How to became a Christian?
How I became a Christian 내가 크리스찬이 된 이야기
아래 동영상 내용
I'd like to introduce them to you this morning. First, we have Shane Newsom. Shane is here with us, he works at JCPenney's, he has a cat named Kitty who greets all of his neighbors when they leave for work and come home for the day. He's been coming to IVC since the winter of 2005, enjoys working with his computer and riding his motorcycle and uh anybody who rides a motorcycle is just okay, right, okay. Ethan Lawrence, to Shane's left, is a college student, has a dog named Ender, he's been at IVC for 3 and a half years, he's involved in a home group and tool box classes, he loves music, listening to it, writing it, playing it. In fact, Ethan and his brother are starting a rock band and need a bassist. So if anybody wants to audition, uhm, you can see Ethan afterwards. Um, Heather Lee Hilseveck, to Ethan's left doesn't have any animals but is looking for a puppy, so does anybody have a ? uh can anybody help Heather out? Uh she's been attending IVC for four months, a whopping four months. She's involved with crown ministry and alpha. Her hobby is shopping and you know, crown ministry is all about financial faithfulness and she says, that's why she's in crown ministry, because of her hobby. So, Heather, love to have you this morning, so good that you're here and then Lee Capel, Lee is on our staff here at IVC, was an elder at IVC, been married for 27 years, he's been a Christian for many years but he's here to share his story too. Uh, Lee's family has a dog called Chant who is so old that when he stands up, he leans on the furniture. I lean on the furniture too. Lee and Jodie and their family have been at IVC for five and a half years and uh, Lee has been involved in missions organizations and traveling around the world in the name of Christ. But his claim to fame is that once upon a time, he was a flight attendant for TWA for a summer job after his sophomore year of college. So we're really proud of you, for doing that. Okay, I just want you to listen in, as we have a conversation. Shane?
Thank you, uhm, when I grew up in my family, they weren't very religious at all. My mom died when I was probably a year old, give or take. And I think my grandparents, (I was raised by my grandparents) and I think that adjusted for them not to believe in god at all because of their taking their child away. So through the years, I had to deal with that. And I became a Christian when I was about fifteen. My aunt begged and begged and begged for me to go to a local church they have. One of those bible beaters just wouldn't quit, quit talking about until you're like "fine I'll go." So we finally went and went to the church and they had a big play goin' on and one of the actresses was a girl and she did the youth thing, I was like "wow, she's kind of attractive, I think I'm gonna go to this one." So I was there for about a year, uhm, and through the year, I was just watching, just watching people, how they interacted with each other and things they did in the name of Christ and it was very discouraging because they would teach one thing and then everybody else would do something completely different, they were very hypocritical, they were very mean to each other, you name it, they probably did it. And my last stop was, I was going to the church, I was sixteen, on a Sunday, I took the day off so, from work to go. And I'm sixteen, I didn't have very nice clothes and they turned me away because I wasn't dressed in my Sunday best. And I was, I'm sixteen, am I gonna have a suit and tie? I've got some cufflings. Yeah, you just got 'em. I'd be like you, I need a shirt for it too. Uhm, so after that, at the time, I was dating a girl that was an atheist, her ex-boyfriend was a satanist, which they talked about, they still talk and I got one bible from them, the satanic bible and started reading it and I was amazed how, what I thought, at least as a teenager, even still to this day, it's very logical, you know why would you wanna help somebody out or be nice to somebody that's harming you or why would you help somebody that's not really gonna help themselves, you know. And through that whole journey, I wasn't very, I wasn't looking for power or anything, I was just sort of looking for something I could understand and see how the people were really true, and I did that and it comes to find out through the whole time, that people are very intimidated by satanists because the word "satan", just, most people, terrifies them. 