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I have been asked by numerous friends and family over the last years to clearly put into words why I as an ordained Protestant minister, with a seemingly bright future in the Military Chaplaincy program, would "throw it all away" for the Catholic faith? First let me say, my heart is filled with joy at "coming home" and the decisions made, though they may seem sudden from afar, have been a long and clear process over the last 5 years of my spiritual journey.

Let me first start at the beginning of my life and spiritual birth. I was born into an Active Duty military home, my father serving as an Officer in the United States Air Force for over 25 years and my mother worked as a Registered Nurse.

My family was by no means religious and we would barely be considered nominal Methodists, possibly going once a year for Christmas or Easter. I was baptized as a baby in a Military Chapel in San Antonio, Texas.

Unfortunately, when Christ is not the center of the home, let alone one's heart, we tragically fill that void with other things. As a young teenager I went down a road of destruction that included actions far outside of Christian ethics.

I was tired of searching for peace in the world; I was exhausted and wanted real peace in my life. So when a friend invited me to church one rainy Sunday morning my heart was ready, even if my hangover wasn't.

I have often wondered why God would have led me to a little Southern Baptist Church in Oklahoma and not a Methodist or Catholic Church? I may never know why, but I trust in His path. In that little church that Sunday filled with old, blue-haired women and stately looking old men, I heard about Jesus' sacrifice of love on the cross and his plan for all of our lives - and I felt my heart soften for the first time. I walked forward that day and prayed with the minister. In Protestant terms, I was "saved" that day. More importantly, that was the beginning of my surrender to Christ in my life. I was no longer my own, but Christ's alone.

In the following months I grew in my new found faith and was baptized again, as Baptists do not believe in infant baptism. I completely gave up drinking and youthful ways so to speak. I shared my newfound faith with friends and family as opportunities allowed and many came to a deeper faith. The newfound joy and love Christ had put in my heart was overflowing into every area of my life. I didn't know that an event was coming that would transform my life forever. and bring me into a lifetime of service.

In December of 1991 while attending a young adult conference in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma I heard the speaker ask if any of us were contemplating a life of service in the ministry as a Pastor or Missionary. I thought of all that God had done for me and felt a strong presence of the Holy Spirit. I felt awash with warmth, and complete love. With tears in my eyes I walked forward to the minister and surrendered my life to God's service. I wanted to dedicate every moment of my life to sharing His love with others and teaching His ways.

In the Southern Baptist faith, which is the largest Protestant denomination in the world, they take a somewhat different approach to preaching, ordination, etc. As seminary education for many is expensive and churches in rural America can be spread far apart, over the history of the denomination, they developed a training program for those desiring to serve in the ministry. After much prayer, mentorship by my ministers, and consideration I began the training process to become a minister. In the spring of 1992 I was licensed to preach by the Southern Baptist Church and local church I attended. This allowed me to speak or preach under the guidance of the Senior Pastor at set times and events. I was not allowed to perform any ceremonies such as marriage or funerals.

The following 4 years were a wonderful time of growth and discipleship. I began speaking at Youth Rallies and conferences and slowly grew into filling in at churches when the pastor was away or ill. I served in any capacity possible that would train me more in service and this in turn brought me closer to God. Nursing home ministries, summer long mission trips, service projects, leading Youth Revivals, and serving in numerous College ministries are just a few examples of the breadth of training I was able to acquire.

During this time period my parents unfortunately divorced. The bitter disappointment of a broken home drew me closer to Christ and His teachings. I also moved from Oklahoma to the middle Tennessee area which brought me even closer to the Bible belt. Despite the formality of my surroundings, I sought to draw closer to Christ and surrender myself to an even greater degree. During this time period of my life it is estimated that I preached or spoke over 500 sermons or messages.

While serving on a summer long mission trip as a Youth Evangelist I met a wonderfully godly woman who was active in ministry in teaching and music. She had a true fire and commitment to the Word of God and a deep abiding love for Him. This wonderful woman of God would later become my wife, Jenny, who strengthens me in every aspect of ministry and draws me closer to my faith.

