Throughout the summer, I have had the opportunity to get to know people I have seen around campus, seen around The Perfect Blend, and seen around the church scene. Last semester, I labeled the people The Trendies, a play on their church, Trinity Baptist Church (Trinity=Trendy). These people always have a camera or some other piece of equipment around their neck, have a huge crush on Apple, and are trendy in the sense that they are anti-trendy. A lot of them have very strong opinions and are passionate about them, but a lot of times it’s been very “no duh” kinds of opinions. They speak their opinions through their t-shirts and facebook groups. My intuition about people is usually spot on by just getting to know somebody on surface level, and this caused me to generalize about an entire group of people. Some of my friends past and present have had a bitter taste in their mouth of the Trinity college group, causing further apprehension. Fortunately I have been able to get to know a few of the guys from the group just through laissez-faire conversation. I have found that they are quite amiable. More than that, they can be very engaging in good conversation. I like to ask a lot of questions, partially because it takes the pressure of conversation off of me (social psychology trick- always ask questions about the person and subtly stroke their ego by asking for their opinions) without them noticing. This is allowed me to gain better clarity and understanding.
Jared is probably one of the humblest individuals I have met, yet he still believes he is arrogant. He is what I call a popular nerd. He knows when “comic book day” (the day new comics come in) is at the local store, for example, and has a crush on Stan Lee. He is very well read and always takes people seriously and treats them with respect. He doesn’t bull crap around or walk with an undeserved sense of entitlement. It might be because I don’t know him very well, but when things don’t go his way, his disposition remains sunny. He doesn’t have the funds for graduate school at the moment, for example, and other than “being bummed”, he seems to understand that at this moment and time, he still have a great purpose in his life.
His brother, Garret, is somebody I only talk to on occasion. He is very opposite of Jared in a lot of ways. He hates to read, and looks like the kind of guy that is about to go the beach with a lady on each arm. He tends to talk a lot and has a certain charm about him. At first this makes him appear fake and self-centered, but this is far from the truth. He cares very deeply for other people and is surprisingly idealistic, though I don’t think he even picks up on it. He is also a pretty humble guy but isn’t afraid to speak up whenever his morals have been violated.
Jesse is my house mate whom I have known since freshman year. We’ve always gotten along pretty well without having much in common. His faith has a big effect on him. He grew up in a very Christian home, his father a music minister. When a lot of people get burnt out, Jesse remains steadfast. People tend to see him as a little uptight and a little too set in his ways. I think this is because he is always on the move with some idea or goal, either personally or for an organization he is working with. He also has good taste in beer.
Lastly, there’s the head cheese in charge of the college ministry, Chris. I have heard nothing but horrible things about him from his “rivals” since I was a freshman. I have heard that his sermons are shallow and devoid of theological thought. He is arrogant and unwilling to work with anybody and will automatically resist anybody who contradicts him. I will admit, the man has a very strong personality. It is easy to see why people think he is full of himself, but it is a stretch to say arrogant. If he doesn’t know something, he is willing to ask, and will even ask for opinions on a subject. He has been very helpful to me when discussing bikes (he is a former triathlete). He is not a very typical Southern Baptist minister. Though he didn’t use the terminology, he was talking like a partial preterist the other day. He also has Calvinist sympathies. His crushes include N.T. Wright and John Macarthur. He is quite the visionary. Once he has an idea in his mind, he works it until completion. He set up a very affective council/ministry team. He utilizes their individual personalities and gifts to the advantage of getting what is needed done. His weapon of choice might just be sarcasm, but it’s hard to say. He has said things that were either snide comments or completely harmless. I tend to think the latter because he is usually so direct about things.
Trinity will be one of the churches I hop to after school starts. They have a service called The Ten that will start the Sunday before class beings. It will meet at The Source. Jared is thinking about adding elements of liturgy to it, which interests me even more.
