D
dsmantz
Guest
I’m aware that not many know me around here. To be honest, I’ve spent more time reading than writing, and probably will continue to do so. But, I know many of you take delight in reading convert stories, so for the sake of hearing myself talk and hopefully making some deep lasting friendships, I’ll go ahead and share mine.
I wasn’t raised in a religious household. My mother had bad experiences with the church in her youth, and my father was a dis-fellowshipped Jehovah’s Witness. The only time I ever remember hearing about God or Christ growing up was my JW grandparents asking me if I wanted to join them in paradise. 15 years later, I realize that they were trying to slyly sneak me in, but back then, I was completely blown away by the picture on the tract that showed a bear playing with a small child. Funny what you remember.
My teen and early adult years were filled with sex, drugs, and rock n roll. I was the lead guitarist for a Texas Country band, and we were constantly touring. Many nights with cocaine and whiskey were my only comfort. Eventually I went from merely using and abusing to flat out addiction. The band broke up, and I had no real marketable job skills save for common labor know how. I began attending a local NA group where I came to realize that the “Higher Power” that had complete control over my addictions was Jesus Christ.
Doing everything as an addict does, I completely immersed myself in Scripture and study. Through all of this, I realized that if I was going to do anything with my life, I couldn’t continue to dig ditches. It wasn’t what God wanted for me. I enrolled in school and became an EMT-Intermediate where I spent several years running 911 services.
Such a job brought on even more dark times. I began to question if there really truly was a loving God. I’d held dying mothers with their dying infants. I’d cleaned up suicides of young teenagers and assisted beaten women who couldn’t tell right from left. How was I supposed to believe that a God who loved every single one of his creations would let such innocent people suffer in such ways?
The EMS Chaplain who was there to assist us and the dying that we cared for saw that I was struggling and we had several conversations lasting many months. Eventually, I started attending the church that he was a minister at, and became a member of the United Methodist Church. I used the downtime in between calls to further advance in study and eventually discerned my calling for ordained ministry. I proceeded with the call and advanced to about halfway through my ordination process for Deacon in the UMC, including my completion of M.Div from Brite.
Flash forward awhile, and I’m now married, adopted her son (long story) and still working in the medical field. What’s more, is that my Catholic wife is telling me “You sure know an awful lot about Christianity and other religions, but you’ve never really studied Catholicism.” I tell her I don’t need to, that I believed in Christian Plurality and that it was just another Christian denominations among many, and if I ever felt called, then I would investigate.
I had the usual arguments against Catholic practices, mostly stemming from ignorance. My largest complaints were the existence of purgatory, the Immaculate Conception of Mary, and transubstantiation. After reading through as many documents of the early Fathers that I could get my hands on, Catholicism for Dummies, the Catechism, three Scott Hahn books, several by Karl Keating, and countless others, I’m now a candidate for the Catholic Church.
The Lord willing and the creeks don’t rise, I should be confirmed in the Church come Easter. I know I started RCIA rather late, but after speaking with the parish Priest who runs the program, my advance knowledge of Christianity and other religions has kinda given me a “foot in the door” and so long as I’m willing to complete the program (which I’m MORE than willing), he sees nothing standing in the way of my welcoming.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy my little story. To this day, I run a local Celebrate Recovery (it might not be CC approved, but it’s success rate is proven and brings people closer to Christ than they’ve ever been while dealing with the issues at hand), as well as several bible studies at local prison units, including one that I work at. I constantly thank God for the blessings he’s bestowed upon me and my family. While it doesn’t seem like much, it’s much more than I deserve.
side note Thanks to my generous and understanding wife, my home library now rivals most at a small seminary or theological school. So much so that next week, we’re purchasing a new bookshelf set to get my piles of books off the floor. I couldn’t love her more.
I wasn’t raised in a religious household. My mother had bad experiences with the church in her youth, and my father was a dis-fellowshipped Jehovah’s Witness. The only time I ever remember hearing about God or Christ growing up was my JW grandparents asking me if I wanted to join them in paradise. 15 years later, I realize that they were trying to slyly sneak me in, but back then, I was completely blown away by the picture on the tract that showed a bear playing with a small child. Funny what you remember.
My teen and early adult years were filled with sex, drugs, and rock n roll. I was the lead guitarist for a Texas Country band, and we were constantly touring. Many nights with cocaine and whiskey were my only comfort. Eventually I went from merely using and abusing to flat out addiction. The band broke up, and I had no real marketable job skills save for common labor know how. I began attending a local NA group where I came to realize that the “Higher Power” that had complete control over my addictions was Jesus Christ.
Doing everything as an addict does, I completely immersed myself in Scripture and study. Through all of this, I realized that if I was going to do anything with my life, I couldn’t continue to dig ditches. It wasn’t what God wanted for me. I enrolled in school and became an EMT-Intermediate where I spent several years running 911 services.
Such a job brought on even more dark times. I began to question if there really truly was a loving God. I’d held dying mothers with their dying infants. I’d cleaned up suicides of young teenagers and assisted beaten women who couldn’t tell right from left. How was I supposed to believe that a God who loved every single one of his creations would let such innocent people suffer in such ways?
The EMS Chaplain who was there to assist us and the dying that we cared for saw that I was struggling and we had several conversations lasting many months. Eventually, I started attending the church that he was a minister at, and became a member of the United Methodist Church. I used the downtime in between calls to further advance in study and eventually discerned my calling for ordained ministry. I proceeded with the call and advanced to about halfway through my ordination process for Deacon in the UMC, including my completion of M.Div from Brite.
Flash forward awhile, and I’m now married, adopted her son (long story) and still working in the medical field. What’s more, is that my Catholic wife is telling me “You sure know an awful lot about Christianity and other religions, but you’ve never really studied Catholicism.” I tell her I don’t need to, that I believed in Christian Plurality and that it was just another Christian denominations among many, and if I ever felt called, then I would investigate.
I had the usual arguments against Catholic practices, mostly stemming from ignorance. My largest complaints were the existence of purgatory, the Immaculate Conception of Mary, and transubstantiation. After reading through as many documents of the early Fathers that I could get my hands on, Catholicism for Dummies, the Catechism, three Scott Hahn books, several by Karl Keating, and countless others, I’m now a candidate for the Catholic Church.
The Lord willing and the creeks don’t rise, I should be confirmed in the Church come Easter. I know I started RCIA rather late, but after speaking with the parish Priest who runs the program, my advance knowledge of Christianity and other religions has kinda given me a “foot in the door” and so long as I’m willing to complete the program (which I’m MORE than willing), he sees nothing standing in the way of my welcoming.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy my little story. To this day, I run a local Celebrate Recovery (it might not be CC approved, but it’s success rate is proven and brings people closer to Christ than they’ve ever been while dealing with the issues at hand), as well as several bible studies at local prison units, including one that I work at. I constantly thank God for the blessings he’s bestowed upon me and my family. While it doesn’t seem like much, it’s much more than I deserve.
side note Thanks to my generous and understanding wife, my home library now rivals most at a small seminary or theological school. So much so that next week, we’re purchasing a new bookshelf set to get my piles of books off the floor. I couldn’t love her more.
