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My Christian Journey from Jerusalem
To Rome
by
John W. Giles
March 2004
I am writing this brief summary of my life sharing
my experience and to serve as a testimony of my Christian journey
from Jerusalem to Rome. At the outset, let me confess that Jesus
Christ is the Lord of my life and it is my lifetime goal when standing
before the throne of Judgment, that I hear the words, well done,
good and faithful servant.
During my Christian walk, I have been asked to
serve the Lord in many capacities, including: trustee, elder, deacon,
advisory council, land acquisition negotiator, building committee
member, loan signer for church debt, long range planning committee
member, 10-year budget forecaster, capital campaign committee member,
youth leader, children’s church leader, Sunday school teacher
and prison ministry leader. I have also been a men’s fellowship
leader, home group leader, outreach and evangelism leader, have
led many prayer groups, provided counseling and worked as a nursery
worker. I am sure there are some assignments or special projects
that were overlooked in this listing. In over 28 years of Christian
service, one gets called upon for many things. This many years of
service opens the door for wonderful opportunities to study the
scriptures, dig into word studies using a concordance, bible dictionaries,
commentaries and the like. Over time I have been blessed to receive
some of finest Bible teaching available to Christians. After years
of study and devotion, one could anticipate having a fairly secure
handle on the “truth concerning the things of God,”
yet, I must be perfectly frank, after recently studying our Christian
history, it is very easy for me to deduce, without feeling the least
bit insecure, that my learning curve in light of the past few years
has only just begun. I really do not know a fraction of what I thought
I knew. Herein begins my story.
My wife Deborah and I have awakened daily since
1976, which was the third year of our marriage, in a diligent effort
to serve the Lord. We have found our Christian walk taking some
very unusual, yet Holy Spirit calculated turns over the past 28
years. This year we both turn fifty, which in biblical terms is
the “Year of Jubilee.” Leviticus 25:10 says, “Consecrate
the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all
its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you
is to return to his family property and each to his own clan.”
This then is our year to return to our Christian roots.
My closest time to the Lord as a child was under
the care of Dr. John Ed Matheson, at Capitol Heights Methodist Church
during a Blue Lake Methodist youth camp trip. I was born again at
an early age as a protestant and water baptized (immersed) by Dr.
Jerry Gunnells at Eastern Hills Baptist Church at age 13, along
with other members of my family.
As a youth, using a definition from the Scriptures,
I backslid and adopted almost every sin I could in high school.
But right out of high school, at the age of 18, I married Deborah
Woodley; we have been married over 31 years. We were equally yoked
because both of us were not serving Christ in the early days of
our marriage. Our first child came in late March in the 3rd year
of marriage (1976) and before the summer was concluded, Deborah
had met and accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savoir (believe
it or not, while reading a Living Bible version of the New Testament.)
28 years ago on our 4th wedding anniversary, I reunited with Christ
and was filled with the Holy Spirit; the date was September 29,
1976, which was 30 days after Deborah’s conversion. This conversion
and reuniting with Christ confirmed to me that we needed to raise
our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. This all
happened under the ministry of Fran Harrison who reminded me so
much of my mother. We concluded that in our new walk with Christ
we wanted to be a part of a church that was alive, that treated
Jesus as a living, real Lord and invoked HIS presence, power and
gifts. We were enjoying the Charismatic movement and attending Evangel
Temple Assembly of God church in Montgomery, then pastored by Dr.
Frank Martin. We wanted to fully engage in church-life activity
and living on Lake Jordan, a 30-mile commute to Montgomery made
it very difficult. We then immersed into New Life Church; an inter-denominational
church in Elmore County where God's Spirit was saving lives and
His spiritual gifts seemed to weekly flow. The manifestations of
emotional and physical healings were commonplace under John Varner,
a former Baptist minister who served as pastor. In 1985, we sold
our house on the lake and moved back to Montgomery and joined another
inter-denominational church, Christian Life Church led by Pastor
Stephen Vickers. This church had a racial mix of 50% white and 50%
black. We gladly embraced this idea because it was spiritually the
right thing to do here in the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement,
Montgomery, Alabama. Martin Luther King used to say the most segregated
hour in America was during church. This church was living proof
it could work.
