Journey of a New Christian
Introduction to a new series
Welcome to a new series: Journey of a New Christian. I found Christ in 2020 at age 71, after many years of doubt and searching. The episodes that follow describe my first steps as a believer.
Naturally the first order of business in my new life was to attend church and worship. Finding the right church, though, was not as straightforward as I had expected. Luckily, I had recently married a long-time Christian who was new in town, so we visited churches together. The first episode of Journey will describe our search for a new church. New to faith, naive in theological perspective, I did not know what we were looking for. My wife helped me understand what churches have to offer.
Naivete, experience, learning—these are the themes that pervade the episodes that follow. Every facet of Christian life is new to a new Christian. Orienting yourself is not as simple as asking a long-time believer to explain everything. Based on what I’ve observed so far, I suspect there are as many perspectives on the Christian life as there are people living it.
I write, in part, for other believers, in hope that my experience might give you insight into the questions newcomers to faith wrestle with. The answers you’ve found to these questions are bound to be different from mine. Please don’t hesitate to share your views, either in a comment or in a private message through Substack. New as I am to this journey, I am eager to learn from those who have traveled further than me.
Though believers comprise most of my audience, I am pretty sure there are some agnostics or skeptics out there. Some of my close family members fall into this category. When I became a believer, they had many questions about what my new life would entail. Would I get in trouble if I missed church for a family outing? Did my church have a particular slant on the Bible which it enforced on its membership? Was I allowed to drink? Would I be discouraged from socializing with non-believers? Does the Bible dictate believers’ political views?
Curiosity is a powerful engine. I’m gratified when family members feel comfortable asking me questions like these. If you have questions about what it is like living as a Christian, by all means enter them in the comments so that we can all learn from them.1
To believers and skeptics alike, I offer a welcome to these new series. I hope you will find these stories of a resolute skeptics new life in faith interesting.
Free subscribers receive new episodes as well as access to previous episodes in this series. Paid subscribers receive also have access to two years’ worth of additional episodes including three extended series:
· Curriculum of Grace (God’s work in my early life, long before I became a Christian);
· Hunted (an account of God’s intervention during the 6 years I was a radical activist);
· The Back Road to Prayer (my circuitous journey to belief in God, from ages 38-53).
An introduction and table of contents are provided for each of the series.
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