Blog
This week, from sea to shining sea, people will gather with family, friends, strangers, and neighbors to celebrate something indispensable to our identity as a nation… our freedom. For a moment, it will sound like kids running, laughing, and jumping in pools… It will smell like hamburgers and hot dogs coming in off the grill… […]
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What exactly makes someone a leader? I ask myself that question quite a bit. Maybe you do as well. John Maxwell has famously said, “Leadership is influence,” and he most certainly is right. Is there more? One of my favorite leaders in scripture is Nehemiah. I imagine that many of you are familiar with his […]
Read MoreAn open letter to the graduating Class of 2019, I write this from my office in Orlando, FL fully aware of the annual celebratory tradition called ‘graduation’ that is taking place across the country. Each year I sit in front of my glowing screen and tap away at the keys in hopes of encouraging, perhaps […]
Read More“WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR THE GLORY OF GOD IF YOU KNEW YOU WOULD NOT FAIL?!” Dr. Jay Strack declares in a booming voice. There you sit, in a sea of young, like-minded, optimistic leaders with thoughts running through your brain at an adrenaline-charged pace. Your mind races with floods of ideas or maybe one […]
Read MoreThe boxes don’t fit anymore The categories have all gone topsy-turvy There used to be an invisible line Erased There used to be a code whispered among us Silence There was once a path made straight Crooked Competitive chaos now surrounds Hypocritical compromise now abounds Gone are the days of God and his ways Now […]
Read MoreWhere Have All the Peacemakers Gone? The never-ending contentious environment that is the current state of affairs… The us versus them mentality that seems to accompany every issue… Justice being used as political bargaining chips… The truth being overshadowed by shouts and accusations… In a world of division, strife, boycotts, and seemingly every issue being politicized… I can’t help but […]
Read MoreLate night flights have been a theme throughout the last seventeen years I have spent on the road… and, unfortunately, so have delayed flights. A few years ago, it was such a flight and that kind of night! I was finally sitting on a plane that had previously tormented its passengers with the promise […]
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For over two decades, Student Leadership University has had the privilege and honor of serving tens of thousands of student pastors, youth workers, educators and their volunteer teams by providing an incredible gift called Youth Pastor Summit (YPS). This leadership-equipping conference is our opportunity to say “thank you” for investing in the lives of students. […]
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For over two decades, I had the privilege and honor of being the Youth Pastor to some of the most amazing students in Atlanta, Georgia. During that time, I watched God change lives, affirm kids’ identity, restore families, and heal hurting hearts. Students from all walks of life walked through our doors on a weekly basis […]
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For 20 years I crisscrossed the nation, speaking in public school assemblies by day with a message of hope as a former drug addict. At night, churches brought the lost to stadiums and arenas to hear the rest of the story – the freedom and power of salvation by faith and through grace. It was an […]
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