I have someone you should know and I have had the pleasure of spending almost 6 days a week with him for very close to 8 years.  He has been a friend through thick and thin.  He has been there through the most difficult of days that I have been through in ministry.  He is someone that I have laughed with and cried with and shared a lot with over the years.  He is honestly one of the brightest people I know but he is also down to earth.  These are just a few reasons why I think you should get to know him.

He has known that I do a blog for about a year or so but for many reasons I have not told him or given any link to it or anyone else for that matter.  Only those of you lucky enough to stumble on this get to enjoy it.  I am spending time now in my last week here reflecting on my last eight years in this church and I wanted you to get to know someone who has made the last eight years of my life enjoyable, fun, and exciting.  I am sending him the link to the blog so that he can now read it and see that I am more warped than he thinksJ.

He is an author , a professor, a pastor, musician, and most important to me, my friend.  He is truly one of the most gifted people I know.  His name is Chris Skinner or Rev. Christopher W. Skinner PHD.  He is a guy who has meant a lot to me over the years and someone whom I looking forward to seeing how God is going to continue to use him as we both move forward.  He has an awesome wife and family that he dearly loves and that have brought great joy and happiness to me and my family over the years. 

I cannot say enough good things about my friend.  I hope and pray all of you have someone in your life like I have in Chris.  I will miss getting coffee, laughing, joking, and generally having a great time with my friend every day but I will be talking and hanging with him on occasion.  My life is better for having Chris in my life.

Thank you Chris for being such a good friend and for making my life better!