LIFE UPDATE: As many of you know, I spent the last 13 years serving as an administrator at Crossings Christian School in Oklahoma City. I believe God used this work as a way to transform me and to grow me, both personally and professionally. I can now see how the Lord has once again been fruitful and strategic with my life, and I am deeply thankful. About a year ago I recognized that my Crossings family was an incredible source of support (for Eli too, who remains there) but they were not my source of strength. I wrestled for some time with the Lord about leaving Crossings but He was gracious to provide me with clarity that He alone is my source of strength. So I accepted that His ways are greater than mine, and trusted His plan would be better than mine. So I made the very difficult decision to leave the school that I love... without another plan. Crazy, I know. Most of you know I always have a "side-hustle" that allows me to fully disconnect from my "real job" and pursue learning new things. Over the years this has been everything from blues guitar, to taking online physics classes at MIT, to writing code, to reading about cognitive development in psychology, restoring antique radios, and more. Life is so much more fun with a side-hustle. I've had some time and opportunity to reflect on my interests and passions, and to recall Susan's encouragement to me. With that in mind, I have honed in on a meaningful "side-hustle" that involves launching Wayfinder Academy. The goal is to create a useful online resource for students (and adults) that will help them "find their way" vocationally. Since deciding to leave CCS, I have interacted with so many people who have "no idea" what they want to do with their life. The initial plan is for WayfinderAcademy.org to manifest as an online school, offering courses and possibly a mobile app, scheduled for launch in the August of 2020. I have a few strategic partners that have helped me and I'm eager to see what becomes of this "side-hustle" down the road. Please pray for this endeavor as I believe it has the potential to help many :-) A for today, I officially end my "real job" with Crossings and step away from a community that will always be near and dear to my heart. Tomorrow, however, is a new day and God has been so good to me! Tomorrow, I will officially join the staff at Southern Nazarene University as the Director of the School for Children. The university that Susan and I both graduated from. I'm humbled by this opportunity and fully embrace this role. It is a "lab school" and the ability to use it to educate students, train future teachers, and conduct meaningful research is something that excites me beyond what I can describe. I'm an optimist and an idealist, so I love learning and studying what works best. I believe God has made this role available for me, and prepared me so that I can be authentic in my academic pursuits (hope to complete my doctorate work here) while using all that He has done in me to nurture a great staff that is ready to become even more dynamic and progressive. Thank you to everyone who continues to pray for Eli and I. I believe this is an answer to prayer and what a joy it is for me to share this announcement with you.
2019-07-01T03:59:45.000Z