Dream: I’d like to marry the girl of my dreams and have kids that one day buy me a coffee cup that says “world’s greatest dad” on it. I’d also like to write books about Christian living and go on the lecture circuit. But if either of those dreams go sour I’m not opposed to living out my life on an island in the Caribbean getting a tan and making a little money here and there writing a column for the local newspaper. Motto: “Love God and do as you please”. – St. Augustine How did you come to know Jesus Christ? I grew up in a Christian home. My father was a pastor and I went to church whenever it was open for business. Growing up in that environment allowed me to take God for granted. He was there to me but He was boring. God was characterized by hymns that had a few too many verses, the old guy in the back pew snoring and a lot of big words in the bible that I didn’t understand but I could bet they were telling me not to do something I hadn’t even thought to do. When I hit High School I was immediately aware that there were cool kids and uncool kids and I desperately wanted to be counted among the cool ones. As I pursued a life of teenage royalty God wasn’t only boring, He no longer mattered at all. I was too busy keeping up appearances at social functions and staying up to date on the latest fashions to be bothered with anything spiritual. I was popular, I dated the right girls, I wore the right clothes and I had the right friends. My life was perfect. And I would tell myself that too. I had to tell myself because I didn’t really believe it. I was sort of trying to convince myself of it because deep down I was miserable. Soon the deep down misery began to rise to the surface and I was unable to escape the signs that there was more to life. Sometimes a line in my Dad’s sermon would get through to me. Often I’d be driving and a lyric in a song would cause me to question myself (the one I remember best was from a Switchfoot song. The lyrics go something like “life is more than girls, God is more than words, and you are more than this.” That one spoke directly to me and for awhile I couldn’t listen to Switchfoot without feeling bad about myself.) Other times thoughts would just pop into my head and cause me to justify my life. But there was no justification for how I’d been living and I came to terms with it one night as I was heading home from a party that had failed to bring any joy to my evening. I listened to some acoustic emo on the long drive home, it was probably dashboard confessional. (Did you know they derive their name from an early song that Chris Carabba wrote? It states “on the way home this car hears my confessions; I think tonight I’ll take the long way.” That’s what I did that night.) As I drove I confessed everything I’d done. I told God and my dashboard everything I felt burdened and guilty about. When I finally got home I went to bed and slept very well. I woke up in the morning not entirely sure what I had done the night before. It felt sort of like a dream. What I was sure of was that the time had come to stop running from God. I realized that for me to be running from Him meant that God was chasing me. That this God I thought to be boring and far away was exciting and as close as my heartbeat if only I’d let Him dwell there. In the days and weeks that passed my world began to unravel. All my illusions of my existence began to fall apart and I realized my life had depended on things that were bound to fail me. My friends were going to let me down sooner or later, girls come and go and popularity is only there if you live by someone else’s definition of who you are. These things didn’t change once I became a Christian. My friends hadn’t become extremely dependable and I didn’t meet my future wife or find the key to being liked by everyone all of the time. But I did experience a shift in perspective and those things didn’t really matter to me because I knew God would always be there. It seems I had spent years pushing God away, denying the love and sacrifice of Jesus, as I chased after acceptance from my peers. Thinking what they thought of me was more important than what God thought. But while their opinion of me was conditional, God’s was not. That may not sound like a very profound thought to you but as someone who had spent a few years immersed in the cutthroat world of high school society I was pretty blown away by this revelation. The fact that God loved me just as much as He loved the dorky kids I made fun of as they passed my locker in the morning was quite the epiphany. I imagined going to school with Jesus. I imagined what life would be like if I tried to treat people as He treated them. I liked the idea of that guy a lot more than the person I had become. I felt like I could be the real me for the first time in years because God loved the real me. On the night that I was driving home telling God all the things about my life that He already knew, I felt comforted. It was as though my secrets were finally known and after holding my breath all my life, for the first time I could breathe freely. God knew what I had done and He loved me anyway and all He wanted in return for that unconditional love was for me to love Him back. It’s a pretty absurd deal by all earthly standards and I guess that’s why I believe it. Anyway I could go on and on about the wonder and amazement I’ve found in getting to know Jesus but I think this is just supposed to be about our initial meeting so I’ll stop here. How does Jesus work in your life? A few years back the big popular fad in the Christian world was WWJD bracelets. Actually it wasn’t limited to bracelets. There were WWJD t-shirts, hats, pens and pencils. The WWJD people had school supplies covered. Beyond pens and pencils they had WWJD stationary, erasers, notebooks and folders. I even remember