When God Asks You A Question

Isn’t it interesting how God asks questions?

When Adam and Eve sinned by eating the fruit, God follows up with four questions. It’s not that He doesn’t know the answers. But these questions cut to the heart of what He cares about.

  1. Where are you?

  2. Who told you that you were naked?

  3. Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?

  4. What is this that you have done?

Hindsight is 20/20, and we know that God has spent millennia guiding us toward the answers and guiding us back home.

[Genesis 3:9-13]

Cox Fam // 2017

As I get older, I'm growing more and more aware that my memory is foggier and foggier. So I keep the camera out as much as possible. And every year, I compile a January to December video and edit it down so we can get a quick glimpse into what the year looked like. 

In our home, we actually end up watching them often. It keeps us connected to where we've been, how we've grown and what all we've experienced. Watching these movies, for me, is one of the great reminders of what is most important in life: my family.

It's not professional, but it's us. And I love us!

A Guideline For Fasting

Our church is beginning a season of prayer and fasting. Fasting isn't uncommon in church history but has grown out of the rhythms of Christ-followers in our day. For that reason, we don't want to enter into a season of fasting unaware of the significance of it.

Why Do We Fast?

A season of fasting is usually associated with significant prayer requests or simply a season of desperate need. We pray on behalf of our needs and on behalf of others. While we don't believe we are manipulating God's hand, there are moments in Scripture in which it seems that the desperate prayers of devoted Christ-followers change the course of history. At the end of the day, we fast because we want more of God, whether He answers our prayers or not.

Is It Safe To Fast?

Fasting is practiced among many people from different backgrounds in faith and health. I would never suggest fasting without consulting medical professionals. I can, however, say that I have fasted for different amounts of times and from different things. I have never finished a season of fasting without truly encountering the supernatural power of God! But please consider your health in the process.

What Are Different Ways To Fast

While the idea of fasting brings up the image of going without food, there are many methods of fasting. Several of the books I list below explains the different types exhaustively. I've known people to fast from sugar, social media, TV or other elements of our lives. As far as food goes, I've seen people fast during a specific meal every day for a certain amount of time or fast once a week for a specific season. There are many different food-based fasts listed in Elmer Towns' book listed below; most popular is the Daniel Fast (also described in Warren's book). The Daniel fast is described in the first chapter of the Book of Daniel (only fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and whole grains). Then, obviously, there are those who will do a water fast, forgoing food for a specific amount of time. It is crucial that those who do a water fast get plenty of water (more than you would normally drink).

Regardless of the type of fast, you should use your season of fasting as a time to really lean into your relationship with God. If you're fasting lunches, use that time to spend time with God in prayer or reading the Bible. Have a plan for Scripture reading and dive all the way in. Journal what you're learning (you're going to want to look back on these moments...I promise). Make the intentional decision to say no to TV, video games, or scrolling through your phone so that you can bank more time with God. Fasting is NOT simply a challenge to not eat. Sitting on the couch miserably hungry without spending time on your knees in prayer is nothing more than a natural challenge. If you want God to truly speak, make it a point to devote yourself fully to spending time with Him! I think of it like football teams getting ready for the season. They'll do two-a-days during those grueling, hot, summer days to get ready to accomplish their mission. For this season of fasting, I'm changing my daily routine up to free more space for worship and prayer.

We must make sure that we are entering our season of fasting with the right motivation. First, I believe God must be calling us to this season. Without His supernatural provision, this can be a dangerous act. Secondly, we have to lay all of our motivations on the altar. It can't be about manipulating God or the appearance of spiritual piety (Matthew 6:16-18). Jesus tells us that our spiritual disciplines are most effective in a secret, quiet place. Those who desire to be seen have their reward. In the passage above, Jesus warns us not to practice our spirituality in public. For this reason, those who fast are expected to keep it to themselves as much as possible. I'd like to suggest that this is a matter of the heart. At this point, it's very difficult to fast without the people around you knowing. They might ask why you're forgoing food or not posting on social media as much. I believe it's ok to answer honestly and humbly. Again, it's a matter of the heart: if you make it about you, you have your reward. But if you are motivated by your worship, sometimes you'll be called on to speak to what you're doing. Don't make it weird by avoiding the question...just speak to the spiritual practice you're involved in.

