New Middle School Minster @ MABC

God works in mysterious ways. I ended up getting the job at Magnolia Avenue Baptist Church as the youth pastor for Middle School students (Jr. High). I am stoked! There is a lot of work that needs to be done, so pray that I can get on top of it. From worship to Bible study to outreach, I have developed a vision for the ministry to thrive. It is fresh and vibrant, and includes multiple activities to do. I pray the Lord will grow these students in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ unlike ever before (2 Peter 3:18). Teens are part of God's plan, and they need the Gospel! Therefore, it is my aim to do as Paul did and make sure they know Jesus Christ and him crucified above all else (1 Corinthians 2:2).

My first sermon was on the lifestyle of Romans 1:16, not ashamed of the gospel and living the cross-centered life. God is on the move at MABC Middle School Ministry!

Baby Mc

Here is our first shot of Baby Mc! (aka baby McCauley). My wife and I are so blessed and thankful to the Lord for giving us this precious gift of a child (cf. Psalm 127:3). We pray everything goes smoothly and the pregnancy will be a healthy one! Pray for us. In the meantime, say hi the Baby Mc. This is the baby's first picture, lol.

SBTS Online

Going to school online has been very challenging but extremely beneficial. I have been challenged to meet the demands of each class. Yet, I have the flexibility of taking the courses online to manage my schedule throughout each week. Thus, my experience has been pretty awesome. I am impressed with the online Moodle database I use at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Below are some screen shots of the different styles of courses. 

Some classes are in-class lecture videos, and others are more of a personal in-office lecture videos. I really enjoy the personal in-office lecture videos better because they cover more information and move along quickly compared to the extremely long in-class lecture videos. Sometimes the in-class lectures have question periods which make the video very boring and disengaging since you cannot ask a question. The in-office videos, however, are very inductive keeping the student engaged with the content.

If you are looking for a seminary that has the scholarship and evangelical foundations, SBTS is the school you want to attend. A majority of leading theologians and OT/NT scholars all teach at this seminary, so it is worth the investment if you need to go online.

The G.O.S.P.E.L. - D.A. Horton

This guy is LEGIT! I love D.A. Horton's passion for the gospel. He is the creator of the acronym, G.O.S.P.E.L., a clever way to explain the gospel in urban context:

G - God's Image
O - Open Fellowship
S - Sin Introduced
P - Penalty and Price
E - Enter Jesus
L - Life Everlasting

There is something I find in common with Horton. I line up with him in his vision on the gospel in ministry: Contextualizing the gospel without undermining the biblical content. He believes biblical ministry needs to have one foot in evangelical academia and the other in the church, so his service for the gospel contains a healthy biblical exegesis and exposition of the Scriptures in order to explain the gospel clearly and boldly to others in the urban context. I love this perspective because it is so "Pauline" you can say (cf. Rom. 1:16; 2 Tim. 2:15).

Enjoy the short message below about sharing the G.O.S.P.E.L. to those in an urban context, and how you can share the gospel in your own urban context for the glory of God!

C.H. Spurgeon

On of my favorite preachers in church history is the "prince of preachers" the "people's preacher" named Charles Haddon Spurgeon. There is new book coming out on the life of Spurgeon called Living By Revealed Truth: The Life and Pastoral Theology of Charles Haddon Spurgeon by Historical Theology professor Tom Nettles from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

I really want to get this biography on Spurgeon and learn from his pastoral experiences. It is evident we need more faithful Christian preachers who will reach out to their world and teach the truth like he did for 38 years of gospel-centered ministry. Here is a great video (70 minutes long) about the life of Spurgeon. If you have not watched it before, you will be inspired. Enjoy!