One of the core beliefs that I hold to in life and ministry is that Christians are to embrace and engage in the world around them. Too many times, it's easy to find ourselves (those that profess faith in Christ) cordoned off by a buffer of our Christian friends, Christian music, Christian decals on our cars and Christian t-shirts with quirky acronyms. While I have no problems with these things, I believe with all my heart that my faith is challenged - and strengthened - by being around others that do not believe in the same way that I believe. Sharing the same faith is not a pre-requisite...

God has put a huge dream in our hearts. We have a vision to open Ebenezers Coffeehouse (a non-profit coffeehouse/venue) in Uptown Charlotte. It has taken four years of advancement, waiting, doors opening, doors closing, etc. And one thing that I have learned along the way can be summed up in one very powerful word: resolve. There have been so many challenges along the way in seeing this vision come to pass. Thousands of hours of preparation, prayer and conversations. Thousands of dollars of personal investment into travel, research and pursuing this dream. The road has been filled with...

I just came across this quote today that really resonated within me: It's not in the flash of the style that you hone,Or all the degrees you've compiled;The Savior is looking for servants who ownThe warm, willing heart of a child. —GustafsonIt is so easy to keep ourselves busy trying to pull stuff off that we lose sight of our greatest need: the power of God at work and on display. I am all about excellence, but the past year has taught me more and more that my neurotic obsession with excellence can many times cover up the warm, willing heart of a child to just do whatever God asks. God has...

We have been presented with an extremely unique opportunity to purchase a prime piece of property in the heart of Uptown Charlotte. We would then build Ebenezers Coffeehouse, a non-profit coffeehouse & multi-use venue in the heart of our city. The vision is to have a space that allows us to interact with the community on a daily basis. The coffeehouse would be laid back and have free wi-fi for all. The venue would host anything that you could imagine for the Uptown Charlotte community. And Center City Church would have a space to call home on Sundays and throughout the week with offices....

Click the link to view this week's message from Center City Church. [vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/22528437 w=398&h=224]In an exciting and historic scene, Jesus arrives in Jerusalem to a hero’s welcome as the people receive him as the one true King. Our challenge is to do the same in our lives.

Here is a look at a handout we produced to give people a clear understanding of how they can plug in, get involved and serve at Center City Church. We gave this to everyone in attendance on Sunday morning and had a huge response. So blessed to pastor an amazing, loving and committed group of people! If you're a church planter or work at a church and think this could be useful, shoot me an email and I'll send you the .PSD file with the layers so you can save a bunch of time! ([email protected])Sharing = caring. (<--- corny)

Click here to view the teaching from this Sunday at Center City Church. [vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/22220165 w=398&h=224]Jesus teaches his disciples in Matthew 16:21-28 that the cost of following him is nothing short of everything. And the result of that decision to follow is absolutely beautiful.

I am so excited for this weekend at Center City Church! This is the one year anniversary weekend of our church. Time flies!!!We are kicking off the weekend with baptisms during our Sunday morning gathering. We are going to celebrate with our friends that have recently given their hearts to Jesus. We'll then break for a little while after service and then get back together for Center City's one year birthday celebration at Freedom Park. We'll do this the way we do best: cooking out, hanging out and a whole lot of cornhole. 5pm at Freedom Park Pavilion. Would love for you to join us if you can...

Dara and I took Max (7) and Jack (4) to the Charlotte Bobcats game the other night. So much fun! This was Jack's first professional sporting event and he was so blown away by the size of everything. He was totally on sensory overload for the first little bit. So cute. This is a pic of what happens when you introduce a four year old to arena popcorn. Let's just say he went to town on the gigantic bucket of popcorn!