Vince's Testimony

Like so many of my friends, I was raised in an environment where church attendance was not only expected it was mandatory. As soon as I got some freedom, by going away to college, church attendance was the first ‘guilt trip’ I was able to escape. Looking back, I realize it was easy to get away from it because I never got much out of it. It was always an obligation, a duty, a must do kind of thing. It was something I did for my parent’s sake.

After getting married and feeling my oats for a while, there was something inside me making me feel guilty again. I started going to church, but soon the ‘thrill’ would fade and I would stop. This happened a few times over the course of just a few years. Was I going back for my parent’s sake, or for mine? I never did figure that out. When our first daughter was 5 years old and Sharon was pregnant with our second daughter, we received a dose of Centennial’s Vacation Bible School. Sharon had met both Pastor and his wife, Nancy at the YMCA where she worked. She kept telling me how nice they were and, well you know, yadda-yadda… At least it was all yadda-yadda to me. But we sent Teresa to VBS and attended the closing ceremony. I still remember, to this day, Nancy Munz with a guitar singing a song as Pastor was dancing up and down the aisles like a pied piper with all these kids behind him. I thought to myself, I don’t remember all this fun stuff when I was growing up in church. Eventually I was able to dismiss it as, ‘oh I get it, they’re just Lutherans, what do they know? 

 Since I was still attending church intermittently, Sharon suggested we try Centennial. This was kind of anathema to me. To attend any church but a Catholic church, made me certain I was going to be stricken by lightning at any moment. But, and I do blame my parents for this, I still felt the need for something spiritual in my life. When I say I blame them, I do mean to give them credit. It was not important to them, at the time, that I was not getting anything out of going to church, but it was important that I went. Getting something out of it is something that would come when the time was right for God to work in my life. But without church attendance being instilled in me so young and for so long, I have to wonder if I ever would have found God.

 With one child in tow and another on the way, I felt it was time for me to see what, if anything, God had to offer. Somehow, I knew it was important to try and find out (mom and dad again.) I wanted to find out for the sake of my children, because I knew it was not right for them to grow up as heathens!!!  So now, I was attending Church for the sake of my kids.  We became members in 1986 and had our second daughter baptized at Centennial in 1987.  We attended regularly and even on those Sunday mornings when the girls demanded Sharon’s immediate attention, I even went alone a few times. Now, please understand, this took a great deal of courage on my part. I used to sneak out after the service. But I felt good, that I went to church. Hmmm, now I was going to church formy own sake. I had it all figured out now.  Wrong again Sparky!!!

 I don’t remember the exact timing, but there came a time when I did want to learn more about God and all this religious stuff. I became curious because I could see, what I now realize, was pure joy in the eyes of some of the members at Centennial. You know the ones I’m talking about. They were the folks that always seemed happy and so glad to be there. Yea… them holy people. So, I took an extremely bold step and joined a Bible study. This was the first time I began reading the Bible. Asking a lot of questions and soaking up the answers and the Word. Thankfully the group was patient with me. It was obvious that I was struggling with my faith. I was assured that it is ok to struggle. In fact I was encouraged thru the struggle and even commended for being willing to struggle with it instead of just walking away from it, which would have been so much easier.

 Many Bible studies later I still struggle from time to time. I often ask myself, have I been born again? I certainly remember asking Jesus into my heart. I do not remember any wondrous feeling or immediate change in my life or outlook.  I do remember a calming sense of peace. It is a peace that grows every day. A peace that comes from relinquishing control over every aspect and walking with the faith that God will provide and lead. During one bible study, the verse from Ephesians came up. I remember learning how Martin Luther understood all that this verse meant. Everything really started coming together now. God’s saving grace, given to us thru faith and the sacrifice of his Son is a gift. It is an unconditional gift.  It is not something we can earn or ever repay. Ephesians 2:8 is one of the verses that I see everyday. It’s on a card I see when I open my desk drawer at work. It makes me realize the real reason for going to church. Since learning that verse and accepting it, I go to church for God.