'Cause what they think of is you know, sacrificing kids, and sacrificing animals, and virgins and all this other stuff. So that became extremely powerful without me knowing, just being around people, hearing it, was terrified, you know. I did the whole, I did the masses, you know when people would ask for something, "hey Shane, could you help me with this?" I was like hmm, what is in it for me? What can I get for it? I did that until I was about 25, uhm, I was working for JCPenney's at the time as well and then being with the group, with this guy who was now my best friend, was that when we first started talking, we didn't hit it off very well, we just, kind of you know, snubbed our noses at each other, and he, I guess ended up gettin' a promotion and gettin' over me, and we were forced to work together and he was Catholic. I had no clue at the time, and he would just talk about, "so you're a satanist, what do they believe, what is this, what is that?" and that was it. And I think one day, it finally came out, maybe a few months later, that he said "yeah I'm Catholic" and I'm like "why didn't you tell me?" He was like "How would you react if I told you I was a Catholic?" I'd probably go, "great, now I'm gonna have someone else preach to me." So a couple times, I would talk about satanists, and he would look at me and sometimes just shake his head and finally I eventually go, "what? Why are you doing this?" And he goes well, that's not what it means, and this is what it means, and just kept going and going, he was like "you can't look at Christianity, how everybody else is, but it's your own journey, your own theme, and you do, you know, God will move you where you need to be moved. So that's pretty much how I became to be a Christian. So uhm, for that and through that whole time, I was listenin' and I went to god, I was like okay, I've hated you for so much, for what you've done, I'm gonna give you a try, I'm like, "if you're really real, I'm gonna do the lint and I'm gonna give up something for forty days and last about ten. But. Join the party. Yes, I know, it was my first time so I was like yeah alright. But after that, even though it seemed like God was like "okay, I really see that you were trying and that you really wanted to know and almost the next day, when I woke up, things, just in my eyes were completely different. It was completely different. And then my best friend was like "hey we're gonna go watch Passion of the Christ, I've got an extra ticket, do you wanna go?" And I'm like "sure why not." Went there, then after that, it kind of put a realism to me, face, you know, the name to a face type of thing. And then I went to the car and that's when I accepted Christ into my life.
Thank you, uhm, when I grew up in my family, they weren't very religious at all. My mom died when I was probably a year old, give or take. And I think my grandparents, (I was raised by my grandparents) and I think that adjusted for them not to believe in god at all because of their taking their child away. So through the years, I had to deal with that. And I became a Christian when I was about fifteen. My aunt begged and begged and begged for me to go to a local church they have. One of those bible beaters just wouldn't quit, quit talking about until you're like "fine I'll go." So we finally went and went to the church and they had a big play goin' on and one of the actresses was a girl and she did the youth thing, I was like "wow, she's kind of attractive, I think I'm gonna go to this one." So I was there for about a year, uhm, and through the year, I was just watching, just watching people, how they interacted with each other and things they did in the name of Christ and it was very discouraging because they would teach one thing and then everybody else would do something completely different, they were very hypocritical, they were very mean to each other, you name it, they probably did it. And my last stop was, I was going to the church, I was sixteen, on a Sunday, I took the day off so, from work to go. And I'm sixteen, I didn't have very nice clothes and they turned me away because I wasn't dressed in my Sunday best. And I was, I'm sixteen, am I gonna have a suit and