As an atheist put off by the hypocrisy of Christians, Christopher’s life mantra was work hard, play hard (with alcohol and drugs onboard). Follow the story of his turnaround, with some charismatic detours along the way.

<p>As an atheist put off by the hypocrisy of Christians, Christopher’s life mantra was work hard, play hard (with alcohol and drugs onboard). Follow the story of his turnaround, with some charismatic detours along the way.</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Adverum Productions

Christopher Laubscher

Journeys Season 1

Should Christians Have Ecstatic Experiences?: Christopher’s Journey

Dan Millares

Searching for the Meaning of Life: Dan’s Journey

Cacyne Hernehult

Searching for True Love: Cacyne’s Journey

Maj Oblak

Can Faith Be Rational?: Maj’s Journey

Miikael Volkonski

I Would Never Become a Christian: Miikael’s Journey

Jan Haugg

Finding Hope for the Environment: Jan’s Journey

Conrad Whitaker

Beyond Rituals and Crucifixes: Conrad’s Journey

Samuel Jacobsen

Escape From New Age and the Paranormal: Samuel’s Journey

Grace Rose

Finding Peace at Last: A Miraculous Journey

Jonas Nygard

Hungry for More: Jonas’ Journey

Albert Jurgens

Learning to Trust the Bible: Albert’s Journey

Chris Berger

Existential U-turn: Chris’s Journey

How do we find meaning in our life, a solid foundation on which to stake our existence? Are we merely cosmic orphans not knowing where we come from or where we're going? And if life is meaningless, how do we deal with that? Do we resort to opening a bottle, lighting a joint, or dancing ourselves to exhaustion? I was fortunate to find answers on my journey to, to faith, and this is my story. My name is Christopher Cher, and I was born in South Africa, in the town of Sre, close to the Kruger National Park, where many people go on safari. My biological parents never married, unfortunately, but my mother did marry another man and he adopted me, and so became my stepdad. Both my biological parents, however, come from missionary families, originally from Sweden, but as I was growing up, I, God wasn't really a part of our, our daily lives. The most that he was there was when we prayed for our evening meal together. So church was something that my friends and extended family did, but not something that we did. So after high school, I started working as a waiter at a restaurant, very well known steakhouse in, in White River. And I soon made, made friends with my colleagues there who as well weren't really brought up in a very Christian home. They invited me to come with their parties. And so it was living a very hedonistic lifestyle. You know, we were partying on the weekends, drinking, smoking marijuana, taking drugs, and that's was my life for almost three years. Not much thought for the future at all. Then something began to change in my life. I, I was watching the news and felt that I was seeing things there that the, the Bible was talking about. And so I, I picked up my mom's bible and turned to the book of Revelation, hoping to understand, but it was all just a big mystery to me. I also continued searching and read books on numerology and new age, but there, I didn't really find the foundation I was looking for. Didn't find any solid answers. I felt like I was just a number and that I was living a predetermined existence At the time, I was living with my grandmother on my mom's side. She was a born again Christian, part of a Pentecostal church in White River, and she could see that I was searching, and she had been praying for me during this whole period, and she actually invited me to come with her to church one day. Now, I had unfortunately had some negative experience with Christians while working at the restaurant. They would come in after church service on Sunday, and they would be rather condescending and not very generous with their tips. I felt that there was a lot of pretense in Christianity, a lot of waste of money, but I myself had not given much thought to God. I believe that there, that there is a, or that there was a, a force out there, that there was something pervading the universe, but not that it was a, a personal God. The first Sunday that my gran invited me to, to go with her, I actually said no, because I had been partying late the, the previous night. So I wasn't interested, but she was persistent and asked me again the following Sunday. And I thought to myself, well, I mean, it's not that Christianity is completely foreign to me. Why not give it a try? And so I went with her the Sunday after. And so there I was one bright Sunday morning at Calvary Assemblies of God, and they started with their praise music. And it just felt so alive that, that these people had a connection with something real and tangible. And I, and I really wanted that for myself. The preacher started preaching his sermon about God's love for the world and how Jesus came to, to this world to die for, for us. And there was forgiveness for me. And so something started to stir within me. I didn't necessarily feel sorry for sin, but I, I felt sorrowful for not having God in my life. And I felt sad for the emptiness I'd experience so far. And here was God offering me a personal and close relationship with him through the gospel. Then the preacher gave an alta call and asked if anybody would like to give their lives to Jesus. And to the shock of my grandmother, I stood up and walked to the front of the church. I was convinced that God wanted to save me and wanted to give meaning to my life. And there, and then I gave my life to Jesus. I accepted him into my heart. And I, I haven't looked back since. Now, nobody at the church told me about baptism, but as I read the New Testament and, and read about those who were converted being baptized, I really felt the, the, the conviction that I need to be baptized and, and have my past life washed away. Nobody told me that I, I needed to live a different life, but I began praying and reading the Bible ferociously and things started to change. I, I felt a, a renewal from the inside out. I didn't have the desire to go partying anymore or drinking anymore or taking drugs anymore. I also used to swear a lot. Almost every second word was a, was a swear word, but even that changed yet my, my friends didn't change. I still had all the same friends and, and they claimed to be, to be Christian, but their lifestyle was anything but Christian. And so I kept being invited to, to parties and to drink and to take drugs before my conversion. I also used to smoke a lot of marijuana. So, you