Over the years, I’ve been blessed to receive a lot of letters, emails, and messages from folks who watch Lindner’s Angling Edge. Most of them are short and kind — a quick note saying that they enjoy the show, learned something new, or appreciate what we do. And I try to read every one of them.
But every once in a while, I get a message that stops me in my tracks.
A couple months back, I opened an email that was long — really long — and you could tell right away this wasn’t about fishing. This was a guy who was searching. Searching for answers. Searching for God. He had questions that a lot of people have but don’t always ask out loud. Is God real? Does He exist? Is Jesus truly the Son of God? What about the Holy Spirit? Why do bad things happen to good people?
I read the message once, set it aside, then came back and read it again. And instead of replying with an email, I noticed he’d left his phone number. So I decided to call him.
When he picked up, he was a little surprised. “Is this really Al Lindner?” Yeah — it was.
We talked for over an hour. And I listened more than anything. His questions weren’t unusual, but they were sincere. He wanted truth. He wanted to understand. One thing he kept coming back to was denominations — who’s right, who’s wrong, who has it figured out.
I told him something I believe with all my heart: there are no denominations in heaven. The Bible talks about the Body of Christ. Not a building. Not a label. A body made up of believers who trust that Jesus died for their sins, rose again, and now sits at the right hand of the Father. That’s it. That’s the foundation. Simple and real.
We talked about faith. About what it means to truly invite God into your life. And I explained that when you make that simple confession of faith, something changes. The Spirit of God becomes real to you. You start to see things differently. And just like fishing — the more time you put into it, the more you learn, the more you grow.
I asked him if he wanted to pray together.
He wasn’t ready.
That was okay.
I encouraged him to think about everything we talked about, to pray on it, and to see what would happen if he truly turned his life over to the Lord. He said he would.
Two hours later, I got another email from him.
Just a few words.
“I did it 🙂”
That made my day. And I’m pretty sure it made his too.
I don’t know where his journey has taken him since then, but I know this — when someone is genuinely searching, God meets them right where they are. And sometimes, all it takes is a conversation… and an open heart.
