‘Revive2’ Brings Testimony, Praise For Young Adults

By PRISCILLA GREEAR, Staff Writer

Published: December 4, 2003

ROSWELL—Some 700 young adults packed like Galilean sardines into the parish hall of St. Andrew’s Church on Friday night, Nov. 21, for the “Revive2” evening of spiritual renewal sponsored by the archdiocesan Office of Young Adult Ministry. There they heard the testimonies of a renowned Catholic apologist tell the story of his conversion at age 13 after committing a string of record store robberies and of a Catholic journalist who spoke of how, after dropping out of college, she went on to complete school at a Catholic university and later become associate editor of a national Catholic publication.

John Ferguson, a young religion teacher at Pinecrest Academy, and his band provided a mixture of calming and stirring inspirational Christian music for the evening of prayer, praise and testimony, as those in their 20s and 30s, as well as worshippers of a variety of other ages, including babies, sang along, swaying, clapping, and lifting their hands high in praise or closing their eyes in prayer.

The emcee Paul George, dressed in jeans and an untucked shirt, led the crowd in prayer and invited them to renew their relationship with Jesus. He is the Southeast regional director for Life Teen International.

The first “Revive” was held this past June in conjunction with the Eucharistic Congress.

As he approached the podium carrying books and wearing a blazer, evangelist Scott Hahn, a theology professor at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio who has a crowd-pleasing combination of youthful and intellectual energy, told attendees of his excitement to be with them and to talk about a topic “near and dear to my heart—sin. It’s much too near and dear to my heart.”

He went on to confess that as an adolescent he was a “very successful shoplifter,” stealing over 100 record albums in just one month. But one time he got caught and was interrogated by three detectives, one of whom suspected he was too young and innocent for lawlessness and asked “were you stealing for somebody else?” Hahn said yes, basing his lie on a true story that had happened the week before. He told the officers that older kids smoking pot tried to steal bicycles from him and his friends. They told the younger ones they had to steal records for them and leave them at a tree stump, or they’d beat them up. Although he got off the hook for that escapade, that night his dad came up to his room and asked him to take him to this tree stump in the woods behind the mall. As he later took his father to the ne’er-to-be-found stump, Hahn saw his stoic dad’s slumped posture and his sadness and disappointment. “I went upstairs and my consciousness woke up for the first time in so long. I realized I’d lied to him, betraying his trust.”

That experience led to his receiving the Gospel message through an effective speaker. “I gave my life to Jesus Christ and asked in my heart for him to be my savior and Lord, and I felt a new freedom I had never known before.”

But he was glad he wasn’t Catholic like his partner in crime who had to go to confession. Following the incident Hahn asked his friend what he would tell the priest, and he responded that he just lies and makes up sins to confess. “I had enough Christian common sense to realize there was something wrong with that!”

But it got him thinking. Hahn went on to earn a master’s in theology and served 10 years as a Presbyterian minister. After deep study of Scripture and a two-year discernment process, he converted to Catholicism in 1986. He has been married to Kimberly Hahn for 20 years, and they have six children. Hahn is a popular author, teacher and speaker who has delivered hundreds of talks related to Scripture and the Catholic faith.

As he grew in faith as a young adult, he also grew in desire to make restitution for the record robberies, going with his wife back to one store where a clerk told them that if he accept their money they’d “foul up our accounting books more than you did then.” Another store had had so many repentant robbers that it had set up a restitution fund to which Hahn wrote a $1,000 check.

“We knew the peace that we know we were in the will of God,” he said. “Do not sin against the light he gives you. If you strive to live according to the light he’s given you he’ll give you more, more grace and power…Sin is what blinds us and makes us deaf to the word of God, the message of God.”

He noted how in Christ’s mind forgiving sin is actually a greater act than physically healing, as spiritual healing cleanses the soul for eternity. He called human life that lasts 80 years like the “first minute of eternity.” He said that the Book of James also refers to how healing of body and soul are inseparably joined in the work of God’s spirit in individual lives, and that Christ’s suffering gives Christians’ suffering redemptive meaning.

Regarding confession, it isn’t an “either or” issue, he said, as God wants to hear them directly and also through his human agents. Even the pope goes weekly. “He uses the priest to disperse the medicine…The sacrament does for our souls what medicine does for our bodies. It’s like free health care that’s already been paid for,” he said. “For many Catholics it’s sort of a mixed up matter. The more we need it the less we want it.”

