When John married Denise in 1989, he had no idea…
No idea of what the extent of his spiritual need truly was.
No idea that his spiritual need would be satisfied in Christ.
And no idea that God would use his new wife Denise to lead him on a journey of revelation—a journey that would ultimately bring him to true surrender to Christ.
Sure, John was raised by a good Christian family. As a child, he went to church and youth group. He even played in the youth band and sang in the choir. By all accounts, he was the “perfect” Christian young man.
But there was a problem: John had never truly surrendered himself to the lordship of Christ.
And this lack of commitment became evident as he transitioned into adulthood, wandering through a world of indecision and living a life that he would later acknowledge he was not proud of.
Then came Denise.
Although John and Denise thought they had life figured out when they were first married, reality soon set in, leaving John full of disappointment and anger.
Shortly after they were married, Denise suggested that they go to church. So they did—and as a result, God eventually brought Denise to an authentic walk with Him. John recalls, “She would get up every morning in the wee hours of the morning and spend more than an hour each day in study and prayer with Him.”
John didn’t understand it. In fact, he came to resent it. But as time went on, he finally began to notice something different about his wife.
Denise had peace.
In the midst of all of this, Denise signed the two of them up for a small group at church. She even signed John up for a conference with a prominent men’s ministry. John reluctantly agreed to go to the conference. But something happened there that caused a stir deep within him. John says, “As we left the conference, I noticed men in groups praying together. Now, I did not join them, but I left thinking how I would love to have what they had.”
Coincidentally, Denise also had gone to a women’s conference that same weekend. When they returned home from their conferences, they both were so excited about their experiences that they stayed up talking all night.
Next, Denise signed them up for a Precept study on Revelation. Their son’s school wrestling meets left a lot of time for John and Denise to take their Revelation homework on the road and talk about it together.
Participating in discussions in that Revelation class, as well as listening to Precept co-founder Kay Arthur, led John to a realization. John says, “We had learned what God’s plans were for the end and I needed to make a decision about whose side I wanted to be on.”
That day, alongside some of his friends, John chose God’s side.
John and his friends were baptized shortly after.
A few years later, Denise signed the two of them up for leadership training with Precept. Although John enjoyed the class and learned a lot, he left with no plans at all about leading studies.
But Denise was intrigued. And she signed John up to lead a class.
Their first class started with six people studying 1 John. “Today,” John says, “I have been leading studies for about thirty years with groups of as many as 120 people. We even did Revelation on Zoom during the pandemic. My most recent study was 1 Thessalonians and we had 72 men attend the class.”
Through all the studies that John led and the events he and Denise attended with Precept, John got to know the team at Precept. He even served on the board of directors for eight years.
John says, “I am so grateful to Precept. Not only were they instrumental in helping me find my faith, but they have helped me share that journey with thousands of people over the years.”
Every year, through inductive Bible study resources and Bible study leader training, Precept engages countless people like John in relationship with God through knowing His Word. You can help people know a true relationship with Christ and grow in their walk with Him—by becoming a partner for the Gospel alongside Precept.
