Growing up I lived in Virginia, Canada, and mostly northeast Ohio (Akron). I was raised in a home where both of my parents became believers as adults, after my older siblings were born and therefore, my home life was shaped by figuring out what it meant to live out this faith in daily life. This shaped my Church attendance and involvement with church related activities were a regular part of family life. I had numerous occasions where I made sincere professions of faith through-out my growing up and early teen years. Many of these moments would be characterized by an emotional commitment or rededication to following after Jesus, followed by short periods where I ‘willed’ my faith on my own strength and shortly there after found myself acting and living in the same manner as before. This changed when I was 17 and Jesus became Lord of my life. I came to realize that my earlier professions, though likely as sincere as they could have been, were really a result of my desire to live a certain way, and an attempt to control my outward expression, while inwardly I knew my faith was not in God, but practically in myself and my ability to act out this religion. When I was 17 I was confronted by this reality and through submitting myself to the Lord in prayer and to getting to know him through his written word, Jesus Christ became Lord of my life. He was not just the fixture of a religion that I sought to apply to the outward appearance of my life, but the source for how I live and move and see the world around me.  For the next year, before leaving home for college, I developed a relationship with a beloved pastor who would profoundly impact my understanding of what it meant to have a relationship with Jesus. This year of discipleship, combined with the experiences I had in church growing up laid a foundation upon which my faith has grown.

A consistent lesson I am learning over the course of my relationship with the Lord is how God is described as – compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love. Psalm 103:8 specifically describes God that way – but that’s consistent throughout the OT and that verse and those characteristics have been my prayer over the course of my Christian life. I have seen how God has continued to work in my life and teach me more about who he is and how he is helping me to grow to be more like him in his character. So, if anything is good in me, if anything is worth praising or applaud, it is the work that God has and is doing in me through my relationship with him.

My wife Rachael and I met in college at Taylor University and our experience there is one of the most transformative parts of our life — to this day. As a Christian university that seeks to develop genuine Christian community we learned through so many experiences about engaging in all of life together.

Work: I continued to work at Taylor University for 18 years prior to moving to Greensboro. I served in roles that included: a live-in residence life faculty in a residence hall of 300 men (along with Rachael, the only woman in a hall of 300 men – she’s great!), oversaw cocurricular programming of the campus life, and eventually would serve as the Dean of Students overseeing all of student life, seeking to foster an authentic Christian community. During this time, we served together leading men’s and women’s small groups; leading week and month long short-term international missions trips — to places like South Africa, Northern Ireland, the Bahamas, and Southeast Asia; speaking and teaching regularly in various settings; and living life alongside college students, engaging in discipleship relationships with many. 

We moved to Greensboro in 2017 when I took a consulting role working with colleges and universities across the county helping them develop their campus master plans — specifically through the lens of the student experience. I worked with Presidents and their Cabinets, Boards, and community members to cooperatively address needs and collectively develop solutions. I continue to engage in these kinds of opportunities with select institutions and now work full-time at UNCG as the Director of Space Utilization and Planning — essentially doing what I was doing for colleges and universities previously for one of our hometown universities. I pray that Lord would help me to be faithful in this work and witness.

Rachael and I have been married since 2000 and we have two children: Jacob (17) a junior at the Early College at A&T, and Grace (14) a freshman at Grimsley. We have been a part of Grace Community Church since 2019. That seems like a relatively short amount of time, but they have been significant years as we have walked through seasons of sorrow as well as restoration as a part of this church community. We have been part of the Family Group led by Lewis and Christie Cheatham and have been involved in multiple ministries and activities at Grace. I enjoy helping others (I joke about having the spiritual gift of moving – but seriously let me know if you need help), learning new things, working with my hands, and being active – preferably outside.