My name is Brett Holderbaum let me tell you my story…
I was very rebellious and really did not care too much about others. I had just entered the Navy and was 18 years old. I learned about God from the Catholic Church and had an experience with God in fifth grade when I was being taught how to be an altar boy. They had us kneel before they lit a candle for the representation of the Holy Spirit being present, they lit the candle and I felt a wind go through me so much I got chill bumps. So I knew God was real but … I didn’t know how to get close. I remember reading a tract on becoming a believer and said the prayer but couldn’t get close to God. I spent a lot of my teen years getting high and getting in trouble. I didn’t have a good relationship with my parents; my father and I really didn’t talk because I was so busy wanting to be my OWN man. Foolish pride when you think about it. So my senior year in High school I decided to go in the Navy.
I went in the Navy in August of 1982 and boot camp was in Chicago. As we got close to graduating boot camp I read my orders and I was going to Virginia Beach, VA. My orders were odd. Everyone that was going to work on aircraft got orders to Tennessee except me. I thought that was strange, little did I know it was God. So in November 1982, a man named Kyle Hodges knocked on my door and began asking if I knew if I was going to heaven or hell. Of course I said heaven because I was a pretty good guy (remember what I said about myself before I met Jesus). Anyway Kyle spoke about the Gospel and we talked a little and he went his way. A few days later walking out of the enlisted club I looked up to heaven and asked God, when will I find real Love? The next day being I was home sick and depressed so I went for a walk and ran into Kyle. We talked. We got in his van and he explained the Gospel message about how Jesus died for me and how He loves me. So I said I wanted Jesus. On that day the Lord washed away all my filth and sin. I wished I could say that I continue my walk with Jesus but I soon fell away. Matthew 13 vs Jesus talks about The sower of seeds and in the parable Jesus says in vs 5 Some (seed) fell on rocky places where did not have much soil (discipleship). It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up , the plants scorched, and they withered because they had no root. So years later living my life for my self. Divorced 2 kids and many broken relationship of people I hurt I cried out to God again. God is so loving and forgiving He set my on the path to a true relationship with Jesus.
Since recommitting my life to Lord it has been a real journey and a learning process but it’s been good. I’m constantly learning how to surrender to Jesus’ Lordship. He is so patient and loving. I spent about 8 years or so in church and in 2010 I embarked on another Journey with God. I was able to go to Colorado for “A Wild at Heart Boot Camp” and started questioning my walk and the Church setting. I was able to go again in December for the “Wild at Heart Advanced” and came back to church and realized I wasn’t connected to the Pastor or the body. A week later in a Christmas service I heard the Lord say to leave. And my wife, I remarried my lovely wife Sharon in 2008, (a total God testimony I will share with you at a later time) heard the same thing. So we left and then we visited a local church and we were praying about laying roots there. I just thought and knew there was more and I wanted the more. So I had to have some surgery done and had some problems with it, so walking around the block with my wife, I told her I needed to get in touch with Greg Lancaster. So we did and we have been plugged in at VFN since February 2011. One of the areas of my life the Lord has healed is Father & Son relationship. Every boy wants to know his father and he wants to hear affirmation from him. Well I rejected my father as I spoke about earlier because I wanted be my OWN man. Well I have to tell you cannot be your own man living a life following Christ. My Spiritual Father Papa Greg began teaching me about true son-ship and what it means to be a son. As I learn to put others first and learn to love I began getting healed of this broken area of my life. This has been a wonderful journey of healing with many testimonies along the way. One I would like to share is how God healed my relationship with my father. My mom and dad came to visit us for thanksgiving 2 years ago and they saw how much God has changed me. They saw such a difference that they both wanted Jesus. They both accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. I had a chance to repent to my parents and ask for forgiveness of the way I acted and the way I treated them. We had service on Sunday morning and in worship time I heard Father God say pray and bless your father. I prayed and blessed my father and it was a powerful time of healing in our relationship. This relationship is continuing to grow. Since becoming a Christian I have learned so much. If I was going to say one of the most important things we need to do as Christian is learning to be a Disciple, a Christ Follower. If I would have had that in the beginning of my walk with God I don’t think I would have ever walked away from Him. So learn how to abide, become a disciple, and get plugged into a healthy body of believers and watch God transform your Life.
If you’d like to invite the Lord Jesus Christ into your life as I did read more.