Tell us a little about your background.
Being raised as a Pastor's kid, ministry is all I've ever known. It has been a wild ride but I wouldn't exchange it for anything else. Like many teenagers, I experienced a time of rebellion against both God and my parents in my high school years. Thankfully, i somehow ended up at a wonderful Christian college playing baseball. It was there that I met my wife Carrie, a great group of friends who helped me through some serious struggles, and ultimately Jesus. After a short while I shifted my focus of study from education to ministry. The rest as they say, is history. After completing my degree at Mid-America Christian University my wife and I moved to Claremore, OK to begin our ministry together. We spent 5 great years in youth ministry there and were blessed to see both of our children Macy, and Jaxon join our family. In 2006 we left Oklahoma for a new adventure and after a couple of years working other jobs including a job as a social worker for an impoverished school district, we returned to my hometown of Paducah, KY to serve in full time youth ministry. God has been incredibly gracious to us and truly blessed our lives with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus!
What are your favorite pastimes?
My favorite pastimes include the ultimate pastime, baseball! Our family is very active and we are sports nuts. You cannot be a true Kentuckian from the Bluegrass state and not be a Kentucky Basketball fan. This creates many marriage conflicts during basketball season as Carrie is a true Jayhawk fan. So far Macy has followed her evil ways and Jaxon is on the right path as a Wildcat believer! We enjoy anything sports related, the great outdoors, and enjoy good music of all genres.
How did you come to know Jesus Christ?
My faith in Jesus Christ started at a very young age in life. I always knew about Jesus, believed in Jesus, but mostly lived through my Dad's faith and not my own. As a teenager this created several different problems in my life which led to a period where I walked away from the church, from God, and my parents. I was 17 and had the world figured out, or so I thought. After several hard times and disappointments I realized I didn't quite have it altogether and decided to go to college to play baseball. I was given a second chance at Mid-America Christian University and I am thankful for it. After meeting my future wife, some really good friends, and several key staff from the school who helped me see things in a different light, I entered into a relationship with Jesus for the first time. I had finally made my faith my own, Jesus became real to me and I never looked back.
What are your strongest spiritual gifts?
My spiritual gifts have been very strong in two areas from the beginning. I love to teach and help people understand who God is, how he sees them, and to live from that reality. I also love the challenges of leadership. Being able to lead teams of people have always come very natural to me.
What are you most excited about at KP?
I am excited about so many things at KP! Honestly, what sold me right away and led me to pursue the opportunity was a great conversation I had in August with Pastor Dan. After hearing his heart for God's heart I knew I wanted to be a part of helping Kaw Prairie change lives in Jesus' name! While we have served in some great churches and loved some great people we have always felt out of place in traditional type church settings. We are excited to join a group of people who truly value doing life together and being the church rather than going to church.
What's the craziest thing you've ever done?
The craziest thing I have ever done would have to be taking my wife (and 40 teenagers) white water rafting while six months pregnant!
What's your very favorite meal?
Mexican food is my favorite type of food although Cajun is currently running a very close second. Before deciding on KP we almost moved to cajun country so I could join the cast of Swamp People! I really enjoy a good enchilada, or a good pot of jambalaya!