Lastly, we have to enter a season of fasting with a desire to be true to the spirit of the fast rather than legalism. While it's important to commit to a specific type of fast, we have to keep health and rhythms into account. For instance, a water fast is going to leave you with some pretty bad breath. If you're walking into a meeting, I wouldn't fault you for grabbing a piece of gum. For me, I will have a cup of coffee every day during a water fast. I don't think God is going to withhold blessing for a little caffeine. If I have a change of mind or a conviction another way, I'll change it up. Until then, pass the coffee! If I'm doing a social media fast, I won't turn my phone off for that period of time. I obviously need my phone for moments of emergency, for family communication and for my job. One of the reasons I don't usually do social media fasts is that its part of my job. If I felt called to do one, though, I would immediately. My point is this: fasting isn't about following someone else's rules or convictions. It's about saying no to the natural so we can say yes to the supernatural. It's about devotion to Jesus!

A Personal Note

Before I felt like God was asking me to declare a fast for our church, I felt like He was asking me to do this personally. Pastors aren't exempt from the troubles of this world or the need to be devoted to spiritual disciplines. I am in a season of desperate prayer for God to move! My posture toward these prayer requests is one of complete submission; if He chooses to move supernaturally, I'll be thankful. If this time leaves me with a closer relationship with Him but without answers to my prayers, I'll be thankful. 

At the end of the day, I want to make sure that I do everything possible to hear the voice of the God who loves me so much. I can so easily get wrapped up in what this world has to offer. Honestly, I fear that I'm deafened to the voice of God in seasons where I'm not fasting because of the steady stream of media in my life. Sometimes, fasting shows us that we can live differently year-round (and that we should). My friend and mentor, Pastor Travis Davenport, has said that once you experience God in a supernatural way during an extended fast, you actually want to fast all the time. The way you experience God during those seasons is like no other! Now that I've experienced one of these extended fasts with him, I see what he means. There's just something different about it that is a rush of pure joy!

If you're the praying type, I'd encourage you to pray with us! We'll be posting what we're learning and experiencing on social media with the #AccessTogether hashtag. If you have prayer requests, send them along and we'll commit to praying with you!

Fasting Resources

Here are a few resources that have helped me prepare and thrive during my fasts.

Elmer Towns: Fasting For Spiritual Breakthrough

Elmer Towns: Fasting For A Miracle

Ronnie Floyd: The Power Of Prayer And Fasting

Rick Warren: The Daniel Plan

Richard Foster: Celebration Of Discipline

John Piper: A Hunger For God

Mark Batterson: Whisper

20 Great Conversation-Starters For Your Kids

In a previous post, I wrote about how we should ask our kids better questions. One of my suggestions was to play "would you rather" with your kids. I found that you can learn a lot more than you would think simply by switching up your questions.

The goal is to get down to the reasons why they choose what they choose. You might just learn a little bit about your kids' motivations, fears, and/or dreams!

Here are 20 questions I tried on my kids. Try these on your kids next time you're around the dinner table for a memorable experience! As you may be able to tell, I only have boys, so that's why my questions are geared that way.

  1. Would you rather live without arms or legs?

  2. If you could only have one for the rest of your life, would you pick Skittles or M&M's?

  3. Would you rather be a baseball player or an astronaut?

  4. Would you rather be able to run faster than anyone else or be able to fly?

  5. Would you rather be the best player on the worst team or the worst player on the best team?

  6. Would you rather play games with friends or a game on the iPad?

  7. Would you rather be really smart or really athletic?

  8. Would you rather have a racecar or a helicopter?

  9. Would you rather be a shark or a lion?

  10. Would you rather be very rich, yet without friends or be very poor, but you have a lot of good friends?

  11. Would you rather lose your sense of sight or your sense of taste?

  12. Would you rather be really cold or really hot?

  13. Would you rather go to the beach and swim in the ocean for vacation or go to the biggest toy store in the world and get to pick ten toys?

