Walking Through the Fire

I've been the pastor at Lantana Community Church for several years now. In that time, we've talked about love...ALOT. But love for us isn't the kind of love that we bottle up and keep to ourselves, its a love that flows through us and to others. It's the kind of love Jesus meant when He said, " As I have loved you, so you must love one another " (John 13:34). We're talking about the kind of love that gives of self, sacrificially. The kind of love that serves others and considers others better than ourselves. With this blog post, I want to talk about that type of love. The next several posts will be part of a series I'm calling Love is a Verb . (That sounded way better in my head, haha. Typing it out just now it seems like an overused phrase.) This series is built around a five sermon series I preached on biblical justice. This isn't political commentary, and it's not sociology or economics, it's pastoral. It's theological. It's bibl...

The Wednesday between Palm Sunday and Easter always feels like holy tension. Just a few days ago, we were waving palm branches and shouting,  “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”  But we know what’s coming. On Sunday, I said something I haven’t been able to shake:  “The same crowd that shouted ‘Hosanna’ will shout ‘Crucify Him’ just days later.” That’s more than a dramatic contrast. It’s a mirror. It’s easy to cheer for Jesus when He looks like the king we want. The crowd welcomed a Messiah they thought would overthrow Rome, not surrender to it. They praised Jesus as long as He fit their expectations. But when He didn’t — when He challenged the temple system, refused to take up the sword, and started talking about suffering and sacrifice — the cheers stopped. The same voices that cried out for salvation became the ones that called for His execution. We’d like to believe we would’ve done better. But if we’re honest, we know how quickly our own hearts...

After more than two decades in ministry, I find myself walking through fire again — not one that consumes, but one that refines. This season has brought a fresh sense of urgency, and a deeper invitation to walk with God into unknown places. Here’s a reflection on where I’ve been, what I’m learning, and what I believe God is calling me to— and maybe all of us — in this moment. I've been in ministry long enough to know that I don't know everything — but also long enough to have experienced the sweetness of God’s hand in my life. The refinement I’m experiencing is not one that brings discouragement or disillusionment. Rather, it’s a refining fire that leaves me encouraged. I’m in a season where the familiar somehow feels unfamiliar, where God’s call still burns in my heart… but differently than before. It feels deeper, quieter — and yet more urgent. The Unlikely Call I don’t have the familiar story so many of my friends share about an early call to ministry. In fact, my call came...