The Zone Gathering

My favorite Aaron Mercer memory involves a DC Talk song. For those of you that have no idea what I am talking about, you should remind Aaron that the Variety Show is approaching and an encore is in order. Aaron has been a faithful leader at NCC for several years, and we recently promoted him to be a Team Leader in the Gonzales zone. In addition to leading The Inklings, Aaron will also be a “leader of leaders” as he invests his leadership gifts and experience into other NCC small group leaders. Even though he is a Red Sox Fan (Father, forgive him…), Aaron is one of my favorite leaders. He guards the Gospel, devotes himself to learning, and stretches himself as a disciple.

Today, we caught up with Aaron to talk about life, ministry, and catapulting off of aircraft carriers.

How long have you attended NCC? What brought you to NCC?
I’ve been attending NCC for about 5 years. In Summer 2001, I moved into the city full time and lived with my friend, Nathan Gonzales. While I was looking for a church, Nathan invited me to the Thursday Night 3rd Place Community Group led by John Walk and Ruth Sessions (now Walk). It was through that group that I became active at NCC.

Tell us a little about the small groups that you lead and how that experience has impacted you.
I started co-leading the Thursday Night 3rd Place Community Group with Nathan Gonzales and Jenna Kelly in Spring 2002. After a break in Summer and Fall 2005, I co-led with Heather Newman the Chronicles of Narnia study group. We have just started the summer semester studying Mere Christianity in our Inklings Reloaded group (C.S. Lewis’ discussion group with Tolkein and others was called the Inklings). The Lord has truly grown me and blessed me over these past 4 years as a small group leader. Studying and preparing to lead a small group each week really causes you to dig into Scripture and whatever text you will be discussing. The Lord has used that to stretch and grow me. It’s also spiritual muscle-building time when, drained from a long day of work, you wonder how you’re going to lead a group that evening… those are usually the best nights because that’s when you can’t lean on yourself – you rely on the Lord and He never fails to come through and amaze! I am also thankful to have had the privilege of being part of the lives of so many small group attendees over the years.

Where can you be found on Sunday mornings?
Union Station

When did you start following Christ and what have been some of the spiritual turning points in your life?
I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior when I was 5-years-old after a summer “Vacation Bible School” at my church. I was baptized at age 6, and the Lord has grown me steadily since then. I am thankful for Sunday School and AWANA (a Christian children’s group) because the stories and lessons I learned and the Scripture I memorized then has secured for me a firm foundation to know Christ and to seek after Him. I have had questions along the way - I still do… I think if you stop asking questions, you’re in trouble because there’s always more to learn about the Lord - but when questions or doubts seem poised to overwhelm, God has never abandoned me. God is in control and He will never leave nor forsake me. He also is bigger than I am – He doesn’t fit in boxes I construct with my mind. God is awesome, and I’m thankful and humbled to be His child and His servant.

Tell us a little about your background.
I was born and raised in Framingham, Massachusetts, about 20 miles west of Boston. And, yes, I am a die-hard Red Sox fan. My parents and sister, as well as most of my extended family continue to live in MA. I left New England in 1997 to go to college at Cedarville University in Ohio. After 4 years there (with time interning here in DC and also studying abroad in Russia), I moved here to Washington to live and work full-time.

What is your favorite Scripture passage?
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5+6)

What are your favorite books?
My favorite authors are C.S. Lewis and Fyodor Dostoyevsky. My favorite works by them? That’s tough… I highly recommend Mere Christianity, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Screwtape Letters, Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, and The Brothers Karamazov. Lewis’ space trilogy is also excellent – ok, everything he wrote is.

What are your favorite movies?
The original Star Wars trilogy – hands down. I also like Braveheart, Indiana Jones, The Fugitive, and a number of the old classic black-and-whites are often enjoyable to watch.
What is your favorite fast food?
Breakfast: McDonald’s Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit. Lunch/Dinner: Wendy’s Big Bacon Classic Cheeseburger

What is something that most people at NCC would not know about you?
I was catapulted off an aircraft carrier at sea (in a plane).
Tell us a little about your day job. What is your dream job?
I work on Capitol Hill as a Legislative Assistant for a US Senator. I get to work on a number of issues, including those pro-life and pro-family issues that really fire me up (and are also issues that the Senator is a leader on, which is one of the reasons I wanted to work for him). I want to be in a job, like I am now, where I am challenged daily, where I want to be working on the issue at hand, and, most importantly, where I know the Lord has placed me for His purposes.

Who is your hero? (besides Jesus or any other member of the Trinity)
Church history: The Apostle Peter – He was full of zeal and devoted to the Lord. He made mistakes along the way, but the Lord assigned him the name meaning “rock” and turned his weaknesses into strengths – strengths with which to lead the nascent Church.

American history: President George Washington – He had great faith in the Lord and great strength as a leader, both military and civilian. Of his achievements, and there are many, it always strikes me that he resisted the temptation to abandon his ideals of liberty and his dreams for the American Republic and to allow others to set him up as a pseudo-king. Instead, he set the precedent for one living chief executive to peacefully step down after a reasonable time and make way for a new head of state. A very admirable, and not too common act in the grand scheme of history.

Superhero: Batman – he has no superpowers, just a lot of drive, a lot of courage, a lot of training, and a lot of gadgets. I like Spiderman, too.

What do you do in your free time?
Read, meet with friends, … ok, and yes, I do enjoy playing PlayStation 2 with the guys in my house.
In NCC:THE MOVIE who would play you? Who would play Pastor Mark?
Me: Robert Redford (in his younger days)
Pastor Mark: Harrison Ford

What is your favorite Pastor Markism?
“You must unlearn what you have learned.” Oh wait, that was Yoda. Sorry. Seriously though, there are too many good ones. One that sticks out in my mind as a first class line (which I’m paraphrasing): “Steer clear of Timnah.” (sermon based on Judges 14 – Samson)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 13th, 2006 at 5:50 pm and is filed under Spotlights, Team Leaders. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.