I'm going to begin this blog by telling you a little about myself (Lee).
Until about 17 years ago, I was a very devout Christian who had been baptized at the age of 8 in a Southern Baptist church. I even served as a youth pastor at a Vineyard church in the late 1990s. 17 years ago I began to seriously question the roots of my Christian faith. In an effort to solidify my beliefs, I spent a couple of months holed up in a seminary library every day reading all I could about the history of Christianity. At the end of this intensive study time, instead of solidifying my faith, I found myself wondering if there even was a God.
For the next 15 years or so, I read, studied, discussed, watched videos, etc. as much as I could in an effort to better understand Christianity, religion, and spirituality. Yet, it seemed that the more I dug, the more I became convinced it just wasn't possible to know if a divine being of any kind really existed and that Christianity was nothing more than a well-intentioned device to help people feel better about themselves.
Before I continue, I must provide a little more of my background. I grew up as a musician. I am a composer, and I play the piano, trombone, and euphonium. I was a trombone major in college, and consequently, the horn played a vital role in my life well into my 20s (during my Christian phase). During this 17 year period of searching, however, I pretty much set aside my trombone due to the demands of family and work (I began working in the IT field during this phase of my life).
In early 2013, I was invited to play in a trombone choir as a tribute to my college trombone professor. As I began to pick up the horn and play again, something magical occurred -- something which didn't quite occur the same way when I play the piano, which I did continue to do during this 17 year period.
At the time, I didn't quite understand it, but it was as if a spiritual veil was being lifted before my eyes. There was a connection that I suddenly felt that I could not explain.
Stay tuned….
Lee