The Beginning
Every Christ-follower has a beginning—a moment in time when the questions started, the doubts surfaced, or the journey toward faith quietly began. For me, it started in the heart of the Midwest, surrounded by religion on one hand and rejection of it on the other. What follows is not a polished testimony or a dramatic story designed to impress. Rather, it's an honest look at how a skeptical, stubborn kid stumbled his way toward Christ—one question, one friend, and one unexpected moment at a time.
My Early View of Church and Religion
I was born and raised in the Midwest. My mother and grandparents on both sides of the family were avid churchgoers. They attended a local church each Sunday morning. Unfortunately, we never prayed, read the Bible, or talked about the Lord during the week.p>
Following in My Father's Footsteps
On the other hand, my father was different. He had had his fill of "church." I remember him telling me that he had attended church for many years. And because of all the negative things he had experienced at church (e.g., hypocrisy, backbiting, betrayal, etc.), he was stuck somewhere between an agnostic and an atheist.
As a young boy, I was required to attend church with my parents. Then, when I was eight years old, my parents pulled me aside one day and gave me a choice. They said I could continue going to church or stop going altogether. I chose to stop going to church because (A) I felt church was boring, (B) I did not believe in God, and (C) based on what I had seen and experienced (e.g., the hypocrisy and the mean-spirited things I had witnessed from people who called themselves "Christian"), I didn't think a god could exist.
Long story short, I ended up following in my father's agnostic/atheistic footsteps. Why? I don't know. Maybe it was because I fell into the same trap as others—where I (A) watched the lives of people who were supposed to be Christian, (B) listened to the things that came out of their mouths, and (C) didn't see (or hear) anything that made them different from anyone else! So, I just assumed that being a Christian was like being an atheist—except that agnostics/atheists had more fun and weren't ruled by a set of old, archaic rules, regulations, procedures, and protocols for life.
The Friend Who Wouldn't Give Up
Fast-forward to my early teens. A good friend of mine, Les, began talking with me about Christ. To make a long story short, we argued about God, religion, and Christianity for nearly three years. Finally, to get him off my back, I agreed to go with him to his church just one time.
After attending a church service just one time at his church, I saw a difference between their people and other people from the churches I had attended in my earlier years. The people at his church appeared to be more serious about their religion! Still, it wasn't something I was interested in. So, I stopped going.