Brave Soul
A spiritual memoir
by
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The church ladies young and old encircled me at the altar that Sunday night, wailing and hollering to God, as if giving birth. Their gut-wrenching cries and loud, fervent prayers rattled the heavens, imploring God for my eternal soul's salvation. They prayed with me to receive the Holy Ghost that very night, April 22, 1978. I was 15 and going through a rough adjustment in high school. My church's fundamentalist preaching and teaching wore me down to the point I was ready to surrender all to Jesus. With arms uplifted, eyes closed, and tears flowing, I prayed to Jesus, telling Him how much I loved Him. I visualized the crucifixion and Christ dying on the cross, suffering for my sins and for the world. I felt unworthy of His sacrifice and His immense love. Between bouts of crying, I praised Him repeatedly, in the manner learned from the church. Then the experience I witnessed others receive in the small Pentecostal church happened to me. An invisible, holy force took hold of me. The church family's mournful tones for a lost sinner turned to joyful praise over another soul saved. In their eyes I was born again.
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About the Book
Cherie Bell writes with humor and grace about her teenage years as a Pentecostal Christian in the late 1970s. At first happy her chaotic family life would be tamed by church membership, the spunky adolescent with a mind of her own finds her parents' choice too strict. In time she befriends the new church family and joins the faith at age 15 after profound experiences in water baptism and the Holy Ghost. As she grows into an independent young woman in the 1980s, always curious about world religious philosophies, she begins a personal exploration of the soul and finds spirituality outside of religion. Each segment of her memoir is set off by old-time gospel hymns and contemporary Christian song titles as Ms. Bell writes as one who knows the Pentecostal experience firsthand yet does not argue her views today. Indeed she concludes everyone's relationship with God is a personal endeavor. Her engaging story leaves readers thinking about religious fundamentalism and its impact on the world today. A former award-winning journalist and columnist, Ms. Bell is a singer, songwriter, and music teacher in Dallas, where she lives with her husband.
About the Author
Cherie Bell writes with humor and intimacy about living as a fundamentalist Pentecostal Christian teenager in the late 1970s. A former award-winning journalist and columnist, Ms. Bell is a songwriter and music teacher in Dallas, where she lives with her husband.