In 1996, after years of serving, intensive discipleship, and training; I was called before a review board of over 20 ministers and deacons for examination. In the Baptist faith your local church area Director of Missions, who serves a role similar to a Bishop's, and Pastor must all acknowledge a calling in your life and examine all areas of your life before ordination. I did not feel fully qualified for such a responsibility, but I trusted in God's plan and had surrendered my life to His perfect will. Later that same year, I was ordained a minister in the Southern Baptist Church. During the Ordination service, I felt such joy in the laying on of hands by the ministers around me and I knew that I was drawing closer to feeding His sheep.

In the following years I served at multiple churches in Tennessee and Oregon as the minister of the church. I functioned in every role available to me in the Protestant faith as far as preaching, teaching, communion, church finances, weddings, and funerals. It was also a time of great challenge and reward as my wife and I served faithfully in ministry. The strain of church politics, personalities, and doctrine, all had their moments, but the joy of preaching and service remained.
Attending college was a challenge at times as it was necessary for me to work full time, pastor part time, and attend to my education as possible. After years of frustration in educational funding and a lack of time, I prayerfully joined the United States Air Force at the late age of 27 with a wife and two children in 2002. As you can imagine as a devoted, 27 year old married Christian, I stood out a bit in basic military training with 17 and 18 year old kids.

After many requests, and with the help of a Military Catholic Priest, I was able to volunteer to serve as a Chaplain Assistant in the Enlisted Air Force. In this role, God's hand of providence led and directed me to experience every facet of the Catholic faith up close and personal. In the weekdays I served as an assistant to 10 Protestant ministers and 1 Catholic priest. I handled finances, scheduled appointments, and answered phones. Seeing the in-fighting, bickering, and confusion of the 10 different Protestant Chaplains proved disheartening.

My real joy and growth occurred on the weekends in my role as Chaplain Assistant. I was responsible for setting up and supporting all 3 Protestant Chapel Services and 2 Catholic services every weekend. From setting up the Altar and vestments to running the sound system, I was on the front lines of the faith. It was during this time I was first exposed, as a devoted Southern Baptist minister, to the mysteries and joy of the Catholic faith. I had never even met a practicing Catholic, up to this point in my life, and now I was setting up for Holy Communion, supporting Baptisms, and seeing a joy and continuity of faith I had never imagined.

Also during this time of service in the military, I volunteered at homeless shelters, served as a lay minister at a maximum security prison, led a youth group, and loved every minute of it! Since Montana, where the military base is located, is so sparsely populated, I had many opportunities to preach and speak at many different churches of different denominations.

My wife and I grew steadily disturbed by the numerous Protestant denominations and always had the question in the back of our mind, "Is this everything?" We kept wondering, "Is this the whole truth, is this all of the Christian faith?" "How can we serve more and draw closer to Jesus?" The next event would prove pivotal in my journey towards the Catholic faith.

After multiple miscarriages and with the encouragement of all my fellow Protestant ministers, I unwisely had a vasectomy, compliments of the military. I had misgivings about stopping what God had intended, but didn't know there could be another way. Not only was my body in pain, but my heart was aching also. There had to be another teaching concerning such an important issue. Later that week I had an eye opening conversation with Chaplain Father Zennon Bochnak, who would prove to be a great influence in our journey into the Catholic faith.

He introduced us to the Catholic teachings about the sanctity of life, Natural Family Planning, and Pope John Paul II's teaching about the family and sexuality.

I found that many of the key Baptist doctrines I held to including: pro-life stances, evangelism, emphasis on Biblical truth, and standing against women/homosexual ordination where very inline with many Catholic teachings. In the ever-increasing liberal and worldly Protestant arena that I found myself, the Catholic faith’s stance on these issues was a breath of fresh air. These conversations developed into a friendship that lasts to this very day. Over the next two years my wife and I both began exploring the Catholic faith and its many mysteries. We were brought into contact with many devoted Catholic families, priests, and Bishops.

We slowly but steadily studied the Catholic faith and its many doctrinal areas and soon found ourselves sneaking off to the local Catholic bookstore in order to gain more knowledge. I was also given the great gift of setting up and supporting the many liturgical seasons of the Catholic faith as a Chaplain Assistant. This brought the faith alive to me in much more then just an academic setting. I saw the grace of Reconciliation and the power of the Holy Eucharist on a daily basis.

