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My week typically includes an Uber ride to the airport, jumping on a United flight to some part of the country, checking into a hotel, and then racing to a conference center or church to get a sound check in. I then wait a day or so to get on a stage and communicate the power of Logos Bible Software and attempt to encourage people to dig deeper into the scriptures and study their Bible.

One of the skills that I am constantly working on and trying to develop is public speaking and communication. My ability to be successful in my job goes hand in hand with my ability to communicate, and hopefully doing it with excellence. The truth is, we all need to be concerned with our ability to communicate. This isn’t just for teachers or public speakers but for everyone! The next time you go in to a team meeting you will be, communicating. The next time you make a pitch for a salary increase, promotion, or job change you will be – communicating. So, how can we strive towards excellence in our communication? The following are three things I go back to consistently for my preparation.

Know your Stuff:

Nothing is worse than listening to someone who fumbles through their information or even worse, gives the wrong information! The best thing that you can do for yourself is to take time to really know the content you will be communicating. I had a seminary professor once tell me that for every minute I teach or preach I should have had at least an hour of research in. That means, if I get on a stage for 30-45 minutes I should have spent 30-45 hours in preparation and research! This may be unrealistic in some ways but the principle here is incredibly valuable – know your stuff!

The benefit of being informed and taking time to really understand the content you will be communicating is tremendous. While you may not use all the information you learned or studied, you will have it as ammo for questions and if you decide to go a different direction based on the response of the audience

Pro-Tip – You know a great communicator when they have the ability to adapt based on the response of the audience.

Practice to the Point of Exhaustion:

Many of us fall into two categories. First, we think to much of ourselves and our abilities. Second, we don’t have confidence in ourselves at all. We think less of ourselves which causes us to miss opportunities and positions ourselves for defeat. We need to be somewhere in the middle and in humility we should subject ourselves to practice. Really practicing, to the point of exhaustion!

When I first started at Logos my mentor, Scott; commented that I should be so good at my presentation that I could jump into it and deliver it in the car driving. I should be able to hit every joke, timing, and emotional focus point, while driving! No notes, computer screen for visual representation, just me and my voice. What did I do? I logged countless hours of practice time in rental cars on the way to the hotel, airport, and conference center. Guess what, it worked! This obsessive quality is what separates the “good” from the “great”, and take you from “average” to “excellent”. In fact, if you dig into biographies of influential and accomplished individuals you will find something similar that ties them all together. Practice is key.

Pro-Tip – Evaluate your schedule and redeem wasted time for practice. For me it was car rides and commutes. Take a look at wasted time in your schedule and be intentional about filling it to practice!

Always Have a Back Up Plan:

Knowing your stuff and practicing are both pre-requisites for this next step. After my sound check at conference centers or churches regardless of it being a 10,000 person arena or a 150 seat church I alway recognize that something can go wrong. In fact, I prepare for the worst happening and make sure that I have a back up plan. One of my greatest presentation aids is Logos Bible Software on my Mac. I always plug it onto stage and display it on the big screen to give people a visual of exactly what they can expect. The result is usually audible gasps and aaawwws, pretty cool to think about that in the context of Bible Software and a technology demo! I can’t tell you how many times I get on stage, plug in, and it doesn’t work! All the tests were great. It worked perfect less than an hour ago! However, now I’m on stage with hundreds of eyes staring at me waiting. This is where having a back up plan is so important!

I have a presentation that I developed for this situation. I have another one if Logos crashes or stops working half way through. I took the time to create a back up plan and then practice that back up plan to the point of exhaustion so nothing can take me by surprise to the point where I’m helpless. On a practical note, this includes having all my adapters and extra adapters and technology gadgets that I travel with just in case.

For some of you this involves thinking about the numbers and business data. Considering organizational shifts and management or organizational structures. Be prepared and have a back up plan in your arsenal as a ready response for any variable you may encounter.

Pro-Tip – Take a moment and jot down everything that could go wrong. Now, create a back up plan or response for that. Practice it and be prepared for it!

Bonus: Be You and Execute

The worst thing you can do is try to be someone else. Don’t fall into that trap. It’s filled with misery, inadequacy, and constantly questioning yourself. Feel free to take principles from people you admire and then do the hard work of contextualizing it into your voice! Be you, be genuine, and execute!

In the words of the famous Nike slogan – Just Do It!

P.S

Recommended Reading – If you want some resources to check out, the following books have been incredibly helpful for me.

Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently

Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World’s Top Minds

The post 3 Steps To Excellence in Communicating appeared first on Joel's Travels.

