My life is living proof that God still delights in saving sinners.
My life is living proof that God still delights in saving sinners.
I was born in Austin, Texas, the younger of two sons. My family moved to Lubbock when I was 10 years old, and I lived in west Texas until my senior year of college. My parents were incredible. They did everything necessary to instill in my brother and me the faith and values that would lead us to deep, rich lives. However, I was convinced that I could cultivate joy on my own and that my way of living life was better than God's design. For 18 years, I never came close to grasping the depravity of my heart or my intrinsic need for rescue.
During my freshman year of college, our God and King irresistibly drew me to Himself. I was attending Lubbock Christian University on full scholarship for basketball. After having reached all of the academic and athletic goals that I had set during my high school years, I found myself strangely dissatisfied. My circumstances in life had never been better, yet my heart was left restless and empty. C.S. Lewis described that year of my life more accurately than anyone I have ever heard or read. He wrote, "If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." I spent my freshman year discovering this "other world" Lewis spoke of, as the Holy Spirit gently ripped open the eyes of my heart and rooted my faith in Jesus Christ and His gospel. I have been unable to recover since.
Shortly after my conversion, I began working at a church in Lubbock, and after three years there, I moved to Vancouver, WA, a suburb of Portland, OR, to serve as the youth pastor at a local church. It was during these years that I began learning how to be a pastor, and I fell in love with the family of God. In January of 2007, after four years in Vancouver, I was invited by my good friend, Matt Chandler, to serve alongside him at The Village Church. I am so glad I accepted.
Later that year, I married my best friend, Kimberly. Shortly after our wedding, I began serving as the campus pastor at The Village's Denton campus. Kimberly and I now live in Denton, just a few blocks away from the campus.
As Campus Pastor of the Denton campus, most of my thoughts and hopes for The Village swirl around our Denton campus and the city of Denton. The mission of The Village Church is to glorify God through lives changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Strategically positioned in the center of our city, the Denton campus has a unique opportunity to this mission within a growing, urban culture that is greatly influenced by the local universities. Adjacent to the church is The University of North Texas, the fourth largest university in the state of Texas with over 34,000 students. Within walking distance to the north is Texas Women's University. The energy generated by these centers of learning has made Denton an eclectic community in flux, ever-searching for truth. Opportunities abound in this cultural center. My great hope and prayer is that our church will continue to live missionally as the city of God within the city of Denton, expressing and extending our love for the Trinitarian God to this great city that we are called to serve. As we are faithful to be and do this, my daily yearning is that our God, as He did with me so many years ago, will reveal Himself to our neighbors and, through the gospel of Jesus Christ, satisfy the deepest desires of their hearts.