Dan...

...was born at a young age and played lots of football and baseball in the streets of Bricktown, NJ where he grew up. He became good enough at baseball that he was the starting catcher for the Bricktown Little League Mets when they won the State Championship & also started for the Little League & Senior League All-Star teams. Later he played baseball & football in high school.  While at Monmouth University, restless for more, he traded in his glove and cleats for membership in Tau Kappa Epsilon, where he met some fine fellows of fraternity.  (He stills loves sports but his batting days are long over.)

While in college Dan remained restless for more than what sports or fraternity life offered.  During that time he met a variety of people who had an appreciation for the simple reading of the Bible. He didn't know it at the time but thus began a journey which turned his life downside up. 

Dan has always credited his boyhood Catholic catechism classes with helping him know Jesus is God and that the Holy Bible was God's Word, but he desired a deeper personal relationship with Jesus.  So, years later in college when a matronly Messianic Jewess presented the gospel to him, Dan tested everything, rightly believing God would guide Him to the Truth if only he kept an honest, inquisitive heart.  Eventually examining the Bible in-depth for himself, he realized he'd understood, but had been denying, some obvious things.

He was denying that he, like everyone else, is a sinner who would never be able to wash away the guilt and sin of the past. It was also hard to accept that he, basically a "good person," was in danger of an eternal excruciating punishment. Still the facts of the Bible were plain to see. He needed help, a Savior, and Jesus was literally the only one qualified.  So, in the summer of '87, Dan accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior & Lord.  

In his senior year at Monmouth he  & other Christian students with whom he had sweet fellowship on campus founded the "Christian Ambassadors," a club for Christian fellowship & growth. During the adventure of starting the club, Dan, at the time the quintessential rigid planner, began to understand how a group of Christians (i.e. the church) could be organized without sacrificing fellowship or Truth.  He then graduated from Monmouth with a B.S. in Business (with concentration in Finance).

After quite some time searching for a church, Dan finally felt at home at Calvary Chapel Four Winds, a non-denominational church, and it remained his home church for about 8 years.  There, with the ever gracious help of Pastor Bruce Koczman and others, his relationship with Jesus began to deepen and he began to grow into the person he is today.   In '95, having felt a calling on his life toward pastoral service, Dan completed the B.A. in Biblical Studies program at Calvary Chapel Bible College in California and then an internship at Calvary Chapel Palm Springs as an assistant pastor.

While in California he gained a deeper appreciation for the value of "simply reading a Bible simply."  As a result his relationship with, and understanding of, God grew in leaps and bounds. Certainly there was much room still to grow as a person, but he was growing and began to notice he was becoming less selfish and more caring.  He was on the way to understanding that "a Christian will not live a sinless life now but should observe he is sinning less."

Expecting the opportunity for full-time ministry to be right around the corner, he returned to NJ and CCFW only to learn God had other plans. So, he got busy serving where he could in his free-time while working full-time in the business world.  He delighted to serve for 5 years as a children's ministry teacher to 5th graders & for some time after that as ministry leader for the church's college-aged group.  Even now he is delighted with memories of those students and credits that as an important time when he began to learn how to teach at any level.

After a while circumstances and not a little heartache proved to him that he was being called to Calvary Chapel Old Bridge (also in NJ), where the teaching of the Word & examples of godly living by Pastor Lloyd Pulley & others would help him continue to grow in some specific ways both as a person and as a Christian.  He was also encouraged to, and did begin, a Masters degree in counseling at a local seminary, but has been on a sabbatical of sorts. Meanwhile he continues to serve in many capacities on the pastoral team at CCOB, most notably as a lay counselor for the Biblical Counseling Ministry and teaching seminars on biblical counseling, 

Dan is truly grateful for all the many truly exceptional people which God has put in his path over the years, including those from outside the church.  Among them is his mother Karin whose lovingkindness is a model for all to follow (and whose model Dan was not-to-late in life to appreciate).   Another role model was Peter Holzer, under whom Dan has worked since Sept '01 as Accounting Manager and who has been instrumental coaching Dan professionally, personally & even grammatically, ever patiently helping him sort through some difficult lessons.

But I dare say no single person has had more impact on my life or been as a great blessing from God as has my bride, Betsy.  In a very short time, she has helped smooth some of my rough edges and demonstrated time and again the great advantages & blessings of modesty, propriety, and faithful love. I have waited this long for a person just like her. God did not break the mold in her case but has artfully handcrafted this blessing for me Himself knowing exactly the best match to create. Oh - there is none like our God!