When kids are young they latch on to certain things that become their obsession. Anything from barbie dolls to sports or movies and for the fortunate parents -books. Mine was construction. I had containers full of construction toys. I knew all their names and purposes. I replicated construction sites out in the dirt with my toys and when driving I called out every piece of construction equipment I saw from the car window.

When I was young, I used to exhaust my friends with all kinds of grand projects that they weren’t interested in. I couldn’t just play air-soft out in the forest with my friends. I had to start building tree houses, dugouts, walls, and all sorts of things to modify the experience. Instead of doing bike tricks off the curbs in the neighborhood, I decided it would be fun to build our own BMX park. We cleared out overgrowth in a field and started mixing water and mud together. After days of work, we made multiple ramps and trails to ride on. I always had a vision for taking things to next level and then I had the motivation to actually do it.

When I was attending undergrad in downtown Chicago, I was fascinated and inspired by city growth and building projects. I got excited when I learned of a new skyscraper that was being built or when a large company announced that they were moving their headquarters to Chicago. I remember finding rips in the green sheeting that would cover the fences around construction sites just to watch the process of building take place.

As I grew older, all of these things came together and made sense. I’m a builder. I love the process of starting something new and carrying it through to completion. This is not just with businesses or projects but also with people. This is why I started pastoring in 2017 - to build people up. Pastoring is not just teaching people about the Bible so they have a bunch of head knowledge, but it’s also imparting the wisdom they need to apply the Bible to their lives. This process is just like the process of building. We need to use all the materials given to us and put them together to make something of it in our lives.

This same spirit of building has carried over to my other passions such as videography and marketing. Whether I’m filming a project for someone or mocking up a marketing campaign for a brand, I’m always thinking of the best way to add to what they are doing. Every project I’m involved in becomes a mission to build.