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I love Jesus. I hate "churchy." I love my neighbor. He's never darkened the door of a church...churchy isn't going to cut it for him. I know Jesus loves my neighbor as well. So we're forming a church family that isn't churchy, but loving. We don't take ourselves seriously, but we do take Jesus seriously. Most people think that most of church is mostly boring, so we believe the most powerful, dynamic, loving, impactful moments of your week ought to happen while you're intentionally focusing on God. He's a big God. If you're bored, it isn't God you're focused on...  

A famous general of bygone era pointed out that there are three kinds of people in this world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen—and those who say “What happened?”

Following decades of living and serving in “church world,” I’ve found the same reality holds true. Fortunately for me, God put some remarkable mentor/leaders in my path early on that consistently encouraged me to “step up,” “get in the game,” and “invest in others.” Their godly guidance prevented me from ever regarding Christianity as a spectator sport.

In Matthew 11:12 Jesus declared to his listeners, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.”

I interpret his words to mean that every Christ-follower is potentially a “high impact” player. But, I also believe that for this truth to take root requires an “A-ha” moment, a specific point in time when a believer says to her or himself, “I get it,” and mentally shifts gears from a “consumer” to a “contributor” mentality.

Frankly, there’s nothing I enjoy more than watching folks “get it” as they start to passionately live out their life calling in Jesus. And that’s exactly what it takes to make a great church even greater!

I felt the call of God to Overlake in September of 2010. In March 2011, that call became a reality when I accepted the position of OCC’s Worship Pastor.

Worship Pastor is an interesting title- It poses the question: “What is worship?” We all worship something whether we know it or not, so in my view (as well as many others in my shoes) “worship” is a fully surrendered life to the will of God through Jesus Christ (Romans 12:1&2). And let’s be honest, doesn’t “Worship Pastor” sound much better than “Fully surrendered life to the will of God through Jesus Christ Pastor”? We thought so too.  

I am so stoked to be a part of the OCC team and see how God uses this church to further His kingdom. In my biased, humble opinion, musicians are some of the most interesting people on the planet, and I feel privileged to be able to serve along side them.