I was born in Nashville, Tennessee on November 11th, 1983 and have been raised by two great parents who have served in the church pastorate for thirty years now. I have one brother, about seven years older than I am. When I was still a baby, we moved to Hawaii where my Dad served as pastor for just under two years. I remember very little of my toddler years, and barely remember the next place we moved to, which was Grove, Oklahoma. I can tell you that we went from sunshine and beautiful weather to dodging tornadoes; one in particular literally jumped over the church we had taken shelter in when I was about three. Our family moved back to Tennessee to pastor where we lived in several different places. By the time I was eleven, we had just moved to Anchorage, Alaska where my father served as a pastor and as the state youth director. We lived there for four and a half years and to this day, it was one of my absolute favorite places to live. As a pastor's kid, I became the quintessential church brat. I lived, ate, breathed, and slept in the church. And just so you know, this was a literal situation; we actually lived in an apartment that was built into the back of the church. It was in Alaska that I first decided to follow Christ, encountered the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and where God confirmed the call of ministry on my life. The first sermon I ever preached was in Kotzebue, Alaska. I preached on Revelation where God is speaking to the church of Laodicea and urging them to be hot or cold. I remember it vividly because I used the term, "Don't be God-Vomit." After a painful situation that forced us to leave Alaska, we moved to Pennsylvania where I literally walked away from God for almost two years. I knew He wouldn't let me go so easily, but I was content to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. At this point, I encountered a very real devil, that pursued me and tormented me at night when I tried to sleep, and during the day both at school and at home. I refused even then to acknowledge that I was in over my head, and kept the situation to myself. The breaking point came sooner rather than later, and I almost attempted to commit suicide. I remember standing in the kitchen of our house where I was holding the rather large knife that I was going to use. In what seemed like an eternity, my mind flooded with images of all of the bad experiences I had ever had. I felt the literal weight of my hopelessness and depression as a backpack that I simply could not bear to carry anymore. It was at that point that I thought I had no hope. But words came into my mind from one of my few friends earlier that day who had no idea what I was going through: "You're going to be okay." In almost an instant, a rush of intense memories came over me in what I can only categorize as the anti-thesis of my bad experiences... every time of laughter, happiness, joy... you name it. The experience left my completely disarmed mentally and I dropped the knife as I sobbed. Now some individuals might tell you they cried a few tears and kept going. Not me, not even close. I cried a wave of tears that released the stress and the struggle of trying to do everything on my own without any help from anyone. I immediately gave my heart to the Lord and wouldn't look back. I experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit much in the same way. We had moved to Lebanon, Tennessee by this point and my father had left full-time pastoral ministry for the first time in my life. We were still actively involved in a local church, and I was at this point entering into a skepticism of the Holy Spirit baptism that left me terrified of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. It hindered me so much that one of my greatest friends spoke to me on such terms. He calmed my fears and encouraged me just to talk with God about my feelings. That night in my room I put on some worship music and just let God begin to speak into my life. What an exhilaration! The experience of being a laptop that is extremely low on power receiving the plug into the wall outlet seems to be the best analogy that comes to mind. It energized me in such a profound way, even these fleeting words cannot describe how I felt. Fast forward a few years, and by this point, I've married my wife, Rebecca, and we are actively involved in church ministry. Our son, Alex, is now six years old and I have been an associate pastor at churches in Maryland and Tennessee. We have experienced more than most ministers could say they have at our age. That is to say, we've enjoyed the excitement and happiness of watching individuals come to Christ, as well as the joy of training new believers in their faith walk. But we have also encountered pain and hurt along the way. We have had to take solace in the fact that "God is our refuge, and an ever present help in time of need." I currently serve as a Staff Pastor at Christ the Rock Church of God, and I have held just about every title you can imagine: Youth, Worship, Children's Ministry. I've done just about all of it. God impressed upon me through so many people in my life that I should pursue finalizing my degree. I was graciously accepted into the seminary here and I will complete a Master of Arts in Church Ministries. It's my hope that with this I can teach, whether that be on a secondary level or a college level and serve as a pastor as well. This journey is nerve-wracking for me. It has been almost ten years since I've been in college coursework, much less graduate level work, so I am definitely feeling the anxiety of the beginning of this pathway. What I look forward to is that I am working towards a goal that will provide for my family and help me fine tune my skills as a pastor.