seeing a WWJD ruler (which really begs the question: would Jesus measure in metric centimeters or standard inches?) Anyway, WWJD as most people know means “What Would Jesus Do?” and aside from some merchandising overkill I think it’s a wonderful concept. You look at this bracelet or pencil or whatever and are reminded that your actions should reflect the actions of Christ. That’s how I try to live ( though often unsuccessfully) and I think that’s a good way to describe how Jesus works in my life. In my opinion the best example to follow for life on earth is Jesus and I pray each day that I am living as He would have me live and doing the things He would have me do. To be honest I’m not exactly sure how to answer this question because it’s like asking a fish what role water plays in his life. The answer is without water the fish will die. For me a life without Jesus would not be a life worth living. How did God call you to do what you do? When I was in high school I wanted to be a doctor. My only reasoning behind that goal was that people always told me I was smart and I figured becoming a doctor would be a way to turn big brains into big bucks. Also, I liked the sound of “Dr. Mat” (Nurse: “Dr. Mat will see you now.” It sounds nice doesn’t it?) But it soon became clear to me that it was useless to save bodies when you could be saving souls. So I decided the only thing I did well and liked doing was speaking and writing. I decided I was going to become a writer and then travel the country as a guest lecturer at churches and colleges. Well that dream kind of dwindled for awhile as I changed career aspirations about as often as I changed shirts. A couple years passed and I still wanted to write and speak but I just didn’t know how to go about it. I prayed for God to guide me and show me what He wanted me to do with my life. I received no answer. I told myself God was just telling me to wait, that the timing wasn’t right. It turns out I’m not a very patient person and this waiting was wearing on me as things were getting worse. I was feeling very lost in life just coming off a failed relationship and some other disappointments. And if you’ve ever been to that place in your own life you may know that family gatherings aren’t a good place to seek refuge. People insistently ask you what you’re up to and what your plans are while telling you of all their successes. To be honest there are only so many ways to make “I’m doing a lot of nothing” sound exciting and interesting. But there I was at the Anderson family Christmas, sitting in the corner pretending to read a book and hoping no one wanted to spark up a conversation. But someone did and it was my brother Jeremiah (owner and founding member of Chaos on Wheels. He also thinks he’s a Jedi or something). Jeremiah got right to the point and told me he was adding a second team to chaos on wheels and wondered if I’d like to mange the team and do the speaking at shows. I immediately agreed and he asked me “well can you speak in front of large groups?” and I said “Yep! That’s pretty much all I know how to do.” As I drove home the next day I felt I had purpose. A couple months later I began to tour with the team and I love it. For one of the first times in my life I feel I am exactly where God wants me to be. That’s a good place to be. What Chaos on Wheels has done for me: Working for Chaos on Wheels has allowed me to travel all across the United States making memories and meeting a lot of great people. Chaos on Stunts has also provided me with enough long van rides to appreciate what astronauts living in the space station must feel like. During these long trips I’m given ample time to catch up on my reading, take frequent naps, alphabetize my music collection and I also do a great deal of daydreaming. But most of all I’ve had the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others while doing a job that doesn’t feel like a job. Thanks: I’d like to thank My Father and hero: Cowboy Ray. You’re the greatest preacher/cowboy/carpenter/magician/ventriloquist I know. Thanks Mom, you’re enduring joy and faith is inspirational. Jerr and Jenn thanks for giving me a job and a place to put my things (and thanks for always setting an extra place at the dinner table for me, the meals are delicious.) I'd like to say thanks to E money and Mic for keeping things interesting on and off the road. Also thank you Leah and Sarah for your willingness to help out your little brother and for contributing to my flawless sense of style. Plans for the future: I plan to continue traveling and to go where God leads me. I hope to one day finish writing a book. I’ve also always wanted to be a game show host. So when Bob Barker retires/dies you can bet I’ll be gunning for his job. Other interests: Buying things, history, Elvis, photography, zoos, museums, stand-up comedy, formal occasions, coffee shops, bowling, conversation, God, travel, movies, books, mini golf, rearranging furniture, going to shows (music shows, not stunt shows) and all sorts of other things. Close Window	Hometown: Elmore, MN Contact: mat@ chaosonwheels.com Status: Married Music: U2, Dead Poetic, Nick Drake, Underoath, The Format, The Academy Is…, Anberlin, Brand New, Spoken, DC Talk, David Gray, Inhabited, Journey, Guinevere, Brave Saint Saturn, Copeland, Mae, Cool Hand Luke, Bright Eyes, MXPX, Shane and Shane, The Postal Service, Project 86, the Juliana Theory, The Beautiful Mistake, Bon Jovi, Emery, The Get Up Kids, Jars of Clay, Blindside, Peter Gabriel, Aaron Sprinkle, MeWithoutYou, Mute Math, The Rocket Summer, The Honorary Title, Hopesfall, Kevin Max, Jimmy Eat World, Lovedrug, The Killers, Michael Jackson, Midtown, Relient K, The Smiths, Stretch Armstrong, Switchfoot and The Weakerthans. As well as assorted pop love songs and 80’s rock that I sing while driving the van.