I was 7 or 8 when I remember being told I needed to ask Jesus into my heart, which I did. So, with that background and a moral, good works family life, I always thought I was a Christian. During my senior year in high school, I attended a special church meeting with my science teacher. There was an evangelist and I remember going forward, but all I did was say Jesus over and over again. The next day I awakened with a strange feeling in my chest which disturbed me. I remember saying out loud that I wanted it to go away. It did, but I do not know what it was. I do know that God doesn't give us a Spirit of fear.

By the end of high school I had became bored with church sermons, and I now recognize that they were not Bible teaching; they were moral and social messages. I drifted in and out of various Bible study groups and workshops while in college. I remember hearing Josh McDowell once. I took an interest in Phil Keaggy's song, Take Me Closer, and bought the album. That directed me to Christian music and radio. Although I pursued spiritual things somewhat, I really wasn't rooted in the faith.

After college I worked in a public radio station in Beaumont, Texas where I met more christians and attended a Baptist Church. In December of 1977 I returned home to Ohio and looked for work. I got a temporary job at Christian radio station WFCJ where I met Sharon. We attended church together and married in May, 1978. Through her contact with Cedarville College I found a job in Christian radio in Great Falls, Montana in June.

After living in Montana about a year, I saw the film, A Thief in the Night. I decided I wasn't sure I had ever truly committed myself to the Lord, so I made a deliberate, prayerful commitment. We joined the church and I was baptized. Immediately I began to grow in the Word. My pastor was a graduate of Grace Seminary, and I decided I wanted formal training in Bible study. So we moved to Indiana and I attended Grace from 1981 - 1984. Then I took a job with Family Life Radio in Tucson where I worked for ten years.

To my knowledge, I am still the only believer among my relatives. It is a struggle to be a faithful disciple, but I press on. My priority is seeking to worship God in Spirit and especially in Truth.