Over the next few weeks I will post the story of Aysha Conora. This story is for parents who want their children to strive for more from Christianity.
Here is a brief synopsis:
Aysha Conora was a twelve-year-old girl who lived in a rural area outside of a small, sleepy town in North Carolina. Aysha, who was an only child, was home-school by her mother, Audrey, and was devout in her evangelical Christian religion. Aysha was very close to her father John, the owner of a local construction company. Aysha was a lot like her father in her ability to speak her mind and in her natural leadership skills. Aysha always had unwavering devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. However, as she matured, she began to question how her little church in town had chosen Pastor Shelton to be their spiritual leader. She noticed that many church members were not paying attention to his sermons and that his sermons were basically the same every Sunday.
Aysha began asking questions and voicing her concerns. Her mother, who was raised to follow the lead of her church’s pastor without question, was unnerved by Aysha’s outspoken questions and opinions. Audrey felt many of her daughter’s doubts about the pastor were inappropriate and disrespectful. Aysha’s mother was also concerned that her daughter would lose the protection of her “shepherd” and be vulnerable to an attack by Satan.
John was a little more open to Aysha’s inquisitive mind. He understood how she felt since he had struggled with some of the same questions about their church himself. But to keep peace, he had remained silent in respect for his wife’s conservative view that any questioning of either the church or pastor was an effrontery to God.
John arranged for his daughter to meet with the pastor. Aysha was thrilled that her father was treating her like an adult and had regard for her intellect and opinions. But the meeting with the pastor was disappointing. The preacher, who was an older man and had been preaching for decades, lectured Aysha—not allowing her to get a word in edgewise. Soon after, the family visited another church where she experienced a spiritual uplifting from the sermon of a visiting evangelist. Aysha was even more inspired to continue her quest for answers. She felt that her church should hold more appeal to the youth in the congregation and should inspire church members to take more active roles as Christians.
Aysha’s father saw the frustration in his daughter and wanted to encourage her to be the type of person who questioned tradition and strived to make things better. He challenged her to what father and daughter called “The Deal.” John told Aysha that if she dedicated herself to learning more about the Lord and found a better way to teach the congregation, he would share her conclusions with her mother and recommend that she be allowed to leave their church and attend one of her own choosing.
Meeting her father’s challenge, Aysha read the Bible and Christian books, listened to tapes of the evangelist she so admired and asked the opinions of friends. Aysha turned a report of her findings over to her father. He was so impressed that he told his wife Aysha had discovered ways to teach Christianity that were more powerful than the pastor’s. Aysha, he told his wife, had educated herself on the Bible and Christianity and was knowledgeable and mature enough to choose her own path to Christianity.
Aysha’s extensive work and research took over two years after which she announced to her parents that she had been called by God to establish her own ministry.
This story will not only encourage young Christians to ask questions, but also to seek answers. It establishes that asking questions does not indicate disrespect, rather, to question shows an intent to succeed.