I love reading. At any given time you will see a combination of theology, history, systematic theology, or biography books on my nightstand (or loaded on my ipad). Another genre I love reading is science fiction. I love The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, and the Eragon series. Recently, I started reading (actually, i’ve been listening via audible) the Farseer Trilogy. This series is not “christian” in nature and I began to think whether or not I should be reading this series. In fact, over the years I’ve seen the debate take place on various forums on whether Christians should read non christian literature. As I’ve considered this questions I’ve come to the conclusion that like most things, this is a more complex discussion. In fact, the most important realization I made is that it is in fact a “discussion” and that there is not a blanket statement or answer. In fact, I think as Christians we should be aware of and educated on whats happening in the secular arts community in order to effectively share the Gospel. So, instead of stating whether or not Christians should read secular books, I’d rather point out some principles to consider in the process of deciding what you read.

Does It Hinder Your Relationship With Christ?

In other words, do you find yourself in a compromising place that causes you to be distant from Christ rather than drawn closer to Him. The challenge here is that this line and question is different for each individual person. Our story, background, experiences, sin issues, and so much more play into how we answer this question. Therefore, it is important to ask it and be honest with ourselves with our answer. If your married, your spouse is a great sounding board. Otherwise, it’s always good to have a few trusted friends to reach out too. If you find that what you are reading hinders your relationship, stop. There is nothing worth reading if it compromises our relationship with Christ.

Does it Stir Up Your Imagination?

This almost deals more with the creative brilliance of the author. As I think about J.R Tolkien and C.S Lewis I marvel at their ability to stir up imagination in both adults in children. We are instantly drawn into Narnia and Middle Earth and experience the challenges and goodness of these places as we turn each page. Our imagination is important to Christians. There is so much that is not black and white in the scriptures and to some degree we are called upon to utilize our imagination as we unpack the depth of God’s Word. What does heaven look like? What does God look like? Will we work in Heaven? These questions require a healthy imagination that is framed by the Word of God.

Is It Fun To Read?

Finally, is it fun? Do you enjoy reading it? Does it bring a sense of satisfaction to you? Does it cause you to mourn the end of the novel and anticipate the next book in the series or another book by the author? God gave us creativity as a gift to both exercise and enjoy. While the author of the narrative exercises their creative gift, we the consumer, get to enjoy it!

Question – What are some of your favorite books? What would you add to this list of considerations?

The post Should Christians Read Secular Books? appeared first on Joel's Travels.

Possibly one of the greatest overlooked skill sets for all leaders is the ability to communicate. For some, speaking, teaching, and communicating in public comes as naturally as taking a sip of water. For others, the simple thought of standing up in front of anyone is terrifying. Regardless, the ability to communicate effectively and with efficiency is a key aspect of leadership development. This is true for not just for the corporate world (CEO’S, managers, supervisors, team leads, etc) but also for various aspects of home and personal life (mom, dad, leading church Bible study).

For work I have to get up and communicate how awesome Logos Bible Software is in small group settings with pastors/academics to large conference center venues with up to 5,000 people. Regardless of the size of the crowd I’ve found that there are really a foundational 3 B’s of public of speaking that will set anyone up for success.

Be Brief

This may seem counter productive. Actually, one of the biggest myths in public speaking is that you have to communicate for an extended period of time. The truth is, brevity is your friend as a communicator. Now, don’t be so short that you never actually unpack the content you are communicating, but don’t draw it out so long that people start shifting in their seats and wonder if you actually know what you are talking about. Sometimes it’s hard to find the sweet spot on how long you should communicate. The way I figure this out is pretty simple. My core goal in communication is to clearly unpack the point that I am trying to make. Any more or any less will be more harmful than helpful. The other benefit of brevity is that you are able to sharpen your delivery and really consider what is essential and non essential. The human brain is processing so much information, so you want the people listening to you to grasp the essentials.

Be Brilliant

This is actually much easier than it sounds. The goal of every time I get on a stage is to have people listening to me go through an “Aha” moment. The moment when they realize something they never knew was possible. The moment they realize their dream of effectively studying the Bible could be a reality! The moment that a dream that lay dorment for some time came to life through a simple scripture, quote, or phrase that I used. As you communicate, consider the “aha” moment. Often your “brilliant” moment will be a simple phrase that you spent hours crafting. Other times, it is something that you said on the fly that later people comment on how profound that was!

