Bible Passage Navigator
About Me
I was born in New Zealand but am a dual national having spent most of my life in Queensland, Australia. At university I studied engineering, majoring in computer systems and I am an alumni of the Queensland University of Technology. I've been working in the building & construction industry as an electrical engineer since 2006. More career info is available on my LinkedIn profile page.
I've had a passion for computing & networking technology (AMD fan) from the day my dad bought our first family PC when I was 7. Science class sparked an interest in renewable energy technologies (especially solar & battery storage). Nigel Mansell's Tyco slot car set got me into cars around the same time (especially Lotus, but also Porsche, McLaren, Ferrari & Koenigsegg among many) and I've always been into planes for as long as I can remember. Thanks to the generosity of my parents, I made some progress toward a private pilot's licence, shortly before going to uni. The plan is to go back and make it a hobby one day. Video games are another well-trodden pastime, mostly on the PC with my high school friends. More info on that at my Steam profile page.
While I like a lot of different sports, my favourites are rugby union, tennis & motor racing. I play tennis most weeks socially, mainly with my father and am a fan of Rafael Nadal (among many others). Being raised by two Kiwis, I back the NZ national rugby team 'the All Blacks' and the Chiefs in Super Rugby (the premier professional southern hemisphere competition). I support Williams Racing in the Formula 1, Mark Webber & Porsche in WEC & Le Mans and Shane Van Gisbergen in V8 Supercars.
Since discovering podcasts, I've been a fairly eager student of history, especially the later Roman variety and have begun becoming more interested in the history of Christianity. If you want an easy way to know more about ancient and early medieval Rome, check out Mike Duncan's 'the History of Rome' podcast and Robin Pierson's sequel to it, 'the History of Byzantium'. For the Christian church, see Lance Ralston's 'Communio Sanctorum'.
Finally and most importantly, I am a Christian. I trust Jesus Christ with my life and my desire is to follow his will for it. Windsor Rd Baptist is my church. I am evangelical, but provided we get the core stuff right, I prefer to stand with Christians collectively, as brothers and sisters in Christ, rather than focus on specific groups or denominations. I am definitely a lay person with no major background to speak of, but I enjoy the study of scripture. In 2010 this led me to take a few subjects at post-graduate level in New Testament and hermeneutics at Citipointe Ministry College, which I totally recommend for anyone who wants a stronger connection with God's Word.
While I have a very long way to go in many areas, God has been so faithful. I feel completely blessed for the life he's given me and hope by his grace to reflect it onto others.
Website by Matthew Hayward. 2016.