tie? I've got some cufflings. Yeah, you just got 'em. I'd be like you, I need a shirt for it too. Uhm, so after that, at the time, I was dating a girl that was an atheist, her ex-boyfriend was a satanist, which they talked about, they still talk and I got one bible from them, the satanic bible and started reading it and I was amazed how, what I thought, at least as a teenager, even still to this day, it's very logical, you know why would you wanna help somebody out or be nice to somebody that's harming you or why would you help somebody that's not really gonna help themselves, you know. And through that whole journey, I wasn't very, I wasn't looking for power or anything, I was just sort of looking for something I could understand and see how the people were really true, and I did that and it comes to find out through the whole time, that people are very intimidated by satanists because the word "satan", just, most people, terrifies them. 'Cause what they think of is you know, sacrificing kids, and sacrificing animals, and virgins and all this other stuff. So that became extremely powerful without me knowing, just being around people, hearing it, was terrified, you know. I did the whole, I did the masses, you know when people would ask for something, "hey Shane, could you help me with this?" I was like hmm, what is in it for me? What can I get for it? I did that until I was about 25, uhm, I was working for JCPenney's at the time as well and then being with the group, with this guy who was now my best friend, was that when we first started talking, we didn't hit it off very well, we just, kind of you know, snubbed our noses at each other, and he, I guess ended up gettin' a promotion and gettin' over me, and we were forced to work together and he was Catholic. I had no clue at the time, and he would just talk about, "so you're a satanist, what do they believe, what is this, what is that?" and that was it. And I think one day, it finally came out, maybe a few months later, that he said "yeah I'm Catholic" and I'm like "why didn't you tell me?" He was like "How would you react if I told you I was a Catholic?" I'd probably go, "great, now I'm gonna have someone else preach to me." So a couple times, I would talk about satanists, and he would look at me and sometimes just shake his head and finally I eventually go, "what? Why are you doing this?" And he goes well, that's not what it means, and this is what it means, and just kept going and going, he was like "you can't look at Christianity, how everybody else is, but it's your own journey, your own theme, and you do, you know, God will move you where you need to be moved. So that's pretty much how I became to be a Christian. So uhm, for that and through that whole time, I was listenin' and I went to god, I was like okay, I've hated you for so much, for what you've done, I'm gonna give you a try, I'm like, "if you're really real, I'm gonna do the lint and I'm gonna give up something for forty days and last about ten. But. Join the party. Yes, I know, it was my first time so I was like yeah alright. But after that, even though it seemed like God was like "okay, I really see that you were trying and that you really wanted to know and almost the next day, when I woke up, things, just in my eyes were completely different. It was completely different. And then my best friend was like "hey we're gonna go watch Passion of the Christ, I've got an extra ticket, do you wanna go?" And I'm like "sure why not." Went there, then after that, it kind of put a realism to me, face, you know, the name to a face type of thing. And then I went to the car and that's when I accepted Christ into my life.
"크리스찬이 되는 길"에 대한 나의 생각
크리스찬이 아닌 사람에게는 크리스찬이 되는 길이 굉장히 부담스러운 일일 것이다. 내가 그랬다. 어떻게 크리스찬이 되는 것인지 궁금했었다. 대학강의 중간 중간 쉬는 시간에 우리는 대학식당에 둘러 앉아 이야기를 시작했었다. 크리스찬의 이중성에 대한 나의 공격적인 발언에 두 친구들은 곧 이야기 하는 것을 포기했다. 나는 그 당시에 내가 그 두 크리스찬 친구들을 이겼다고 생각했었다. 나는 이후에도 종종 교회에 나갔지만 나 자신을 크리스찬이라고 생각하진 않았다. 그리고 세월이 흘러서 여기 이곳 뉴욕에 와서도 거의 크리스찬이 되는 것은 회의적이었다. 그런데 어느날 그것이 왔다. 크리스찬이 되는 것은 내가 선택하는 것이 아니었다. 크리스찬은 선택을 하는 것이 아니라 선택을 받아야 되는 것이다. 조금이라도 크리스찬에 대해 관심이 있다면 이 두 동영상을 추천한다. 선택은 내가 하는 것이니 언제든 할 수 있지만 선택 받는 것은 시간이 걸린다. 진실로 좋아해서 그 사람과 죽을 때까지 살고 싶어서 프로포즈를 할수는 있다. 그러나 항상 "Yes"를 기대할 수는 없다. "Yes"하는 날이 올때를 기다려야한다. 혹시 크리스찬이 되는 것에 대해 내가 오랫동안 갖었던 회의(참고 글: 한국교회와 정장)를 갖고 있는 분이 있다면, "프로포즈 할만 하다."고 말해주고 싶다.
posted by Sunny in New York
