The 180 Church Podcast with Dr. Sammy and Friends

When Pursuing Holiness Becomes Tenable Rather Than Just a Cliche

In the Christian journey, the pursuit of holiness can often feel like a lofty ideal or an impossible pipe dream of a cliche. We tend to believe that a dichotomy exists between those few who are chosen to champion the gospel and the inherently mediocre masses disqualified from pursuing God for various reasons. However, the story we find in the New Testament is not a highlight reel of the accomplishments of so-called spiritual giants, but rather a pursuit to be Christ-like that points to the one and only hero of our stories. Holiness is a daily choice to surrender to the Father despite life’s detours, twists, and turns, and a pursuit of progression towards the grace that makes us grow closer to the image of Jesus.

What is My Story? (Part 2)

Dr. Calvin Brown serves as a co-pastor for Destiny Church and a leadership partner for Arrow leadership, an organization dedicated to the global development of Christian leadership. In the series “What is My Story?”, Dr. Brown encourages a practice of reflection and remembrance of the pain from our stories.

It is through examining the full breadth of our stories that we can find ourselves able to extend grace because we have reconciled the broken pieces of our lives and relationships, and have been forgiven and formed in the image of Christ, the hope of our redemption.

Day in the Sun: The Secret to Finding True Rest

Over the course of our lives, we encounter many different kinds of seasons -- seasons of despair, jubilance, heartbreak, or celebration. We see this in Psalm 23, which reminds us that we cannot disentangle the valleys of life from the hilltops, and that experiencing pain and loss is inevitable. It is in these valleys where we learn that earthly beauty and material things cannot heal our brokenness; only in the person of God will we find true rest and refuge. Whether we are in a valley, atop a mountain, or somewhere in between, the Lord is our constant shepherd. Although we, His sheep, perpetually fall short in taking care of ourselves, the Father never fails in looking after us, and His peace and grace overflow in such abundance that with Him we could want for nothing more. 

What is My Story?

Dr. Calvin Brown serves as a co-pastor for Destiny Church and a leadership partner for Arrow leadership, an organization dedicated to the global development of Christian leadership in a multitude of societal sectors. Dr. Brown reminds us that remembering the entirety of our past experiences helps us to see how God has brought us to our current glories, and how He has helped us through our past sufferings and pain. When we allow ourselves to experience our stories from the head to the heart, we can receive God's comfort and healing so that our own souls can expand with sympathy for others.

Why Faith is A Long and Winding Road

The story of Christ’s resurrection captures a tale of skepticism turned to belief; a story that finds both seeker and believer where they are on Easter Sunday. The narrative we share with Christ offers the beginnings of faith that take root from the seeds of doubt and nurtured by both existential and empirical bases. Christ does not ask us to come and believe, but to come and see, an invitation for us to know the Father, the Son and the Spirit on the long winding journey of faith.

Lent: The Light of God

Dr. Leighton Ford, founder and president of Leighton Ford Ministries, gives a message on how we can share and reflect the light of Christ with others amidst the darkness that may hover over our lives. By walking in the light with the Father, we enlighten our minds with truth, illuminate our eyes with beauty, and pour out light from within through the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s through God’s story and the light of his son Jesus that we find ourselves sharing in a story of hope, redemption, and promise.

Day in the Sun: At the Foot of the Cross

When analyzing the widening income gap and the increased xenophobia against Asian Americans, it is necessary to take a critical view of human nature. Though these tragedies surprise us when they happen, Scripture reminds us that our society's errors are sin manifested as greed and fear of the unfamiliar. We created cancel culture as a response to any threatening opinions in order to feel safe, even at the expense of breeding further division and ignorance. But rather than “canceling” each other, our transcending calling is to be more like Jesus, whose response to greed and fear was to redeem his friends and enemies, teaching us that we are all in need of grace.

Lent: A Time for Beauty and A Time for Battle

Dr. Onorio Chaparro is the Director of the Maturity Division at Christian Cultural Center, which seeks to transform local communities through the gospel and mission of Christ. The season of Lent, as Dr. Chaparro reminds us, is an opportunity to remember reliance on the Father and to invite the power of the Holy Spirit to work in us and cultivate growth in our lives. The purpose of fasting worldly dependencies is not just to re-learn God’s sovereignty over our lives, but also to make space within ourselves for God's word and empowerment. With the spiritual wisdom gained during Lent, God renews our identity in Him and forms from our brokenness a heart that reflects the beautiful and everlasting image of Christ.

Lent: The Gift of the Valley

This week's episode features a conversation about why the seasons we share in the "Valley" can be embraced as gifts that propel us in empathy for those who share a broken reality. Empathy is an important and powerful expression of love that reciprocates the hospitality, comfort, and healing we receive and can share in knowing that Christ understands our fragility, loneliness, and despair. What we can glean from Jesus' Lenten experience is that he empathizes with our sorrow and pain, understands our story, and enables us to empathize and love others as he had done for us.

Lent: Relearning a Complete Reliance on Abba

This week's episode features an explorative dive into the spiritual reality that every person resides in, an enemy with an agenda of sabotage, and the role that the Lent season plays in offering us the way to develop spiritual discernment to make sense of the seemingly inexplicable truth. Lent offers believers and non-believers who are pursuing Christ the eyes and ears to discern the truth and help us identify and untether the material things that occupy our hearts and minds. Ultimately, we learn that what we need are not the things we've come to know from the world but to deepen our reliance on the Father, protect ourselves and our loved ones from resistance that can seem overwhelming on our own, and work together to advance the mission of God in our flourishing and growth.