Candidate status means that I am open to receiving another full-time call as a pastor of an Lutheran Church Missouri Synod congregation(s).

I have been continuing to advance, grow, and serve God the Father, my Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit through serving on the pulpit supply list, getting certified as a Life Coach through Virtual Coach, and obtaining my Transition to Teaching License while working on a teaching license for the state of Indiana while also working at Merle J. Abbett Elementary School in Fort Wayne, Indiana for the past two years. I also have my own coaching and course creation business called Claritatem Academy, LLC; which I fulfill in the evening on and the weekends.

It's true that I have been very busy. However, I am doing all that the Lord has led me to do. When I received a peaceful release from my last call, God led us to Fort Wayne, Indiana through my wife's work. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to work with a coach and realized that a lot of the work I have been doing since high school has been coaching others in living a biblical lifestyle that demonstrates faith in Jesus. I joined an online Life Coaching program called Virtual Coach to advance and grow my skills to better serve my future full-time pastoral call. In addition, I completed a program to learn how to teach experiential learning courses online and in-person. I have never been one to sit idly by and disregard the deep yearning God has placed within my heart to share His Gospel, make disciples, and serve others through helping them overcome their fears and achieve their goals in a way that honors God.

I know you time is valuable. I know this is a long post. However, all the basic information is contained within this paragraph. I believe three things that led me to creating Claritatem Academy: there is limited Christian Coaching available, there needs to be an entrepreneurial mindset among Christians to protect their financial provisions while enabling them to keep sharing the Gospel unhindered, and there are trainings that Christians want that are not necessarily available to them in the ordinary educational models our of Christian Church bodies, that are critical for helping them better defend and profess their Christian faith in our current age. If you want a more precise breakdown, continue reading the next couple paragraphs.

First, I believe that there is a desire and need for coaching and training of Christians. However, there are very few sources that Christians can go to that views God's Word as the first and primary sources of transformation. Most other coaching programs operate, at best, on a pseudo-psychological/new-age mindset. This means they use evolutionary language, partial studies, and other non-biblical sources to determine essential information about the human species and then build their coaching program around those. In contrast, all that a coach can help others achieve can be done using God's Word and already established psychological and scientific research and methods, which do not contradict God's Word.

Second, God's Word demonstrates an entrepreneurial mindset - and this used to be more prevalent in our world in the past - of how we viewed our vocation and family leadership. This has wanned due to technology and other advancements. In place, this has made Christians vulnerable and in need of a source of income outside of their vocation. Although many of us can be successful in the a career outside of the Church, in light of today's fickle relationship with Christianity, Christians are being tempted to serve man rather than God in order to keep their paychecks. At Claritatem Academy, LLC; one of the skillsets I help others achieve is that of an entrepreneur. This allows them to find ways to generate their own income so they no longer need to rely on other sources. In return, this helps remove the temptation to give in to society and allows them to provide for their families while serving the Gospel according to their vocation(s).

Third, and finally, I believe that many Christians want more in-depth training in aspects of reading and understanding God's Word, how God's Word is continually professed through early Christianity, and how to become disciples who make disciples in a way that is supported by early Christianity's practice, and for the those of us in the LCMS, the Lutheran Confessions. I am always developing and adding experiential courses that covers a range of needed experiential trainings: parenting, family leadership, net-worth coaching, discipleship training program, The Basecamp Method, The GRASP Method, Biblical Greek, Biblical Hebrew, and how to read the Bible with understanding and in a way that allows for confidence in belief and practice; and much more.

This is a question that needs to be addressed, because I know it will be a big concern for congregations considering calling me. The short answer is: no. Here's why. I've been working full-time since my peaceful release in the secular marketplace full-time while also working in my business. It is a lot of work. It has been stressful. However, it also has been extremely rewarding helping others achieve their goals in a God-honoring way. That being said, there are a couple of practices that I maintain that I can continue into a full-time pastoral call that will not detract from my primary vocation. First, I create all my content during times that I do not work at my full-time job. I then post them using what's called a "Drip Method" through a program that posts my content automatically on whichever days have been set up. Generally, this is Saturday, though the day can change to conform to a full-time pastoral call. Second, I only set up coaching clients and live courses during those day or days that I do not have prior engagements. Finally, I am willing to discuss and work out a schedule with a congregation to appease any other concerns.

Although, I have enjoyed teaching full-time as an Elementary School teacher, I believe that my public school teaching time is limited to a few years. My primary desire is to serve full-time as a pastor once more. I'm seeking to do this either by considering another call or planting a church. I can't do either while working in a public school sector as that will most likely cost me either my employment, my licensure, or both. Although, you can maintain a licensure and teach in a Christian school; I could be reported for violating public school policy and they could petition for my licensure to be terminated due to those activities.