Biographical Sketch

1975-1994
I was born in Nashville, and raised in Gallatin, TN.  My father, Tom, was principal of Howard Elementary School, and now teaches at Freed-Hardeman University's Graduate School of Education.  My mother was/is a homemaker.  I graduated as salutatorian from Gallatin High School in 1994.  In high school I was active in art and drama, and my hobbies included writing poetry and short stories.  At this time, I also earned the rank of Eagle Scout.  I was keenly interested in religion, especially apologetics and church doctrinal controversies.

1994-1999
I attended Freed-Hardeman University, where I began as a broadcasting major but was soon converted to the Bible department.  I earned my B.A. in Biblical Studies in 1997 (with a minor in history) and my M.A. in New Testament Studies (concentration in biblical languages) in 1999.  While at FHU, I worked at the radio station as a rock DJ, music director, and news director.  In college I also learned to play guitar and began writing and recording music under the band name Gastropod.  In grad school, I also joined the electro-pop band Magneto Men which later became the rock band Boivin.  Additionally, I also went on numerous mission trips, including three trips to Russia and a mission to New Zealand.  I also did door-knocking campaigns in nine U.S. states and took a tour of Israel and Greece.  My first week of school I also met my future wife, Lydia Wilson.

1999-2001
After earning my M.A., I remained in Henderson for about a year and worked briefly at Cracker Barrel, and then at Sears.  I played lots of music.  I also lost my faith in Jan. 2000, and spent this period as an atheist.  Eventually, I moved briefly up to Front Royal VA, but moved back in with my parents in Gallatin when my money ran out.  I had previously acted and starred in plays in high school and college, but in 2000 I was briefly a professional actor at the TN State Museum.  As part of a Buffalo Bill exhibit, my acting troupe would perform a short melodrama Buffalo Bill wrote about himself.  After that ran its course, I began my five-year employment with Wal-Mart pharmacy, where I worked as a stocker, then department manager, then pharmacy tech.  In 2000-2001 I also wrote an unpublished literary fiction novel.

2001-2006
On September 27, 2002, I married Lydia in Hendersonville, TN.  Profound feelings of providence surrounding this event brought me back to a faith in the divine.  Eventually, Lydia began a three-year teaching career as art instructor at Sumner Academy and I returned to school and earned my Master of Divinity from Lipscomb University.  When Lydia became pregnant with our first child Dexter, I was attempting to enroll in a Ph.D. program, but got no good offers and ended up looking for work and applying for a campus ministry job in Tallahassee.

2006-2009
We moved to Tallahassee shortly after Dexter's birth and I began work as director of the Ambassadors for Christ campus ministry at Florida State and Florida A&M.  In April 2008, our twin boys Chet and Eliot were born.  In May 2008 I literally heard a voice telling me I should go to law school, and that's how I ended up getting accepted at Vanderbilt.

2009-
Now we are making preparations to return to Gallatin, TN, so I can begin three years as a full-time law student at Vanderbilt University!

Education:
    1994 - Gallatin High School - Salutatorian
    1997 - B.A. - Freed-Hardeman University - Bible - Summa Cum Laude
    1999 - M.A. - Freed-Hardeman University - Biblical Languages - Cum Laude
    2006 - M.Div - Lipscomb University - Summa Cum Laude