Darren Russell: Why I Choose Not to Use Physicians, Part Two

Last April, Darren Russell shared an article explaining his reasons for faith healing. This is a follow up on the same subject.

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Last year I endeavored to give reasons for why I do not use physicians. I fairly strictly confined that article upon scriptural grounds, avoiding the historical, political, and scientific arguments. I had hoped even then for an opportunity to demonstrate that the beliefs some of us hold, of medicine and faith healing, was in fact the overwhelming practice of the early believers. If faith healing was only for the Apostles to perform, then once they vanished from the scene the Church would not have made use of these gifts, and returned to medical intervention.

            The importance of the historical argument has not gone unnoticed by those opposing, supposing that history sides on their part. In 2009, in anticipation of the Worthington trial, a writer for the Oregonian interviewed a professor concerning the history of medical usage in the first centuries after Christ. He claimed, “Christians were no different from the Greeks and the Romans. They used the methods of healing that their neighbors used. They accepted a naturalistic cause of disease. They employed medicine because of its cultural authority. “ He explained    “cultural authority” as  “something that an educated person should know about.” He did admit  that the 2d  century Origen recommended “that those who wanted to rely on God alone should seek healing by prayer and spiritual means. “ And that “there have always been some Christians who did that.” He also unfortunately used the same Origen to claim that most Christians at that time used physicians and  medicine.   (http://www.oregonlive.com/living/index.ssf/2009/06/osu_professor_early_christians.html)

            I say unfortunately because in Origen's works I find he examples the use of physicians  but never claims they were used by the church. In fact he was arguing against the heathen philosopher Celsus on his own terms. For example in one place was written, “IF recovery from disease is to be accomplished by means of the healing art, of necessity the physician is summoned, and it is therefore false to say that "in vain do you call in a physician." We have brought forward all these illustrations on account of the assertion of this learned Celsus.” (Origen, Against Celsus, Book II Chapter 20) In the same work Origen maintained that signs and wonders were still being seen among those that lived by the gospel. (Book I, Ch. 2)

            Origen's life ended near the middle of the 3d century and so I thought I would produce some testimony from those before him, who lived immediately after the age of the Apostles.

Justin Martyr , writing about 140 AD a defense of the Christian way,  explained what drew him to the Christians:

“For I myself, too, when I was delighting in the doctrines of Plato, and heard the Christians slandered, and saw them fearless of death, and of all other-things which are counted fearful, perceived that it was impossible that they could be living in wickedness and pleasure. For what sensual or intemperate man, or who that counts it good to feast on human flesh, could welcome death that he might be deprived of his enjoyments, and would not rather continue always the present life, and attempt to escape the observation of the rulers; and much less would he denounce himself when the consequence would be death?” (1^st Apology) He also confirmed  that the signs still followed the believers at that time. “Many of our Christian men exorcising them[demons] in the name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, have healed and do heal, rendering helpless and driving the possessing devils out of the men, though they could not be cured by all the other exorcists, and those who used incantations and drugs.”

2^nd Apology, Ch. 6

            His disciple Tatian, in Address to the Greeks c.155 AD gave even clearer depictions of the faith delivered to the saints. He ridicules the philosopher Heraclitus who died of his own cure, despite being a supposed top notch medical doctor (Chap. 3) , and makes pronouncements against medicines. “ How is it becoming to ascribe to matter the relief of the insane, and not to God? For by their art they turn men aside from the pious acknowledgment of God, leading them to place confidence in herbs and roots. But God, if He had prepared these things to effect just what men wish, would be a Producer of evil things; whereas He Himself produced everything which has good qualities, but the profligacy of the demons has made use of the productions of nature for evil purposes, and the appearance of evil which these wear is from them, and not from the perfect God.” (Chap. 17) “But medicine and everything included in it is an invention of the same kind. If any one is healed by matter, through trusting to it, much more will he be healed by having recourse to the power of God. As noxious preparations arc material compounds, so are curatives of the same nature. If, however, we reject the baser matter, some persons often endeavour to heal by a union of one of these bad things with some other, and will make use of the bad to attain the good. But, just as he who dines with a robber, though he may not be a robber himself, partakes of the punishment on account of his intimacy with him, so he who is not bad but associates with the bad, having dealings with them for some supposed good, will be punished by God the Judge for partnership in the same object. Why is he who trusts in the system of matter not willing to trust in God? For what reason do you not approach the more powerful Lord, but rather seek to cure yourself, like the dog with grass, or the stag with a viper, or the hog with river-crabs, or the lion with apes? Why you deify the objects of nature? And why, when you cure your neighbor  are you called a benefactor? Yield to the power of the Logos! “ (Chap. 18)

