(re)set

its been over a year since my last update.  so many things have happened in my life and in our world in my absence from this blog; however, i won't bore you trying to recap all of those things in any depth, but here's a brief recap.

it was a great year though in a number of ways:
  -began dating my best friend (Brittany Watts) and eventually moved her back home to Louisiana where she belongs :) we've now been dating over 11 months!
  -volunteered in Joplin, MO cleaning up from the devastating tornados.. definitely a humbling experience.
  -participated in tons of events with the youth @ Live Oak (remix, vbs, camp fuego, guys retreat, q&a panel for girls' retreat, serve n ski)
  -graduated from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary on Dec. 17th, 2011, with a Master of Divinity.
  -starting Jan. 1st, 2012, i went on staff full-time at Live Oak United Methodist Church in Watson, LA as the Associate Minister/Worship Leader, leading worship for 4 services throughout the week (plus special services like Good Friday, etc.), assisting with the youth and helping with pastoral care/visitations as needed.  its definitely been a growing experience so far.

i could go into so much depth on all of those topics listed above, but i'll spare each of you the in-depth play-by-play details. if you'd like to know more about anything above, hit me up and i'd be glad to give ya the whole scoop.

obviously, i haven't done the best job (to say the least) at keeping this blog updated. it always proved difficult to find the time to update while i was in school/serving at the church, etc., then when i did have the time, i was so far behind in updating that there was so much to cover.. so we'll consider this a(nother) reset.

i've been reading a bunch of books lately, many of which i had been waiting to read for quite a while, so i'll post those book reviews soon.

to make sure this blog isn't just another boring recap, i'll fill y'all in on my current thoughts.  i'm really happy with where my life is currently.  i've got great friends and an amazing girlfriend who are all passionate about God and serving Him wherever He leads and whatever that means.  its exciting to see what God is doing in each of us and the ways in which He continually draws us to Him, while also giving us the opportunities to grow closer together as we serve Him.  even when we're just hanging out on the weekends or whatever, our conversations constantly shift back to talking about church, our youth, exciting ideas, etc.  clearly this is a passion God has placed in all of our hearts and lives.  it is super encouraging to see and helps keep me on track and motivated to continue doing His work.

i'll do a better job of updating this blog now that my schedule is more (or less) structured (as far as free time/time "off" goes). stay tuned for updates soon and very soon.

muchlove, trenticus.

round 2

well school starts back tomorrow.. this summer break has felt like the longest break I think I've ever had whilst (hehe) in school so needless to say, I'm ready to get back into the swing of things.. I miss being on campus, learning more about Christ, opening every class in prayer (still the coolest thing ever), and heck, I even miss the drive haha.. I know, crazy right?!

the Seminary posted a Katrina 5-year anniversary/reflection, showing some pictures of the devastation the storm caused to campus and the restoration that has happened to make it more beautiful than ever.. the SBC wanted to move NOBTS out of New Orleans because of the financial reasons of restoration & the neighborhood around the seminary has only degraded more, especially shortly post-Katrina.. luckily, Dr. Kelley, the seminary President, maintained the original vision of NOBTS, to be a lighthouse to the city of New Orleans (my own paraphrase haha).. there have been tremendous opportunities that have arisen because of the seminary staying in the city, showing their dedication to the city, which has opened up doors to ministry & evangelism that were shut beforehand.. it's incredible how God can work such a sucky situation out for the better and further His kingdom in the process! if you want to see the current weekly newsletter with some various articles, including one by Dr. Kelley, as well as the aforementioned (hehe) photos, click here

this semester I'll be taking Pastoral Ministry (more of the application side of the pastoral role, but also includes administering the ordinances, conducting weddings/funerals, and baptisms.. we actually do an in-class mock baptism one day haha.. quite interesting), Greek Exegesis: James (simply put, exegeting the book of James.. haha who woulda guessed right?!), Encountering the Biblical World (basically, biblical geography), The Church and Political Involvement (how the church is to relate to the political culture of the day in various aspects), and World Religions: Islam (understanding the Islamic worldview in order to better understand how to discuss Christ with a Muslim.. the prof was a missionary in Egypt, then Iraq after the war started, developed all of the Muslim literature for the International Mission Board.. so he definitely knows his Qur'an.. should be a great class). so, it's definitely not the easiest semester I've ever had, but I'm really excited about all of the classes (except for geography maybe), so it should be a really good semester. I'm excited!

well thats all for now. I'll be updating this more regularly hopefully, so I've got some other things worth mentioning but I'll save them for a later post (hopefully the next day or so).

peace and blessings, trent.

