I may be the world's most distractable person. I'm not even quite sure that distractable is a word. In fact, I know it's not a word, but I think you catch what I'm trying to say. And chances are, so are you.There are so many options on how I can fill my time. Family. Friends. Text messages. Twitter. Facebook. Phone. Internet. Entertainment. The list continues to grow. In all reality, I never have to be alone. Never. I can just pick up my phone and be connected with someone. This is a beautiful thing. But it's also replacing a part of me that I am trying to recover:Me. The real me. I...

One of the gifts of visionary leaders is the ability to feel things in advance. Leaders see things in advance and then figure out ways to get a group of people to that point. This is probably one of the biggest areas of growth for me since we started Center City Church.I know where I want to us be next year. I know where I want to be in six months. But I've learned that just because I'm feeling something for tomorrow doesn't mean that we will arrive there today. I have work to do today that will prepare our church family for tomorrow.Seasons are a funny thing. I have learned (and continue to...

It's not too late.So many times, the past hurts, disappointments and failures of life make a lasting imprint. The past begins to dictate the future and a slippery slope of defeat carries us down. But it doesn't have to be this way. Your future begins today. You don't have to repeat the same mistakes. Your story can change. Just like a great novel, life is full of ups and downs. Victories and defeats. But the best stories are the ones that are full of hope, healing and restoration. That's where Jesus comes in to the story.When you give your past to Jesus, your future lights up. He is...

In one of the most gripping moments in Scripture, a faithful man of God named Daniel makes a request that has so captured my imagination. While his country is in exile and he's crying out to God to intervene, Daniel says this: **Daniel 9:17-18 - 17 “O our God, hear your servant’s prayer! Listen as I plead. For your own sake, Lord, smile again on your desolate sanctuary. 18 “O my God, lean down and listen to me. Open your eyes and see our despair. See how your city—the city that bears your name—lies in ruins. We make this plea, not because we deserve help, but because...

I moved around a lot as a kid. It seemed like every 18-24 months we were moving into a new home or apartment. It wasn't until I moved to Uptown Charlotte that I started to realize the benefit of just moving into a community and then sticking around for a while. I have gotten to know the ins and outs of the neighborhood. The shortcuts when there is traffic. The best place for Dara to send me out when her recipe unexpectedly called for an egg.I also have seen the annoying side of staying in one place. My neighbors see our ups and downs. They see our imperfections, our family disagreements and...

I think it's so important to pay attention to the "ifs" in God's Word. God created each one of us, but he wants our love and devotion, not mindless obedience. So to accomplish this, he gave us a powerful reality: the power of choice.We don't have to love him. We choose to love him.We don't have to follow his commands. We choose to follow his commands.We don't have to live to please him. We choose to live to please him.With these choices, we become the deciding factor of what type of life that we will live. All throughout the Scriptures, there are calls to God's leaders that go like this:"If...

I had the privilege of sharing the story of Center City Church with Lindy Lowry from Exponential (a church planting network resourcing church planters across the world). It was such a wonderful opportunity to think through, process and respond to what God has done in the past two years in our church family.I am so grateful what God has done at Center City. It's a story of his people responding to a simple call:  to honor God and make disciples at home and across the world. If you want to check out the story, click here. Also, if you are a church planter, I highly recommend putting...

In one of the most powerful and poignant moments in the history of our church, Pastor Steve Witherup described to our church family how the lives of followers of Christ are disruptive to the world around them. The following is a transcript from July 8, 2012.------------------------------------------------------- Language is a powerful thing. Every speech act is an attempt to interpret, communicate or describe something that we all know is actually bigger than the words themselves.When seeking to communicate some thought or describe a thing we are passionate about, we search for certain words...

I've been on a quest lately to learn how to *correctly* play golf. One of the guys in our church, Brendan Gielow, is a professional golfer and he has taken on the challenge of fixing what I've been doing wrong my entire life on the golf course.He was trying to teach me how to "read a green" the other day. For those that aren't into golf, this is when the golfers get down on one knee and stare at the green, calculating how much the putt will move left or right and how hard they need to hit it. I missed a putt (badly) while he was working with me. Brendan said to me, "Why did you think...

Click the link to view this week's message from Center City Church: Do the Next Right Thing.[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/45800556 w=500&h=281] Do The Next Right Thing from Center City Church on Vimeo.Life is a series of decisions made over a long course of time. Galatians 6 encourages us to simply do the next right thing.