            Tatian assuringly exhorts his readers “with us there is no desire of vainglory, nor do we indulge in a variety of opinions. For having renounced the popular and earthly, and obeying the commands of God, and following the law of the Father of immortality, we reject everything which rests upon human opinion. Not only do the rich among us pursue our philosophy, but the poor enjoy instruction gratuitously; for the things which come from God surpass the requital of worldly gifts. Thus we admit all who desire to hear, even old women and striplings; and, in short, persons of every age are treated by us with respect, but every kind of licentiousness is kept at a distance. And in speaking we do not utter falsehood. It would be an excellent thing if your continuance in unbelief should receive a check; but, however that may be, let our cause remain confirmed by the judgment pronounced by God.” (Chap. 23)

            Eusebius, who wrote a history of the Church in the early 4th century,  quoted one Irenaeus who was a bishop in the late second century. “ True disciples, receiving grace from him, perform such works in his Name for the benefit of other men, as each has received the gift from him.  For some of them drive out demons effectually and truly, so that those who have been cleansed from evil spirits frequently believe and unite with the Church. Others have a foreknowledge of future events, and visions, and prophetic revelations. Still others heal the sick by the laying on of hands, and restore them to health. And, as we have said, even dead persons have been raised, and remained with us many years.  But why should we say more? It is not possible to recount the number of gifts which the Church, throughout all the world, has received from God in the name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and exercises every day for the benefit of the heathen, never deceiving any nor doing it for money. For as she has received freely from God, freely also does she minister. “ This Irenaeus was taught by Polycarp who learned the faith at the feet of Apostle John.

Tertullian who lived in the generation after Irenaeus and  of the one preceding Origen gave us some nice examples of healings, and how they were brought about. “All this might be officially brought under your notice, and by the very advocates, who are themselves also under obligations to us, although in court they give their voice as it suits them. The clerk of one of them who was liable to be thrown upon the ground by an evil spirit, was set free from his affliction; and was also the relative of another, and the little boy of a third. How many men of rank (to say nothing of common people) have been delivered from devils, and healed of diseases! Even Severus himself [he was the Roman Emporer who died in 211AD-DR] , the father of Antonine, was graciously mindful of the Christians; for he sought out the Christian Proculus, surnamed Torpacion, the steward of Euodias, and in gratitude for his having once cured him by anointing, he kept him in his palace till the day of his death’(To Scapula, Chap. 5).

There are many other quotes that could be added to these, but I feel the point has been made. History shows that for the first few centuries the Church did not use doctors, but waited faithfully for their healing. They practised it upon unbelievers as well, as a testimony to the goodness of Christ. The professor interviewed by the Oregonian, seems to have been clearly wrong in many of his statements.

The True Followers of Christ: A Group of Fanatics

Thanks to Darren Russell for providing this excerpt of an editorial about the True Followers Church. It is totally the opinions of an outsider looking at the church.

Last April, Mr. Russell wrote an article explaining his reasons for faith healing. Tomorrow, January 18, I will publish a follow up article by him on the same subject.

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By R. W. Gilbert

The Sunday State Journal, July 4, 1909, excerpted from Editorial page.

Down near Hutchinson, Kansas, there remains still some of that faith which is the salt of the earth. A group of fanatics dubbing themselves “The True Followers of Christ,” have begun to actually and literally follow the teachings of The New Testament. Of course we all do this so far as is consistent with our business interests, and the welfare of our families, but these people, who are in the strictest sense heretics-that is more religious than their brethren- follow the New Testament to their own and children's undoing. These are the sort of people that are really dangerous to conventional Christianity and ought to be sent to the asylum or burned at the stake or something of the kind.

Among other things requiring splendid courage, truly heroic faith, these people will take a live rattlesnake in their hands “in the name of Christ” and let it bite them, with even greater courage they will hand it to their sons and dear ones and let it also bite them. Think of it! In this cautious, cold, skeptical twentieth century, with it's timid worship of the safe and sane, it's Laodicean faiths and it's still more moderate heterodoxies, there are men and women and children who are voluntarily risking their lives, voluntarily submitting their bodies to torture for the sake of a few words of Jesus Christ. Ignorant, absurd, irrational, criminal? Certainly, so were the prophets before them. Certainly, for their Kingdom is not of this world. Certainly, for they are really religious.

