Isaiah 61 – The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for He has anointed me to preach.

I grew up in a small midwestern town with a godly mother and a hard working father. My mother drugged me to church every time the doors were open, and my father drugged me outside to mow the lawn. (just kidding)

My mom was the most spiritual person I’ve ever known. I tell people she believed in God more than she did the mailman. Momma always told me, since I was a boy, that God had called me to preach. She said God gave her the scripture, Isaiah 61, for my life when I was born. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for He has anointed me to preach.”

Although I believed mom and respected her perspective, I would have to work through my own “stuff” in life to encounter God on my own.

I remember being at service on Sunday evening at the Assemblies of God church we went to growing up. There was a guest preacher preaching “revival.” I don’t remember much of what he was actually preaching, I just remember, before he could finish, I was excusing myself, person after person, down that long wooden pew making my way to the altar.

At 13-14 years old I remember sobbing at that old fashion alter from the core of my being like I had lived a thousand life times. I walked away that day feeling like I had met the same God my mother knew. But I would still have to live enough life for her god to become mine, or for me to find my own.

As life would have it I would encounter many life- and faith-shattering moments. Each moment drawing me closer to God and some pushing me further away. That’s one thing I have learned about God over the years; you can neither push God away or draw close. For God is always there.

I remember giving a leadership speech to a group of high school graduates. I had built a very lucrative speaking business by this time in my career. At the conclusion of my speech I felt this tugging deep down inside of me, something I hadn’t felt since that boy at the altar. I felt I was to tell my audience about the Love of God. I kept fighting this strange urge all the while the host of the event was working her way back to the stage to end the meeting.

With every step she took the urge got stronger. My heart beat out of my chest. Until right at the very last moment she reached for the microphone. I didn’t say a word. I hung my head and walked off stage.

After that day I laid down my speaking business to go to Bible school. I lived with my wife, Jodi, and our 6-month old daughter, Kami, at the time, in the back bedroom of a friend’s house. I attended Bible college in Los Alamos, CA and started my ministry career. Although I was “sent” by my local Church to my first assignment as a youth pastor in Temecula, CA the rest of my ministry journey would begin in a field and end with “bumping into someone” who “just so happen” to be looking for someone like me.

I’ve always been led by a tug, a nudge, an urge – Something I can’t explain.

Before I was led to each place in my ministry career I would always find myself in a middle of a field praying, crying, seeking, asking, knocking – I’ve always been interested in only one thing – What do you want me to do, Lord?

I would go on to serve the local church in the roll of a youth pastor, associate pastor, evangelist and senior pastor. Each assignment being led by that all too familiar urge, tug or nudge. That nudge brought me here. To you.

There’s a new assignment for my life and ministry. I’ve been praying, seeking, and asking God for direction for the past ten years. There is a Church, maybe you are that Church, who is seeking a Pastor, Shepherd, Leader to help usher you into the next level of ministry and blessings. Maybe God has aligned us to meet for such a time as this. If so, if this speaks to you, reach out and lets see what God has in store for us both.

God wants to the best for you. He has the best for you.