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Feeling groggy from a late night date, I shifted uncomfortably in my chair and then glanced over at the girl next to me. She was the reason I was here in a church service; she and a couple of other girls had invited me. I said yes—even though I knew I'd be out all night with another girl—because I figured I'd eventually end up making out with at least one of the three. After all, that was one of my three main life priorities: 1) talking girls into bed, 2) working out until my muscles ripped; 3) winning State in wrestling during my senior year.

Although I had no interest in God, sitting through the service would be worth it if it meant picking up a girl or two. But I quickly realized these girls weren't interested in going out with me. Still, something about church kept bringing me back. It wasn't the stiff chairs or the sermons—what the pastor said didn't make much sense. But everybody was friendly and different from my other friends. As much as I enjoyed being a cool and popular jock, it felt good to get away from that on Sunday mornings. I just didn't feel like I had to put on a show around Christians.

Then there was Ann. She was in one of my classes at school, but I hardly knew her. One Sunday morning she came up and said hi. The more we talked over the following weeks, the more she impressed me. She didn't treat me like I was some dumb jock, but always seemed interested in my opinions about God and religion. I came to respect Ann, and I never thought about hitting on her.

One day between classes, Ann handed me a Bible and said: "This is my favorite book, Josh. I think you'll like it, too."

As I fumbled self-consciously with the big book, she invited me to a Wednesday night Bible study with some of her friends.

Something inside told me to say, "No way." Something else told me to give it a try. Instead, I mumbled, "What do you guys do there?"

"We eat dinner and read the Bible. It's pretty laid back, but we talk about God a lot."

"I'm not into the whole 'God thing,'" I said indifferently. "But is dinner free?" I figured I wouldn't go if it cost me.

"Yes, it's free," Ann said with a laugh. "So is the fun."

She was right. The food was free and good, and the study turned out to be fun. I couldn't figure out how people could laugh so much while reading the Bible. But they did. So, along with going to church, I also attended the Bible study for the rest of my junior year. Hanging out with Ann and her friends was better than trying to constantly pick up girls. It felt like I had a group of good, genuine friends for the first time ever.

But I had a problem I was afraid to discuss. The more I studied the Bible with my church friends, the more I realized how bad I was. I'd discovered God didn't want people to have pre-marital sex, and I'd sure broken that rule. And I knew God didn't want people to be full of themselves. Guilty again, especially when it came to wrestling. While I was trying to be a better person, my life was still one big mess. If anybody knew the real me, I thought, they wouldn't want me around.

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