The rattlesnake test? It is not such a bad one after all. The man who endured such a test successfully would be worth something, would be worth a whole conference of ecclesiastical side steppers and stand patters. Such a man would be an excellent addition to the United States Senate just now...he would do what he thought was right in a homely, straightforward way, he would say exactly what he pleased, and he would not give a whoop if the president and both parties and all the crowned heads of Europe were arrayed against him. Simply because he would be religious.

Another reason why the rattlesnake test would be a good one to apply to the modern world is that there are so many things in the modern world worse than rattlesnakes. There are so many deaths in the modern world more dreadful than death from the bite of a serpent. For at the worst a rattlesnake can only make your body swell up and die, but the sins which folks introduce into their houses without the slightest qualms may make their souls swell up and die.

So much for the “Followers of Christ.” They will soon be wiped out, or conform (which is an ignoble method of being wiped out) and go the way of the Doweyites and Doukhobors and such like folks who follow the Bible with a crazy consistency. But the expediently orthodox person and the prudently heretical person will remain with us and keep up their sham battles. They will do no particular harm or good to the young people, as young people want above all to be interested and flabby folk are not wont to be interesting. A narrow minded bigoted zealot will make converts because he believes in something with all his might...but the tolerant preacher and the religious “expert” will make no converts for the simple reason that you can not make something out of nothing. There is not the slightest danger that the professor who is personally unconvinced will “create conviction,” whereas the man of original religious endowment will create conviction whether he wishes to or no. God has made heaven for his saints, and hell for his enemies, but only He knows what fate is reserved for the folks who merely “study religious phenomena.”

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But men were made to do better than they know how, to be considerably bigger propositions than harmless skeptics. They must be believers, they must be willing to adventure everything on the turn of the die, they must somehow or another drop their anchor into the unseen and cease their drifting and driveling, or be forever not worth mentioning in an obituary or otherwhere . The one thing that matters is belief, the attitude you face life in. If you grasp the rattlesnake boldly, if you face death and pain without flinching, then everything else is of little account. If you dodge and shrink and make objections and slip back into an easy-going self-indulgent life, then who cares how learned or rich or gentlemanly you may be. And the only real dynamic courage and hope and joy that I know of is religion. We praise practicality and efficiency and deplore other worldliness, but the most faith in the Christ of the New Testament.

Tamara Tipton: Grounded from Church

I was saved when I was thirteen years old. A good thing, right? Yes, a good thing. But also a thing that caused a great upset in my home and got me grounded from church for two months.

Grounded from Church. There’s a punishment you don’t read about every day. Sounds crazy doesn’t it? I thought so to at the time. Now, almost thirty years later through the eyes of an adult, I think I understand. So I am going to try to explain it to you.

The first thing to understand is that I lived with my mom and stepdad. They married when I was six. Mom was in her thirties, my stepdad was in his sixties. An unusual situation, but not unheard of. He had already raised five kids by the time he got to me. His oldest was six years older than my mom. Dad (as I came to call him) was old school. Very strict and very sure that his way was the right way (a trait I have inherited, for better or worse). My mom tempered his strict attitudes and they found a balance that provided me with structure and security.  It wasn’t a bad life. I had a comfortable home, all the necessities, and enough comforts to make a girl content. I wasn’t spoiled, but life was good.

One thing I didn’t have in my home was God. He simply wasn’t spoken of. I never saw a Bible (except the ones my Mama Mac used to send me as gifts) or overheard a conversation about religion between my parents. The only exception was saying grace before the meal. I remember that Dad typed up a little prayer on an index card and gave it to me. I memorized it and said grace every evening before dinner. Beyond that, God wasn’t a presence in our home.

In my early teens I became interested in attending the local Baptist church. Part of it was because that’s where my best friend’s family went. Part of it was a desire to get out of some household chores (being honest here!). When I expressed this desire to my parents (not the chore part, I wasn’t stupid) they made it happen. Dad would drive me to town and drop me off and then come back to pick me up at the prescribed time. I’m not sure how long that went on, but finally they found a family down the road from us who attended there and I started going with them.