We then felt the need to get involved in the inner
city and reach out to the poor in West Montgomery. A new church,
named River of life was birthed with this as a primary mission under
the pastorate of a former Presbyterian USA minister, Dr. Dick Druary.
It was in this setting that communion became very special to my
family as we approached the altar regularly together, broke bread
and prayed. It would always reduce me to tears embracing my wife
and three children as we took communion all clutched up close together.
I joyfully, yet tearfully, prayed over my little flock as their
patriarch: what a memory.
Our second child was born in 1979, the 3rd child
we miscarried and our 4th child was born in 1984. In the spring
of 1999, when our second child was 19, he was killed in a car accident.
He was missing for 3 days under a bridge on I-65 South just 4 minutes
from our home. The unanswered questions about his death still remains
a mystery that lingers with us; was his wreck accidental or was
he intentionally run off the road? As a side note, the Lord graciously
spared my family from the deep throws of grief and anguish after
losing a child.
Although our spiritual journey allowed us the distinct
honor in our Christian walk to serve under different pastors, we
only had positive and non-controversial experiences in each transition.
In fact, every minister that had been our pastor or influenced our
son Micah’s life (who was killed) participated in his funeral.
His funeral service, with all of these ministers involved, seemed
in that glimpse of time a coming together of the body of Christ
from all walks of faith.
In 1999 we were acquainted with a small tour group
going to Israel. This trip triggered a new search for our Christian
roots. The homeland of Jesus, Israel, felt so alive after reading
about this miraculous land in the New Testament. In Israel, we saw
three churches at every major Christian historical site; Catholic,
Orthodox and Coptic. In addition, we saw Muslim mosques and the
long-standing Jewish synagogues nearby. We walked where Jesus walked
and quickly learned that this land, which was the birthplace and
crucifixion of Jesus, was only the beginning of Christianity.
At the beginning of Christ’s ministry there
was a transition from Judaism to Christianity, which made its way
to Rome. In 2002, Deborah and I went to Rome on our 30th wedding
anniversary. We realized first hand that the launching pad of the
Gospel to the Gentiles took place here in this historic, yet romantic
ancient city. In Rome, we saw where Christian martyrs were executed
for their faith, including Peter, Paul and many others who gave
their life for the Gospel. As a side note, isn’t it interesting
that when the church was under persecution, it grew, and as we are
under persecution as individual Christians, we grow spiritually
as well. We saw a pattern of apostolic succession with the lineage
back to St. Peter the apostle, the first pastor in Rome, and the
disciples of Jesus, which all began at their commissioning during
the Last Supper.
On this trip we began to ask new questions about
the Reformation and the brave and unusual Catholic priest named
Martin Luther. He submitted his 95 Thesis of unscriptural infractions
to the fathers of the Catholic Church. The time was 1517 A.D. and
the Catholic Church hierarchy was at that time corrupted, unsightly
at best, and in many ways un-godly. It became clear to me that all
Protestants, including myself, were in a way formerly Catholic and
when we “left” the Catholic Church about 400 years ago,
we abandoned almost anything that remotely looked Catholic. In fact,
if the truth were known, we had nothing but criticisms of the Catholic
faith. Because of the experiences leading to and following the Reformation,
we did not understand, or even want to understand, this ancient
faith.
As evangelical Protestants, we found it hard to
believe that Catholics and Episcopalians were ever born again, but
I later discovered this was not true. In fact, many of the things
we learned as Protestants about the Catholic Church I have since
found to be untrue, inaccurate or exaggerated. History teaches us
that in 313 A.D. the Roman Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity
in the entire Roman Empire. As a result, the Gospel and Christianity
rapidly spread. It was Constantine who assembled the Nicene Council
to settle once and for all the question of the Deity of Jesus Christ.