Pro Tip: Write down each of those moments! In the past I’ve had people comment after my presentations about how great it was and they would share something specific that touched them. In the past I would just nod and say thanks. Then I realized, I am missing a huge opportunity to add some great content to my presentation! Sometimes this is a joke or an illustration, but if it worked one time on the fly I know it can work multiple times in various audiences!

Take every opportunity to give valuable content to your audience. Also remember, that something you think is not that great, may be of great value for your audience. Keep a pulse on this and remember that communicating may be one of the most selfless things you do. Really, you are there to communicate valuable content for your audience, not for yourself!

Be Seated

After your done take a seat. If you get a round of applause great. If its quiet in the room, great! I’ve made the mistake before thinking that I absolutely ruined a presentation because I stopped getting the “ooh’s” and “aahs”. What I found out was that people had reached their receptive capability point and they were just waiting to jump to the Logos booth so they could get a base package for themselves! Another danger is going longer than you intended. I’ve felt the need to expound on a topic if I felt that it was not received well, only to break my first rule of being brief. So, when your done simply sit down.

**

Make sure to sign up to my newsletter! Not only will you get my free 7 day devotional through the Psalms which launches soon, but you will also be able to get my next e-book on communicating with excellence!

The post The Three B’s Of Public Speaking appeared first on Joel's Travels.

Well the new year is here and everyone is jumping on the new resolution band wagon. Like most, I’ve been guilty of having some lofty resolutions only to find my self the following December realizing that I haven’t accomplished much of what I set out to do. However, if there is a resolution that you should keep, it’s to spend more time reading. The benefits are countless! Earlier I posted a quick review of the best books I read in 2015. 

Related: Best Books Of 2015

I wanted to give you my 2016 reading list. Some may wonder how I compiled this list? It’s actually really simple. I typically turn to people or other sites that I trust. I compile list based off of their recommendations. I also make sure to leave some breathing room for new books that set to release in 2016!

My Recommended Sites/Blogs:

• The Gospel Coalition
• Desiring God
• Derwin L Gray

After surveying what seems like hundreds of books, I landed on adding the following to my 2016 must read list.

Must Read Books For 2016

What Does The Bible Really Teach About Homosexuality, Kevin DeYoung – In a culture that that is seemingly getting more complex in regards to gender issues, I’m excited about taking a look at what Kevin DeYoung has to say from a gospel centered Biblical framework.

Onward: Engaging the Culture without Losing the Gospel, Russell D Moore – As Christians we need to engage culture. A seemingly significant challenge for many is keeping the Gospel central in our engagement with our culture.

The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of the Inklings, Philip and Carol Zaleski – I’m a huge fan of both C.S Lewis and J.R Tolkien. One of the areas I hope to develop in 2016 is my writing, and there is nothing better than to study the lives of these literary giants!

The Pastor as Public Theologian: Reclaiming A Lost Vision, Kevin J. Vanhoozer and Owen Strachan – As I’ve gone through seminary I’ve been amazed at how so many of the theological giants in the past were both scholar and pastor!

Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism, Timothy Keller – This book covers two areas that are important to me. First, preaching and communication. Second, evangelism within our cultural context. When it comes to the topic of cultural context I think Tim Keller is a leading thought developer.

Doctrine of Repentance, Thomas Watson – This book was mentioned by Trevin Wax in an interview he did with the Gospel Coalition and peaked my interest. I enjoy puritan writing and am excited to jump into this one.

The Resurrection of the Son of God, N.T Wright – This has been on back log for some time and I think 2016 is the year to tackle this!

What’s on your 2016 list? Let me know by commenting on this post or on Twitter or my Facebook page!

—

*(All opinions are my own. I make a commission off of the affiliate links, however I do not endorse products that I do not use myself or believe in)

The post My 2016 Reading List appeared first on Joel's Travels.

Each year I set out with a task to create and compile a reading list. While the term may be cliche, I really do believe that the best leaders are readers. Prior to seminary, my list was somewhat expansive. However, since starting seminary over a year ago, my reading requirements for school have taken a toll on my reading list. However, I have still been able to get around to some great books and would recommend the following.

Books That Should Make Your 2016 Reading List!

The Rise Of Theodore Roosevelt – Edmund Morris

I was out to dinner with the CEO of my company, Faithlife, and during our conversation he recommended The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt. Bob expressed how much he appreciated Teddy Roosevelt. A practice I’ve always had is to jump on any books recommended to me from my bosses, so I got this book on my Kindle and jumped into the life of Teddy Roosevelt. What I found was incredible. A child who was prone to sickness and suffered life threatening bought’s with sickness multiple times rises to become a historical pillar of the U.S in both political and military categories.

