Growing up, I had always believed in God, but didn’t know him personally. My mother and I semi-frequently visited Living Faith Christian Center, a non-denominational mega-church near Philadelphia when I was younger, but I did not enjoy it. After the Pastor of that church succumbed to his cancer, my mother and I left.
A few years later, when I was around 10 years old, my parents decided to split. As a result of their split, I was signed up for soccer to help get my minds off of things. Soccer was such an emotional respite for me. For most people, soccer was just a sport, but to me, it was a distraction from the reality of pain, despair, and guilt.
After several years of playing soccer, I met my friend Elton. Our stories were similar in that his parents had split also. Years later, Elton would invite me to his church, Faith Baptist Church, where I would learn about Jesus for the first time. On October 6th, 2013, as a 17-year-old junior in high school, I trusted Jesus Christ as my Savior and committed my life to following his teachings.
Nearly 12 years have passed since I’ve became a follower of Jesus and I have graduated with an undergrad degree in Missiology, I have become a Youth Pastor, and I am currently in a grad program. And in these past years, my heart has been burdened. The more I read the Bible in its context and the more I am in ministry, I see where these two things do not align.
My desire is to give my faith tradition something we have not had in years, something that I, myself, have not had up until a couple years ago — honest reflection. Sometimes immaturity is simply being unaware of the box you’re in. And I’ve spend the last several years learning about the box I was in. So I will end with this. A message sent to me by a former pastor and present friend, Matthew:
“Everybody has to go through wilderness to be challenged before ministry just like Jesus. That can be a school, church, job etc. But it is a place where you are alone and you must see your faith tradition as it is, flaws and all. You need to have a reckons with church as you know it. A kind of crisis that drives you to reexamine and even leave your group, even if you come back again later. But you have to be free first. Free from peer pressure, ministry expectations, etc…”
The Disciple’s Desk 