OK ...
Here is my conversion story.
I was raised a Roman Catholic. Went to RCC gradeschool, Mass every Sunday, choir. At one point, in my adolescence, I even wanted to be a priest. Hard to believe that now.
As a young adult, I got consumed with the desire for money, power, fame, fortune. Worked excessively, compulsively, I thought that I HAD to achieve, ,to provide, to BE SOMEONE, something, make a niche for myself. It was terrible actually, the powerdriving.
I had no faith, put God on the back burner, never even gave Him a thought.
I found myself drinking a little at nights to calm my nerves, and help me sleep. At first, it was a good thing, worked well, allowed me to perform better, but over time, that turned out to be a curse. I became alcoholic, slowly, over the years I started to lose what I wanted. It resulted in a divorce, shame, degredation, terrible things, terrible times.
I went for help, rehab, and in AA they stress the need for a relationship with God. I wanted that, sought it, prayed a LITTLE, went to church, Catholic and Protestant for a time, NOTHING, absolutely nothing happened. My relationship did not "kick in" I asked why, why, others "got IT" I didn't. So I settled in without God and tried to continue in my quest for restoration of all I had lost.
Fast foreward, ten years of sobriety.
I got behind in paying taxes, had a new business, new wife, son, and life had some promise again. BUT the inability to find the means to pay those back taxes weighed on me, consumed me, I COULD NOT see a way out of the mess of those debts. So, despite that decade of AA, I got frustrated when some people there hurt me, deeply, and walked on that. Of course, what always happens when one does that happened to me. Drinking became an option again, and I succumbed.
This two years of drinking took me where no man should go. I got arrested for an act of terrible judgement while drunk, something that I didn't even KNOW was a crime, but KNEW was "wrong". I was on TV, my family was shamed, it was the final nail in my coffin. Destruction loomed. Then to top this story off, I got sued for an internet post, told the truth about a flim flam company, they hated that, sued me personally, ,AND corporately.
I have spent over 100k in legal bills, and had to file for bankruptcy. I was forced back into ANOTHER rehab, and rejoined AA, embarrassement was total. Here I was "Mr. AA" the guy that started meetings, sponsored many, talked and walked the line, and I'm back, as a rank beginner again. You have no idea how that crushed my ego.
I came back to the second and third steps of AA.
2. "Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves, could restore us to sanity."
3. "Made a DECISION to turn our will, and our lives, over to the care of God as I understood him."
Now I had tried this before, for years. But I knew I had to conform, to do this. So I went back to church again.
The RCC faith was not the answer, I looked at it again, but the Legalisms, the emphasis on ritual, the dullness, the works issues, fear and scaring that I saw as an emphasis there, the Mary worship, this all was something that I didn't want. It turned me off totally, I knew, deep in my heart, that if I were to try this again, I would fail. I couldn't fail again, I was NOT going to get another shot at this again, I needed to get God, not think about getting God.
I went to several Protestant church's, for a few months, I tried, honestly to "get IT" and like before, nothing worked, it was gratifying, they were good people, they were kind, but the spirit of God wasn't entering into my soul
and life.
Finally, somehow, the Lord said to me "try this other place". I had no idea why, I didn't even know the name of the church, or the denomination.
Standing at the door, looking in, watching all those people carrying Bibles INTO the service seemed odd. Why bring a Bible, when they provided them in the pews? And a BAND!? What is up with that, and the hand waving, the emotionalism, I was NOT comfortable with any of that, the service was exhuberant, lively, people were INVOLVED.
Wow. I had never seen such a thing. I wanted to come back the next week, my wife didn't. "THOSE PEOPLE" made her uncomfortable, the service was too much for her. BUT she knew that I was devestated, ,and the quest for God would benefit her too, I was looking, needing, and she, being the loving woman she is, allowed for us to go back the next week.
This church has about 1/2 hour of contemporary Christian music, and a choir of 50 people...next week, on the second song, OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART LORD, I broke..started sobbing, I was totally embarrassed. Convicted of my sins. I could NOT stop crying. This is NOT ME, I'm NOT that sort of man. Because I was in an environment of prayer, conviction, and the Holy Spirit, IT finally happened.
What I've come to learn and see, is that for ME, in MY circumstances, the intellectualising of faith was the stumbling block, and the Catholic baggage, of continual sin, ritual, Mass, confession, statues, Rosary, etc was the thing that kept me from accepting and understanding that FAITH is NOT doing things, jumping up and down, sign of the cross, candles, priests, Popes, rules, rules, and MORE rules.
Faith is in your heart. Simple is for me. Reading the Bible for myself, not having some bureacracy telling me that I HAD to do what the Bible said wasn't necessary, getting a PERSONAL, one on one, relationship, direct to God, ,without the middlemen.
My family was upset. Naturally. They thought I was a nut, had joined a cult [Assembly of God] and they were hoping that I would "see the light" and come back to the one true faith, as they thought of Catholic faith.
I never will. I clearly see, for ME now, that I need the entire faith of the Bible, and the oddities of Pentacostalism are not so odd now. Raising hands in prayer, emotional services, singing from the heart, talking in tounges, the entire Pentacostal experience has added so immensely to my soul, my spirit, my walk with God.
I found Jesus, when I tossed out that mismash of accumulated mediavial baggage of Catholicism, the barriers to a direct walk, and without the priest, Pope, and ritual, came to "get" what I always sought.
Now are there good Catholics out there, ,that have "it" YES, absolutely, I have many friends who are good Christians, I engage them almost daily on religous matters, watch EWTN nightly, love some of the men there who teach. There is MUCH to admire in the RCC, much to learn. BUT for me, I can't do THAT again, that kept me out of communion with God. As I continue to study and learn, I have a newer and deeper understanding of the Reformation, what it was, why they did it, and why Protestants are different.
Don't be sucked back in. Take a good look, jump in, the water really is deep here, and the swim with God is a nice one.
Welcome to the forums 
