My Bio

(What You Might Want to Know About Me)

Welcome!

I’m not sure what brought you, but I’m glad you’re here.

I’m Chris Kinsley. If we don’t already know each other, here are a few things that might help you get a bit of an idea of who I am and what I do.

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I’m a communications director who specializes in church and parachurch ministry. I currently serve The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, AL.

I’m a writer whose particular passion lies where faith and storytelling intersect. I’ve written numerous Bible studies and devotion books, screenplays, sketches, poems, short stories, reviews, and sermons.

I’m a storyteller, not only through my writing, but also through performing, by which I mean standing up in front of a group of people and literally telling a story. I tend to tell true stories, though any story is sure to be full of a few embellishments.

I’m a story coach who works with both individuals and organizations to help them discover their own stories and learn how to effectively tell them well. I do this mostly through my role with Arc Stories.

I’m a podcaster who has helped consult with numerous others but currently produces and hosts the Arc Stories podcast.

I’m a creative generalist who has worked or consulted on a variety of projects including video production, set design, live event hosting, event production, interior design, social media, marketing and communications strategy, apparel design, copywriting, thematic development, and curriculum design, just to name a few.

I’m a pastor who loves God and His Church and works to shepherd God’s people well.

I’m a husband and father who strives every day to guide my family well, love them more and more, and to grow to become better at these two vital roles.

Most importantly, though, I’m a sinner saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ who doggedly follows after Him but periodically and regularly stumbles along the way.

Start Here

If you want to get a sense of my work, I recommend you begin with the links to the right.

 

My Actual Bio

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Originally from Jackson, MS, I’m a storyteller at heart with a background in theater and theology.

I graduated from Mississippi College with a B.A. in Christian Studies and then acquired an M.Div from Beeson Divinity School.

I previously served for 4 years as a Youth Ministry Associate for First Baptist Jackson and for 9 years as a Creative Producer and the Content Creator for Student Life before joining The Church at Brook HIlls 10 years ago as Communications Director where I also serve as an Elder.

My hobbies include tech support for the 2nd grade team at Westminster School at Oak Mountain, cheering my kids on in soccer and basketball, coaching my daughter’s robotics team, volunteering with Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes and Family Ministries, carpentry, canoeing, camping, and going to the movies. I love to travel as well as hunt and fish (check out The Greenhorn Outdoors on Instagram for more on that).

I’m an INTP on the Myers-Briggs personality test, a DC on the DISC personality profile, and a 4w5 on the enneagram.

I currently make my home in Birmingham, AL with my lovely, patient, kind, and beautiful wife, Liza, who works as a 2nd grade teacher. We have two amazing kids, Story and Haven.

My Faith Story

The Lord saw fit to bless me from my earliest moments by having me born to a mother and father who were both Christ-followers and who came from a large family of Christ-followers. From the earliest of ages my parents, along with other family members and members of our church, taught me about God, Jesus and the gospel and instructed me extensively in the Bible. There has never been a day, that I can remember, when I didn't know that there was a God who was the almighty Creator of the universe, and that Jesus was his Son.

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I came to understand that God wanted me as his child but my sin stood in the way of that becoming a reality. However, I knew he had sent Jesus to die on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins and the sins of the world, to satisfy God's justice and to be raised again to conquer death so that I could trust him to save me and make me a child of God.

One day at school, when I was eight-years-old, I prayed to God, unprompted, and confessed to him my sin and asked for his forgiveness and that he accept me as his child. I spoke with my parents about what I had done who then had me speak with my pastor. They all affirmed God's work in my life. I was baptized in my church and began my journey of chasing after him wherever he might lead.

There were two moments during my adolescence that were significant in my spiritual development. The first was in the seventh grade when God revealed to me that living for Christ meant living in opposition to a hostile world. The second was in the eleventh grade when he called me to commit to serve him vocationally. I dedicated my college and graduate schooling to studying his Word and being equipped and developed to serve his Church.

Since that time the Holy Spirit has continued to fulfill his role in my life by constantly convicting, guiding and empowering me to minister to others whether personally or through resources I am a part of creating. I continue to grow daily through prayer and Scripture study and constantly seek the next step God desires me to take while trusting him with the whole future of my family and me. Though never easy, my walk with God is the sole defining aspect of my life.

From the Management