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Are We Worshiping God or Worshiping Worship?

March 20, 2025 / / 0 Comments

When the Soundtrack Replaces the Savior

Imagine walking into your favorite worship service: the lights dim, the audio swells as the band begins a movingly beautiful version of “Gratitude.” To use a phrase from my teenage daughter the vibe is on point. You raise your hands. You feel it. You really feel close to God.

But here’s the haunting question:
Were you worshiping God—or just enjoying the atmosphere?

Don’t get me wrong—worship is meant to be beautiful. Emotional. Immersive. But too often in the modern church, we’ve slipped into something dangerous: worshiping the feeling of worship rather than the One we’re supposed to be worshiping.

It’s spiritual consumerism with a Jesus sticker on it.

The Golden Calf Got an Upgrade

Let’s not kid ourselves—we’re not the first to get this wrong. In Exodus 32, the Israelites got impatient and created a golden calf. But catch this: they still called it worship.

“Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” – Exodus 32:5

They used God’s name but shaped worship in a way that pleased them.

Fast forward to today—how different is that from the church that obsesses over the perfect setlist, fog machine, or the emotional arc of a worship service?

When our attention shifts from God’s presence to our preferences, we’ve made an idol—even if it’s dressed in beautifully moving harmonies.

But before you start shaking your fist at all those modern worship folks with your derogatory comments about “co-wo” (short for contemporary worship). The traditional camp can fall into the same trap when it comes to worship.

When Tradition Becomes the Golden Calf

Worship can become just as hollow when we cling to rituals and styles more than the Savior they’re supposed to point us to.

Jesus warned the Pharisees about this very thing:

“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.” – Matthew 15:8–9

It’s possible to sing hymns with perfect four-part harmony, recite the liturgy by memory, and still completely miss the heart of God.

When our posture becomes, “We’ve always done it this way,” we need to ask: Are we preserving reverence—or just protecting our preferences?

Reverence is beautiful. But repetition without heart is just noise.

What the Bible Actually Says About Worship

Worship in Scripture has little to do with music and everything to do with surrender.

“Therefore, I urge you… to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” – Romans 12:1

Real worship costs something. It requires sacrifice. It often feels more like obedience in the mundane than a spiritual high on a Sunday.

David got this too:

“I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.” – 2 Samuel 24:24

Modern translation? “I won’t just show up and sing if my heart isn’t submitted.”

3 Ways the Church Can Reclaim Authentic Worship

1. Teach Worship as Lifestyle, Not Just Music
We must preach and model that worship isn’t a genre. It’s a posture. It’s how you treat your spouse. How you handle your money. How you speak to the barista. Sunday morning is just the overflow.

2. De-Platform the Stage
It’s time to stop building celebrity culture around worship leaders. They aren’t rockstars; they’re humans. This goes for the ones in skinny jeans and the ones in robes. Their role is to point people to Jesus, not themselves. Let’s start emphasizing participation over performance.

3. Get Uncomfortable on Purpose
If worship always feels good, it’s probably not deep enough. Introduce silence. Challenge people to sing unfamiliar songs with lyrics that have some depth. Create moments that stretch people beyond emotional highs into true reverence.

So… What If the Music Stopped?

Would we still worship if the lights stayed on and the guitar was out of tune? If the lyrics were scribbled on a chalkboard and there was no click track in our ears? Would we worship if there was no organ, no robe, and the doxology didn’t make the cut?

Because God hasn’t changed. He is still holy, still near, and still worthy.

The truth is: Jesus doesn’t need a vibe – or a vintage – to be adored.

Let’s not confuse the atmosphere for the Almighty.

Let’s not mistake tradition for truth.

Let’s be a church that loves the Giver more than the gift.

Let’s worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24)—not just in sound and stagecraft or stained glass and stoles.

Don’t Let Belief Kill Your Faith

March 19, 2025 / / 0 Comments

We’ve gotten really good at believing.

We’ve got our doctrinal ducks in a row. We know the creeds. We defend the truth. We believe in Jesus, we believe in the Bible, we believe in grace.

But if belief is all we’ve got—if it never grows legs, never rolls up its sleeves, never does anything—then our faith is on life support.

James doesn’t mince words, so let’s not either:

“Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (James 2:17, ESV)

Dead. Not dormant. Not developing. Dead.

That should rattle us. Because we’ve built a version of Christianity in the modern world that’s all about belief—but stripped of action. We’ve traded cross-bearing for pew-sitting. We’ve made Christianity a mental exercise, not a lifestyle. A Sunday ritual, not a daily surrender.

James takes aim at this hollow version of faith:

“You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” (James 2:19, ESV)

Think about that. Demons have great theology. They believe in God. They know who Jesus is. But they’re not saved. Why? Because belief without obedience is worthless. It’s lip service without life change.