Constantine called the Nicene Council to settle the disputes over
the person of Jesus Christ; and in the process defined the Holy
Trinity. Although we as Protestants fled from the Catholic Church,
many of us still say and/or believe the Nicene Creed, which is our
confession of faith. Still, many Christians, wince at the words,
“we believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.”
Somehow we skip over that term or explain it away by saying “universal.”
Yet, St. Ignatius of Antioch used the use the word Catholic in reference
to the church in 110 A.D. The Nicene Creed, which is the profession
of our Christian faith, goes back to 325 A.D.
As we all grow in our Christian life, we quickly
realize that no church is perfect and all churches (denominations
and non-denominations) have experienced internal sin, disappointment
in man and scandals, which is indeed not a good testimony for the
Lord. Protestants have experienced this heartache as well as Catholics.
In addition, there have been doctrinal changes
across Protestantism. Under Martin Luther certain books were removed
from the Old Testament, even though they were in the Bible used
by Jesus and the Apostles. Martin Luther even wanted to remove the
book of James because he thought it conflicted with the doctrine
of being saved by grace alone. James 2:20 states, “But wilt
thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead.”
Two things followed Martin Luther’s departure
from the Catholic Church; one is that men will scatter quickly outside
of authority. The divisions in the Protestant ranks vary over a
wide range of disputes and differences, which led us today to having
over 33,000 denominations. Each year new church splits occur over
the most insignificant issues, which continue to multiply. Yet,
Martin Luther’s departure forced the Catholic Church to reform
and vigorously deal with the valid and undisputable accusations
levied against the Church. History teaches the doctrines of the
Catholic Church have been consistent and scriptural; man did fail,
but God never fails and the teachings and traditions of Christ are
tried, true and tested over time, even until today. Man did fail,
but the doctrinal scriptural teachings did not fail.
All of this warm up and background is preparing
you the reader for the fact that my wife Deborah and I this year,
2004, in our 50th year of life (Year of Jubilee) will be received
into the Catholic Church. Interestingly, there is no lineage in
either of our families that navigates back to the Catholic Church,
neither has anyone in the Catholic Church been recruiting us, the
Holy Spirit has been drawing us for years in the face of great resistance
from me, the old faithful Protestant. I must admit though, a dear
friend, Virginia Gagliano, a faithful Sidewalk Counselor volunteer
in Deborah’s pro-life work was always faithful to send Deborah
home with material, which she read.
There are many of our friends, including my colleagues
reading this testimony who will be asking the big question - why
are you doing this? Many emotions may stir over this decision that
has taken years to materialize. I trust you will hear me out from
the content of this short white paper, which is designed to answer
some of those questions. Some insiders on the news of our planned
entrance into Communion with the Church this Easter have asked why,
and hearing our reply, began to embrace an understanding of our
decision. This testimony will hopefully shed some light to many
who we call friends, brothers and sisters in Christ and my fellow
Protestants as to how we came to our conclusions. The purpose of
this paper is to serve as an explanation; it is not designed as
a sales piece, so please relax and walk with me for a few minutes
as a fellow Christian. I cannot and will not renounce my protestant
background, nor does this move negate my Christian upbringing, it
enriches my faith and walk. My wife Deborah and I find ourselves
very comfortable in any Christian environment and participating
in any Christian worship service. All of the body of Christ has
much to offer and we enjoy witnessing God’s Holy Spirit at
work everywhere.
Please permit me to share a few of the spirit filled
parcels about my new walk in the Catholic Church that generates
great personal excitement. In an early admission up front, it appears
that every where I turn, there is a sign, symbol or tradition that
seems to have some value or meaning that is a reminder of Christ,
it is absolutely life giving. Everything, including certain gestures
and moves, has some deep spiritual symbol that point to Christ.
