Preface

My name is David (Dave) Wilson, and I have become a full time church worker. I say become, because I have more or less drifted into this job, and not planned to be here. My academic background is in secondary school teaching, where I completed my degree at Queens University Belfast, then completed a PGCE in Coleraine. My vocational background is in painting and decorating, where I started my own business (semi-legal). My interests are in youth work, where I have volunteered at various youth activities since I was a teenager, and recently completed Level 2 of a youth work qualification. This somehow has all added up and created me, fully rounded individual (with many facets), full time church worker. I began working for the Crescent Church in spring 2007 on a part time basis due to a lack of substitute teaching and a need to fund my materialistic lifestyle and hectic social calendar, and in January of 2008 my hours were increased. I am now here every day and have very little time to indulge in either.

I think I need to say that this book is not going to go into regular detail about my personal growth as a Christian and my everyday struggles, as this is not what it this is about. However, you must know that as I write this, I am nothing but a sinner redeemed through Christ. I have done nothing to deserve the love God has shown me, nor do I deserve the gift of eternal life that He has given me. I still have an ongoing, daily battle within my soul between the desires and addictions of this body, and my heart’s desire to do what God wants me to do. This fight rages every day of my life, and it is only through God’s power that I make any sort of progress. There will be times when I cannot help but mention the amazing things God is doing in my life, but please do not think that I am some sort of super Christian. Just because I work for a church, does not mean my personal life always reflects that. Anything I accomplish, if I accomplish anything, over the next while, will always have been the result of God working, and not of my own doing.

From the outset, I do not know why I am writing these thoughts and experiences down, as they are but words. In fact, as that is the case with all things literary, then why does anyone write anything down?! It has been encouraged to me however that this could be a very worthwhile exercise, and so I am going to do it. By writing down this adventure, not only will I have a written record of all that I did, said, accomplished and failed at, I will be able to look back and reflect on it all, and ask myself what could I have done differently? Should I have done that at all? Have I gained anything from what I’ve done? Has the church gained anything from what I have done? But most importantly of all, has the kingdom of God gained anything from what I have done?