Click the link to view this week's message from Center City Church: Our Art Reflects Our Maker.[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/32079990 w=398&h=224]God has given each one of us a unique design to be used by him to make a lasting impact in the world. When you get to know your creator, you get to know your purpose.

Center City Church opened to the community on April 4, 2010. We've seen some amazing things since that day. People coming to know Jesus as their personal savior and friend. Lives transformed by the message of the Gospel. Unusual obedience to the call of the lord. Radical generosity across our community. It's been an amazing ride. We have felt the next shift in the past couple of months, and it's a shift outward. We have always had a desire to love and serve our community and beyond. But there is something different, something unique about this season. There's a group of people that have...

One of the most challenging and inspiring quotes that I have ever heard is by an evangelist from the late 1800's named D.L. Moody. It drives me in ways that are hard to explain. Listen to the passion, commitment and desperation found in these two statments: The world has yet to see what God can do with and for and through and in and by the man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him. I will try my utmost to be that man. I have no clue what it means to be fully and wholly consecrated to God. My life is laden with inconsistencies and areas that fall short of perfection. But - like the old...

I am teaching on one of our core values at Center City Church this weekend: We will risk everything to obey. It's a bold statement that is true of so many in our church. There are stories that can be told over and again about people in our community that have given their hearts and lives completely to God. It's absolutely beautiful. This is also a statement that I speak over and pray over every person in our church. I pray that our relationship with Jesus is so intimate that he could ask us to do ANYTHING and we would be compelled to obey. No matter the cost. Praying for an absolute wildfire...

Click the link to view this week's message from Orphan Sunday at Center City Church: [vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/31708520 w=398&h=224]James 1:27 gives a clear mandate to care for orphans and widows at home and across the world. Center City Church joined with thousands of others across the world for “Orphan Sunday.”

I have always had a desire to change the world. But every time I would allow myself to be exposed to the needs of the world, I would get terribly overwhelmed. In the past month, God has arrested my attention and filled me with a motivation that I've never known. It started with this simple thought that went through my head: Just because I can't do everything doesn't mean I can't do something. Translation: you gotta start somewhere. And it turns out that a mixture of hard work, patience and Google is all it takes to make a difference at home and across the world. I spent an entire evening on...

Proverbs 2:2-4 - Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.The intensely practical book of Proverbs teaches us to seek, search and passionately pursue wisdom. The results are profound, lasting and meaningful. When we commit to search for wisdom, it means that we are searching for God. He is wisdom. He is understanding. I want to live my life in this pursuit of wisdom. There's too much going on to walk blindly, so I need a compass. I need a true north to...

Dreams are a funny thing. Nothing can keep you going with the adrenaline and passion that goes along with chasing down your dreams. And nothing can be quite as disheartening when a dream comes to an unexpected halt. I have learned over and again that the dreams of my life never seem to come on my timetable. And that is probably the best reality that I have experienced. Good old fashioned hard work, discipline, stick-to-it-ive-ness and patience produce something that shortcuts never can: commitment. If you have a dream in your heart that has not come to pass, don't give up. This season may...

God put a dream in my heart five years ago that never seems to be too far away. Instead of building a regular church facility, the dream has been to open a non-profit coffeehouse/venue for our community. All profits will go into making a lasting difference at home and across the world. We are partnering with Mark Batterson and National Community Church (Washington DC) to open the second Ebenezers Coffeehouse. It's going to come to pass. And until that day we will faithfully continue to take one step at a time until the Lord brings this to pass. Check out this video we made that gives a...

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see they they get justice. These words have become an overwhelming, passionate and personal calling. I came across these words in a familiar place: the Proverbs. I have read the book of Proverbs over and over again, but for some reason, God saw fit to allow these words (Proverbs 31:8-9) to jump out at me and arrest my attention recently. God created me with an ability to talk. To communicate. To carry a message and pass it along with passion. My heart is...