Sometimes God uses crazy people with crazy ideas to do some crazy things.
In 1991 Club J and the gang that put it together was one of them.
Secular discos and dance clubs were the craze in the 70s and 80s and on any given night teenagers and college students would pack clubs by the hundreds, grooving to various music styles including disco, house, techno, hip hop, rap or 80s pop. But not in a million years did anyone believe a “Christian” dance club would ever gain any traction; that is until Club J opened twenty years ago in
Brownwood,
Texas, with another to follow in
Fort Worth in 1996.
Amidst opposition and concern, a new entertainment/ministry idea was born that would shake up
Brownwood, a small little country town deep in the Heart of Texas. Thanks to the dream of two young men and a group of committed college and area high school students God was about to do something completely out of the box.
Clint Locks and Brady Speers were sophomores at Howard Payne University (HPU) in 1990 when they became close friends while members of a fraternity called Delta Pi. Both had transferred out of two state “party schools” to the small university. It was quite a change of atmospheres for both men. With little to do, the small town quickly became a bore on the weekends and it became apparent
Brownwood was not going to offer much in the way of entertainment and unless they did something about it. Weekends were doomed to be lackluster.
“Honestly, both of us had strayed from our values and beliefs at the larger universities before transferring to HPU,” said Speers. “We didn’t know each other at the time, but after talking we both realized the clubbing scene had pulled us both away from what we were supposed to be doing and we weren’t really living for Christ. I was a big city guy and enjoyed having fun. But in
Brownwood, there was nothing to do, and I do mean nothing. It was killing me.”
Brownwood was and still is a small town with a population of about 20,000, offering very little for young people to do outside of a bowling alley, a movie theater and the occasional rodeo or carnival. As a result, teenagers found other ways to spend their weekend nights which many times led to huge drinking and drug parties.
“We realized we had an opportunity to do something crazy. We thought, what if we combined dancing, loud music and a fun atmosphere with a drug free, safe Christian environment,” said Speers. “In our minds it was the perfect thing to do to reach out to the small town students. Plus, it gave us all something positive and productive to work on and enjoy ourselves. We knew God’s hand was on us the first day we put our idea into practice.”
“Sometimes it only takes a small
Texas town, an old building, a willingness to get dirty. Real dirty!” added Locks. “And the desire of God to show his unfathomable love in a very unusual way: through a decrepit old building with miles of wire stretching between thousand-watt colored lights, and a strong 4/4 downbeat. ‘Look into my eyes, man. You can't touch this’."
That idea first came to reality in the form of a “cheesy” private party held at the studio apartment of Speers and soon to be club DJ, David Curlee aka Rex Stub. Over 100 Howard Payne students showed up throughout the night as the apartment was turned into a pulsating dance club in which music mixes consisted of taking out CDs one at a time to get to songs. But the long pauses between tracks didn’t seem to bother the entertainment starved crowd. Close friend Scott Rinehart even served as “internal security”, a vital position for any night club. Rinehart was always prepared to toss anyone out for bad behavior but no one pushed it far enough.
“For some reason we decided to name the party ‘Club J’ with the J standing for Jesus of course and it just stuck.” Speers said with a grin. “That night was crazy. We had Christmas lights up, a few strobes going, speakers blaring and the place was so packed the police showed up. They could not believe that a party could be that big and that fun without drugs or alcohol. Once they convinced themselves it wasn’t a drug party, they left us alone and Club J was born.”
Over the next few days student feedback about the “club J” party was extremely positive and everyone was begging for another. That’s when the idea of a more regular event came about.
“Clint and I were at the library when our conversation turned to the wild idea of doing another dance party somewhere in the area,” said Speers. “That was when we got serious and truly started talking about actually starting a night club.”
Over the next 6 months the two men, along with help from too many HPU and local high school students to name, hosted and sponsored more “Club J” parties. A memorable one was held on a Friday night at a local church in their fellowship hall.
“Yea, that was interesting,” Speers said with a laugh. “I guess they had no idea what we meant when we said a ‘club’. One of the pastors stopped by that night and saw all of these young people dancing and about had a heart attack. Needless to say, we were not invited back….but they did eventually support our long term vision.”
