TONY DANCER

I was born in Windsor on Easter Sunday but grew up in the Langley Slough area.  As far back as I can remember, my life has revolved around music.  This love of music and drumming followed me through my school years to the extent that I saw no purpose in going to school.  As a result, I left school with the worst attendance record in the school’s history and zero qualifications.  However, during this time, I always a had a curiosity with regard to the Bible.  This stemmed from a visit by the Gideons to my school where I received my own New Testament.  I loved the “where to find help when” sections.  I even tried to read the whole Bible through when I was 14 but gave up at Leviticus!
 
On leaving school, I saw an advert for a drummer to play in a summer season.  At last (I thought) I could do what I loved doing.  During 1981-1984, I travelled around and spent 6 months working in Israel.  Whilst there, I visited Jerusalem and Bethlehem to see the “holy” sites.  I think the old curiosity around spiritual things was once again aroused and I remember thinking, “Jerusalem is a real place.  Jesus ACTUALLY walked around here!”.  I even bought a Bible.  I was so impressed that I took the 200 km bus ride for a second time to Jerusalem to see it all again.  However, when I returned home to England, my interest waned.
 
When I returned home, I still felt unfulfilled in my life and decided to learn classical guitar, working through all the grades.  However, by 1988 I was still unfulfilled.  I began to reflect on my life and realised that music was not enough.  I was also becoming aware of sin and bitterness in my life and so I was prompted to investigate "religion" to see if there was anything to it.  I started going to a local Baptist church December 1988 and began to research the Bible and Christianity specifically.  I was amazed at what I discovered!

It wasn't simply a matter of blind faith after all!  In fact, there was more than enough evidence to convince any sceptic intellectually that God existed, that the Bible was His word and that Jesus Christ was the one and only Saviour sent from God to pay the penalty for all our sins that we might not suffer the consequences. I found there are 20,000 Greek and Latin manuscripts for the New Testament alone which can be checked and crossed referenced to prove the veracity and consistency of the Bible. Dozens of detailed prophecies foretell in precise detail where Jesus would be born (Bethlehem), where He would minister (Galilee), his betrayal by Judas (for 30 pieces of silver), His death on the cross.  These and many more are all set down in black and white, and carbon dated to prove that they were written hundreds of years before the events took place.  Added to this, there is the witness of archaeology to the events of the Bible.  If you would like to investigate more, visit The Christian Answer website.
 
In April of 1989, I was invited to attend the Billy Graham mission.  I agreed to go but determined not to “go forward” when asked to do so even though I was intellectually convinced.  However, I was cut to the heart by what I heard and felt my desperate need of a Saviour from sin and so I repented of my sin and committed my life to Christ that night.  I remember being full of joy.  That night, my sleep was as the blink of an eye and immediately on waking I bounced out of bed and leapt into the air almost hitting the ceiling in the process!
 
From that moment on my life was changed.  I was baptised at Whaddon Way Church in 1989.  I stopped swearing and taking the Lord’s name in vain literally overnight.  I became sensitive to the worldliness and sin all around me.  My values and priorities changed so that now God and His work came first.  It was my joy to read the Bible through in 6 months.
 
In the years since I have become a Christian, I met my wife Cheryl at church whose wisdom has helped me to make right choices.  I am re-educated to degree level, have two children who are both Christians and married to Christians, three grandchildren and am now a qualified music teacher.  God has indeed restored “the years that the locust hath eaten”(Job 2.25) before my conversion.  Music is still very important to me but now it must bow the knee before the true God.  I thank God everyday now for His manifold blessings towards me and I desire to serve Him the rest of my days.