Josh Mann, July 31-August 1

Where would you be right now if you weren’t following Christ? Do you ever think about that? Every single Christ follower in the room made a life-altering decision at some point in their past. Had that decision not been made, they’d be in a different place––they’d be a different person. Many of us have to think back pretty far to imagine life without knowing or following Jesus, others of us just weeks.

For those of us who have made that commitment, we have been literally saved from something, somewhere and someone. What kind of 20-year-old, 40-year-old, 60-year-old, student, mom, dad, employee or leader would you be without Christ?

Why do I ask? I have just found that my current gratitude for who Christ is in my life is directly linked to my remembrance of my past and my perception of what the future would have looked like had he not intervened. And my current gratitude is the position from which I pray, praise, serve, obey, share my faith and give. If my remembrance of my particular flavor of hopelessness without Christ is faint, then so will be my gratitude.

For those of us who accepted Christ at an early age, we may feel that this exercise is reserved for those with a colorful past. It doesn’t have to be. We can all take a good, hard look at our worst selves these days as a follower of Christ and imagine what we would be like had we not received his grace, forgiveness, guidance and Holy Spirit so many years ago.

If all that could happen to you, couldn’t it happen to just about anyone? That was essentially the message of the “Sacred Conversations” series. We transition this week to a new series entitled “Sacred Places.” This series will revisit many of the most significant places in scripture where these moments left people forever changed. In doing so, I invite you to go back through your own memory to the dining tables, Sunday school rooms, camps, dorm rooms and other places where some of your most significant spiritual moments took place.

While we’re glad you’re here today, your journey didn’t start here. In case you haven’t been back in a while, let’s go back and retrace our steps. Some stops will be painful, others inspiring, but all had a role in who you are and where you are today.

Josh is a Middle School Pastor and has been serving at Salem Alliance since 2004. His path to Salem included stops in Canada, Ohio, China, Taiwan, California, Wyoming and Minnesota. Josh completed his undergrad and graduate degrees at Crown College and is married to Becca, who is on staff in the Outreach Department. Josh and Becca are in the process of adopting a baby from Ethiopia.