My first urban project experience was with the Pasadena Youth Project (PYP) in '88. Coming from a rural farm town and going to college at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, this was a very significant displacement experience for me. I was pretty clueless before, during and after that initial experience, but God planted some seeds of racial reconciliation and love for the inner city that sprouted and grew in time. When I came on staff with InterVarsity in '92 at Cal Poly PYP has become LAUP (Los Angeles Urban Project) and I found my unique niche in bringing students from Cal Poly to LAUP every summer, except one, from '94-'02. I believed in the transformative power of displacement experiences for students and saw students grow and change in monumental ways summer after summer.
Following a sabbatical in '01-'02 I moved to Fresno to become the short term projects director for FIFUL (Fresno Institute for Urban Leadership), the focal point of urban work for IVCF's Surf & Turf Division. I directed our summer project, FUI (Fresno Urban Internship) until '11, directed numerous week long plunges or FUMPs (Fresno Urban Ministry Project) over the years and developed our introductory weekend experiences that we called Dips.
I live with my wife, Carrie, and our sons, Bryce and Cody, in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Fresno and have been deeply impacted by my relationship with one very large Mexican-American family in particular.
Following a sabbatical in '12 I transitioned into an Assistant Director role with FIFUL where I provide spiritual formation and pastoral care to our diverse FIFUL staff team, provide leadership consultation and other support to FIFUL, and serve as a cross-cultural training specialist for the Surf & Turf Division. We will be developing an ethnic specific conference for all students in our division in the coming year.
I have journeyed with anxiety and depression since '98 and it is through embracing these parts of my journey that I've encountered Christ in deeper ways and have been drawn into the contemplative stream of Christianity. I practice Centering Prayer daily and have found this practice transforming me more and more into the image and likeness of Christ with the bonus benefits of healing from depression and inner freedom from fear and anxiety. It is from the place of my woundedness and dependence upon Christ that I seek to come alongside staff and students wanting to grow and connect with God through a deeper spirituality.
