I was born in Denver, Colorado and moved around the country with my family for the next 17 years. We lived in Colorado, California, Rhode Island, Kansas, Louisiana and Tennessee, some of the states multiple times. We were not Christians in any way. Occasionally my mother would take us to Catholic mass on Christmas or Easter. I graduated high school in Memphis, Tennessee and attended UT Martin for one year before getting married and having a son. I built tires at Firestone in Memphis for a while before deciding to go back to college. I took a job at a large hospital in Memphis, working the midnight shift (for six years) so I could attend Memphis State University during the day. Unfortunately, during this time my wife divorced me and took my son to Jackson, Mississippi.

I went to medical school in San Francisco and it was between my first and second years that I met my current wife, Joan. We have been married for 36 years this year. We had a son, who passed away when he was 20 of a probable heart arrhythmia.

My wife, son and I became Christians in 1987 in Tampa, Florida through a charismatic college campus ministry that my sister was part of, after several years of pursuit by the “Hound of Heaven.” During our time at the Tampa church, I was discipled by the assistant pastor who was studying the Reformed faith and kindled my interest in Reformed theology. During this time I began to take classes from an Assembly of God college to learn more of the things of God.

We moved to Jackson, Tennessee in October of 1989, opened a private practice and began going to various churches to find one that “fit.” We found a home at Grace PCA. While attending Grace I learned of Reformed Theological Seminary’s distance learning program and began taking classes with no goal but to learn more about our great, gracious God. I now have 60 hours and only need to finish my thesis to complete my Master’s degree.

We became part of a PCA church plant in north Jackson in 1997-8 and continue to worship at Covenant PCA. I met Dan Steere when he came to our church to talk about his ministry with ELI and God began to work in me a desire to go and teach with his organization. Around 2 years later talked to him about joining him on a trip to Nigeria – however, circumstances intervened and I have yet to take a trip with Dan. I have been to Uganda many times with Joel McCall and India with Chuck Emerson. God has been so good to me to allow me to go and be a small part of what He is doing in the world.

I joined the Jackson Clinic in August 2000 and continue to practice and recently became an official part of ELI. I look forward to what the Lord is going to do as I work to retire from practice and spend my “golden years” working for Him to advance His kingdom.