Darren's
Biography

Christian Ministry for Youth Through Music.

Instrument:		Vocals:
Bass Acoustic guitar occasionally		Lead and Background

Musical Influences:
Current - Pillar, Delirious?, Earthsuit, Skillet, Sycamore, Luna Halo, Tree63, PAX217, The Elms, Newsboys, SCC, Sonic Flood, Animal Couch, Audio Adrenaline, DC Talk, Forty Days - Long story short: If it praises God and I can bang my head to it, I LIKE IT!		Previous - Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, Altar Boys, Petra, Van Halen, Huey Lewis

Favorite Bible Verse:
2Kings 6:15-17 and Ephesians 6:12
I tried to limit it to one verse, but had to settle on these two passages. They speak of the fact that our struggle is not with flesh and blood, but with spiritual forces. When life gets difficult and things seem confusing, I like to reflect on these two passages and understand the bigger picture. When any life situation is put in its spiritual context, its purpose suddenly becomes clear and its relevance approaches the proper level of insignificance. Spreading the Word and securing the eternal salvation of others should be our first priority. Everything in this life is temporary, therefore, anything we can experience here pales in significance compared to our eternal destination and that of others.

Favorite Bible Character and Why:
It's gotta be David
David is a perfect example of how imperfect we are and how powerful God's grace really is. The man did some really bad things (The whole Bathsheeba thing comes to mind) yet God said he was a man after his own heart... In human eyes, we can't balance the books on that, but in God's way of looking at it, it all makes sense. David always tried to live a Godly life. Several times he was tested and several times he passed the tests. Because he wasn't perfect, he failed several times too. The point is, he always sought God's forgiveness when he messed up AND turned away from his sin. It's that simple. We're all going to mess up, the key is in how we handle the mistake. We will never be perfect, and God knows it. That's why He sent Jesus to cover us with Grace so that we don't rely on ourselves for salvation, but on Him.

Favorite D13 Song:
The Power
Check out the first verse of this song. It references two stories in the Bible. The first is the story of Peter stepping out of the boat and walking on water as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus. I get strength from this because it reminds me that God can do anything through me... as long as I keep my eyes on Him. The second is the story of Elijah standing against the prophets of Baal. This is just an awesome story. Elijah actually ended up mocking the prophets of Baal as they tried to call fire down from heaven. He told them to "Yell a little louder - perhaps your god is asleep!". After they failed miserably, it was Elijah's turn. He mocked them again by pouring water all over his altar to God. When Elijah prayed, fire came down and even dried up the water he'd poured out. Then Elijah had the prophets of Baal put to death. Now is where it really gets interesting. When Jezebel found out about her prophets being killed, she was furious and put a price on Elijah's head. The man who had just called fire down from heaven and had hundreds of men put to death - ran like a chicken until he was 500 miles away. In one or two day's time, he had completely forgotten how powerful God is. That's a warning to me that if Elijah could be as faithful as he was and see what he saw and still be afraid, I've got to be doubly sure I don't forget about God's power. That is what the song The Power is all about.