Stories of Life Change

My Journey Back into the City

By Steve Davis Tue, 12/29/2009 - 1:00am

I’m originally from Philadelphia and spent my earliest years in a Philadelphia housing project. My dad was a prison guard for the city prison system and I was usually on the wrong side of the law. My brother John became a Christian in 1970 and for three years hounded me about “getting saved.”

In December 1973, God won the battle going on in my life and I surrendered. After my conversion I left the city for Chicago to get away from the drug culture, the police, and from anyone looking for me to settle scores. In 1982, much to my surprise, the Lord returned me to Philadelphia (after graduating from seminary) to start a church in Roxborough in Northwest Philadelphia.

After that church was established, I left the city again with my family—this time for France and then Romania—before returning to the United States in 1998. My wife Kathy and I are now back in the city of Philadelphia planting a church with my brother John and his wife Dawn and with three other committed families in our leadership team. We are in an area of West Philadelphia called University City. Among other schools Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania are located there.

We did not choose to return to Philadelphia because it would be the most fun place to live, the safest place to live, or the least expensive place to live—nor was it the place where we would find the most square footage for our money. We believe God has led us back to the city of my roots to witness to His great works and point others to Jesus. We are blessed to have families working with us who have counted the cost and have committed themselves to church planting in Philadelphia.read more

Getting to Know You, Part 4

By Adam Blumer Wed, 11/12/2008 - 1:00am

Adam Blumer, Managing Editor

Confessions of a Classic Performer

I grew up on a farm without animals—domesticated animals, that is. Wild cats came and went like vagrants seeking shelter for a few months before setting off in search of something better. Those cats especially liked our classic circa 1900 red barn. As a boy, I remember sitting in the barn’s hayloft while dust motes danced in shafts of sunlight at my feet. Peering up at the cavernous ceiling, I imagined that I was inside a massive cathedral until the flutter of wings drew my attention to a four-paned window inset into the peak. Birds that had been trapped inside the barn fluttered against the glass panes in search of a way out. (Photo, clockwise: Adam, Kim, Laura, and Julia)
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Getting to Know You, Part 3

By Aaron Blumer Wed, 11/05/2008 - 1:00am


Aaron Blumer, Site Publisher

For as long as I can remember, hearing the story of creation, fall, and redemption on a regular basis has been part of my life. Both at home and at church, people lovingly declared the message of the cross to me and took pains to explain it—even when I was too young to understand. I also can’t remember a time when I doubted the truth of any part of it.

But recognizing the truth of a set of ideas is one thing. Responding personally to what those truths demand is another. In my case the latter was something of a struggle. Or, rather, feeling confident that I had responded properly was something of a struggle.

Since my parents were involved in sharing Christ with me very early, they remember the first time I responded to the gospel. Apparently I sought one or both them out and asked for help and, by the end of the conversation, had expressed my desire to turn from sin and trust Christ. They were satisfied that I knew what I was doing. Maybe I did know.

But a few years later, by age seven, I no longer had any memory of those events. What I did have was a frequent and growing sense that something was wrong with me personally and that something was wrong between me and God as a result. I felt guilt. I didn’t feel it during church under the angry pronouncements of evangelists. The preaching I heard in those days excelled in laying out the biblical facts. It was when I lay awake in bed at night that the implications of those facts made me squirm.
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Getting to Know You, Part 2

By Greg Linscott Mon, 10/13/2008 - 12:00am

Susan Raber, Accounts Manager & Ladies’ Forum Director

I have been thinking about how to include my story of how I came to know Jesus Christ as my personal Savior in this blog since I began writing it back in October 2007. I wasn’t sure if I could do a good job of it without writing a novel, but I am going to attempt to cover the important elements that I believe brought me to the place I needed to be for God to shine the light of truth on my heart and reveal to me how much I needed Him.

My parents became Christians when I was about four years old. They have a backstory that makes most soap operas look boring, so their conversion to a life dedicated to holiness was truly miraculous. Their conversion means that I was raised in a Christian home and in church with most of my close friends being church kids and from missionary families. I loved the life—listening to preaching, memorizing Scripture, and having a loving and stable home life. I went forward during a service when I was six years old, probably because my older brother went forward. Anything he could do I could do better.

