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My work is about deepening the conversation between the Soul (deep self), who we are in the world, the mystery of Nature, and the Divine Source.
“I help people listen to the deeper call on their own life.”
The deeper you descend into the inner world, the more you touch the eternal and transcendent, far beyond the personal. This kind of seeking, or longing, has come for me in fits and starts, seeking something that can’t be found through jobs and titles and roles. A kind of deeper belonging, to the world, to the Mystery, to meaning. I’ve been a mega-church pastor, a biblical scholar, a tour guide, a high school teacher, an author, and a handful of other things. But what I’ve really been longing for is a sense of Soul, or place, in this vast dance of being.
St Francis’ haunting question, “Who are you God? And who am I?” grew louder as the roles in my life continued to evolve and shift and fall apart. The fact that I had no idea how to answer these questions, meant I was beginning a deeper conversation, one in which the great saints and mystics had led the way.
The last decade has felt like the unraveling of my own Evangelical Christian faith, an experiment in trusting my own curiosity, invitations to trust the ordinary, conversations with dreams, and returning back to wild landscapes. I also met a few unexpected guides that have pointed the way. It’s been as much unlearning as learning. I’ve been influenced by Carl Jung, Bill Plotkin, James Hollis, Ken Wilber, Joanna Macy, Robert Bly, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Richard Rohr, David Whyte, and Mary Oliver, to only name a few. Not to mention the influence of my own mentors and guides.
These voices and guides have led me further into the archetypal terrain of spiritual life, the descent to Soul, deeper into the unknown mysteries of my own life, and the Divine. It’s been both thrilling and perilous. But something of my own life’s work has also emerged in the process.
At the heart of this work is a fundamental trust that each of us is born with innate capacities of wholeness that need reawakening and cultivation. In short, we need help growing up. In addition, each of us has a unique shape that longs to be born anew in this world, or a certain way of relating to life, that is our own. This is the gift of Soul. Helping to cultivate wholeness, and bringing forth the seeds of Soul, are the two faces of a life’s work bent toward meaning and purpose. To live more and more rooted in Soul, or our deeper self, our unique way of being, our voice, is to bring forth the gift we are meant to carry in this life, the gift of who we are, and to serve the world from this place. This what I’ve committed my life to pursuing, and to helping others do the same, as best I can.
I’m a guide at Animas Valley Institute, in addition to offering my own retreats, intensives, programs, teachings and podcasts. I live in Byron, Georgia with my wife, three kids, and a few horses.
EXPERIENCES
+ Guide at, Animas Valley Institute, as current in the Soul Apprentice and Initiation Program.
+ Former Lead Teacher, C3 West Michigan’s Inclusive Spiritual Community
+ Owner and Founder of New Pilgrimage specializing in tours to Israel Palestine (ongoing)
+ Most recent book, Bitten by a Camel, Leaving Church Finding God 2018
+ Teaching Pastor, Mars Hill Bible Church, Grandville MI 2014-2017
+ Editor and author of the notes in the NIV First Century Study Bible 2016
+ Host of the Jesus: The Missing History, Discovery Channel 2008
+ Student in the Foundations of Christian Spirituality, Dominican Center Grand Rapids 2007
+ MA Historical Geography and Biblical Studies, Jerusalem University College 2004
+ Comparative Religion Graduate Work, Hebrew University Rothberg International School 2005-2006
+ MFA Coursework in Playwriting and Poetry, Western Michigan University 2002
+ BS English, Liberty University 1998
+ Religion and Bible Teacher, Grand Rapids Christian School 2009-2013
+ Music Director and Worship Leader, Mars Hill Bible Church 1999-2003
+ Cofounder of Pressed Records, a contemporary record label for alternative sacred music 2002
Join the Conversation
For those interested in deepening their own unique conversation with soul, I will be sending a monthly update on programs, events, podcasts, teachings, and more.