Everything rocked along well enough for a long time. I went to Sunday School, sang in the youth choir, and was part of the Wednesday night youth group. Then one Sunday evening I felt led to answer the altar call. You know: the request at the end of the service for anyone who wants to be saved to come forward for prayer? So, off I went. It honestly never occurred to me that I might need to discuss this with my parents. It was a good thing, right? My dad hit the roof. I couldn’t understand it. He said it was because I had not discussed it with them first. But that made no sense to me. I was following my heart not my head. What was there to discuss? In my thirteen-year-old mind I decided that he was just being mean. He just wanted to control my life. I thought that for years.

It all eventually worked out. After my two-month-grounding I was baptized in a Sunday evening service that my parents attended. I became a member of that church and life continued. Now, let’s fast forward to ten years ago, when Dad passed away at the age of eighty-nine. I was helping my mom clean out the closet and go through his personal belongings to give to his older children when I ran across a Bible on a shelf at the back of the closet. It was in pristine condition, and on the inside cover it was dated in the 1950's (on the dedication page). I was in shock. Dad had a Bible? I asked my mom about it and she explained that he was once a Sunday school teacher and faithful member of his church. What! How could this be? If that was true, why did he change? And why had he been so opposed to my decision to join the church myself? 

The story is an unfortunate one. He had been raised by his mother (a single parent) to be a very faithful member of their church. She had been a lifelong faithful tither and worker in the church and he followed her example. Then she got sick and could no long contribute as she had. She was literally on her deathbed when her church sent a bill collector to her home to collect her tithe. A bill collector. To collect her tithe. I was beyond shocked by this. That any church could be so callous as to the needs of their members for the sake of money is appalling to me. And it had an even greater impact on her son. He walked away from the church, turned his back on everything he had been raised to believe because in his mind it was all a lie. In an instant of careless disregard, the church had convinced him that they and God only cared about what his money could do for them.

In the light of that revelation, I can see now what he must have been thinking when I came home and excitedly shared my desire to join the church. A large church whose habit of preprinting tithe envelopes with each members name on them and presenting them to you in a lovely little box at the first of the year must have seemed like a smack in the face to him. 

As I said earlier, it worked out. I attended that church for a while, then I church hopped a bit, until I landed in a wonderful church where I have been very blessed and content for the last twenty plus years. And my dad? I think he finally came to terms with God. I wish I could say we talked about it, but I can’t. I have never known how to talk about God to my parents. Growing up in a home where His name was never spoken had a great impact on our relationship. But my pastor spoke to him many times over the years and went to visit him in the hospital prior to his death. Dad always liked Pastor and respected him. I think in the end Dad made his peace with the past. I pray that is so.

There is a lesson here that we all need to heed. Tithing is important, but God’s people are more important. We must be careful, as a church, in how we handle anything relating to money. And we must always put the needs of the people first. We have no way of knowing how one careless action by a church can impact lives and families for generations. I was fortunate, I placed my trust in God and He ended the cycle of anger, hurt, and distrust with me. God will provide. He will provide the money, He will provide the people, He will provide the direction. Our job is to listen to His direction and proceed with care for His people.

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Tamara Tipton is a 40-something, happily married woman, and mother to a herd of cats. She writes a blog called Faith and Substance, and works in the pharmacy profession. She is also an avid reader of anything (including cereal boxes) and fan of fiction TV (books with pictures!). Please visit her blog at http://faithandsubstance.blogspot.com.

Does Using Home Remedies Show a Lack of Faith?

I’ve posted on here before about growing up without medical care. I’ve never had immunization shots. I was born in my parents’ bedroom with lay midwives. I never visited a doctor or had any medicine until I left the group at the age of twenty-one.

When I was young, I had a small glass of wine and said the words, In Jesus’ name whenever I felt sick or couldn't sleep. If I had an injury – from a sprained wrist to the time a boy shot a staple into my eye using an industrial stapler – my parents (or sometimes an old guy from church) rubbed extra virgin olive oil onto the affected area while saying, In Jesus’ name.

When folks from church asked for prayer, we prayed for them (silently). If someone was dangerously sick, we sometimes fasted while praying for them.

I still practice faith healing.  When my children are sick or injured, prayer is my go to. I use bandages and children’s Tylenol as needed. And, if the situation calls for it, I take them to doctors’ offices and the occasional hospital. I also pray for friends, family, and anyone else who requests it.

