From Gangs to Grace: Grace Unfolded

By Bishop Eddie Banales with A.B. Maze

From Gangs to Grace and Grace Unfolded are an inspirational testimony of God's grace in seemingly impossible circumstances. Eddie Banales began as a young gangbanger, running wild through the streets of Pomona, California, during a time when violence and death were the norm. Chaos followed as the streets changed him from a street wise youth to a kill-or-be-killed minded gangster. Meanwhile, the demands of family and academics hounded Eddie to succeed at all costs. Small successes like getting elected president of the student body, hustling while evading jail time and staying alive while so many others were being sent to early graves, convinced him that he could not succumb to the destiny of so many others. That is, until a harrowing encounter with the supernatural altered the course of his life. After a miraculous conversion, he began a lifelong journey to be a Godly father, husband and friend. His experiences in the streets and behind the pulpit culminate in the founding of Gangs to Grace ministries and the transformation of a hardened heart to a heart after God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9781644713983

Book preview

9781644713983_cover.jpg

From

Gangs

to

Grace

The Story of Eddie Banales

Bishop Eddie Banales

with

A.B. Maze

Cover art created by:

Freddy Orosco Sr.

Eddie Bosco Aguilar Sr.

ISBN 978-1-64471-397-6 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64471-398-3 (Digital)

Copyright © 2019 Bishop Eddie Banales with A.B. Maze

All rights reserved

First Edition

All the characters and situations are factual, but some names of persons and locations have been omitted to avoid damaging careers or reputations of those involved, many of whom are living exemplary lives.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books, Inc.

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

Table of Contents

Preface

From Gangs to Grace

Let’s Name Him Tokay

The Park

Junior High?

My Neighborhood…the Gang

The Hot Summer of 1976

Mr. President?

Rosie

In over My Head

The Challenge

Moving On

I Nominate

One More Year!

Graduation—I’m Coming Out

On Our Own

Babies Making Babies

My Close Encounter

Pride versus the Price

Grace Unfolded

Born Again and Free

Ministry Begins at Home

Serving God Wherever Needed

The Call of God

Journey in the Desert

Dreams Always Come True

Doors Begin to Open

Not Another Church

The Green Monster

My Friend, Phil Aguilar

Seize the Moment

A House Divided

Winding Up, Not Going Backward

The Southern California Dream Center

New Vision through Gratitude

Kingdom or Empire Building?

Accepting the Role of a Mentor

Epilogue

About the Author

Church of God International Office

Office of the General Overseer

November 25, 2015

To Whom It May Concern:

Eddie Banales grew up in circumstances that would make a calling as a Christian minister perhaps the last imaginable profession for him. A life in the barrio where gangs largely influenced daily life placed him in an environment that kept him away from church most of his life. Happily, the day came when a dramatic encounter with God brought about his conversion. Only a short time later, he acknowledged God’s calling to preach.

It is my pleasure to recommend Eddie Banales’s preaching ministry. He has been an effective evangelist and pastor, especially effective in relating to young people who come from challenged backgrounds. Following college studies, he has dedicated many years of his life to dealing with gang issues in cooperation with school systems and local governments. His expertise in these settings has been recognized and awarded.

Eddie finds great fulfilment in speaking in local church and youth venues, and he is able to communicate effectively with groups that many speakers cannot reach. He also challenges men and women who are already Christians to enhance their personal outreach efforts. The book he has written, From Gangs to Grace, recounts his captivating story.

I know of the effectiveness of his ministry, and I endorse his efforts. If I may furnish any other information, please contact me.

Sincerely,

Mark L. Williams, D.D.

Presiding Bishop/General Overseer

Leadership and Communications Center, 2490 Keith St. NW,

Cleveland, Tennessee 37311 or PO Box 2430, Cleveland, Tennessee

37320-2430 • 423.478.7137, Fax [phone], E-Mail: generaloverseer®churchofgod.org

Preface

Today, Eddie is the senior pastor of the Southern California Dream Center with over seventy active ministries in Pomona, California. He is also actively involved with the Gangs to Grace Inner City Ministry, an organization geared to serve the community with the essentials required to lead productive lives.

Eddie’s involvement in the development of anti-gang and anti-drug programs throughout Southern California is widespread. His efforts, in partnership with the Combined Agencies of Pomona, serve as a vehicle in combating today’s youth problems. Eddie’s position as a consultant with many organizations and churches and his rapport with law enforcement have provided him with an excellent platform for presenting his dynamic approach to solving the problems of today’s youth.

From Gangs to Grace

Chapter 1

Let’s Name Him Tokay

In July of 1963, a couple of months before President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, I was born to David and Esther Banales at Pomona Valley Hospital and given the name Eddie Eugene Banales. My dad had originally suggested the name Tokay after a favorite wine my grandfather enjoyed. Fortunately, my mother would not hear of it.

From the beginning, both my father and mother had two separate ways of doing things—different schooling. They had been raised in two different worlds—one would wonder how they ever ended up together.

My father was a big man; he stood about five ten and weighed a little over two hundred pounds. When he spoke, he commanded immediate attention. His influence was severely intimidating. I grew up with great respect for my father. Because of his straight words, I never had to read between the lines. I feared him greatly, because of his size and what he was physically capable of doing should I ever get in his way.

As time passed and I began to get older, I realized that he knew the environment—the streets—very well. He knew what he was talking about. This built a sense of confidence and trust between him and me. My father was a man who definitely understood life on the streets, and more importantly, the local barrio (the neighborhood) mentality and gang lifestyle.