Locks and Speers formed a Club J Council of both HPU and
Brownwood High School students and began the process of organizing the ministry and looking for support and a regular place to hold dances. The Brown Country Fair Barns provided the perfect location for a few more Club J events over the next few months while a more permanent home was sought. Hundreds of students packed the rodeo Fair Barns as the music pounded and club lights lit up the aluminum walls. At that point, a door charge was collected and put away towards finding a new, more permanent home for the club.
“There was no turning back at that point. I mean the kids were having so much fun and you could see it on their faces. The parents loved it because it was a controlled, clean environment and the police loved it because it kept most of the area kids in one location and away from the likes of drugs and alcohol. God was stirring a new thing in our hearts and in what we were doing,” Speers said.
Local support started pouring in from all walks too. Radio spots were donated and even
Brown County donated funds. Soon the group found an old Montgomery Wards building right in the middle of downtown that seemed to be the perfect location. It would need months of work on the floors and ceilings but getting help to do it was not going to be an issue.
“We were amazed at how many people came out to help!” Speers exclaimed. “We worked before classes, after classes and sometimes until 2am trying to get it done. People painted, people removed old ceiling tiles, people organized security, lights were bought and installed, walls were built, bathrooms were installed, and wood floors were put in all by hand.”
One man even walked in one Saturday during a work day and handed Speers a $1000 donation. All total the group of young students raised nearly $20,000.
“The building owner let us rent the place for $100 a month!” Speers said. “This was a 4 story building that he was basically giving to us. Of course, it was a complete wreck but we didn’t care. We were too excited.”
Despite having no air conditioning and it being the summer months, Club J opened its doors in July of 1991. They were proud to call it “the hottest club in
Texas!” and it most certainly was as temperatures would reach near 100 degrees inside even at night.
“I don't remember there being any real adults overseeing it. Just a bunch of college and high school kids who loved the Lord,” said Sherry Morrow a
Brownwood High School at the time. “I remember how proud I was of all of us when it opened and it was so crowded! I felt like a need was being met in our community.”
All told the club was large and impressive. It included a very, very loud sound system, a high tech club lighting package, a food bar, a balcony DJ booth, a blacklight hallway, bathrooms, a staff office, a large dance floor with tables lining the walls, a t-shirt shop (Willie’s Ts), and the upper balcony “lazy llama lounge” which featured a sitting area, pool tables and various video games.
“One of our favorite secrets of the club was going out on the roof for private parties,” Speers said. “We even had a plastic pool up there.”
The club hosted a weekly Bible study, college nights on Thursday nights and various live concerts too including various Christian techno and dance bands, which was a new music style gaining traction in the Christian market place at the time. The place became a regular hang out all week long and never seemed to have its doors closed. They had a huge Christmas/New Years Eve party too called “Whitehouse” in which the entire place was filled with shredded paper from a local bank to look like snow.
“At one time or another, Club J was a sanctuary for high school and college students needing to escape the routine of school life,” Locks said. “A place for honest people with honest questions who wouldn't feel safe airing those in a normal church environment, a meeting place for a diverse groups of believers wanting to connect with God and one another, and the turning point for business suit-clad skeptics who left very different people than those who entered.”
Controversy never left the scene for Club J. Some people just didn’t agree and thought the entire concept was just too worldly. One night protest even took place across the street as students “prayed against” Club J. No other Christian dance clubs existed in the nation at the time. Club J was setting the trend that led to hundreds of clubs around the country by the year 2000 including one opened by Michael W. Smith in
Nashville, Tennessee. Club J certainly paved the way and paid the price, even if few people outside of
Brownwood knew about it and many others felt it was “of the devil”.
“It never really bothered us too much,” Speers said. “We knew what we were called to do and we saw the fruits of it every weekend.”
“Club J made believers of doubters, and glorified God in ways many people in
Brownwood never thought possible,” stated Locks. “The rumors flew and the Providence of God flew higher. Expectations were met and exceeded in areas of finances, resources, staffing, publicity, and in the fact that no one, that's no one, ever fell through the roof or got a contact high from spray paint projects. We did get fatter, though, due to late night/early morning Bosa Donuts and Taco Bell runs, and we might have missed some classes at good ole' HPU but these are small prices to pay for being a part of such an amazing work of God.”
