My conversion in the mid 70’s took place at a major urban university where I took my degree. I guess because God thought I needed something flashy to get my attention, He saw to it over the period of several summer months that He not only got my attention but also captured my heart. I was undeniably different in many, many ways, behavior not the least of them. There were many professors and friends and even some family anxious and zealous to either pound the faith out of me, or at least see that I didn’t “get carried away” with it.

In fairness to all of those, I was overzealous, ignorant of any theology, lacked any apologetical sophistication or rhetorical skills. If you picture a Great Dane puppy with feet and body too large in comparison to the puppy’s enthusiasms and its abilities to control them and itself-you get a picture of me then. Lovable possibly. Cute, maybe-but a real pain in the neck in the parlor with the good furniture and the antiques. I took a pretty good beating but despite all of that I held on to the fact that I was somehow, because of my conversion, quite a different person than I had been.

Unfortunately, I took the path to reading and study to arm myself and, I convinced myself, to defend the gospel. In reality I wanted to defend myself because I was simply tired of getting beaten up. As you can imagine, the “new” man whose motivations had once been to take Jesus at His words and love my neighbors and do what ever I could to please my new Master was slowly subordinated to someone much more like the “old” man who would rather know what C.S. Lewis or Hooker said about such and such than to know Jesus better and serve Him more faithfully. Learning what a particular concept really meant took a backseat to disciplined piety and works of faith encouraged in James’s epistle.

This is not an appeal to a flabby, anti-intellectual faith, only a recognition that Jesus desires to make new converts whole from stem to stern and above and below decks. It is an appeal to a possible way of integrating all aspects of a person’s life by letting the rivers of living water flow into and out from that person to touch all aspects of their life.

It would have been very helpful If I had have been involved in the kinds of supervised-take it to the streets kind of experiences-you mention. I would also have benefited from some spiritual mentoring from a more mature Christian. With those things I believe I also needed a sound foundational catechism to give some structure and substance to my faith just as the kind of experiential exercises you mention would have given God given impulses towards acts of charity a similar structure and context.

You mentioned an idea of an “old” Christians class. That concept of having some prerequisites is interesting. As I think about it, I see afresh the merits in the system whereby the new convert is, after baptism, immersed in a life of worship, service and instruction in the new faith until confirmed in that faith at which time the new convert may enter into full fellowship with their new family and share in the Lord’s body and His blood and all the mysteries that encompasses. We do a pale immitation of this (pale is my assesment, not official opinion)and we do not hold back participation in communion until after confirmation.

Something like this could be more easily done in the liturgical tradition I am part of now than it could be in other congregations. Something like it however, done consistently and faithfully, would create a tremendous sense of expectation and even mystery in the sacrements, especially surrounding communion, as well as developing a body of tradition for all members.

More opinions from me. As I said before, I am trying to find some ways to negotiate these shoals and get a grip on dealing with the culture as we find it.

(PS: RE: Kid ruining. It’s unlikely you’ll mess him up. As there is no substitute for speed (or heart and guts)on the football field-there is likewise no substitute for prayer(or heart and guts) in raising children. I realize this is showing a firm grasp of the obvious, nevertheless-“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”.)