The 180 Church Podcast with Dr. Sammy and Friends

Q5: How Will I Finish Well?

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. Dr. Brown concludes his "Q5" series by asking us how we can finish our lives well. As we embrace the whole of our stories and better understand how our stories fit into God's overarching plan for us, Dr. Brown invites us to consider that a life lived well means a life lived sacrificially for others and with a purpose oriented towards eternity. It's through understanding that our lives are trivial compared to what God has in store for us, that we can fulfill God's callings for our lives.

Day in the Sun: Battling Our Spiritual Fog

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10 

Creating a Culture of Holiness Part 1

From the believer’s personal pursuit of holiness and sharing the good news whilst navigating life, oftentimes we encounter a clash between vision and the reality of culture in the scope of the larger community. Discipleship extends from ourselves to the pursuit of holiness of the community as a whole, but how can we create a culture together that aligns with the mission of the kingdom? In this two-part series, “Creating a Culture of Holiness,” Dr. Sammy examines how the church can reconcile the collision of a disparate culture and the vision that Christ has for the church by paying attention to the wind of the spirit, identify our cultural silos, and center our lives around a community culture that seeks to do the work of the Lord.

Q5: What is My Plan?

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 part 4 of his “Q5” series, Dr. Brown helps us consider the question of “What is My Plan?” for the vision and calling that God may have in our lives. Through collaboration in prayer with the Father and a four-step strategy sourced from the book of Nehemiah to help us execute God's plans through us, Dr. Brown leads us through a macroscopic and practical framework for seeing God's work unfold in our lives.

The Singular Aim of Discipleship

Sometimes the greatest enemy to the spiritual life is not evil, but good. 

 

Lesson: The singular aim of discipleship is the sovereignty of the individual being fully surrendered to the sovereignty of Christ. 

Q5: What is My Dream?

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 third installment of his “Q5” series, Dr. Brown discusses the question that follows naturally after reflecting on our stories: “What is my dream?” It is often at the disruptive moments in our lives that we pause and encounter the Father’s holiness and brilliance, and we learn just how wide the chasm is between His perfection and our own brokenness. Dr. Brown invites us to pay close attention to these moments where we learn more about who God is and who we are, for by doing so we can hear more clearly where God is calling each one of us to go, and see how each of our stories is a meaningful, precious part of the glorious narrative that He is writing.

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.