Go and Teach Now: Pt. 1 "Me and Jesus in Jr. High"

     Nearly twenty years ago now, I was a teenager in a little town in Mississippi. I had become a Christian at a Summer camp called Camp Soaring Hawk in Purdy, Missouri around 9 or 10 years old but I grew very little between Summers. No one back home had been connected to my camp experience.

     When I was in Jr. High our church got its first full-time youth minister. His name was Richard. I remember sitting on a couch with him in the youth room early on and he said to me, "Who is Jesus to you, Matthew?" I said something like what you would expect, "He's my best friend. My personal savior." As time went on, I watched Richard closely.  He seemed to know something. He was a different kind of Christian. I knew it was his 'job to be a Christian' but that's what puzzled me. I knew it wasn't just his job. He really knew Jesus. Jesus was real to him. The Bible was real and true to him. I'd never seen anyone take this stuff so seriously and I was drawn to his faithfulness and we became friends.

     One Wednesday night at Bible study, Richard stopped the discussion and got very serious. "Guys, I went to a school and got a master's degree in Bible teaching," he started, " but I want you to understand that's not where what I'm teaching you is coming from."  He explained that you don't have to go to a special college to know Jesus or be a professional to follow him. Each one of us could know him. He challenged us, "I'm teaching you what I'm teaching you, not because I'm a seminary grad but because I get up and read the Bible everyday and pray. Will you decide to do that too from now on?"

     I didn't feel a big feeling. I didn't experience a powerful change. It wasn't a big deal. In fact, that's why I started reading the Bible and praying everyday - because it just didn't seem that difficult. I just started doing it. "Sure, why not?" I said to myself.

To be continued...