I’m Van Barrett (pseudonym). Here’s a little insight regarding me and what I’m doing here.
First and foremost, by the grace of God, I am a Christian. I don’t mean the superficial, thanking-God-after-winning-an-award-type Christian either. This is real to me. I was a mess of an individual (by God’s standards) whose only hope was redemption through Jesus Christ. I was a pornographer, who’d persistently feed my lust, and I still feel the effects of my poor, sinful past decisions. Also, I was prone to lying in order to cover the trail of pornography. If that weren’t enough, I was quite vain, arrogant, idolatrous, and anger-filled. Residues from these sins still impact me, but I undoubtedly see God’s gracious hand in purging sin from my life. I had a pastor-basketball coach who shared the gospel with me at age 15 and that would change my life forever. Currently, I am a faithful member in good standing at a local church (something I think is important for all Christians). This blog was created (privately) in 2015, but made it official (public) in late 2020.
Secondly, I am a middle-aged husband and father residing in Virginia. This, too, is by God’s grace. I have the greatest wife on the planet and the most joyous and loving daughter. This doesn’t mean we always get along in that “Huxtable” kind of way, but I know I’ve been given far more than I deserve as it relates to them. I struggle, but I am amazed at both my triumphs (God-induced) and failures (Van-induced). Not having a father in my life, I’ve had to obtain guidance from the Scriptures, which shines through at times. At other times, I see my inability to experience satisfaction even with the abundance of family blessings I possess. Again, it’s easy to see my need for redemption through Christ.
I thoroughly enjoy apologetics, evangelism, and various elements of theology. This is amazing to me because I was a Christian for roughly 12 years before apologetics and theology appealed to me. After obtaining a degree in Business Management, I thought I was finished with school and resisted any idea to the contrary. God had other plans. He changed my heart about 6 years after graduation. At that time, I became more engaged in evangelism, which led to apologetics, which then sparked my interest in theology. Thus, I went to seminary and obtained a degree in Theology.
Additionally, seminary opened me up to something I hadn’t practiced nor enjoyed in nearly 30 years of life: reading. I would rarely read things other than the Bible, even when required in school. However, going to seminary exposed me to new authors and reading material, and God clearly did something within me that caused me to enjoy it. As of late, I’ve read C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity, Paul Washer’s The Gospel’s Power and Message (Recovering the Gospel), Voddie Baucham Jr.’s Family Shepherds: Calling and Equipping Men to Lead Their Homes and Expository Apologetics: Answering Objections with the Power of the Word, and Jackie Hill Perry’s, Gay Girl. Good God.
Recently, I completed a self-study of first-year biblical Greek using Bill Mounce’s Basics of Biblical Greek. This was done in a non-formal setting and proved to be a helpful but challenging pursuit (my seminary degree didn’t demand a study in these areas, and I was able to do this at a slow pace, each Lord’s day, over the course of four years). I believe it has been and will continue to be a useful tool. If the Lord wills, in the next few years, I plan to embark upon biblical Hebrew, so keep me in your prayers!
So, there’s a little bit about me, a little background that I hope will provide insight into my future posts. Just another flawed individual seeking to be used by God.
-Van B.