He came to faith in Christ at a drug and alcohol treatment center at the age of 32. He then left the commercial real estate finance industry to pursue a Masters in Counseling from Dallas Baptist University. While a full-time counselor at the Center for Christian Counseling, Michael helped The Village start a recovery ministry and then joined the staff as the Recovery and Reconciliation Pastor. He is the co-author with Matt Chandler of Recovering Redemption. Michael and his wife, Sonia, have three children.