Have you placed your faith in Jesus and his finished work on the cross to save you? Do you feel fully assured when it comes to your salvation? Do you sometimes doubt your salvation because you still struggle with sin? BE WARNED: There are “big bad wolf” preachers out there who will, like the wolf in the children’s fable, huff and puff and try to blow your house of assurance in Christ down. They will keep pointing you back to yourself: Have you surrendered enough? Obeyed enough? Changed enough? Proven enough? They are often praised because of their willingness to preach hard truth, but if they are not preaching faith alone in Christ alone for salvation, they are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Paul put it bluntly, “Though we, or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned.” Galatians 1:8 What was that Gospel that Paul preached to the Galatians? We have his exact words in Acts 13:38,39, “Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus, the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him, everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.” The Gospel doesn’t point us toward performance. It points us to Jesus. It’s not about the righteous requirements we fulfilled. It’s about the righteous requirements Jesus perfectly fulfilled for us, and the perfectly righteous life He sacrificed on the cross in our place for our sins. Our confidence is not in our performance. Our confidence is in Christ. Any preaching that constantly turns your eyes away from Christ’s finished work and back onto your own performance undermines the very assurance the Gospel gives. Stop staring at yourself. Start staring at Jesus. And he will transform you from the inside out. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith…” Hebrews 12:2 “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son, and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.“ John 6:39, 40

Got to sit in the Captain’s chair (like a 5 year old) with my million miler coin…and I loved it!

Do you feel safe in Christ when it comes to your salvation? There are “big bad wolf” preachers who huff and puff and try to blow your house of assurance down. They keep pointing you back to yourself: Have you surrendered enough? Obeyed enough? Changed enough? Proven enough? But the Gospel points us somewhere else. To Jesus. It’s not about the righteous requirements we fulfilled. It’s about the righteous requirements Jesus perfectly fulfilled for us, and the perfectly righteous life He sacrificed on the cross in our place for our sin. Our confidence is not in our performance. Our confidence is in Christ’s death and resurrection. Any preaching that constantly turns your eyes away from Christ’s finished work and back onto your own performance undermines the very assurance the Gospel gives. Stop staring at yourself. Start staring at Jesus. “Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…” Hebrews 12:2

Today I received my Million Miler coin from United Airlines. The purser presented it to me as we began our flight from Frankfurt to Denver (I’m still on that flight as I type these words.) As I held it, I realized this coin represents so much more than a million miles in the air. I wonder how many people heard the Gospel because of those many, many trips. How many teenagers were trained to share their faith. How many youth leaders were equipped to build ministries that make and multiply disciples. Only God knows. But there’s something else this coin represents to me. Sacrifice. Every time I got on a plane, my wife and kids stayed behind. They sacrificed having a husband and dad at home so I could travel the world preaching the Gospel and equipping others to do the same. They paid a price for these million miles too. And I believe that someday in heaven, when the full impact of all those trips is revealed, they’ll share in the reward. So this coin isn’t really mine. It belongs to my family too. I’m humbled. I’m grateful. And I’m more passionate than ever to keep going as long as God gives me the strength. A million miles traveled. One Gospel proclaimed. Countless sacrifices made. And, by God’s grace, many more souls to reach. Until every teen everywhere hears the Gospel from a friend!

Birgit pulled me out of line on my way to the plane, thanked me for my loyalty to @united over the years, gave me a certificate & a thank you card signed by the other flight attendants. A simple recognition & thank you goes along way when it comes to loyalty. #MillionMileFlier

One Million Miles on @united today! I’m about to fly the friendly skies from Frankfurt to Denver. Somewhere over the Atlantic I’ll cross the 1,000,000 mile mark. Looking forward to the next million with my favorite airline as God increasingly opens doors for global ministry.

My backpack got pulled for an extra security check at the Manchester airport today. Honestly, I was a little frustrated by the delay. Then the security agent, Gareth, pulled my Bible out of my backpack. I joked, “Careful with that. It’s called the Sword of the Lord.” He looked at me and said, “I’ll treat it with respect.” That opened the door. Gareth told me he used to attend church but had become disillusioned after some painful things happened in his family. He still believes in God, but he struggles with church. So, while he searched my backpack, I got to share the Gospel with him. Before I left, I told him, “Gareth, I don’t believe it was an accident that we met today.” Pray for Gareth. People all around us are hurting. There are no accidental interactions. 
There are Gospel opportunities everywhere. 
Look for them. Even in the security line. 😀

The best youth ministry academics I’ve met are Biblically grounded, Gospel-advancing, Jesus-loving practitioners. They are not theorists who just write papers. They are disciple-makers who personally invest in teenagers. They are not progressive in their theology. They are theologically conservative on the fundamentals of the faith. Instead of letting culture craft their philosophy of #YouthMinistry, they seek to craft culture by training and mobilizing teenagers to advance the Gospel and make disciples. Only take seriously those academics who view God’s Word (especially the Gospels and the book of Acts) as the ultimate youth ministry manual.

It’s taken me almost 18 years to get to 20k followers on X. My account is the opposite of a viral sensation. But it does reflect gritty perseverance. 😀 Also, I’m ever grateful to @JoshuaBarzon for helping me get my X account back after it was hacked!

Where George Whitefield preached one of his first sermons…

I would rather be called “Gospel advancing” than “Gospel centered.” One term sounds like we are taking spiritual territory. The other sounds like we are in a classroom. We are called to EXECUTE God’s mission and not just EXEGETE God’s Word. And, yes, we can/should do/be both.

It was such a blessing to be a guest on The Way UK. This is a Christian podcast by and for young people that has massive reach across 🇬🇧. Also, they challenged all their listeners to participate in #DayOfGlobalYouthEvangelism and are going to do so themselves! Pray for these young and bold Gospel Advancers. Thanks to Aaron Routledge from The Charge for setting it all up.

Dream Team London

We did a revival tour with @RememberLondon today and it was powerful! We visited where John Wesley preached, where one of my heroes, George Whitefield, preached and learned all sorts of facts surrounding revival in and around London over the last 500+ years. We ended up at the church where John Newton, the author of Amazing Grace, pastored. It was the thrill of a lifetime to sing Amazing Grace where John Newton preached for so many years. It was from his preaching and promptings that William Wilberforce got a vision to use politics to advance the cause of Christ and, eventually, abolish the slave trade. Ben Virgo did an outstanding job of unpacking the history of revival in this particular part of London. All of us were deeply moved by his outstanding storytelling, his understanding of revival, his knowledge of history and his passion for the simple gospel of Grace unleashed through ordinary people. If you are ever in London, you should definitely book a tour. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Rating

What are you willing to risk for Jesus? Sharing the Gospel causes you to risk losing your relationships. Loved ones and friends could reject you if you share the Gospel with them. It’s happened to me before. It hurts. But if we’re not willing to risk these relationships then how closely are we really following Jesus? “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." Mark 8:38

Here’s my daughter’s pro-life song. Listen to the words and let the message sink in…

When you walk outside a train station in London and meet two young men boldly sharing the gospel. Way to go, Jaden and Gideon!

It was great to conspire with @DrRachelJ today in London about evangelism in the UK. She is a research expert as well as a passionate evangelist herself. God is up to some big things in England!