I was adopted in the eleventh grade and transferred from a large public school in the city to a small private Christian school in the suburbs. For the first time in my life, nobody got cut from the school baseball team. Everyone made the team, including me, and the other homeschool kid who was wearing …
We followed the directions from all the church startup kits and training conferences. After a ton of marketing and Facebook hype, 396 people showed up on launch Sunday. I think most of those people were family members of the launch team from out of town, because 8 weeks later the church had less than 200 …
It was the year 2013 and I was 29 years old. I was about forty pounds overweight, sporting a faux hawk, and babbling about my dream to start a new church that would supposedly change a city. After digesting all the online starter-kit training videos for church planters, I was convinced I needed a launch …
Whats up, Oasis! Happy Friday 🙂 The last time we had an in person church gathering was March 8. When I first announced that we’d be moving our services online, I assumed it might last a few weeks. Here we are, SIXTEEN weeks later, and I’m getting really excited about the prospect of RELAUNCHING …
Preface. It all seemed to happen overnight. One evening I exported a .pdf with the title, “Vision & Values,” and the next day I was the lead pastor of Oasis Church. I thought God was just waiting for me to design a logo, build a website, and put some shine on my instagram so that …
I WISH I was the same person that I present to you on stage, on Facebook, on Insta. But I’m not. I am such a CONTRADICTION sometimes. My behavior often contradicts my values. My actions often contradict my beliefs, And my life contradicts my “position” in the church. Often… -I have a really hard heart toward people, -I am really …
Control is an ILLUSION I cannot control what happens to me I cannot control what people think of me I cannot control my family I cannot control the weather I cannot control how others treat me Self-Control is NOT an illusion: I can control how I respond I can control what I eat I can …
Hey lovely,I’ll never forget how you made me feelthe night I first saw you. My heart stood still, you had me paralyzed. A few weeks later on a Sunday night, holding your hand just felt right. My heart was occupied. I day dreamed on Monday about how much I love Sunday. I knew that was …
If you grew up in “that” church and got kicked out or left out, or maybe you just got out for all the reasons…then you might be interested in this. The churches we grew up in tried real hard to establish who belonged and who didn’t belong. They made up extra rules about clothes, jewelry, …
“I don’t have the house”“I don’t have the spouse”“I don’t have the money”“I don’t have the job”“I don’t have the influence” When did Jesus stop being enough? One day we will start believing 2 Corinthians 1:20 “In him ALL the promises of God are YES and AMEN.” “Jesus is the sum and substance of all of …
Dear Divorced, That’s a big D label, huh? How do you like the pain of it? Nah, nobody does. I remember when I was dealing with it, feeling it, going through the thick of it. Late nights staring at a TV screen alone, or sitting at a bar alone, or riding in my car alone. …
Even if…you blew it.you forgot.you failed.it’s your fourth attempt. And If…nobody around you believes the best about you.you’ve been smeared, lied about, & abandoned.you can’t live up to their expectations you refuse to keep up the appearances AND EVEN IF you’re over it and you’re done caring about it… There is still another shotThere is hopeIt …
If you’ve ever thought suicide was the only way and death was meant for you, or maybe you’ve walked through fire and experienced Hell on earth and you’ve fought and prayed and cried, but you still see no other way out.Let me beg you… PLEASE DON’T KILL YOURSELF. This is my Dad’s suicide note. I …
Why can’t I get you to leave me aloneget out of my headget OUT of my homemy heart is weary, wrestling with youmy gut is sick, thinking about youI wish I could return you, but I’m stuck with you I wish I could go back to where I picked you up, and drop you I want …
If you’ve been attending church for a while, and maybe even tried a Bible study or attended a small group once, but you still can’t find that feeling of “belonging” or “connection” then here are some thoughts… Real relationships require more than just showing up on Sunday morning and seeing each other in the lobby …
Redneck = “The glorious absence of sophistication.” Faith is not:-a sophisticated hobby.-an intellectual argument.-an attractive, suburban lifestyle.-a young, hipster, cool thing to do.-a juiced up, “excellent” experience. Faith is not a one size fits all, cookie cutter, interstate Highway. Instead, faith is a journey down long country roads. It is not easy. It involves road blocks, …
If you’ve ever felt overlooked by God, then you should read these 7 things about you… #1 – You have more potential than you could ever know. (Eph 3:20) #2 – God is slowly unveiling his plans for you day by day because if he showed you all of it at once you wouldn’t believe …
If you are like me, I’m sure you’d rather go jogging, wash clothes, or even just scroll Facebook than have to do ANYTHING on your DAY OFF…ESPECIALLY if it involves feeding your kids and getting everyone dressed before 10am!! 🤣 My guess is the #1 reason you don’t go to church is NOT because you have …
#1 – God’s design for family is perfect, BUT, no family is perfect. Neither will any family ever be perfect. #2 – Over half of US families are remarried/re-coupled. And over half of children in America under the age of 13 are currently living with one biological parent and that parent’s current partner. #3 – …
Did you see the viral Facebook post about the Dad + Bonus Dad who took photos with their little girl before the daddy daughter dance?…so adorable! What about the viral video of Dad + Stepdad with their daughter on her wedding day? They are getting along, smiling, working together, co-parenting. This is all GREAT! But …