Austin Bailey's Ministry Blog

MARRIED! Wow! It finally came and I get to call Caitlin, MY WIFE. At first, it didn't hit us, and we were processing that at the wedding. Now when I look at my wedding band on my finger, I am reminded of the covenant promise I made to Caitlin before God and His people. Being Caitlin's husband for almost a month has taught me a lot about her, marriage, and the goodness of God's character. Of course, there are blessings and challenges that I have witnessed firsthand with her, but what is so important is that God remains loyal to his perfect covenant with his valuable broken people. Covenant If you are married and reading this, I pray the words I share from the Spirit of God will encourage you and maybe challenge you if He's stirring your heart in a particular way. To anyone single and reading this, I pray these words will enable you to know the majesty of God's covenant we are all made for. The word covenant is used over 300 times in different translations. In the...

Pizza Theology. Students came to learn and ask questions about their use of entertainment and ask "what are God's thoughts on entertainment?" My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command.   I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.  You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name, the Father will give you.  This is my command: Love each other. John 15:12-17 I'm not into paintings of Jesus, but when I was looking at some images of Jesus' character, this painting struck me good. I can only imagine at the final day when he returns (I don't know what Jesus will look like)...

“While optimism makes us live as if someday soon things will soon go better for us, hope frees us from the need to predict the future and allows us to live in the present, with the deep trust that God will never leave us alone but will fulfill the deepest desires of our heart... Joy in this perspective is the fruit of hope.” ―  Henri J.M. Nouwen,  Here and Now: Living in the Spirit I believe we live in a generation where optimism controls our hearts and our faith is not focused on God's promise but the results of the future to come. I've been thinking about the word hope, and what do I hope for in this life? Hope is a state of anticipation, and it is crucial for healthy human existence, and it is a really important concept in the Bible. I understand one of the Hebrew words for hope is "qavah," which means to wait for a tense expectation. Like a farmer who plants vines in the field and waits for good grapes. I often am hopeful for the next big thing in my life to...

 What. A. YEAR!!! The moment we've been waiting for has finally come. I was thinking about the song "Hit the Road Jack" by Ray Charles and we can all say to 2020, "HIT THE ROAD JACK"! This blog is going to be very short but with lots of pictures over the month. We ended our Fall semester with a winter worship night, and 50+ of our collin students came to praise our God. When the semester is over that doesn't mean we clock out from God. During the winter break, our staff team read over a book called Money & Power by Jacques Ellul (I know the title could be misleading). The book is about  the attitudes toward wealth from the Old Testament to the New Testament, Jacques Ellul discusses both societal and individual responsibilities related to the use of money and power. This book is a good read and challenging to think through, but it's helped me think differently about money and the role it plays. What has God been teaching you over the holidays? I had t...

Sometimes I think back to times in our ministry, like last year or a couple of years ago, when people would not have to wear masks, certain stores & cafes were open, and we could meet new students without being six feet apart. As I witness time moving forward in a global pandemic year, I have to stop and reflect and be grateful that God has blessed us over and over again. While we may be missing our weekly fellowship nights and after events, there is a flip side that is really positive; God remains faithful and promises to be by our side through the ups and downs.   " The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged "(Deuteronomy:31:8). " I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety.   They will be my people, and I will be their God " (Jeremiah 32:...

Finding the Lost Sheep Hey everyone! Happy fall! If you've been keeping up with my blog series, this is the last part over The Good Shepherd. To see the other two blogs click here to catch up. As I think about Jesus as a good shepherd, I realize the good shepherd knows if he's missing his sheep or not. In Luke 15:4, Jesus asks the crowds (tax collectors, sinners, and Pharisees) in verse 4, " Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? " Think about that question first-century Jesus asks that to us now. I was reading a commentary on this parable and the author brings up an interesting point about how shepherds that don't normally leave their flock behind... until Jesus shares this parable. "We are not told if he [shepherd] leaves the rest of the flock with the neighbors, though that is likely in the natural understanding of the situation, ...

Knowing the Shepherd’s Voice:       Hey everyone! If you are new to reading this blog, please check out I wrote last month called  The Good Shepherd: Who is the good Shepherd?  I felt called by God to share a three-part blog series on how I have seen God as the good shepherd in my life and on our campuses. In John chapter 10:1-18, Jesus teaches this metaphorical parable of a shepherd who looks after his sheep, and Jesus professes the truth that he is the good shepherd. The shepherd knows his sheep. Therefore God knows his people. But how do the sheep know and recognize the shepherd? Here's a video clip to see an example of how the sheep recognize the true shepherd's voice.      Three people attempt their best to mimic the shepherd's voice to call them over but failed. When they heard the shepherd spoke and called out to his sheep, their heads perked up and moved together towards him. All the sheep can tell by the distinctive tone of the ...