My Story
Pastor Brad Kindall
Living God’s Masterpiece
At The Gallery we have a favorite verse: “We are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus to do the good works he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2.10). We chose this verse because we truly believe God is molding and shaping each of our stories into a beautiful work of art.
Here is my story.
I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona the son of two public school teachers and the younger brother of their only daughter. When I was growing up my home was the safest place in the world. My parents and sister weren't/aren't perfect, but they are three of the most loving, caring, grace-filled people I know. In addition, my aunts and uncles were very much the same. Add to that a trip every week to a church community where people knew my family and me. This community wasn’t perfect, but every week I encountered little kids to senior citizens who knew my name and cared about my well-being. Many in this community would have taken a bullet for my family if called upon. What did all these people hold in common? A faith in a real, very much alive Jesus.
As I grew into my teen years, I began to actively seek this Jesus. I had a couple very profound spiritual experiences, not anything like you'd see on TV. Simple experiences filled with more joy and peace than anything I'd felt. I began to read the scriptures daily through high school to really investigate the whole Christian deal. And as I matured, I continued to see a pretty evident pattern. As I sought to love God and others more faithfully, I found joy. As I strayed from that love of God and others, I found pain and destruction.
Up to my early 20's I really had no reason to reject Christianity. Why would I? I was happy, content. That said, I did feel the time had come for me to open myself up to be proven wrong. I wanted to be a person of intellectual integrity. I wanted to open myself up to the idea maybe it was all a fairy tale. In this opening up, though, I have found amazing evidence for the reliability of the scriptures, especially the resurrection of Jesus. And for every respected scholar trying to refute Christianity, I have found respected scholars in support of Christianity.
As I reflect on my story, it’s really quite simple. Love wins. Grace is amazing. Jesus is alive. The Gallery is a church community built on these realities. We aren’t perfect. We are as much sinners as we are saints. But we’re trying to love God and each other, and in doing so we are living God’s masterpiece.
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Do you have a story that you'd like to share? People are able to relate better and more quickly when they are able to identify a common link. Our stories all connect us. We have similar struggles and experience similar joys. We would like to invite you to share your story.
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