(that's from a youtube video I saw the other day, but I just looked it up (to make sure I had it right) and it's actually a religious saying from Islam.. interesting.. and more fitting to this post haha)

submission is the key to success

one night in late january, i was laying in bed frustrated with the status of my job search. i was racking my brain trying to think of every possible place i could send resumes that would lead to getting my foot in the door somewhere in the realm of politics. i was thinking so much, as i often tend to do, that i couldn't clear my mind.. and thus, couldn't get to sleep. finally, i said enough with it, i'm going to sleep.. and then it hit me...

what does it matter if i pursue a career in politics? where will that lead me? even if, by some rare chance, it lead to a lofty position of elected office, once that was over and my life neared its end.. what did it all matter? what did i do with the time God gave me? i don't want to work at some meaningless job all my life and have a half-hearted devotion to the work that God calls us to do.. why not devote my life to God's work, to what He calls believers to do (glorify Him and further His kingdom), and start now what I will be doing for eternity.. praising God. just as Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes.. life is meaningless. so why chase after even more meaningless tangibles.. why not chase after God. glorifying Him, rather than myself, in all aspects of my life, including my job.

i prayed about it long and hard to be certain that this was God's calling on my life and not just a futile search for something positive.. soon after, we went to a collegiate conference in alexandria and God confirmed the calling while i was there. i knew it was what i needed to do and as soon as i got home i was going to talk to my parents about it and start down the path to applying to seminary.

then, the week we got home from the conference, i was offered an extremely lucrative position for a political consultant based out of chicago working on high-profile political campaigns. i couldn't pass it up. my eagerness got the best of me and i put all my eggs into that basket, chasing that position. obviously, it didn't work out (i never heard back from the guy actually), but that was enough of a distraction to steer me on the wrong path, again pursuing a political job and allowing that struggle to distract me from where i needed to be for a little over 2 months.

i had an interview with the clerk of the louisiana house of representatives a few weeks ago and after that interview, the culmination of all the failed attempts to find a job were weighing on me very heavily and i met my dad for lunch. during our conversation, he asked me if there was a calling on my life that i was ignoring (i had never actually spoke with him about what had happened before)..  and i was stunned.. how did he know? God.. what are you trying to say to me? but ultimately i blew it off and decided the best course of action was to start applying to grad schools for a masters in political science. other things happened that week that kept trying to get my attention to refocus on what God had in store for me, but it all came to fruition that friday. i dropped off my transcripts at the post office for my first batch of grad applications and on my way home, i got a call from the seminary asking how everything was going.. how much clearer can you get?

so i said all that to say this: i finally directed my attention back to God's will for my life and away from my own. i have applied to seminary in New Orleans and hope to start in the fall. i'm pursuing a Masters of Divinity in Christian Apologetics (if you don't know what it means, ask me.. i'll be happy to explain). one of the main questions everyone asks me is what ministry do you want to get involved in once you graduate? the best answer that i can give is that.. i don't want to restrict myself to one area, because it's ultimately in God's hands.. not mine.

so all that being said, i would greatly appreciate your prayers and support, over the next couple months before school starts with all of the logistics, and after that, with the course loads and just an overall support group helping to hold me up and keep me focused.

i'd love to talk with y'all one on one about it in more depth but i figured this would serve as a general announcement and to proceed from there.. if y'all have any questions, comments, prayer requests of your own, please let me know.. either on here, facebook, myspace, or just send me a text/phone call.. hehe it felt weird typing that.. who actually calls anyone anymore.. weird..

much love. trent.