2024 - Year in Review

It's been a wildly productive year!

Someone once told me that people overestimate what they can do in one year but underestimate what they can do in ten. That’s a wise statement.

I don’t do a lot of end-of-year posts because I usually don’t feel like there’s a whole lot of interesting things to report. But I am writing one this year for a couple of reasons. First, I turned 50 years old this year, an obvious milestone that prompts reflection on my life. Second, this has frankly been a wildly productive year.

Frankly, I’m thankful to the Lord that he kept me from doing a lot of writing and speaking outside my local church before now. I wasn’t ready for it. Too many convictions were fluid and needed to be nailed down first. Once someone with a large platform takes a stand on some issue, the public nature of their ministry causes them to “freeze” in place, making ongoing growth and development more difficult.

This is certainly a factor that can explain why so many evangelical leaders continue to double and triple down on the leftist talking points that have diluted our prophetic voice in the first place. They gained their platforms by parroting progressive talking points to evangelical audiences, but now that the vibe is beginning to shift, and people are hungry for plain spoken truth, leaders with large platforms may find it difficult to retain credibility.

Now that I’m 50 years old, and I’ve been in ministry for over twenty years— fifteen of those years as a pastor in the same church, preaching through books of the Bible, wrestling with biblical, theological, cultural, and pastoral issues week in and week out—now I feel like there’s enough mileage on my tires to step into a more public ministry.

And that’s what happened in 2024. Here’s a few highlights.

Christ the King Church

In 2008, the Lord led my wife and I to move to Cincinnati, OH, to plant a church in the inner city. In January, 2010, Christ the King Church launched our first, official worship service.

When we first moved here, I asked the Lord to give me the privilege of serving only one church, this church, for the rest of my life. About two weeks from now, Christ the King Church will celebrate our 15 year anniversary! It has been an unspeakable privilege to serve and lead this church, and my prayer is still that the Lord will allow me to continue doing so the rest of my life. And I get to do this with an amazing leadership team. We installed two elders and seven deacons this year.

Now, our church is on the verge of a massive new development. Our current church building, which is a small building in an inner-city, collegiate neighborhood, is no longer sufficient to meet the needs of our growing congregation. We’ve been exploring relocation options for a number of years and have finally found a new building that’s perfect for us. We anticipate closing the purchase of this property in the next few weeks so we can move there and begin services there sometime in February.

Current building with seating capacity of about 200

New building with seating capacity around 500

The new building is just across the Ohio river in Ft. Thomas, Kentucky. Ironically, the new location in Kentucky is about the same commute time for people coming from Ohio, since it’s pretty close to the highway.

This is a game changer! I couldn’t be more excited for the ministry opportunities we’ll have in this new location. PRAISE GOD!

God’s Good Design

I published my first book in the summer of 2023, but I’m including it in my 2024 recap since it opened up a number of opportunities I’ll mention in a moment. The book is called, “God’s Good Design: A Biblical, Theological, and Practical Guide to Human Sexuality.” This book is the fruit of 15 years of teaching a conservative, biblical doctrine of sexuality in a skeptical, progressive, and sometimes hostile environment.

I have been extremely encouraged by how well the book has been received. As I’ve been in different churches around the country this year, it’s been humbling to see it on their pastor-curated “recommended reading” bookshelves. It seems the book has especially resonated with younger men and women who have appreciated the practical, pastoral guidance the book provides. One seminary professor told me he’s assigned the book as required reading for his “Theology of Lordship” class.

Other Writings

I’ve done a LOT of writing this year. I use X (formerly Twitter) as a venue for processing ideas and interacting with other leaders. I think of it as a kind of Research and Development department for ideas I’m working through. I’ve got over 12,000 followers on X and my posts have had 10.5 million “impressions,” which is how many times my posts were viewed by others.

From there, I take the content that seems to be most interesting and helpful to others and turn it into articles that I publish elsewhere. My publishing “home base” is my personal website, powered by Substack, which is basically a publishing platform for authors, independent journalists, and so forth. I recently surpassed 1,000 subscribers on Substack. I’ve published 33 articles on Substack this year.

