Jason Sleichter
757-912-7364
jasonsleichter@protonmail.com
About
I grew up in a Christian family and was blessed to be able to attend a Christian school when I was very young and then much later when I was in high school, with some years of public school in between. When I was around 6 years old, I remember praying with my mother to receive Jesus into my heart as my Savior. It is the only memory I have from that long ago. My youth was filled with enjoyment of retreats, youth groups, and other church events. There were times that I read the Bible and I memorized quite a few verses, but I never read it every day. Looking back, I would say I had a desire to be thought of as a good kid, but little to no desire for genuine holiness.
When I got into my junior and senior years of high school, I began to experiment with what I thought were the more serious sins...drinking, lust after girls, and especially hard rock and gothic rock music. At first, I felt very guilty after doing some of those things, but the feelings of guilt faded with time and repetition. After joining the Air Force and serving a number of years, I had no kind of spiritual practices whatsoever. I played in various bar bands in my off-duty time and continued the band / party life for quite a few years after getting assigned to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. I had immoral relationships with various women, and then eventually married a Wiccan girl. Even after all of this immorality, if someone had asked me if I was a Christian, I would have said ‘Yes’. It’s amazing how deceitful the human heart is (Jer 17:9). Instead of thinking of the Gospel as the power of God to deliver a person from sin and immorality, I thought of it as fire insurance, or a free ticket to heaven. I was one of those whom Jude warns about, one of those who “turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
In the summer of 2007, a band that I was in was playing the bar scene for a while. We had recently gotten a new drummer named Nate who was a Christian and he had been playing with us for about a year by that summer. Although he played the songs with us, he didn’t curse, drink, smoke, etc. He was different...like a genuinely good and responsible guy. He went to church every week, and at one point I think I had met his pastor. One night, very late, our band was gathering our gear to haul it away from a gig, when Nate and his wife got into some kind of disagreement. I don’t remember what it was about, but I do remember watching them and hearing Nate curse for the first time. It was at this point that the Holy Spirit seemed to grip my heart (John 16:8, Ezekiel 36:25-27).
Driving home that night, I began to actually take stock of my life: my sexual immorality, addictions, foul mouth, etc. I began to see myself as a bad person. I began to feel sorry for how I had been living and those I had hurt. I realized that I was a bad influence on Nate, and many others. But more than that, I realized how I had offended God. That night, in my shower, I began to cry and sob to God. I probably said more than this, but all I remember saying is, “I’m done. I’m done.” Over the next week, everything began to change. I started reading the Bible and verses seemed to jump off the page. I began attending church every Sunday and responded to an altar call the pastor gave at one of the services. I quit smoking, drinking, cursing, pretty much all in a week. Of course, that’s not to say that all sin stopped and there was no struggle. I still struggled to overcome other sins, just as I still struggle today. I was baptized by my pastor, Jonathan Sansom, in December of 2007. Since I had undergone a radical change, but was still married to an unbeliever, there were more challenges to face. At one point, I still remember my wife at the time saying, “You make me feel bad about myself.” This was not because I preached at her, but only because, by God’s amazing grace, my speech and behavior and desires had changed so much. This eventually led to her seeking a divorce. After seeking counsel from my pastor, he advised me to let her leave (1 Cor 7).
It was not long after the divorce that I began to come across websites such as illbehonest.com and livingwaters.com. Two sermons from those websites that forever impacted my life were Paul Washer’s “Shocking Youth Message” and Ray Comfort’s “Hell’s Best Kept Secret.” Besides my first pastor, those men have probably had the most impact on my life, and I actually got to meet them years later at a G3 Conference and the Ambassador’s Academy! It was also during this time that my theology was refined and my eyes were opened to the doctrines of grace such as total depravity, election, and the perseverance of the saints. After receiving orders to move from Florida to Hampton Roads, and after being divorced for about a year, I began to pray and seek remarriage. I first saw my beautiful wife Penny online, and then met her at her church a few months later, after I had moved to Virginia. I fell in love, not only with her, but with her family as well. I began to see what a difference faith and godliness makes in leaving a family legacy. So now, that is the kind of legacy I want to leave.
My goal in life now is simple. I want to know and pursue Jesus Christ. I want to know Him, to be more like Him, and be a true and faithful witness until He returns or calls me home. After all these years, I finally understand the Gospel in truth. Jesus came to live the perfect life I could never live and die the horrific death I deserve. He came to save me not just from hell and the consequences of sin, but from sin itself. Although it is a struggle and I am not who I should be, I know I am also not who I used to be, by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus alone. I trust Jesus to do in me what I could never do in myself...to give me a greater and greater love for God and others, and a greater and greater hatred of sin. All glory and honor and praise to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
“Now this is eternal life; that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” - John 17:3