“Personally I will never forget the first time I went to Club J in BWD with my cousin, Marianne,” said former HPU student and Club J staffer Katherine Curlee. “Brady personally gave us a tour of the building and introduced us to this young boy that had been led to the Lord. He had come from a bad home, and he said that Club J was an escape from all the bad stuff that went on at home. When I later asked him what Club J meant to him, he told me that had it not been for you leading him to the Lord, he would have never heard the Gospel. Club J had a lot of people praying against it but just look at what God did. If that young boy was the only one that came to know the Lord out of both facilities then they were both well worth it!”
Club J sat right along the path of “the drag” in downtown
Brownwood where students would drive up and down the road on the weekends. Over 200 students a weekend came to Club J giving the staff plenty of time to get to know and reach out to kids. One of them was a teen about 14 years old named Vinnie. According to Locks, he had a troubled family life and the club provided an escape. Staffers got the opportunity to witness to him about Christ and he listened and soaked it in and eventually gave his life to Christ. Years later, Rinehart learned that Vinnie was shot and killed by accident in the
Dallas area.
“Every night as Club J was closing clubbers were handed a Club J tract that presented the values of Club J and the Gospel,” Speers said. “Our ministry was subtle yet direct all in its own style. We had a wall we called the ‘Fruit of the Room’ and only those of us on staff knew what it meant when we wrote names of kids on that wall.”
“Club J was the perfect example of the Father using the weak to confound the strong and the simple-minded to humble the wise. God used Club J to bring people to him, obviously, but he also used it to teach us many, many life skills we would recall over and over in our futures,” Locks recalled recently. “He taught us managerial skills, how to start a business and manage publicity and marketing, and share his love in unorthodox ways.”
Sadly, being owned and managed by college students, cash flow from events was the only thing keeping the club open. Without any real capital to sustain the operation during slow nights because of football games or other area events, the bank accounts became bare. As a result, Club J eventually had to make an earlier exit than planned and closed down in 1992. Key staffers were wrapping up their college degrees and both Speers and Locks didn’t plan on staying in the
Brownwood area either so even if funds had been available it was likely the club would have closed. In early 1992 an attempt to rename the club to “Atlantis” was started but it soon fizzled also due to a lack of funds.
The run for Club J Brownwood was complete.
But the story wasn’t over yet.
In 1995 the opportunity presented itself to reopen Club J in the DFW Metroplex right near the cultural district off
Fort Worth. Rinehart, Speers, Curlee and Locks had all relocated after leaving HPU to the DFW area and Speers started working as a youth/college minister at a small church near downtown
Fort Worth.
“I was getting my graduate degree at Baylor but had become friends with a group of TCU students,” Speers said. “Because of my history in helping start the original club it was a natural thing to have discussions about re-opening it in the DFW area somewhere. We still had the lights and most of the equipment and a group of high school and TCU students ready to help put it together. All we needed was the place.”
Trinity Fellowship provided the perfect location when pastor John Paul Jackson asked Speers to take the position as youth and college minister.Sadly, Jackson died suddenly in 2014. Without his passion for reaching the lost and his openness to God doing things "outside the box" Club J Fort Worth would have never happened.
A Christian night club in that area of the city would be a perfect outreach tool for the church and the church had a large “upper room” that was simply perfect for something like Club J. It was a perfect setup.
Club J II was smaller in scale and in operations than the original 1991 club since it was located in the back of an existing church. Less work was necessary to get it up and running but there was still some work to be done including building a DJ booth, installing lights and sound equipment and ripping up the old flooring. People like Scott Rinehart, Michael Harris, Katherine Cohen, Wendy Goshen, Lee Savitz, Shana Savitz, Maury Potts, Dallas Perry, Kasey VanY plus many other college and high school students provided all of the labor.
“Yea, just like the first club, we had to redo the floors, paint everything, install the lights and sound system and build a massive DJ booth but it only took us a few months instead of the year it took to get the first one in
Brownwood open,” Speers said. “Plus it was so neat to be right downtown. You could see the skyline right out the back windows and our proximity to TCU made it a perfect way to reach out to those students. One of the coolest things was how the music would be booming from the outside and the club lights would be flashing in sync in the large old windows.”
