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| Roger & Kama Parlour |
Roger: It seems incredible to me that we have been in the Kingdom over half our lives- it’s almost like we haven’t known any other way. Until we stop and remember where we came from.
I grew up a preacher’s kid. I was the “nice kid.” Everyone liked the preacher’s kid. But everyone was a little suspicious of the preacher’s kid. And with good reason. My teen years weren’t any different from any other of my friends. I smoked, I stole, I dabbled in drugs, and I drank. I remember visiting my hometown a few years ago and wondering how I ever drove the 15 miles after having partied with my friends. I remember one of my good friends who didn’t make it home one night.
I desired to be liked and did everything I could to be as cool as or cooler than the next guy. I was good at imitating others at a very young age. I tried hard to impress those I was with. In one of my more lucid moments I remember walking into a bar that I often patronized, looking around, and thinking about how empty my life had become. But I knew not where to turn, so I turned back to what I knew.
I went to college in 1978 and that fall met my lovely wife Kama amidst a very confusing time in my life. We both loved the outdoors, and the relationship progressed much as relationships in the world do. Although I thought this was the woman for me, I continued my drinking and partying much to her displeasure. I knew I could lose her if I continued but I couldn’t stop.
I moved to Montana in the fall of 1980. I decided to live in the dorms on Montana State University. As I was walking to my room for the 1st time I was stopped by the RA. He said (and I quote) “I hate to tell you this, but your roommate is a member of a cult.” I entered the room to find Jeff, the man who God used to change my life. That night I poured out my life to him. Later I met Robert Hach, another man who I will be eternally grateful for. These men (and others) studied the bible with me, and on October 19th, at about 12:30 AM, I was baptized.
Kama: When Roger moved to Bozeman he encouraged me to attend the Church of Christ in my hometown in hopes that I would find the answers for my life. I cautiously went and timidly sought the truth. Having no knowledge of God or the Lordship of Jesus I learned the Bible by watching the “Jules Miller Film Strips” and was immersed with the understanding that I would go to heaven. I soon moved to Montana. A year and a half passed with frustration in my inner being. As I persevered in my Bible study I realized I had sin in my heart that was unconfessed and undealt with. After learning about God’s love for me and His hatred towards the sin that destroys, it became clear to me that I had never repented. I had never learned what it meant to make Jesus Lord of my life. The bible clearly teaches that someone has to repent before they can be baptized (Acts 2:38). Confident that I had made Jesus Lord of my life, I was baptized. What a relief to be “clothed with Christ,” making Him my Lord and Savior, and receiving the indwelling Holy Spirit.
As time went on I realized how much I needed relationships that were teaching me to obey everything that Jesus commanded (Matthew 28:18-20). I realized that I needed to be discipled so I could learn to love my husband as Titus teaches. I also wanted to be effective and bear much fruit (John 15:8). After much prayer, Roger and I moved to Chicago to be part of the Chicago Church of Christ to get help in our marriage and to learn how to be more effective in the ministry. God blessed us with great friends who discipled our relationship and taught me not only how to love my husband and my children, but how to be effective at winning souls.
Roger: What a joy it is to be in the kingdom. I am so grateful for Kama who has helped me so much be the man I am today. I am so grateful to God for Joel and Brittany who have learned to love God, who love being discipled and challenged to take their commitment higher, and who are sharing their faith daily as they strive to fulfill the Great Commission in their lifetime. It has been shocking to me to see how many young men and women have struggled and left the Lord over the last several years. Often our kids will be on line and reading emails, communicating through instant messenger, or visiting their friends’ “my space” sites, and will tell us of their friends who are contemplating or have left the church. Both have lost good friends and mentors to the world. Many of their friends have settled for mediocrity and relinquished their convictions and become lukewarm. Many have begun dating outside the church. Some have given themselves over to horrendous sins. They have been lured by Satan and the world, and have lost hope that the church can be radically different. Some have seen their parents’ negative reactions to the events of the last several years and have heard the hurtful things that have been said about God’s kingdom and toward the leadership of God’s church. In so many of these situations discipling and accountability have been left by the wayside or even regarded as evil. I remember how much I needed discipling and accountability when I was 18 and new to the faith. Proverbs says to train a child in the way they should go, and they won’t depart from it. I believe these young men and women need training, as do the more “mature” Christians. I know I did when I was their age. My prayer is that many of our youth will get a bitter taste of the world, and will remember the comfort and security of the Kingdom.
I thank God everyday for leading me out of an empty way of life. Surely “the boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance” (Psalm 16:6).
Roger & Kama Parlour
Categories: Testimonials
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