On February 28th, 2012, at the age of 42, I went from a life of committed atheism to a life of faith in God and of following His Son, Jesus.
I grew up in a tiny steel town near Pittsburgh, where I was an altar boy and attended a small Catholic church and the adjoining Catholic grade school. I learned very little about the Bible in either place, and after a life of doubt, I couldn’t wait to escape.
Thirty years later, I stood in line at an altar call to speak with a pastor, where I was prayed for and invited back. Then, another pastor laid out the steps of initiation for me and asked me back.
The steps were essentially the things I needed to pray to become a Christian and begin attending; “Jesus, I’m sorry for the things I’ve done, thank You for the things You’ve done, and You are welcome in my heart.” After that, I was allowed to sit next to folks who had attended religiously for thirty years or longer.
I could have gone forward with a new addition to my resumé that said, I now believe in God, and I may or may not have felt compelled to attend church. Fortunately, ‘something’ caught fire in me, and I dove into every sermon, book, meeting, group, and willing pastor I could get my hands on.
It wasn’t long before I sat down and read the Bible for myself. When I finished, I reread it, then again. I felt I had denied some fundamental and obvious truths all my life. In a desperate attempt to redeem lost time, I obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Study from Colorado Christian University at age 46.
Since then, I’ve felt compelled to write and share what I have learned with other new-adult Christians, some surprisingly good, some remarkably bad.
I was away from the faith for too long and for the wrong reasons. I know that other adults come to this realization every day, and it is with them I wish to speak.
Today, I follow Jesus Christ, though you will quickly notice I am not your stereotypical Christian. I am divorced, tattooed, pierced, and have recovered from more than one bad habit. I taught my adult daughter (a little too convincingly) to be an atheist. And I refuse to put a chrome fish on my car!
The reason for this blog? It’s easy to feel like a square peg trying to fit into and learn from the well-polished Christian churches of today. But the Church (with a capital ‘C’) belongs to Jesus. And Jesus came for sinners like us. So, the local church (with a little ‘c’) may not be ready for us, but I’ll work with you on overcoming that. I don’t want our excuse to be that we are unprepared for the church. If you can relate, please read my blog.