Back in the spring of 2007 the thought struck me that I should write a brief account of the most significant experiences of my life that have shaped me spiritually to be the person that I am and to preach and pastor the way that I do. I quickly scribbled down an outline of the previous 26 years of my life. This book is the filling in of that outline. When I begin each sermon with "Please turn in your Bibles to such and such a passage," and then I read it out loud, I am implicitly saying, "Dear congregation, judge me Judge the next fifty to sixty minutes by whether I actually unfold the meaning and application of what is written here in the text." There are experiences and events that have molded me to preach that way. This book is the story of those life changing experiences."