What do you teach? I teach Beginning and Advanced Guitar, Worship Arts, Bluegrass Band, and 5th-6th Grade Strings.

Tell us about your family. I am married to my wonderful wife of 16 years. We have two boys and two girls all of whom attend BLS. We are in the process of fostering and looking forward to adding another to our crew. We have two dogs, two cats, three box turtles, and are hoping to get a goat soon!

What do you like to do in your free time? As a family, we love camping. We go 3-4 times a year and just love being in nature. The boys and I love to mountain bike and fish. I personally love working in the garden, just being home with family, Friday movie nights, and doing home projects (learning new skills).

What are you passionate about? I have a true passion for teaching! Haha… I guess I found my calling. I love music too but I have a strong desire to pass on that love to others especially young people. I began my musical journey as a young teenager and I feel a special calling to share what I’ve learned with others. I am also passionate about continuously improving the art of teaching classroom guitar. I have enjoyed having some influence in the teaching community in this area and have developed a passion to use music and new types of ensembles to get out and impact our community.

What do you love most about teaching your students? I love the days where we can laugh in class. I love that sweet time of the year when trust and accountability have been established and we can just laugh together when funny things happen. Ben Lippen students have great relationships with their teachers. Some relationships even continue after college. I love that through the learning process, which includes everything from fun times to difficult times, real learning takes place through strong mentoring relationships. I also, like all of my colleagues, love the “aha” moments. These are the moments when a student has struggled with something for some time and that light bulb lights up. That is when they grasp to meaning or importance of something. I love that!