Elders

I was born in Toronto, Canada in the last year that the Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup. By the grace of God, I received the Gospel and was brought to repentance from sin and faith in Christ at a young age. However, I spent much of my young adult life growing in disillusionment with the evangelical church’s increasingly man-centered ministry, its failure to live the Word of God, and its celebration of cheap grace that looked more like the world than the Good News of Jesus Christ. While in professional school, it was the glory of Christ as revealed in His Sermon on the Mount that rekindled a mature desire to wholehearted serve Christ by faith as the crucified and risen Lord of all and to grow in His Word.

In 1994 I moved to Los Angeles and spent the next twelve years working as a family physician. In 2000-2001 I began attending Grace Community Church in Sun Valley. Since that time I have had the blessing and privilege of being shepherded by godly leadership, of serving the local body of Christ in a variety of areas, and of having my love for Christ and His Bride tested, refined, and rekindled.

In 2004, I began the Master’s of Arts and Biblical Counseling graduate program at The Master’s College. My training under Dr. Wayne Mack and Dr. John Street had a significant impact on my life, stirring my conviction and commitment to the authority, inerrancy, and sufficiency of God’s Word, not merely with regard to church matters but for every aspect of life. In 2006 I transferred to The Master’s Seminary where, over the next several years, I completed the MDiv and ThM programs and the Grace Advance Academy. The purpose of these pursuits was to be equipped with the Word of God and to be mentored and trained by godly leaders for the purpose of serving Christ in the local church. Through this season three simple commitments were refined: Jesus Christ is the crucified and risen Lord of all; the Gospel is the power of God for salvation for all who believe; Believers are called by Christ to live His Word in all things - by the power of His Spirit through faith in Him alone.

In 2010, the Lord blessed me with the gift of a godly wife, Julie, who also has a great love for Christ and His local church. Since then the Lord has blessed Julie and I with two sons, Athan and Joshua. Compelled by a love for God and for His people in Christ, our (Julie and I) heart’s desire is to worship and serve our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in humble submission to the entirety of His will and Word, by His grace alone, for His glory alone, in every aspect of our lives. To this end, it is our prayerful desire to love and serve His local church, to evangelize the lost, to proclaim Christ to all men, to make disciples, to equip the saints, to help plant churches, and to present every man complete in Christ by His grace and for His glory. For the privilege to do so, we are forever indebted to the amazing grace of God in Christ.

Men whose ministries and writing God has used to encourage my pilgrim’s progress include John MacArthur, Sinclair Ferguson, John Piper, R.C. Sproul, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Wayne Mack, Jonathan Edwards, John Owen, and John Calvin.

Born in Japan, I started attending church when my family moved to the States when I was 6 years old. That was when I was first exposed to the Bible and the good news of the Gospel. Though I made a profession of faith and continued attending church as a youth, even going on a couple short-term missions trips during high school, my life as a whole did not reflect a genuine love and devotion to Christ. It was during my first year in college that the Holy Spirit convicted me of the pride and sinfulness of my heart and the need for repentance. For the first time in my life, I confessed Christ as Lord and committed to pursuing his kingdom and righteousness, rather than my own selfish ambitions.

After graduating from college in 2002, God eventually led me to San Diego for medical school. There I attended Lighthouse Bible Church San Diego, where I continued to learn and grow under the faithful teaching of the Word. Through the local church, God provided fellowship, discipleship, and accountability in Christ that was vital for my spiritual growth as a young believer. While serving together in ministry, I eventually met my wife Becky. After completing my family medicine residency in 2011, we got married and moved up to the Bay Area to join the San Jose church plant. Since then, we have had the joy and privilege of raising 4 boys (Isaiah, Caleb, Nathan, and Joshua) in our home.

Over the years, by his grace, the Lord has grown my love for his church. As CH Spurgeon once said, it is the dearest place on earth, for the presence of Christ dwells most visibly amongst the body of believers. My desire is to see Christ exalted in his church as she grows in holiness, love, and unity as a testimony to the world of his lordship and supremacy. My hope is in the Gospel, which is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. 

I grew up in San Francisco at a Christian school, and until late high school, I assumed I had a good relationship with God. My junior year of high school, the Lord opened my eyes to the depths of my sinfulness, but also showed me that I could have Christ’s righteousness through faith. I was saved back then, but it wasn’t until I started attending Lighthouse Bible Church in San Diego during college that I understood the importance of the local church. I had tried to “do Christianity” on my own for a while, but realized that I was short-sighted, big-headed, and small-hearted. Since then I’ve learned that it is God who established the church and is building it up, and that my place is in it, not outside of it.

I’m thankful to have been one of the original charter members of Lighthouse Bible Church San Jose. God gave me a front row seat to see His faithfulness to our church through many different seasons. My desire is to see the members of Christ's body continue to grow and build itself up in love.

I have been married to my wife, Joanna, since 2015, and we have two beautiful daughters, Evelyn and Amelia. When I get the opportunity, I enjoy tennis, cycling, running, and following SF sports teams (SF Giants and 49ers). Some of my favorite Christian authors include JC Ryle, Jerry Bridges, and Paul Tripp.