This is the text of a personal testimony tape created July 10, 2002 to be distributed in our vicinity as part of a welcoming / evangelism package.  It contains my personal testimony of why I returned to church after leaving for several years.

Matthew 10: ⁶   Go to the people … They are like lost sheep. ⁷   As you go, tell people that the kingdom of heaven is here.  (Worldwide English NT)

Hebrews 10: ²⁴   Let us think of one another and help one another to love and to do good things. ²⁵   Do not stop going to church meetings. Some people do stop. But help each other to be strong. You must do it all the more as you see the Great Day coming closer.  (Worldwide English NT)

Hello.  This is Jackson Snyder, your host, coming in from the Byrneville United Methodist Church, located on 1351 Byrneville Road just west of Century, Florida.  Our mailing address is 1150 Byrneville Rd., Century, Florida 32535 and our phone number is (850) 256-0232.  I’m making this tape to tell you what made me decide to return to church after being gone for years.  On the other side of the tape, you’ll hear the stories of others who live in the Byrneville community.  I hope you’ll listen to the whole tape.  I know you’ll enjoy it.  Let me know what you think by dropping me a line or, better yet, come see me any Sunday morning.

   I always thought that church was a good thing.  I was active in church as a child, left as a young adult, but returned when my own children came.  Lately I’ve been wondering why more people who once thought church was a good thing just don’t go anymore.  So why church?

   My childhood memories of church are quite positive.  I remember many of the children I played and prayed with, who, like me, grew up and had children then grandchildren of their own.  I wonder how so much time could have flown by, and I wonder about the spiritual condition of my little friends now.  Do they still find time to pray?  I remember the youthful faces of my Sunday School teachers, now creased with age, and the godly words they planted in my heart.  I remember the great elders of the faith: all long gone now, yet I still gain strength from them in times of remembrance.

   In my late teens and twenties, I gave up the good habit of church attendance.  I began to think of the church in terms of stuffiness, mildew and boredom.  Many young adults my age were no longer in church – we were working or going to college; later, we were attending sports with our own children, game after game after game.  We were consumed with “busy-ness” and games.  The things of G-d and the church went by the wayside, so out-of-step and out-of-style – too slow, too early, too late, too much effort to sit, too embarrassing to sing, boring, uninteresting.  No time left over for faith in the busy, independent lifestyle; too many interesting and entertaining things to do.

   Actually, some churches are pretty moldy.  They are stuffy and old.  They don’t seem to have the programs or fashion associated with our youthful culture.  I’ve learned since then that the Church was never meant to be a social thermometer.  The church was actually designed to be counter-cultural.  It exists to teach truths not found in any other place in the world.  The church exists to help us make the move from the culture club to the Creator’s Kingdom, where there’s true peace, friendship and safety.

    A poll indicates that 80% of Americans believe they can be “good Christians” without church.  I once believed that, too.  I was a good person, surely a Christian, I thought.  I hadn’t hurt anybody really.  The couch was my church, the congregation lived in the television, the pastor was a TV preacher.  The church down the street was for either saints or sinners, I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t think I fit into either category – no saint but no sinner, either. 

   When the country pastor banged on my door, I usually hid out, but once he caught up with me, I told him I was OK, that I wasn’t interested in his little church.  TV preachers were flashier; I could find G-d in nature while camping.  Sunday was my day off and I’d do as I pleased.  Besides, I told him, isn’t the church full of hypocrites? 

 

The Story of How I Came to Church

   When I gave up a good habit of church attendance, I took up several bad habits to replace it.  When I got out of school, I made a living playing music.  I traveled all over the place.  My former profession says a lot about my former lifestyle. At 25, I was on my couch one Sunday morning with a newspaper in my lap and a cigarette in my fist.  I was getting my weekly dose of religion as I watched Jimmy Swaggart on the TV.  Jimmy always said a prayer at the end of his tearful message.  Maybe I’d say it with him today, maybe not.  But this message turned out to be different.

   Looking into the tube, Jimmy’s eye caught mine.  “How could he be lookin’ at me?” I wondered.  It seemed like he was talking to me personally through the tiny, 3-inch TV speaker: “You know you’re doing wrong just sitting there on the couch on Sunday morning.  Get up RIGHT NOW and get down to the closest church before it’s too late!  Jesus is coming into your life today!”

   “Are you talkin’ to me?” I said.  “Naaaah!  It’s just the TV.”  But I felt compelled to throw on my clothes and go!  All of a sudden, I found myself walking through the creaky door of that little country church down the road, the smell of mildew plastering my face.  I didn’t know a soul.  I thought, “I’ll just sit in the back pew, listen to the sermon, and sneak out before it’s over.”  As I made my plan, a little old lady came up and took my arm.  She said, “So nice to see you this mornin’, sonny.  Your Sunday School class is right down these steps.”

