The start of my spiritual journey

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!  2 Corinthians 5:17

Though I was raised in the Catholic church. and even attended Catholic private school 1st through 5th grade, I knew a lot about God yet I did not know God.  My view of the Bible was that of a boring history book,  written to teach me about who God was, not about who God is.  The Catholic church may have had the right intentions, but as a child I felt lost in all of the Catholic traditions.

Fast forward to adulthood.

If you asked me a few years ago, "Jeff, do you believe in God?", my answer would have been simply, "Yes."  However, you wouldn't have been able to tell I believed in God by the way I was living my life.  I hadn't been to church since I was a child , with the exception of the occasional funeral or wedding, and although I believed in God,  I continued to live my life as if He was merely a part of history.

Fast forward a couple more years.

Married to my wife and three kids later, it seemed like life was passing me by and I was grasping for a way to gain control.  With some encouragement from a friend, after a few stops along the way, we eventually found our way to Revolution Church. As soon as we stepped onto the springy gym floor, I knew this church was very different from the traditional Catholic churches I was used to from my childhood.  This is where my relationship with God truly began, not the typical, "Hello up there.  Can you hear me?" kind, but an actual relationship with God, one where you can talk to Him like a friend, learn from His Word, and even hear His voice.

I officially gave my life to Christ by going public and getting baptized in June 2011, not knowing shortly after I would receive my calling from God.  As with many other nights, I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep but I couldn't. Usually my mind was racing with thoughts of stress or worry, but this time was different.  A stream of nothing but good thoughts and warm feelings flowed through my mind all night.  God was talking directly to me.  He challenged me that night to step out in faith and pursue pastoral leadership.

It was the craziest thing.  I remember thinking, "Lord, why me?"  I have made some pretty big mistakes in my life, and I've gone through some rather dark times where I felt I was far from God.  Surely I'm not the type of man God would choose to be a pastor.  So why is God calling me?

With some doubts, I decided to look for answers.  After speaking with my pastor, reading a couple books, including finally reading the Bible, and talking openly with friends and family members, I found that often times the Lord calls unexpected people.  Sometimes God calls people who have been far from Him in the past, those who have struggled with sins, from all walks of life so they can reach those still lost by connecting and relating to them.

So I have set out on a spiritual journey to answer my calling from God.  At this point I can't honestly say if I will ever preach as the pastor of a church.  But I can tell you that I am working toward that goal, following where I am lead.  The way I see it, I have started down a path but it is foggy and I can't see exactly where the path is leading me.  I have faith that no matter where the path leads me, my life will be better for it because I have put my trust in the Lord.

This blog was started to document my spiritual journey of answering God's call.