Yes, I'm the guy married to the Divine Mrs. Z. (Yes, that's a picture from our wedding day.) I'll be helping out around these parts for a few weeks while Brad is doing his best to ace a series of brutal law school exams. We're pulling for you Brad! All I can say is, thankfully I'll only be doing this for a short while. For nothing else than the sake my own ego, it's probably best I not be measured against the same yardstick as my wife. She's even more of a force of nature in real life than on the page. But I've helped my wife behind the scenes and provided input occasionally in her capacity at GR pretty much since she started, so I hope I can hit the ground running.

Anyway, a little bit about me. I'm originally from Bend, Oregon. You've probably figured out that I am a Missouri-Synod Lutheran like my wife and am interested in all things relating to Lutheranism and small-o orthodox Christianity. However, I'm an adult convert. I was raised Mormon and much of my family are still practicing LDS. So while I no longer wear my CTR ring, in the last few years I've found myself increasingly invested in understanding my former church (and even frequently defending it against a great deal of misinformation).

I just started a new job working at the editorial page of The Washington Examiner. Prior to that, I was at National Review, so take that for what it's worth. However, throughout my career, I've worked in a number of newsrooms and at a wire service in far less ideological contexts. In a professional context, I value quality journalism above litmus tests. And as a regular reader for years, I'm well aware of the impact this site has had in raising the level of journalism on the Godbeat, so I'm happy to be here.