the heights

My Parents, Nicholas and Marie Gall, adopted me as an infant; they took me to Church, nurturing my faith, and with great longsuffering, put up with all my shenanigans as I grew up. The loved me and socialized me for life in this world and the next. Thank you, Mom and Dad. May the Lord remember you in His Kingdom.

“You must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (St. Matthew 5) As a teenager I began reading the New Testament, and this verse bowled me over. “How could I ever become perfect?” I actually laid aside the Scriptures for quite a while because of this. I count this as an epiphany (insight) on my way because it was my introduction to adult Bible interpretation. The Holy Scriptures should be challenging us, don’t you think?

Reading Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “The Brothers Karamazov.” After high school I would go to the classics section of the bookstore at our county’s big shopping mall in search of insights into the meaning of life. Most of the books were very thoughtful, but the various conclusions they would reach concerning life’s meaning didn’t strike any kind of decisive chord in me.  But this one did. In particular, the deeply spiritual character Father Zosima as well as the novice Alyosha Karamazov exemplified what life is all about. I had drifted away from Christ, and this book pointed me back to Him. (Too bad that I was too enamored with the youth culture of the time to give consideration to Dostoevsky’s Church – the Orthodox Church. Twenty-Four years would pass before that day would come.)

1974: The Gospels come alive for me! I had made efforts to read them before, but now I found them gripping and powerful. And now Jesus became the center of the universe for me. That Spring the woods where I walked seemed especially vibrant. One day at work, while the machines were being fixed, in the break room a Christian, Mark Barlieb, shared his testimony with me. He spoke of committing his life to Jesus. Right there and then I began to weigh whether I would be willing  to do this, to surrender everything I desired – marriage, college – for Christ to decide.  A fierce battle arose in my heart over this. After some time I thought, “I just have to go forward with Jesus Christ. To turn back from Him would be to turn away from Life itself.” And I chose to go forward with Christ. 

Joy: In the aftermath of this decision I experienced a sense of great joy  which continued for at least a month. When I recite the prayer from Psalms 50 (LXX) 51 (Hebrew) “Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation,” this time of joy often comes to my mind,  making me long for heaven.

1978: Arising from the shadow of death (the Church Of Bible Understanding- see The Depths) Coming back from spiritual death – the leader of the COBU had proclaimed those like me “far gone,” and I had believed it. I left the group, and lost hope that God could forgive and renew me – the terrible sin of despair. But one day as I worked in the factory it dawned on me that the Christ who died on the cross would not consider me beyond hope. That day I sat down with pen and paper and made a long list of things that were doubtful and dubious about the Church of Bible Understanding. It was like a light bulb had illumined the dark places.

A few weeks later, a couple ex-Cobu members who had gotten back on their feet spiritually, Bill Lauzus and Bert Neikirk, called me and invited me to their small group of Christian young people. I went, and continued to meet with them; they were a very caring and forbearing bunch of people (I was somewhat of a mess from my COBU experience). I rededicated my life to Christ in this setting of loving Protestant Christian believers.

Counseling Sessions with Dr. George Jefferson and one of the books he recommended: The Renewed Mind, by Larry Christenson. Dr. Jefferson helped to resolve some issues, including issues related to my years in the COBU. He was gentle, a quality sorely lacking in COBU. The book had an air of joy, a good sort of lightness. It was what I needed at the time.

The wondrous, artful writings of C.S. Lewis were an inspiration to me. As Dostoevsky wrote, “Beauty will save the world.” The Chronicles of Narnia were just one example of his work.

The books of A.W. Tozer– Though critical of the Tradition, this Christian & Missionary Alliance minister had depth. I would cite “The Pursuit of God” in particular.

The books of Francis Schaeffer (mainly, The God Who is there) were a reference for me as I worked toward a degree at Millersville University, a secular university in which numerous professors had negative attitudes toward Christianity. I may not agree with some aspects of his theology now, but his work had depth, and they were helpful to me as an apologetic against secularism.

The witness of Richard Wurmbrand and Haralan Popov, Protestant ministers who suffered torture under Communist regimes, which they chronicled in their books, were  a testimony to an enduring faith, deeper than what I was experiencing. I read their books (Tortured for Christ & Tortured for his faith, respectively), and had the occasion to hear them speak 

Columbia International University 1988-89; Met a lot of very dedicated Protestant Christians there, and they discussed issues like baptism and the Church which got me thinking.

Jerusalem and Israel, Feb.- March 1989, a 6 week study course: the Holy Land! Among many other places, we toured the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and walked through the tomb of Christ – truly holy places. I just wasn’t attuned very well to the reality of holy places at the time. To the right is an exception: The Sealed Eastern (or Golden) Gate into the old city of Jerusalem. See Ezekiel 43.  Even then, at this place, I felt awe.

August 1989: I began employment with Friendship Community, a Christian Group Home Provider, where God works in and among people with developmental disabilities and those who are their advisors and friends.

June 1, 1991: I married Margaret!  Now I would share my life with another, one whom Jesus Christ is transforming into His likeness, from glory to glory. And so, close at hand, was a mirror showing the glory of God. My beloved wife! Thank you, Lord.

Blaise Pascal’s Pensees were a revelation to me; they were full of life, vitality, and devotion – clear indications of a regenerated person – something I, in my narrow fundamentalist Protestant way of thinking, had not thought to find in most “traditional” Christians. (He was Roman Catholic.) The lives of St. Francis and St. Teresa of Liseaux also contributed to my reevaluation of traditional Christians and their writings, which I now began to see as valuable resources in the quest to lead a life pleasing to God.

The writings of Jean Vanier, (especially Community and Growth) who is also a Roman Catholic, concerning life in community with persons with developmental disabilities, revealed to me a spiritual depth lacking in my own (ongoing) Christian experience as an advisor and houseparent in a group home. His writings further confirmed for me the conviction that traditional Christianity is not a repository of empty rituals, as I had thought, but a source of wisdom for Christian living.

The works of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, when I was taking another look at Lutheranism, were eye-openers for me. Here was a Protestant Evangelical who spoke of the great value of confession; he also spoke of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. These insights were for me stepping-stones to the Great Tradition and the Orthodox Faith. (One of his works: Life Together)

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In 1998 I began to read Orthodox Christian authors, starting with Fr. Lev Gillett’s Orthodox Spirituality and Fr. John Meyendorff’s Catholicity and the Church (particularly the chapter “The Significance of the Reformation in the History of Christendom”).  There were other books as well, some from Protestant sources, that both multiplied and answered the questions that would arise for me. And through all this I would search the Holy Scriptures for confirmation. The short question in St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians chapter 1, verse 13, “Is Christ divided?” grew in importance for me. It became a burning question, for the answer can only be “No!” And so I sensed the definite call to seek out the undivided Church. I realized this would change our lives in a major way. On February 5th & 6th, 1999, my 44th birthday, we attended Vespers and Divine Liturgy at St. John Chrysostom Antiochian Orthodox Church. And we began worshiping there regularly, and attending the catechism class taught by Father Peter Pier. Life in the Church, especially in worship marked the true beginning of the journey into Christ body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all, and the eternal journey of knowing God more and more,  He in me, and I in Him! Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!