Dave Update

If you wish to see the actual big news from my life, scroll down to the part where I mention that SARAH AND I ARE. . .

So this group-blogging idea has been forming in my head ever since I wrote Steve hunter an email in October (2004) where I said,

“. . . I wish that every other weekend all the T6ers could all come back to your old room and hang out for a while. You know, we’d sit there and hail everyone as they came around the corner down the hall, and they’d run or skip down to the rest of us. We’d have the Nighmareish Epcot Theme song on; Coy would be hitting people with his golf driver. Andy Logemann would be talking in his boy-Satan voice, Aeijtzsche would be thumbing away at his bass, Adam would be snapping pictures, IM-ing, and cracking jokes; I’d be getting killed and getting frustrated in Half-Life, Dusty would be looking for something someone took from his room, R.A. Mark would be laughing and laughing and laughing. Ah, yes, perhaps that would be the way it would be. . .”

Hey, maybe we can get a list of people’s emails and start a reply-all conversation for a while, maybe that would be close enough to curb the nostalgia ache.”

Then I thought to myself, reply-all emails are nice, but community blogs are just so much cooler. After I had that thought I got very hungry and forgot about the idea for a few months. Fast-forward to December (2004) where I’m thinking to myself, “Dave, we should do that blog thing! Then we can start working on the fact that you’re addressing yourself as ‘we.’ ” So, there you have it.

Ok. Now for the big news. SARAH AND I ARE doing just fine! You thought I was going to say something else? Well, yes, actually- -Sarah and I are expecting our first child! That’s right, she’s due at the end of June (June 22 to be precise)! Coy, stop singing O-bla-de, O-bla-da! O.K. fine, you can sing it. So that’s the BIG news.

But there are other things as well: We’re going to be moving east in a few months (the beginning of May) where we’ll move into campus housing at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary; I’ve been accepted into their M.Div. program and I’ll begin classes in the fall. No, I’m not planning to become a pastor; I just want to take the long road to getting a Ph.D. in Theology.

As we wait for the child and our move, Sarah and I continue to live and work out here in Wheaton (we live in the apartment complex right across the street from the Outback Steakhouse in the Danada area)- -Sarah works at College Church as an administrative assistant (for the missions pastor), I work two jobs as an independent contractor. First, I work with this organization (translated: a guy who started a 501c3 (non-profit) from a church) to try and promote citywide partnering and communicating for the sake of Christ-generated unity. “How do we do this?” Well, very creatively. My first stage has been to conduct audio interviews with different pastors and ministry leaders in and around the city, asking them to talk through a brief autobiography, a few detailed formative moments in their life and ministry, their visions and dreams for the future, and a few thoughts on unity (vis. John 17). I’ve put up the first batch on a site which you can find by going to www.cityfirst.net and clicking on the “Glimpses. . .” icon.

I’ve also been working with a consulting agency that specializes in organizational development (especially for Christian organizations). I’m on a team that’s working to with the central territory of the U.S. Salvation Army as we help them build intellectual capital to match the generous financial capital they have acquired through Joan Kroc’s recent gift. You can find out all about Joan Kroc’s gift just by typing her name into Google along with Salvation Army.

I also have a website I update from time to time at www.verdack.com

That’s quite enough for now!