Steeple People - Ron-Ron Bowie

“A smile is a recognition of our own individuality,
a joyous realization of our identity;
it manifests the attitude of our being toward our fellow-men, toward life and all things.
 It means sympathy, love, joy, fellowship,
 willingness to receive
as well as willingness to give that which is good.”
~S. S. Curry, The Smile: If You Can Do Nothing Else You Can Smile, 1915

Some people are born greeting the world with a smile. Some lose their smile along the way. Others must learn to greet the world with a smile. For all, smiling through life at some point becomes a choice, whether you’re born smiling or learn to smile along the way.

Ron-Ron Bowie is one of those people born smiling who has made it a choice to continue smiling—and that in itself is a type of ministry.

When Ron-Ron came as a student to TTU from Memphis in 2000, he was just Ron Bowie. Like many Freshmen at any university, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, how he fit in. 

“Everything about me getting here was a miracle. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, if I’m honest,” Bow said, explaining, “My ACT score wasn't anything to boast about. My paperwork was late, which meant it was processed late, so I arrived halfway through the first week of classes.  As I said, me in Cookeville? An actual miracle!”

Sometimes students go to college thinking it will reveal unrecognized gifts and talents hitherto unseen. Sometimes, though, if we trust God, He provides, not so much new revelations of what’s within ourselves, but space and place for those gifts and talents within a support system that will carry us further along on our journey. 

Sometimes it is a matter of God moving us into the right territory for His God-designed plan to grow. For Ron, that place was Cookeville.  He brought three things with him: his smile, his drumsticks, and his faith, three things that didn’t immediately appear to fit in a major or minor at a university known for it’s engineering and science studies.

“The smile comes from never wanting to provoke anyone to feel unseen, unimportant, unloved,” Bowie said, explaining, “There was a season in my life that I felt so alone and insignificant. I was trying desperately to fit in with people who didn't care if I was there or not. I know what it feels like to be looked at as different. After the Lord brought me out of that dark place, I vowed that I would never be the cause of anyone feeling that way.”

For Bowie, “A smile means hello. It means glad to see you. It means I love you. It means I see you.”

The joy behind the smile, he says, “Comes from knowing that no matter what happens, God is for me. He loves me. The strength of the revelation keeps me smiling.”

Some college Freshmen arrive knowing what they want to do for the rest of their lives. Some bring a collection of interests, not knowing how to use them. Some are good at math, sciences, writing, but just don’t know what to do with them. 

The smile, the drumsticks, the faith?  “I didn't know that I would actually use that skill set when I got to Cookeville,” Bowie admitted.

Everything changed one Thursday night walking into the Roaden University Center, the student center on campus. “I happened to hear a choir singing. I didn't hear any instruments, so I kept it moving,” Bowie explained. “While sitting in the BCC [Black Cultural Center, now called the Intercultural Affairs Office], I heard a cymbal crash, so I went to investigate. I walked into The United Voices of Praise rehearsal and found the drums. I told them I played drums, and without another word, ran back to my dorm to get my sticks, then ran back and became the drummer for the gospel choir from that moment.”

Jonate Scales, leader of the choir, worship leader at Chi Alpha, and later ministry leader at Chi Alpha, gave him the name Ron-Ron that night. “Jonate coined that name for me. He probably meant it as Run-Ron because of how fast I cut out of there and got back {with his drumsticks]. Anywhere I went with Jonate, he would introduce me as Ron-Ron. People caught on quickly, and it spread like wildfire. That’s how I became Ron-Ron.”

A door opened for Bowie. He might have needed God to drop a set of cymbals to capture his attention, but he didn’t wait for a second invitation. He saw the need, and he stepped through the door that opened.

Music wasn’t new to Bowie; It had been part of his everyday ordinary growing up. “My father was a drummer and one of the best. He was my standard. I watched him at church and was completely enamored. At age 2, my parents noticed that I started mimicking my father on the drums. At age 3, I remember my dad sitting me on the stool behind the drums, and I started doing what I saw him do. When I started kindergarten, my parents put me in piano lessons, which I hated at the time but has greatly benefited me on my musical journey. Those lessons continued until 2nd grade, I think. Fast forward to 4th grade...I got my first full-size drum kit.”

