Go and make disciples; this is not a new teaching. We preach go and make disciples in your community, as you travel and at your job. We as the body of Christ are carrying out our great commission and as startling as it may be, we have developed some bad habits along the way. Often times, people have great goals, but as time goes by, means and methods need to be re-orientated and re-strategized. We have all heard a sermon... Read more

As you may know, I own a basketball skill training academy where I help identify and develop skills in basketball players. One young man I began working with wasn’t the prototypical basketball player. At first I tried to put him in the “pass first” mold, but he broke it every time. Through his playing, he showed me that he had been categorized by his size and color, rather than by his skill set. Most white guys his height are boxed... Read more

There is a man at the church I pastor who had a radical encounter with Jesus in his 20’s and from that moment on, he pursued a life of full-time ministry. He raised support, he helped launch churches and he ministered to college students, high school students, young professionals, married couples, and many others. He did this for a few years.  He was building the church, advancing the kingdom, working full time in ministry BUT he felt the Lord was... Read more

We love to be in relationships where we can trust the other person. We know when we come home, they will be there; if we put ourselves on a ledge, we can rest assured we will fall into our beloved’s unwavering embrace. But what if I were to tell you that the greatest love of your life, the one who would bring out the absolute best in you, the one who has the ability to make you forget about falling... Read more

In the theme of the Matrix, the legendary movie utterly exhausted in the early 2000’s by every pastor in America, I would like to share with you my favorite part of the whole movie. I admit, I have definitely had my fair share of overusing the Matrix like Thanksgiving turkey meat, but one of the pinnacle moments for me is when Neo is told to follow the white rabbit. Trinity takes control of his computer screen, and invites him to... Read more

[This is a blog from my friend, Sarah Williams. Her blog was recently featured on the Huffington Post. I thought it would be worth your while to read as well. Enjoy.]   What can be said that hasn’t already been said? Why contribute to the noise on social media? No one is being heard. No one is listening. I’m too white to understand the plight. I grew up upper middle class. Who am I to pretend I understand? All questions... Read more

** due to the recent shootings that have been happening in our nation, I feel the need address the issue. My wife, Wendy, wrote a post yesterday that I feel is a reality we face as a black family raising a young black man in America. I hope you enjoy.**   This is my Jalen. This is my story.   This picture is how I see him in my mind every day. He is quite literally the happiest, friendliest kid you... Read more

Thrilled doesn’t express how eager I am to join in on this conversation with the Patheos team on the future of “non-traditional” churches and it’s impact on the future of the church. Non-traditional church planting has been one of the biggest focuses for me over the last 5 years. I submit that the only way the body of Christ will be able to keep up with the rate of churches that need to be planted is if we expand into... Read more

3 out of 33 constitutes roughly 9%. Only 9% of Jesus’ life was dedicated to “ministry”. This 9% is what we spend the majority of our time focusing on when we look at the life of Jesus, and understandably so. However, we must not take this to mean that the remaining 91% of his life was insignificant. Before Jesus died for our sins and before he dedicated 3 years to ministry, Jesus was a carpenter. Basically, he was a subcontractor. Knowing... Read more

I am extremely excited and so thankful for the opportunity to launch this blog, The Great Divide, on Patheos! In reading the subsequent blogs, a theme should arise. To help you better identify it, I have a few thoughts to share before we get too far down this path. Everything I write is through the lens that God did not create a separate space for the Church to inhabit in today’s culture and in fact, just the opposite is true. Well... Read more