My Testimony (Bot9 #320)

Since the time of the resurrection, our faith is marked by a testimony. A testimony answers the questions of when you encountered Jesus Christ in your life’s journey and how He has changed your life trajectory. Though I’ve written for years, I’ve never put my testimony on paper and shared it in a public forum. After hearing a few testimonies over the past couple of weeks, I thought this Easter would be as good a time as any to share when I encountered Jesus and how He’s changed my life.

2022 will be my 21st year walking with Jesus. Because I’m trying to capture such a long period of time, I’m going to divide my testimony into three sections. The first is who I was and the next two are how the Lord has impacted my life.

Do it yourself. Make your way. Anything goes.

If I could put my finger on one set of ideas that caused the greatest stumbling blocks for me it is those above. They’re really baked into the fabric of the American life. There are so many things you can do on your own in our country. They force a person into an individualistic approach to life, one where hard work on your own can lead to great favor in the eyes of the world. Just do it. You have the power. Climb the ladder and do it as fast as possible. There is nothing binding you except you. No rules. Just go.

And, because sports were such a big part of my identity and what I wanted to do, I found this to be the only mindset available in that world. You’ve got to do the work. You’ve got to make it happen. Fight, scratch, claw, and figure it out. Compete. These things are true to an extent in that world and the world does honor it by allowing people who follow this mindset to succeed. But does it lead to life?

For me it did not. Well, that’s not entirely true. I worked hard to learn how to hit and performed well on a team that finished as the 6A state runner-up my senior year. I played four years of small college baseball. I moved into coaching and started down that path at my alma mater. I became a head coach by the time I was 27 years old. I was doing a good job in that one area of my life - I was teaching, coaching and leading kids. But the rest of my life didn’t reflect anything good. Off the field was chaos…

Until I met Jesus.

Death leads to life.

My story is like that of many I’ve heard from believers since accepting Christ as my Lord and Savior - grew up in church but never heard about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I didn’t doubt the existence of God, went to church as a kid and even chose to go to church at times in college, but didn’t make Him an active part of my life.

In the spring of 2001, I was invited to church by a family in the school where I was teaching and coaching. I had been going with them for a few weeks when the pastor presented a message one day that spring about “submitting your life to Christ.” I had never heard any such thing in my life. The relativistic world I lived in and understood didn’t have a place for following what someone else said and taught. It was all about what you create and make for yourself. So I put a coin in that slot machine and prayed, “Jesus, if this submit thing is real, I want to submit my professional life to you. I’m working in the inner city and it’s hard. I’ll stay if you want me to stay, but, if you have something else for me, I will follow.” Within a week I was hired as an English teacher and the first head baseball coach at Mountain Vista High School.

Now, who wouldn’t follow Jesus after an experience like that!?!?

But there’s a lot more to the story. Jesus isn’t a slot machine, He is someone worthy of being followed in every corner of your life. He teaches and shows how death leads to life, how giving up something can lead to better things. Jesus wanted my whole life, not just my professional life. He wanted all of me. I continued to give over every part of my life and have gradually become a new creation ever since. He has renewed my mind and transformed everything I do over time. I’ve mourned the death of a lot of little things in my life only to experience greater life as a result.

I remember a dream I had at what felt like a low point in my early walk with Jesus. The images were clear - a tomb deep under ground and a stone staircase leading out. The message I took from that dream was this is where the past will rest and die, and we move forward from here together for a new life. Step by step we have walked every day since.

Follow me for the most fulfilling life you can imagine.

Jesus gives His disciples a simple invitation - “Follow Me.” No promises, just trust. I remember in the first steps of faith how hard it felt to accept the invitation. It was as if I thought some other way might be better. But now, over twenty years later, Trust has become simply excitement about how I’m going to grow through wherever Jesus leads me.

Follow Me in how I teach and coach. See how deeply you will impact the lives of those you come into contact with for years and years and years beyond the time they spend with you.

Follow Me in how you find your wife. See how beautiful the love story I will write for you in coming together and then how you get to show my grace to one another for the rest of your life.

Follow Me to this brand new Christian school and watch what I do there. It will appear like an easy choice in hindsight, but you’ll know how hard it was to leave something you built from nothing to something. You’ll get to do it all over again…but better.

Follow Me to Alabama and leave behind everything you know. I’ll lead you through the desert and we will be closer than ever.

Follow Me in leading your family. I’ll help you re-prioritize your life, heal your relationships, and create a family that will spark a new generation of followers of Jesus where one didn’t not previously exist.

Follow Me back to Colorado even though there are no promises of prosperity. You’ll see Me in others, those who love you unconditionally as I do, and we will build from there.

Follow Me in leading others to the cross. You’ll baptize kids, boys and girls and men you’ve impacted, as well as your own son.

This life is not meant to be lived individually. It’s meant to be lived in community with one another. If you’re just trying to make your own way, blaze your own trail, stop. Bring some people along with you. Die to your old self, repent of the harm you’ve done, and lead a new life. Follow the teachings of Jesus and just watch how different your life becomes. Do it for a week, a month, a year. Just give Him a chance. My life and testimony is merely a witness of the transformative power that exists in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Yours can be, too. This Easter Sunday, make that decision to follow Jesus in everything you do. Your life will never be the same and eternity awaits the impact Jesus will have through you.