Pat Warren
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Talents:
Drums, Vocals, Song Writing |
MY BIO |
Pat
plays drums. He has been employed as an electrician in the Atlanta area
for the past 17 years. In addition to playing drums, he does occasional
lead and background vocals. He lends his hands and time to help Mike out
with his Last Call missions whenever possible. Pat is married to Michelle,
who is Servant’s sound engineer and web designer. |
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MY TESTIMONY |
| Pat
Warren I was born into a Catholic family. We attended church regularly, but I don’t remember being told much about Jesus. It was mostly teaching about a father, God that was intangible and remote. I struggled with this concept and never completely grasped it. How could I love a God who was only a concept, not real and tangible? I sat in the pew wondering why we were even there…. When I was 6, my parents split up. My mom had to work Sundays, so we stopped going to church. My dad moved to another state and became intangible and remote, just like I thought of God. A template had been formed in my mind. I wondered if all fathers were meant to be distant from their children, if not physically, then emotionally. I didn’t see my dad again for 8 years. As I grew up, it didn’t seem to matter, but it did. I couldn’t form deep relationships with people because I was afraid of the rejection. I thought it was inevitable. Fast forward now to high school. I ran with a group of friends who thought of themselves as intellectuals. People who thought they knew everything. Our “wisdom” told us that religion was either hypocritical or a superstition. I always leaned toward hypocritical because I couldn’t bring myself to think there was no God, He just didn’t live here. We always thought of folks who brought their Bibles to school as hypocrites. We would think they were silly because they claimed to “know” God. But having said that, it did make me curious… something must be working for them. I went to work and talked with a friend there about it, a guy who said he “knew” the Lord. Over several weeks, he broke down those old “wisdoms” and introduced me to the real God. The God who knew and cared about me. The God who had been with me all along. It’s funny… my mom had always told me not to give in to peer pressure… Don’t drink, don’t smoke. I never had a problem with that. But when I went back to school, I never said anything to my school friends about my experience over the summer because I was afraid of the rejection. I didn’t say a word…. Over the next few months, I went to several different churches, but none of them seemed to answer the needs I had. They all seemed interested in getting me to be there every week, but I could never get “plugged in”. Gradually, I stopped trying to go. I figured “I believe and that’s enough”. It was then that I met my future wife. She had had some bad experiences in churches also, so we didn’t really discuss the matter. We were both believers, we just didn’t care for “religion”, so we didn’t go to church. In 1992 or so, I rediscovered my interest in music. I had been playing drums since grade school, but had never seriously considered buying a whole set. Shortly after that, I met a guy who would change the direction of my life. His name was Doug. He played guitar and we formed a rock and roll band. Formed isn’t really the right word because it was just us. We could never keep a band together. We played in his garage for a few years until one day he asked me if I would consider playing in a church band. I thought he was nuts! They don’t have drums in church! He assured me that in this church they would. We started playing in church and for a while, things went ok. I met some other wonderful folks there and began to think that I might have found a home. But gradually I began to get the feeling from some of the church elders that maybe drums in the church weren’t such a good idea. I began to feel that old fear of rejection. It was around that time, we heard about a pastor who wanted to start a church in the Stockbridge area. We also heard he really wanted his church’s music to be cutting edge and modern. I thought to myself, “I’m gonna give this “God thing” one more chance.” I knew I had to face this fear of rejection. The new church was Harvest Point. Since coming here, I have found a group of friends who are understanding and, most of all, genuine. I feel accepted for who I am, and that’s how church is supposed to be; you shouldn’t be afraid of who you are or where you have been. As it says in Psalms 56:3-4, “When I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?” That’s how you conquer fear. Pat |