Renovate

I was raised in a home that loved and modeled the Gospel and was introduced to Christ at a young age. Although I was a pretty good “keeper of the religious rules” growing up, I realize more and more each day just how wicked and weak my flesh really is and how absolutely in need I am of Christ’s saving grace. God’s grace in my life, through the work of Jesus Christ, is not only the most important thing that has happened to me but also the only thing that gives my living actual life. Every good thing I experience is by God’s grace.

In the spring of 2008 a pastor named Joey Turner, who remains one of my heroes to this day, invited me to come and worship at Christ Chapel. My wife and I both felt the Spirit of God doing something remarkable here and we wanted to be a part of what our God was doing, so in May of the same year I accepted a job as the Fifth+Sixth Pastor. In 2011 I got the opportunity to take over the college ministry and start our Christ Chapel outreach to college students at a bar across the street from TCU. Four years later I was able to step into leading our Life Stage Two team which had just launched a broader out reach to any young adults in Fort Worth who were looking for Christ-centered community. There have been several hats I have had the privilege to wear on staff and our family has been blessed tremendously by how God has used this church to show me more of Himself.

My wife Danielle and I have been married since 2007 and she is the greatest earthly blessing in my life. She is my partner in ministry as well as in life. We have two sons (Charlie and Miles) who are our greatest little ministry. We love what we get to do for His kingdom and are so constantly grateful that He uses imperfect people for his perfect glory.

I grew up as a nominal Christian believing that Jesus was just a part of my culture — another thing people did. I lived my life along those same lines growing up, just adding Jesus in when I felt like I needed to. That all changed when I went to a discipleship program going into college called Young Guns through Pine Cove. I was challenged in my faith and was taught what it means to live as a godly man in our world today. Faith became real to me and affected my life in a bigger way than adding Sunday plans to my calendar. It shaped my world.

I would spend most of my college experience going through a trial and error process of figuring out how to live out what I had learned, and learning more along the way. I was helped along by the community I had found in the college ministry at Christ Chapel. It was a place where so many different types of people came together and started to live for Jesus alongside each other. It wasn’t just a group of friends to hang out with on a Sunday. It was so eye-opening and refreshing to see people who were so welcoming, and the affect that had on the people who visited our church because of that community just continued to grow.

After college I have been figuring out how to continue growing that community, while finding the best tacos and burgers in Fort Worth. The way I fund this quest is through the biggest blessing of getting to work as the Director of Operations for Renovate, which has been one of the best surprises that the Lord has brought into my life at this point. So, if you want to know more of what we are doing, any random fact about Lord of the Rings, or which restaurant has the best shake AND burger in Fort Worth, I would be happy to share my thoughts!

If I could only use one word to describe my life it would be grace. I grew up in a Christian home in a small town in Mississippi surrounded by family and friends that knew and loved Jesus. When I was 7 years old I understood that I was a sinner that needed a Savior and put my faith in Jesus. Then, throughout middle school and high school as I grew in my faith I began to realize that I wasn’t really living for Jesus, I was living for Brooke. So, when I was 17 I told the Lord I was done with that and would do whatever He asked of me. At that point, I was all in. The call and surrender to vocational ministry shortly followed. In college, I found myself in true biblical community that changed my life and pushed me to grow in my faith like never before, and then in the fall of 2016 I moved to Fort Worth to pursue a Master’s degree in Biblical Counseling from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. That move brought me to Christ Chapel and I’ve been here ever since. I have been actively involved with Life Stage 2 since moving to Fort Worth and was so blessed to be part of the residency program for the 2018-2019 year. I now have the privilege of serving on staff for the ministry that the Lord has used to shape my life the most. I can’t believe I get to do what I do every day. I love meeting new people, and don’t mind sharing good coffee or tacos while making it happen.