Riding the shuttle bus from the Atlanta airport terminal to my parking spot, I started a conversation with another passenger. We shared about the heat as we both returned from Texas. She asked why I was in Houston and I enthusiastically shared, “The New Room Conference.” When she followed up with, “What’s the New Room Conference?” I clumsily tried to explain my previous three days in language that I had yet to process. So it was the perfect transition to ask questions of how and where she practiced and strengthened her faith.

The New Room Conference is a gathering of Christians and leaders who sow and practice the ancient holy habits for a great awakening. New Room is not so much about new things as it is about new discoveries of ancient things.

Our pastors had just returned from teaching Christian to the Core in the Czech Republic the week before, and they picked me up from the airport late Tuesday afternoon. My roommate from our amazing and gifted leadership team arrived early Wednesday morning. We headed to The Woodlands Methodist Church that afternoon, where I was warmly greeted by a fellow H.L. Bourgeois High School (down the bayou) graduate, who I recognized only because of the “-eaux” in her last name.

Throughout the conference, I kept bumping into familiar faces and meeting wonderful new friends in the Lord. I sat next to the niece of one of my church’s beloved members, which helped me stay calm instead of fan-girling over the lab speaker like a middle-schooler. I also shared a discussion table with the children’s ministry lead team from The Woodlands, who were in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, while I was the oldest in the group. We discussed the “Timothy mandate”—the importance of not only training young adults to implement Christian education programs with excellence but also spiritually parenting them, nurturing their Christ-like character. The session was led by a remarkable young woman I’ve known for years.

I reconnected with a fellow kidmin lead and preschool director from North Georgia, and we talked about how she answered her call to ministry at a previous New Room Conference. At the Houston airport on the return flight home, we prayed with a pastor, who later returned to chat more when he found out we knew his incredible kidmin lead when he sat by us on another shuttle. A divine appointment indeed.

“I can’t know the will of God unless I know the Word of God.” Rev. J. D. Walt, The Wake Up Call

Don’t let anyone tell you the church is struggling. She’s doing just fine and in the most amazing and unexpected places.

We were surrounded by…

• Believers obsessed with the Word of God.
• Believers fanning the flame of faith in the young in London, Ireland, Houston, Uganda, Chad, and universities around the world.
• Believers with a humble heart who will at any moment step up or step aside.
• Believers who pack flags, streamers, sign language, and tissue ready to worship with whatever is in their hands or bags unashamedly. 
• Believers who journal not their own thoughts, but what they discover who our great God is.
• Believers who step into the Gen Z & Gen Alpha hunger to know the real Jesus coming from a pre-Christian context.
• Believers who find Wesleyan Bands the safest and bravest place to be each week.
• Believers who mix travailing prayers with spiritual disciplines setting Holy Spirit spot-fires around the world. 
• Believers who are hungry for maximum, fanatical Christianity.

The New Room Conference is different from any conference I’d been to before. And I want more of it! This worship festival will be in Montgomery, Alabama next year. Checkout early registration here.

And if you’d like to see how the gospel is reaching the creatives of Houston, check out Urban Hymnal on Instagram. This is a Monday night worship community seeking communion with Jesus. They gathered for a prayer walk through downtown Houston last weekend.

Holy Spirit bonfires are being set all around the world for a great awakening and I’m incredibly grateful to be invited to fan the flames and join my friends as we carry wood.

“The Lord’s right hand is lifted high; the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!” Psalms 118:16

Family Bible study on Sunday afternoons brings me so much joy. This week, we discussed the importance of family worship at home. Learning to navigate family worship with realistic expectations (it won’t look like a perfect picture) will help families:

• Meet regularly and intentionally to pass on faith.
• Prepare for mission work if needed, even outside traditional church buildings.
• Avoid the mindset of just consuming worship.
• Create informal, regular moments for faith discussions, sacred conversations, and even kitchen praise parties while making pizza.

In Grow at Home: A Beginner’s Guide to Family Discipleship, author Winfield Bevins writes, “Worship is not just something we do on Sunday mornings, but something that should take place in our homes…Family worship involves prayer, reading Scripture, and singing songs.”

Jonathan Edwards reminds us that “Every Christian family ought to be as it were a little church.”

The key to family worship is to start small and grow over time. Children really do want to learn about God. Family worship isn’t difficult—just keep it simple: prayer, Bible reading, and singing.

Everyone in the family can take part in prayer, scripture reading, and singing. In Sunday’s class, we sang “Jesus Loves Me” and asked, “What does this song tell us about God?” We asked this question repeatedly, digging deeply into the simple words. Scripture reading and singing are great ways to prompt these kinds of faith conversations.

Next week is fall break, so we won’t meet, but after that, we’ll dive deeper into family Bible reading. The Bible was always meant to be read together in community. (Deuteronomy 31)

I remember a conversation at the Children’s Pastors Conference where a colleague said, “My parents would never do something like this.” It saddened me, but it also strengthened my resolve.