“I remember long days of scaffolding and painting the walls black and getting excited about the opening,” Katherine Cohen remembered. “Ben and Robin Paisley rocking the house. Our high school kids from church meeting Jesus and then bringing their friends who then also met him!”
Though it had only been five years since the original club was opened in
Brownwood, the Christian nightclub scene had already started moving away from “dance” oriented clubs and more to the live concert or hang out type of venue. Clubs had started opening up all over the nation including the
Dallas area with the opening of places like “The Door” in Deep Elm. Dancing was still part of the overall structure, but Club J II focused on providing a variety of concerts and events. Either way hundreds of young people from all over the DFW area came to check it out and the club was always loud, fun and full of energy.
“I remember that we were breaking the mold of the time and would explain it to people by saying it wasn't a 'Christian club' but 'a club run by Christians'. That's not an unusual thing now, but at the time it was radical!” Cohen added.
Probably the biggest event was the Judah CD release concert/party held at the club in the spring of 1996. At the time,
Judah was a very popular Christian rock band with TCU students. They had a new CD coming out that year and Club J was chosen as the venue to showcase and launch the new record with a live concert. Over 300 students showed up that night and the place was packed.
“I remember feeling the floor go up and down as the crowd danced and jumped to the music,” Speers said. “I am certain we were breaking all kinds of city codes! But it was one of the greatest nights in the history of either Club J locations.
Judah got a big chance to share the good news of Christ with hundreds of young people that night.”
Club J was located in a run down part of the cultural district of Fort Worth. It gave life to an area chopped full of empty store fronts, darkness and old buildings. Today, that area is known as “7th” and is full of nightspots, restaurants, bars and shopping. It’s the hotspot of the city.
As with the original
Brownwood club, Club J II in
Fort Worth also made a lasting impact on the lives of many young people in the short time the place was open. High school kids, college kids and other young adults really embraced the idea of a safe place in the middle of the big city to get away.
Long time friendships were forged that remain today, and most importantly, others came face to face with a God that does crazy things like Club J to show them His love. The full impact will never be known, but the hard work the entire volunteer staff put in will never be forgotten and certainly those that offered their time to help make it a success will never forget it.
“I think Club J had as much an impact on the workers as on the youth who came,” said Wendy Goshen a TCU student at the time.
After a quick but eventful run, the Fort Worth Club J was forced to shut down after the building it was in was sold and the church had to relocate. A small crowd gathered for one final night as the lights on Club J were turned off forever.
“At that time it was sad, but I also knew it was over,” Speers said. “I was moving on, other options for Christians were popping up and God had done with Club J what He wanted to do. I know we made a difference in many lives. It certainly did in mine.”
CLUB J REMEMBERED
Twenty years later, Christian clubs are now the norm across
America. Club J was well ahead of its time. From coast to coast, nearly every large city in the country now boasts some form of Christian based, drug free, night club entertainment for youth and college students. Club J is now long in the past but lives were changed, the Christian subculture has broadened its reach and Christian young adults have now enjoyed two decades of having some nightclub fun of their own. Christians doing a little dancing to some groovin’ tunes is simply no big deal now.
The building Club J was in is still there and another small church has been operating there all these years. But that entire area is now known as "West-7th" and it's now one of the hot night spots in the entire DFW area. Seems Club J might have been somewhat of a trend setter a decade or so early
“It really blows my mind that it has been twenty years since the whole thing went from a radical idea to reality. I remember them starting to tear down the old buildings in that area. Would have never thought that place would would be what it is now. My wife and I just went and saw a movie at a dinner theater down there about 3 blocks from the back side of what was once the club,” Speers stated. “God does crazy things sometimes. Club J was certainly one of them.”
FEEDBACK AND COMMENTS
I have too many thoughts to say too much and most of them I put into the above story. But, I am truly amazed when I look back at what God did through just a willing group of kids. We were just kids you know. So many of you guys involved in both clubs have now become life long friends. Some of you that were students were reached out to are also now friends on Facebook and the like. God is good. As I get older I cherish looking back on crazy, cool things God did and I am so humbled that He would even allow me to be a part of it. In the end if only a few lives were changed than all of the hard work (and it was!) was all worth it for both locations. When we all step into eternity maybe we will meet even more. For now, this reminds me and hopefully does all of you too, to go find the next “crazy” thing He wants us to be a part of….crazy as in working in the church nursery or something!