  14. Would you rather have a huge TV all to yourself or a motorized scooter just for you?

  15. Would you rather have 10 brothers or 10 sisters?

  16. Would you rather be the hero or the villain in a movie?

  17. Would you rather live in a zoo or a theme park?

  18. Would you rather have a jetpack or super strong muscles?

  19. Would you rather you never have to take a bath again or never have to brush your teeth again?

  20. Would you rather read a book or watch a movie?

Obviously, these questions may not make sense for your kids. What are some conversation-starters that would make sense for your family?

Kipton's Baptism Story

Where do I begin?

I've been praying for the Lord to work in this boy's heart ever since he found out Christi was pregnant! It's a scary thing being a parent. Maybe the scariest thing. 

You wonder if you're going to be everything they need...if you're enough. I distinctly remember singing to Kipton before I put him to sleep one night, when I had a "God moment." I believe God spoke to me as I was singing/praying over him. I believe God told me that, even though the world around me seemed to be unstable, that He would take care of Kipton.

In that moment, I didn't believe that we were going to be rich or even happy all the time. I just knew that He would show Kipton how good He is and that He would invite my son into an eternal friendship with the God that loves him so much!

So when Kipton started to ask us questions about God, Jesus, the Bible, Heaven, Hell, the bad things that happen in this world, we knew God was beginning to fulfill that promise! It has been such a joy and honor to be this boy's dad! God is good!

Ashlee's Baptism Story

I have been so encouraged to hear the stories of how members of our church are showing love to each other, bearing each other's burdens and building each other up!

One of the ways I've seen this happen recently is in Ashlee's life. She shared about how she has gone to church her whole life, but that her relationship with God has grown so much in recent because of the influence of some of her friends at Access.

This is amazing! It's a testimony to God's grace and how He is building His church! I wanted to share her story with you and hope it encourages you today!

Judy's Story

In the journey of church planting, you get to meet some pretty incredible people.

Judy is one of those people.

Since I met her, she has been so encouraging and sweet! She has a passion for the Word and everyone around her. That was evident as she would share what she learns in Scripture at our small group. 

I'm so thankful to have met Judy! Since we shot this video, Judy moved out of state, which has left us with a bittersweet feeling of sadness that she moved, but joy that we had the short time that we did!

I asked Judy to share the story of how she came to know the Lord and how she's grown to know Him. I hope her story encourages you today!

3 Podcasts You Should Check Out [October 2017]

I've been listening to podcasts since Apple started rolling them out. I listen mostly while I'm driving, washing dishes, or mowing the lawn. I've always enjoyed listening to podcasts that relate to my work (church leadership, youth ministry, church planting, etc.), but in the last few years, I've stumbled upon a few great podcasts that branch out.

The Leadership Unstuck Podcast with Tony Morgan - Tony has a rich history in resourcing church leaders. This latest endeavor is a podcast that specializes in helping churches get unstuck. He brings on guests that will help you learn from their mistakes. Great listen for church leaders!

Exponential Podcast - The Exponential Conference was instrumental in the story of Access Church! With so many great leaders who are actually practitioners, this podcast shares talks from past conferences/events. This is one of the most practical podcasts for church planters!

Paul Tripp - Sermon Podcast - Paul is a pastor, author and conference speaker. He's a tremendous Bible teacher, so this is a must-have! I know this is an audio podcast, but he has an awesome mustache, too! So that's neat. 

4 Parenting Shifts I'm Currently Making

Seven years ago, we had a baby boy. We brought him home and figured out what life looked like with a newborn in the house. Everything changed. As he grew, life in our house shifted. The rules changed. We added a second baby to the mix. Two kids. Different ages. Different rules. Then three kids. All boys. All new rules. The boy who was once a baby was 7 all of a sudden.

