Cumberland Road

John grew up in the same neighborhood in Albuquerque, New Mexico as Rev. Shelia O'Mara and Rev. Lyle Reece and is tremendously disappointed he didn't know them as a child. John's parents were both Presbyterian elders and active in a PCUSA church in Albuquerque. John might be best known there for his disdain for pre-school. He would often cry in the corner while secretly waiting for the pastor to come in to greet the kids before service. He'd dart out the open door and run around and sneak into the adult service. When he was four his parents gave up on preschool and he got to come to the service without the drama. Coloring books were strictly verboten in that church, so he'd occupy himself searching through the old hymnal looking for the oldest hymn ("Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence"), the most prolific arranger/composer (Ralph Vaughn Williams) and all the songs that used the same meter. John can't carry a tune to this day, but he knows the fourth verse of "All Creatures of Our God and King" if anyone asks.

At age 11, John's family moved to Eugene, Oregon where John attended middle and high school. Albuquerque was an intellectual town with the national laboratories and the air force base, but Eugene was an athletic town, so John's world was upended. He went from being the first picked for kickball to being the nerd. He still remembers winning the Charlie Hustle award in Little League for being the hardest working right fielder the coach had ever had. After high school, John matriculated at a Methodist University (Willamette University) where he joined the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship and committed himself to ministry in the dorms. Fortunately, the University required him to take classes, too, so he was exposed to a set of brilliant and engaging Bible teachers who nurtured his love for Jesus' parables, CS Lewis, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Maxwell's equations. The nerd factor was always in play, so John majored in Physics and Electrical Engineering.

After college, John joined a group of Intervarsity friends to form a community committed to inner-city ministry. Nicknamed the MISFITS (Missionaries in San Francisco in Training), this group of nine moved to San Francisco to pursue God's call. John worked in technology, while each of the others pursued their own paths. The group wandered through different ministries and churches looking for places to settle down. John didn't have to look far. He lives two blocks from the first house, works from home and walks to church.

John married his lovely wife Sharon seven years later. They're blessed to have two adult children, Justin and Claire. John and Sharon switched off being the stay at home parent a couple of times while each worked in a demanding technology career. They both credit the role switches as being key to thriving in marriage. Today, John spends most of his time in different ministry pursuits while Sharon supports the family with a high tech job, Justin works with an immigration law firm and Claire is trying to have a rewarding senior year of college while stuck at home because of the pandemic. They have no idea what comes next. Only God knows.

Music is provided by Punk Rock Opera, I Wanna to be a Machine.  
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