Bio
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
Romans 8:18-21 (LSB)
Suffering, struggles, trials, difficulties, hard times, persecution, stress, brokenness, futility, slavery, and pain. Regardless of what you call it, no one is exempt from it. Even privileged people who are born into a Christian home are born into a broken world, and they have to decide to respond to God’s call and be a disciple of Christ on their own.
I have faced my own set of suffering. Some of it was self-inflicted, and some of it was the result of living in a broken world. But as a follower of Jesus Christ, I have hope.
…that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Colossians 1:26-27 (LSB)
Called to Ministry
Every follower of Christ is called to ministry. The only appropriate response to His unconditional grace is a life devoted to Him. Even so, not all Christians are called to vocational ministry. It is a calling that is assigned by God. I began to recognize my call to ministry in middle school, and over the years God has confirmed this calling through elders, pastors, and mentors. It is a calling that has looked different through various seasons of my life but has always been the same at the core: Point people to Christ and equip them to do the same.
Mission Minded Shepherd Teacher
Since that first glimpse of my calling in middle school, there has always been a vein of missions in my assignment. I traveled on a number of mission trips through my high school career and saw incredible fruit from that ministry even though they were all short-term trips. My heart is burdened for those who do not know Jesus; the spiritually fatherless who are disconnected from His grace and glory. I genuinely care about people, and have specific desire to help the physically fatherless as well; orphans and foster children who are all but forgotten by the rest of society.
That passion for people is the shepherd side of me. I care about the whole person, from physical and emotional needs to their spiritual wellbeing. My family has opened our home to entire families to live with us when they were going through hard times. I’ve led teams to go beyond accomplishing tasks related to our mission and grow into spiritual leaders. There is an anointing on me to guide people towards realizing their potential in God’s Kingdom as they tap into the gifts that He has given them.
I am called to not only train up my own children in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6), but to also “nurture and prepare all the holy believers to do their own works of ministry,” (Ephesians 4:12, TPT). This is my greatest passion, to equip followers of Christ for ministry. There are aspects of God’s ministry through me that are apostolic and prophetic, but I’ve found that I gravitate towards evangelism, pastoring, and teaching.
What I’m Doing Now
I am a pastor at a mid-sized church, The Bride Church, in Yuba City, California. My title is Worship Pastor and I serve on the elder board, but that probably doesn’t tell you much about what I actually do.
Worship Pastor
My primary role is discipling worship leaders and leading worship. I cultivate and develop volunteers to use their gifts to lead worship through music and technology during weekend worship at our church. I’m also a worship leader alongside them and play a major role in shaping the worship services at our church. I truly believe that there is an enormous difference between leading people to sing songs and leading them in worship. I am passionate about leading people into the throne room of God and responding to His presence with true worship. The role of leading worship at a church is best filled by someone with a shepherd’s heart. My deepest hope in this ministry is to see
Preacher
I share the preaching (teaching) load with our lead pastor along with a few others who preach from time to time I and generally preach a handful of times per year. The church I came from before being called to The Bride had a very different model of preaching that was much more controlled by a central campus in a multi-campus format. The older sermons that I preached there can be found near the bottom of a playlist on my YouTube channel. If you want to watch (or sometimes read) what I’ve preached at The Bride, here’s where you’ll find all of those sermons.
Consultant
I have an extensive background ranging from things like graphic and web design to production technology integration. I’ve used those gifts to raise the level of excellence in our sanctuary here as well as helping other local churches with upgrades and training. Sometimes this looks like fresh branding for ministries or graphic design. Other times it involves designing the technology buildout and leading the installation for a new campus or venue. I oversaw the move from outsourcing all of the print needs to setting up a printshop at the last church I served in so we could have more flexibility at a lower cost of printing so more money could go towards other ministries. I don’t advertise myself as a consultant, but offer my time to just about anyone who asks.
Who I Want To Be
I hope that generations of people will be blessed and have an ever-growing relationship with God as a result of my leadership. To lead anyone, we must be going somewhere. The following is a list, in no particular order, of the attributes or qualities of the man I want to be.
- A man fully surrendered and devoted to God
- A committed husband who loves sacrificially
- A deeply caring father to my children
- A teacher of truth, love, and power to the Church
- A lifelong learner
- An adoptive father to orphans
- A rescuer of slaves
- A leader of disciple makers
- A man overflowing with the fruit of the Spirit
- A man who rejoices always, prays continually, and is thankful in all circumstances
