Let me state right up front that my current view of God is very much in line with Christian orthodoxy, but I didn't start there.
I grew up in a small Midwestern town (cue the violins), and Christianity was the only game in it, but I did not grow up in a strong Christian household. For most of my life, my parents were only in church for family events. They were just religious enough to send my brothers and me to Sunday school, where we learned a fairly liberal flavor of Christianity. Even so, our Sunday activities had little to do with what we encountered at home the rest of the week. When I was eleven or twelve we attended an AWANA club, where I learned a very different view of God and the Bible, one that seemed to make much more sense than what I had already learned. I accepted Christ at that time, but had to leave the club shortly after. I went through confirmation classes and was active in our church's high school fellowship group, but little of what I was learning at that time seemed relevant to the world I actually experienced. I did have the example of a good and godly man, Ace Wyeth, who became a spiritual father to me. He tried to instill a sense that this was all very important, even if I wasn't able to understand it all. I knew I had Jesus "in my heart". I knew I was different than the other youth in our group, who were very much Sunday-only Christians, but my faith was never able to mature in that environment. At college, I became very active in a campus ministry group sponsored by a number of the most liberal mainline Protestant denominations, but I did some walking around and stopped at the other tables, sampling their brochures, supposedly written by some their best men. I had many close encounters with atheists, Muslims, Buddhists, New Agers, et cetera. I found certain aspects of those beliefs very attractive, but was still committed to trying to make sense of Christianity.
At the ministry group, I met a young woman who had grown up in the same denomination I had, but whose parents had set a better example than mine. We married and became active in our small local congregation. After college, we moved to another town and became members of a large church there, but we both were becoming increasingly dissatisfied. I became spiritually stagnant, living on faith borrowed from my wife, but her resources were flagging and our church was not helping. I know there were sincere and committed Christians there who would have and could have helped us, but we weren't connecting. The time came when we knew we had to find a different church. We started a search with some college friends who seemed to be experiencing a similar dissatisfaction. We visited a number of churches, but came away with mixed feelings. Finally, a friend recommended a small church in the Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination. We'd never heard of it, but gave it a try.
We were immediately struck by the difference between what we found there and our previous worship experiences. It had seemed to us that most of the people in our previous church showed up mostly out of Christian duty, as we had lately been doing. "Worship" was an exercise in endurance and adherence to form. Sermons were short and were primarily encouraging reminders of how we ought to live "better", avoiding the mistakes of the biblical characters. Pastors, committee members, and other ministry leaders were selected for their willingness to serve, not necessarily for their ability to do so. The membership was growing, but almost exclusively through confirmation of young people or transfer from other churches.
By contrast, in this new church, people were sincerely and joyfully celebrating every Sunday. They really seemed to want to be there and were genuinely happy to see everyone else there. Sermons were not a penance, but truly enjoyable and illuminating lessons. The church was in the midst of a pastor search and so employed a number of "temps" to fill the pulpit, but they were all good. Each week we learned something about the Bible and ourselves that had never been presented to us before. The primary difference was that the Bible was treated as relevant and authoritative. We weren't being presented with one person's opinion of how we could use a "story" to learn to govern ourselves and improve our relationships. We were hearing the truth of God, taught with humility and reverence. We both knew immediately that this is what we had been missing. This is what we needed to continue to grow. The church also had a heart for reaching people with the Gospel, for making a real difference for the kingdom of God. They hired a pastor with the gifts to help them realize their vision. The congregation has literally increased ten-fold in the past eight years, a good portion of which are new Christians. The actual voting membership is a small minority of the people who attend, and very few of the members grew up in the Alliance. It's been exciting to be a part of bringing so many people to a new or renewed relationship with Christ.
During these years, I've spent more and more time studying the Bible and investigating the objections to Christianity. I am convinced that many, if not most, people who turn away from the Church are actually rejecting a particular denominational view, based on a dismissive or peculiar biblical interpretation. The following things have become clear to me:
At this point, it's "easy" to look back at my life and see where God has touched it. He caught me when He could, that short time at AWANA. He kept that tiny faith alive in a setting that could have easily snuffed it out, sustaining me with a thousand small graces and not a few large ones. He brought me to a place where my relationship with Him could grow and flourish, where I could help lead others into His family. He has allowed me to learn that I'm not following some misty piece of wishful thinking, but that He is the true and living God. He has molded history to His will and I have a vital part to play in His plans. I testify that Jesus is alive, that He acts in my life every day, and that He is my Savior and my Lord.