a fathers day interview with my dad

Thursday, June 21, 2012

He’ll be the first person to tell you that he wasn’t a perfect Father, but he left his sons something that most Dads never leave behind. He left a legacy that’s worth repeating. From a long line of abusive alcoholics my Dad, a first generation Christ-follower, changed his legacy. This past weekend I had the opportunity to have the most influential man in my life on stage with me at Sun Valley Community Church for an interview, and it made for the best Father’s Day of my life.

Posted in Creative Arts, Family, Spiritual Formation

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a real life story: ray and amy branton

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Every parent has hopes and dreams for their kids; first steps, sports, college, on and on they go. But what happens when you realize that those dreams will never materialize? This is the incredible true life story of some friends of mine who I’m in a small group with. Their story will encourage you, inspire you, strengthen your faith, may make you cry a bit, but will certainly help you love Jesus more.

Posted in Family, Spiritual Formation

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an interview with the national preteen pastor of the year

Sunday, May 20, 2012

During the last couple of years there has been a slowly growing trend in churches across America. Churches are pulling their preteens out of children’s and student ministries and ministering to this demographic uniquely. Fueled by kids “growing up too quick,” the age of adolescents dropping, and ministries and organizations like FourFiveSix, Orange, preteenministry.net, and Christ in Youth hitting the scene, this preteen movement is gaining traction in the church. If you’re not thinking Preteen Ministry at your church, you need to be.

Last week I had the unique opportunity to sit down with Mike Branton, the Preteen Pastor at Sun Valley Community Church and Christ in Youth National Preteen Pastor of the Year, to talk about this emerging ministry. The interview is below:

Posted in Family, Leadership, Spiritual Formation

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5 leadership lessons i learned from my mom

Sunday, May 13, 2012

My mom has left an incredible legacy. She’s got two boys that are both married with children, walking with God, and involved in ministry. It’s a legacy that’s definitely worth reproducing. But it becomes more impressive when you understand where she came from. A single child born and raised on the west coast, tragedy struck young when both of her parents died at an early age. Raised by her grandparents she wasn’t exposed to the Gospel until her early 20’s when she followed Christ, married my father, and two unruly little boys entered her life. What follows are 5 leadership lessons that I learned along the way from my incredible mother…

Posted in Family, Leadership

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building a family roadmap

Sunday, April 22, 2012

This past weekend I had the opportunity to speak at Sun Valley Community Church While I don’t typically post talks that I give, this one generated some serious conversations afterwards so I figured I’d share it with you. So here’s to hoping that God uses this talk and the resource below to place your family on the right trajectory!

Want to take this talk and put it into action? Here’s a great tool that I highly recommend to help you build your own plan for where God wants to take your family. Get your copy here!

Many parents want to lead their children on a spiritual journey, but they just don’t know how. “The Family Road Map” answers the question, “But how?” This workbook is designed to be a step-by-step guide for parents in planning the purpose and direction of their family. “The Family Road Map” will guide parents through creating a family purpose statement, establishing family values, identifying key mile-markers for their children, and thoroughly evaluating the yearly personal growth of each of their children. “The Family Road Map” will serve as a guide for parents in raising their children to become all that God wants them to be.