   I was horrified to think that I’d arrived an hour before the church service. Now I had to go with this lady to Sunday School.  Like a spider with a fly, she dragged me down those narrow steps to the basement where two other little ladies sat at the center of a long fold-up table covered with a spider web tablecloth.  These ladies eyed me hungrily.  I was probably their first visitor in 450 years.  I sat down.  Then they prayed.  And they prayed for me.

 

The Story of How I Became a Bible Teacher

   Then the lady that brought me down the steps into the Sunday School class began to teach on 1 Corinthians 12 -- the Spiritual Gifts.  She read through the Scripture from her Sunday School lesson book (clear your throat):

¹   Now concerning spiritual gifts, I would not have you ignorant.  ⁴   There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. ⁵   And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. ⁶   And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

Then we took turns reading through the lesson.  When it was her turn again, the lady who was teaching read this: “The spiritual gifts mentioned in this Scripture text were useful in establishing the church.  These gifts died out with the Apostles.” 

   I interrupted.  “Now, wait a minute.  I know those gifts didn’t die out.  People are still praying and the Holy Spirit is still moving.  I’m sure of that!  Jimmy Swaggart even says so!”  She replied, “Young man, the spiritual gifts must have died out because it says so right here in my Sunday School quarterly.”  I told her as nicely as I could, “I don’t believe the spiritual gifts died out, no matter what that magazine says.”  But she got the last word, “OK sonny, if you’re so smart, you teach from now on,” and she tossed the little Sunday School lesson book at me and folded her arms.

   Although that was my first Sunday in church in years, I took her up on the challenge.  I became a Sunday School teacher.  That was half a lifetime ago and I’ve been teaching in church nearly every week since.  As time went on, I found that the people in that little country church were friendly, accepting and loving.  There was only one hypocrite there.  Soon, they became like family.  They really cared.  I cared about them, too.  And there I found Jesus.  Soon, I got back in the good habit of regular church, and you know what?  Over the years, many of those bad habits I had acquired just started to fall off one by one.  Yes, in a little country church, a person may find a life’s mission at best; at least, wonderful, caring friends.

 

How to Live for Others

   There’s a Bible passage that speaks about attending to church.  (Hebrews 10:25) It says, “Let’s not neglect meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing.”  See, not worshiping G-d is considered a bad habit.  A bad habit can be broken and we can be changed.  The writer continues, “Instead, let’s encourage one another to meet."   Not only does worshiping together encourage us but it helps us "urge one another on to love and good actions" (Hebrews 10:24).  People need people to be good and do good to one another.  Tell me, what other groups gather to encourage the good?  Well, there are a few worthwhile groups.  But there’s only one group that’s ordained to do good by the Almighty, the same g-d in whom we put our trust.  That group is church.

   We live for ourselves naturally.  But shouldn’t our lives be dedicated at least in part to helping others under G-d?  If I’ve accomplished any good for others in my life, I was doing it through the church.  Had I not been there, I might never have done anything for anybody, except for myself or my own.  But churches offer godly opportunities to help others.  And helping others feels so good and is good.

   Maybe you don’t feel so good about yourself right now.  That might be the case if you’re not doing good for others.  Scientists have discovered a connection between doing good and feeling good.  They say that if sad, depressed people would just start helping others with their needs, their own problems would begin to disappear.  It’s healthy to be busy doing good.  And the church abounds with opportunities to do good works under G-d.   We can live for ourselves only so long.  We just end up old and bitter and useless.  But many churches are safe, sacred places where we may build godly relationships and learn to do compassionate acts.  It’s a fact that church people live longer and better, are healthier and happier. 

   One author writes, "Sunday morning sofas are filled with people who think they can exist without church. They believe in God, but spending a few hours in a pew doesn’t fit their lifestyle. Mobility, convenience and privacy are their gods. Consequently, they sacrifice enduring friendships and Christ-centered companionship."  Those years I missed took away those faithful elders whom I had once so admired.  I missed learning essential lessons that could have saved me from some terrible choices.  I distanced myself from my Creator.  Maybe you feel the same way but just don’t know how to get started again.  Why don’t you come and visit our church just once.  When you do, you’ll have taken a first step to becoming better.  Now wouldn’t it be good to be better?  It may be just what you need right now!

 

The Story of How the Spoken Word Works

   Well, I’ve been a preacher for half my life.  I started out in that country church a long time ago and I’m in a country church today, 25 years and 1200 miles later.  That’s at least 2600 sermons.  And, during those sermons, I’ve witnessed hundreds of people snoring away even though I really try to keep the message interesting.  But that’s ok.  I’ll tell you why it’s OK in just a minute.  First I want to tell you a story.

