Bruce Gust

I served nine years in the USMC. Loved it! There's something about the Marine Corps approach to the way you exercise, the way your iron your shirt, the way you arrange your gear locker - the way your superimpose the standard of excellence the legacy of the Marines inspires on to virtually everything - that resonates with me, especially when it comes to one's relationship with Christ.

Go with me...

Church was never intended to be spectator sport. Get involved, get in the game and start moving the ball down the field. You were not created to make an appearance, you were created to make a difference. Quit your whinin', stop rehearsing who and what you are apart from Christ, keep reading and start acting on who you are in Christ.

Your home, your neighborhood, your nation, your sense of self stands to benefit in big, hairy ways if you can get past the lame-tame-always-in-pain kind of discipleship that so often characterizes those who are biblically illiterate and / or less than passionate when it comes to embracing and realizing all that Christ brings to the table.

Do you smell that? That's the aroma of excellence, folks!

I'm originally from upstate New York. I was at Parris Island two weeks after graduating High School. After basic, I went to the Armed Forces School of Music where I honed my craft as a drummer and then reported to the Fleet Marine Force Pacific Band at Pearl Harbor, HI. I reenlisted aboard the Arizona Memorial and headed back to the School of Music for the Intermediate Course after which I remained on staff as a Drum Instructor.

I enjoyed a professional high point at the school as an instructor. In addition to completing six years of night school resulting in a Bachelor's in Business Administration, a stint at Camp Lejeune for four weeks of Squad Leaders' School and a great experience at Norfolk First Baptist Church under the leadership of Dr. Ken Hemphill, I got the chance to be a positive influence on a number of young hardchargers as they made their way through the School enroute to the remainder of the career in the military and the rest of their lives. There's very little that's as fulfilling as being in a position where you can influence someone in a positive direction.

After the military, I moved to Nashville. I made my living as a drummer in a variety of capacities. Highlights included being the drummer with "Western Flyer" that had several charting singles on the Country Music Charts as well as playing for several other artists and groups including the Little River Band and the very first Young Messiah Tour.

I shifted gears professionally, came off the road and I'm currently in web development, working as a contractor and enjoying the thrill of being gainfully employed. I've got an amazing wife who I always refer to as "my bride." We've got three hardchargin' kids that shine and I'm one of the few and the proud that get to come home to a happy house every day.

I've served on church staff as a Worship Leader and as a Youth Pastor. I'm a group fitness instructor that leads a class of dedicated individuals who are willing to get up at 5:00 am and endure what equates to a delicious kick in the pants and I've got a resource called "Loose Cannon Fitness," that's going to change the fitness industry one day, I just know it.

My real passion is getting folks to the point where they can tell you what they believe and why and not sound lame. Christ defined eternal life as knowing God and not just some "get out of jail free" card. When you distill all of my resume and life's experiences down into something that could be crafted into a single theme in terms of a message or a sermon, it would be "Muscular Christianity."

Read your Bible because you can, pray because you're talking to the One Who crafted the planets, serve because of fulfillment that goes along with obeying your King, weep when you need to, but don't whine. Pray big, stand up straight and pursue a standard of excellence in everything that you do because that's your mandate.

Head out to muscularchristianityonline.com and read more, if you like. But the bottom line is work boots, kick drums and God's Word. Inspiration, Perspiration and Transformation.

Let's go make a difference...