Our questioning, exposure and exploration of the Catholic faith wonderfully culminated in the events of December 24, 2003. With the Priest’s permission we snuck off to the Catholic Sacristy at the Base Chapel and had our two son's, at the time 2 and 6 years old, Baptized into the Catholic faith. For us, this was a watershed moment, as Baptists do not believe in infant or child Baptism under any circumstances. Adult Baptism, of course, is their main foundational tenet.

This proved to be a time of many changes and transitions. Although as an enlisted member of the Air Force I had received many awards including, Airman of the Quarter, Chapel Airman of the Year, and early promotions, I still felt I wanted to serve in a greater capacity. During this time frame I received a Bachelor of Science degree in Ministry and Biblical Studies, graduating with a 4.0 G.P.A. With my degree in hand, I applied to the Chaplain Candidacy program in the Air Force Officer Core and was accepted within 2 weeks. This allowed me the opportunity to attend seminary full time while serving in the summer months as an Air Force Officer in the Reserves.

At this point in our Catholic journey, I couldn't call myself Baptist anymore in beliefs or ideals. I chose for my religious endorser a loose knit coalition of nondenominational churches. I was no longer Baptist, but I knew which way I needed to go, yet I had no idea how to get there. In February of 2004 my family and I left the Active Duty Air Force with all its security and familiarity for the great unknown of the civilian world.

We moved back to the Portland, Oregon area where my wife and children were born. I eventually was enrolled in a total of 4 Protestant seminaries and couldn't bring myself to attend any of them. I could not further submerge myself in doctrine I didn’t believe. This struggle between the comforts of my former life and current doctrinal beliefs would soon come to a climax in the following months.

In the summer of 2004 I attended Commissioned Officer Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base. This course is designed to train future Chaplains, Doctor's, and Lawyers about military life and how to be an Air Force Officer. While I excelled in the Officer training program, the next training school proved to be a turning point for me in my calling and faith formation. The 2 week course was innocently enough called, “Initial Chaplain Candidacy Training Course,” and it was designed to train Protestant and Catholic Chaplain Candidates in the role of a Chaplain and the importance of inter-faith dialogue.

I can honestly say that I have never been more miserable in my life than I was in those two weeks of training. There were 30 to 40 Protestant seminarians, all of which thought they were right, and 2 Catholic seminarians. As we learned more about each others faith, I watched as the groups would argue the smallest detail of doctrine into the ground. I knew that I wanted and needed apostolic succession, Papal Authority, and continuity in history that only the Catholic Church provided.

I quickly became friends with the two Catholic candidates who were a great encouragement to me. Soon, I found myself sneaking away to daily Mass as much as possible. Oh, how I longed for the privilege of taking the body and blood of Jesus into my life! On the last day of training, Lt. Giamello, soon to become Father Giamello, told me to stop sitting on the fence with my faith. He told me to go home and join my local Catholic parish. He encouraged me that God would work out the details.

The next week in Oregon, my wife and I nervously met with the local parish Priest, Father Robert Palladino in the church office. We were terrified that he would tell us to remain Baptist as we had heard of such cases. After he patiently heard our long conversion story, he told us we had been prayerfully considering our decision for 3 years and he would not stand in the way of our conversion. We were so over-joyed that we didn't know if we should laugh or cry as we left the building. It felt as if we were flying. Our long and sometimes scary journey had finally brought us home.

During the following month we had the privilege of receiving first Holy Communion and having our Marriage blessed in the church. Not only was Father supportive of our former service in the Baptist church, but also the congregation lovingly opened the doors of fellowship and service for us, as many of them knew the Baptist church we had served in and were married in.

In the following years I served in whatever capacity was needed and learned as much as I could from these wonderful and supportive people. I found joy again in teaching the children in Religious Education, and found serving as Eucharistic minister and Reader a truly humbling experience.

Without hesitation I resigned my commission in the Chaplain Candidacy program, as I could not serve as a Protestant Candidate now that I was Catholic. Over the last four years, the burning desire to serve again as a minister has not subsided. If anything, the calling to serve his people again and to serve in the military has grown stronger with each passing day.

As I look to the future, I trust that God will lead me, through His Church, in the plan and purpose He has for my family and me. I know He has given me a life-long calling to serve His Church and I will prayerfully and daily seek out His will.