Doing Theology: Reformed Theology – Dr. Michael Allen

While I typically refrain from including Seminary books in my list, I had to include Dr. Michael Allen’s book on Reformed Theology. Dr. Allen masterfully takes Reformed theology and breaks it down into its most core and important aspects. Further, it is written in a way that will appeal to both the serious theology scholar and the brand new Christian. While I would align myself with the reformed tradition, I believe this would be a great book for anyone who wants to learn more about the reformed tradition even if they may not fall in that camp.

Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently

A core function of my job is communication. Whether it is communicating in a small room teaching a workshop or in front of 5,000 people sharing how awesome and life changing Logos Bible Software is, I am communicating a specific message to a particular group of people. This book was recommended to me from my supervisor, and needless to say it has been a game changer. John Maxwell masterfully teaches us the basics and fundamental’s of not just communicating, but connecting. So, if you are a business or ministry leader, or have a desire to become one, this book is a must read.

The High-Definition Leader: Building Multiethnic Churches in a Multiethnic World – Derwin L. Gray

If you are a ministry leader, pastor, church planter, or someone who is dreaming about being a church planter, this book needs to jump to the beginning of your reading list. Derwin unpacks the biblical mandate to plant Multiethnic churches by taking us to the scriptures and showing us that this concept is not new. Rather, this multiethnic fusion has been the heart beat of God from the beginning and the Apostle Paul reflects this by planting multiethnic churches! In the midst of our current cultural climate with racial tension daily increasing, this book is incredibly timely and provides us with a framework of how to begin the process of racial reconciliation.

Evil and the Justice of God: N.T Wright

The thought of unpacking N.T Wright for my own personal reading apart from seminary initially was unthinkable. However, I realized that I needed to continue to unpack Wright’s literary works and this particular book was incredibly timely considering the long list of tragedies that have been taking place in our world. As a Christian I believe in the sovereignty of God and also know that after Genesis 3 sin destroyed our relationship with God and infected us with a desire to destroy and pursue our own selfish desires. Needless to say, the impact of sin on our society and the public has caused many to question the faithfulness of God and also how a good God can allow evil to take place in our world. Wright lays out a theological foundation that will help us to engage with this topic and starts by helping us understand the character and nature of God which includes His Justice and how it interacts with evil.

I hope some of these books make your 2016 reading list. I’ll be posting my 2016 reading list over the next week. What books are on your list? Let me know in the comments section on this post, twitter, or Facebook!

And don’t forget, the best leaders are readers!

—

*(All opinions are my own. I make a commission off of the affiliate links, however I do not endorse products that I do not use myself or believe in)

The post Best Books Of 2015 appeared first on Joel's Travels.

In a recent post I exposed the dark area of my life that showed how ridiculously obsessed I am about winning, and the fact that I hate losing or failing at anything.  Something that goes in tandem with this is how often I feel my perspective or opinion is right and the other persons is wrong. I usually see this play out most often in my marriage as my wife and I “passionately dialogue” about our perspective on various matters

Disclaimer:

There are certain arguments or discussions that can be categorized as simply unhelpful, silly, and even dumb. In these instances, the issue is not “How do your respond” but rather, don’t even engage the conversation. Titus 3:9 gives us clear instruction in regards to this and it would be wise for us to follow those instructions.

Disagreement:

Then there are serious topics that need to be discussed. So how do we engage in conversation and respond in these instances? Further, the issue of disagreement and more importantly how we respond in light of disagreement is one that impacts almost every area of our life. As a spouse, employee, or employer. How do we respond when we stare at the person across from the table and just don’t agree with them?

3 Ways To Respond To Disagreement:

Stay Humble:

First, its important to recognize that we may actually be wrong, which will result in a more humble attitude and approach in our conversations. A posture of humility in conversation allows both parties to engage honestly and receive what the other person is actually saying. When we find ourselves in that stalemate situation it may no longer be an issue of who will “win” but rather a long term approach to sharing a particular perspective.

Walk Away While Maintaining The Relationship:

It’s ok to disagree and to make a definitive stance on something that we believe in. However, it’s an error to walk away from this type of conversation and lose a relationship over it. It’s absolutely ok to walk away saying you disagree with each other but you still respect each others opinion and perspective. Don’t lose a friendship over a disagreement, in almost every situation its not worth it.

