Setting 'Anchor' at PBA

Ever wonder what that incessant pounding above the caf is as you’re eating dinner Thursday nights? It's an "Anchor" that will keep you grounded.

The Anchor is a student led, weekly worship ministry at PBA.

As I stepped into “upstairs Weyenberg,” above the caf this past Thursday night, I knew where my heart would be traveling.  I was immediately greeted at the door by students serving on the Anchor, a student led, weekly worship ministry for PBA students looking for a time and place to wind down, or to be energized. 

One of the main guys serving on the Anchor team, Daniel, introduced himself to my friend and me.  Daniel personally recruited my friend to come back to the Anchor next week, encouraging her to share her testimony, after sharing his with us briefly.  The way that Daniel was able to share his testimony so openly and freely demonstrates how the Anchor is a place of honesty and freeness. 

Not only do powerful worship songs blast from the voices of humble students leading simple praise and worship, but words of wisdom are spoken true through passages of psalms and the gospel. Even better, one of the unique parts of the Anchor, “Detox,” is like a "half-time" between worship to talk about burdens or praises and pray in small groups.  Honestly, as a busy college student, this is my choice opportunity to find community with others.  Even though the Anchor is a public student activity, it is private in the sense you are able to show emotion and be honest with each other, and God.

I remember the first night I went to the Anchor my freshman year, and one of the songs they played is the one I recorded below, “How He Loves.”  Being at the Anchor and hearing this song held a lot of meaning, coming into a new community searching relentlessly for love and acceptance.  This particular song, along with many others, resonated with me so much and even more so now because instead of tears of pain I shed last year, I now shed tear drops of joy. 

The way that the Anchor demonstrates how any place, such as upstairs Weyenberg, can be transformed into a place of worship and reverence is exemplary of how you can find an anchor anywhere in God.

Have you ever attended the Anchor?

 

Anecdotes of Bills and Blackouts

I’m not going to pretend to know what a computer science major does, or attempt to understand congressional bills like a lawyer.  However, the phenomenon observed by millions Wednesday in the cyber world was remarkable enough to spark a deeper interest in many of those using the Internet for basic purposes. 

When I logged online to the Internet Wednesday to my homepage, Google, I was immediately informed about a 24-hour digital protest with the words “Google” literally blacked out.  I rolled my cursor over the image and read the subtext, which asked viewers to sign a petition against the provisions in two Congressional bills, the Stop Online Piracy Act, referred to as SOPA, as well as the Protect IP Act, or PIPA.  

Initially, Google was successful in persuading me against these two “government attacks” on the freedom and entrepreneurship of Internet.  Additionally, later that day, I went to Wikipedia for a little quick research.  However, I came to find that the English Wikipedia was also involved in the protest, completely blacking and blocking out their website to users, asking viewers to sign a petition or else, “Imagine a world without free knowledge.” 

What really shocked me, though, was how easily these websites were able to use their power and platforms to influence their daily users.  There was an initial negative reaction of how these bills would be used to filter out websites infringing on copyrights, which would potentially affect the freedom of content in regular websites. However, I eventually realized that it was absurd to allow myself to think irrationally about the issue because Wikipedia and other similar websites blocked their sites.

 However, I do respect the protest's ability to involve users in the political process, encouraging the voicing of legitimate concerns about freedom in the Internet. Here at PBA, I spoke with a business major in my class, John, about his concern with the bills that would potentially cause “permanent blackouts of entrepreneurs and new businesses online.” Overall, whether or not the bills or blackouts succeeded in having future impact on the regulations of the Internet, the tech geek in me was excited to have witnessed such an event. 

Be sure to watch the video for more coverage on what the bills and blackouts entailed!

What kinds of questions have the two bills and several blackouts caused you to ask?

Update: The bills SOPA and PIPA have been put on hold.

Publishing about 'Passion'

Over winter break, I was enjoying the best of Florida relaxation with my family, down in Key West and up in Orlando.  However, I found myself wondering about my friends from Palm Beach Atlantic University who were constantly posting exciting and inspirational status' on Facebook about being at "Passion 2012." 

The offical Passion conference website describes their purpose as "...exist[ing] to glorify God-uniting students in worship and prayer for spiritual awakening in this generation." I heard about "Passion" my freshman year at PBA, but unfortunately, I was unaware of the conference until it actually took place.  I didn't attend the conference this year at the Georgia Dome in January, but I could feel the spirit of the 42,000 students enduring the cold front, flowing through the threads of the Internet in several news station's blogs and numorous friend's Facebook status'.

 In addition, now that school has started again for the semester, I can feel the "passion" from students who have attended. There are many students at PBA who could go in depth about the conference, but I asked my friend, Rachel, about her experience.

"There were concepts [discussed] that you don't usually think about," Rachel said. "Coming back from Passion, you really want to talk about it!"  I agree with her statement because I have been affected indirectly by the conference through those who have been sharing their faith from attending.

I thought it was necessary to share what I learned about the Passion conference, through what other's have shared, with those who may be unaware of it as well. One of the most interesting aspects of the conference, from an outside perspective, is that it examplifies how people can positively influence those around them and change the world ahead of them.  Whether or not there is an opportunity to attend the conference next year, it is apparent through Passion that there is always a chance to live life more significantly through serving the Lord.

Did you attend "Passion 2012?" If so, tell me about your experience.