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Pastor

The proverb from Laozi states, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”, and mine began with my mother offering me to the Lord as a baby, to work with Him. As the first born in my family, I grew up in the First Presbyterian Church of Salem, Ohio. I’ve been given indications throughout my life that my journey and my love for Jesus and the church started early on. I chose to be a Christian at a young age and I grew up knowing God loved me; going to church was never an option, it was what we did as a family.

I went to public elementary schools until my Dad (on the PTA at the time) said to me, “…find a private school to attend, you won’t be going to Salem High School.” I chose Culver Military Academy (CMA) and was accepted into their summer Naval Academy Program (I wanted to eventually go to Annapolis Naval Academy), then in the fall of 1972 joined their ROTC Battery Division. I was very fortunate to have learned how to study while at Culver. Having that discipline saved me in college. I graduated from Mount Union College (MUC) in 1980 with a BA in Liberal Arts and minors in Art and Business; I was a Legacy student, as both parents also graduated from MUC - now the University of Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio.

In my early teens I grew to love classic automobiles. I worked many hours on the 1936 Plymouth my parents bought for me, enabling me to learn the auto body trade. Following graduation, I moved to Boston where I applied my artistic knowledge as an automotive spray painter, but I felt God was still calling me to His ministry. I left Boston for California where I took a position as a ceramic tile sales rep in the Bay Area. I also attended the Academy of Art in SanFrancisco, studying sculpture, illustrating, and airbrushing. In San Francisco I met a beautiful girl, Tici, and married her! We had two children: our son, Matthew and our daughter Katie. In 1994 at the age of 39, I found myself and my family back in Salem, Ohio … after spending 18 years in business, running from the “Call” like Jonah did. In 1997 that single “journey of a thousand miles” found me at the gates of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, where I graduated in 2000. My thousand mile journey into the ministry and graduation from seminary has helped me to grow my servanthood, my love for Jesus, my love for family, and my love for the church. Praise the Lord, He has given me the Gospel and the First Presbyterian Church of Lapeer to protect!