Fifteen years ago, I didn’t start Before The Cross with a strategy.
There was no launch plan.
No branding roadmap.
No five-year vision document.
There was just a conviction.
A growing burden in my own heart that life only makes sense when it is lived before the Cross of Christ.
At the time, I simply wanted to write what God was teaching me — about surrender, about stewardship, about discipleship, about dying to self in a world that constantly tells us to build self. I didn’t feel like I had mastered anything. In many ways, I was (and still am) learning in real time.
Before the Cross was never about presenting polished spirituality. It was about bringing everything — questions, ambition, money, calling, fear, leadership, doubt — and laying it down before Jesus.
And for fifteen years, that’s what we’ve tried to do.
The Message That Hasn’t Changed
If there’s one sentence that captures these fifteen years, it’s this:
Jesus is enough.
Enough for salvation.
Enough for sanctification.
Enough for suffering.
Enough for leadership.
Enough for our finances.
Enough for our future.
Culture has shifted dramatically since posting back in 2011. Platforms have evolved. Conversations have intensified. The noise has grown louder.
But Hebrews 13:8 is still true:
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
And that unchanging Christ has been the anchor of this ministry.
Beyond the Blog
What began as writing has grown into conversations.
Conversations in churches.
In leadership gatherings.
In disciple-making trainings.
In living rooms.
Across cultures.
Across nations.
I’ve watched how the simple truth of the Gospel — when it grips someone’s heart — reshapes everything. Not temporarily. Not emotionally. But deeply.
Real transformation isn’t behavior modification.
It’s heart renovation at the foot of the Cross. Before The Cross.
And that transformation multiplies.
When one person surrenders fully, families change.
When leaders surrender fully, churches change.
When churches surrender fully, communities change.
We have had the privilege of pointing to that kind of surrender.
Seasons of Stretching
Fifteen years includes pruning.
There were seasons when writing flowed easily — and seasons when obedience felt costly. Seasons of clarity — and seasons where God seemed to whisper, “Trust Me.”
John 15 reminds us that pruning is not punishment — it is preparation.
Looking back, I can see how God used quiet seasons to refine motives. To deepen dependence. To remind me that fruit doesn’t come from effort — it comes from abiding.
If anything has matured in these fifteen years, I hope it’s this:
Less striving.
More surrender.
Less platform-building.
More Christ-exalting.
Faith, Finances, and Freedom
Over the years, a theme kept surfacing as well again and again — the relationship between our faith and our stewardship.
Not because money is the point.
But because our hearts are.
Jesus spoke about money more than almost anything else because it reveals what we trust. Writing about generosity, open-handed living, and financial surrender wasn’t about budgets — it was about discipleship.
I’ve had countless conversations with men and women who love Jesus but quietly wrestle with control. Security. Fear. Comfort.
And the Cross keeps confronting all of it.
The Cross reminds us:
You don’t own your life.
You were bought with a price.
Everything is His.
True freedom has never been found in accumulation. It has always been found in surrender.
What This Has Always Been About
Before the Cross has never been about building a brand.
It has been about kneeling before a King.
It has been about asking hard questions:
Is Jesus truly first?
Is my obedience selective?
Is my generosity conditional?
Is my leadership surrendered?
The Cross levels all of us.
It strips away self-sufficiency.
It exposes pride.
It dismantles idols.
And then — it rebuilds us in grace.
Ephesians 2:8-9 still stands at the center:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God…”
Grace began this journey. Grace has sustained it.
Gratitude
To those who have read, shared, responded, prayed, challenged, encouraged, and walked this journey with me — thank you.
To pastors and leaders who have invited these conversations into your churches — thank you.
To friends who have had the courage to wrestle deeply with faith and finances — thank you.
And above all — to Jesus Christ, who has patiently shaped my own heart through this ministry — all glory belongs to Him.
Looking Forward
Fifteen years is not a finish line.
It is a reminder.
A reminder that obedience compounds.
That surrender bears fruit.
That the Gospel still transforms.
The prayer for the years ahead is simple:
That Before the Cross would continue calling believers to deeper surrender.
That it would strengthen leaders who are weary.
That it would challenge comfortable Christianity.
That it would keep Christ central.
And that in everything — Christ would increase, and we would decrease.
Here’s to whatever God chooses to do next.
Still learning.
Still surrendering.
Still living — Before The Cross.
