Ken Shannon

My parents, Charles and Betty Shannon, provided a loving and moral home in the suburbs of Philadelphia. They were church-goers who established their family after World War II. They bought a small home and worked hard to raise a family. Grandparents, aunts and uncles were an important part of family life. As the first grandchild I received a lot of good attention and care from my parents and extended family. When I was a young teenager I witnessed my parents' conversion to Jesus Christ as their living Lord and Savior. The change in their lives was centered upon a new, personal relationship with the resurrected Christ. It became clear to me that this new faith dominated their lives. I could see that this was something real and life-changing. It was as if Jesus had taken up residence in our home. I did not embrace this Gospel and though I was generally moral, I drifted into the pursuit of personal pleasure. In the core of my being I was not a good person, but I was proud my behavior was not as bad as my friends. I became gradually enslaved to a number of self-destructive behaviors and college life provided me with greater opportunity to pursue these. And yet the moral structure provided by my parents and their testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ were deeply ingrained in my conscience. I respected their testimony. It was genuine and heartfelt. It influenced my Dad to get involved in prison ministry with other African-American evangelicals. My parents befriended and sought to help people who lived troubled lives. Their Christian kindness was evidence to all though to some their evangelical Methodism was a little too religious. A few opportunities of serious reflection intruded into my late high school years. An influential teacher helped to read Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. Methodist preachers urged me to be born again. A Jewish friend encouraged discussions about the meaning of life and politics. Nevertheless, I was more like a junior Augustine, dabbling in the life of the mind while principally pursuing my pleasures. At college I continued to pursue my pleasures but I also tried to be a good student and a thinking person. These were the years 1967-1969, the time of youthful rebellion and soul searching during turbulent 1960s. During the summer of 1969, God gradually brought me to faith in Jesus Christ, so that when I returned to college in the fall I was ready to identify with the Christians. Since that time I have sought by God's grace, to be a follower of Jesus Christ. The word of Christ, the Bible, became my guide in every area of life. Thus began my "great conversation" with the Lord of the universe. Imagine that He wants my fellowship and friendship! In some ways this was a radical break with my past, but old habits die hard, a