I was satisfied with apostolic succession, the sacraments and the
history that all Protestants, including me, clearly originated from
the Catholic Church, and we were drawn in. I began to see other
signs and symbols that enrich my faith in Jesus Christ and my spiritual
walk with him. I guess it goes back to our work on the pro-life
front and being around Catholic priests. Although I was not a Catholic
admirer, I was drawn by the servant-hood and humility I witnessed
in these men. I seemed to have an “unwritten holy respect”
for them. There was no envy, strife, struggle or ego present in
them, which I found most Christ-like and very appealing. This temperament
in a minister draws me to Christ. As I took a closer look at these
priests, I realized they have given up all. They had pledged their
lives and their own needs through a commitment to celibacy. It does
not get any more unselfish and selfless than this. I found myself
rather than being critical (as most of us Protestants were) of priests,
having a deep regard and respect for their willingness to serve
the flock of God. I did not know this, but they hold church daily
and most have multiple services daily, this is true dedication and
a true gift to the body of Christ. Needless to say, I am indeed
impressed with this deep level of commitment and sacrifice. They
have given up their entire life to be a servant to the Lord and
HIS flock, which is all they do 24-7. What more can one give than
one’s whole life? I have always had the highest regard and
respect for pastors since there is no higher calling in life, but
I have a new respect and admiration for Roman Catholic priests who
literally give everything up. Roman Catholic priests like Father
Francis Butler, Father James Dean, Father Frank Pavone and Father
Charles Troncale were visible signs and witnesses to Deborah and
me in our pro-life work. A recent priest in my life who loves to
research and teach church history and has greatly contributed to
our walk and understanding is Father Stephen Martin of St. Peter’s
Catholic Church here in Montgomery. I love this guy. I would be
remiss if I did not expound for a moment about a spiritual patriarch
and friend, Jim Pinto. Jim Pinto is a former Charismatic Episcopal
priest who served as a pastoral covering to my family as we were
searching for a church home. Jim was a former Catholic, strayed
from the Lord and after coming back to Christ was ordained as an
Episcopal priest. Recently, he came home to the Catholic Church,
gave up his ordination and pastoral ministry in this decision. This
man’s gifts and pastoral calling have richly touched my family.
The Catholic Church has one of the finest ambassadors in modern
time in Jim Pinto. He now works in the vineyard with Priests for
Life under the direction of Father Frank Pavone. To me and to thousands
he has ministered to over the years, he is still Father Jim Pinto.
We are proud that Jim Pinto is sponsoring us coming into the church.
Ed Clark with the Montgomery Respect Life Committee and a founder
of COPE Crisis Pregnancy Center is another person who touched our
lives. In the Gospel of John chapter 17 is an example of touching
all of those in Christ; because we are one. Ed never had but one
agenda and that was to serve others. Around our house he is referred
to as Saint Ed. His humility and gentleness was a living testimony
of God’s love.
Once we began to visit the Catholic Church, it
seemed as though I had come in contact with some significant symbols
and traditions that greatly enriched my Christian walk. Catholic
churches in their architectural design create a sense of permanence.
Their typical grandeur and construction is built to be a holy place,
which in their stature alone loudly communicates that the Lord is
the same yesterday today and forever more. I love to hear the bell
ringing before church, which is a call to the people for a time
of worship. In Rome, you hear the bells echoing through the ancient
streets with a crispness of joy and thanksgiving. The bells somehow
ring in our hearts that HE is alive and we are HIS people, come
forth in the name of the Lord. The holy water font in the rear of
the church is such a reverent opportunity to dip our fingers in
the water which reminds us of our baptism and form a cross, being
cleansed from sin and setting us apart as a servant of God Almighty.
This sign was present when the Christians were being martyred at
sporting events for the Romans; before Constantine legalized Christianity
as the religion in the Roman Empire. It was a sign and witness to
the audience from the martyrs as their life drew to a close, that
they were marked as Christ’s own. How many of us would risk
our life, as they did, for their faith? What a testimony to not
be ashamed of the Gospel and losing their life for their faith.
