My Testimony

My journey to God began at a young age. I was raised in a Christian home to loving, God-fearing parents. I was raised to honor God with my life, but I think the knowledge got stuck in my head and never made it to my heart for years. I began playing drums at age 10. Quite quickly, I began to play drums for our church of about 800. It was in this environment that I learned how to move with the Spirit and work with other musicians. Yet throughout all this, I didn’t personalize my faith.

In 2000, we relocated to Muscatine, IA from Seattle, my home of 15 years. All I knew, uprooted. I grew rebellious, if not outwardly, inwardly. They told me not to date, so I did anyway. Not do drink, so I did. Not to smoke, so I did. High school was a rough patch for me, mainly because I had just moved away from all my friends of 15 years from Seattle to a new school, a new town in eastern Iowa. I uprooted everything familiar for the unknown, a completely different state and climate. This, along with my head knowledge and anger and resentment towards God and my parents made for somewhat rocky high school years.

It was during high school that I made my first visit to IHOP-KC. We visited friends in the area and checked out IHOP when it was still in the blue trailers. Because the nature of my spiritual life was relegated to Sundays, I was not that impressed with the setup, but the seed was planted.

It was my senior year. A local church was taking a group to OneThing ’03. I was originally motivated by seeing my friends who were going to be there from Seattle, but God knew better. I came away from that time with a better understanding of how Christians can live victoriously and righteously and radically. I saw Jason Upton pouring his heart out at a piano, passionately talking about God in a way I’d never seen. Allen Hood’s son was praying and he was about 9 at the time! I’ve never heard such a passionate prayer coming from a child! I saw a leadership team dedicated to living lives that touch the heart of God and touch a world in need. The burden was stirred in my heart, though I knew not yet the path that I would need to take for me to begin this journey to living as a radical follower of Christ.

It was after this conference that I desired to do an internship after high school but got distracted. I started dating a girl shortly after onething 03 the last semester of my senior year. I allowed my emotions to dictate what my next course of action would be rather than doing what I had felt God leading me to do. This relationship lasted until about June 2006. I look back at this time and I see a man struggling to embrace spiritual maturity and torn away from that path by the flesh. Satan used this relationship to distract both of us. I was called to be the leader and I failed at that. Rife with compromise, I still saw God’s at work in my own life. God showed me time and time again that He continues to use imperfect vessels to do His will. It is humbling to be in the service of such a being.

The struggles that I went through have been used by God for His glory. My spiritual foundation has been strengthened, roots deepened, and most importantly, my faith personalized. Before, my head knowledge got me through, but there was little relationship. Within the last few years, God has beckoned me back into His family with open arms. I now endeavor to live a bit more like Jesus everyday. The struggles I have dealt with have made me stronger, prepared me to walk in my calling. My musical abilities have always been a driving force in my life and I strive to use my talents for good. This internship will continue to develop those roots that have deepened, continue to personalize my faith, increase and expand my abilities as a musician, and deepen my understanding of God’s Word. I look forward to spending a portion of my life in service to the King of Kings.