After over 20 years of pastoral ministry in non-denominational churches in the US and Canada, plus over 3 years as a full-time missionary, training pastors in Europe and Asia, the Lord wonderfully led us back into pastoral ministry with the Anglican Mission in America in 2005. The story of God’s dramatic leading can be found here.
Our journey into orthodox, vibrant Anglicanism has been a journey to our true spiritual home. We are grateful to be growing in a local community of sincere followers of Christ who have a passionate commitment to transforming worship, fervent prayer and genuine community. It is a joy to be living out our lives among a group of people committed to representing Christ with integrity as agents of his kingdom here in the Chapel Hill / Durham area. This is clearly where Christ has created and called us to serve him and his church.
We are blessed with a wonderful family of five children, three in-laws and four grandchildren. Kent, married to Melissa, lives in Canada, and has his hands full with Joseph, Maggie and a law practice. Ellen works in restaurant management while she develops her real estate business in Raleigh. Steven, Courtney and Steven, Jr, live in Asheville where he serves as a high school principal and teacher. Millie, married to James, cares for their newborn son, Elijah, in Raleigh. Thomas is a sophomore at UNC-Chapel Hill studying English literature and French.
Sally is both a published author and a frequent speaker at women’s conferences, but her greatest passion in ministry is serving her growing family, serving in many ways at All Saints and mentoring and teaching women.
Growing up in NC makes me the token Southerner on staff (we all know Texas ain't Southern). I went to Appalachian State University in Boone, NC then worked in computer software development in RTP for a number of years. During this time, my wife Martha and I were involved in youth ministry to high school students in the Triangle. Up to this point, we worshipped in non-denominational, congregational churches. In 2001 we began attending an Anglican Mission church in Raleigh (Church of the Apostles). Liturgical and sacramental worship felt like a homecoming to us. The richness of the liturgy, the rootedness in tradition, and the centeredness of the Eucharist have opened doors of worship that we never knew existed before. It was during this time we sensed a call to pursue further theological education. So we set off to Vancouver, British Columbia to study at Regent College where I was involved in the Anglican Studies program and received an MDiv in 2005.
After Regent we migrated back to NC where I served as Resident Chaplain at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill. It was here that I reconnected with some folks from Church of the Apostles who were planting All Saints Church. I've had the great pleasure of being part of All Saints Church since May of 2005. Planting All Saints has been an adventure filled with challenges, lots of hard work and even more prayer. It has provided me with many lessons for the road - that God is good and faithful and he is with us.
As I mentioned before, I'm married to a woman (far out of my league, by the way) named Martha. Martha is a professional photographer and runs a business shooting portraits and weddings. We met at ASU when we were 19 and 20 years old and we've just celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. Amazing! And what do we have to show for it but two awesome boys, Caleb 7 and Noah 4.
I was born in Berwyn, IL., but when I was 3 years old my parents became missionaries in Spain, so all of my childhood, through my teen years, were spent in a town called Castelldefels, outside of Barcelona. Growing up in Spain was a very rich experience and I was blessed to see God provide for my family and build His Kingdom through the work of my parents, much of which I participated in as I grew older.
My parents’ ministry has always been Music, Worship and Spirituality so I grew up my whole life surrounded by, and immersed in worship ministries, learning how to play instruments, sing, plan, rehearse, and eventually lead worship.
I attended Wheaton College and graduated in 2003 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music with Elective Studies in Bible/Theology. It was at Wheaton College that I met and married my wife Kristin.
After college, I served as the Worship and Youth Pastor at West Chicago Bible Church from 2003 to 2005, and then at Red Lion Evangelical Free Church in Delaware I served as the Worship Director, from 2005 to 2008. In April of 2008 I accepted God’s call to come be a part of All Saints Church, building His Kingdom in the triangle. Kristin and I feel blessed and privileged to be a part of All Saints.
One of the most common questions I get is what kind of music I like. While this is by no means exhaustive, some of my favorites include: John Rutter and the Cambridge Singers, Matt Redman, Joshua Redman, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Phil Collins (the older stuff), Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, Smokie Norful, Take 6, and many more.
Some of my favorite books are: Confessions, St. Augustine; Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer; The Divine Conspiracy, Dallas Willard; Reaching out without Dumbing Down, Marva Dawn; The Testament, John Grisham.
Some of my favorite movies are: Braveheart, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Waiting for Guffman, Office Space, Tommy Boy, Amazing Grace, Saving Private Ryan.
When I was thirteen, Jesus Christ met me in a very real and powerful way. In the years that followed, I have been working out the importance of that first encounter with Jesus. Growing up, my faith was nurtured and shaped by my local church’s youth ministry and Young Life. Many people have walked along side of me and taught me about God and how to grow in relationship with him. I am thankful to God for showing himself to me and for these faithful people who took time to hang out with me and talk about their faith in Jesus. These early friendships were foundational in helping me discern my calling to church ministry.
As a result of meeting God and growing in Him in Middle school and High School I recognize how important and difficult this time of life can be and am passionate about youth ministry. I have about seven years of experience working with youth and young adults in various contexts. I served as a Young Life leader, Youth Pastor, Resident Assistant in College, and as a Juvenile Detention Officer in a detention Center and in all of these experiences I have been privileged to witness and participate in the transformational work of God in the lives of youth.
Education:
I graduated from Cascade Christian High School in 1999 and attended Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia before transferring and graduating from Wheaton College with a major in Sociology and minor in Theology. In April of 2008 I graduate from Regent College with a Master of Divinity and this experience served to affirm my sense of calling to pastoral ministry.
Family:
In eighth grade I met a girl. She was the younger sister of my car pool driver and we slowly (I was shy) began to talk and eventually I asked her if she would “go out” with me. The only problem was that I couldn’t drive- but she still said yes. And after years of dating, just being friends, and going to different colleges we were married in 2001. Amy is a gift from God in my life. She loves life and lives it to the fullest. She is not afraid to ask questions and also not afraid to be honest and speak the truth. She is a musician who plays the harp and piano as well as a gifted teacher on these instruments. She is also smarter than me. She graduated from Wheaton in 2002 with a degree in English Literature and then completed her Masters in Church History at Wheaton as well.
We have two children, our son Hudson is 4 ½ years old and our daughter Audrey is 2 ½ . Hudson’s favorite animal is the iguana; he thinks they are cuddly and he wants to get thirteen of them when he moves out. Audrey is Hudson’s constant companion and is never far away from her two dolls- “Nother One “ and “Other Nother One.”
I am extremely excited to be at All Saints Church in Chapel Hill - Durham and especially to have the privilege of walking alongside the youth of ASC and the community as they seek to encounter Jesus and live their lives as His followers.
A little more about me:
I love playing with my kids, going out with my wife (my kids call these HOT DATES), being outside, playing Frisbee, drinking coffee, reading, meeting people and hearing their stories, listening to music, and playing basketball.
Fun memories:
Driving our ’67 VW van around the country for a month before Amy and I had kids. The Outer Banks were a definite highlight. Completing seminary and participating in graduation.
Hiking with Amy, Hudson, and Audrey on Mount Baker in Washington State in the summer of 2007.
Driving across the county as we moved from Seattle to Chapel Hill and listening to Audrey – my 2 ½ year old daughter saying “it takes a long time.” Yes - It did take us a long time! 70 hours! But we had a lot of fun along the way.
