by Matthew C. Hoskinson
Bob Jones University Press 2010
Paperback, 240 pp.
On Saturday, July 2, 1966, as a six-year-old boy, I told my mom that I would like to “get saved.” She replied that the next day following the sermon I should go forward during the invitation. That next morning my dad and I walked down the aisle of the First Baptist Church, and he helped me accept Christ. On Monday, we celebrated with fireworks.1 Seven or eight years later while at a youth retreat I felt the urge to re-pray the sinners prayer, but that didn’t end my occasional struggle with doubting my salvation.
The decade of the seventies brought a great fascination concerning the rapture.2 I remember discussing with my friends that many people believed Jesus was coming back in 1976. I hoped it was at least late in the year so that I could first get my driver’s license. The reason for this small reminiscence is that in my early teen years I would come home from school and find the house empty. I immediately feared the rapture had taken place and I was “left behind.” I, however, had a sure-fire solution to this dilemma. I would call the church office, and if someone answered I knew I was safe! (Thankfully the congregation had a number of employees, so someone was always there to answer.) Since I would immediately hang up when I heard a voice, they probably wondered who kept making the prank phone calls.read more
