Next Wednesday May 17 at 7PM, we will host our first “Equip” seminar. This inaugural seminar will focus on mental health, equipping us to better love our neighbors who struggle with their own mental health issues – so that we can be a voice of hope in our community. It will educate, destigmatize, and open up this important conversation for us. So many people struggle with such issues, and for too long a time, the church was guilty of sweeping

In case you missed it, last Sunday, Amanda and I got baptized at Central! It was an amazing morning.  We were so glad to be surrounded by so many friends, both new and old – and so many people who have influenced our faith. It was a blessing, for us, and we hope it was for you too. It was great to be able to share our testimonies with you (if you missed them, watch them both!).  As Jared talked about on Sunday, our testimonies (i.e., our

On Sunday, I made a promise that I simply did not keep! Towards the beginning of Sunday’s message, I said that, at the end of the message, I’d tell you what “to fulfill all righteousness” meant… and I totally forgot. So now I have a chance to tell you.  Bear with me… “Righteousness” is a big word in the New Testament, especially in Paul’s writings. It can get hotly contested exactly what Paul means by it at certain points, but at the core of what

This Sunday, we kicked off our new series on baptism – called “In With the New”.  As I said on Sunday, baptism is all about being “in Christ” – and as Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5, if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, everything has become new! So out with the old, and in with the new.  I spoke about baptism as being relational, rather than magical. It’s all about a relationship

I hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend and can enjoy this beautiful day.  Spring has most definitely sprung. I love the spring season because it’s the season where we celebrate the “new”.  And this spring, here at Central, we have some pretty significant “new” to celebrate! “New” is the word I associate with baptism, as baptism marks the entrance into a new life, a new way of living, a new community, a new calling, and a new story. So starting