Currently, I'm employeed at Calhoun Community College in Huntsville, AL. My wife Karen and I live in Athens, AL. We currently attend services at Elgin Hills Church of Christ near Rogersville, AL.

I'm 22 years old. I have been through a summer of preacher training at Northfield Boulevard Church of Christ in Murfreesboro, TN where Brother David Bunting is the full-time evangelist.

I have preached at a good long list of congregations in the Southeast, but I have not been able to find a place to work regularly in the Athens, AL area.

I'm not looking for a place to preach full-time necessarily. I would prefer to work with another preacher and the elders at continuing to develop as a preacher and help increasing my knowledge of the scriptures.

I'm not a great speaker. I don't think I have a whole lot of talent. What I do have is the desire to develop, grow, and become a good worker for God's kingdom.

I wouldn't require much support, if any at all. My job pays most of our bills, but that will not last forever as my student loan payments will begin after I finish my MBA.

I feel like I have a responsibility to teach people the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe that Christ's church is the only path to heaven, and that the New Testament is our guide for that church.

Again, I'm not necessarily looking for a place to be the full-time evangelist...not that I wouldn't consider it if a congregation felt I could handle it. I would really enjoy working with another preacher, even for a short time, while being given opportunities to develop my ability by teaching classes, preaching, and private studies.

If anyone knows of any opportunities or is interested in directing me to someone that could help, I'd appreciate it. I started out strong with my goal to preach a few years ago, and since then have let that die down. I'm motivated to serve in that capacity once again.

You can contact me @ kdmarkum@pclnet.net or (615)663-7385.

I considered the denominational approach to that theory above and that is that we're all on the way to heaven, we are just taking different routes.

My question is...if you can get there anyway you want...why did you choose the path you did?

Why is it Baptists and Mathodists debate over infant baptism...but still both are destined for heaven?

Why do other denominations fight over issues of instrumental music, the necessity of baptism, the use of the church building, etc., but yet eventually they are all destined for heaven.

If we are all headed to heaven anyways, why not just let everyone do what they want? Why do denominations debate with each other? If we are all headed to heaven, we are all right!

If that is the case, why meet every Sunday? Why take the Lord's Supper? Why give money? Why don't we just get together, have a party, play games, and not even mention God's name?

Ask that sometime, more than like they will say, well the Bible says to worship God on the first day of the week. Aha! If we do something because the Bible says...why shouldn't we all do all of what the Bible says?

Ponder that and leave a comment.

I'm not sure what I think about the context of this passage.

I heard a lesson on divorce and remarriage, and the brother doing the lesson mentioned that some think Jesus was correcting the misconceptions of Deut 24 that the majority of the Jews had at the time. I found out a lot of people take that to mean this passage is referring to the Old Law and not the New Law.

I don't know what to think really. It makes some sense, but I've grown up thinking that it was applicable today.

Don't jump on me like I'm teaching this as truth, I'm just simply asking for thoughts on the topic.

Warning: If you are easily offended by Alabama humor, do not read any further. You have been warned!


10) In Tennessee, people drive correctly, Alabama...they confuse the sidewalk with the road and the grass with the driveways.

9) In Tennessee, a lower percentage of rednecks drive trucks 10x's the size of a regular Silverado, with 3 tires per wheel.

8) In Tennessee (Middle Tennessee), there is less of a chance that your brother is also your cousin and your uncle at the same time.

7) In Tennessee, a college football coach doesn't make as much as A-Rod and Shaquille Oneal combined.

6) In Tennessee, moonshine is only consumed with an average of .5 meals per week, while in Alabama, they have a .5 meals for every 10 oz's of moonshine drunk in a week.

5) In Tennessee, church typically begins at 6 PM as opposed to 5 PM on Sunday evenings (just kidding about this one...I kinda like it, Elgin even starts at 4)

4) In Tennessee, people know what pro football is and that players in college actually do play after graduation occassionally.

3) In Tennessee, drinking alcohol is not a sport.

2) In Tennessee there is the occassional 50-65 degree weather...in Alabama it goes from 32 to 75 in about 3 minutes.

1) In Tennessee, you don't have hear "Roll Tide" when your mascot is a stinkin elephant.


Clarification:

I like Northern Alabama...but I'm a Tennessee boy. This is only meant to be a joke, please do not call my house and threaten Smokey the hound dog.

As most of you know, I just recently was married in June of 2008. Karen and I both worked part time in order to make ends meet while we both were working on school, Karen her Bachelor's and me my MBA. Money was running short. I was going in debt from student loans. All in all...the situation was not fun.

I had been looking for almost a year for a full-time job. Even before I graduated with my B.S. I was looking for a 40-hr a week job...with no success. After graduation, (when theoretically people are said to line up for your employment), still couldn't find a job.

In the middle of July, I find a posting for a job I'm perfectly qualified for in the Calhoun financial aid office, near Karen's hometown of Athens, AL. I see the date that the job closed, and I realized it closed two days later. No faxes or email applications accepted...mail only.

I stayed up until about 1 AM that evening polishing my application. I then proceeded to overnight the application the next day just hoping and praying that it would make it there. I was going to cut it close.

I get home, and realized that the address I nervously wrote on the overnight package had a slight difference in the zipcode I was intending to send it to... What luck?! I prayed that somehow, someway, it would get there.

I tracked the package online (technology rocks), and nervously waited for the note to read "Package delivered to Tanner, AL" before the closing time had ended for job applications.

Thankfully, the notification appeared and my package had at least been delivered...but would the HR office check the mail in time? I called the office, and sure enough, they had my application.

Two or three weeks later, I got a call to come take a computer test for the job. I showed up to the test to find out that well over 80 people were testing for this one position. Some had MBA's and some Phd's. What was I doing here?

A month passed, no call. Another month passed, no call. Someone had to have gotten that job by now. Late October, I got a call, "Would you like to interview for the job in Calhoun's Financial Aid Office?" Wow....it hadn't been filled yet...3 months after the first test.

I've never had a "big-boy" interview before. This was an experience... A committee of 6-8 Calhoun employees, including the Director of Financial Aid all asked me questions while this huge video camera was stuck in my face. 7 minutes later, it was over. Why was it over so quick? Was I that awful?

2 weeks later, I get a call. I had been selected as a finalist for the job that had been narrowed down to 3 people. This time, I met privately with the Dean of the Business and Finance Department, and the President of the entire school. 3 minutes later, the interview was over...I didn't know how to feel about my performance either.

30 minutes later in the Athens, AL Wal-Mart, I got a call offering the position. I worked it out with my apartment complex on the phone to break my lease...but after that I called back to accept the position.

Thanksgiving week...Karen and I moved to Athens to start this chapter in our lives. I'm now finishing my MBA at the University of Northern Alabama and plan to finish my DBA afterwards. Karen is within a couple of years of finishing her Bachelor's to teach history in high school.

All that should have gone wrong, didn't. All that should have gone wrong, but somehow went right, did. God is in control. Imagine if I had seen the job a day later...it would have been too late. Imagine if they sent the letter to the wrong zipcode, I'd have missed out. God is in control...whether you can recognize it or not. I'm thankful He is.