Convert from Lutheran, Gary Rampenthal
The Lutheran Church I belonged to was nothing like the Catholic Church. I studied several other churches before deciding to become part of the one started by Jesus. None of them taught Christ crucified and all had a form of godliness, but denied his power, just like any other protestant. One Baptist preacher wouldn’t tell me what the believed; he just wanted me to say the sinner’s prayer so he could take credit for another soul.
My personal conversion story. I had no dramatic conversion experience. I was born and raised as a Lutheran. My first major encounter with God happened when I was baptized as a baby and as a result received his Holy Spirit. Later, while in high school I was instructed in the Lutheran beliefs and accepted these beliefs and the Holy Spirit for myself. As an adult I joined the Air Force and realized I’d never made an effort to be sure I was in the true Church. After praying and investigating many, I found the Church founded by Jesus Christ was the one. I took instruction and discovered many of the things I’d been taught about the Catholic Church were untrue. That’s why it bothers me to hear those same things repeated here.
After study and prayer I decided to become a Catholic, I was conditionally baptized, and confirmed in the Catholic faith. That was when I really started to grow spiritually. As a Catholic I understood that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Everything he did in the Bible he’s doing today through his Church under the power of his Holy Spirit. I was prayed over for what some call the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, or the release of the Holy Spirit. Although I already had the Holy Spirit, this helped me become open to all of his gifts, starting with the least of the gifts, tongues. It empowered me to live according to what Christ taught us to do in the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon on the Plain.
I learned if you believe in Christ you act on that belief and live the lifestyle he lived and preached. “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you,” requires action. Another breakthrough was learning to praise God in all circumstances. Doing this has brought me a lot of peace and joy, although it isn’t always easy to do. Jesus is still working on me. I still sin and need to be forgiven. I still need to grow in understanding and living the Gospel. This can only happen with the power of God’s Holy Spirit.