A Small Group that Welcomed a Skeptic

I hated Christians during college. I thought Christians my age were self-centered, hypocritical, weak-minded, foolish geeks. I definitely thought Bible studies were useless cliques. However, an InterVarsity Bible study made me question just about every perception I had of Christians, Christianity and even God.

The Christians I knew seemed as unsettled, unhappy and immoral as everyone else. I agreed with Christian theology, but I could not understand how a loving God could have such angry, selfish followers. But then, having no idea why, I actually went to an InterVarsity Bible study with my friend Randy. We got there a little early.

Up to this point, I had felt like an outsider at every church service and study I had attended, and I immediately felt like outsider at the I-V study. As people showed up, they seemed like close friends. Not only that, I had also come straight from work, wearing a tie. The other most-dressed-up person had tucked in his T-shirt and worn loafers. After looking around the room, I just knew I would be amazingly uncomfortable, dislike everyone there, have a horrible night and never come back again.

At first I felt alone in a group I assumed would be unkind to a new person, but everyone was friendly even before the study started. The few people who were there early immediately asked me about myself and told me about themselves. As the study started, I knew I wouldn’t be spending the next couple of hours with complete strangers.

I still felt clueless though. I had absolutely no idea what to say or do once the study started. Luckily, Dana, the study’s leader, let me stay in the background without any questions sent directly my way. However, I still thought I could talk if I wanted. The group was polite to each other, respecting even rudimentary questions. There was debate but no bickering. Since they were receptive to each other’s ideas, I knew I could speak up whenever I felt ready.

One member of the group, Dave, actually seemed like a real person. I had thought all Christians were required to be boring, uncreative and repressed, but Dave seemed normal. He was funny and a little bit uncouth. He talked about rock music and told some of the funniest jokes I had ever heard. After the study I wondered, Is it possible there is actually at least one funny, cool Christian? He wasn’t necessarily entertaining or exciting; he was just being himself. He didn’t try to seem especially holy or create an image of perfection. I knew Dave wasn’t perfect. If he had tried to seem perfect, I would have thought he was a hypocrite.

Dana was different from the way I had perceived Christians, too. She was beaming, smiling and happier than most people I knew. I wondered where her happiness came from, and I kept asking myself why I didn’t feel that way.

Then there was Kate. She spoke about God with such passion! She was so excited, she couldn’t even sit still. When she talked to me after the study, she didn’t just ask the usual, nice I-don’t-really-know-you questions. It was more like, “How are you?” Then, “No, you don’t seem okay. Really, how are you?” I was amazed that this person seemed to love God, seemed to believe what she said and seemed to care about me too.

Dave, Dana, Kate and the others were all nice, but frankly, they scared and shocked me. For weeks after the study, I said to myself, I don’t get it! They don’t know me. Why are these people so nice? And why in the world are they that happy? I kept coming back to the study, trying to figure out what was going on. I later realized I had witnessed the product of God’s love. Seeing how God influenced the group made me question my perception of Christians, and eventually that questioning changed my life.

—Tad Odell recently graduated from Western Michigan University with a B.A. in Telecommunications Management and a Journalism minor. This fall, he’ll enter a graduate program at the U. of Oregon with the goal of eventually teaching broadcasting.