Unlikely Beginning
Clyde Warner was born in a smoke-house in Southern Oklahoma. Although raised in the country, he began experimenting with alcohol and drugs at the age of ten. Soon, he and a group of “friends” had become involved in theft — moving from small items up to motorcycles and even cars.
At seventeen, Clyde felt his only escape from country life, and his short criminal career was the military. Enlisting in the U.S. Navy, Clyde served four years as a weapons technician, handling all types of tactical weapons, including nuclear weapons.
Clyde assumed that his Navy experience would provide him job skills and lessen the temptation for drugs, alcohol, and theft. But after his first few months of service, he found alcohol and drugs more plentiful than ever. To finance his drug habit, Clyde began smuggling and selling drugs.
Upon his discharge from the Navy, Clyde was soon heavily involved with every vice that comes with doing and trafficing drugs. While running drugs, Clyde also provided prostitution and “protection” in a number of towns between Texas and Alaska.
In 1976, Clyde finally made the one mistake that was to radically change his life — Clyde and two accomplices robbed a Federal Saving and Loan in Fairbanks, Alaska. The accomplices were soon caught and turned “states evidence” against Clyde. Six months later the FBI caught up with Clyde in Oklahoma. His rap-sheet included Armed robbery of a Federal Institution with the probable sentence of –forty five years!
A Man Reborn
While awaiting his trial, Clyde read a story in a Guide Post Magazine about a woman who had been raised from the dead. Laying upon his bunk, he heard a voice speak to him, “You’re going to die in your sins and go to hell!” Thinking that he was having some kind of drug flashback, he ignored the voice. Once again, the voice came but this time called him by name, “Clyde, you’re going to die in your sins and go to hell!”
Overcome with the emotions arising in him, Clyde began to weep. To hide his tears, he went to the shower so no one would see him. The voice continued, “Where are you going to spend eternity? By the time you serve your forty-five years, you’ll be seventy. What will you be then, boy”. Remembering the only thing his mother had ever told him about praying — was to use the name of Jesus — Clyde threw up his hands in the air and cried out, “If you think you can do any better with my life, then in the name of Jesus, here it is!”
Something changed that day for Clyde Warner — he had given Jesus Christ permission to rule his life!
From The Pit to The Pinnacle
Remarkably, Clyde was sentenced to only three years in Federal Prison! After his trial, Clyde was transferred to FCI Texarkana, Texas. It was there, where he was filled with the Holy Ghost!
Clyde took the Word of God literally…”make the lame to walk, heal the sick, give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf…” With child-like faith, Clyde prayed for people and saw God perform the miraculous! Deafness, blindness, cancer, even aids were healed by God’s power working through Clyde! Many sinners were brought to the Lord by the faith of this man.
When Clyde was released from prison, he continued to share the power of the Lord Jesus Christ in his testimony, by the laying on of hands. Jesus Christ, through Clyde’s ministry, has healed the sick and changed lives. Cylde’ own son at the age of 4 years, on Oct 14, 1989, 2:00 PM on a Saturday afternoon drank poison and died. But with faith and the name of Jesus his son Caleb was raised from the dead.
Pastor Clyde and Pastor Celia not only is the pastor of Changed Life Church in Sulphur Springs, Texas, but they also travel in missions around the world and minister in the state and federal prisons in the USA and foreign countries.