Chris Wilson

Last year at this time I read Your Best Year Ever  by Michael Hyatt. I followed the S.M.A.R.T.E.R. framework for goal setting Hyatt lays out in his book. I ordered the Full Focus Planner  from his online store and filled it in with the ten goals I hoped to accomplish in 2019. I was prepped and ready, like a kid laying out the next year's supplies the night before school begins. If I could hit my target and knock out these ten goals I would be, I thought, a better husband, father, friend, pastor, et al. I awoke on January 1, 2019 with a rush of excitement, the air alive and crackling with the energy and promise of 365 days to explore, push, and grow into who God had called me to be. January bled into February, each gray day bending and folding itself into the next. Time moved quickly and I was making no progress on my goals. I felt behind. I was stressed. Anxiety began to rear its head. I thought I needed more coffee. I thought I needed to redouble my lackluster effort. I rem...

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year I did not post a quote or picture to social media. It was an intentional move because I had become aware, through listening to others in person, online, and in print that it was pointless to tip the cap to Dr. King if I had no intention of actually picking up on the work he had given his life for. Throughout Black History Month I continued to listen to what my African-American brothers and sisters in Christ had to say. What I learned was that I needed to educate myself on the history of African-Americans in the United States, outside of what the school history books taught. Not only do I need to re-learn history in general, but I especially need to learn the role of the evangelical church in the history of slavery in the United States. So I spent the past month finishing up gathering resources and creating a reading list to help me become more educated and better equipped to lead as a pastor in the years ahead. I want to be able to speak winsomel...

In August of last year, Kristen and I took our oldest daughter, Ramsey, on a special day trip for her 3rd birthday. We were driving down the highway when I began to experience dizziness and faint tunnel vision. At first, I didn't say anything. I thought I needed to adjust my legs and that I would be okay. Unfortunately, that didn't help and I immediately moved over to the shoulder and told my wife what was going on, knowing I didn't feel comfortable driving in this state. She drove the rest of the trip. For the rest of the day, I battled a severe case of vertigo. As I reflected back on the experience, I realized how badly it could have gone had I not been able to get to the side of the road safely. Since then, thankfully, I've had no recurrence of vertigo. Fast forward to today. We were leaving a family vacation in the mountains and were on our way to see Kristen's parents. As we traveled down I-40 above Asheville, I began to feel as if I was going to have an onse...

Five years ago, I walked into the Smith Center to see Duke and Carolina play. Eight days earlier my wife and I and our friends, Adam and Sara, had gambled and bought tickets in the lower level for face value. We hoped and prayed the game would get rescheduled due to the snow and ice that began to blanket much of North Carolina that afternoon. We attempted to make the trek from Greenville, NC to Chapel Hill for the game on February 12, 2014, but it was no use. A slight cheer erupted in Adam's truck when social media broadcasted that the game would be postponed. We turned around and slowly made our way back home, relieved that we hadn't wasted our money but would get to see the best rivalry in sports, in person, after all. Two days later, on Valentine's Day, all the joy and anticipation of attending the game on February 20th was stripped away. As I was heading to work that morning, my dad called to deliver the news I dreaded, my Grandpaw Ray had died that morning. Along the...

A friend asked me if I would put together a list of books that I've read and really enjoyed. Below is a list of the 100 best books I've read over the past 11+ years. The books are listed in no particular order nor are they grouped by genre. After reading through the list drop me a few of your favorites so I can add to my ever growing "to be read" list! Fire  by Sebastian Junger Reservation Road  by John Burnham Schwartz Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth  by Richard J. Foster Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God  by Francis Chan The Wounded Healer: Ministry in Contemporary Society  by Henri J. M. Nouwen The Road  by Cormac McCarthy I, Isaac, take Thee, Rebekah: Moving from Romance to Lasting Love  by Ravi Zacharias This Momentary Marriage: A Parable of Permanence  by John Piper Outliers: The Story of Success  by Malcolm Gladwell Knowing God  by J. I. Packer Seabiscuit: An American Legend ...