My life was a sham. I understood and received the Gospel at the age of eight, but growing up I thought that being moral was synonymous with being spiritual. At nineteen I came to the end of my proverbial Christian rope, and through an honest search discovered that Christ and the Gospel had much more to offer than just “right living”, although I was managing a secret struggle with pornography that was only getting worse throughout my twenties. Married at 31, I was attending seminary, teaching Sunday school, and had developed a full-blown addiction to pornography. I did not like who I was-but felt hopeless to change it. I was trying to manage my external image while completely isolated on the inside- a professional pretender. I somehow convinced myself that this was my lot in life. But, thank God, soon afterward, I joined my first Watermark community group and experienced something amazing.

For the first time witnessed other men sharing openly and authentically with each other- the good, the bad, the ugly, and the really ugly. God showed me through these men what true authenticity looked and felt like- sharing their true selves and loving each other in a way that was amazingly attractive to me. After some internal struggle, I began to share my hidden ugliness with them. I remember the uncontrollable tears that streamed down my face the day I realized that NOTHING was hidden, and I was fully known by others and fully loved by God. It was a pivotal moment. The healing process continued with going through our recovery ministry re:generation – which has led to true freedom and continues until this day. I’m married and we have four amazing kiddos – Cole, Evan, and Julia & Claire. We love the outdoors – camping, hiking, etc. and I love to play sand volleyball, basketball, cycle (mountain and road) and taking motorcycle trips with my wife. We also love to travel, and I consider myself somewhat of a Mexican food & BBQ connoisseur.