The rhythms and rules for a newborn are so different than a 7-year old. So we've shifted a few things. Here are a few of them:

1. Embrace the word, "no."  For a while, we bent our will to make it "work" (whatever It is). Choosing your battles is wise to be certain. But I've found myself bending on rules I shouldn't. Usually, this comes down to one thing in my life: laziness. I make a stand. My kids rebel. I don't want to deal with it. So I cave.

But I've learned that my kids actually want the boundaries. I tend to think that I'm a buzzkill every time I say no, but that's not the case. Boundaries communicate care. I try to make sure my kids know the "why" behind the no. I could settle for "because I told you so," but then I'd be implementing purposeless decision-making and I don't want my kids to pick that up. I certainly don't want that to be my legacy. By the way, I'm not a saint. I've used that line plenty of times. My point in writing this is that I'm learning! 

2. Parent NOW for LATER.  Six years ago, we had a one-year-old. As long as he was safe and inside our four walls, there weren't many rules. It was cute when he was loud (hard to remember). It was cool when he threw things. I had dreams of him being a major league baseball player. And then we took him to the restaurant and he threw a cheddar biscuit across the room. Not cool, dude.

I learned early on that we have to parent for LATER. What works inside my home doesn't work at the restaurant, at school, or at church. What do I want them to act like in public? Set that standard at home. I know this is elementary and not new to anyone. But i've learned that sometimes my kids act up in public because I've allowed it at home. It's cute at home. Forgivable. But those kids grow up and act up at their job. Is it getting more real yet? Parent NOW for LATER.

3. Ask better questions.  A few days ago, we took the boys swimming. Every two hours, there's a 10-minute break. Usually, we'll use this time to eat a packed lunch, but this was afternoon and I decided we'd switch it up. I started to play "Would You Rather" with the boys and it ended up being the quickest break time ever!

Do you know the best part of playing "Would You Rather" with your kids? You can get to the foundational layer of your kids thought processes. We know they like a certain super hero, their favorite meal for dinner or a certain movie. But do we know why? If you want to parent your kids well, this is an invaluable tool to get inside their heads. 

We all know what it's like to ask a child how school was. "Good." If we want to get down to the core of who our kids are, we have to pioneer their minds. We have to learn how to explore their motivations, fears, stresses, and what makes them tick.

In a future blog post, I'll share some of the questions I asked my kids to spark some ideas.

4. Schedule "boredom" time.  We're parenting kids in the age of devices. It's a help and a hindrance at times. I don't think we fully know how our kids will be affected by this cultural swing. My youngest was born in 2010. He doesn't know what it's like to live in a world without phones and tablets...or even dial-up for Pete's sake! 

I know that I can buy some time with the screens. I know my kids can be quiet at a restaurant if they're playing games on my phone. But I have seen my kids' imagination light up when there's nothing to do but create some sort of game! My 7-year old is super creative. Given the tools and scheduled boredom time, he will naturally drift to his artistic side. 

What's most interesting about this for me is that it links up with the spiritual discipline of meditation for me. As a 34-year-old, I'm trying to make sure that I schedule 30 minutes of quiet every day. This most likely happens on my back porch, at my kitchen table or walking in my neighborhood. This isn't time for me to work or even clear my head. It's a time for me to decompress, debrief, be thankful, and dream. This isn't prayer time; there's a separate time for that. This is time for me to be quiet. My kids would call it scheduled boredom time (it doesn't look like fun to a 5-year-old). But I am never healthier than when I allow my mind and heart time to slow down.

What are you learning in parenting?

Britni's Story

If you have friends who have adopted, you know there is a love they feel for their kids that is hard to describe. 

This week at Access Church, one of my friends, Britni, told the story about how she grew up in the foster care system. Some of the details were hard to hear: how many homes she was in, how most of the homes were abusive, how she never felt she would end up in a forever home. It was incredible to hear her perspective!

I am so proud of Britni for sharing her story! It takes a lot of boldness to step up and tell people about the struggles you've walked through. But she's right! God is so faithful to work through our darkest moments, especially when those moments were pointing to Him all along.

