I decided to start the rock star introductions with Dustin Maust, our Programming Director at GCC.  It seemed fitting since he created my blog header (but for all of you anxious for Dustin to sexify your blog, you should know I showered him with outrageous amounts of Outback Steakhouse gift card love).

Dustin is a rock star in the literal sense.  He can do things with a guitar and pedals that would make the Edge ask for tips.  He writes worship songs that have a way of becoming anthems because of their humble-yet-daring lyrics and intuitive melodies.  He's good at just about everything he touches (graphic design and music production, to name a few), and our services at church wouldn't look nearly as good without his graphic style.  But that's all a distant second to the best parts of D.    

Dustin sees possibilities where I see liabilities (which is really annoying).  His incessant optimism is an ongoing challenge to my worldview, and it's one of the biggest reasons I'm grateful for his friendship and partnership in ministry.  It's because of that sincere positivity that I listen when D tells me something that's true of myself that I don't want to hear.  Dustin has been the voice God used to refine me more than once.  

Dustin helped me get a job at Outback before either of us worked at GCC, and the manager would get a compliment from his tables every night he worked (most of us were just hoping to avoid complaints).  It wasn't because he's brilliant (although he is) or because he's quick on his feet (though that's true, too).  It was because D lives from his heart, and he's one of the most generous people I know.  

Not too long ago, Dustin found the perfect companion in a girl named Brinn, and they got married.  She's as genuine as D.

If I say much more, I'll probably start telling you about how D wears his socks old-man-style in the gym, halfway to his knees, or how it took forever for a few of us to talk him out of his tighty whities (he's the least fashionable metrosexual I know).  But I'm too classy for that.   

Dustin's a rock star.  No doubt.