Biography
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Presently, SaltyBeliever.com is administered solely by me, Bryan Catherman. I am an ordinary guy, serving an extraordinary God; saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. I'm blessed to have a wonderful family and pastor a remarkable church.
Growing up in a Christian church, I went through all the motions. I was baptized at age 11 in a mountain lake in Idaho. I learned Bible stories on a flannel graph and memorized verses each week to earn stars on a chart. I went to church camps and Sunday school and vacation Bible schools and sang songs in church programs and played Foosball in the youth room, and all that other stuff that young Christians did in the 80's. However, in high school there was little in my life that would cause anybody to think I was a follower of Christ; because I wasn't following, I was going my own way. And when I first went to college I was outright sending my life into a tailspin by running from God.
Trying to find some direction, I joined the Army Reserves. This didn't provide the course correction I was seeking, but a year after coming back from Basic and AIT, I met my wife. We got off to an atypical start, but a couple years later, I returned to college and Lisa and I started getting that feeling that something was still missing. That something was Jesus, so we started going to church where I had the privilege of seeing my wife baptized. And while I had believed that I was a Christian, having said a prayer and growing up in a local church, it was here that something in me changed. It was in the Fall of 2000 and the Spring of 2001 that I experienced the life transformation that comes from being reborn in Christ.
Then I went to war with the 3d ACR. It was in Iraq where I realized that God wanted more of me. There could be no more motions, rules, and checked boxes. Here, I felt myself called to something more and in Iraq I surrendered myself and said yes to God's calling. This was something real, something different, and I finally felt as if I had a purpose. Sadly, when I returned from Iraq, I brought home the kind of demons soldiers bring home from war, demons I would fight for a few years before finally realizing that I couldn't deal with them alone. And by the grace of God I eventually found healing. Through this healing I answered God's call to serve him for his glory.
After returning home, I was selected as an elder and sat on the administrative leadership team for my local church community. Lisa and I adopted our first son. Eventually we moved and ended up meeting a great church-planting couple. They went to Seattle and we landed back in Salt Lake City. We adopted our second son and settled into our little neighborhood. I enrolled in seminary through Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and earned a Masters of Divinity. Presently, I am working on a Doctorate of Ministry at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. I was ordained in 2012 and am presently serving as the lead pastor at Redeeming Life Church and a consulting pastor at Risen Life Church. My family and I love serving and worshiping in Salt Lake with the Risen Life family!
In addition, I contributed a chapter in a book called Letters from the Front Lines: Iraq and Afghanistan (Granville Island), as well as numerous other articles in print and on-line, short stories, a radio essay, and even a children's story recorded by a professional reader. And I contributed to a meditative devotional Bible called Holy Bible:Mosaic (NLT, Tyndale). I hold and A.S. and an A.A.S from the College of Southern Idaho, a B.S. from the University of Utah, and an M.Div from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.
Somehow I've managed to break every one of the Ten Commandments, and I still seem to do really dumb stuff from time-to-time; but now I realize how spectacular God's grace truly is. I can't thank my Savior, Jesus Christ, enough for his atoning work on the cross and his continued work in my life. If you'd like to learn more about what I hold to, please read This I Believe or feel free to Contact Me. Or if would like to know more about what it is to be a Christian, I am happy to chat.
Additionally, I'm on some common social media sites:
Subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted Podcast:
iTunes | Non iTunes
Trying to find some direction, I joined the Army Reserves. This didn't provide the course correction I was seeking, but a year after coming back from Basic and AIT, I met my wife. We got off to an atypical start, but a couple years later, I returned to college and Lisa and I started getting that feeling that something was still missing. That something was Jesus, so we started going to church where I had the privilege of seeing my wife baptized. And while I had believed that I was a Christian, having said a prayer and growing up in a local church, it was here that something in me changed. It was in the Fall of 2000 and the Spring of 2001 that I experienced the life transformation that comes from being reborn in Christ.
After returning home, I was selected as an elder and sat on the administrative leadership team for my local church community. Lisa and I adopted our first son. Eventually we moved and ended up meeting a great church-planting couple. They went to Seattle and we landed back in Salt Lake City. We adopted our second son and settled into our little neighborhood. I enrolled in seminary through Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and earned a Masters of Divinity. Presently, I am working on a Doctorate of Ministry at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. I was ordained in 2012 and am presently serving as the lead pastor at Redeeming Life Church and a consulting pastor at Risen Life Church. My family and I love serving and worshiping in Salt Lake with the Risen Life family!
In addition, I contributed a chapter in a book called Letters from the Front Lines: Iraq and Afghanistan (Granville Island), as well as numerous other articles in print and on-line, short stories, a radio essay, and even a children's story recorded by a professional reader. And I contributed to a meditative devotional Bible called Holy Bible:Mosaic (NLT, Tyndale). I hold and A.S. and an A.A.S from the College of Southern Idaho, a B.S. from the University of Utah, and an M.Div from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.Somehow I've managed to break every one of the Ten Commandments, and I still seem to do really dumb stuff from time-to-time; but now I realize how spectacular God's grace truly is. I can't thank my Savior, Jesus Christ, enough for his atoning work on the cross and his continued work in my life. If you'd like to learn more about what I hold to, please read This I Believe or feel free to Contact Me. Or if would like to know more about what it is to be a Christian, I am happy to chat. Additionally, I'm on some common social media sites:
Subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted Podcast:iTunes | Non iTunes