Michael Harris throwing himself into the wall at the FW club will never be forgotten….
Sorry---I don't remember a thing about it...except that I have black lung now from all the renovation and spray painting, and that we had a wonderful time on the roof splashing around in that little plastic pool. How did we ever get the water up there?!
Memories, a very incomplete list:
-climbing up the fire escape at night to look at the stars with you and Chickenbone.
-the Whitehouse Project, including literally TONS of shredded paper from area banks and news rooms and yards and yards of white waste material rolls from Kohler.
-tearing out all those "useless and ugly tin ceiling tiles" (which are priceless and could've made us rich!)
-our full-size console video games.
-one-of-a-kind murals.
-me, dancing the only dance I knew that made me feel cool.
-our broken knees.
-me, running the sound and light board simultaneously.
-Tammy (?) at the Brownwood Bulletin
-the PSAs on KXYL radio
-all the cars we recognized as we would pull up in the afternoons
-washing out paint brushes at the bank
-the lines around the building on opening nights
-the 'research trips' to Austin...and losing the car
-the Lazy Llama Lounge!
-the basement with the prehistoric swamp
-playing drums on the third floor.
-the various t-shirt designs
-so much more...
Fav memory.... bouncing around in the mosh pit to Jesus Freak by DC Talk with Jef, Brian, Chris, Bob, Dominc and the gang. Me at age 15/16 just under 100lbs, against at least 5 big guys. Oh, the fun days.
It's been fun remembering things - like the angels on the roof, and never pet a burning dog, and I still say "bye bye" instead of bye (though not in your 'ba, bye' way!) because of you.
In
Brownwood, as we began working on the building, we had lots of local kids come in and help or hang out. One was that little squirt named Vinny. He was a sweet kid. Always willing to run an errand, grab something for us and lend a hand anytime we needed it. I remember when we opened we gave him a shirt, a mag light and a walkie talkie and he was part of our team. He'd help out at the door, take covers, hand out cokes and help with security. I believe and correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Clint lead him to the Lord. (That's the way I remember it, but it may not be true).
I also sadly remember some of the times that we got frustrated with him because he was so eager to help that he'd get underfoot sometimes....After we shut down in Brownwood, Kat and I soon got married. We moved here to DFW and started our life together. College and Club J were now behind us and just the memories were left.
I started working at Microsoft and after about 5 months or so, I remember getting an email or a call from either Scott (who worked at MS with me) or Clint who was teaching in DeSoto... Vinny had been killed. I don't remember the details. Don't remember if it was an accident or murder... I just remember thinking that he was someone I'd known, I'd taught a few things to and sometimes griped at for getting underfoot.... I know we made a difference in his life. I know that Club J meant something to him. If for nothing else, doing Club J mattered for one little squirt.
Wow! Great stories, everyone. Sadly, I only visited Club J Fort Worth once (since I lived out of town then). I remember it being a fun place that was loud, brightly colored even in the dark, and full of life and energy. I think Club J. had as much an impact on the workers as on the youth who came. Great memories! And, long live the killer utensils.
I ran into Vinny when I lived in
Carrollton and he was doing great at the time. His life had truly changed. They thought the gun was not loaded and it discharged accidentally.
Kat I remember that kid too. Brings tears to my eyes to know God used us to make an ETERNAL difference. Motivates me to continue to do the same now at 40!!!
I remember working to install the alarm system in Club J Brownwood. I had to drive a grounding rod through the floor of the basement, directly beneath where the alarm box was mounted, which was just inside the side door.
I don't think anyone had been in that basement in about fifty years. Saw the biggest roach I have ever seen down there.
WHAT!? Twenty years??? I don't remember being only 14 when we did that. What a great memory! I feel like it was one of my first experiences with so many things. It was sort of like a mission project, right? Working for no monetary pay to further God's kingdom. Anyway, I remember painting, painting, and more painting, and having a blast doing it. I don't remember there being any real adults overseeing it - just a bunch of college and high school kids who loved the Lord. I remember how proud I was of all of us when it opened and it was so crowded. I felt like a need was being met in our community. I'm so thankful that I was able to be a part of Club J.
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