I was raised in a Christian home. My dad took us to a Pentecostal church. It was not a church that focused on teaching the Word of God or training others how to. However, I learned from my dad’s example that knowing Jesus was the ultimate reward here on this earth. Yet, I was not fully taught (nor did I understand) the importance of repentance. I had an understanding of who Jesus was, but I did not personally know Him as He is – God Almighty. It wasn’t until I was 22 years of age… in Los Angeles, CA… that God chose to pluck me up out of my misery and personally call me to repent.  

I had been pursuing a career in acting and was constantly dealing with rejection after rejection. I was quite depressed. It was at this time (His perfect timing) that I fell on my face and cried out to Almighty God. I still remember what I said to Him – "If You are really there, then please rescue me… save me… I just want to die."

All of a sudden, my mind was flooded with Bible verses that I had learned as a kid – verses my dad taught us to memorize. "Taste and see that the Lord is good… blessed is the one who trusts in Him." "It is appointed unto man to die… and then after this – judgment." "For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son; that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." And there were more. Only He could do that.  

I remember getting up off my face and feeling something that I had never really felt before – His peaceful presence. Soon after that, I began attending First Baptist Church of Burbank. The pastor himself came out to visit me… in my one-room apartment that had no furniture… only a mattress on the floor in the corner of the room. That made quite an impression on me. Still does to this day.

I moved back home to northern VA about a year later. I lived with my dad and stepmom and enrolled myself at the local community college. I got a decent job and pursued a degree in Business Administration. I was moving up in the company and was being trained to become a manager at a Sunbelt Rentals store in McLean, VA.

I was also attending a Baptist church nearby. The pastor of the church saw something in me and approached me one day about teaching his Adult Sunday School class. After doing that for a little while, I began serving as a youth leader at the church. The ‘filling up’ was instantaneous. This was where the Spirit of God wanted me to be and what He had called me to do.

A few months later, the youth pastor took a position at another church and recommended that I take over. The church offered me the position. The head pastor challenged me by asking if I had ever thought the Lord was leading me into ministry. I told him, "Yes," and he helped me enroll at Liberty University.

I continued to work as the youth minister while taking classes online. After graduation, I accepted a full-time position about an hour away. I did youth ministry for almost 13 years… then I enrolled in seminary in Cary, NC, right before I turned 40.

I see ‘spiritual gifts’ a bit differently now than I once did. I do hold to what Scripture teaches about them, but I believe, as John MacArthur says, that spiritual gifting is like being a painter. We are given a few colors, and they somehow blend together for God to paint a picture of who we are in Him and what He has called us to do.

The gifts that I am aware of are preaching, teaching, exhortation, faith, mercy, and I’ll add—He has given me the ‘gift’ of being a shepherd. And it is a gift.

I’ve worked with a few pastors through the years, but only one of them was a true shepherd. A shepherd genuinely cares for his flock. He spends time with them, getting to know them and visiting with them. He preaches to them, not at them. As a shepherd, he is their authority; however, he never uses his position as a means to get results—he uses his character.

I primarily use the NASB. When I learned to read Greek in seminary, I gravitated to the NASB because I felt it was the closest translation to the original Greek writings. But I am not married to this version.

I also use the ESV, NKJV, KJV, a little bit of NIV and NLT, J.B. Phillips’ translation, Young’s Literal Translation, Holman, and, at certain times, a few others.

When I teach and preach, I begin by translating the Greek in my own words. Then, I use these other translations to ensure that I am in the ballpark. I have a software program that helps me do this—it is called BibleWorks. My Greek professor recommended it to me, and it has been a Godsend.

There are some really good things that the SBC has done through the years. There have been a number of great men and women who have helped make the SBC a spiritually influential institution. One of the main contributions the SBC has made is its focus on the pure teaching and interpretation of God’s Word—but not always.

Through the years, there have been some movements away from this essential element of representing Christ here on earth. But by God’s grace, there has been a return to focusing on God’s Word as it is written—authoritative in its inerrancy and transformative in its application. I believe that the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 is reliable, useful, and an accurate representation of God and His Word—but only when it is adhered to.

I am first a man who was once a sinner and who, by the grace of God, was graciously confronted about my sin. And by that same grace, I confessed my sin to Christ (my Savior) and cried out to Him for His mercy. And He saved me.

I am second a husband who is in love with his wife and knows and accepts that the Lord has blessed me more as a man since I have known her.

Thirdly, I am a pastor who has been called, equipped, and anointed by God to shepherd His flock in a local church. While I have primarily preached at SBC churches, I do not preach SBC, nor do I make that my identity. I preach Christ and Him crucified, and my identity is solely (soul-ly) in Him.