The 180 Church Podcast with Dr. Sammy and Friends

The fruit of a flourishing spiritual life is marked by a humility and self-restraint borne out of compassion for others, which prompts the question: are we pursuing prosperity for our own sake and glory, or do we perpetuate our blessings outwards in order to bless those around us? It is often in the valleys of life where we grow in our capacity to reciprocate prosperity; for although the painful s...

In our society and social groups, it has always been the widely accepted norm to be expressive our physical needs with others but when it comes to our struggles and internal world, why do we find it so difficult to share? Many of us live our lives according to a script - resulting in an act that refrains us from an honest account of our vulnerable emotional needs. But what could it look like to di...

It’s normal for us to feel concerned about the future, but that concern becomes anxiety when we focus most of our energy toward uncontrollable circumstances, causing us to waste our mental strength on hypothetical scenarios. Christians today experience emptiness in their faith because of this anxiety epidemic where they focus more on an illusory problem in the future rather than trusting God and l...

There is often more than what meets the eye when it comes to our spiritual lives and inner world. Resistance, discouragement, and shaken confidence are often evaluated as indicators of how we may be mishandling our faith journey. We may be quick to compare ourselves to the exuberant expressions of seemingly confident believers, however the temperature of our spiritual lives cannot be simply reduce...

There is no sugar-coating that the pursuit of holiness is fraught with difficulties, resistance, and heartache. When we accept and follow Christ, we can expect discouragement and loss of confidence during our spiritual walk. However, the resistance that we face, the enemy we battle against, and the fight for our faith provides evidence that the Father's will is at work. It leads to breakthroughs i...

We often struggle in our spiritual journeys because we lack the critical frameworks with which to examine our lives. The parable of the sower teaches us three lenses we can use to examine our lives: the spiritual lens, the external or worldly lens, and the internal or character lens. Unless we cultivate spiritual wisdom and nurture the seeds God plants within us, we remain in a spiritual fog and e...

Our beliefs are not always reflected in what we say our values are, but are ultimately reflected in our actions. In the church -- where pursuing a life led by Christ and becoming more like him is of utmost value -- competing commitments, implicit personal beliefs, and sin come into conflict with God's values via self-sabotage, conscious or subconscious ignorance, and rationalized excuses. How can...

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...

"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 

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...

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 st...

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. 

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...

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 accomplish...

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...

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...

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 suf...

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 fo...

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 st...

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, eve...

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...

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...

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 hel...

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. Though we live in a meritocracy where our value is determined by what we do, Dr. Brown challenges us to return to God in order to remind ourselves of our true identity. Through how we...

In this episode, Pastor Lydia and Joe conclude the "Breaking Our Spiritual Bubbles" series in a conversation about the true biblical precedent of gospel renewal. Revivals are often associated with gatherings and meetings of believers, but the question remains for what end - for just the sake of our own spiritual growth or does revival point to a fullness of even greater magnitude for the kingdom?...