The gang’s lifestyle was represented by oldies, low-riders, partying, drugs, women, and sometimes dying. He understood what it took to survive. Being a former gang member, he knew the ins and the outs—what would work and what would not. My father was continually hounding me with the issues of life and death in the streets, teaching me at a very early age how to react to the various situations that I would encounter as a young boy. He constantly gave me hard advice about surviving in the jungle, referring to life in the streets. He would talk about many issues, which at the time I could not understand fully; winning and losing—I could never be a loser. It would mean my life, the firsts were first, and there were no seconds. With all his stern advice, I think he was trying to let me know he cared for me without really saying it. I knew he did. I wasn’t sure how his advice would help me, but I sensed that someday his advice might save my life.

Our communication always remained distant; we could never sit, relax, or talk. But his words encouraged me to fight for what was mine in life. He made it very clear to me that nothing would ever be handed to me, not even my relationship with him.

Mom, on the other hand, was one that I could tell everything to, from the girls I liked, to the trouble I was getting into. Nothing was ever kept a secret. She was aware of the issues and changes I was going through in life. She did not always understand, but was always there, willing to listen. Her eyes always showed compassion. My mom could not understand many of my inner struggles, the harsh realities of street life were beyond her. However, I still knew that no matter what, she would always be there for me to talk to. Though my mom couldn’t tell the difference between tobacco and marijuana, and to this day she still finds it difficult to distinguish between the two, her love was always there. My mom was never exposed to drugs or a barrio environment during her upbringing, but rather lived a shielded life in many ways, under the firm hand of her father. Even though she could never fully understand me, I realized one thing for sure—my mom would always be in my comer.

I remember growing up. Before visiting relatives, she would dress me in little pressed outfits: shorts, shirts and bowties or little sailor outfits. My cousins would be dressed in rugged, pressed little Levi’s and other clothing, which associated them with the barrio. My mom always dressed me differently. Whether it was the clothes she bought or her time spent with me, her love was always there.

Mom came from a large family, which encouraged love and understanding toward her brother and sisters, and now to her young family. Her love would act as a balance and refuge throughout my troubles, trials, and changes that I would experience in my life. Through both success and failure, through all the hurt, misunderstanding, resentment, and anger that would come my way, Mom was always there.

Our family lived on Grand Avenue, a street in South Pomona, in the neighborhood directly across the street from Sharkey Park. I was just an infant when we moved to this neighborhood. My father and mother were a young couple in their late teens. With the help of my grandfather, they were able to purchase a home. I was the first of four children, two brothers and a sister would follow.

Before long, I was preparing to go to school. As I approached my elementary school years, the importance of my education was stressed by my father. He would constantly remind me of the consequences I would suffer if I didn’t get an education. On several occasions, he would talk about different relatives, cousins, and uncles who were heavily involved in drugs and gangs, using them as examples of what I was destined for without an education. He also used first hand experiences and examples to depict the different choices I would have to make as a young boy. Without all the understanding or know how, I fully understood the choices were mine, and as a result the consequences were also mine.

My father’s constant verbal whippings were beginning to paint mental pictures for me of how strangers and friends would approach me, offering alcohol, marijuana, different types of drugs, and other paraphernalia that was available at that time—all those were in the name of fun and business. He let me know that these choices would be mine to make and the consequences would be mine to deal with. From a young age, he would say, Eddie, look at the guys older than you, look at those who have gone before you, see where their lives are headed and look where they’ve ended up. He wanted me to learn by heeding his advice so that I would not have to experience it.

I was frightened at first, but with the firsthand education the streets provided, along with my father’s advice, I quickly began to learn the ropes. I definitely had a good understanding of what was expected from me and realized that my father’s schooling would provide me with an immediate advantage over others. My father was definitely geared up to prepare and help me maintain life on the streets, in or out of the barrio, to succeed and one day climb out of it. I knew one thing for sure, it was me or them; every man for himself. If l took heed or listened to my father’s warnings, I would in a strange way have his approval and acceptance. I was learning.

Chapter 2

The Park

Years had passed. I was now in the fourth grade, about nine years old.

When attending Madison Elementary School, while walking through the park, I was approached for the first time and asked if I wanted to smoke some marijuana. The guys were older friends I had known since I was five years old. They encouraged me to try some smoke, but I was able to resist for the fear of the unknown, and more importantly, the fear of the known: my father. Not only did my father know what was going on, but he always seemed to be one jump ahead of me…almost waiting for my next move. I sometimes thought he could read my mind, nothing could be kept a secret from him, he always knew, or seemed to know what was happening, what was going to happen. Because of this fear, I resisted.

During my walks through the park, I learned several of the guys’ names in the neighborhood and in the streets. Everyone who was anyone hung around the park and different hangouts throughout the neighborhood and city. Most of the guys knew who I was, though some guys were just faces in the crowd.

Through my elementary years, while passing through the park, they would quietly, almost devilishly, call my name, Eddie Boy. Other times, they would yell my name across the park for some small-time favor or errand. As the years passed, I began to realize what an important role these friends and contacts would play in my future. I went along with the favors, realizing the tables would turn, and I would be able to use these favors to my advantage. I was learning to play their game.

By the time I was in the fifth grade, I had made many friends. All of a sudden, I began to go through different stages of growth, physically and emotionally. The awareness of where I lived, the barrio and what I was becoming, greatly influenced my life. My