As he became more patient and loving after becoming Catholic and going to confession, his then non-Catholic wife Kimberly would even ask him “when’s the last time you went to confession?”

Citing Old Testament passages of Numbers 5:5-7, Exodus 22 and Leviticus 5, he spoke of Old Testament references to confession where persons are told to confess their sins before a priest, bringing a lamb, sheep or bull, depending on the sins, and of New Testament references of how Christians are told to confess sins to one another and how the apostles were appointed as agents of both spiritual and physical healing.

Following his talk he held up several of his books on theology and Scripture, urging them to dig deeper into the treasure chest of their faith.

Cherie Peacock, associate editor of the Catholic Our Sunday Visitor, urged attendees to seek knowledge as a way to overcome doubt and fear and find peace—testifying that her talk was a gift to God as she hates public speaking.

She described knowledge as in instrument of love, a way of loving God better, encouraging attendees to stay up 10 minutes later at night to read a spiritual book or even absorb one during commercials. But they must accept that the will and intellect can never be fully satisfied in this life but that “as St. Augustine said out hearts are restless until they rest in you.” She recommended they read Catholic publications, such as sassy Encore, intellectual and controversial Crisis, informative Catholic Answers or the National Catholic Register. She too urged attendees to stay close to the sacraments and to make decisions with prudence through prayer for wisdom and thoughtful consideration of sufficient information. “You can’t really love what you don’t know. …If you’re in love with a person you can’t wait to know everything about the person,” Peacock said. “If I pick up a book and read something inspiring my life goes better.”

She told them that knowledge allows them to fill their vocations and live holy lives and that “faith ruins you for life in the world.” But it’s not so bad. “We’ve been given something so much more precious so as we grown in knowledge of God, you will all be ruined for life.”

She concluded recalling a time she participated in an intensive journalism workshop at a prestigious journalism institution with reporters from leading secular dailies like The New York Times where she felt uncomfortable and intimidated. But, after fending off the usual rounds of questions on the sex abuse scandal, she eventually got to know the others better and experience God’s grace in the process. A convert, she recalled how she once viewed Christians as weird and touchy people. But 10 years after dropping out of college she got a scholarship to the University of Dallas, where she was able to open her heart and become friends with some and eventually became Catholic. “I was able to share my conversion story to a group of 10 people over beers. Their hearts were tough because God gave me the grace at that moment to get over my fears and get outside myself. God’s giving you the opportunity to prepare for your situations by turning your mind and ear to him. Often it’s not so much what you say. It’s how you deliver it and that you are trying.”

“You have to always be growing or you’ll be going backwards and that knowledge will bring you closer to Christ and has the peace that passes all understanding. God will give you the grace to handle situations,” she said. “We know knowledge always leads to love and love to service.”

Father Tim Hepburn, campus chaplain at the Emory University Catholic Center, closed the evening leading the congregation in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

Attendee Joel Concepcion of St. Philip Benizi Church, Jonesboro, said that in working and attending school full time he had been away from the church for years and recently started reconnecting. He is glad to find such an active young adult ministry in this archdiocese. “It was really cool. I used to go to adoration. This is really great, a lot of people gathering and praising God is excellent.”

Carlos Azcorra-Valdez of the Cathedral of Christ the King, from Mexico, was happy to see Hispanics from a variety of Latin American countries turn out. “I was very impressed. This is the first time I’ve seen like a true Hispanic representation.”

Kristin Johnson came from Birmingham. A convert, she especially appreciated Hahn’s talk and said the sacraments are very important in keeping her grounded in and connected to Christ. “This is wonderful and who could miss Dr. Scott Hahn?”

She is excited that in Birmingham they are trying to offer more similar devotional and fellowship-oriented young adult activities, which is creating new growth. “There’s been a core group of people for a long time in Birmingham trying to (develop young adult ministry). I’d really like to see the young adults get more active. Theology on Tap (speaker series) usually gets things moving,” she said. “Priests are getting active with us, and it helps so much and it’s a real blessing.”

Director of young adult ministry Kersti O’Farrell felt the event was “phenomenal” and touched many hearts. She hopes to offer “Revive” two or three times annually, including before each Eucharistic Congress in June. “There were people there who had never been to adoration before. It was a great young adult event because we got a lot of married people with young children because it means we’re reaching the wider young adult community, not just the singles community…the married, the Latinos, the younger folks, all those folks felt comfortable and got fed.”