This is where we need a serious wake-up call.

If your faith never moves beyond your brain—if it doesn’t spill into how you love your neighbor, serve your church, speak truth, forgive enemies, and sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel—then it’s not faith. It’s theory.

And theory doesn’t change the world.

Let’s get something straight: We are not saved by works. Paul couldn’t be more clear:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith… not a result of works.” (Ephesians 2:8–9, ESV)

But too many people stop reading there. Verse 10 isn’t a suggestion—it’s a call to action:

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10, ESV)

You weren’t saved to sit. You were saved to move. To serve. To do good works.

Real faith shows up. It gets uncomfortable. It forgives when it’s hard. It gives when it hurts. It risks boldly. It takes up a cross. If your faith costs you nothing, it’s probably not faith—it’s just belief with a Jesus bumper sticker.

Jesus never said, “Believe in me and live your best life.” He said, “Deny yourself. Take up your cross. Follow me.” (Luke 9:23)

There’s no world where that’s comfortable.

But we’ve made faith safe. Predictable. Tame. And that kind of faith doesn’t scare the devil one bit.

Here’s the bottom line:
Faith that doesn’t do anything is faith that isn’t anything.
James doesn’t care about your belief unless it leads to bold, visible, tangible action.

So don’t let belief kill your faith.
Don’t hide behind good theology while your heart stays untouched.
Don’t nod through sermons while your hands stay clean.
Don’t settle for head knowledge when Jesus is calling you to whole-life surrender.

We don’t need more people who believe the right things—we need people whose belief burns so hot it sets their lives on fire.

Because dead faith sits still.

But living faith changes everything.

Embrace Truth, Don’t Dilute It

March 18, 2025 / / 1 Comment

In a world obsessed with bite-sized content, instant gratification, and comfortable ideologies, the Church faces a crucial question: Have we traded the hard, soul-refining truth of God’s Word for something more palatable—something easier to swallow but ultimately less powerful?

It seems more and more that Christianity has been reduced, in many circles, to a moral code and a weekly gathering. Be kind. Be generous. Don’t judge. Go to church. These are all good things—but they’re not the gospel. Somewhere along the line, we’ve started watering down the wild, world-turning truth of Jesus to fit into modern attention spans and emotional comfort zones. We’ve gone from preaching repentance and transformation to offering motivational soundbites and vague spiritual encouragements.

We’ve diluted the Law to avoid offending anyone. We’ve softened the Gospel to make it more inclusive. But in doing so, have we actually robbed it of its power?

Let’s be honest: following Jesus was never meant to be easy or safe. It was never meant to be a set of manageable morals or feel-good messages. It was meant to be a complete and total surrender—a radical reordering of our lives around the way, the truth, and the life of Jesus. Look Jesus didn’t say, “Follow me when it’s convenient.” He said, “Take up your cross and follow me.” That’s not palatable—it’s costly. A cross means a willingness to die. Does that describe the Christianity you’re pursuing?

And yet, when the church begins to focus more on making truth easy to accept than empowering people to truly understand it, something gets lost. We stop discipling and start entertaining. We stop equipping and start appeasing. We give people inspirational fluff instead of deeply rooted theological formation. And the result? Shallow faith, spiritual confusion, and churches full (and that’s being generous) of people who are vaguely moral but hardly missional.

The truth is not always simple. Actually it rarely is simple! It is often messy, challenging, and deeply uncomfortable. But it is also liberating. Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Not the abridged truth. Not the adjusted truth. The full, fierce, life-changing truth.

Truth that exposes our sin, not to shame us, but to heal us. Truth that confronts our idols and invites us into transformation. Truth that demands we not just believe in Jesus but become like Him.

If a doctor does tests to determine the cause of that lump you found but tries to soften the blow a bit by not telling you it really is cancer. Is that helping you? Does it help when we don’t call a sin a sin? No it lets us go on living as if nothing is wrong when it actually is!

So why have we traded the truth for something easier?

Maybe we fear that people will walk away if the message is too strong. Maybe we’re afraid of being labeled judgmental or outdated. Maybe we’ve bought the lie that we need to compete with culture instead of simply being the light in the midst of it.

But the early church didn’t grow because it blended in—it grew because it stood out. They lived differently. They loved boldly. They held firm to the teachings of Jesus, even when it cost them their comfort, their reputation, or even their lives. That’s what real discipleship looks like.

It’s time we reclaim that kind of faith. One that embraces truth in all its grit and glory. One that teaches people how to think deeply about God’s Word, not just what to think. One that moves beyond shallow slogans and into the depths of Scripture, Spirit, and sanctification.

The world doesn’t need another watered-down version of Christianity. It needs followers of Jesus who are so transformed by truth that their lives become a living testimony. It needs a church that doesn’t shy away from the hard stuff but leans into it—because the hard stuff is often where the healing begins. The hard stuff is where people live every single day.

