Articles for tag: Conversion Story

July 31, 2019

‘Holding the Hand of Jesus’

More from our Interview with Robert Coleman By Michael C. Mack Christian Standard interviewed Robert Coleman for our feature article in the August 2019 issue. Some material didn’t find a place in the print/digital magazine, but we felt it was too good not to share. How Coleman Came to Christ After high school, Coleman attended Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, where he had an athletic scholarship. One day, Coleman says, a guy on the football team asked him what he was going to do when he graduated—a question he hadn’t given much thought to before. He responded, “Well, you can’t

July 30, 2016

Christian Standard

Discipleship & Spiritual Formation

It Just Keeps Getting Better

By James Book I met Jackie when I began my ministry with First Christian Church of Kissimmee, Florida, in May 2011. Her father was a military man who became very violent and abusive toward her from the time she was 10 years old until she later moved out. Jackie worked full-time while attending high school, graduating in 1975. She married the first man to ask her in 1978. Jackie shared with me that she felt so worthless and unloved that she literally sabotaged her own marriage. She got a job shortly after the wedding and started having an affair with

July 28, 2016

Christian Standard

Discipleship & Spiritual Formation

Living the Parable

By Tom Ellsworth Jesus” parable of the vineyard laborers who all received the same wage (despite the fact that some started at the 11th hour) has created more questions than answers for me. It just didn”t seem . . . fair. When I talked with Kenny Ooley regarding his relationship with the Lord, he shared his struggle. He didn”t struggle with his faith; he struggled with his past. How could a perfect God love and forgive him for a lifetime of lousy choices? Could God be that generous? Could forgiveness extend that far? After all, he had wasted a lifetime

July 25, 2016

Christian Standard

Discipleship & Spiritual Formation

He”s the Man!

By Errol Schroeder Brendon Paladichuk is a member at Journey Christian Church in Greeley, Colorado. But he hasn”t always been a believer. God did a rewrite of Brendon”s screenplay, and now he”s living out a better story. Brendon grew up in a single-parent home with his mom working four jobs to make ends meet. Brendon went to church but was present only physically. Brendon wanted to be popular, cool, and noticed. Dirty jokes, cussing, fights, and alcohol were all a part of his story. Brendon was the man! One day his life took a major turn. He was in a

July 21, 2016

Christian Standard

Family & Relationships

So Grateful

By Chris Garrett I”ve told my story many times over the years. Sadly, I”ve found it a common one. A young woman marries her high school sweetheart, has a baby boy, and one year later, the father doesn”t want to be married anymore and leaves. Struggling with the aftermath, mom and child live in poverty, experience years of physical and sexual abuse during a second marriage, and that boy grows up living a life full of poor choices born out of a deep struggle with self-worth. That was my story, but it didn”t end there. I love to tell people