Deep Fry

Today's generation of young adults have slackened in their passion and faith, having strayed from God's calling as true disciples. Discipleship, as well as mentoring, have been negatively impacted by the distractive influence of a materialistic culture fueled by media and peer pressure. Passion has been replaced by passivity. Students, teenagers, and young adults alike have forgotten what a hunger for God looks like, and why it's essential to the Spirit-filled life. Young adults are spiritually starving but have lost the sense to recognize the urgency for Jesus. And ultimately, even in the case for most Christians, the idea of an active, passionate, and vertical relationship with the Lord has been abandoned - forgetting a love relationship with Christ is the only aspect of life where one can both be filled and hungry simultaneously. Christians are struggling to define and live out hunger - an unbinding, unshakable desire to experience and connect with God. Hunger is an ...

Effective leadership calls for a collection of certain active qualities, either developing or fixed, that are rooted in the Word. Whether in an entry, training or mature ministry stage, successful leadership must have a face with select features. In analyzing its facets, leadership can be boiled down to four main principles and characteristics: 1) An understanding and knowledge of authority and submissiveness illustrated by the walk and life of Jesus 2) Consistency in complete obedience 3) Faithfulness and devoted drive in light of challenging circumstances 4) Daily repentance as a lifestyle. The following is not merely a set of instructions on how a leader should act and behave; it is a God-centered outline in keeping a vertical relationship with the Lord alive and animate. Whether by dominant leading or influence by example (following), a leader must live out an understanding of biblical authority. In ministry, Jesus modeled authority by humility, submission and integrity, weaved...

I can't imagine life without mentorship. Not only is it foundational in terms of discipleship, but it bears unique power to shape, mold, influence, and counsel. Many of us are who we are due to appointed people who guided and crafted our minds and hearts when we were younger. To counsel, at its core, is to extend God's authority to others, strengthened by the ability to relate and associate. And tonight, as I craft Sunday's lesson plan, I'm reminded how essential it is to integrate reality with personal application, whether story telling or outside interaction. A wise man recently told me that to be "real" is the highest compliment a leader can receive, largely in part it provides weight and lift to being a genuinely imitable disciple of Christ. Our ability to model the Gospel is heavily handicapped if one lacks the aptitude and drive to be real to others. This past week, I've continued to ride the waves of last week's trip to California, an ex...