Iron Sharpens Iron Kyle Marx

Kyle Marx

Iron Sharpens Iron

We call ourselves "The new perspective on Paul" community. We meet on Saturdays in a booth at a local resteraunt. For the past twelve years we have missed less than four Saturdays. That level of

commitment, without exception has brought each of us closer than we ever dreamed possible to living the life God wants us to live. We have a fraternity that is accountable to each other and is driven by our daily scripture study. This fraternity gives us the encouragement to live our lives and marriages, a never-ending struggle of selfsatisfaction verses being slave to Christ. It helps us live a more righteous life.

"Fraternity," Prov. 27:17, “Iron sharpens Iron, so one man sharpens another.” In a nutshell, God explains how important it is to be accountable to a Christian brother in order to honestly follow and obey God’s Word.

From 2000-2007 I was an Evangelical lay minister/teacher. The more I read the Bible, I began to doubt some of the interpretations I had come to know. I joined a new Protestant movement, “A new perspective on Paul,” which eventually brought me into the Catholic Church.

In April 2008, I along with twelve lay ministers, went on our annual mission trip to build a church in Columbia. When flying home we had a ten hour layover in Panama where we discussed how Columbia had changed our lives. You see, originally, we thought we were going there to teach the Colombians about Christ, but in the end, they taught us. We found that they were closer to Jesus in their poverty than we were in our riches.

It became obvious that our lack of Holy Scripture knowledge had prevented us from living full Christian lives. My brothers knew I was thinking of converting to Catholicism and wanted to encourage me to stay in their beliefs, so, during the layover we committed to reading the Bible cover to cover over twelve months to scrutinize doctrine.

Every Saturday from 5:30-9am we meet as peers to discuss what we've

learned. Our weekly goal is to read seven daily Bible readings, write down our questions or revelations and share them on Saturday.

Over the next twelve years, some members moved on. Those left were becoming members of the “New perspective on Paul” community.

Each Saturday we break bread and admit our shortcomings and successes. To say we are close is a major understatement. From that fateful day in Panama, through our personal faith journey, I am now safely home in the Church.

What did Jesus mean when he said "I am the gate"? Lana Storm