I hope this encourages you today!

Volunteer Training with Dave McClung

A little while ago, we had our first volunteer appreciation night and it was such a refresher! We enjoyed a meal together, caught up with each other, and enjoyed some training from my friend and mentor, Dave McClung.

Dave has been involved at the core of a church plant and has been coaching planters ever since. He has so much invaluable wisdom to offer and we were excited to have him!

We stuck a camera in the back of the room so we could re-watch it later. Here it is!

You Can't Force Fruit

It's not crazy that some people struggle to believe in Jesus. So much of your relationship with God is in the trusting. It's in the invisible work that God is doing all around us.

In Psalm 1, we immediately get a glimpse of the blessed man. There are things the blessed man does and things he doesn't (so we're clear, I'm not making a distinction between man and woman here; more mankind).

Apparently, the blessed man doesn't walk in the counsel of the wicked, stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of scoffers. He does, however, delight in the law of the LORD. He meditates on that law day and night.

Pretty clear, right?

So why is that fruit takes so long to grow?

You'd think that if you plant it, water it and cultivate it, the fruit will come. I've heard pastors and leadership gurus talk about how healthy things grow. Is it possible that people that think they're planting good seeds actually aren't? Or is it possible that we're planting in the wrong season? Wrong soil? 

Back to Psalm 1. The Psalmist writes that the blessed man is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season.

In its season.

Those three words give me hope. When I make the decision to live a life beyond reproach, it doesn't always seem to yield fruit. When I decide to add a couple dollars to the tip because I believe God wants me to be more generous than normal, I don't see the fruit. When you hold fast to Scripture in your quiet times with God, sometimes, your day still goes awry. 

And maybe I need to be thankful for what I have. Maybe the blessing is in having a few extra dollars to tip. Maybe the blessing is having a living room, coffee and a muffin to enjoy while I have my quiet time with God. Maybe the computer I'm typing this rant on, the health I enjoy, the very strength in my fingers to type this, the breath I have to give glory or steal it all speak to the blessings He has given me.

"He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither." - Psalm 1:3

You can't force fruit. But I'll keep using my lungs to praise God as long as He fills them with air. The fruit will come in its season.

We Have A Clear Mission

When I began my church planting journey, there were all sorts of questions. Where are you going to plant? What's your church going to be like? What's the strategy?

When you take everything into account, the planter comes with all sorts of idealistic vision. But it shouldn't matter what denomination we come from or what style we choose, we ought to have a clear mission.

What I've found is that we can sometimes fit the mission into the style.

This is so dangerous because it sneaks in casually. What we're actually excited about is a certain kind of ecclesiology, NOT the mission.

If making disciples is our mission, then everything we do has to echo from that. Do lights and smoke fit in or is it just what you want? Does "that kind of graphic or video" point back to the mission or are you just satisfied that you put something out with the quality of "those other churches"?

We have to get honest with ourselves. All of us. Myself included.

So what is it that breaks your heart? Is it the same thing that breaks God's heart?

3 Podcasts You Should Check Out [September 2017]

I've been listening to podcasts since Apple started rolling them out. I listen mostly while I'm driving, washing dishes, or mowing the lawn. I've always enjoyed listening to podcasts that relate to my work (church leadership, youth ministry, church planting, etc.), but in the last few years, I've stumbled upon a few great podcasts that branch out.

The Eric Metaxas Show - You may know Eric from his bestselling book Bonhoeffer. He's brilliant and hilarious, and his interviews are seriously great. He's interviewed such figures as Katie Couric, Morgan Freeman and Robert Smigel. He's a great interviewer and I love this podcast!

Thinking in Public - AlbertMohler.com - Albert Mohler is the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. 

The Meeting House Audiocast - Bruxy Cavey is the Teaching Pastor at The Meeting House, one of Canada's largest churches. Bruxy is a dynamic Bible teacher.

Standing Against Racism

When I saw what was happening in Charlottesville, my first reaction was not sickness as much as it was surprise. I was taken off guard because we don’t see this blatant display of white supremacy very often these days. I was simply stunned.

