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A bit about Me

I'm Andrew. I'm a father, a Youth Pastor, a public speaker, a pipe collector, a martial artist, a blogger, and a bunch of other stuff.  (I've got a resume if you're interested in that kind of thing.) 

I grew up in the church. My mom was and still is a Children's Pastor.  She's been doing it for 30+ years so I've always been involved with some type of church ministry.  I remember pretty vividly feeling God's call on my life when I was in Junior High.  
I decided to attend Southwestern Bible college which is now Arizona Christian University and I hadn't even finished sophomore year before I had a part time job as a Youth Pastor.  It was trial by fire but I loved it.  That position ended up being full time pretty quickly as I took on the responsibilities of Worship Pastor in addition to running the youth group.  I got married in March of 2009 and became a Dad on Sept 22, 2010!  (Side note: my daughter is cuter than yours... Just sayin')

At this point in my life, everything was pretty awesome!  I was living the dream, but in November of 2011 it all blew up.  My marriage fell apart!

As a pastor, I was sure that my life, as I knew it, was pretty much over.  We had tried counseling, and though I was willing to try whatever else it took, she was done.  I was devastated and had pretty much decided that I was going to resign quietly and try to figure something else out.  I had done everything right up to that point. Wife, Kid, Dream job.  But what church wants a divorced pastor on staff?  I had no idea how God was going to use me.  But I was in for the ride of my life.

I went to the leaders of my church and told them where my life was at and they told me that if I tried to resign they would shred my resignation.  My church came around me with love and support in a way that I never could have imagined.  God began to use me in spite of my brokenness and imperfection.

My life was no longer the perfect Mona Lisa type portrait that I had worked so hard to build but I realized something profound.  Though my life was covered in smudges and spilled paint from a divorce, God was still working on my as he painted an abstract masterpiece.

My Story is not about a broken home, or a failed marriage.  My story is about the faithfullness of God. 
Picture
One of my favorite paintings.
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