I am first of all a disciple of Jesus Christ, a Gospel-Driven pastor, Evangelical believer, and Baptist. I am married to Ann and am raising 2 wonderful boys – Jonathan and Andrew.
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I pursue this purpose joyfully by treasuring the supremacy of Jesus Christ in all things. This ultimate purpose makes me radically God-centered and not self-centered, as I am driven to sharing the joyful message of God’s incredible Gospel as revealed through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. My hope for each and every one of us is that we might know Christ personally and be constantly growing and maturing as His followers.
My Core Values
- God-treasuring: I value putting God at the center of all that I do. I put His glory, supremacy, and His honor first, asking in every decision, “Will this bring the greatest glory and praise to our God?” In this sense, the pursuit of joy in God is not wrong; indeed, it is God’s command and my need.
- Bible-saturating: I value being saturated with the divinely inspired Scriptures (the 66 books of the OT and NT), which are God’s totally true, trustworthy, authoritative, and sufficient revelation of Himself. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the fulfiller and focus of divine revelation. Therefore, I ask myself, “What does God’s Word say about a matter as it points me to Christ and His Gospel?”
- Expository-savoring: I value “expository exultation,” as the Spirit-anointed preacher delights in bringing forth from Scripture the teaching that God has revealed for our good and His glory. This is preaching which expounds what Scripture says in a particular passage, carefully explaining its meaning and applying it to the congregation. Therefore, I always ask of any sermon, “How can I obey what God has said and is saying through the exposition of His Word?”
- Christ-exalting: The essence of worship is valuing Christ more than all the world has to offer. Thus, I value corporate worship that honors Him and helps us to cherish Him more and more highly through touching both the mind and the heart. Worshiping Christ is the fuel and goal of all missions and ministry. Therefore, I am always asking myself, “How is my love for Christ growing in my life.”
- Prayer-empowering: I value prayer as our amazing privilege of speaking with the King of the Universe, expressing and developing our intimate family relationship with Him. I value prayer as the source of power and the visible engine for all my efforts. Therefore, I will be constantly asking, “How dependent on God and his Holy Spirit am I in life and ministry?”
- Gospel-Driven: The gospel is the heart of Christianity and what drives my ministry. But the good news is not that God wants to meet people’s felt needs or help them develop a healthier self-image. The Gospel declares that we have sinfully rebelled against our Creator and Judge. Yet He has graciously sent His Son to die the death we deserved for our sin, and He has credited Christ’s acquittal to those who repent of their sins and believe in Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension. That is the good news. Successful witnessing is simply sharing the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaves the results with God. Therefore, I want to constantly be asking, “How is the gospel of Christ death, burial, and resurrection being shared in my life, love, and lips (witnessing/teaching)?”
- Community-loving: I value the diversity that God created among mankind; even more, I value the unity in diversity that God creates in His church –as the people show love, fellowship, accountability, care, and concern. Therefore, I consistently ask myself, “Are my relationships good, growing, and healthy with others?”
- Missions-mobilizing: I value aggressive intentionality in missions and evangelism as the privilege God has given all of us of being His ambassadors. I value accomplishing His goal of spreading the knowledge of His glory to all the nations (Malachi 1:1): those within our culture and those without, those who live nearby and those who live on other continents. I value the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ and the establishment of new churches that plant other new churches. I want to be involved in a church that multiplies by planting other churches locally, nationally, and internationally. Therefore, I always ask myself, “How am I participating in taking the gospel of Jesus Christ to the nations?”
- Family-strengthening: I value building up strong marriages and families, where God’s Word is taught and lived out, where husbands love their wives as Christ loved the church, where wives respect their husbands, where the hearts of the parents are turned toward their children and the hearts of the children toward their parents. therefore, I ask myself, “Am I seeking to prioritize my family relationships in a greater way than I do with others?”
- Disciple-multiplying: I value growth in Christ-likeness and holiness in every believer, as all of us become the disciples. Recovering true disciplemaking that lead to multiplication for today (i.e. disciplemaking-disciples) would build the church and promote a clearer witness to the world. The only way we can obey the Great Commission is by involving all the people who name Jesus Christ as their Lord in Spiritual multiplication. Disciplemaking multiplication is not in-grown but sees evangelism as the beginning and the end of the process. Therefore, I ask myself, “Am I multiplying more disciples and leaders in God’s church in fulfillment of the Great Commission in this generation?”
- Joy-pursuing: I value the pursuit of my greatest joy in God as essential for spiritual vitality because it is God’s command and the way we glorify him most. Therefore, I ask myself, “Is the great joy in my life knowing and loving God?”
