I grew up kinda religious. Went to Catholic mass every once
in a while as a child. Didn’t have too much church growing up but I always
believed there was a God. I remember going to this Baptist church once when I
was about 15 or 16 with my mom. There I uttered (under the guidance of some
dude because I had no idea what I was doing), the “sinner’s prayer.”
At that point (so I thought), I was saved; I was goin’ to heaven! Fast forward a few years to when I was 21 and in the Navy as a Corpsman. Just got to my new duty station, 1st Medical Battalion at Camp Pendleton, CA after a two-year stint in Okinawa, Japan. Was shopping at Wal-Mart when this guy approached me and invited me to church. I told him that I would check it out. After all, in Okinawa, I couldn’t get the chance to go to church regularly because of the way everything was restricted there. So, I attended church, studied the Bible, the people there were INTENSE for God. It was all they ever talked about. Everything was about God. The brothers even lived together when it was possible, claiming that it helped with “accountability” and urged others to do the same so that Satan wouldn’t be able to tempt them as easily. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before. The church was called the San Diego North County Church of Christ, part of the International Churches of Christ. I went through their “discipleship” series. It took literally weeks for me to get through it. Then they asked if I wanted to be a “Disciple”, which was their code-name for a “Christian.” I suppose they did that to stand out. I said yes. I vowed to no longer lust in my mind, look at pornography, masturbate, or anything sexually-related until I was married. I was a virgin at the time, hadn’t even touched a girl at all. I was baptized in December of 2001, excited to do great things for God. My first two years at that church went by, and I learned so much about the Bible and God and what He was doing in the world today. I was ecstatic to be a Christian – no, a Disciple! I was a Disciple of Jesus Christ.
At that point (so I thought), I was saved; I was goin’ to heaven! Fast forward a few years to when I was 21 and in the Navy as a Corpsman. Just got to my new duty station, 1st Medical Battalion at Camp Pendleton, CA after a two-year stint in Okinawa, Japan. Was shopping at Wal-Mart when this guy approached me and invited me to church. I told him that I would check it out. After all, in Okinawa, I couldn’t get the chance to go to church regularly because of the way everything was restricted there. So, I attended church, studied the Bible, the people there were INTENSE for God. It was all they ever talked about. Everything was about God. The brothers even lived together when it was possible, claiming that it helped with “accountability” and urged others to do the same so that Satan wouldn’t be able to tempt them as easily. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before. The church was called the San Diego North County Church of Christ, part of the International Churches of Christ. I went through their “discipleship” series. It took literally weeks for me to get through it. Then they asked if I wanted to be a “Disciple”, which was their code-name for a “Christian.” I suppose they did that to stand out. I said yes. I vowed to no longer lust in my mind, look at pornography, masturbate, or anything sexually-related until I was married. I was a virgin at the time, hadn’t even touched a girl at all. I was baptized in December of 2001, excited to do great things for God. My first two years at that church went by, and I learned so much about the Bible and God and what He was doing in the world today. I was ecstatic to be a Christian – no, a Disciple! I was a Disciple of Jesus Christ.
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