Not too long ago on a pale blue dot, third from the sun,
people and events converged in the space/time continuum that would forever
change the course of history. The
setting is a huge Victorian home that slightly leaned on its crumbling
foundation, groaning under the weight of unruly kids and hoards of junk. In the
era of Ozzie and Harriet and Father’s Knows Best, I was born into a
family dysfunction of epic proportions. This decrepit masterpiece in Venice
would rival the Addams Family’s house,
and the cast of characters would prove to be more incredible and wacky than The Munsters. The big problem was that I
was the seventh born, the youngest boy and the runt of the litter.
To have 10 in a family in our catholic neighborhood was
underachieving. To compete with the larger families, my mom gladly took in
strays. The official-nonofficial count was more in the neighborhood of 14 ―mostly
boys and all older than me.
All sibling rivalry and mischief flowed downhill and ended
up on my platter, whether I had any say in the matter or not. For fun, we held
on to the live wires that were left hanging out of a wall from a unfinished
remodel. We were the only family I knew who voluntarily electrocuted themselves
with 110 volt household current, and are the only family in the history of the
world to single-handedly let all of the monkeys out of the LA zoo. We got chased
out of cities; pursued by the Highway Patrol; and sought after by the entire
Needles California Police force. Wherever we went, we made a spectacular splash
which usually ended up on the front page of the local newspaper.
After being buried in pits, caged, hunted, left behind and
electrocuted, I somehow managed to survive my childhood but felt numb,
disconnected and alone although part of a big family. In college while searching
for acceptance and connection, I experienced an event that would alter the
course of my life. I graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a degree
in Communications. I coached water polo
and swimming at Saint Monica’s my High School Alma Mater and enjoyed major
success in investment real estate. After a financial crisis, I committed myself
to serving in ministry, working with Youth and Family, as an associate pastor
of a large church in Southern California. I graduated with a Masters at the top
of my class from Azusa Pacific Graduate School of Theology and was ordained a
licensed Pastor.
I am married to an avid artist and have four children: three
boys and a girl who takes after her mother’s creativity.
Currently, I am a senior Pastor of a church in Roseville,
CA, and adjunct Professor of Biblical Studies at a Bible college, and live in
Sacramento with my wife and daughter.