know, they would say like, oh, it's not such a big deal just to smoke with us. So I was really in, in danger of, of lapsing into old habits. Again, providentially, I escaped that life situation. I was given the opportunity to move to Sweden and get to know the other side of my family, my biological father, his wife, and my half siblings. And they were a wonderful God-fearing family with my granddad as the patriarch, the theological patriarch as of the family. He was the missionary, had gone to South Africa. And so I really developed in my, my Christian experience, grew a lot and left that old life behind. And I started studying at a, at an art school near where we lived and started sharing the gospel with those I came into contact with there. My family's church here in Sweden also had charismatic leanings. I remember how back in South Africa, in the Pentecostal Church, during services, people would fall down backwards. They would roll on the ground, laughing and crying and, and speaking in, in strange tongues. And these e ecstatic experiences were seen as a, as a, as a sign of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Of course, I was yearning for the Holy Spirit in my life too. I also wanted to be touched by the spirit. Others were having these experiences around me, but for some reason, it never seemed to happen to me. A so-called prophet I remember came to our church one time and invited us up to the front and there was a lot of music and singing, and he laid his hands on people and they were falling down. And it came to my turn, and I was praying honestly, that, that God would touch me. And he eventually told me, you know, just accept it. Just stop praying, just accept it. And something clicked in my mind, and I just thought, but wait, what do you mean stop praying? The Bible says to pray without ceasing. Now, in Sweden, I started to question these ecstatic experiences. And as I studied the Bible, I discovered that the true gift of tongues were languages that people could understand and that people translated in order to be understood. And so I couldn't see from the Bible that babbling and gobbly gook was from God. Through my research, I also discovered that ecstatic experiences were happening in all sorts of non-Christian cultures, in heath and religions. It would often be connected with drunkenness. And having come from a life of drinking, I didn't feel that one inebriation should replace another, however spiritual or sincere people are. But I felt uneasy sharing my convictions with my family and kept it to myself. As I continued reading the Bible, I realized that as Christians, we should be obedient to all the commandments of God, including the seventh Day Sabbath. Now, my family believed that the, the law had been done away with, and their reason for going to church on Sunday was because Jesus rose from the dead. And so I, I kept my, my thoughts to myself, but I was praying that God would send somebody to me to explain things and make things more, more clearer. And it was hard because I, I thought that I was completely alone in my beliefs, and it was, I, I felt that I was on the fringe when I went to visit my family in South Africa. Later on, my stepdad gave me a DVD series of Bible lectures that he had been given by a, a friend down there. And they were about Bible prophecy. And so I started watching them and the presenter was just using the Bible to explain what he was teaching. And I was astounded by, by this because I had never heard anything this clear before. So I was glued to the TV all that week. I, I binged watched the, the 28 1 hour seminar series, and he talked about all the things that I discovered in the Bible and so much more by this time in my life, I was tired of, of error. So, so truth was, was very important to me, and I was willing to follow the truth wherever it went. It didn't matter. He also, you know, I found out that he was a Seventh Day Adventist preacher, and I thought, you know, what's a Seventh Day Adventist? I'd never heard that before, but apparently it's a worldwide church that holds all of these, these beliefs that are based in the Bible. And so I wasn't alone anymore in my views on the Sabbath and the gifts of the Spirit. And so I googled Seventh Day Adventist Church to see if there was a church nearby where I lived in Sweden. And yeah, amazingly there was a church in Yn shopping. And so when I arrive back, I immediately went to visit the church and joined the church officially two years later and have made friends for life eventually seeking the truth became such a big part of my life that I just wanted to dig deeper. I, I said I could have the skills and, and knowledge to, to share it with those around me. I was also encouraged by fellow church members and friends to study theology. And so I did a four year degree in England, and today I'm a minister. While in England, I met a wonderful girl called Mario, who became my, my wife. And she has been a tremendous source of encouragement, order and peace in my life. And we both work here in Malmo, and I work as the minister in this church. Having God in my life has brought me out of chaos to order from dysfunction to harmony. I discovered in God a father who loves me and who wants what's best for me. Living in harmony with God's will has protected me from a thousand pitfalls. I'm not just a meteor aimlessly wandering through a confusing universe, and I'm not alone in my beliefs. God has led me to a faith that is based on, not on ecstatic experiences, but in his word and to a community of believers with whom I can share this journey. My life has meaning and purpose and direction. I've finally found what I've been yearning for.

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Journeys Season 1

Should Christians Have Ecstatic Experiences?: Christopher’s Journey

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Other Teachings in Series

Should Christians Have Ecstatic Experiences?: Christopher’s Journey

Searching for the Meaning of Life: Dan’s Journey

Searching for True Love: Cacyne’s Journey

Can Faith Be Rational?: Maj’s Journey

I Would Never Become a Christian: Miikael’s Journey

Finding Hope for the Environment: Jan’s Journey

Beyond Rituals and Crucifixes: Conrad’s Journey

Escape From New Age and the Paranormal: Samuel’s Journey

Finding Peace at Last: A Miraculous Journey

Hungry for More: Jonas’ Journey

Learning to Trust the Bible: Albert’s Journey

Existential U-turn: Chris’s Journey

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