Let’s stop simplifying truth to make it more palatable. Let’s start raising up disciples who can chew on meat, not just sip on milk. Let’s teach people that the gospel isn’t just about behavior modification—it’s about heart transformation.

Because in the end, it’s not about comfort. It’s about Christ.

And He’s worth every ounce of the truth.

Mic Drop in Nazareth

March 17, 2025 / / 0 Comments

There’s something electric about firsts. The first word of a child. The first speech of a new government official. The first sermon of a preacher. In Luke 4:16–30, we get the unforgettable moment when Jesus delivers what many believe is His first recorded sermon—and it’s a mic drop moment that left His hometown stunned, offended, and ultimately enraged.

We start with Jesus returning to Nazareth, His hometown, where He had grown up and was known as “Joseph’s son.” On the Sabbath, He steps into the synagogue, as was His custom, and is handed the scroll of Isaiah. He opens it and finds a passage we now recognize as Isaiah 61—a prophetic vision of God’s justice, mercy, and liberation.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
(Luke 4:18–19)

Then, with the eyes of everyone fixed on Him, Jesus calmly declares:

“Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:21)

Mic. Drop.

He’s not saying, “This passage points to a future event.” He’s not saying, “Someday God will do this.” He’s saying, “It’s happening. Right now. In me.”

This is Jesus’ inaugural sermon, and He doesn’t ease into it. He claims to be the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. He says He is the one bringing good news to the poor, freedom to the oppressed, and sight to the blind. This is not the soft launch of a nice hometown boy turned spiritual leader. This is a bold declaration that the long-awaited kingdom of God is bursting onto the scene—through Him.

At first, the people are amazed. But then things quickly shift.

Jesus anticipates their skepticism: “You’ll say, ‘Do here what you did in Capernaum.’” He calls out their expectation that He should do miracles to prove Himself. Then, He reminds them that prophets aren’t accepted in their hometowns, and that God’s blessings in the Old Testament often came to outsiders—like the widow in Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian.

Now the room turns. The people who were amazed are now furious. Why? Because Jesus isn’t just announcing good news—He’s redefining who the good news is for. He’s telling His hometown crowd that God’s grace is bigger than their boundaries. It’s for the outsiders too. The foreigners. The poor. The broken. The ones they didn’t expect—and maybe didn’t want—included.

That’s the power of this sermon. Jesus sets the tone for His ministry right here: radical grace, bold truth, and a boundary-breaking love that refuses to be boxed in.

It was offensive then, and honestly, for many still stings today. Jesus doesn’t play to our comfort zones. He doesn’t stay safe or small. He preaches a kingdom that flips the script and rattles the status quo.

Luke 4 reminds us that the gospel was never meant to be tame. It was—and is—a mic drop moment that demands a response.

So… how will you respond?

I Think We’ve Been Doing It Wrong

March 12, 2025 / / 0 Comments

There’s a line that haunts me and should do the same for the modern church:
“We’re more well known for what we’re against than what we’re for.”

The reason it’s so haunting is because it’s true! Somewhere along the line, curiosity died. We stopped asking how God might be moving in the world and settled for condemning anything that didn’t fit neatly into our religious categories.

We traded wonder for war. And the gospel doesn’t need more gatekeepers—it needs witnesses.

It’s time for a reset.

Curiosity Isn’t Compromise

Let’s get this straight: being curious is not the same as being soft on truth. We don’t elevate curiosity to avoid conviction—we elevate it to avoid arrogance.

The problem isn’t that we care about truth. The problem is that we’ve started thinking we are the creators of truth.

Truth belongs to God. We are stewards, not bouncers. We hold the truth with courage, but we share it with compassion.

That means instead of blasting everything we don’t like in culture, we start asking better questions:

  • Where’s the image of God breaking through here?
  • What ache for redemption is underneath this trend?
  • How can we point people to Jesus from this exact place?

That’s exactly what Paul did in Acts 17. Standing in the middle of a city drowning in idols, he didn’t light it up with condemnation. He opened his mouth with curiosity.

“Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.”
(Acts 17:22, ESV)

That’s not flattery. It’s insight. Paul noticed their hunger. Instead of condemning them for having it all wrong, for worshiping other gods, for condemning them for not wearing the right clothes or using page 5 or 15 in their hymnals – he found common ground. He leaned in with curiosity. He found their altar “To the unknown god” and said, Let me tell you who He is.

“What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.”
(Acts 17:23, ESV)

That’s bold. That’s missional. That’s curious without being spineless. He didn’t snub his nose at them nor did he crumble under the pressure to be relevant. He leaned in with gospel curiosity and God opened a door for His Word to shine through.

