Jeff Laird – April 2014
After a long personal search for spiritual answers, I came across Got Questions. I wished I’d known about it earlier, so I volunteered to help, and it quickly became a cornerstone of my personal ministry work.
Back-story:
My parents raised me in a solidly Christian home, and faith was an important part of my childhood. Some of my favorite memories are Baptist summer camps and Vacation Bible School. Once I hit my teen years, though, the faith I had didn’t come close to competing with peer pressure and sexual temptation. It was a lot easier to make excuses and rationalize what I was doing than to actually change it. Once I graduated and hit college, lust and violence were taking up a lot of my attention.
I reconnected with a former high school girlfriend, and she was the one who hit me hard enough to shake up my thinking. While talking about the Gospel – so hypocritical I still can’t believe I tried it – she flatly told me, since it had never made any difference in my life, there was no reason to think it would do anything for her. That broke me. I started questioning what I believed and why, realizing I had very few answers, and almost no connection between what I thought and what I did.
The results of that search led me to a belief, at least philosophically, that Christianity in particular was the most rational, supportable worldview. As I continued to search for answers, I found myself more and more confident in that faith. Whether or not I was truly saved prior to that search is subject to debate; whether I was saved afterwards is not. I also felt an urge to help others struggling with the same shallow thinking and unanswered questions I’d experienced.
That was when came across the Got Questions website. Considering I had no practical experience in writing or theology, I had little reason to think the ministry would accept me as a volunteer writer. But, thank God, they did. Ten years later, it has become one of the foundational aspects of my personal ministry. Perhaps nothing has been more valuable to my growth as an apologist, writer, and teacher than the constant, steady pressure which answering questions provides. It helps me maintain focus on ministry work, introduces new ideas, and the ministry’s results make it well worth spending the time.
My work with Got Questions has also given me deeper experience and appreciation for the individual struggles we face, believer and non-believer alike. It has forced me to confront questions and problems I never would have thought of otherwise, and might have avoided if I had. What I’ve learned has changed my thinking, on a lot of things, and that’s been good too. I’m grateful to everyone involved in making this ministry successful, and eagerly looking forward to many more years together!
Also check out Jeff’s tribute on Blogos <a target=”_blank” href=”http://blogos.org/churchandministry/decade-with-got-questions.php”>here</a>.
