My Story
To Hear Them Sing
I had a wonderful childhood, brought up in the Yorkshire countryside with lots of love, and many Christian values, although I didn't realize that at the time. I was baptised as a baby and attended Sunday school until I was about 12 years old. Then church seemed very boring and a complete waste of a Sunday morning.
However, I did believe in God and the existence of Jesus, but what they had to do with me I didn't know. Had I have been asked if I was a Christian, I would have said "Yes" after all I lived in a Christian country, I had been baptised as a baby and I was basically a good person. That made me a Christian didn't it?
Over the years I had come to the conclusion that anyone who went to church was a hypocrite anyway. In my view they never seemed to adhere to their own set of values and only went to church for the social kudos it brought them.
On November 21st 1998 we were attending a weekend business conference in York. During the last session on Saturday afternoon the speaker, Lisa McInnis - Smith from Australia, asked an audience of 2-3000 people if anyone had the confidence to stand and sing the first line of a song. Although my daughter is a professional singer she didn't want to stand. However many of the people around us knew she could sing and shouted for her to get up. Reluctantly she did so.
At the end of the lecture Lisa said she was holding a service the following morning for anyone who would like to attend. As she had no music or choir to sing the hymns, she asked if the people who had stood would be prepared to help with the service.
Vicky who was pregnant just wanted to get home, so we left the hall. As we did,
Vicky's husband, tried to persuade her because he could sing too, and they would be able to sing together. Eventually she agreed and they went back to see Lisa.
We had no intention of staying for the service, it was for completely the wrong reason, Just to hear them sing.
.
However, I did believe in God and the existence of Jesus, but what they had to do with me I didn't know. Had I have been asked if I was a Christian, I would have said "Yes" after all I lived in a Christian country, I had been baptised as a baby and I was basically a good person. That made me a Christian didn't it?
Over the years I had come to the conclusion that anyone who went to church was a hypocrite anyway. In my view they never seemed to adhere to their own set of values and only went to church for the social kudos it brought them.
On November 21st 1998 we were attending a weekend business conference in York. During the last session on Saturday afternoon the speaker, Lisa McInnis - Smith from Australia, asked an audience of 2-3000 people if anyone had the confidence to stand and sing the first line of a song. Although my daughter is a professional singer she didn't want to stand. However many of the people around us knew she could sing and shouted for her to get up. Reluctantly she did so.
At the end of the lecture Lisa said she was holding a service the following morning for anyone who would like to attend. As she had no music or choir to sing the hymns, she asked if the people who had stood would be prepared to help with the service.
Vicky who was pregnant just wanted to get home, so we left the hall. As we did,
Vicky's husband, tried to persuade her because he could sing too, and they would be able to sing together. Eventually she agreed and they went back to see Lisa.
We had no intention of staying for the service, it was for completely the wrong reason, Just to hear them sing.
.
