I'm a Hampton Roads native — raised in Virginia Beach by a single mom. I've spent my whole life in the 757. It’s one of those places that could have been. Still the largest metro in the country without a major sports team womp womp. I plan to die here. I’m all in on difficult places like Portsmouth, one of the cities most people drive past on their way somewhere else. I'm convinced those are exactly the places worth showing up for. Move along if you’re just another mercenary ministry leader looking for greener pastures. I write for people who commit to difficult places, unrealistic tasks and long tenures.

In 2016 we started Restore Church in Portsmouth. Church planting gurus told us it wouldn't work here — crime too high, income too low, not the right conditions. We planted anyway. Ten years later, Restore is a healthy, growing church that sends people into hard places, gives big to church planting and is serious about raising up the next generation of leaders. We’re not interested in building something safe. Jesus is building something that’s risky and righteous .

I write for ministry leaders, church planters, and anyone who believes the local church is still the most powerful force for change in a city. My work — whether it's a blog post, a message, or the book I'm currently writing — is aimed at one thing: waking leaders up to the obligation and reality of what God has actually called them to. Not the comfortable version. The real one. The risky one. The one that scares them.