Watermark Blogs

“I think the foolishness of how I’d been living hit me when I was 18 years old at a college fraternity party,” said David Morrison. “The police showed up, and I was underage; so, I ran and hid in the backyard of a house nearby. Sitting there in the dark, having a cigarette with some guy I didn’t even like, I took a good look at myself and asked, ‘WHAT AM I DOING?’ I felt like such a loser.

“I learned about Christ as a kid, growing up in a small, Baptist church in McKinney, TX. I ‘walked the aisle’ at age nine and trusted Christ. I knew what I was supposed to believe and how I was supposed to act, but not much more. In high school, I became a first-class hypocrite – serving in some leadership roles through church and behind closed doors drinking, smoking and partying. I wasn’t Tommy Lee or anything; but, I found a lot of significance in athletics, the party scene and what other people thought of me. That pattern followed me through high school and my first year at Texas A&M.

“I took a hiatus from partying after the ‘backyard incident’ and started seeking out friends who were followers of Christ. Things really changed when I was on a retreat with a campus Christian organization and heard a speaker talk about 2 Corinthians 7:1. For the first time, my sin felt dirty, and I was convicted. I’d been playing a game for years, and I was finally ready to become a follower of Christ. After that, God helped me make a 180 degree turn. I went from dabbling in Christianity to fully trusting Christ, and building relationships with men I could trust to hold me accountable. I got a picture  of what God wanted from my life and understood that my time and focus needed to be about His glory.

“As college ended, I focused on what I was going to do with my life. I can’t say I felt ‘called’ to go to seminary, but had a real hunger for spiritual knowledge. So in 2004, my wife, Julia and I packed up and moved to North Carolina, where I went to Southeastern Baptist Seminary. We moved back to Dallas and finished Seminary at Dallas Theological Seminary. That was a great time of growth for me and for our marriage. Julia and I volunteered in college ministry with Robbie Rice and others from Watermark. Robbie became a spiritual mentor to me, and modeled what it looked like to be kind without being weak, to build authentic relationships and simply to love others well.

“A more challenging season came in the spring of ’08, when, in just three months, I graduated from seminary, bought our first home and Julia and I had our first child, Ava. It was definitely a time of conflict. I was worried about finding a job. At times, Julia didn’t feel valued by me, and I didn’t totally understand what she was saying. But God used it to help me see my selfishness, and learn what it really means to die to self and act like a man.

“During that time, I also came on staff at Watermark to be part of the College Ministry. I’m part of a team that puts together the ONE28 ministry on the Southern Methodist University campus. I build relationships with students, talk to them about Christ and help them find real community.

“The thing that surprised me about these students is how career-driven they are. Priority one is building a resume, looking for internships and having a college experience that will make them professionally successful. For most students, faith takes a back seat to worldly success.

“That’s why it is so cool to see life-change in the students we serve. One example is Cody Scott, who showed up at one of our weekly meetings and heard about our fall retreat. He didn’t know much about our ministry, but agreed to go. At the retreat, Cody was impacted by a sermon on the freedom found in Christ as well as the vulnerability he saw in the other students. Their kindness and authenticity won him over, and he later got involved in one of our college small groups. Since then, his life has really changed. Cody began his college experience ‘in the world,’ and today, he’s finding life in Christ and telling others about Him. Stories like that are what is so great about college ministry. Students trust us with their time and struggles. And through Christ, we get to watch them grow from scared, insecure 18 year olds to college seniors with real peace, purpose and security in Christ.

“Today, my mission is to tell students that God is better than a $60K a year job straight out of college, or an Uptown apartment or a sorority bid. Christ is better because He gives you real life and peace in the storm of our materialistic culture. The invitation to come and die to self and live in Christ is better than anything I’ve ever known.”