View this week's message from Center City Church by clicking the link below: Joshua sees God perform miracles to ensure victory in battle. We learn an important lesson from this: our God can do anything. [vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/20732816 w=398&h=299]

A video encouragement from Uptown Charlotte. Uncertainty brings insecurity. But time spent with the Lord brings peace, understanding & security. [vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/20613637 w=398&h=299]

Today at Center City Church was a very straightforward day as we shined the light of truth on the topic of deception. You can view this week's sermon on Joshua 9 by clicking the video below: [vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/20452715 w=398&h=299]

Dara and I had the privilege of spending the day today with one of our mentors. A man that has spoken clearly into our lives for the last 8 years. With clarity and timeliness, our friend has been there at the most pivotal times in our lives. We enjoyed a beautiful Charlotte day and hours of conversation. He met some of the closest people in our world that have surrounded us at Center City Church. We talked life and ministry. And I'm so much better for it. I am challenged to make sure that I am investing into others deeply and meaningfully. In the same way that our friend has spoken into our...

I've been thinking about getting rich lately. Not so much about "how to get rich." More about the idea of being rich and how simply meaningless it is unless something is done with the wealth that is built up on this side of heaven. I drove by the Carolina Theater this week. This is an historic theater in the heart of Uptown Charlotte. It's been sitting in disrepair for over 40 years. But in it's heyday it was one of the most glamorous and sought after venues in the southeast. But there it sits, forty years later, simply a shell of what it once was. It was known for it's intricate details,...

Joshua failed in his leadership and obedience to God in Joshua 7. But Joshua 8 tells a beautiful story of redemption & second chances. This is so applicable to each one of our lives. Click the link to view this week's message from Center City Church.[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/20216234 w=398&h=299]

This past weekend was so meaningful to me and our entire leadership team at Center City. We enjoyed a wonderful service yesterday as we worked through Joshua 8. This is an incredible story of redemption and second chances. You can view online or download via iTunes if you want to check it out. There was such a sense of God's love and power in the room. I am loving the atmosphere that is being laid by Clark and Salina Beasley. They are absolutely phenomenal at leading us in worship and pointing our attention to God. And I certainly enjoy watching them stare up into the ceiling while singing...

There are amazing works of God happening all across our city. I look at churches that I deeply respect like Renovatus Church (Pastor Jonathan Martin) and the Branch Church (Pastor Derek Turner). Both of these churches were started by amazing men of God that sacrificed so much to get where they are today. But it took years and years of consistency, tough decisions, prayers and commitment in the face of adversity. Their success as healthy and thriving churches in our community did not happen overnight. There was a steep price that was paid that most will never see or understand. It is so easy...

I have always been wired to chase after things that have never been done. To take new ground. To go after huge dreams. But the more we continue to move forward at Center City Church, the more I find myself looking back. I am so overwhelmed and encouraged by the stories of the pastors that have gone before me in Charlotte. The pastors that poured out their lives for God, for their family and for this community. I have been captivated by the story of Alfred Garr, an evangelist that put down roots in the 1930's in Charlotte. He prayed over and over and over again for the people that lived in...

God put a huge dream in our hearts close to four years ago. We have a vision to open a coffeehouse/venue (Ebenezers Coffeehouse) in the heart of Uptown Charlotte. Instead of building a space solely for our church to meet in each week, we envision opening the coffeehouse to the community sixteen hours a day, seven days a week. We see a multiple-use venue that can hold anything from a national recording artist to a public school graduation. But it doesn't happen overnight. And I'm becoming more and more ok with that. In the meantime (between the revelation of the dream and the completion), I...