Today marks one year since my dad passed unexpectedly on Easter. It's been a whirlwind this year. The tension of grieving great loss but also experiencing great life. There has been many weekends and speaking opportunities that I flat out just didn't want to do. I've had to preach through the feeling of not wanting to preach more this year than any other year. Preaching in weakness. Preaching vulnerable. Preaching from an honest place. His grace is sufficient. There was something Nathan Finochio posted months ago that has really resonated with me. I wrote it down. Found myself telling myself this when my mind was going astray. Shared this with friends who were walking through their own loss. Here it is... "Grace means nothing you had was earned in the first place. Which means nothing taken from you is evidence of God's betrayal!" 😭🙏🏽 Love you all!

Didn't get to ask on the call, so I'll drop here: What's 1 book you recommend reading? 1 preacher you recommend listening to? 1 Conference you recommend attending to get poured into? Would love to hear what’s impacted you to stay sharp!

What an amazing first-day session! I'm ready to PREEAACHH Y'all

I’m a big fan of one-liners. A faithful unpacking of Scripture with a right-hook one-liner is my bread & butter. I have a growing notepad of one-liners that goes back to 2011. There’s just something about them. They don’t replace good content, they amplify it. A phrase, a proverb, a sticky statement… it’s biblical. Jesus hit the Pharisees with: “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” BOOM. One-liner. The Apostle Paul hit them with: “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” BOOM. One-liner. Solomon with: “One who is full loathes honey from the comb, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.” MIC DROP. This one-liner/phrase came from a message I preached this weekend entitled “PEOPLE.” The premise of the message was that in Philippians (the letter of joy), we see that Paul didn’t just have joy in Jesus. In the first 11 verses of chapter 1, he doesn’t even bring that up. The joy he highlights is his joy in the people. His love for people was so great, he expresses this internal tension: “I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith.” What?? Are you kidding? His love is that great for the people he’s done life with, impacted, shared the gospel with? He is torn between being with Jesus and staying? Here was the phrase I gave the church—our first ONE-LINER OF THE WEEK: “PEOPLE”: THE REASON PEOPLE LEAVE. “PEOPLE”: THE REASON PAUL STAYED.🤯 People are the reason many leave… but for Paul, they were the reason he stayed. SHARE THE LOVE…COMMENT A ONE-LINER/QUOTE/ OR PHRASE!! 😄

Dear Young Preacher, I know nothing about figure skating. But after watching Alysa Liu win Olympic gold, I realized something: every preacher can learn something from her. I remember going on a weird group date in middle school to watch Blades of Glory. What I do know is… when I watched Alysa Liu’s Olympic gold medal–winning performance, I was captivated. This 20-year-old was the first U.S. woman to win Olympic singles gold since 2002. (Have you seen it? If you haven’t, stop reading and please go watch it.) How could I not be? She was floating…secure, free, light. Not a care in the world while the whole world was watching. She was spinning in the air, twirling on the floor, while vibing to “MacArthur Park” by Donna Summer. She looked like Kanye in 2001. Popped collar, polo backpack…while everyone else was wearing FUBU. This girl is legit! Every time I watch her skate or hear her in an interview, I feel like I’m in a therapy session. She’s got a settled confidence that is inspiring. The other week we were celebrating our friend’s birthday at our house, and here we all are cheesing at the TV like proud parents as Alysa is skating off the ice smiling with that painful-looking piercing. Her set made us watch 10 others… Look… I know nothing about skating. All I know is that when I see Alysa Liu doing what she is called to do, it inspires me to do what I am called to do. Watching her skate, I realized something: young preachers can learn a lot from Alysa Liu... Read Full Article: https://substack.com/@dearyoungpreacher/note/p-190692781?r=2dn239&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action Watch Gold Winning Performance: