R. W. Schambach 5

As a kid, I was a product of organized religion. Going to religious based schools taught me the basics about God but it had no meaning for me in what was then the present time (late 1960s). As far as I was concerned history and religion were identical subjects -- old stories about dead people. It just didn't make sense to me that I should have to show respect and reverence for things that took place centuries ago and then when I finally die I would be judged by the things that happened in my lifetime. The religious teachers that I had did not have any answers for me. All they could give me were procedures and textbook quotations. In fact, the most trouble I ever got into as a teenager was when I made the tactical error of making a fool out of my religion teacher in front of the entire school. I proved that I had passed his course simply by memorizing facts but those facts were of no help to me when I was out in the real world. Essentially I said something to the effect of What am I supposed to do? Carry this book with me everywhere I go and when I am faced with a temptation, open it up and try to find a chapter that applies? I had always thought to myself that if God was real, then certain things that I feel in my heart should be evident, but no religious teacher or authority figure ever said or confirmed what I felt was right. I finally reached a point where I was so confused that I said the heck with it all, and decided not to think about it any more. About 6 years later I got a job at a Lincoln dealership in my home town. Part of my duties consisted of picking up parts from other dealerships when needed. The vehicle that I drove had only an AM radio and one day out of sheer boredom I began to search the dial looking for something to listen to other than what was popular at the time. I happened to find R.W. Schambach and I stopped to listen for a few minutes. Right from the start he was saying things that I had always felt were right but could never get any of my teachers to say. He spoke of how things related to God in the present time, working in life today, as in right now. Within a few minutes he brought God up 2000 years for me by saying that everything didn't end with Jesus' death because his crucifixion had more meaning than just a death penalty, and that it was actually the beginning of a new way of interacting with God. As I continued to listen he spoke of how it all applied to the present time and I can recall driving down the road, pounding my fist on the dashboard and yelling at the radio saying I knew I was right! I knew I was right! Finding R.W. Schambach on the radio that day was a turning point in my life because it not only confirmed the things that I had felt in my heart, but now gave me a new direction in my search for answers. Over the years my questions have been answered and I think of the day I heard R.W. Schambach as possibly the most fortunate day of my life. It was the beginning of a journey that over time has brought me to a greater understanding of the faith that I choose to follow. R.W. Schambach gave me answers which I might never have discovered without him, and most certainly would not have discovered had I followed in the footsteps of those people who were supposed to have been my teachers on this subject.