“Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” (James 1:27, NLT)

This is a story from The Master’s Inn in Loxley, Alabama. We opened for business on January 1, 2026 as a Christ-centered retreat center. Twelve rooms off the 16th fairway of Steelwood Country Club- perfect for corporate retreats, golf team retreats, church retreats, or best of all— personal retreats.

From Day One of the dream, a primary hope and mission of The Master’s Inn was to help ‘widows and orphans’- which James tells us is “pure religion”. Honestly, in my mind, that meant making money to support poor people in India (through Fishhook International), plus local and regional ministries which help single moms, foster families, and all the ‘widows and orphans’ work.

Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined what happened last weekend to confirm that our dreams for The Master’s Inn are on the right track.

Our first real customer was the University of Kentucky Men’s Golf Team, which arrived on Friday night (January 16) for three days and nights of practice and ‘spiritual retreat’. Seven players, three coaches, plus a Lexington pastor who is serving as a team chaplain (eleven in all)- got away from the snow of Kentucky for the green grass of south Alabama.

Within five minutes of my 7:30am arrival at The Master’s Inn on Saturday morning, the purpose of our existence was confirmed in dramatic fashion.

I was on the back porch chatting with Coach Gator Todd. A handsome young man came walking down the stairs with a huge smile- obviously happy to be able to play golf over the weekend. The coach introduced me to Gavin.

I quickly learned that he was a sophomore from Hazard, Kentucky, deep in the Kentucky mountains. “Oh man, you’re from Perry County!” “Yup”, he said with a smile. We had a lot in common, it seemed. I told him that my dad was from the mountains- Manchester, Clay County. We used to go there every summer for a few days. My grandparents didn’t even have an indoor bathroom. He smiled as I told him how we loved the outhouse.

I quickly fell in love with this kid and his smile as we discussed how he grew up on a nine-hole golf course, and the fact that no college golfer- Ever- had come out of Perry County.

I was almost done with our initial conversation when I said, “Wow. This will make a great movie when you win the Masters someday!” He smiled again.

And then, perhaps I asked one question too many. Or maybe it was the Holy Spirit that pushed me. “So, what do your parents do?” He paused.

“Well, my mother died of an overdose. My dad sells cars. But he has ALS right now…”

“Oh, wow. I am so so sorry. Man oh man”. I was speechless. Gavin was on the verge of a tear.

I later researched through google and discovered that his dear mama had three little boys but died in 2011 at age 29 when Gavin was six.

An orphan.

And now, he told me his dad would be gone within a few weeks.

An orphan again.

I tried to stay positive by again saying, “This will make a great movie when you win the Masters.” He smiled again.

Our weekend retreat was based around two sessions to discuss the first chapter of John, where Jesus called his first disciples by saying “COME AND SEE”. (John 1:39). Each kid received a Bible with their name on it, donated by the local FCA leader. They received some other books as we tried to keep the focus on Jesus.

And then, with some trepidation, I decided to take the final retreat session on Sunday night to the Steelwood Chapel, just a mile away, not too far past the tenth green.

Hamp and Barbara Andrews had agreed to lead a small group of Steelwood residents in prayer for the team at the chapel at 6pm. Each young man would have a prayer partner from Alabama.

So, at about 6pm, following pizza at The Master’s Inn, I told the guys we would try to experience what Jesus commanded. Jesus said simply, “Follow Me”. So, I asked the coaches and players to simply ‘Follow Me’.

I did not tell them where we were going- just that we would be gone about 45 minutes, back in time for the second half of the NFL playoff game. I asked them to keep silent as we piled into two vans and made the three-minute journey. We stopped and exited near the small Chapel where some of us gather on Sunday mornings. I told the team that the community has a significant number of people who are Jesus followers. We walked to the front door. We stopped again for two minutes in silence. I said, “Let’s pause here just a moment. You will hear some singing inside.” Hamp was leading them in a prayer chorus.

No one knew what would follow. At 6:25pm, we walked inside. Sure enough, ten friends stopped singing as we entered and waited for the team to find a seat.

“Men, these people all live at Steelwood. They have been here for thirty minutes, praying for you. They came out on a cold January night, skipping the NFL playoffs, to pray for you. If you decide to follow Jesus, you will never be alone.”

I had tried to calculate who might be there from Steelwood and match up locals with the players and coaches, but finally had given up on that idea and just hoped the Lord would make it clear who should pray for whom.

And boy did the Master answer that prayer.

I asked everyone to stand in a circle so each face was seen. Eleven from Kentucky. And eleven locals from Steelwood. The perfect fit. God has orchestrated who would show up on this cold Alabama night.

We started with Don, who was standing next to Will, the team chaplain. I knew Don was a prayer warrior and was sure that he would resonate with this new friend.

And then my wife Sue was next as we started around the circle. And the first UK kid to my left was, sure enough, Gavin. Wow. It was obvious that Sue should pray for Gavin.

I told everyone that he had lost his mama and his dear father had ALS. I told Gavin that he couldn’t have a better person to pray for him than Sue. She would take this responsibility seriously. Some tears flowed before anything was said.

The Lord led us all around the room, and each connection seemed to be perfect.

Carter prayed for Jacob.

Hamp prayed for Chip.

Stan prayed for Gator.

Ken prayed for Jacob.

Karen prayed for Jack.

Mike prayed for Cole.

LeeAnn prayed for Chuck.

Barbara prayed for Cole.

And finally, I was standing next to Cameron. A freshman from Ohio. As I prayed for him, I found myself remembering that I had met Jesus for the first time when I was a freshman in college. I prayed that he also would follow this same Jesus all his life.

The meeting ended around 6:50pm- but no one was in a hurry to leave. These college golfers seemed perfectly happy to stand around for thirty more minutes talking to old people at Steelwood about life until we got a picture taken and turned out the chapel lights on a night to remember.

So, ‘orphans and widows’. Just a term from the Book of James to describe anyone who may be alone- or lonely. Sue and I never had kids, but Gavin and Cameron may have grandparents now if needed. When he got back to Kentucky, Cameron texted, “Thanks for everything this past weekend- it was a time I will never forget.”

Me too.