We Need a Curious Church Again

A curious church is a dangerous church—in the best way possible.

Because curiosity opens doors that criticism slams shut.
Curiosity engages. Criticism alienates.
Curiosity listens. Criticism lectures.
Curiosity builds bridges. Criticism burns them down.

Jesus never backed down from truth, but He constantly asked questions that unlocked people’s hearts.

“What do you want me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51, ESV)
“Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15, ESV)
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46, ESV)

Jesus wasn’t afraid of hard questions. So why are we?

If we want to reach people, we need to stop lobbing grenades at culture and start sitting at tables. Remember Zaccheus anyone? If we want to represent Jesus well, we need to stop treating curiosity like a threat and start seeing it as a tool of the Spirit.

Let’s Be Known for What We’re For

Here’s the challenge: what if we became known again—not for what we boycott—but for what we build?

We’re for truth.
We’re for grace.
We’re for families, students, single parents, skeptics, and strugglers.
We’re for justice and mercy and life in Jesus.
We’re for the kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven.

We don’t need to run from culture or rage against it. We can walk into it—eyes open, Bibles in hand, hearts on fire.

The church doesn’t need to be louder.
It needs to be deeper.
More curious.
More Spirit-led.
More like Jesus.

Let’s stop critiquing from the sidelines and start engaging from the streets. Let’s be like Paul in Athens—deeply rooted, wildly curious, and bold enough to speak truth wherever and whenever we find an altar to the unknown.

Because maybe… just maybe… God’s already there, waiting for someone to connect the dots.

Top 5 Cultural Trends the Church Can’t Ignore

March 11, 2025 / / 0 Comments

Culture is shifting faster than Vin Diesel in one of the Fast and Furious movies! And all too often, the church is late to the conversation—showing up with a cassette tape when the world has moved to streaming. If we want to reach people where they are, we can’t just critique culture from a distance; we need to engage it with biblical wisdom. Throwing a bible verse across the driveway at your neighbor who doesn’t see the world the same way as you isn’t working! Here are five cultural trends the church must pay attention to and how we can respond in a way that reflects who Jesus has called us to be.

1. The Rise of Digital Community and Loneliness

People are more connected than ever—but at the same time more isolated than ever. Social media, gaming communities, and online forums have created digital spaces for virtual relationships, yet depression and loneliness are at all-time highs. The world is craving deep, meaningful connection. While these apps and digital media program allow us to interact with dozens, if not hundreds, of people on a daily basis – they’re not giving us the meaningful connections we need to thrive.

How the Church Should Respond:
Stop treating online engagement like a second-tier ministry. Jesus met people where they were, and today, that means showing up in digital spaces. Try investing in online small groups, using social media to build engagement (posting more than mere announcements), and equip people to be digital missionaries. Most importantly, cultivate a church culture where in-person relationships thrive. Make church feel like family.

I’ve seen far too many churches water down their digital content in an effort to force people to come closer. But it’s having the opposite effect! They’re leaving your live stream for a place where they can connect before they fully embrace in person life. And that whole digital missionary bit…my son actually asked me the other day how to plant a church on a digital platform. So guess what! That’s next on the to-do list – starting a fully virtual church for people disconnected from in person situations. His goal is to start with military and see where we go from there.

2. Changing Views on Identity and Belonging

From gender and sexuality to political and racial identity, people are searching for a place to belong. Many are defining themselves by labels, movements, and ideologies because they’re desperate to know who they are and where they fit. If the church avoids these conversations, culture will answer them.

How the Church Should Respond:
Preach biblical identity with compassion. The answer to the identity crisis isn’t a set of rules—it’s a person: Jesus. Instead of reacting in fear or outrage, create a space where people can wrestle with their questions. Instead of condemning or condoning, take time to listen to what’s at the heart of the struggle. Show them that their deepest identity isn’t found in cultural labels or national trends. It’s found in being a child of God. Be a church that welcomes people first and disciples them with truth second.

A question we wrestle with in the congregation I serve, and in a network with which I’m associated, is can we help people belong before they believe? And the answer is YES if you’re willing to try!

3. The Demand for Authenticity and Transparency

People today can smell a fake from a mile away. They’ve seen leaders fall, institutions crumble, and scandals rock the church. They’re not looking for polished performances—they want real, honest faith.

How the Church Should Respond:
Ditch the facade man! Pastors, share your struggles. You’re not a superhero so stop trying to put out the image that you’re perfect. Your special shirt or white robe don’t make you better than anyone but that’s what many people feel you’re saying.

Churches, acknowledge failures and commit to integrity. Jesus never pretended to be something He wasn’t—He was real, raw, and completely truthful. The more we embrace authenticity, the more people will trust that the gospel is real, too. Let people enter with all the fears, failures and false statements. It’s ok if they don’t get it perfect right away. The church is for the screwups not the self-righteous.

