Why Stand Fast: Faith, Freedom, and Leadership in a Shifting Culture

I’m excited to begin something I’ve wanted to do for a long time: my own personal blog. I’m calling it Stand Fast. This will be a place where I write about three subjects that have become increasingly important to me: Faith, Freedom, and Leadership. It will also be a place where I share conversations with people from many different walks of life. One of the things I genuinely enjoy is listening to other people’s stories. Everyone has one. Behind every business owner, pastor, veteran, parent, entrepreneur, community leader, and everyday person are experiences that have shaped who they are and how they see the world. There are victories, failures, setbacks, lessons learned the hard way, and moments when God opens doors we never expected. I believe we can learn a great deal when we slow down long enough to listen to one another.

Another reason I’m starting Stand Fast is because I believe we are living in a time when strong Christian leadership is desperately needed. There is a tremendous amount of turmoil, confusion, division, and cultural pressure around us. Families are under pressure. Communities are divided. Biblical convictions are constantly being challenged. We have more access to information than any generation before us, yet in many ways we seem more confused about what is true, what matters, and where we are going. I believe this is a time when Christian leaders need to rise rather than retreat. Jesus said in Matthew 5:14, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.” We are called to be a light, but when I look at the culture around us, I have to ask how brightly that light is actually shining.

I believe the Church as a whole has dropped the ball in helping equip the Body of Christ to understand how to navigate culture. We know how to attend church, listen to sermons, and talk about faith with people who already agree with us, but are we being equipped to carry biblical truth into our homes, businesses, workplaces, schools, communities, and civic institutions? Do we know how to stand for truth without allowing anger or fear to control us? Do we know how to lead when the pressure increases? Do we understand what we believe and why we believe it? These are questions I think Christians need to wrestle with in a serious way.

I’ve come a long way in my own life. I’ve experienced setbacks, made mistakes, gone down wrong roads, and had to rebuild parts of my life. I’ve learned plenty of lessons the hard way. Through all of that, one thing has become increasingly clear to me: the Word of God is constant. Culture changes. Opinions change. Circumstances change. People change. God’s truth does not. That has become my foundation. I certainly don’t have everything figured out, but I want to keep growing, learning, becoming wiser, and becoming a better leader every day. I don’t pursue growth because I’m trying to earn salvation. Salvation is through Christ. I pursue growth because I want my life to become a better reflection of the One I claim to follow. I want to lead my family better, serve people better, make wiser decisions, and have the courage to stand when standing becomes uncomfortable.

That is also why leadership matters so much to me. Christian leadership cannot simply be about gaining influence, building a platform, or holding a position. It has to begin with becoming the kind of person who can be trusted with influence. One of my greatest interests and passions is studying leadership, learning from other leaders, and helping people recognize the leadership potential God has placed within them. I am fascinated by the question of why some people become stronger under pressure while others collapse beneath it. Leadership exposes what is already underneath the surface, which is why strengthening the foundation matters so much.

Over roughly the last six years, I have been developing a leadership framework called the LIFE Path. LIFE stands for Leverage, Influence, Focus, and Execute. The framework is designed to help leaders operate from a biblical worldview while strengthening the person behind the leadership. Leadership problems are not always strategy problems. Sometimes they are identity problems. Sometimes they are character problems. Sometimes they come from unresolved wounds, misplaced priorities, poor boundaries, a lack of focus, or fear. Sometimes we are moving so fast that we have never stopped long enough to ask whether we are even moving in the right direction.

The LIFE Path is designed to go beyond giving someone more information. There is already an endless amount of leadership content available. What many leaders need is a framework that helps them slow down, dig deeper, ask better questions, recognize where they need to grow, and strengthen their foundation before the pressure of leadership exposes the cracks. Whether someone is leading a home, a business, a team, a ministry, or within their community, the principles still matter. We need leaders who know who they are, leaders who can govern themselves before attempting to lead others, leaders who can focus on what matters, and leaders who possess the courage to act when obedience becomes uncomfortable.

Freedom is another subject I care deeply about. I believe many people enjoy the benefits of freedom without fully understanding the principles that sustain it. We have inherited rights, institutions, traditions, and opportunities that previous generations fought to establish and preserve, yet it is easy to take those things for granted. Freedom requires more than appreciation. It requires understanding. That is one reason I am grateful for organizations like Hillsdale College and the educational resources they provide on the Constitution, American history, the founding, and other important subjects. We need to become students again. We need to read the Constitution, study the Declaration of Independence, understand history, learn the principles behind self-government, and think carefully about how those ideas apply today.

Being an engaged citizen should require more than repeating talking points or paying attention during an election year. We should become people capable of thinking clearly, asking better questions, voting thoughtfully, understanding the issues in front of us, and taking responsibility for the communities where we live. If we want future generations to inherit freedom, then we need to understand what we are asking them to preserve.

The name Stand Fast was chosen for a reason. It represents a conviction. Galatians 5:1 says, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free.” To stand fast means to remain firm, hold your ground, and refuse to be moved from what is true. It means not abandoning your convictions simply because the culture changes or the pressure increases. That does not mean becoming loud, bitter, combative, or impossible to reason with. It means knowing where you stand and understanding why you stand there.

My foundation is Jesus Christ and the Word of God. From that foundation comes my desire to better understand and help preserve the principles of freedom. From that foundation also comes my passion for leadership and helping people become stronger, wiser, more courageous, and more faithful in the responsibilities God has given them. That is what Stand Fast represents to me.

I’m not starting this blog because I believe one website is going to change the world. I’m starting it because I believe conversations matter. Ideas matter. Truth matters. Stories matter. Leadership matters. Sometimes meaningful change begins when one person decides to stop waiting for somebody else to act and simply starts doing their part.

I want to play my part. I want to help preserve faith in a culture that is increasingly confused about truth. I want to help people better understand the principles of freedom rather than simply take them for granted. I want to inspire people to become the leaders God has called them to be. But I also understand that all of that begins with me. My responsibility is to keep growing, keep learning, keep listening, keep having conversations, keep serving, keep speaking truth, and keep standing. Then I trust the Holy Spirit with the results.

Through Stand Fast, you can expect interviews, personal stories, leadership lessons, conversations about Scripture, discussions about culture and freedom, and lessons from people who have walked through experiences worth learning from. I won’t have all the answers, and I don’t pretend to. But I know where my foundation is.

And whatever comes next, I intend to Stand Fast.