HOMEWOOD, Alabama – Damn racket! Probably made by a crazy man.

Almost without fail those have been my two thoughts every time I've found myself within earshot of John Brown's voice. And being within earshot is not hard given that he uses a half-dozen speakers that boom his rich Jamaican accent up and down Lakeshore Parkway near I-65.

It's to that spot that Brown, 74, comes most Saturday's. There for the last dozen years Brown has set up his speakers and put out somewhere between 50 to 100 large signs containing mostly Bible verses and homespun philosophy. One of the signs reads "pull over if you want to know Jesus."

I pulled over. The noise from the speakers was defending. I don't see Jesus anywhere but Brown saw me and suddenly stopped preaching and looked at me from under the black and gold sombrero he was wearing. I hardly got out hello when Brown shouted at me: "Welcome man! Do you walk with Jesus?

"No," I said. "I usually walk with my wife."

Brown paused, looked me over and then let out a deep laugh as he extended his right hand. "You are funny man," Brown said. "I like funny men. I think Jesus like funny people too because laughter is good for the soul. God knows we have too many people on this Earth who only make people cry."

Hmmm. Maybe not so crazy after all.

Brown agreed to put down his microphone for a few moments and talk about why he does what he does. I repaid his generosity with a rude but direct question: Are you crazy?

Brown smiled and laughed. "No, I don't think I'm crazy," Brown said. "I know it might look that way with me out here shouting and singing and jumping. But I do it because 'He' is in me. I feel Jesus in me and it compels me to shout his good news: he has risen and we are saved only if we will accept him into our hearts."

Brown came to New York City from Jamaica in the mid 1960's where he married a woman of Haitian descent from Birmingham. He moved to Alabama in the early 1970's, he said.

John Brown at his "church" just off Lakeshore Drive near I-65

"I like Birmingham and Alabama. I think the people here are closer to God than most of the people I knew in New York," Brown said.

If that is true, I asked Brown why he didn't stay in New York were his work might have been more needed. "Too cold," Brown said laughing again. "It's better to shout God's name when your tongue is not frozen."

Brown, a Type 2 diabetic, said he has refused medical treatment and if the doctors are right, he may not have much time left to preach.

"I tell them Jesus will heal me and if he does not, then he is ready for me to come with him. Either way is fine by me," said Brown.

Brown is not much of a fan of the modern day church.

"Too many have become too big and for them Jesus has become a business, the Jesus business," said Brown. "Christ commanded us to live simply and to treat each other as we would want to be treated, to remember we are our brother's keepers. But too many of these churches today have forgotten what Jesus taught and what they teach is that it is alright to keep all your riches and live behind your walls and drive your fancy cars past the poor person begging on the side of the street for food or a job. That is not living in Christ."

Hmmm, again.

As Brown returned to his preaching, I asked him one last question: wouldn't you like a small church to preach in now as you grow older?

"I had a church. It burned down," Brown said. "This is my church now. The grass is my carpet. The wind is my air conditioner. My flock numbers in the thousands. Jesus has blessed me. May he bless you too, funny man."

And with that Brown returned to making a racket. But crazy? I'm not so sure anymore.

NOTE: I have not seen Mr. Brown at his usual spot on Lakeshore for a while, maybe a month or longer. If any of you have seen him there or somewhere else please shoot me an email at cdean@al.com or call me at 205-325-2475 or send me a direct tweet at @charlesjdean.

Never thought I'd miss the racket.

Chuck Dean is connecting Alabama through the stories told by its people -- sometimes about themselves, sometimes about their neighbors, sometimes about the places they call home.

Share your stories, or introduce us to people we should connect with. Reach out on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using #connectAL, email cdean@al.com or send Chuck a note at 2201 Fourth Ave. N, Birmingham AL 35203.