Am I a ‘born again’ Christian? Absolutely! Did it come thru a transforming experience at a given moment? No. It has been a process. It is a life changing process. It is a process that continues to this day and will continue for every day that I am on this earth. Each and every day is one I approach with anticipation to see what He has in store for me. Where is He leading me today? What can I do for Him today? How can I keep myself available for Him to use me? Sure, it can cause some apprehension and anxiety at times. But that is my weakness. That just means my faith still has room for growth. As it grows, I become less and less apprehensive, knowing that He knows best and I just need to follow His light.

 So much of how I feel was reinforced when so many of us read and studied Rick Warren’s now famous book ‘The Purpose Driven Life.’ I also keep that opening sentence on a card in my desk; “It’s not about you.” The day we accept that it is all about God, and not about us, is the day we are born again.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. After all, God has stuck with me. 

 How about you? Do you have a testimony of turning your life over to Christ, or a witness story about how God increased your faith?  Put it in Patty’s narthex mailbox or e mail to: pattykissinger@centenniallutheran.org

Note:  Have you just read this testimony and want to respond to the author – send me your reply and I’ll see that they get it!  Blessings, Patty

If you’re anything like me, and you had to look up “anathema”, perhaps you’ll find this article taken from http://www.carm.org/catholic/anathema.htm on the word “anathema” interesting.  P.

One of the things that the Roman Catholic Church does in its councils and in its official writings is to pronounce anathema (?ν?θεμα) upon those who would disagree with some of its declarations. Since the Roman Catholic Church has pronounced anathema upon those who would deny its teachings (the Council of Trent did this), we need to look at what is meant by the term so that we might better understand this curse.  In Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary of the English-language, anathema is defined as "Communication with curses. Hence, a curse or denunciation by ecclesiastical authority, a company exit indication. This species of excommunication was practiced in the ancient churches, against notorious offender; all churches were warned not to receive them; all magistrates and private persons were admonished not to harbor or maintain them, and priests were enjoined not to converse with them, or attend a funeral.  The definition of anathema is "A formal ecclesiastical ban, curse, or excommunication. A formal and denunciation; a curse."  The Catholic encyclopedia says, "In the New Testament anathema no longer entails death, but the loss of goods or exclusion from the society of the faithful...At an early date the Church adopted the word anathema to signify the exclusion of a sinner from the society of the faithful; but the anathema was pronounced chiefly against heretics."  Obviously, a Catholic anathema is a very serious thing, but Catholic anathema does not necessarily mean that a person thus anathematized goes to hell.

The Bible - The final and infallible authority on what anathema means is the Bible. By turning to its pages we can see what God says when he pronounces anathema. We find the use of the word in several verses.  Here are four that are relevant.

• 1 Cor. 12:3, "Therefore I make known to you, that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus is accursed" (anathema); and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit."
• 1 Cor. 16:22, "If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be accursed. Maranatha."
• Rom. 9:3, "For I could wish that I myself were accursed (anathema), separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh."
• Gal. 1:8-9, "But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed (anathema). 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed (anathema)."

The first two verses listed above render the word "anathema" as accursed. It would seem in the first verse that it is referring to generic condemnation and cursing. The second is not as clear contextually as to the meaning but it definitely is a very negative statement.  But the last two verses are most informative.  In Rom. 9:3 Paul says that to be accursed, anathema, is to be separated from Christ. If anyone is separated from Christ then that person is damned. Paul says in Gal. 1:8-9 that if anyone preaches a false gospel he is to be accursed, anathema. Undoubtedly a false gospel cannot save and instead brings damnation.  This seems to be another way of demonstrating that to be accursed (anathema) is to be damned.

Conclusion We can see that the Bible uses the term to mean separated from Christ. If someone is separated from Christ, he is lost. But is this what is meant in Roman Catholic theology? Apparently not since a Catholic anathema is not a pronouncement of damnation (separation from Christ) but a declaration that an individual is excluded from the fellowship of the Roman Catholic church which includes denial of Communion and the Catholic sacraments.  So, when official Roman Catholic documents pronounce anathema it means that the person is not in right standing with their church, is not to take the sacraments, and might be under discipline.  It is an excommunication and at the very least a very strong condemnation of the person's actions and/or beliefs as being against the Catholic Church.