Christianity & Me

   Christianity has been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember. My parents took me to worship services every Sunday growing up, barring some illness or unusual circumstance (1 Cor. 16:2). They taught me that Christianity is practical and useful in every aspect of life (2 Pet. 1:3) and does not need to be twisted to conform it to the 20th-21st century. In fact, they taught me that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and twisting it to conform to my “way of thinking” is dangerous and should not be done (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 3:16). They taught me these truths because, as the Scripture references indicate, the Word of God teaches these truths. Eventually, at the age of ten, I obeyed the Gospel and became a Christian (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Rom. 10:9). Sure, like many people immaturity kept me from enjoying many of the real benefits of Christianity as a young adult. However, as I grew older, I only found the Bible to be more relevant and began to study and appreciate it even more.

   I started to think more seriously about becoming a minister after meeting my wife prior to my junior year at Virginia Tech. She was a preacher’s daughter and acted like one (in a good way) which motivated me to grow-up spiritually and left open the possibility of becoming a “full-time, located minister.” After graduating with a degree in Finance at Virginia Tech, I decided to pursue a formal education in biblical studies which culminated in a Master’s degree from Freed-Hardeman University. After six years of located ministry in TN and WV, I started to get my first symptoms from Multiple Sclerosis.

   After my diagnosis, I began to search the internet for answers and encouragement about pain, suffering, God’s providence, and other related biblical topics but found very little. In fact, the majority of the information I found was false and only added to my frustration. As a result, I began to delve into some of these topics on my own, writing articles for my personal benefit. Still, the void of good, truthful information on the internet still nagged me; I knew there were multitudes of people in a similar circumstance that needed help. The idea was born, a Christian ministry via the internet that centered on those who are suffering and their families.

   I will be honest; I don’t have any idea where this type of ministry will take me. Will it be lost in the masses of information on the internet? Will I grow weary of writing and go in another direction? Will Multiple Sclerosis take my ability to communicate effectively?  Will you and others see its value and spread the good news? I cannot answer these questions, but here’s to a new Christian ministry! Yet I Trust.