Scott & Lauren have quickly become some of our favorites & blessings to our little family.
Several weeks ago, during one of our Family Night Live video calls, Scott shared his story of saving grace & we were all greatly encouraged.
Read along & rejoice!
Hello my Trinity Grace family.
I hope I am finding you better off in the face of all this craziness knowing that we have a great God who loves us more than we can fathom.
So here I go! My name is Scott Trew and I am a sinner. I am married to the love of my life and we have two wonderful daughters and I have experienced a most amazing career and life so far. For 25 years, I was a a Secret Service Agent. I put many criminals in jail and I traveled the world and witnessed history. We started out in Atlanta where I jogged with former President Carter and helped secure the 1996 Olympics. I was in Nashville with Vice President Gore in 2000 on the night the election went undecided. I was with President Bush standing on the twin towers rubble in NYC two days after 9/11. I have traveled the world and protected Kings and Presidents. Hopefully its easy to see how this life could make one a bit self important and a belief that I’ve got it all together, right!
This is my testimony of how our loving God patiently pursued me as I ran from him. One thing I love about hearing others testimonies is that God’s pursuit of his people takes many forms and he will specialize that story just for you.
I attended church growing up though it was not gospel centered. I was surrounded by dear people who worked hard to model loving one another as Christ taught. I never remember being taught the Gospel. In fact, I remember being told by someone I love dearly that I was saved when Christ died on the cross suggesting Christ death saved all humanity. There was a strong aversion to talk of a second birth called salvation.
As a 10 year old at a church camp, I asked Jesus to save me, but without mentorship, I failed to fully grasp what it meant and I continued my life my way. I was highly moral, unless I did not think anyone noticed. I felt guilty about my sinfulness but didn’t work too hard to deal with it. I had moral mentors that helped direct me toward right but I had no one to point me to Christ.
Fast forward until I found myself a young father and husband. I had pursued a career which held great responsibility and authority. As a younger man, I could handle all the stress the world wanted to throw my way. I was in control. As time passed the weight and stress piled up. Additionally, while attending church, I would sit there hearing sermons that may or may not be derived from scripture. I knew there was more to this than a lesson in living a moral life. I prayed for God to lead my family to a church where Jesus was the central focus and biblical teaching was the standard. I also asked if a stained glass window could be thrown it too.... If you ever want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans.
We found ourselves worshiping in an elementary school gym with a praise band. No quiet reflection, ritual or incense to be found here. No founding fathers buried in the church graveyard. Just the squeak of folding chairs, the occasional whiff of sweaty gym clothes, and the loud hum of the circulating fan. Then Keith stepped up to preach and he opened his Bible and taught from the book of Peter. After church our family was swarmed by people who loved God first and wanted to love us too. I knew then that, in police jargon, I had been “set up.”
Through Keith Peck’s biblical teaching and some wonderful Godly friends to mentor me I fell in love with the Gospel and what it means for us. I remember asking Keith if salvation was a supernatural occurrence. His surprise answer to me was yes it is a supernatural act. I was disappointed realizing that I had never felt a supernatural change regarding my faith. I assumed it had to be Pauls experience of a blinding light and exiting the moment as a totally different person who sold everything and walked to Rome preaching the Gospel. Needless to say I had more to learn.
With time, prayer, and study, I began to see that I was far more broken than I originally believed, but that Christ is far more gracious and able to heal me than I ever deserved. I realized that I had been a 90% believer which meant that I was totally missing the mark. I was flattened by my own hubris and desire for control. I fell on my face and prayed for God to take me as his own. I stepped back from that experience realizing that while it was not a blinding light or anything like so many salvation experiences I have heard, it was supernatural non the less. I am changed but I am not perfect. Far from it.
I am changed when it comes to knowing the truth. Jesus Christ is the center of my life. I am free from many of the sins in my life especially control. I no longer live for my glory or the approval of others. I am a 100% believer that Jesus Christ is the son of God who died for me and stands between me and my unworthiness and a perfect God. I am not saved by anything that I have done or deserved but through Christ alone.
I offer my testimony of God’s saving me to encourage you to pursue him. Don’t succumb to being a 0%er or a 90%er. If you are an unbeliever or a just “sorta kinda” believer I encourage you to pursue Jesus and consider giving up control. Life doesn’t necessarily get easier but there is a peace in knowing you no longer need to prove yourself. I look forward to continuing to grow in Christ alongside my Trinity Grace family. I hope you find my journey an encouragement and please know that you don’t need to hit rock bottom to surrender your life to him.