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Name: Drew
Birthday: 1/20/1983
Gender: Male


Interests: Music, Computers, Reading, Socializing, Eating, Planning my wedding
Expertise: Fixing computers and telephones; "Lifting" music; Walking chord dictionary, Music Theory Guru
Occupation: Computer related
Industry: Computers (Hardware)


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Member Since: 12/8/2003

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Thursday, April 26, 2007

For the Unaware

In case you hadn't noticed, I almost never post here anymore.  I blog over at blogspot:  http://abeautifulcollision.blogspot.com   Come on over and join the conversation.


Monday, March 19, 2007

Woo Hoo!

I'm going to be a father!


Thursday, February 22, 2007

Ash Wednesday

Last night, I participated in a service of ashes marking the beginning of Lent. If you are not aware, Lent is the period of 40 days (not including Sundays) before Easter. It is a time of repentance and preparation to celebrate Christ's resurrection. In the service of ashes, participants are reminded of their own mortality; "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return". The participants receive a mark of ashes on their foreheads, roughly in the shape of a cross, a reminder of our dust origins and destiny.

The service last night was good. In thinking of my own mortality, I found myself also reflecting on the hope of the resurrection. Thank God for the death, but more importantly the resurrection of Jesus Christ. As Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, it marks the beginning of my fast. Many people fast during Lent from various items that are important to them (for me it is caffeine), and in doing so they attempt to identify with the Suffering Servant. As Paul put it, "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." (Philippians 3:10-11)

What do you think about Ash Wednesday? Have you participated before? Do plan to fast during Lent?


Thursday, January 25, 2007

Puritan Prayers

Who says the Puritans weren't passionate about their faith?

O God of the highest heaven,

Occupy the throne of my heart,

take full possession and reign supreme,

lay low every rebel lust,

let no vile passion resist thy holy war;

manifest thy mighty power,

and make me thine for ever.

Thou art worthy to be

praised with my every breath,

loved with my every faculty of soul,

served with my every act of life.

Thou hast loved me, espoused me, received me,

purchased, washed, favoured, clothed,

adorned me,

when I was worthless, vile, soiled, polluted.

I was dead in iniquities,

having no eyes to see thee,

no ears to hear thee,

no taste to relish thy joys,

no intelligence to know thee;

But thy Spirit has quickened me,

has brought me into a new world as a

new creature,

has given me spiritual perception,

has opened to me thy Word as light, guide,

solace, joy.

Thy presence is to me a treasure of unending peace;

No provocation can part me from thy sympathy,

for thou hast drawn me with cords of love,

and dost forgive me daily, hourly.

O help me then to walk worthy of thy love,

of my hopes, and my vocation.

Keep me, for I cannot keep myself;

Protect me that no evil befall me;

Let me lay aside every sin admired of many;

Help me to walk by thy side, lean on thy arm,

hold converse with thee,

That henceforth I may be salt of the earth

and a blessing to all.



-From "Valley of Vision"

I've been reading this prayer for about an hour. In a sense praying it for myself. One part especially stands out:
Occupy the throne of my heart,
take full possession and reign supreme,
lay low every rebel lust,
let no vile passion resist thy holy war;
manifest thy mighty power,
and make me thine for ever.

May God indeed take full possession of our wills.

Hope this encourages you.


Friday, January 19, 2007

Where am I going?

Isn't it funny how some things just stick with you? Sometimes I just can't seem to get a phrase or idea out of my head. This is happening now.

Last Sunday, Dr. Jones pointed out that in the book of Nehemiah, when the people gathered to have the Law read to them, they asked Ezra to do it, a scribe who had been living among the people for quite some time (I forgot exactly how long. 20 years maybe?). The point being made was that "there's something to be said for longevity in ministry". We briefly discussed how the average tenure for a Southern Baptist pastor is 3 to 4 years. The problem is just as bad among church members as among clergy. Church hopping is quickly on its way to being considered an Olympic sport.

What I took from all that is that the concept of longevity in ministry is not just for vocational ministers, but for everyone who is in Christ. Of course there are times when, for various circumstances, a person would need to relocate his life (and thus his ministry), but this relocation should be the exception, not the norm.

This idea is just one more on top of a pile of ideas that are weighing on me as I try to figure out the things of life. Given my view on God's will, and my view on "callings" (especially the "call" to ministry), and thinking through Alan's writings on the Church, and Lew's writings on pastoral qualifications, I'm no longer certain of where or how I want to invest my life. All I'm really certain of at this point is that I want to remain with my adopted family at Wake Cross Roads. I want to build others up there and have a long term ministry, though not necessarily as a vocation.

I guess my questions are: Why am I continuing school after my Bachelor's degree, and do I need to be in a paid church staff position in order to be satisfied in His will?



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