Bowie started filling in for his father at church when he was preaching. Yes, Bowie was the son of a preacher. “As a son (and grandson) of a preacher, there was definitely an expectation to serve the Lord. Jesus was a daily topic in our house. We had bible trivia games, scripture memorization, weekly prayer meetings, home bible studies and multiple opportunities to gather with our church community during the week. Church attendance was not a choice, it was a mandate. As a child, I didn't think anything of it because I thought everyone did that. I found out as I got older, that was definitely not the case.”

Bowie followed Scales to Chi Alpha, then a new college ministry fellowship at TTU. “Man! Chi Alpha...that was such a special time in my life. I learned so much from Jonate, Sarah [Walker), Pastor Bobby Davis and others during that season. I experienced the Holy Spirit in ways I hadn't before,” Bowie said. “I saw people my age, chasing God with everything in them. I saw a weekly gathering go from 40 people to over 200 in a short span of time. Incredible things I was blessed to see.”

No, Bowie didn’t expect to use his musical skill set when he moved to Cookeville. He didn’t visualize the skill set he’d taught himself would be an area of great impact. He’s played the bass guitar since he was 14 to 16 years old. “I think I have always been drawn to it. Like drums, I had no formal lessons. I picked up an old acoustic guitar that had a string missing. I tuned it like a 5 string bass, turned on the radio, and learned the songs we were doing at church. I did it because I love music, and I have a connection to the instrument.”

While TTU brought him to Cookeville, Bow admits there’s a lot he didn’t know when he arrived—about his future, about how his music would fit into that future, about the challenges that would break his heart. 

“I didn’t know I would have to bury two of my best friends (Randel Malone in 2001 and Jonate Scales in 2010),” he said, adding, “Through tragedy and triumph, God has confirmed, reaffirmed, and confirmed some more, His calling on my life. I didn't know I would get to play in the places I've gotten to play like the Grand Ole Opry, White Sox Stadium, WGN-Chicago, 3rd & Lindsley-Nashville. There were so many things that I didn't know back then, but one thing I knew for sure was God had His hand on me.”

In Cookeville, Bowie met his wife, Charity Lynn at a skating rink in 2002. Married 21 years, they have three daughters, and two granddaughters. He left TTU, and for the last 18 years has been a truck driver in the shipping industry. He is also band leader/music director at The Bend church. He explains, “I am responsible for helping musicians execute with zeal and excellence.” 

Some Sundays and Wednesdays, you just might find him playing drums or the bass guitar, too. He still greats people with that same smile that he brought with him all those years ago.

His faith helps him balance his roles as father, husband, truck driver, and band director, “If I can say one thing to encourage young people serving the Lord it would be this: Seek the Kingdom first, the other things will be added. Don't fall into the trap of the balancing act. God never told us to balance anything; He said, ‘Seek first.’ SEEK FIRST. This speaks to PRIORITY, not balance.”

Bowie credits “diligence and the hand of the Lord” for bringing him to where he is today.

His smile is part of that diligence, of that faith. To him, it’s all about brother love. Bowie explains, “’Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor’ (Romans 12:10 ESV). If we simply live this verse, nobody loses. I look out for you; You look out for me. It's not like the world's system of ‘you help me now, then I'll help you later.’  It's about looking out for your fellow man's interest and not just your own. It's about looking for ways to honor one another; to show deep love and respect for everyone, no exclusions.”

Bowie hasn’t lost his smile in his life journey. If you met Bowie during his Chi-Alpha days, you would find that same welcoming smile on his face today. Maybe that smile is more assured because he knows more of God’s plan for his life, a better understanding of what those gifts and talents are God has put in his life and how to use them. If possible, maybe it is even more full of the joy of the Lord. To greet your neighbor with a smile, the easy to love neighbor and the hard to love neighbor, that’s a choice—and when you choose to smile, maybe it becomes the greeting for ministry.