• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Contact
  • Feedback
  • Subscribe

Radical Christian Story

Exploring the Story of Christianity and How it Fits into Our World

  • Home
  • Blog
  • About Us
  • Radical Story?
  • The Story Of Christianity
Mike MacNeil – Why I Believe

Mike MacNeil – Why I Believe

September 11, 2020 by RadicalStory 1 Comment

Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest for your souls. – Matthew 11:28-29

Speechless

I grew up outside of the church, for the most part.  My parents did send me to an Anglican church when I was very small, but I hated it and have only a few vague memories of a Sunday school class. My Dad was raised strict Catholic, but stopped going as soon as he could get away with it. I felt no attraction to church whatsoever, but was always intrigued by the person of Jesus.

I was always fascinated by the supernatural, and seemed to have an awareness of it from a young age. I remember my parents taking me to a drive-in theater to see a Dracula movie. I would not sleep in my own room that night. I was sure Dracula was outside of my window, even though we lived three stories up. I made my Dad drive to my grandfather’s house the next day to get a crucifix to put on my bedroom wall. That would keep the vampires away. My Dad was quite a storyteller and used to tell me he was from another planet and that his “people” would come back for him one day and that I would have to choose whether I wanted to stay on earth or go to his planet. These kind of stories definitely developed my imagination.

I grew up in a poor neighborhood, although I didn’t think of it as poor at the time. I did all the typical Canadian things like playing street hockey almost every day after school. When I became a teenager I began drinking and experimenting with drugs, and doing all the things lost people do to try to find themselves. I was shopping around for a lifestyle that would work for me. I had a lot of friends in high school and attended a lot of parties. 

I met the girl who is now my wife (Colleen) in my last year of high school, and was having such a full social life that I didn’t pay much attention to classes. I had to go back and upgrade some classes to get into college.

Once in university I took classes much more seriously and did well. I also began partying even harder. The weekend began stretching out to include Thursday and Sunday night. Eventually Colleen and I moved in together. I was the life of the party on the outside, but inside I began having panic attacks that became more and more frequent. She taught aerobics classes and was very good at it. She quickly became a manager. When she was invited to the Women’s Christian Club to speak on the importance of exercise, she took the invitation because she figured it would be good for business. There was a woman pastor who talked after her about spiritual things, using the story of Jesus and the woman at the well. Colleen was sitting at the head table and began to cry and didn’t know why. Later of course, she would realize she had been under the conviction of the Holy Spirit. She was the woman at the well. She came home and said: “We’ve got to get married.” I loved her, but didn’t really believe in bourgeois traditions like marriage at the time. I told her I’d have to think about it, and then went out for a cigarette. I came back in and said: “Okay, let’s do it.”

I got my BA and we got married in May of that year. In September I went to a university in another city about an hour away for my master’s program. I roomed with my best friend at the time, Gary, through the week and I came home on the weekends. I didn’t know that a pastor’s wife named Charlene had been witnessing to Colleen and invited her to church. I was okay with her going to church as long as it didn’t affect our lifestyle in any way. One weekend I came home and Colleen announced that she had become a Christian, and that she would not be drinking or partying anymore. I was not happy. We began a rocky period in our relationship. I was going to bars and she was going to church. I was having more frequent panic attacks.

Then one Friday night at midnight Gary called and said he had just become a Christian as well. I thought the world was going crazy. The next Friday night I was getting ready to go clubbing with some friends and Colleen was going to a church service.  I was watching a talk show on local cable TV and there was a man on who said he was a pastor. He had a stand-up comic kind of delivery was very funny. Colleen was in another room so I yelled to her: “If you were going to see a pastor like this, I would go with you!” She poked her head in the room said: “That’s the pastor I am going to see tonight… and you are coming with me!” I reluctantly called my friends to tell them I could not go to the club because I was going to church.

What happened that next is the classic story. I walked into the school auditorium where this new church (now King’s Church) was meeting. I was very skeptical, and felt culturally disconnected from such a bourgeoisie crowd. The music sounded like it was from another time or planet. But when the speaker got up and began talking, everything that he said made sense to me. His name was Jimmy Johnson and he was from California. He was as funny and engaging as he had been on local talk show and somehow he made the Bible seem relevant to real life. He spoke out of that passage where Jesus says: “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 28) I was definitely looking for peace and rest from the night terrors I had been experiencing.

At the end he invited people to come forward to pray. I had never been to an evangelical church or seen an altar call before, but I went forward and had a powerful experience with Jesus. I was the only one to step out. When I knelt at the front, suddenly the God who was just a far away, admirable idea became a very close and personal presence. I had a very powerful experience with God and could not speak for at least an hour afterward. People were coming up to congratulate me on my decision and I was literally speechless. My voice did not return until we got back to the apartment.

Once Colleen fell asleep, I remember watching some late night TV and smoking a cigarette, feeling like the whole world was new. I wondered if this “presence” in my life would stay forever or be gone when I woke up in the morning. That night I had a dream where God came into my room and I fell facedown on the floor. In the dream, the whole room filled with a light so bright that I could not look at it. When I woke up from that dream I knew that my life would never be the same again. And to be honest, that presence has never left.

We began attending church and devouring the Bible. A couple of months later I finished my master’s degree in literature and creative writing. Bethany Bible College was looking for an English professor, and despite the fact that I was only 24 years old and a new Christian with no church background, the Lord opened the door for me to teach there.

