I remember the sky said &ldquo;Bam!&rdquo; and the rain came down in torrents on top of our Army surplus tent. Storm winds lashed the canvas and then flipped the entire structure over. In that moment my tent mate and I went from sleeping to survival. It was cold, wet and miserable. It was also the most memorable moment of my Boy Scout leader training, a real &ldquo;act of God&rdquo; moment. But it was not the moment.</p><p>In fact, there was no real sudden &ldquo;born again&rdquo; flash or revelation that led to my fateful midlife decision to go to seminary and turn my life to God. No sudden conversion on a dark and stormy night. At that moment, in fact, I had no thoughts of dedication or career change. All I wanted was for the two of us to get our blasted tent upright again. </p><p>I was often asked in seminary about the moment when I &ldquo;knew.&rdquo; When was my Luther moment? You&rsquo;ve heard that story, perhaps, about Martin Luther riding his horse on the way to law school, when suddenly he was blown out of the saddle by a bolt of lightning. Just like that, his career choice switched from lawyer to priest. The choice from law to faith was made in that one brilliant flash. </p><p>Not with me, I&rsquo;m afraid.</p><p>However, at the end of my weeklong Scout leader training I was asked to commit to a number of goals. I pulled several ideas out of my brain that day, just to have something to give to the counselor. One of them was getting worship services started at my Boy Scout unit&rsquo;s monthly campouts. And that was the start of my walk of faith.</p><p>It was not a sudden shift. I did not switch from computer programmer to lay minister overnight. I certainly didn&rsquo;t do it to appease an &ldquo;angry&rdquo; God who turned over my tent in a downpour. My conversion was literally a slow walk of faith.</p><p> I began conducting those services at the monthly campouts. They went OK, so I volunteered to be a chaplain down at Boy Scout camp. I enjoyed that as well. I worked on improving my public speaking, going to Toastmasters. I did no real religious training. I just took baby steps down the path. I never gave a thought to a career change. </p><p>Then my company decided its needed fewer programmers. It made the change.</p><p>It was then that I noticed I had been walking all along a path toward seminary. And then I noticed who was walking with me along that slow path. I have never regretted that decision or my leisurely journey. I may not be Martin Luther, but I am getting there by faith.