Comics:
When I was a kid, I dreamed of making comic books, but as I grew up, I didn’t try very hard to make those dreams a reality. Somehow, they ended up happening anyway…
| Carpe Chaos | I’m the creative think-tank and primary author behind the Carpe Chaos universe. I do art direction even though I can’t draw, and write the majority of our stories. I’m the first and last word in the Carpe Chaos universe. Carpe Chaos has grew from a college hobby to a small business and has no return to hobby status. I have overseen as many as 12 employees in their daily duties. I gave them creative direction and new assignments. The project has given me the opportunity to expand my teamwork skills, learn to manage other employees, interview new employees, interview and hire service providers. It was one of the greatest opportunities of my life, and the journey taught me amazing lessons. |
| Racist? | A “Chick Tract” styled comic designed to encourage thinking about racism. A very few copies have been distributed around the Santa Cruz area. I think we captured the feeling of Chick Tracts really well, completely cheesy and on the nose. Download it. |
Church Projects:
I try to be a diverse and interesting person, doing lots of varied and fascinating things in my free time. Often that means I’m doing something interesting at my church.
| Newsong LA India Team | In 2008, I lead a short term missions trip of 8 people to India. I oversaw the fundraising, budgeting and spending of $40,000, and handled logistics, team discipline, pre-trip training, conflict resolution and the spiritual and emotional development of my team. I also served as a liaison with my church’s staff and volunteer teams to coordinate their support of our trip. With our fundraised dollars we donated an ambulance to our host organization. The trip was a great success and all of us are considering returning to India for a longer stay. |
| Newsong LA House Purchase | My church was searching for a ministry center in Crenshaw as a permanent connection to the community and a platform for ministry. I was leading the search by regularly meeting with the church Leadership Team and lead pastor, as well as orchestrating the volunteers who are responsible for finding and purchasing the facility. While this project was active, I was overseeing approximately 10 volunteers as well as working with church staff. The expected budget for the purchase was $500,000. |
| Watah Bible Study | In 2006 I started an inductive bible study group in Los Angeles. After a brief hiatus I returned to leadership and lead the group for 2 more years. In 2009 I stepped down as leader and remained an active member of the group for 2 more years. Membership has ranged between from 6 to 20, with an average size of 10. I cared for members emotional and spiritual needs, handled logistics, provided vision and direction, and did my best to foster community and friendship. Some of my most valuable friendships have come out of this group. |
| Future Profits | In 2011 I partnered with other members of my church to teach a weekly financial literacy class to students at the Central High Mar Vista Gardens Continuation high school at the Mar Vista Gardens Housing Projects. We taught basic financial literacy skills such as planning a budget, earning and paying interest, and balancing a checkbook to a class of 10-20 students. The class was 11 sessions long. |
| Newsong LA Teaching Team | I was a member of Newsong LA’s 6-person Teaching Team, which helps plan the church’s Sunday morning services and is responsible for preaching the sermons each week, as well as organizing church wide bible study curricula and multi-week topic series. I preached regularly and some of my sermons are available online: * Communion * Human Achievement and the Glory of God * Third Culture Community |
| Harambee Church Teaching Cadre | I am a member of Harambee’s Teaching Cadre. We are responsible for researching, writing, and delivering sermons to the main congregation. I’m passionate about speaking on justice, compassion, and equality. I strive to tie timeless truths to current events. My sermons are available online:
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Game Community Achievements
Over the years I’ve been involved with a lot of great gaming communities. These groups have given me some of my favorite memories and lifelong friends.
| I host the Seattle Indies Game Club. It’s like a book club, but instead of books, we play indie video games. We meet once a month to discuss and critique the game. This is an awesome opportunity to unlock a much deeper understanding of the game’s mechanics, fiction, and meaning. The Pacific Northwest’s thriving game development scene has also allowed us to play numerous “locally grown” games. |
| In Asheron’s Call and World of Warcraft, I lead guilds that impacted the lives of dozens of players. I always want to create a space that is more like “family” than a “team”. House of Turbans and Draenor’s Legacy gave me friends all over the world, and in the years since I actively played those games, I’ve had the chance to meet those friends in person, from just down the street in Los Angeles to small towns on the other side of the world. These guilds were also my introduction to the joys of mentoring, and they’ve taught me lessons about helping others grow that I couldn’t have learned anywhere else. |
| I lead the first ever player run storyline in MMORPG A Tale In The Desert. “Octec’s Curse” spanned several sessions and involved 7 mystical characters threatening the destruction of all civilization in Egypt. With minimal help from the developers, the cast was able to convince the Egyptians to band together and repay their wrongs against the ancient king. It was awesome. |