Looking back on our lives, we see all of these pivotal moments, and my first was when my father died of a heart attack on Thanksgiving Day, one month before my thirteenth birthday. I was standing beside him while he was looking at my report card—and I swear it was all A’s, really. He slumped over, and he was gone. Of course, his death broke my heart.

I went to a Christian school from seventh grade on and took it for granted that I would attend a Christian college, using the time to “find myself” before I made any commitments to a course of study or career. I made good grades and stayed out of big trouble. I did end up going to Bible college and met my husband there. We started our lives together working in various aspects of ministry.
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Getting to Know You, Part 1

By Jim Peet Mon, 10/06/2008 - 12:00am

Jim Peet, Forums Director

I was asked to provide my testimony for SharperIron. I am trusting that God might use this to bless a reader. I was saved in November 1969 through the ministry of Hebrew Christians at the University of Cincinnati and the ministry of Westwood Baptist Church in Cheviot, Ohio (Metro Cincinnati).

I was baptized (infant sprinkled) and I was a member of the United Methodist Church. Sadly, although I was “in their system” for years (baptism, Sunday school, VBS, confirmation, serving as an acolyte, participating in Methodist Youth Fellowship, etc.), I was never really taught the Bible, nor did I ever hear the gospel preached and explained.

In 1967, I enrolled in the business program of the University of Cincinnati and basically just stopped going to church. I joined a fraternity, dated, partied, drank, worked, and went to school. My basic concentrations in life were pleasure, women, work, and school. I excelled in most of these arenas.
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The Testimony of Kenny O'Bannon

By SharperIron Wed, 03/07/2007 - 2:00am

Note: This year at SI, we’d like to feature stories of life change. If you are aware of a story that is current and shows the power of Christ in the life, please email it to jasonjanz@sharperiron.org. For submissions, please see the guidelines. We trust these stories will be a blessing to you and will help us all to be reminded why we are here.

Sex, Lies, and City Jail

When I was in the fourth grade, my addictions began. I began with smoking pot at the age of nine, taking hallucinogenic mushrooms in the sixth grade, and drinking daily in the tenth grade. The same friend who opened the door to pot introduced me to pornography in the fourth grade; this addiction has been with me for almost 35 years.

My addiction grew continually to the next stage until I was arrested for solicitation of a prostitute. This wasn’t the first time I’d been involved in this sin, but being arrested made me come face-to-face with who I was … a sex addict.

How did I get here? I grew up in a white-collar family. My friends’ parents were doctors, lawyers, engineers, professional football players—even astronauts.

About six years ago, my wife found out that I was looking at pornography, so I talked to some friends at church to get help. They quoted the Scripture that says if our eye causes us to sin we should pluck it out. I decided not to blind myself and figured I’d just work on the problem by myself. I read books and listened to every message I could on pornography addiction. I had success for a while but went back to it.
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The Testimony of Casey Foster

By SharperIron Wed, 02/07/2007 - 3:00am

Note: This year at SI, we’d like to feature stories of life change. If you are aware of a story that is current and shows the power of Christ in the life, please email it to jasonjanz@sharperiron.org. The stories should be 1,500 to 2,000 words long and should include a photo. Also, we’d like to have a pastor’s recommendation sent along with the testimony. We trust these stories will be a blessing to you and will help us all to be reminded why we are here.

When you feel as though you have no right to live, or nothing to live for, you begin to act on the belief that nothing around you has that right either. There was a time in my life when I had no feeling, not even for myself. I was constantly creating and destroying life.

I had no understanding of how to live, and God refused to let me die. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to hear an angel speak, to feel my heart pierced, and to see my life forever changed.
I grew up in northwest Wyoming in a very small town surrounded by social prominence. My family owned a café, a toy store, one of the local drug stores, and the only flower shop in town. I fell in love with God at the age of six when I saw a picture of Noah and the Ark in a Bible at one of my dad’s stores. It was later given to me as a Christmas gift and remains a constant reminder of my first love—that image of Noah’s, his white beard, the rainbow, and the dove.
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