[Cameron Tackett]

I was raised as a Christian. However, because my family (mainly Grandparents) were so strict about it as a child and young adult. I developed a lot of distain/aggravation for the church. It was not until I met a man who had been at the very bottom of life. He shared the stories of how he found God in the most desperate of times of addiction and suicide and eventually turned into a preacher. He is/was the most real and genuine person I have ever met to this day. He answered questions I had with sincerity and I always knew that he had first hand experience with nearly every question I asked of him. He was the person that showed me that faith is not only going to church every Sunday. It is how we live every single day of our lives. As you can partake in “church” even if it is you and only other. Now, I am not saying that Sunday service is a bad thing. However, I know for myself. I find it hard to truly develop a personal relationship with Jesus if I am surrounded by “Church Face” Christians. Which unfortunately is what many of the individuals that went to our local were. They put on a mask every single time they went to church and had a very Hollier than thou complex about them. My mentor told me “Church is meant to be a hospital for the broken and weak. Not a place to show off how much [closer] you think you are to God than others”. Those words have stuck with me ever since.