When you see the people enter into the peaceful, holy and reverent
sanctuary and kneel in respect to the King of Kings and Lord of
Lords, it outwardly reminds us all HE is seated on the throne, Hallelujah.
Watching Christians quietly slip to their knees, making their pew
an altar and praying before the service begins, allows us a moment
to reflect and prepare our hearts for worship and adoration for
all HE has done for us. The precession coming down the aisle with
the cross leading reminds me of when HE came into Jerusalem on the
back of a donkey Palm Sunday revered and recognized by HIS own as
King of the Jews. The burning of incense is a symbol that has great
depth and meaning. This can be seen, for example, in Revelation
5:8, where John depicts the saints in heaven offering our prayers
to God under the form of "golden bowls full of incense, which
are the prayers of the saints." The censer of frankincense
burning reminds us of the gifts given by the wise men to baby Jesus.
History teaches us the significance of those three gifts; gold,
frankincense and myrrh. Gifts of gold were always reserved for a
King. Frankincense was a gift customarily reserved for the physicians
used for healing and worship on the altar of incense in the temple.
Myrrh was a sign of death and suffering and was used to perfume
bodies for burial. As the frankincense is burning, I am reminded
of the prayers of the people, but also that Jesus is the Great Physician.
As a Christian, I see the cloud of smoke as God’s healing
power and glory hovering over the people and the altar where the
sacrifices are offered and communion is taken. I love to see and
smell the incense as they are offered up to HIM who is worthy of
all praise and thanksgiving. Exodus 30 describes the altar of incense
in the temple. Verse 34 states, “Then the LORD said to Moses,
Take fragrant spices-gum resin, onycha and galbanum-and pure frankincense,
all in equal amounts, and make a fragrant blend of incense, the
work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred. Grind
some of it to powder and place it in front of the Testimony in the
Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy
to you. Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves;
consider it holy to the LORD.”
The art in the church enveloped in paintings, stained
glass windows, sculptures and the like cause me to meditate and
bring to life and remembrance the birth, life, death and resurrection
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I find myself observing others
prayerfully taking in these images, which so vividly remind me of
Jesus. The liturgical calendar is exciting to me as we always have
something to look forward to in our walk during the year with HIM.
To me it is not even close to becoming boring or a ritual, but breeds
life. HE promised that HE is the same yesterday today and forever
more --- HE is far from boring. The order of service which dates
back to 155 A.D. begins the service with repentance before God of
how we have fallen short of the Glory of God which prepares our
hearts to enter into HIS worship service clean before God and man.
The scripture readings which are daily read in
church services, not only walk us through the Bible essentially
every two years, but HIS word is being read worldwide daily by Christians
on the same page, which I find absolutely amazing. This in my view
brings unity and direction to all of HIS flock around the world.
Repeating the Nicene Creed, which is the confession of our faith
as Christians, dates back to 325 A.D., which as we know, emerged
from the Apostles Creed. I am in awe that we repeat everyday the
very confession of faith that our brothers and sisters have faithfully
through tradition recited since the beginning of the church.
