Bio: Eric Burnley

Responsibilities

As Pastor of Worship at Genesis, I am responsible for the direction and planning of our Sunday worship gatherings, including overseeing the teaching of theology through music, as well as developing other musicians and leaders and caring for the members of the church.

Family

My wife Jodi and I have been married since 2004, and we’ve been blessed with four children (Maya, Sam, Naomi, and Caleb).

Education

B.A. in Mathematics - Northwestern University, 1997

What Genesis Means To You

In 2010, God blessed my wife and I with our second child.  That helped us to see more readily how the physical distance from our church body at the time was limiting the depth of our engagement.  Long story short:  we needed a church closer to home.  We began searching in the Eureka area, God led us to Genesis in January 2011, and we’ve been here ever since.  To us, Genesis is a veritable church family, in every sense.  It is a body of believers who are encouraged to neither fake being perfect nor perfect being fake.  It is a people who deeply experience and readily share the grace of God they have been freely shown through Jesus Christ, and encourage one another as they depend on the Holy Spirit as they seek to follow Christ.

Favorite Scripture

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”  Revelation 21:3-4

Favorite Reads

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer
The Whole Christ and By Grace Alone by Sinclair Ferguson
Note to Self by Joe Thorn
Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund

Favorite Movies

I love to laugh & appreciate good writing, so I’d include most John Hughes holiday movies Christmas Vacation & Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Hitchcock’s Vertigo is amazing in all aspects, from Herrmann’s music, to the taut story, to the hazy, dreamlike quality of everything. I also appreciate films that take a creatively unconventional approach like Charlie Kaufman’s Adaptation and Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon.

What You Enjoy

Traveling to new places & sharing new experiences with my wife and kids, writing / playing music, & Northwestern Wildcats football

Where You Grew Up and What You Did As A Kid

I grew up in Cedar Hill, MO, lived in Chicago for about 9 years around and after college, and moved back to the St. Louis area after long-distance dating Jodi for two years.  As a kid, I enjoyed playing music (piano, clarinet in band, and later guitar).

Hope For Genesis

My hope is that Genesis remains a church that is faithful to the scriptures, glorifies Christ, loves God and others, and speaks truth in love as share the hope of the gospel.