As part of my application to the doctoral program I am hoping to begin in October, I am supposed to write a "spiritual autobiography". Here's the start of my first draft so far:
At 53, I know there are more years behind me on this
planet than are in front of me. I have recently concluded that I may well have two
or three decades left, assuming I hit the 70- or 80-year mark. As an eternal
optimist, I believe that these coming years could quite possibly be the most
productive years of my life. And as my years advance, I feel more keenly than
ever that “productivity” means doing whatever God calls me to within His
kingdom.
I was born into a Christian family, but it took many years for
me to make my faith personal. The family business was “Major’s Five and Dime” on
a street corner in downtown Shelbyville, Indiana. A few blocks away was First United
Methodist Church. It is safe to say the gray Bedford stone building was much more imposing and
impressive than the group who gathered inside.
The church was warm and friendly enough but we always struggled
to maintain critical mass. Pastors and youth pastors came and went regularly. My
three brothers and I participated in Sunday school and youth group and my parents
were active on various committees and served as youth sponsors.
When I look back now, I realize that I became a Christian
both “because of” and “in spite of” my home church. I distinctly remember
thinking, “There must be something more to Christianity because what I see around
me surely would not have lasted two thousand years.” I became determined to
discover the “something more”.
One of the main blessings from that church came when I was a
high school student and it arrived in the form of Tom and Marcia Kuhn, who
stepped in to teach our Sunday school class. The Kuhns were mature and loving
and talked about faith like it was real and it mattered. I had never heard of
daily devotions, but they challenged us to read our Bibles on a regular basis.
So I did.
That decision changed the course of my life.
Good start.
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