   One churchgoer wrote a letter to the religion editor of the paper.  He complained (as many have),  “I went to church for a few months because my wife made me do it.  I probably heard 20 or 30 sermons.  For the life of me, I can't remember a single one.  So I decided that my time was wasted and you ministers are wasting yours by bothering with sermons at all. Nobody can remember them.”

   Another fellow answered this rascal’s letter.  He wrote, “Dear Sir: I've been married for 30 years now.  My wife has fixed 32,000 meals, but for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. I do know this: They all gave me the strength I needed to do my work. And if my wife hadn’t fixed my food, I’d been dead years ago.  It’s just the same for sermons: if I hadn’t heard the Word, I would surely be as spiritually dead as you appear to be!”  That was a good answer!

   A good sermon is like a good meal.  Awake or asleep, the message still goes in through the ears, changes the connections in the brain a bit, then goes on to nourish the heart.  What goes in must come out.  Even when a person’s fully awake, maybe only a few percent of what’s preached is retained.  A good sermon, like a good meal, is just for the time being  – it’s a temporary, one-time, event.  But it makes a permanent impact not only in the conscious mind but in the subconscious soul. 

   I try hard to preach inspiring, interesting and educating messages to keep the attention level high, yet I know my hearers aren’t going to retain it all in their intellect.  That’s OK -- the spoken word’s effect on the soul is cumulative; one’s heart can never get enough of a good word.  And good words add up and start compounding within.  After awhile, one’s interests change because one’s heart is changing.  Now, does that sound like foolishness?  Well, it should.  G-d chose the foolishness of preaching to baffle wise folks and bring the foolish, like me, to confidence in Him. 

 

Survey Said . . .

   I received an invitation to become the preacher for the Byrneville Methodist Church in 2001.  Before we arrived, we took three years off from pastoral ministry.  But in that time, we never missed going to church.  I sat on the pew every Sunday.  I tried several churches.  Because of that, I feel I can tell you how our Church compares to others.  And that’s how I want to end my testimony.  But first, let me share the results of a survey I made in our church a while ago.

   I asked the congregation, “Why do you go to Byrneville Methodist Church.”  Let me share a few of the responses I received.  I want you to know just what kind of church Byrneville Methodist is!  One family member writes, “We attend because of the love and peace we always feel when we are here.  Also, we love the music and the sermons.”  What a shot in the arm!  Somebody likes the sermons!  Someone else wrote, “I get blessed every time – I found Jesus and love the people.” 

   There are some who come for the sake of their spiritual well being.  One writes, “I need to grow spiritually, and I love Byrneville Methodist church.”  Another writes, “I come in hope of becoming a better Christian.”  Someone else writes, “I come because I want a closer walk with the Lord.”  And another reiterates this idea, “I want to learn all about my heavenly Father.  It makes me stronger to listen to the sermon.”  Someone else attends to “learn and grow in the Word and to serve as the Lord would have me.”

   The main reason people return to a church is because they feel wanted there.  Likewise, most people who answered my survey attend because of the friendship and fellowship they’ve experienced.  One person writes, “I feel the need to worship, and am encouraged by being with my friends and neighbors.  I gain strength from the love in this place.”  Someone else agreed, “I like to fellowship with God’s people, who are caring people.  The people at Byrneville Church are friendly and willing to help anyone in need.”

   Some attend our church because they are duty-bound.  Jesus has done so much for them that they want to give something worthwhile in return.  One person writes, “It is the least I can do for my Savior.”  Another feels the sense of duty even more strongly.  This person writes, “I think mostly I’m afraid not to attend.”  This person remembers the Bible verses about meeting together that I mentioned earlier.  Somebody else sees the potential of this church in these words, “In our church, God will continue the work he has begun far past what we can think or imagine.”  Finally, one person was completely honest: “[Byrneville Church] is close and it’s the right thing to do.”  That about sums it up.

 

Invitation

   I was going to finish by telling you how I feel Byrneville Methodist Church compares to others I have pastured and attended.  Well, there’s really not much left to say after expressing the feelings of everyone else.  Of course, I’m paid to be the preacher; but you know something?  Even if I weren’t the preacher, I’d still attend Byrneville Methodist Church.  For in there are the friendliest and greatest people I’ve every known in any church.  All those fond feelings and ideas about church that I had in my youth are recaptured here.  Not only do I have that tender feeling of the past but, like one of our people wrote, there is a prosperous future for Byrneville Methodist that’s starting to manifest right now.  Life is exciting!  Why don’t you become a part of His future?

   Our church is the easiest church to come back to any Sunday at 11 AM at 1351 Byrneville Road.  Maybe the Lord will call you back this Sunday morning as he called me back on that fateful morning before the TV set twenty-five years ago!  I’ll see you there!  This is Pastor Jack Snyder signing off for this side; but you’ll want to fast forward your tape to listen to the good news on the other side.  God bless you!