It seems that we see masked versions of racism in most cases. Not many people are on the news talking about how they hate black people. In fact, if you were to take an honest inventory of the people in your life, I bet (and maybe I’d be wrong), but I bet that you’d say, “I don’t know many white supremacists personally.”

It’s on the news, right? Not in our real world.

I wonder if that applies to all the things that we don’t *see* happening in our world? The friend that gets diagnosed with cancer: “I never thought it would happen to me.” The friend that experiences a sudden job loss: “I never thought it would happen to me.” Maybe someone you know cheats on their spouse: “I never thought HE would do that.”

It’s not just on the news, is it?

My Response

Not long after the news broke, there were a bunch of people calling for men and women, especially church leaders, to stand up and publicly denounce the evil that is white supremacy. I saw posts, not only calling people to speak out against this evil, but also condemning anyone who WOULDN’T speak out. “Your silence is deafening,” I read.

And it makes sense. We have to stand up for what we believe in. And we definitely need to raise our voice on behalf of those who don’t have a voice. But I also see a tiny hole in the rhetoric.

Disclaimer : One of the reasons I’m afraid to speak on this topic is that it is an ever-evolving topic. The more people I talk to, the wider this topic becomes and the higher my possibility for saying something stupid.

After all, I could just say nothing.

I could say nothing and my life would stay comfortably even-kiel. I can turn off the news and, most likely, I’ll never have to face an injustice like I saw on TV. I can drive in any neighborhood and never get pulled over. I could say nothing. But what kind of man would I be? How would I answer my grandkids when they asked how I responded to the alt-right?

Racism, in any form, is evil and is contrary to the gospel.

What we saw in Charlottesville is pure evil. Attaching the precious name of Jesus to any ideology that elevates one race over another is nothing short of heresy. Let me get that out of the way.

However, I have some other thoughts, too:

  1. I believe racism is evil and contrary to the gospel.

  2. I believe Christians ought to live 100% under the authority of the Scripture and the Holy Spirit’s leading.

  3. I believe we ought to be appropriately vocal about our convictions and beliefs.

  4. I think it’s possible that we are more vocal about racism because it’s one of the beliefs we hold biblically that is majorly respected in culture.

Let me unpack that. I grew up in a pretty fundamental Baptist church. I remember what it was like to hear my pastor rail on people who would “drink, chew, or go with girls that do.” Joking aside, those were the core convictions of a lot of churches when I was growing up.

Gosh, when I was in high school (which my students would also remind me...was a long time ago), coming out as gay was a BIG DEAL, because it was super rare.

I remember I was sitting in Starbucks working when the Supreme Court ruling was released that homosexual marriage would be legalized. Depending on your beliefs on the topic, you might think a social media status doesn’t fit so well there.

What about abortion? It’s been a hot topic issue for a long time. Have you told all your “friends” on social media what you think? Oh, you haven’t? Your silence is deafening.

Some conclusions

I don’t mean to cause more confusion. I promise. Let me continue laying my case:

  1. I believe racism is evil and contrary to the gospel.

  2. I believe Christians ought to live 100% under the authority of the Scripture and the Holy Spirit’s leading.

  3. I believe we ought to be appropriately vocal about our convictions and beliefs.

  4. I think it’s possible that we are more vocal about racism because it’s one of the beliefs we hold biblically that is majorly respected in culture.

  5. Confusion isn’t helpful.

  6. I don’t expect anyone to have all of their beliefs boiled down on every single topic by the end of today.

  7. I think the most helpful thing that we can do when we’re making our decisions in life is to boil everything down to the lowest common denominator.

    1. We have to have a reason for what we believe.

    2. It’s not noble or helpful to believe something because it’s popular.

    3. Some of us are rooting against racism because it’s in style right now.

If you tweet about racism being ugly because it’s popular and you feel pressured to speak publicly, you aren’t helping.

