Emmett Eldred – Hollidaysburg COB, Middle PA District

I chose to become a Dunker Punk because I believe that a more peaceful, loving world has to start with me. It is through my (and all Dunker Punks’) devotion, study, obedience, faith, enthusiasm, imagination, creativity, and leadership that both small and large changes can begin to emerge in society.

It’s about “Double Victory.” It’s not enough to insist that everyone else stops what they’re doing and starts following Jesus. It’s about starting with changing my own ways, and taking radical steps to make room for Jesus. When I do that, I can show others by example what Jesus’ love looks like, and, like a mustard plant, the movement spreads from there.

I am taking radical steps to follow Jesus by running DunkerPunks.com! After Jarrod’s sermon, I knew that I had to step in and create a resource and space for DunkerPunks to express themselves, stay connected with the movement and one another, and gain inspiration. In keeping with the idea that Dunker Punks is an all-inclusive but youth-led movement, I felt it was appropriate for me, a youth, to become a voice and seek out other voices, rather than that come from the institution of the Church of the Brethren.

I have also decided to take the Church of the Brethren challenge of prayer and fasting to the next level, by committing to sustain my fast for an entire year. I have given up all internet and computer games (a personally addictive pass time that has in the past taken up a woefully significant amount of my time) and I will recommit that time to study, prayer, and action towards my spiritual enrichment and the betterment of the situation in Nigeria.

Finally, and in many ways most importantly, I have made the simple yet powerful commitment to pursue the exercises of spiritual enrichment that our spiritual forerunners in the COB held most dear. I will Pray the Lord’s prayer daily and seek out new translations that will help me understand Jesus in new ways. I will study, try to better understand, and maybe even try to memorize the Sermon on the Mount, and I will study all of Jesus’ teachings, and apply his love, peace, and wisdom to the way I live my everyday life.

Join me. Use DunkerPunks.com for your benefit. Use it as a way of getting your voice out there. Fill out a profile. Contact me about submitting blog posts or other content contributions. Follow DunkerPunks on Facebook or Twitter and engage with the movement through those means. Let me know, let the whole community know what you’re up to. This movement is about you. And pray for me, pray for the movement, pray that our devotion will have the impact in our lives, in our denomination, and in our society that we so enthusiastically hope for.