This blog is back in business!

Hey, everybody! I'm working on getting this blog back in action. Originally, it was a bit of a journal for me as Emily and I were planting Ridge Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. Life has changed a lot for us since we moved to Knox Vegas to plant a church in June of 2008!

We had our first child, Chloe, on November 7, 2008. Then, we folded our church plant into another church, OneLife Church, in September of 2009. In two words, I would say church planting was very hard but also very awesome.

This April, we discovered that Emily was expecting our second child! Now, after we've been trying to learn patience for several months while we wait for Him to lead us, God has called us to return to Charlotte, a city we love, in the next few weeks! I will serve as the Student Pastor at LifePointe Christian Church starting July 1.

For now, our family is living with Emily's parents, Bill and Sue Irving, in Knoxville as we work to raise financial and prayer support for the next chapter in our ministry journey together. For the month before that, we lived with Emily's cousin Amy and her husband Joe in Farragut. We really appreciate the support of our family here in Knoxville! (The reason we are living with family has to do with our landlord's foreclosure while we were renting a condo... Long story, but it's good to have a place to lay your head!)

I have been working at the HoneyBaked Ham Store for nearly two years, being what dudes in the church planting and missions biz call a "tentmaker." Basically that just means that working a job in the "real world" supplements the finances you receive in ministry so that you can survive in this world we call home. It's a lot of hours when you're a pastor but certainly worth it to serve on the "cutting edge" of ministry and represent Jesus to a needy world.

I appreciate my boss, Josh, and my coworkers at the ham store! Emily spends many of her hours chasing around our 18-month old little girl, and she also has a small business on Etsy selling hair accessories! (You should check it out at iloveredhair.etsy.com... Help us pay that electric bill!)

So, that's what's up with us right now. I will leave you with a picture of our new little one. Feel free to email if you have any questions about what God is up to with us! Soon, we will be posting the letter we are sending out as we seek the people God is calling to support us in our new place of ministry. Have a great one!