Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 84
Carolina. She gave me the phone numbers for both of them, the Charlotte Church of Christ
and the Triangle Church of Christ.
Both churches were about the same distance from Winston-Salem, about an hour and a
half. Since I went to school in Chapel Hill, I decided that I would try there. I called the
church number, found out where it was and when they met and made plans to go. I called
my friend, Jess, who still lived in that area to ask her to go with me. We rolled into the
parking lot of the Triangle Church, which was just down the road from my old apartment. I
got out of the car and heard someone call my name! I turned around and saw Debbie, one
of my college instructors and my mentor in athletic training! If that wasn‘t enough, her
visitor got out of her car and it was Paul, one of my classmates and friends from graduate
school! Everything was adding up, God was giving me signs that this was where I needed
to be!
I met a girl from Greensboro who asked me if I was interested in studying the Bible. I said
sure and we set up a time to meet between Greensboro and Winston. Anjeanette took me
through a ―lesson‖ that she had pre-planned. We talked a bit and set up a time to meet
before church the next week to study again. Each time we met, there was a pre-planned
―lesson‖ with more and more people. Jeri Lang, the minister‘s wife was there, another
leader‘s wife, Jan Mitchell was there, Debbie, and Colleen, another woman from Winston. It
always seemed as if the talks were focused on me. No one else was ―studying.‖ Someone
even took notes for me! They would ask me to look back through the notes, see if I had
questions, and give me a reading assignment. It seemed as if my study ―group‖ kept
expanding! I did one session at Geri Lang‘s house called a ―life talk‖ they had me go back
through my whole life, from as far back as I could remember and talk about the bad things I
had done, the bad feelings I had, my misbehavior. Debbie started crying, saying that the
whole time she had known me through undergrad and graduate school, I had never let her
really know me. That made me feel badly. After my group analysis, I was asked, ―If you
were the only person to live on this Earth, would Jesus have had to die to save you from
your sins?‖ Well, yes, I guess so. ―How does that make you feel?‖ Guilty. After the baring
of my life, I had had enough for that session. The medical account of Jesus‘ crucifixion
really hit me hard. Having a medical background, it was so descriptive that it made me feel
sick. I was very emotionally affected by that account. I guess that was my ―breaking‖
session. I finished my studies and was put on the calendar to be baptized the next Sunday,
when my parents could come up from Pinehurst to see it.
I chose Debbie to baptize me, since she was an important person to me. We walked down
into the baptismal. One of the ministry leaders asked me the questions, then Debbie
supported me while I was dunked. My parents stood on the outside of the baptismal. As I
came up, the man told me I needed to go again, my elbow had been out of the water. So I
went under again. That made my Dad mad, the pickiness of a symbolic gesture. Mom was
asked to study the Bible. She said she‘d be interested, but it would be difficult to schedule,
due to the distance. (She ended up studying once, and that was it). As soon as I got back
to my seat, I was handed a pledge card how much money was I going to give each week?
I did midweek in Greensboro, and Sunday in Chapel Hill. Some weekends, I would drive
down on Saturday to go on ―dates‖ with brothers and do things with the other single
women. It was hard living so far away, but I had made some good friends and felt like I
now had a relationship with God.
In June, I left Winston-Salem for Atlanta. Julie had gotten me a place to stay with some of
the Georgia State students. They would be gone to church camp most of the summer, so
there would be plenty of space in their apartment. I got there and went to work as an
athletic training volunteer for team handball at the 1996 Olympics. I went to Sunday
service with Julie in the campus sector. I was uncomfortable, because I was alone most of
Carolina. She gave me the phone numbers for both of them, the Charlotte Church of Christ
and the Triangle Church of Christ.
Both churches were about the same distance from Winston-Salem, about an hour and a
half. Since I went to school in Chapel Hill, I decided that I would try there. I called the
church number, found out where it was and when they met and made plans to go. I called
my friend, Jess, who still lived in that area to ask her to go with me. We rolled into the
parking lot of the Triangle Church, which was just down the road from my old apartment. I
got out of the car and heard someone call my name! I turned around and saw Debbie, one
of my college instructors and my mentor in athletic training! If that wasn‘t enough, her
visitor got out of her car and it was Paul, one of my classmates and friends from graduate
school! Everything was adding up, God was giving me signs that this was where I needed
to be!
I met a girl from Greensboro who asked me if I was interested in studying the Bible. I said
sure and we set up a time to meet between Greensboro and Winston. Anjeanette took me
through a ―lesson‖ that she had pre-planned. We talked a bit and set up a time to meet
before church the next week to study again. Each time we met, there was a pre-planned
―lesson‖ with more and more people. Jeri Lang, the minister‘s wife was there, another
leader‘s wife, Jan Mitchell was there, Debbie, and Colleen, another woman from Winston. It
always seemed as if the talks were focused on me. No one else was ―studying.‖ Someone
even took notes for me! They would ask me to look back through the notes, see if I had
questions, and give me a reading assignment. It seemed as if my study ―group‖ kept
expanding! I did one session at Geri Lang‘s house called a ―life talk‖ they had me go back
through my whole life, from as far back as I could remember and talk about the bad things I
had done, the bad feelings I had, my misbehavior. Debbie started crying, saying that the
whole time she had known me through undergrad and graduate school, I had never let her
really know me. That made me feel badly. After my group analysis, I was asked, ―If you
were the only person to live on this Earth, would Jesus have had to die to save you from
your sins?‖ Well, yes, I guess so. ―How does that make you feel?‖ Guilty. After the baring
of my life, I had had enough for that session. The medical account of Jesus‘ crucifixion
really hit me hard. Having a medical background, it was so descriptive that it made me feel
sick. I was very emotionally affected by that account. I guess that was my ―breaking‖
session. I finished my studies and was put on the calendar to be baptized the next Sunday,
when my parents could come up from Pinehurst to see it.
I chose Debbie to baptize me, since she was an important person to me. We walked down
into the baptismal. One of the ministry leaders asked me the questions, then Debbie
supported me while I was dunked. My parents stood on the outside of the baptismal. As I
came up, the man told me I needed to go again, my elbow had been out of the water. So I
went under again. That made my Dad mad, the pickiness of a symbolic gesture. Mom was
asked to study the Bible. She said she‘d be interested, but it would be difficult to schedule,
due to the distance. (She ended up studying once, and that was it). As soon as I got back
to my seat, I was handed a pledge card how much money was I going to give each week?
I did midweek in Greensboro, and Sunday in Chapel Hill. Some weekends, I would drive
down on Saturday to go on ―dates‖ with brothers and do things with the other single
women. It was hard living so far away, but I had made some good friends and felt like I
now had a relationship with God.
In June, I left Winston-Salem for Atlanta. Julie had gotten me a place to stay with some of
the Georgia State students. They would be gone to church camp most of the summer, so
there would be plenty of space in their apartment. I got there and went to work as an
athletic training volunteer for team handball at the 1996 Olympics. I went to Sunday
service with Julie in the campus sector. I was uncomfortable, because I was alone most of