4. The Decline of Institutional Trust (Yeah Churches Too!)

Let’s be real—many people don’t trust institutions anymore, and sadly, the church has lost credibility in many circles too. Scandals, hypocrisy, and a lack of accountability have made people skeptical at best! If we ignore this, we risk pushing even more people away and potentially losing an entire generation.

How the Church Should Respond:
Rebuild trust through transparency and action. Don’t just say you care—show it. When you tell someone that you’ll pray for them, DO IT! Right there. In that moment, just offer a simple prayer. Then check up on them later so you can revisit that prayer connection.

Be open about church finances, hold leaders accountable, and prioritize integrity. When people see a church that actually lives out what it preaches, trust is quickly restored. The gospel is trustworthy; our leadership should be, too.

5. The Growing Hunger for Purpose and Meaning

Despite all the distractions of modern life, people are starving for something deeper. Self-help books, meditation apps, and hustle culture are booming because people are searching for purpose. The question is: Will the church step in with real answers?

How the Church Should Respond:
Stop making church about just attending a service. Teach people that following Jesus means living with radical purpose. Help them see how their work, relationships, and daily life are part of God’s mission. Give them a vision for faith that’s bigger than Sunday morning. When people discover that their lives have eternal significance, they won’t settle for anything less.

Does your church have an intentional set of values, mission statement, and vision that’s compelling? If not, then we need to talk! I have a resource we used that has totally changed the landscape of this local congregation!

Engage, Don’t Escape

The church was never meant to hide from culture—it was meant to influence it. Instead of standing on the sidelines, let’s engage the world with truth and grace. The trends will keep changing, but the gospel remains the same. If we listen, learn, and lead with wisdom, we won’t just keep up with culture—we’ll transform it from the inside.

It’s time to step up. Let’s be the church the world needs today.

Stop Hiding Behind “Faithfulness”

March 10, 2025 / / 1 Comment

Let’s just rip the Band-Aid off:
The size of your church is not a spiritual scoreboard.
And no, your small attendance doesn’t automatically make you more faithful than the megachurch down the street. The same is true the other way around and we’ll address that one in a future post, but for now hang with me.

I’ve heard the quiet grumble all too often: “Well, we may be small, but at least we’re faithful.” It’s the humblebrag of dying churches. It’s what pastors whisper to themselves after another Sunday where it feels like the only thing multiplying is the empty chairs.

Here’s the hard truth: Faithfulness and fruitfulness are not enemies. Go ahead and read that again. They were never supposed to be. But we’ve turned “faithfulness” into a security blanket to shield us from the sting of ineffectiveness.

Not too long ago when talking with a brother pastor, I was asked, “What are you all doing that’s causing the congregation to grow? My reply was simple, We’re teaching the Bible man. That’s really all we’re doing right now. And God is just blessing it. The look on his face was one of sheer amazement. Then I was shocked by his reply “There’s no way that just preaching the gospel can draw people to the local church.”

Umm…What?!?! If we’re using anything other than the gospel to bring people to the church, then we’re doing it WRONG!

Let’s be clear—faithfulness does matter. Of course it does. God calls us to be faithful. Faithful in preaching the Word. Faithful in prayer. Faithful in loving people and making disciples. But faithfulness isn’t an excuse for fruitlessness. If your church hasn’t baptized anyone in years, if your community doesn’t even know you exist, if your idea of outreach is a potluck for people who already know Jesus—maybe it’s time to stop blaming “culture” and start asking better questions.

Sometimes we wrap our lack of impact in the language of purity. We say ridiculous things to excuse our laziness. Things like:
“We’re not about numbers.”
“We’re not here to entertain.”
“We’re not going to compromise to attract people.”

Sure. Fine. But are you actually reaching people? Are lives being changed? Is the Gospel going anywhere outside your four walls? Because Jesus didn’t say, ‘Go therefore and preserve a faithful remnant of the already converted.’

He said make disciples. Of all nations. That’s movement. That’s growth. That’s multiplication. As much as we may not like to admit it, Jesus was about growing the church! He wants heaven to be one heck of a family reunion for a family that’s growing larger everyday.

On the flip side, just because a church is big doesn’t mean it’s healthy. You can pack a room with smoke machines and still be spiritually bankrupt. A full building doesn’t always mean full hearts. But let’s not pretend that size automatically means compromise, either. Some churches are big because they’re faithful—faithful to the Word, faithful to the mission, and faithful to reaching people where they are.

We do not have to compromise the teachings of the faith in order to reach our community. We don’t have to give up the ghost for our churches to grow (wider and deeper).

God doesn’t grade on a curve based on attendance, but He does expect fruit.