I’ve also had the opportunity to write for several other publishers.

• Founders Press published a booklet I wrote called “Christian Singleness in the Modern World.”

• I have agreed to be a contributing scholar for the Center for Baptist Leadership and wrote six articles for them.

• I have agreed to be a regular contributor for Clear Truth Media and have written ten articles for them.

• In the past year, I have also published three pieces for American Reformer, one at The Federalist, two for King’s Domain, and one each for Sola Ecclesia and Truth Script.

Besides these opportunities, I’ve had the privilege of speaking at a few conferences in Iowa, Texas (on “God’s Good Design”), Washington D.C. (on “Loser Theology”), and in Cincinnati (on “A Defeated Church?”).

Books I read

I read about 17 books this year:

• Victory in Jesus: The Bright Hope of Postmillenialism by Greg Bahnsen

• Emotional Sabotage by Joe Rigney

• That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis

• Re-Enchanting the Unseen by Josh Robinson

• The Case for Christian Nationalism by Stephen Wolfe

• Run to Win the Prize by Tom Schreiner

• Defenders of the West by Raymond Ibrahim

• Return of the Strong Gods by R. R. Reno

• Bad Therapy by Abigail Shrier

• How to Read a Book by Andy Naselli

• Crux Mors Inferi by Samuel Renihan

• God’s Battallions by Rodney Stark

• Shepherds for Sale by Megan Basham

• What Christians Should Know About the Koran by James White

• Antinomianism by Mark Jones

• Getting the Garden Right by Richard Barcellos

• The Total State by Auron MacIntyre

It’s hard to pick a favorite out of all these books, but if I had to pick just one, I’d go with Crux Mors Inferi by Samuel Renihan. I loved this book because Renihan helped plugged a few holes in my theology with answers I’d been looking for my whole life. I was doing research for a sermon I preached on the enigmatic text about the “spirits in prison” from 1st Peter 3:18-22. One of my staff members mentioned a book he thought I’d find helpful. We happened to have a copy at the office. That afternoon I started thumbing through the first chapter and couldn’t put it down. I’d always wanted to better understand what happened to Old Testament believers when they died but never got a satisfactory answer. Renihan’s book connects all the dots on this, developing a straightforward doctrine of the afterlife, from many texts of scripture, and showing how his findings align with prominent men in church history. Relatively short book, easy to read, lucidly presented. I commend it to you.

Family

Finally, everything I’ve done this year would not have been possible if things at home were out of order. Nothing in this world is more important to me than the well-being of my wife and four children. Thankfully, we are enjoying the Lord’s kindness in our home.

My wife and I celebrated 25 years of marriage this summer. We’ve now been married half my life.

I’d marry her all over again.

Best. Decision. Ever.

The photo on the left is from 1997 when Laura and I first met. Yes, I bleached my hair blonde that summer. Laura was not a fan haha. Our relationship was able to recover from the incident.

The Lord has blessed us with four amazing children. I cannot imagine life without them. When they were little and would fight all the time, I told them they would grow up to be close friends (like my sisters and I did). I’m no prophet, but thankfully, that prediction has come true! All four children are committed Christians who love the Lord. That alone is an answer to one of the biggest prayers of my life.

Left to right: Judah (14), Reese (19), Isaiah (18), and Owen (16). Three out of four are now drivers 😳😬

When my son turned 18, I asked some men I trust and respect to write him a letter with some manly, Christian advice. I turned that advice into a post on X and an article on Substack. Both pieces went viral. Perhaps I’ll work this into a book someday if I find an interested publisher.

Conclusion

Well that’s it. I can honestly say that this year has been one of the most remarkable and fulfilling years of my life. I have so much to be thankful for and I don’t deserve any of it.

Thank you for reading and subscribing to my Substack this year. My goal is to write content that is edifying and helpful, oftentimes addressing tough topics that are overlooked in other places. I hope you’ve found it helpful. May the Lord’s kindness and mercy be upon you and all you care about in the next year and beyond!