How it all started...
(See below for official bio)
I wasn't raised in the church, though I had amazing parents and a happy, stable home. I was like most other boys growing up, playing sports, hanging with friends. I was an all-star athlete and an avid guitar player, but when I hit the teenage years, my choices soon turned toxic as I succumbed to the culture of drugs and hedonism. After a fellow student befriended me, he witnessed the love of Christ and ultimately led me to Jesus at the age of 16.
Everything changed for me at that point.
Following high school, I attended college (something I thought I would never do). While on a summer mission's project with Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU), I met the girl who would become my future wife. After graduation, we married and moved to Texas, where I attended Dallas Theological Seminary. There, I studied under some of the greatest Bible teachers in the world (John Walvoord, Dwight Pentecost, Howard Hendricks, Stan Toussaint, and many others). I graduated with my Masters of Theology degree (ThM) and began my career as a Pastor.
I was a Student Pastor, College Pastor, and Church Planter and Head Pastor for over 30 years. In 2000, I founded Main Thing Ministries, a non-profit organization that fuels and furthers my speaking, writing, and media ministries. God has been gracious to allow me to write 38 books, with many bestsellers, and even one that was made in to a movie (GREATER). Not bad for a kid who, up until 16, had basically never read anything deeper than a comic book! All praise goes to Jesus Christ!
I wasn't raised in the church, though I had amazing parents and a happy, stable home. I was like most other boys growing up, playing sports, hanging with friends. I was an all-star athlete and an avid guitar player, but when I hit the teenage years, my choices soon turned toxic as I succumbed to the culture of drugs and hedonism. After a fellow student befriended me, he witnessed the love of Christ and ultimately led me to Jesus at the age of 16.
Everything changed for me at that point.
Following high school, I attended college (something I thought I would never do). While on a summer mission's project with Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU), I met the girl who would become my future wife. After graduation, we married and moved to Texas, where I attended Dallas Theological Seminary. There, I studied under some of the greatest Bible teachers in the world (John Walvoord, Dwight Pentecost, Howard Hendricks, Stan Toussaint, and many others). I graduated with my Masters of Theology degree (ThM) and began my career as a Pastor.
I was a Student Pastor, College Pastor, and Church Planter and Head Pastor for over 30 years. In 2000, I founded Main Thing Ministries, a non-profit organization that fuels and furthers my speaking, writing, and media ministries. God has been gracious to allow me to write 38 books, with many bestsellers, and even one that was made in to a movie (GREATER). Not bad for a kid who, up until 16, had basically never read anything deeper than a comic book! All praise goes to Jesus Christ!