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Dang Jay Lerette Preaching, he went from mild-mannered Midwesterner—a man who loved country gospel, rode a horse he trained, could roll over and grin, and had a hoarse laugh of his own—to an ebullient one. At 64, 5-foot-5, dressed like a cowboy, he has grown taller; his voice has grown higher and husky. “The devil learned to use us, abuse us, beat us,” he said, and “Amen, Chuck?” A man in the second row with a beard like ZZ Top rattled Amen“The devil mopped with me,” LeRette continued, imitating the cleaners. “But God—but God!—” he screamed, knocking on the platform and jumping up, “—have mercy on you and me.”
It’s a weeknight in December 2021, close to Christmas, and I’m sitting in the trailer of an 18-wheeler truck that’s been converted into Lerette’s church. It is permanently parked at the Petro Travel Center, a truck stop off Interstate 39 in northern Illinois. Surrounding it were acres of commercial trucks, parked at night, carrying all kinds of goods: cattle, weed, pro wrestling rings, grain, oil. “Vehicle of Christ” is written on one side of the LeRette trailer; next to it, a neon cross glows in the dark. John 3:16 adorns the back end: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Next to the verse are two godly hands clasped a truck.
Tornado warnings are in place throughout Illinois. A gust of wind blew through the parking lot, making the trailer shift and groan; we were out of range of any sirens. Every minute, however, the door opens and a new truck driver walks in. Everyone sits in one of the 20 or so chairs in the middle of the chapel, arranged in a row that is minimalist: framed Bible verses on wood-paneled walls, a lectern with offices in front and beds behind.
The drivers—all men tonight—come straight from the road, their bodies suggesting poor food and the slow entropy of decades of sitting. All but one were over 50. Some knew each other: When LeRette began the service by singing hymns and strumming his guitar, a straggler entered, and several yelled, “Rip!” Rip rushed in, giving them high fives or hugs.
LeRette distributed copies of the King James Bible and asked us to open Luke 10:25. Chuck seems to be back in Exodus, and when LeRette repeats “Luke,” Chuck replies, “Oh, I thought you said Mötley Crüe.” became a primary school student.
Lerette asked John, a short old man in a hoodie, to read the verse aloud. “A lawyer stood up and prodded him and said, ‘Master, what should I do to inherit eternal life?'” He struggled to say “eternal life,” but the men nodded in support and waited patiently.
Then LeRette explains: A skeptic tried to trick Jesus into breaking Jewish law and speaking heresy. “How many people know now that he wouldn’t do that? Jesus yes The living word of God, amen? No one can trap our savior. ’ Chuck yelled, ‘They tried to trap him for three years,’ and LeRette replied, ‘Come on, that’s right! ’ He was very quick to call and respond to these weary men. He stomped, clapped, ducked and kicked until his lungs began to quiver. our load, amen?
