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An interview with Pastor Mike 

What is your family like?

My family is definitely the number one ministry in my life.  I have the best wife in the entire world, Michelle.  She is my best friend and soul mate.  Even my best friends think my wife is at a whole different level than me!  I also have two fantastic little bundles of energy named Mason (who is 4) and Luke (will be 2 in March) and another child on the way this summer.  We are always up for any kind of adventure and our greatest adventure is knowing and serving our Lord. 

What is the craziest adventure you have ever been on?

Life is always an adventure with little guys! When we left our last church we took 4 months off, bought a cheap motorhome and toured the entire U.S. with a two month old!  We call it “Luke’s Welcome Tour” and we hit 31 of the 48 states.  We asked anyone and everyone for places to go and people to see and we tried to do them all.  I knew we would be headed back into the church and that this might be the only chance we would get to do something this crazy.  We started a website and kept a daily blog with pictures for our family and friends.  It was quite fun, we met many people we didn’t even know who were following our adventure everyday.  You can read more about it at Previous Adventure on our website conanfamily.com.

What are some things that make you unique?

I guess the first thing is my smile.  I smile a lot and really try hard to stay positive amidst whatever challenges life may bring.  I am always interested in a good joke and I am always willing to laugh at myself and others, I should probably say with others.  I think in general my family feels like every minute we have is a gift from God and we want to enjoy them all.

I can also say that I have been through my fair share of challenges in life.  I lost my dad at an early age and God has consistently filled my life with opportunities to turn to him to find renewed grace and direction.  These things have filled me with faith and strength.

Besides church and your family, what do you like to do?

I already mentioned this, but I do really enjoying traveling in our motorhome.  We are always up for a fun family trip and are really excited about the campgrounds on the beach down there.  I am also an avid golfer and I would love to play anytime I could.  I have heard it is more difficult to get on the course and that it takes a lot longer to play down there than up here.  I started playing 5 years ago and have become somewhat addicted :).  I should say that I am a sports nut in general.  My wife and I both have liked the home teams in Seattle for as long as I can remember.  Michelle and I have been to Spring Training the past 5 years (mostly to get south and to the sun.  I know many of you are Angels fans. . . we can still be friends and over time I am sure they will become my 2nd favorite baseball team :).   And hey, there is always the dodgers.

Michelle and I enjoy movies and action TV shows.  I also enjoy reading mystery/thriller books.  I am almost always working on a fiction book of some kind in addition to the books I read for ministry and growth.

Where did you grow up?

I am a long time west coast guy.  I grew up in the Pacific Northwest in a little town nestled along the Puget Sound called Gig Harbor, Washington.  Click here for a map.

Where did you go to school?

I went to the University of Washington for my undergrad.  I majored in Business Administration with an emphasis in Human Resource Management.  After college I started my seminary work at Princeton and then finished up at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, FL.

What kind of ministry experience do you have?

After seminary I worked in two very large Presbyterian churches where I served in a variety of ways.  I did everything from cleaning toilets to overseeing the youth and young adult department.  After that I was encouraged to use my preaching gift and to take my own church.  So, I became the preaching pastor at a church in Redmond, WA (in the Seattle Presbytery) from 2002 to 2006.  The church I went to was facing some HUGE challenges they had only 30 in attendance and were over $850,000 in debt when I arrived and we saw God do some pretty incredible things.  We saw steady growth and a large influx of young couples.  The nursery went from a room of boxes to having to have 3 people in 2 rooms to manage all the kids.  We saw many people call that church their first church home and many others deepen their daily walk with God and move toward maturity in Christ.  We closed the gap on the finances significantly over that time, but unfortunately the mound proved to be too much to overcome in such a short time.  Since then, I have done consulting work at some larger churches and filled in for pastors while on vacation while I have been awaiting God’s next call.  I have also been working on some online discipleship material.  You can take a sneak peak at it on the "Get Smarter Now" link from the main site.

What is your style as a pastor?

I guess there are two things that stand out about me.  First, I really love God’s word, the Bible.  I love to teach it, I love to help others teach it and I love to see people studying it on their own or in small groups.  I am convinced that knowing the word and hearing from God as we study it are the main ways God leads us.  Second, I am passionate about people.  I believe that the world we live in is devoid of good relationships.  The church has a unique opportunity to give a taste of the character of God to each other and the world.  I love hearing people’s stories and listening for the soft sounds of the one in sandaled feet behind them. 

What are the areas that God is still growing you into maturity?

I am still a bit on the younger side, though it feels like I have a fair amount of experience, I am learning something new nearly every week, if not every day.  So, I have a ways to go.  I am a firm believer that everyone's greatest gift is also their most exposed weakness.  For me God made me to be a visionary leader and I have a "go getter" personality which means that sometimes I can see things unfolding before others and sometimes I flat out run ahead of God and others.  God is continuing to remind me to be patient and make sure He is the one leading, not me.  I have gotten a lot better at this, but it is probably still a main area that I am continuing to have to repent of in my life.

What drew you to CPC?

I am very excited about what I see God already doing in the church.  My wife and I both really liked everyone on the committee and felt a spiritual connection with them that made us feel like we were a part of the family already.  I was also excited about the committee's desire to see the church grow beyond itself to share and show the gospel to this community for many generations.  I was also drawn to the committee’s reliance upon God in prayer and their faith amidst all the challenges that they had experienced.  And truth be told after 10 years of rain, my wife and I were both really excited to move to Lakewood.  We love Southern California and have visited nearly every year of our marriage to go to the beach and enjoy the sunshine.    

What is your vision for CPC?

It is probably a little early to have too much vision for the church.  But, I would say that the vision for my ministry has been very consistent.  I want everyone to know the transforming power of a growing relationship with the God of the universe and to grow deeper in the knowledge of His word.  I was very drawn to your current vision to “present everyone mature in Christ”.  I feel like that is what God made me as a pastor to work with His people and His Spirit to create.  I can say that I plan to spend the first year learning from each other.  I hope to hear the stories of the people of CPC and discover how uniquely God has made and gifted this church and for them to get to know my story and who God made me to be.

What are you most passionate about as a pastor?

 There is one thing that stands above the rest and that is people knowing the truth and the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Whether it is the first time visitor to the church or the life long attendee experiencing anew His grace and power, nothing compares to seeing the gospel of Jesus grab hold of a life.

What does that mean?

Come to church the first 2 months I am there and I will tell you all about what it means to me.  I plan to spend our first two months together preaching on “the transformed life in Jesus Christ.”  I would hate to spoil the surprise.  See you there!!