Jesus cursed the fig tree not because it was small, but because it had no fruit. Let that sit for a minute. If you and the church you attend were that fig tree, what would Jesus do to you? I’m sorry if this sounds convicting. The reality is we’ve all grown a little complacent with just making it. But that’s not at all what God had in store for his church!

So what do we do with this?

We stop playing the comparison game. Get a group of pastors in a room and ask them how church is going. The first answer is generally the size of their worship on Sunday. That was not the question.

We stop idolizing bigness and romanticizing smallness. I talk to a lot of pastors these days and I hear this more often than I would like to admit. Not only is it a sheer numbers issue for them, it’s also a comparison game. Whether they’re not as big as the box church who has all the programs and young people in attendance. Or they just love how intimate they are so that no one gets lost in the crowd. Neither are the point of the church in the New Testament!

We stop blaming the world for not listening and start asking if we’re actually speaking their language. Why is the world and the culture around us not listening? It’s because we’re not saying anything they want or need to hear. We’re ignoring their biggest needs and preaching about our pet peeves. We start programs and ministries that we want, and totally ignore the main hurts present in our community.

And maybe—just maybe—we stop using “faithfulness” as a polite way to avoid talking about the fact that we’ve grown largely complacent – aka comfortable with not growing at all.

Being small isn’t a sin. But staying small while ignoring the Great Commission might be.

Let’s kill the pride that masquerades as humility. Let’s stop hiding behind noble-sounding phrases that excuse our lack of vision, creativity, or effort. Let’s be faithful—and let that faithfulness drive us to innovate, to risk, to adapt, to stretch, and to expect that the Holy Spirit might actually move when we do.

Because here’s the deal: God’s kingdom is not stuck. It’s advancing. And if we’re standing still and calling it faithfulness, we might just be missing the point.

Faithfulness isn’t passive. It fights. It moves. It multiplies.

So stop hiding. Own where you are. Repent if you need to. Dream again. Risk again. Plant seeds. The church of Jesus Christ is meant to grow. Not always in numbers. Not always overnight. But always in reach. Always in depth. Always in Gospel impact.

Small or large—be faithful. But don’t use that word to cover up what Jesus is actually calling you to do.

Let’s be faithful and fruitful. The world is too broken and Jesus is too worthy for anything less.

Our Failures and God’s Faithfulness

March 6, 2025 / / 0 Comments

This week we celebrated Ash Wednesday. A day that marks the beginning of the season of Lent, a season marked by reflection, repentance, and renewal. It is a time to acknowledge our failures, confront our brokenness, and recognize our deep need for grace. As we step into this forty-day journey toward the cross, Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:16-21 invite us to consider where we have placed our treasure, where our hearts truly dwell, and how God’s faithfulness endures even when we falter.

The Weight of Our Failures

Jesus speaks about fasting in this passage, warning against outward displays of righteousness that seek human approval rather than God’s. This caution goes far beyond fasting though—it’s about our entire approach to faith. How often do we wear a mask of holiness while hiding the struggles and doubts within? How often do we seek validation from the world rather than resting in the assurance of God’s love?

The musical group Casting Crowns have a song titled – Stained Glass Masquerade which drives at the heart of fake Christianity. It’s about our vain attempts to gain accolades for our “religiosity” in the eyes of the world around us. Here’s one small part of the lyrics to the song. 

Are we happy plastic people, Under shiny plastic steeples, With walls around our weakness, The smiles to hide our pain? 

All too often we hide our failures, afraid the world will judge us for not getting it right. We’re afraid to step out in faith for fear we won’t have all the answers. We fear looking silly or sounding dumb. In reality we’re just plastic people sitting in plastic churches with no meaning and connection to the world around us.

Lent is a time when we are invited to experience Jesus cutting through the noise of the world and inviting us to step into a new and real kind of life – the very kind of life that God created us to live.

No matter how much we try to hide our weaknesses, the truth is – we fail. We fail in our commitments. We fail in our faithfulness. We fail in our ability to love as we should. We set out with the best of intentions, but our hearts wander. We store up treasures on earth—our achievements, our possessions, our reputations—only to find that they decay and disappoint. We stumble in sin, fall into selfishness, and neglect the very relationship with God that we claim to treasure.

Lent is not a season for pretending we have it all together. It is a season for honesty. A season to acknowledge that our hearts are often divided, our devotion inconsistent, and our faith fragile at best.

It is a season to bring all of this—our failures, our regrets, our struggles, our fears, our worries, our anxieties—before the God who never wavers. No sense trying to hide it because he already knows!

The Faithfulness of God

While our faithfulness falters, God’s does not. The beauty of the Lenten journey is that it is not about our ability to get everything right, but about God’s unwavering commitment to fulfill His promises to us. As we acknowledge our weakness, we do so in the presence of a God who remains steadfast, strong, and stable.

