I was born in 1972 in Texarkana, Texas, and raised there throughout my youth. I had the tremendous blessing to grow up in a Christian home with strong Christian parents who loved one another. At the age of eight I became convicted of my personal sin, and through the counsel of my parents and pastor, I received Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. I was baptized by immersion into our SBC church at that time.

I moved to Nashville after graduating from college in 1996 (Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, AR), in order to play in a band with a friend from middle school who was attending Belmont. Of course, that band didn’t work out, but I did meet my future wife Leanne, and her family at New Hope Baptist Church in Hermitage. Leanne and I were married in 2002 and about a year later we began to attend Grace Baptist Church on Old Hickory, next door to Davidson Academy. Shortly thereafter we joined Grace, and a couple of years later I was asked to serve as a deacon.

Although I had never previously resisted a call from the Lord to vocational ministry, He called me into student ministry in 2007 at the age of 35, and I was subsequently called as the full-time youth minister at Grace. Under the guidance and leadership of two different Grace pastors, I began to pursue seminary education and was ordained as a pastor in 2015.

During seminary training, the Lord called me to, and equipped me for preaching and pastoral ministry. The pulpit is the most important time for a pastor and the life of the church he is called to serve and lead. I take the Lord’s call for me to preach and pastor with supreme seriousness. Scripture is clear that Christ is the head of the church (Colossians 1:18), and He calls some to shepherd His people through ministry of the Word (2 Timothy 4:2, Ephesians 4:12) and also through compassion and caregiving (Acts 20:28). I am eager to do these things in obedience to the Lord, through the power of the Holy Spirit, for the benefit of His church. I also have a special calling to do biblical-based evangelism, and to teach others the same.