Study and Learn The Other Perspective:

I’ve made my opinion and perspective on planned parenthood pretty public. You can read about it here. In the process I was faced with conversations with people who I love, respect, and value, but we found ourselves fiercely disagreeing. I decided to approach this situation by considering, researching, and studying the other position. Throughout the process I found that I was in fact misinformed in some areas, but at the end I was more convinced about my position. The result was also an ability relate to and show the other individuals that I seriously cared about them and their position and was willing to do the work to be informed.

Disagreement in life is a guarantee. The way we respond in light of disagreement can make a significant difference in our personal, professional, and even spiritual growth and maturity.

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I hate failing. Seriously, I hate it. There is a competitive streak inside of me that can turn ugly real quick. I’m the person who won’t play a game with you unless I feel like I have a reasonable chance at winning. If I know I won’t win, I won’t play.

Failure Is Apart Of Life

However, failure is part of life. We all lose and fail at something and it happens more often than we would like. The year is winding down for me, so I am in the process of evaluating all the conferences I’ve attended this year. Then I came across one earlier in the year I was hoping I would never see again. It was an Acts 29 event which I really believed was going to be one of my best events of all time. I was confident in my ability to communicate, I knew the A29 crowd really well (I was apart of a church plant that was A29 and currently attend an A29 church). Then it happened. I got up on stage, with hundreds of eyes staring at me. I nailed my introduction and as I was getting ready to jump into Logos Bible Software to do a Bible study with everyone, the projector and TV screen went blank. The technology failed on me. I did my best to recover while looking frantically for the Audio/Video team for help. They got on the stage and did there best to recover the system but it wasn’t working. I got nervous and lost my train of thought. Finally, I decided that we would punt on the presentation and do it later when the technology was working. Well, about 2 hours later a massive storm was heading our way and out of safety, the majority (about 90%) of the people left early to make it back home.

There I was, in an almost empty conference center, and I had missed my chance. It was absolute failure.

Some of you can can relate. You have experienced failure in your personal or professional life. You fail to accomplish the goal you had your eyes on. Ultimately, like me, you feel defeated.

So How Do You Recover From Failure?

We have to recover from failure. We can’t live in that place of defeat because life goes on and there is so much to accomplish. Even more important, our failures don’t define us. Rather, they provide the opportunity for developing our areas of weakness. While there are multiple ways to approach the recovery process, here’s how I dealt with my failure.

Remind Myself Of Who I Am

I needed to remind myself that I am not defined by what I do, rather Christ defines me. I find my identity as a son of God (Gal 4:6), and as I remind myself of this truth minor set backs wont devastate me. Spending time in God’s Word and in prayer is so important to set my mind straight. There are devastating implications when we neglect our true identity. We can quickly find ourselves slaves to the law and longing for recognition and value as a result of what we accomplish rather than who we are in Christ.

Be Honest About The Condition Of My Heart

We need to be ok with being vulnerable to the right people. In my moment of failure, I turned to my wife and a few select friends. What was amazing is that my friends and wife pointed me to the first point, reaffirming the truth that my worth is not defined by my actions but by my identity in Christ. They were also helpful in asking some great questions to identify areas of growth and cause me to consider and think about my own development. However, they have really earned that place in my life. I don’t open this up to everyone.

Do Something Fun

Sometimes the best remedy is ordering a pizza and watching football. At a certain point it is no longer helpful to stress out or relive the moment of failure. Do yourself a favor and have fun. I have friends that literally will go to a movie by themselves. They don’t have to worry about other people, they can just find an empty corner and just enjoy a movie. Have fun, recharge, and get back out there.

Finally, don’t quit. Learn what you can from the experience, implement change, and move on.

The post How To Recover After Failure appeared first on Joel's Travels.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and the blitz for family time, food, and travel is well underway and we are all in need of more grace! It always amazes me that in a season where we are asked to remember what we are thankful for, we end up being the most critical people who are unable to show grace. When I write these words I am speaking about myself first.

I realized over the last week leading up to thanksgiving that all the preparation and trying to get caught up with work so I can enjoy time with family has caused me to be short and sometimes plain mean to my family, I think the dog gets the worst of it! The journey of giving and extending grace can sometimes be long and complicated, filled with unexpected turns and challenges.

A Reflection Of The Condition Of Our Heart

Then it hit me. The extent of how gracious I am is a deep reflection of the condition of my heart. My critical nature, being short, and angry were all symptoms of a heart that really was not thankful. In many ways a thankful heart produces a gracious person. I think the Apostle Paul’s words are helpful to in this regard (Col 4:6)

“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person*”

Really, being a gracious person is not an option for the Christian. As we understand and remind ourselves of how God rescued and delivered us our natural response should be to extend grace to others. Sadly, in times of stress we so easily run hard after achieving our goals that we neglect to rest in the grace of God.