Matthew 6:21 reminds us, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Even when our hearts are prone to wander, God continually calls us back. His faithfulness is not dependent on our performance but on His character. This is the heart of the gospel: God does not abandon His people. He does not give up on us. Instead, He pursues, redeems, and restores.

We see this throughout Scripture. When Israel repeatedly turned away, God remained faithful (2 Timothy 2:13). When Peter denied Jesus three times, Christ did not cast him aside but restored him (John 21:15-17). When humanity rebelled, God did not leave us to die in our waste but sent His Son to suffer and die for our salvation (Romans 5:8). The entire biblical story points to a God who does not forsake His people, even amidst their many failures.

Ash Wednesday sets us on the path toward the cross, where the greatest act of faithfulness was displayed. Jesus, who knew no sin, bore the full weight of our sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). His suffering was not theoretical or symbolic—it was real, excruciating, and complete. He endured betrayal, mockery, scourging, and ultimately, the agony of crucifixion. He was abandoned so that we would never have to be (Matthew 27:46). God will never leave us nor forsake us because he left and forsook Jesus instead of us.

Our own suffering, no matter how deep, finds its meaning in the suffering of Jesus. He does not remain distant from our pain. He steps into it. The cross reminds us that God’s faithfulness is not just about rescuing us from hardship but walking with us through it. When we suffer loss, face trials, or wrestle with sin, we look to the One who carried our burdens to Calvary.

Setting Our Hearts on Eternal Treasures

Lent encourages us to let go of lesser things and turn our hearts toward what is eternal. Jesus urges us to store up treasures in heaven, treasures that cannot be destroyed or taken away. This isn’t just about material wealth—it’s about where we place our trust, our hope, and our devotion.

What would it look like to shift our focus this season? To surrender the things that distract and entangle us, and instead seek the deeper things of God? Lent is a call to prayer, to fasting, to generously giving—not to earn God’s love but to realign our hearts with His. It is a call to trust that even in our brokenness, He is making us new.

As we walk through Lent, we walk with Jesus toward the cross. This journey is not about self-denial but about encountering the depth of God’s love. The cross stands as the ultimate display of faithfulness—the place where Jesus took on our failures, our sin, our shame, and replaced them with grace, forgiveness, and redemption.

Paul reminds us in Philippians 2:8, “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Jesus did not waver in His mission. He did not turn away from the suffering set before Him. Instead, He embraced it, out of His tremendous love for us.

We begin this season marked with ashes, reminded of our mortality and our need for a Savior. But we do not walk as people without hope. We walk in the confidence that the same God who formed us from dust is the God who redeems and restores. The same God who called us to Himself will sustain us. And the same God who went to the cross will lead us to resurrection.

So as you enter this season, do so with honesty. Acknowledge your failures, but don’t dwell on them. Contemplate where your heart truly rests, and know that even in your wandering, God’s faithfulness remains. The cross is before us, and so is the promise: He is making all things new—even us.

Top 5 Ways the Church Can Actually Listen to Culture (Instead of Just Criticizing It)

March 6, 2025 / / 1 Comment

Let’s be honest—sometimes the church is better at talking than listening. We love a good sermon, a strong rebuke, or a theological mic drop. But when it comes to understanding culture, too often we respond like a grumpy old man shaking a fist at the kids on his lawn. And guess what? The kids aren’t listening. Trust me I know! That’s why I moved to the county. 😉

If we want to be relevant to both Christians and non-Christians, we have to do more than critique culture from a distance—we have to engage, understand, and listen. Here are five ways we can stop the shouting and start hearing what’s really going on.

1. Stop Reacting—Start Listening

Cultural shifts happen fast. One day, everyone’s talking about AI; the next, it’s all about deconstructing faith. Our knee-jerk reaction is often to condemn, but what if we hit pause instead? Before jumping to conclusions, take time to understand why a trend is resonating. What need is it meeting? What fear is it exposing? Jesus didn’t react in outrage—He asked questions. Maybe we should, too.

2. Find the Common Ground

Not everything in culture is anti-God. Many of today’s cultural movements—things like justice, purpose, belonging—actually point to deep biblical truths. Instead of dismissing them right out the gate, why not affirm what’s good? Paul did it in Athens (Acts 17), using Greek poetry to connect with his audience. He didn’t come onto the scene and blast them for idolatry. He explained in a loving way what they were missing. We can do the same. Instead of fighting every trend, how about trying to highlight where culture and Christianity align. Then, after you gain some respect, offer your insights on what might be missing.

3. Speak the Right Language

Imagine walking into a coffee shop and ordering a “Kung-Pao Chicken .” Everyone would be confused, right? That’s how non-Christians feel when we flood our conversations with insider church jargon. We don’t need to water down the gospel, but we do need to make it accessible. Jesus told parables; we tell people to “walk in sanctification.” One of these is easier to understand. Learn the language of the people with whom you’re speaking and use it.