I do agree that silence makes us complicit. I also think that social media statements, unaccompanied by a life change, are Pharisaical at best.

Women, how excited would you be if you’re husband brought home flowers, gift cards and chocolate to express how thankful he is for you, but then went on cheating on you. But I brought flowers! What about that gift card?

Some of us won’t engage at all because the society we’re in calls for us to be silent until we “know it all.”

When did we step into the world where people are expected to know everything yesterday? We’re a learning group of people, right? Let’s keep learning. Let’s give grace where people don’t espouse right thinking yet.

“And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.””
— Luke 2:10

Good news. Great joy. All people.

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
— Galatians 3:28

I want to make something extremely clear. Racism is evil. But we have to be very careful in our approach to that statement. Because we feel very comfortable tossing the baby out with the bath water… ”racists are evil! You're gonna hate heaven!”

Church! We can't forget. Racists are our mission field.

What do you think the body of Christ is doing in Charlottesville? How do you think they're responding? Let me be more pointed: who, in Charlottesville, is going to have an impact in this fight? How do we define impact?

I guarantee this: the ONLY people who will have an impact in Charlottesville for the gospel are the ones who are purposely postured to live a life worthy of the gospel. I don't mean to sound daunting. If you're not currently postured to show compassion to every person on this planet, I don’t mean to make you feel that you’re failing at life. But we do have to start somewhere.

When the Apostle Paul was writing to the Church at Ephesus, he had to address a pretty serious issue; specifically, the issue of embracing people who didn’t come from a Jewish background.

When Jesus came to announce the in-breaking of the Kingdom of God, it flipped the script. It has been described as an “Upside Down Kingdom” by Bible teachers like Tim Keller & Preston Sprinkle. This is in reference to how the lowest in the Kingdom will be exalted and how those in power will be left without influence as far as Jesus is concerned. He would constantly speak of “the least of these,” referring to the poor, hurting, broken, needy and powerless. Jesus seemed to be drawn to these types where others would be drawn to the influencers...those who have power and authority.

Simply put: Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was powerful enough to secure the salvation of anyone who would call on His name.

So, in Ephesians 2:11-22, Paul is going to speak to the Ephesians churches (which is more than one local congregation by the way) about how they were to remember how they used to be far off from Christ, but that they had been brought near by the blood of Christ.

But check out how powerful the blood of Jesus is! It breaks down the wall that stood between us and Christ, but it also broke down the wall between me and you! That’s good news!

The announcement of the resurrection of Jesus is that all are welcome at the table!

  • You don’t have to have some religious pedigree.

  • You don’t have to have your act together.

  • You don’t have to have perfect church attendance.

  • You don’t have to DO anything...THE WORK HAS BEEN DONE!

So let’s be careful when we start to get into this high-minded, arrogant mindset where we start to look at ourselves more highly than we ought.

We need to take steps to eradicate racism. But it's only going to happen if we operate from a deep conviction and work together. This issue won't soon go away. But we can start here.

3 Podcasts You Should Check Out [August 2017]

I've been listening to podcasts since Apple started rolling them out. I listen mostly while I'm driving, washing dishes, or mowing the lawn. I've always enjoyed listening to podcasts that relate to my work (church leadership, youth ministry, church planting, etc.), but in the last few years, I've stumbled upon a few great podcasts that branch out.

Signposts with Russell Moore - Russell Moore has been one of the most level-headed, well-rounded voices in the SBC recently and I have to say that I've appreciated his work with the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission so much! 

Interviews - 9Marks - Mark Dever has been such a helpful resource into the life of pastors across the world. He is the author of several books, such as 9 Marks Of A Healthy Church, Preach: Theology Meets Practice, and Discipling: How To Help Others Follow Jesus. In this podcast, he interviews pastors about what it takes to build healthy churches.  My favorite series of podcast so far has been his three-part podcast series 

The City Church with Judah Smith - Judah Smith is one of the great, young preachers that has led the way for a lot of next generation preachers. His passion is clearly for Jesus. If you're looking for some biblical encouragement, look no further!