a future, and show you there is a better way.”
CBN IS HERE FOR YOU!
Are you seeking answers in life? Are you hurting?
Are you facing a difficult situation?
A caring friend will be there to pray with you in your time of need.
