Dustin is volunteer, worshiper, and worship leader at Community Covenant Church in Eagle River, Alaska. He is also a college student at the University of Alaska Anchorage where he is studying as a music major. Dustin is passionate about leading worship and really leading The Church, The Body of Christ, into an authentic encounter with their Saviour. He also firmly believes in the power of prayer and longs to see prayer utilized more in today’s world. Dustin is one of the worship leaders in the Heart of Worship series, a movement in the Eagle River area to encounter God through prayer and worship.

He is the one writing this “About” section, but is doing so in third person because he thinks it looks more professional when these sorts of sections talk about the author in third person. He will write the next section in first person.

The word shaggy is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “covered with or consisting of thick, tangled, or unkempt vegetation.” This used to be and still is me both literally and metaphorically. Shaggy is also how I would describe humanity, we’re covered and tangled in unkempt vegetation that traps and ensnares us from living the life we were born to live. And it’s not until we come into contact with the Creator, God, that we can begin to break free from our tangled state.

Worship is defined as “to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion,” and that’s what I believe that we are to do once we come into contact with our Lord. We give honor and devotion for who He is and who we are in Him, while at the same time not ignoring who we were and where we came from.

So what is Shaggy Worshiper? It’s you. And it’s me. It’s all of us breaking free from what has held us down. It’s living and growing to become who we are and who God created us to be. And it’s living a life worthy of the calling he has given us. Romans 12 says to offer our bodies as living sacrifices and that this is our spiritual act of worship. So that’s what we’re going to do.

Live. Love. Worship.