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Offering Directions for the Journey

A Classic Otto Tale

Otto Helweg was raised in a rural community in Michigan and in his words, "was a big frog in a small pond." Look at his accomplishments.

Played high school football and basketball

Selected as a member of the band and glee club

Voted Outstanding Boy in his graduating class

Elected President of Methodist Youth Fellowship

Accomplished perfect church attendance for 12 years

Achieved the Eagle Scout Award

After high school, he even received a scholarship to the U. S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. And on top of all that, he prided himself on being moral. His unspoken creed – "I don’t drink, smoke or chew, nor go out with the girls who do." He had plenty of reasons to think God must be fairly proud of him and saw nothing wrong with this belief.

His idea of God

"I thought God was a celestial score keeper. When I would do good things, I would get a good check and when I did bad things, a bad check. In other words, I (like so many church-goers) thought I had to earn my way into heaven. If, when I died (and I never thought of this), I had more good checks than bad checks, I would get into heaven."

God’s idea for him

In his third year at the Naval Academy, he accepted an invitation to a Christian conference, one he had declined his freshman year. The conference was sponsored by the Officers Christian Fellowship for Naval Academy midshipmen and West Point cadets. Let’s hear what happened next.

"…By the time I was a second classman (junior to you non-military types), Spring Leave was no big deal so I accepted the repeat invitation to this conference. It was inexpensive and I could take along my girl friend so it would not be a total loss. Upon arrival, I could see this was a big mistake.

First, I felt completely out of place, sort of like a person walking into a High Mass in cutoffs and "go aheads." Second, I thought I was surrounded by a bunch of hypocrites. Everyone was smiling and pretending (I thought) to have a good time. As time went on, I realized they really WERE having a good time.

The big surprise was that my stereotype of a religious person was shattered. Previously, I considered religious people to be weak physically and mentally; social outcasts who had to flee to church groups to find acceptance (i.e., a tall skinny kid with glasses). It never dawned on me that my theology was inconsistent.

Here, were midshipmen who I highly respected. There were cadets against whom I had played sports. There were officers who were outstanding, especially a marine major who was head and shoulders above any of the company officers at the Academy, both in physical abilities and mental sharpness.

God, with His sense of humor, chose a "tall skinny kid with glasses" to corner me at the conference and ask if I were a Christian. Actually the "skinny kid" was Jim Wilson, a graduate of Annapolis, and was now on the Officers Christian Fellowship staff. Since I defined a Christian as someone who was going to heaven and I didn't know the status of my good checks and bad checks in God's score book, I couldn't answer the question."

What Otto was beginning to learn

Their discussion left Otto feeling uncomfortable about his spiritual foundations but upon returning to school, that feeling was shelved. Several weeks later, he was invited to a luncheon and was surprised to meet Jim again. It was soon evident this meeting was no coincidence.

"I may not be too bright, but I could see that this was a ‘set up.’ Major Perrish had invited me over so Jim could ‘corner me’ again. Sure enough, after lunch, they managed to get my date to help with dishes so Jim and I wound up in the living room alone…for the first time in my life I was presented with the way a person may become a Christian.

Otto’s Story and You

That’s not the whole story and we’ll give you a chance to ’hear’ the rest in a moment.  We hope this section of his tale encourages you to look at what you think is the way to heaven and listen carefully to your own preconceived ideas about Christians and their faith. 

It is also our heart wish that you might establish a dialogue about this issue with someone you trust.  We’d love it to be us and realize that may not work for you but we hope there is someone you know who can listen to your heart and respond with care and thoughtfulness.

Now, if you’re ready, feel free to check out what Otto learned about becoming a Christian (and his decision) at the site where we found his story. 

 

Or, click on the Classic ‘Otto’ to send us an email.

1927 Otto?

If you didn’t arrive here direct from Pathways, and you want to read another story about people and their spiritual journeys, click on the high speed racer above.

Or you might want to race to “Listening Hearts” where Pathways and other items of interest got the green flag.