4. Stop Making Everything a Battle

Not every cultural moment requires a Christian war cry. Culture isn’t the enemy—it’s a mission field. Yeah…Yeah, some ideas contradict Scripture, but that doesn’t mean we need to engage in a never-ending fight. People aren’t looking for a church that constantly yells, “You’re wrong!” They’re looking for a place that says, “Let’s talk.” Approach cultural issues with curiosity and grace, not a megaphone. The old adage “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care” is actually true. When all we do is yell and condemn, it definitely sends a message…and not a good one!

5. Actually Engage With People Outside the Church

This one’s simple but unfortunately for many it’s not easy. You can’t understand culture if you never step outside your Christian bubble. If your entire life is spent with church people, reading church books, and listening to worship music, you might miss what’s happening in the real world. Have conversations with non-Christians. Follow cultural conversations without instantly condemning them. Be present in the places where people are asking life’s big questions. Not every situation needs a full blown theological presentation. Heck, you might even learn a little something if you talk to someone who doesn’t know Jesus.

People don’t have a problem with Jesus, but they don’t always like His people.

Jesus didn’t storm into towns with a picket sign—He sat with people, listened to their stories, and responded with truth wrapped in love. If we want to be relevant in today’s culture, we need to do the same. Less outrage, more understanding. Less judgment, more grace. Because when the church truly listens, people lean in.

So, let’s get off our soapbox and into some real conversations.

Top 3 Ways to Overcome Doubt and Strengthen Your Faith

March 4, 2025 / / 0 Comments

If we’re being honest, everyone wrestles with doubt at some point. Whether it’s questioning God’s timing, His goodness, or if He’s even listening, doubt creeps in when life throws curveballs. Maybe your prayers feel unanswered, or the world seems too broken to believe God is in control. Here’s the good news: doubt isn’t the enemy of faith—doubt can actually deepen faith when you face it head-on.

If you’re feeling stuck or unsure, you’re not alone. The Bible is filled with people who questioned, doubted, and struggled… and the cool part is God met them right there. Here are three practical ways to overcome doubt and strengthen your faith when life gets a little shaky.

1. Bring Your Doubts to God (Yes, He Can Handle Them)

You don’t need to hide your doubts from God. He already knows what’s on your mind, so you might as well be honest. The Psalms are full of raw prayers like, “How long, Lord? Will You forget me forever?” (Psalm 13:1). God doesn’t get offended by your questions. In fact, He invites them.

When doubt creeps in, talk to Him. Say, “God, I don’t understand this. I’m struggling to trust You right now. Help me see what I’m missing.” That kind of honesty builds a real relationship. Doubt isn’t a sign of weak faith; pretending everything’s fine when it isn’t is what holds you back.

Pro tip: Write your doubts in a journal. Sometimes putting them on paper helps you see things more clearly—and you might notice how God answers over time.

2. Surround Yourself with People Who Build Your Faith

Doubt thrives in isolation. When you’re left alone with your thoughts, negativity and questions can and likely will spiral. That’s why community matters. Surround yourself with people who encourage you, pray with you, and point you back to God when you can’t see Him clearly. Sitting alone or pushing friends away in moments of fear or weakness rarely works to your benefit!

This is where being part of a church family, a growth group, or youth group (if you’re a student) makes all the difference. Sometimes you need someone else to carry the faith for you when yours feels weak. We weren’t meant to do this journey alone.

Bonus tip: Ask a trusted friend or mentor how they’ve navigated their own doubts. You’ll be surprised how common it is—and how their story can strengthen yours.

3. Look Back at God’s Faithfulness (Your Past Reminds You of His Track Record)

When doubt starts to take over, it helps to remember where God has come through in the past. Think about challenges you thought you’d never get through… but you did. That wasn’t by accident. Often God uses your past struggles to set you up for what you’re going through today.

God has a proven track record of faithfulness. Recalling how He worked in your life (or in others’ lives) fuels trust for the future. In the Old Testament, people would build altars or memorial stones to remind themselves of God’s help. You might not have a pile of rocks in your yard, but you can keep a list of answered prayers or moments when God showed up.

Encouragement: When you can’t see what God is doing now, look back on what He’s done before. His character doesn’t change—if He was faithful then, He’ll be faithful now.

Doubt doesn’t disqualify you from faith. It’s a part of the journey. What matters is what you do with it. Bring your questions to God, lean on your community, and remind yourself of how He’s come through before.

Faith isn’t about having it all figured out. It’s about trusting the One who does. And guess what? He’s got you. Even in the doubt. Even in the questions. Keep pressing in. You might just find your faith growing stronger than you ever imagined.

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