Who Is This Guy, Anyway?

Hi, there. I’m a volunteer worship leader at a small, newly formed fellowship in Richland Hills, Texas. This is my devotional blog. I will probably start another one here, soon, that will be more of a general blog, about my life and hobbies, and family.

Speaking of family, I am very happily married (for over 26 years, now). I have a wonderful wife and two fantastic daughters. My wife and I like to watch tv a lot, making great use of the modern invention called a DVR. Our favorite shows are The Mentalist, Bones, The Closer, Leverage, Castle, Modern Family, So You Think You Can Dance, How I Met Your Mother, and The Big Bang Theory. We are “Netflixing” old seasons of CSI and all of its offspring. I probably missed one or two. I also like Fringe, Haven, Warehouse 13, and other shows of that nature.

I have been a musician for probably close to 45 years. I started out with piano lessons as a small child, went on to learn guitar as a pre-teen, and began sequencing keyboards in the eighties. I like many styles of music, from classical to alternative (whatever that means, these days). Some of my favorites, though, are in the Christian rock realm. My very favorite groups are Daniel Amos, The Choir, The 77s (or The Seventy Sevens…depends on how they feel that day), and The Lost Dogs. I also like Third Day, the old Newsboys (NOT the Tait remake of them), Switchfoot…the list could go on and on and on. I’m also a big fan of Alice Cooper (who is a Christian, by the way) and have been to his restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona, called Cooperstown. It’s a great place to visit, and the food is great, too.

I also love baseball, having become a baseball fan in the sixties. My favorite player of all time is Carl Yastrzemski, and my favorite team is, of course, the Boston Red Sox. However, since I live very close to Rangers Ballpark, I also cheer for the Texas Rangers. Unless they’re playing the Red Sox. Naturally, I hate the New York Yankees.

I have been a Christian for many years. I believe with all my heart that worship is the number one priority of the Church, as evidenced by Jesus’s answer when asked what the greatest commandment was. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” Worship must come first, before anything else. I believe that many churches get this backwards and try to do evangelism before they get the worship down. I’m also a “Five-point Calvinist.” This means that I believe in predestination. I’ve believed in “The Doctrines of Grace” for about 30 years. The more I read God’s words, the more I believe this to be true. Some call it Reformation Theology. My favorite preachers are John Piper, R.C. Sproul, and C.H. Spurgeon. Oh, and, of course, Jonathan Edwards. Oh, yeah…also John MacArthur.

I also love to read. I have a list of books that I have read that goes all the way back to 1974. I started to put the last number on the list here, but then realized I would have to constantly update it. Suffice to say that it has over 1200 books on it. My favorite authors are many, because I read a wide range of genres/topics. Typically, though, I lean toward the Science Fiction/Fantasy stuff, followed closely by thriller/horror books. I also read a bit of nonfiction, ranging from theology to books about autism (generally testimonials by parents), because my youngest daughter is a high-functioning autistic.

I’m on facebook here. Of course, you have to be my friend before you can see much.

I also play WoW.

That’s probably enough. If you read this far, I salute you.