When I first heard of Sam Hines, he was introduced as the guy who survived a bull-riding accident. On Sept. 24, 2003, Sam was tossed from a 2,000-pound bull and spun above the bull's head like a helicopter before he fell to the ground. Within seconds one of the bull's hoofs was pushing Sam's spine into his sternum, bruising his kidney and lacerating his liver.

The laceration on his liver was the most serious, because if the blood clot on his liver broke, there would only be a few minutes in which to perform surgery before he would bleed to death. The blood clot held, and eight days later Sam was walking again.

I met Sam this year at the United Church of God's Lexington, Kentucky, Family Weekend, and talked to him mainly about bull riding, but also about his first two years attending Sabbath services with our fellowship. Sam began attending United Church of God services in April 2002 in Lubbock, Texas, right after his 21st birthday. He grew up attending with a small group of Sabbath-keepers for the first 20 years of his life.

Although this group shares some of our beliefs, he said they forbid watching movies or going to shopping malls—and even marriage, because it is considered too "worldly." They are also fascinated with attempting to predict the time of the end of the world.

"I started to rebel against what I knew and believed because I felt I would explode if I didn't," Sam said. "I kept sinking farther until I reached a point where I knew I had to get out or I would reject everything I believed."

Because Sam had grown up hearing in church about complete separation from the world, for many years he didn't question the way he lived or why he was so different from other churchgoers and even other Sabbath-keepers. As he became an adult, he started to question all he heard, and much of his faith was shaken. His brother was disfellowshipped from the group for marrying, but when the children of some church leaders did the same, they received only a short suspension. At one point, his congregation wasn't even allowed to keep the Feast of Tabernacles because their leader feared they would start going to other denominations.

It was hard for Sam to separate the wrong actions and teachings from the good, healthy laws that were created to keep him happy and safe, and for a few months he stayed away from church and forgot about religion.

Sam isn't the only person who has been pushed away from religion because of shortsighted policies or people who have manipulated the Bible to serve their own purposes. Perhaps you've been discouraged by the ways you've seen some Christians act.

Maybe you have a friend who stopped going to church because he was treated harshly or wrongly judged. Or maybe you've heard horror stories about people who abused control and power.

Sam's brother Dan, who had been attending the United Church of God for several years, understood what Sam was going through and encouraged him to come to services with him. Sam noticed that Dan had become a happier person, and he attributes Dan's good example as one of the reasons he decided to give church another try.

When Sam started attending United, he was overwhelmed, he said, by the positive attitude of the brethren in Lubbock. He appreciated the positive approach to life rather than a focus on the end of the world. Attending United, Sam said, has given him a better understanding of the Bible and helped him explain what he believes to others.

I learned a lot from talking to Sam. I've learned that eight seconds is an important moment of time when you ride bulls. Did you know that it doesn't matter if you stay on for 30? You are only judged on the first eight seconds, but if you are thrown off even a tenth of a second before the eighth second you are disqualified.

Sam and I came up with some correlations between bull riding and religion.

Maybe we're both nerds, but we thought they were interesting.

First, there are lots of people who have an opinion about bull riding and religion. Sam gets lots of advice on how he should ride bulls or whether he should ride bulls, and also a lot of advice on where to go to church or whether to go to church. Sam is responsible for his life today and tomorrow, so he listens to advice, but has learned that he should do what is best for him.

Sam says that riding bulls is 30 percent physical and 70 percent mental. Although I don't think there are any confirmed statistics and percentages about how to practice religion, we all know that our thoughts control our actions. When Sam is riding bulls, he controls his body by thinking and focusing on what the bull is doing.

For example, when he comes out of the gate, he begins by watching the bull's hooves to see which direction the bull will go. In life, we partly control our actions by noticing others and adjusting ourselves accordingly (like learning from someone else's good or bad example). We also spend time meditating and thinking about what we know and believe and where we want to focus our energy. Sam says that riding bulls isn't just a battle with the bull, but also a battle with himself.

Bull riding and religion can be painful. When Sam made a mistake on the bull in September, it took him almost four months before he could ride in another rodeo.

Because of the wounds inflicted on Sam by others and by his own mistakes, sometimes he suffers spiritual setbacks as well, as we all do.

Whether you're riding on the back of a crazy bull or attending church services every Saturday, courage is a requirement. Sam could have become a victim.

He had some good excuses. He could have stopped trusting in God or others because he was taught errors and exposed to hypocrisy. He could have given up doing something he loved because it almost killed him. But Sam knows that in the end he will answer for the choices he makes, so he has decided to someday ride bulls professionally and, more importantly, you can count on seeing him at church services as well. VT