I’m originally from Alexandria, Louisiana, and a constellation of small towns surrounding it–Ball, Tioga, and Pineville. If you put your finger down on the middle of a Louisiana map, it will land right on them.
Somehow, I managed to escape being born again during those years growing up in the thick of the Bible belt. I didn’t receive the awesome Jesus until I was a U.S. Army soldier stationed in Europe. The year was 1984.
When the Lord’s call later came in ‘88, I entered full-time vocational ministry. That began with several years of intense service training, then participation in church planting, mission travels (especially east Africa), and leadership in a number of small congregations. I eventually graduated with a masters in theology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
What am I about? Give me a couple of short paragraphs to put it in perspective. During my forty years of ministry, I’ve developed a God-centered theology. That might sound redundant, sort of like saying a “round circle,” or, “wet water.” After all, theology means the study of God, so, I’m literally saying, a God-centered study of God.
I find it necessary to say it that way because a lot of other things today have co-opted theology, or at least, borrowed it. Now there is consumer-centered theology, therapy-centered theology, prosperity-centered theology, and progressive, and social-centered theologies. In each of those cases, God gets pushed to the outer margins, and something else comes to dominate center stage. True, He and His Word are still conceptually present in those systems. You’ll certainly hear Scriptural sound-bytes, and things about faith there. But in each, God is expected to remain peripheral, only existing to serve human interests and goals.
On the other hand, God-centered refers to the very Person of God residing within the bullseye. That amounts to:
- A focus on the eternal purpose of God–His consistent, overarching purpose that stretches from one end of the Bible to the other.
- A focus on the supremacy of Christ–the glory of His Person and redemptive work.
- A focus on the fellowship of the Holy Spirit–our experiential inner life as we are connected to Him and to one another
As far as content goes, that sums up what I’m about. It gives a guy a lot to write about, so over the years, I’ve written assorted books. My most foundational work to date is “Solid: An Indestructible Foundation for New Christians.” My latest is a book detailing the deeper dimension of the Christian life– “Alive on the Inside: Cultivating Your Inner Life.”
At times, I’ve enjoyed ministering on larger platforms. Far more often, I have crafted workshops and conferences friendly to small churches, grass roots fellowships, andeven home groups.
These days the locus of my ministry is at Hilliard Christian Assembly, where I provide oversight and regularly preach. It has been my beloved faith community since 2009, when I planted the church together with a team of young co-laborers.
On an even more personal note, I live in Columbus, Ohio, with Aleisha, my wife of nearly forty years. We have one daughter, Elizabeth, and a granddog, Zoey. In my spare time, I like reading, writing, cartooning, pastel art, bass fishing, jazz, bookcase wargames, nature walks, sometimes cooking, and always making the best cup of coffee in town.