I have been teaching ever since. God eventually opened the door for me to move out of general kind of classes and into more direct ministerial kind of opportunities. I have literally been all over the world speaking and serving God in all kinds of missional ministry. Colleen and I have been married for nearly forty years and we have four daughters and  seven grandkids. All of them are serving Jesus in various parts of the world. It is amazing what can happen when God breaks into a family line. We have definitely been blessed. There is no limit to what God can do with us when we surrender to His will.

Mike MacNeil is a professor and director of the Praxis program at Kingswood University. His book, Jesus Kicks: And Other Stories I Can’t Tell in Church, is full of inspiring and incredible stories of the power of God to use His people in unlikely circumstances.


You can find more people sharing the reason for the hope that they have here: Why Believe?

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

Filed Under: Why Believe? Tagged With: Matthew 11:28-29, Mike MacNeil, Praxis Program Kingswood University, why believe in Jesus?

In 1 Peter 3:15 he told us to always be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks for the reason
for the hope that you have… and to do it with gentleness and respect.
Hit the button below to learn more about how you can share the reasons why you believe.
–

Share Why You Believe

You can also get updates emailed to you from the form at the top right of this page!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Earl M. Schenk says

    September 12, 2020 at 10:45 pm

    Mike:
    It was good to read your testimony. I don’t believe I ever heard it before. I’m sorry I never asked you during my days at Bethany. I remember the paper you had is write about our testimony for Principles of Writing. I still have the paper and your response. When we give our selves up to Jesus, He powerfully changes our lives. Thank so much for teaching English at Bethany Bible College. I often think about you, Dan Lamos, Larry Mitchell, Dan Gordon, and many of the other faculty and staff at Bethany Bible College and also fellow students. I don’t think I ever said thank you for your willingness to share Jesus’ love and live His life before us. I’m saying thank you now and I praise God for your witness of Him to me. May God continue to bless you in His ministry.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Sign up to receive email updates and hear what's happening with us!

We do not share your name and email with 3rd parties.


“…always be prepared to give an answer for the hope that you have.” – 1 Peter 3:15

Share Why You Believe

Mike MacNeil - Why I Believe

Mike MacNeil – Why I Believe

Come to me, all of you who are weary and … [Read More...] about Mike MacNeil – Why I Believe

Kelly Jay – Why I Believe

I grew up in the protestant church and I gave … [Read More...] about Kelly Jay – Why I Believe

Colin MacDougall, Why I Believe in Jesus

Colin MacDougall – Why I Believe

I became a Christian on October 24, 1987. I … [Read More...] about Colin MacDougall – Why I Believe

Emmanuel Asana - Why I Believe In Christianity

Emmanuel Asana – Why I Believe

One of my favorite Bible stories is of a … [Read More...] about Emmanuel Asana – Why I Believe


Well Christian Woman Logo

We are all broken people who need something that cannot be found inside of us. We need a saviour.

Love your enemies and do good to those who do you evil.

Wellness has little to do with health and wealth and everything to do with your relationship with Jesus.

Serve others with no expectation of service in return.

Forgive even your worst enemies, no matter what their crimes against you.

People are not inherently good, but sinful by nature. Only through Jesus can we overcome our sin.

Being recognized for your contribution isn't important. What matters is that people see Jesus.

Life is not about wealth or power or fame. It's about relationship, first with God, then with others.

"Follow your heart" is bad advice. Our hearts are broken and corrupted and will lead us astray. Follow Jesus and He will mend our broken hearts.

Science cannot explain the most important aspects of humanity.

Tolerance is treating with respect those who you believe are mistaken, not accepting all other viewpoints as valid.

We are stewards, not owners, of our resources, bodies and lives. These are gifts from God and we are responsible to do with them what He asks of us.

God can give you joy even in your worst circumstances and experiences.

Truth by definition is exclusive.

Sex is sacred. A gift from God. It is as much a soul-union as a physical one and it is destructive outside the covenant bond of marriage.

Not following your dreams could be what's best for you.

Our intrinsic value as human beings lies in the fact that we were created in the image of God. Without that, there is no objective basis for human rights.

Finding happiness is not life's purpose, finding God is. His goal for you is not a happy and trouble free life, but a life of growth in relationship with Him.

cross, god weeps with woman in her suffering

God Weeps – Christianity & Mass Shootings Part 2

Part 1: Love Quietly A few months ago, in … [Read More...] about God Weeps – Christianity & Mass Shootings Part 2

Tree reversal - Death to life - Jesus Wins

Let’s Be Blunt: Questions of God and Life – Reversal of Evil

The great evil that entered the world and … [Read More...] about Let’s Be Blunt: Questions of God and Life – Reversal of Evil

“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.”  – Colossians 2:8

 

Why I Believe

Mike MacNeil - Why I Believe

Mike MacNeil – Why I Believe

Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest for your souls. - Matthew 11:28-29 Speechless I grew up outside … [Read More...] about Mike MacNeil – Why I Believe

Kelly Jay – Why I Believe

I grew up in the protestant church and I gave my life to Jesus when I was six years old. There were many things I enjoyed about it, but overall attending church felt like a chore. I can remember the services feeling long and boring. When … [Read More...] about Kelly Jay – Why I Believe

Footer

Sign up to receive email updates and hear what’s happening with us!

We do not share your name and email with 3rd parties.

We’d love to connect with you as we explore the story of Christianity and how it fits in our world.

Your comments, social media likes, shares and feedback make a huge difference as we reach out to others and we really appreciate it!


radical story facebook

Radical Story

Copyright © 2025 — Radical Story • All rights reserved. • Privacy Policy • Disclaimer

; Log in