I still rely on God for my health and well-being. Well, full disclosure, I also use home remedies. I would occasionally check in with a medical professional if I could afford health insurance – but adjuncts do not get benefits.

Nine days ago, I came home from my MFA graduation in New Hampshire with a gift from the East coast = a terrible flu. Last week, the first week of the term, I pretty much sleep-walked through all my lectures. I had a huge stack of essays that needed grading, but kept hoping all week that I’d wake up the next day feeling better. By Sunday night – day seven – I was still feeling like death. I had seen the recipe below being passed around Facebook and hadn’t tried it out because I didn’t feel well enough to make it to a grocery store.

But it was Sunday and I had a lot of stuff to catch up on before Monday morning, so I called my parents (who live a mile away) and talked my dad into picking up the ingredients and delivering them to me. In my desperation, I never considered how that stuff would taste – horrible! But, I started feeling better within an hour. I continued drinking doses until my original batch was gone, and it made a huge difference.

So, here’s my question: is that faith or medicine? What about drinking wine? When I was a teenager, a girl from church instructed me to eat pineapple for cramps. I also ate soup when I was sick. And honey for a sore throat – and I gargled with salt water.

What’s the difference between “natural remedies” and medicine?

Teri Campbell: Is God Big Enough?

Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.

2 Chronicles 20:15b 

These words sank deep into my soul as I devoured them over and over. I had just recently faced a number of challenges, and did not think that there was any way around them. Then, God spoke through this passage in the Bible.

My Story

Around five years ago, I became a Christian. Seems like a simple thing, but for me as for many who truly trust in Jesus for their salvation, it was life changing. Born in a family that is 6th generation Latter Day Saint, also known as the Mormons, I grew up with the teachings of Joseph Smith ingrained in my life as the truth. In fact, becoming a Christian was a thirteen year journey guided by God.

It was not until I was serving a mission for the Mormon Church eighteen years ago that I began to doubt the “truths” my parents and teachers had taught me from my birth. When asked, I jokingly blame it all on two things that took place while I was serving this mission. First, on my first time reading the bible from cover to cover, and second, meeting a missionary from another church, I think Presbyterian, but I cannot remember.

The Truth

In all seriousness, the truths from the bible and her words as we parted ways began to sprout in my heart as God worked in my life. What did she say? She stated, “Your Jesus is not my Jesus.” A simple phrase, but in God’s hands, this phrase quickly became a sprouting seed that led me to the truth.

Through my journey to Christ, God has shown me that He is big enough. When I found God, it was not an immediate thing. I did not hear a voice from heaven, and I did not see an angel, but through my journey, He has made it clear that He has claimed me as His own.

God is Big Enough

How does my conversion story relate to the bible verse I used at the beginning of this post? I was still struggling with the death of my grandmother when I read the passage at the beginning of this post. Although I had shared the gospel with her on numerous occasions, I do not know if she had accepted Christ’s true salvation before she died. In addition, I was struggling with anxiety and doubts about life, my children, my conversion and even in a way, about God.

This was why this passage hit me so hard. God used this message to let me know that He is big enough and that I do not need to be afraid. It was as if God was telling me, “Don’t worry, I've got this.” Know what? He does. He is big enough for any struggle, any trial, and any doubt. After all, if He can pull this poor little wretched sinner out of the grasp of Mormonism, is anything too big?

Teri Campbell is a Nashville-based freelance writer, speaker and online blogger. God has blessed her with four incredible children and an amazing husband. Her testimony can be found at the following site: http://terisstory.blogspot.com/2008/11/my-testimony_05.html

Bring Your Pet to Church Day

Many have commented that if that if the long-dead FOC prophet, Walter White, were to walk into a church service today, he wouldn’t recognize it as being his church. In the paralysis left by his death, the church did not stay the same. They have waited sure, but for what? Some wait for another preacher like Walter. Others wait for the end of time. Others are content to not worry about it – avoid personal responsibility. We're not in charge here. It’s better to be kept in the dark. Better not to know.

In fact, one of the things we were told growing up was that it was better to NOT read too much of the Bible. They wanted us to be kept innocent. If we didn’t know/comprehend what the Bible said, how accountable could we be?

