The 180 Church Podcast with Dr. Sammy and Friends

Our lives are often compared to a rat race, one full of the anxiety and angst caused by hurry, day in and day out. Those of us who are gunning for that prize, promotion, or success often don't think to slow down. But on this fast track, we invariably miss out on some of the greatest moments and people that our days have to offer and face loneliness. In order for us to slow down and learn to listen...

For many of us, the feeling of failure can be crippling. In whichever form we experience it, we tend to define ourselves by our failures when ultimately, failure boils down to a matter of perspective. Perspective can be the critical difference between fatalism and confidence in our narratives. This can encourage believers and seekers alike that the Lord's grace through Christ is the commitment tha...

What can we do when we feel like simply giving up when we experience adversity and setbacks for our goals and purpose? In today's podcast, Pastor Lydia and Joe talk through what it's like to develop intensity and curate it to overcome the anxiety and chronic resignation we may undergo when we experience resistance, the importance of HIP (High Intensity Prayer) in our faith, and the responsibility...

Whenever we encounter times of difficulty, it is not uncommon for many of us to feel a strong desire to quit, especially with worthy endeavors. There may be criticism and forces against us that prevent us from ultimately realizing God’s promises in our lives, and so we tend to lose perspective on why we can place our faith in the gospel. The good news of the gospel lies in the faithfulness of the...

In today's episode, Joe and Pastor Lydia have a conversation about the tension surrounding our competing interests among sincere hearts for God. It's not uncommon that many of us might feel the pull to attend to the nice things we acquire in life, but how can we continue to live for the mission? Though our dealings may be shady, our character not fully there as emphasized by Abrams story, God cher...

In today's episode, the team introduces the next installation of this podcast series called: The 180 Church Podcast with Dr. Sammy and Friends". The focus will be on spiritual conversations that integrate faith and life in every plane of our lives and relationships and how we as followers and seekers can grow closer with the Father. To kick us off, Joe and Pastor Lydia, Pastor of Transformation an...

“It’s better to be safe than sorry,” is a common catechism we may hear when we evaluate the risks involved with making a decision. Though we may consider playing it safe, how often do we consider the alternative that sometimes, we may also be sorry that we played it too safe? That is why, despite the adversity and challenges we may come across, mission persists, because it is a worthy cause. We be...

As we've been talking about calling and purpose in our lives, we shift gears to define what following Jesus actually looks like in the everyday. Generally, we struggle to understand the potential that God has for our lives because we underestimate how we can be used to fulfill the ultimate calling of living for Jesus. We often discount our own influence, gifts, and growth to a point where we forge...

In today’s world, as we gain more followers and connect with more friends over social media, it seems we develop more layers of friendship, but inversely lose emotional connectedness. For seekers and believers alike, small group has served the purpose of gathering people together to not only grow in depth and intimacy with one another, but to develop a fellowship that is centered around Christ. Th...

The Podcast crew is back from another awesome Day in the Sun. With all the great food and fellowship that is had during these outings in beautiful Central Park in NYC, we take a moment to pause, take a breathe and reflect on a little secret Doctor Sammy let us in on as a church. We tend to see church as a building or a place we attend on Sundays with other Christians, but the secrets out: folks, y...

With all of the competing commitments that fight for our attention day in and day out, there's often a collision of values that take place between the calling of God and these also other good things that occupy our lives. So, how do we stay faithful to the calling of God when we feel like we're faltering? Establishing non-negotiable values, so that we can win for the kingdom of Heaven.

In today's podcast, the crew dives deep in discussing what the true purpose and calling of Jesus is for our lives. We often mistake our pseudo narratives as our mission, but the Father called us all to one immutable call until Jesus returns: to join God in restoring the world to Him.

Sin is often associated with the depravity and moral failings that point to the necessity for change in our lives, but sometimes, we are blind to the reality of how sin truly grips us. But what is also often overlooked about sin is that it highlights the true beauty of the gospel message: that despite our sins and transgressions, we are undeservedly and magnanimously loved and have been forgiven b...

In today's podcast, the crew comes together to talk about loss, grief and how we can make sense of the pain and suffering we undergo with a spirit-filled community. It's not that community is a place where nothing bad happens, it's that when they do, it means more that we are with each other through it.

Every new, budding relationship has the stage commonly known as the "honeymoon phase". It’s the rose tinted, picture-perfect feeling we all know that eventually dissipates as reality comes into focus. It is this utopian ideal that often bleeds into our expectations of the church, though what we come to find is that any spirit-filled community will not as perfect as we deem it should be. The spirit...

How do you know whether the Holy Spirit is leading our lives? By wind and fire. In today's podcast, we talk about how we distinguish the voice of God apart from the voices of this world and identify the fruit of the Spirit that provides evidence for the working of God's mission for humanity.

In this week's episode, the podcast crew discusses the mysterious nature of the third person of the Trinity: The Holy Spirit. Though hard to grasp, for us who are seeking and for believers alike, we are still able to recognize the work and influence of the Holy Spirit in our lives and witness the unbelievable transformations we experience through him. So, what does it mean to be filled by the Spir...

In this week's podcast, we are continuing on the series, "Holy Ghost" and talk about how we are invited into a family affair when we join the family of God. We're bombarded with the cultural voice that glorifies independence and seeks no help from God, our communities, and our friends, but kingdom culture goes against the very grain of self-reliance and calls for total dependence on it's family. J...

We are back after Good Friday and Easter Sunday with a message about what really happens after the resurrection of Jesus and what that means for us. For many of us, it can seem that faith erases all doubt from our minds and hearts and that everything becomes picture perfect with Jesus's victory over death, but we are left still with some doubts, uncertainty and the feeling that it could just be to...

Those who are remembered in the annals of history have conclusively always been on the winning side - and so the saying “to the victor go the spoils.” On Easter Sunday, two millennia ago, perhaps the greatest victory of all time took place and is still talked about to this present moment. Easter is a celebration, not because Christianity is founded on piety and morality, but because the resurrecti...

In a culture that emphasizes customization and instant gratification of the individual, many of us tend to live as if our lives are the main plot. However, when our lives are ambiguous and uncertain, how do we find greater purpose, meaning, and joy when we feel unsatisfied by the subplots that make up our lives? Although we generally find it difficult to surrender ourselves and fast our own subplo...

In a culture of blame, envy, and transiency, how do we build life-long friendships that are both shared and celebrated? As our community is learning to fast our defaults, we discuss how we are fasting self-interest in the interest of being intentional with our relationships and learning to champion one another in friendships that truly are treasures. Through the model lived by the life of Jesus an...

In today's podcast, the crew has a real open conversation about fasting self-reliance and the illusion of being self-made. We all culturally bought into a belief that the self-made, independent person is a mark of success though the reality is, no one built their success on their own. Far from it actually. The truth is, it takes a village for us to thrive and to find that the richness of life is f...

Today's podcast is about the reason why we fast during Lent. Often times fasting becomes the goal and end-all, but it is really a means to an end, to unleash and experience the power of God that changes lives. That is why Jesus fasted. He fasted to pray, to feed on fellowship and communion with God which led him to overcome the temptations of the devil. In the same way, we fast to pray and to draw...