How Do We Extend Grace?

Some of us feel a sense of defeat when it comes to extending grace. We may feel that we are just critical people. We are flawed and there is no hope, rather we just have to deal with the affects. However, this is true for all of us. We are all hopeless and not capable of extending grace and being a people filled with grace apart from Christ. I appreciate how Charles Spurgeon comments on this topic of being a grace filled people.

“you may have some grace in your heart, but it is dropped there like small rain from heaven, you have not got it “poured” there; you may be ever so full of grace, but Christ is more full than you are; and when you are ever so reduced in grace, it is a consolation that with him is plenteous grace, plenty that knows no lack, for grace is poured into his lips” – C. H. Spurgeon*

Spurgeon

While we may have some grace in our hearts, we have to recognize that it is nothing compared to the fully sufficient grace that is found in Christ. The real challenge happens when we try to extend and be a people of grace based on our own means or ability. Even our ability to extend grace is fully reliant on Christ who is full; even overflowing, with grace. Therefore, lets find our hope, rest, and sufficiency in Him.

—

C. H. Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 54 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1908), 98.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Col 4:6.

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It’s hard to believe that I just turned 30. There are so many land mark birthdays, and for me 30 is one of those. Turning 30 is great. It’s hard to believe, but its still great.  As I’ve spent some time thinking through the last 30 years I’ve come across the following reflections, which are not in any particular order.

Education isn’t everything but it’s not nothing

I’ve realized that I am definitely a learner. If I could have a full time job that allowed me to spend the rest of my life in school I would. Interestingly, the degrees that I’ve completed (BA, Biblical Studies, MS, Organizational Psychology) and will complete (Mdiv, Master of Divinity) have been helpful in so many ways, but the educational certificates themselves don’t automatically qualify you for whatever you want to do in your career. You still have to work hard at your vocation and experience is really important.

Creating disciplines early on would have prevented plenty of heart ache

I really wish I was more intentional on being more disciplined. It’s so much harder (not impossible) but harder to create and establish knew disciplines (spiritual, physical, emotional, health) as you get older.

I don’t know everything, and the more I realize it the smarter I am

Enough said.

Listening is more important than talking

I spent a lot of time early on trying to validate who I was and the value I brought to each conversation. I could have learned so much if I kept my mouth shut and listened to the incredible experience and wisdom from those around me.

The affect of sin is not simply personal, its communal

I’ve realized now more than ever the danger, trauma, and sadness of sin. Even more so, I’ve seen and experienced how the affect of sin does at times the most damage to those closest to you. Over the last three years I have seen pastors and ministry leaders that I’ve met personally and have had great respect for, go through moral failures. I’ve seen the damage it has caused to not just their families but how it extends to their church members as well.

Getting married young and having children is the best thing that happened to me

I love it. Seriously, I love it. I love that I go home to three handsome boys who love having dadda home. Who want to wrestle, play, and cuddle me. I love having a godly wife who encourages me and fights for me in all things. Sure, its been hard at times, but it really is more than worth it. I don’t think its a coincidence that I started the path of my educational and vocational journey with excellence the same time Brittany and I got engaged.

Being a husband and father is more important than any stage I could ever get on

It’s hard to explain the adrenaline rush when you get on a stage and have thousands of peoples eyes on you. But that is nothing compared to the feeling of walking through the door of my house and having my oldest son Liam running to me yelling at me about everything I missed, and my second son Levi yelling, “Dada your home, your home. I missed you, your home!”. I pick that over the largest stages, all day, every day.

My ethnicity, cultural background, and early childhood is more important than I could have ever known

So much of who I am today and the skill set that God has given me is a result of two years as a child I spent in India with my grandparents. I strongly believe that the reason I can get on large stages and share and communicate is because my earliest memories are of me on stages with my grandfather in India standing next to him as he preached the gospel to countless people. I could have never imagined how important that would be for the job I have today. Further, growing up a second generation Indian in a western context has provided me with a unique concept. I know that God is going to use this in some specific way, I just don’t know what that is today. Who knows, maybe my blog post when I turn 40 will have that part figure out!

You can never out run God, ever

It doesn’t matter how long you try, how creative you are, and how strong willed you think you are. You will always walk away with a limp when you encounter God and try to wrestle with him.

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