We are called to be conformed to the death of Christ. This revelation came at a strategic time in my growth as a follower of Christ. God revealed to me that just as Christ had willingly died on the cross for me, I was to imitate his model of self-sacrifice in my own lifestyle. In particular, all choices, great and small, are to be submitted to the lordship of Christ, and decisions are to be made on the principle of obedience to the point of sacrifice for the sake of the will of God. From that time my life was radically changed.

Janet and I were married August 1, 1987. Two weeks later we began a two year mission assignment as Southern Baptist Campus Ministry directors at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Our time at Cornell and Ithaca Baptist Church was a wonderful time of learning and growing in a part of the world we were unfamiliar with. Our daughter Leigh was born in Ithaca in 1989. We spent the next four years in Kentucky attending Southern Seminary in Louisville, where I received the Master of Divinity Degree in 1993. The last three years of that time I served as pastor of Willow Baptist Church in northern Kentucky. We really enjoyed the people of Bracken County and learned much about the challenges and blessings of the pastorate. Our son Phillip was born while we lived in Willow in 1990.

God led us to Athens, Georgia in 1993 to attend the University of Georgia as a graduate student in Philosophy. My time in the philosophy department was very rewarding and an important part of my intellectual growth. But in 1998 God began to move us in a different direction. As a result of our cross-racial involvement at Timothy Baptist Church, I was asked to serve as a full time staff member with Pastor Jerry Hutchins. We served at Timothy from 1998 until 2000, working in children's ministry, Christian education, and administration of the Christian elementary school. We worked with many wonderful people and were very blessed through our involvement at Timothy.

Once again God shifted our direction by providing an opportunity for me to become a part of the administration of Clarke County Sheriff Ira Edwards in January of 2001 as Chaplain and Coordinator of Inmate Programs at Clarke County jail. Also, late in 2000 we became involved in ministry leadership with Pastor Patricia Saxon at Bread of Life Church on North Avenue. As a result of this involvement we founded ChristWalk Ministries in order to more effectively minister to the men suffering from homelessness and addiction in our community.

The principle that God helped me understand twenty years ago – conformity to the death of Christ in decision making – has given me the confidence to take risks and make changes. I feel extremely blessed with a wonderful family, many strong Christian friendships and awesome ministry experiences. There is nothing that we can give to God that he does not give back with multiplied blessings, as Jesus promised in Mark 10:29-31.