It’s a conspiracy theory a thousand years in the making. When you think of a ‘church,’ you probably think of an address, a building, a worship service. But that was never Jesus’ intention. If you’re familiar with the Bible, then you know the climactic story when Jesus launched the ‘church.’ He was with his disciples and asked them who they thought he was. Here was Peter’s incredible response: 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living... Read more
Churches are always competing with society. We’re in a battle for the hearts and minds of the families around us. In many things, society will always have an edge: The church can sing. But can it ever fully compete with American Idol and the Billboard Top 40? As good as the quality of church singing is, society will always be better. The church can preach. Preachers like me fill a pulpit every week. As hard as we train, it’s hard... Read more
I recently read an incredible book, Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek. There are tons of transferable principles in here for leadership and businesses. I pulled out ten quotes that have application for all of us. Here’s Leaders Eat Last in 10 Quotes: 1. A close study of high-performing organizations, the ones in which the people feel safe when they come to work, reveals something astounding. Their cultures have an eerie resemblance to the conditions under which the human animal... Read more
When I woke up yesterday morning, the headline screaming at me on CNN was a nun in her 70s that was gang raped by robbers in India. When I came home at lunch, the headline screaming at me on Fox News was multiple suicide bombers blowing themselves up outside of churches in Pakistan, killing 15 and injuring 70. In between those stories, I was at Mt Vernon Church, where we held a special 1Voice service to highlight and show solidarity... Read more
Here is week two in our series The Jesus You Never Knew. https://vimeo.com/121683333 Read more
Here is the first installment in our series The Jesus You Never Knew. https://vimeo.com/121888144 Read more
Recently we kicked off our sermon series The Jesus You Never Knew with a powerful spoken word on the relationship being greater than religion. It’s by spoken word artist Jefferson Bethke, and it’s worth a watch. Enjoy! Read more
Traveling mercies. Hedges of protection. Guardian angels. I invoked them all and they were all invoked over me growing up. Before every youth group trip we’d huddle outside the van and pray together. Not for mountains to move. Not for people to get saved. We’d pray for traveling safety. Safety. That’s what I remember praying for the most growing up (that and pleading with God to help me ace my school tests). Now as a parent, I want my own... Read more
I thought my views on race growing up were pretty normal. I grew up in California, a melting pot of race if there ever was one. Some of my best friends in high school were Hispanic and my best friend in college was black. That’s all I knew. I read in history books about racial struggles (particularly in the South) but didn’t experience them firsthand until I moved to the Deep South fourteen years ago. Racism reared its ugly head again... Read more
The American dream has been corrupted. It’s become less about the opportunity to work and more about the pursuit of stuff. Read more
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