As I stated earlier, communion became a very intimate
time for my family several years ago at that make shift altar in
that inner city church. I have come to realize that when Jesus was
on the road to Emmaus, his disciples did not recognize HIM until
HE broke the bread and revealed himself. There is a great revelation
of Jesus in the taking of the bread and the cup. Partaking of the
bread and cup is an honor and privilege for Christians and should
not be taken lightly. Protestants want to reach the lost and reveal
Christ to them. Christ does reveal himself in many ways to believers
and unbelievers. Traditionally, most of our Protestant upbringing
overlooks the power and revelation of Jesus in communion, so it
sometimes becomes a square we color in, and yet, we miss an opportunity
for Christ to have another venue to reveal Himself. Early Christianity
was under fire because rumors were flying about communion (the body
and blood of Christ) being viewed as cannibalism. Jesus in HIS words
said, “this is my body, take eat; and this is my blood, take
drink.” In defense of the Christian church, St. Justin Martyr
wrote to Antonius Pius, the Roman Emperor to fully disclose and
describe the order of a typical Christian worship service, which
always included communion. Christ reveals Himself though many manifestations
and in many venues. I now realize what it is about communion that
reduces me to tears every time. Like on the road to Emmaus, HE revealed
himself gently in communion, yet HIS power is overwhelmingly miraculous
and great revelation is present in and through it. He told us “this
is my body, take eat, this is my blood take and drink.” The
benefits to all Christians of the sacrifice of Christ’s body
and blood are too great to enumerate, the awesomeness of all of
this can be witnessed in communion. I think another thing that grips
my heart is the altar. It is where you come to take communion. The
altar is a place of dying to self, sacrifice and place where we
as sheep are fed and touched by the Shepard, it does not get any
more powerful than that.
I always thought the word Mass was weird, why didn’t
they just say church or worship service like we Protestants called
it. Later, I found out the word Mass came from the Latin word missa,
which means, “go forth.” Actually, we get the word mission
from the Latin word “missio.” We are to go forth into
the world carrying the Gospel to love others and serve the Lord.
We always talked about, as found in Ephesians, equipping the saints
for the work of the ministry, but this term, “mass”
means that I am being sent out into the world; isn’t that
neat.
In summary, it appears as though that the Lord
uses all five of our senses to minister to us in these ancient Christian
services. Seeing, hearing, smelling, touching and tasting all seem
to be ways the Lord ministers to us; I find it quite fascinating.
With our eyes we see marvelous architecture, icons, sculptures and
art that gives us visuals that draw us into the life, death and
resurrection of Jesus. Certainly with our ears we hear the scripture
readings, prayers of the people offered up, the liturgy being read
and the sermons. The sweet smell of the incense burning takes us
back to the altar of incense used in the temple and reminds us of
the prayers of the people being offered up. We touch one another
as we exchange the peace of the Lord; hold hands during the Lord’s
Prayer and the representative of the Lord, the priest touches us
as little lambs of the flock during communion. We use our sense
of taste as we ingest communion as the body and blood of our Savior.
It is simply amazing how God uses even our senses to reach us during
these times of worship; HE does not overlook one detail.
For my wife Deborah and me, we have been at sea
now for a long time seeking the harbor that we can call our own.
We have standing invitations all across Montgomery to join many
churches all the time. All of these churches have great pastors
and wonderful congregations. It seems as though one of my personal
struggles was the issue of biblically based church government. In
addition, what do we as Protestants do with the 1500-year block
in our history; we have ignored it totally. I could never renounce
my Christian experience over the past 28 years as a Protestant,
for the Lord does deliver, heal and restore by the power of HIS
Spirit wherever there is a willing heart, but neither can I ignore
the history of the church.
Again, this letter was written to share an explanation
of our journey to our friends and colleagues and try to answer the
question: “why are you doing this?” Some have said to
Deborah and me, “you do not even look Catholic.” Deborah
and I are absolutely thrilled and we cannot wait until Easter 2004
to be received into the Roman Catholic Church and take Communion.
I even get excited saying the words Roman Catholic, because until
now it seemed we were hopelessly separated from one another, but
now we have been invited to bring all the blessings we have received
throughout our Christian lives, in the whole Body of Christ, into
the Catholic Church. You know we are all in one body together. Deborah
and I have seen one of our gifts and calling is to bring people
of all walks of life together. I hope our experience and future
walk could serve as a small contribution in building a bridge that
brings two remote islands together. As President of the Christian
Coalition of Alabama, it will give me a continued opportunity to
build bridges in the faith-based community. You know, together we
stand, divided we fall. I want to dedicate myself to be in the business
of unity. Thank you so much for allowing me to bare my soul.
With warm and kindest personal regards, I remain
Respectfully your friend and fellow bondservant,
John W. Giles
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