My spiritual journey (Part 7)

Continuing my story, we pick up in 1980 as I begin my time (7 years) with Christian fundamentalism in general and Independent Baptists in particular. Being a new believer I trusted my fellow Christians and mentors at the Christian radio network to guide me in doctrine and the selection of a church home. We found a great church and made some wonderful friends (some life-long) in the Richmond, Virginia area. I know fundamentalist is a dirty word to many people, but all it means to those in the movement is that they believe in the "fundamentals of the faith". They are "bible believers". When it comes to that definition, I was, and still am one myself. The problem is that among the brethren in the fundamentalist movement are those who are very "legalistic". They are more concerned about following a list of "do's" and "don'ts" than living by grace through faith in Christ. They use the correct words, but live a dead orthodoxy. I'm sure at one point in time I was guilty of this myself. But the Lord has worked on my heart over the years and I pray He will continue to do so.

During the 80's I had the opportunity to study and grow in the Word and I'm very thankful for this. We also served in our local churches in many capacities. During this seven-year period in Christian radio, we lived in Virginia twice and South Carolina once. After a period of time I found myself not in agreement with some of the practices and philosophy of the radio network and felt it was time for me to part company. Please understand, they were great Christian folks and my departure had nothing to do with doctrine. Other reasons for leaving were (1) I wanted to be closer to my parents as my mother was having health issues at the time and (2) I had three small children I wanted to raise in the small southern town in which I grew up instead of the metropolitan area we were living in at the time. I've second-guessed myself many times on this move of returning to North Carolina as it eventually caused me to leave broadcasting altogether. I suppose it's best to trust God was guiding my steps and had a purpose in it all.