My Story…

I’m sitting in a coffee shop listening to some funky jazz and watching the owner try to decide which artwork to put up on the walls. But here is my story. My parents were married in ’69 (they eloped in Reno which ticked my grandfather off), had my brother in ’72 and me in ’75. My mom says that giving birth to me caused her to return to Jesus (I’m still not sure if that was a compliment, something mystical or due to horrendous childbirth). My dad basically had a screwed up life living in San Francisco (bouncing back and forth between moving every few months and parent’s houses)…always in and causing trouble.

We moved from Mountain View to Sonora when I was two (I still was not talking or walking––not sure what I was waiting for). My mom always made it a point to bring us to church, but my dad, though he had a moment of “conversion” became confused and turned-off by all the church bickering, differences and other issues. To this day, I sense that he loves Jesus, but just can’t get over the church. I have some great memories growing up: fishing, Disneyland, Christmases, hikes. I have some hard memories growing up: laying in my bed hearing my dad and mom fighting after my dad had one-to-many and waking up to holes in our walls. To this day, I see his temper flare up in me from time to time. When I was six, at a crusade, I asked Jesus “into my heart”. My dad and I were very different and I, being the more sensitive kid, never quite connected with him. I remember one time in particular after my sister was born (’84). We were riding in my dad’s new ’86 T-Bird with all three of us kids crammed in the back. In my own childlike faith, I asked him, “Dad, why don’t you want to have Jesus in your heart?” He turned to me and yelled, “Don’t you ever preach to me again.” That pretty much severed my little heart and our relationship.

In third grade we moved to Placerville; in forth, Morgan Hill. In my teen years I was the Jr. High boy who liked to steal, lie, cuss, verbally rip apart girls and blow things up (though I would settle for just melting them) and then be the sweet angel my mom and church loved once I entered their doors. The summer between 9th and 10th grade, we move back to Sonora from the Bay Area. Worst and best summer of my life. Worst because I left some of my closest friend and moved to “hickville”. Best because that was when God really got my attention. Hearing, for a week, messages about his last days, particularly the cross and what he went through to show us his love and how costly our sins were, His spirit deeply moved inside me and I surrendered. “I am yours, Jesus, if you’ll have me.” His Love slowly began to change me and I sensed him calling me to serve the church as a pastor. I was attending a small youth group in a fairly conservative Bible Church.

In ’93 I enrolled in William Jessup University (then, San Jose Christian College) to study Bible, Theology, pastoral and youth ministry. I began working at another Bible Church pasturing their Middle Schoolers. As I juggled full-time school and full-time ministry, God really shaped me. But, he was also doing a work to mend my relationship with my dad. My dad was commuting and staying in San Jose during the week. We made a commitment that every Wed night, we would hang out and catch a movie (or something else). God began to heal us. God brought forgiveness into my heart for my dad which allowed me to deeply forgive him. Then after one movie, in the parking lot, we talked….really talked. We both got choked up and I told him that I had forgiven him. He lost it. God had mended what was broken between us. To this day, we remember that night and are good friends.

Ok, so this is really long. Let me burn through the rest. I met and fell in love with Jennifer in college and we married the summer after my senior year on June 20, 1998 (I had my only panic attack my last semester). We went to Seattle during our HM where we discovered she had Mono. Fast forward…in 2000, we had our son Caleb. In 2001 I was burned out with middle school ministry and wanted to escape the X-ian (it’s not Chinese) bubble I had been in for the past 8years. We found a great Vineyard church where my best friend attended and God began to reshape me and heal some of the narrowness and judge-mentalism I had (I just never knew how bad until I started rubbing shoulders with other expressions of the X-ian faith). God also healed my burnout and was leading back into serving His church. I worked full-time at a technology company and led a small HS group at the Vineyard…great years, but also difficult. My wife had to work and we were not able to have another child. Our hearts ached.

In 2004 we went to Texas for a year as house-parents for troubled youth called Happy Hill Farm and Academy. Talk about God reshaping us into more of his image. We missed our family back in CA and wanted to relieve Jen from working. The week we left Texas, Jennifer got pregnant (yea!!). Ashlyn, our daughter was born in 2005. We began serving in a small Presbyterian Church here in Folsom and God really turned up the reshaping through a good friend and mentor, Del. This last May, my parents divorced after 28 years of marriage…that was, and still kinda is, a shock to my world. I thought, I’m 32, it’s not supposed to hurt this much but it did…and does (you can read “four life changing words” under April for more). Our church made some poor financial decisions and had to cut two-and-a-half staff positions. Mine was included. So now, we find ourselves in transition (as if we ever are not in transition). Jen and I have been surrounded by a bunch of friends and we want to find a “normal” job where we can poor our lives into them as friends––loving them where they are and watching God open up sacred doors.

Currently, we are expecting our third child…due sometime in Summer ‘08.