About Crazy About Church

My Biography

I was born on September 15, 1974 and raised in Joliet, Illinois.  Although no one in my family (immediate or otherwise) was saved during my childhood, the Specht’s were “religious” enough to attend a Methodist church, a Pentecostal church, a Lutheran church, and a Baptist church, on and off during those early years.

At the age of fourteen, my family moved to Appleton, Wisconsin, where I lived the next three years, attending no church whatsoever and caring little about my eternal destination.  Shortly after moving to Wisconsin, I heard — for the very first time — the biblical gospel of God’s grace from two unknown teenagers doing Street Evangelism one weekend evening.  Though intrigued by their testimony and the message of salvation, I was — at that time — unwilling to turn from my sin to God and surrender to the lordship of Jesus Christ alone.

Seven years later, at the age of twenty-two and while a senior in college, the Lord used a faithful Christian (a co-worker of mine) to water the gospel seed that was sown in my heart some years back.  Soon thereafter, God saved me by drawing me to Himself and granting me repentant faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  A year later, I then moved to California and attended Grace Community Church (pastored by John MacArthur) in Sun Valley, California, where I enrolled in seminary at The Master’s Seminary.

In March 1998, while having lunch with friends from church after a Sunday worship service, I met a beautiful and godly woman named Kathy — who is now my wife.  We were engaged and married about one year later.  Today, Kathy and I have five children (Camden, Brady, Amelia, Charlotte, and Luke).  Our two youngest children (Charlotte and Luke) were adopted internationally from China in March 2009 and January 2011 respectively.  Later genetic testing proved Charlotte and Luke to be full biological siblings (but that’s another God-story altogether).

While attending seminary, I became involved in jail ministry at the North County Correctional Facility in Castaic, California.  I preached three to four times per week to the inmates, usually speaking to some 100 men per service.  What an awesome ministry!

Shortly after our first child was born, Kathy and I moved to Merced, California, where she was raised and her family lives to this day.  In Merced we became involved in the church plant of Faith Bible Church.  For five years I preached God’s Word on Sunday mornings and held the children’s and young adult’s Bible studies in our home.  Today, Faith Bible Church has around 100 people who meet regularly for worship.

My family then moved to Fresno, California, where we attended and served in ministry at Riverpark Bible Church.  In December of 2010, our family began attending Madera Baptist Church in Madera, CA, where I served as an Associate Pastor for one year.  On December 11, 2011, I began serving as the interim Senior Pastor at Faith Baptist Church in Strathmore, California, which is a church of over 125 people with both English- and Spanish-speaking congregations.

In addition to encouraging and building-up the Saints by preaching expositionally from God’s Word in the local worship and Sunday school setting, I also do “Street Evangelism” and “Open Air” preaching around Fresno, California.  With a box full of gospel tracts and an amplified microphone, I preach the gospel into the Open Air at the court-house bus stops to those who “just happen” to be there.  I also take groups of people from local churches and lead them in one-on-one Street Witnessing around Fresno, usually around the bus stops, Fresno State University, local shopping centers, or any place where groups of people congregate.

In 2007, I began feeling the burden for prison ministry once again and since that time have served as a Volunteer Chaplain to the inmates at the North Jail, located in Fresno, California.  I preach the biblical gospel of repentant faith at two Sunday evening church services in the jail, typically to about 50 incarcerated men.

In March of 2011, I enrolled at Southern California Seminary in order to complete my Master of Divinity degree.

Blog Attributes

My blog is built on WordPress and is hosted by Bluehost.  I purchased the URL’s through Namecheap.  My current theme is a customized version of the Genesis Theme Framework, although I have used (and do recommend) Standard Theme in the past. (Want a website or blog like this one?)

In terms of visual design, I download most of the photos for my individual blog posts from Creation Swap, Iconspedia.com, Stock.XCHNG and Creative Commons.  Most of the backgrounds were downloaded from Subtle Patterns.  My advertising is done primarily with Beacon Ad Network, AmazonAssociates, E-junkie, and Google AdSense.

Advertising Disclaimer

Please note that some of the links in this website are “affiliate links.”  This means that if you click on the link and purchase an item, I will likely receive an affiliate commission.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”  (See also 16 CFR, Part 255)

General Disclaimer

This is my personal blog.  The information provided herein is on an “as-is” basis.  Although I try to verify all details, statistics, and other information provided, I make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this blog.  I will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its use.

Internet Privacy

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Copyright Policy

With the exception of “guest posts” written by others, I solely own the content on this website. It is copyrighted in my name.