{"id":2169,"date":"2012-01-11T08:15:23","date_gmt":"2012-01-11T08:15:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/?p=2169"},"modified":"2016-01-06T13:51:12","modified_gmt":"2016-01-06T13:51:12","slug":"first-time-i-was-afraid-i-was-petrified","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/first-time-i-was-afraid-i-was-petrified\/","title":{"rendered":"First Time I was Afraid, I was Petrified&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The first time I entered a church for a \u2018typical\u2019 Sunday service, I was scared. Don\u2019t get me wrong; I had been to weddings, christenings and remembrance services before, but going to church for no reason was something different.<\/p>\n<p>It all happened around eleven years ago, and by this point, my wife Shelly had become a Christian at Holy Trinity Church in Ripon.<\/p>\n<p>Unbeknown to me she had been taking our two children to Sunday school. However, this particular Sunday she was going shopping and wanted me to take them to church instead.<\/p>\n<p>To be honest, I was reluctant to do this, but for our children\u2019s sake, I agreed.<\/p>\n<p>I can remember planning a strategy of how not to spend much time in church. My plan was to drop the kids off quickly, head to the nearest pub to read the paper, and pick the kids up afterwards.<\/p>\n<p>I thought it was a foolproof plan but didn\u2019t count on a fiery blond-haired woman welcoming me when entering the church. I entered the building with much unease. It didn\u2019t help that my two children Tayla and Curtis ran off downstairs leaving me to be led by one of Shelly\u2019s friends to a seat inside. I couldn\u2019t refuse. It was so awkward. I would have felt more at home entering an adult shop or a casino in all honesty.<\/p>\n<p>During the nest two months I witnessed the change that God had made in Shelly\u2019s life. I knew I had got to the point where I also wanted to give my life to God. The walk towards God wasn\u2019t an easy one, and the decision to follow Jesus wasn\u2019t easy either, but now I wouldn\u2019t want to be on any other path than the narrow one.<\/p>\n<p>I soon learnt one of the most popular teachings in the Bible for myself. As the angel said to Mary: \u201cDo not be afraid\u201d so did the Lord whisper that same thing to me. Everyday I am discovering more and more what it means to live with God on my side. The Bible says that because I gave my life to Jesus, God is now \u201cFor me and not against me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I am sure that many more guys would jump at the chance to know more about this God.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/cvm.org.uk\/events\/events_detail.php?eventsID=41#topofmap\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-2173\" title=\"CVM-NewWine235x235\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/CVM-NewWine235x235-150x150.jpg?resize=150%2C150\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>Why not join us on the 21st of this month at the Forum Hall, Wythenshawe, Manchester, for a National Men\u2019s Day in partnership with New Wine. It would be a great place for any blokes to take their first steps with their creator. It will also be a cracking event for Christian men to develop their walk with God.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/events\/events_detail.php?eventsID=41\">Get yourself booked in here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>See you there guys.<\/p>\n<p>Deano.<\/p>\n<div class=\"linkwithin_hook\" id=\"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/first-time-i-was-afraid-i-was-petrified\/\"><\/div><script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png?w=750\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The first time I entered a church for a \u2018typical\u2019 Sunday service, I was scared. Don\u2019t get me wrong; I had been to weddings, christenings and remembrance services before, but going to church for no reason was something different. It all happened around eleven years ago, and by this point, my wife Shelly had become [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":5909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[20,23,39,48,79,87,90,110,125,287],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/team-CVM-blog-640x360.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7PoLK-yZ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2387,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/amazing-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":2169,"position":0},"title":"Amazing Grace","date":"17 March 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"David Murrow (author of 'Why Men Hate Going To Church') has discovered a church that has taken on the challenge of appealing to men with amazing results. Grace United Methodist learned how to grow again - without abandoning its traditions. You won't find a drum set in this church -\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/team-CVM-blog-640x360.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9839,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/beef-curry-and-roast-potatoes\/","url_meta":{"origin":2169,"position":1},"title":"Beef curry and roast potatoes","date":"24 May 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I serve on the board of Trustees for a charity that works with the RN (no names no pack drills). A recent trustee board meeting was held in a Royal Naval establishment and we were accommodated in the wardroom (officers accommodation), again no names here to protect the innocent. We\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/curryBLOG.jpg?fit=610%2C291&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1416,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/headscarf\/","url_meta":{"origin":2169,"position":2},"title":"Headscarf","date":"30 March 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"A Christian and a Muslim were walking down the road. Sounds like the start of a bad joke doesn\u2019t it? In fact, this was last Sunday. My newly met Muslim friend genuinely wanted to know whether she would be \u201callowed\u201d to come to church with me. I\u2019d not really noticed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Friends of CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/friends-blog-640x360.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3927,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/the-driving-force\/","url_meta":{"origin":2169,"position":3},"title":"The Driving Force\u2026.","date":"27 March 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Whenever I speak with people about what I do with CVM I get asked the same questions over and over again: Why do you do what you do? What is your driving force? Why on earth would you want to give up a really good, well paid job and go\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/team-CVM-blog-640x360.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9776,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/why-bother-with-a-mens-group-part-3-of-5\/","url_meta":{"origin":2169,"position":4},"title":"Why bother with a men\u2019s group? (Part 3 of 5)","date":"9 February 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"So here at CVM we have been long-time supporters of encouraging men into men\u2019s groups, and I thought that now would be a great time to just write a few blogs about it: why we are so focussed on it and how you and your mates can benefit from them.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Smaller-Image-Part-3.jpg?fit=610%2C291&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5044,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/50plus\/church-without-walls\/","url_meta":{"origin":2169,"position":5},"title":"Church Without Walls","date":"20 March 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The fastest growing churches are the ones without \u00a0'walls', the New Testament church, the persecuted underground church in China, the Pentecostal church in South America and parts of Africa. They have no buildings, no institutions, no professional leadership, but they have the body of Christ involved in all spheres of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;50 Plus&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2169"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2169"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6575,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2169\/revisions\/6575"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}