God wants boys and girls to love their families. Families are His gift and the place where children learn to practice and live out loving God with their whole hearts for their whole lives. International Leadership Institute, Christian to the Core: Eight Core Values

Making Jesus the center of family life won’t happen by accident. From personal experience, I know the power of guarding family worship time and practicing faith at home through prayer, Bible reading, and singing. The temptation to give up will be strong, especially with the distractions of secular culture, media, busy schedules, and “She’s looking at me!” But making Jesus the King of our families is an eternal decision, and we have a real enemy trying to distract and defeat parents.

My role is to equip families to navigate these challenges as citizens of God’s Kingdom here on earth. We will teach, practice, and model discipleship at home because that is God’s plan. It’s our plan too, and it’s a biblical command to teach children of all ages and stages. May we be found faithful and obedient.

“Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.” 1 Timothy 4:15

Audible has become my constant companion while driving. Over the past month, I’ve listened to A Rebel’s Manifesto by Sean McDowell, Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer, 50 Women Every Christian Should Know by Michelle DeRusha, and Shepherds for Sale by Megan Basham. But my daily routine now includes listening to God’s Word through Audible.

The Bible is life to me. The words, the names, the history, the accounts of God’s goodness and faithfulness to His people then and now jump off the page. But what do we do when the season calls for less ‘sitting’ and more ‘moving’? Listen to the word!

Though it takes up a lot of phone memory, listening to the Bible on Audible has been a great way to stay in the Word while driving or doing chores. Currently, I’m listening to the Listener’s Audio Bible (NIV) read by Max McLean, which is 75 hours and 14 minutes long. Listening to larger chunks of the scriptures, over time, have me picking up on common phrases and words that are specific to each book of the scriptures.

I’m preparing for a trip next month to explore Paul’s journeys, so the New Testament book of Acts is a regular listen this month.

There are many apps available which offer God’s Word read aloud, like Audible, Bible Gateway, YouVersion, Spotify and more. We can choose different voices, translations, and even the speed of the reading.

Before the smartphone God’s people, especially the children, listened to the scriptures read aloud. Before a lot of folks could read and before the printing press, the scriptures were read, memorized, and sung aloud as a means of grace to pass along our faith to the next generation.

The Old Testament book of Deuteronomy is less an action book and more a book of Moses’ speeches meant to be read aloud. According to chapter 31, read aloud every seven years during the Feast of Booths inviting the people of God to a do-over, a reset, a reboot, a jubilee to let go of regret, debt, and turn our eyes, focus, and priorities back on leaning into loving the Lord our God with our whole hearts for our whole lives. This instruction right after Moses tells Joshua to “Be strong and of a good courage… Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged.”

Listening to the scriptures aloud just might be the proper equipping today to combat fear and discouragement offering a do-over to turn our eyes upon Jesus.

If the noise of the news, the hallways, and even the music are plentiful and constant, listening to the scriptures read aloud can turn just about any space you are into a sanctuary.  

¹⁰ Then Moses commanded them: “At the end of every seven years, in the year for canceling debts, during the Festival of Tabernacles, ¹¹ when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose, you shall read this law before them in their hearing. ¹² Assemble the people—men, women and children, and the foreigners residing in your towns—so they can listen and learn to fear the Lord your God and follow carefully all the words of this law. ¹³ Their children, who do not know this law, must hear it and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” Deuteronomy 31:10-13

Watching the Olympics and Paralympics, I’m reminded of how every athlete trains with purpose to excel in their sport:

• They have a coach, either individually or as a team.
• They carefully choose what they eat to fuel their bodies for the best performance.
• They practice daily.

When I think about soul training to become more like Jesus, I see that God has given us much. Like an Olympian, I also need (1) a coach/team, (2) to be mindful of what I take in—both physically and mentally—and (3) to practice every day.

The goal of the International Leadership Institute (ILI) is to change history by accelerating the spread of the Gospel of Jesus. Wes and Joy Griffin are the international directors of ILI. Wes prayed with me and sat beside me for an entire day on one of the most pivotal days of my career. Joy shared a message about Rahab during Advent at my new church. These two have equipped men and women worldwide to effectively share the Gospel.

“A God-shaped life is like a tree planted by God’s hands, flourishing and strong. Those who trust in God and find their confidence in Him are like a tree planted by water, with leaves that stay green and always bear fruit.” Always green. Always bear fruit.

Christian to the Core is a curriculum to guide disciple-makers to discover eight core values for a transformed life in Christ Jesus. There is a curriculum for adults, youth, and children. Christian to the Core is grounded in expectations for the future. 

• Christian to the Core
• Christian to the Core to the Youth: Rooting in a Deeper Life
• Christian to the Core to the Kids: Sprouting in God’s Love

Each core value is backed up with scripture and begins with 

• “God is looking for men and women who….”, 
• “God is looking for young men and women who…”, 
• “God looks for boys and girls who…”

The youth and kids curriculum guides are not an add-on to tie a bow on an adult curriculum. All the curricula for adults, youth, and kids are offered as a free pdf here. The materials are thick with developmentally appropriate language and sticky storytelling from life and the scriptures, guided object lessons and discussion, and filled with clear, impactful teaching for leaders to lead littles and bigs to sold-out living for Christ Jesus. 

Too many disciples never fully develop into transformed disciple-makers thereby suffering the consequences of a shallow life. Our great God invites us to be involved in His Kingdom here on earth. Ready to transform your life, relationships, and legacy? 

Let’s go!

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10