I don’t respond to most comments on here, but I do read them. A theme I see running throughout is that every home is different. What everyone seems to agree on is that there is no consensus. How can I speak in such general terms about a large group of folks if I wasn’t raised in their homes?

In the 1960s, Walter White had a dream about the future of the Followers of Christ Church. I don’t have a written record of this dream – but if anyone else has it, I would love to publish it.

In the dream, everyone in the building sat caressing their own pet.  I imagine the dream to look something like a Pokémon trainers’ convention. Walter said that in the future, each person would have their own pet religion.

And people claim White’s prophesies never came true.

Cory Nikkel: Leaving Church to Find Jesus

“Woah, woah, woah. You can’t do that! You can’t just skip over the spiritual gifts when it is in the context of the passage.” I gasped as I sat in the church pew at a Christian Reformed Church located in southeast Iowa. “I’ll give him a piece of my mind.”

Squirming with built-up rage I fumed for the rest of the service waiting to burst out of my seat and pursue my prey—the pastor.

“Please tell me how you can justify skipping over the spiritual gifts when you are reading directly from 1 Corinthians 12? Seriously!”

Pastor Ron stumbled over his words and finally spit out, “It’s just not what we believe in our church, no use in reading it if we can’t talk about it or believe it.”

“This is pathetic. I’m leaving and don’t expect me to come back.” I stormed out desperately wanting to give him and the church the middle finger.

This was my departure from what I knew as church. At only 18 years old and considered to be the “church class leader” this did not sit well with the church council, congregation, or my parents. But there had been something stirring inside of me for months while I sat in church—in the same church my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents had gone to—and I needed to figure it out.

To me, the church seemed dead. No one had passion, excitement, or joy. People just showed up and did what they always did—sat in the pew, emotionless. At this point in my life I had already been to Peru and Mexico on mission trips and to numerous different states, and when I was there I felt the Holy Spirit alive in me. But not here, not at my home church.

So I left the church, but I didn’t leave Jesus. I decided to figure out why there were so many denominations of Christianity and why people attended their particular choice. I called the next 4 months a “Denominational Study.” I read 9 different books on denominations and attended a service as well as talked to pastors from Lutheran, Evangelical Free, Pentecostal, Methodist, Catholic, Nazarene, Baptist, Greek Orthodox, and Mormon.

I asked these two questions of the pastors every time: 1) Why do you preach in _______ denomination? and 2) Have you always been here and would you ever switch?

Ultimately I got lots of the same responses which went like this, “I guess I’m a pastor in this denomination because it’s what I was raised in, and I could never see myself leaving.”

You can probably see that this didn’t sit well with me.

If all church was becoming was a place for hermits who go to church because they always have, but don’t really know why they go, then what’s the point? Why even go? You just waste your time sitting there anyways!

My heart burned for an answer to this mess I was unraveling. There had to be a purpose for church. I couldn’t have wasted 18 years of my life in this place and it not be worth something.

For the next 2 years I continued searching. Searched my heart, rode a roller-coaster of a spiritual life, and never returned to my home church. My parents would tell me of the congregation and pastor’s concern but they understood my heart needed more than it was receiving, so they let me carry on.

But here is the interesting thing that happened, God never left me. There were times when I tried to make it happen, but inherently knew it was impossible. I found that when I read my Bible and had a prayer life, joy was evident. When I tried to go my own way and forget about God, I was joyless.

No God, No Joy—Know God, Know Joy.

Here I am now five years later. I’m 23 years old, a traveling preacher and author, and I teach English at a public school, too. I don’t belong to a specific denomination, I don’t go to just one church, I just seek and serve Jesus. And I’m not perfect at it. I’m broken, bruised, battered, and need Jesus now more than ever.

That’s what I’ve figured out through this whole “leaving my home church” experience—I just needed to be real with myself, be alive in my faith. There are deep philosophical answers as to “why” all these denominations exist, but at the core of it all, everyone just wants more of Jesus, and that’s what I want, too. Perhaps a church will give that to me one day, or maybe I’ll start my own, but until then, I just live to find and give a little more Jesus every day.

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Cory Nikkel (@corynikkel) is a 23 year old author, speaker, and creative mind who strives to be an uplifting and influential voice in the 18-29 year old generation. If you can’t find him wearing one of his many hats, he’s probably in front of his computer figuring out the kinks in his website, www.corynikkel.com.

Please return next Saturday to read Cory's second guest blog about his ministerial calling.