This week's episode focuses on the sanctity of human life, primarily examining Psalm 139, where David describes how God forms each person in the womb with intentional care. The pastor emphasized that this is fundamentally a biblical issue about the value God places on all human life, not merely a political stance. The message highlighted that human value is received from God as our Creator, not achieved through our actions or circumstances. The episode addresses abortion while maintaining that Christians should be 'pro-life' in the fullest sense - valuing all human life from conception to natural death, including the elderly, disabled, and those we disagree with politically.

This episode addresses spiritual apathy and slothfulness as foundational issues Christians must overcome before engaging culture. Drawing from Romans 12, the pastors explain that slothfulness means 'shrinking backwards' due to unpreparedness, leading Christians to either isolate from cultural conversations or escalate into aggressive fighting. The episode emphasizes that apathy isn't just laziness, but caring about things God cares little about while neglecting what matters most to Him. This episode challenges believers to be fervent in spirit, prepared to engage culture with both grace and truth, and warns that spiritual apathy leads to wasted lives and missed blessings from God.

This episode is the start of a new season based on our new series called 'Culture Wars'. The series is about addressing the cultural chaos, confusion, and uncertainty of our times. The pastors emphasize that Christians are constantly being discipled by culture through technology and media, which shapes our worldview more than God's word. Rather than withdrawing from culture or warring against it, Christians are called to walk as witnesses in culture. The message focuses on Romans 12:1-2, calling believers to present themselves as living sacrifices and be transformed by the renewing of their minds. Before addressing cultural issues, Christians must first pursue personal holiness and surrender their rights at the altar of Christ. The series aims to help people understand the times we live in and engage culture from a biblical worldview rather than being conformed to worldly thinking.

This podcast episode features Pastor Wayne Bray, Dallas Wilson, and new Greenville campus pastor Hayden Crompton discussing the soft launch of Upstate Church's Greenville campus and their ministry philosophy. The conversation centers around 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, where Paul emphasizes preaching Christ crucified rather than impressive speech or wisdom. The pastors explain how this passage shapes their approach to ministry - prioritizing the message of Jesus over the messenger delivering it. They discuss the importance of decentralizing personality in ministry, rotating preachers across campuses, and building a team-based approach rather than focusing on individual pastors. The episode also covers the strategic importance of planting a church in downtown Greenville and how their ministry philosophy helps with both mission advancement and pastoral sanctification.

This episode focuses on the importance of obedience to God's calling, even when it leads to unexpected and uncomfortable places. Using the example of Will Bray's calling to plant a church in Arizona, the message emphasizes that following Jesus means being willing to leave security and comfort behind when God calls us to something different. The sermon highlights that God is always calling believers to something, and our job is to be close enough to Him through prayer and Scripture to hear His voice. True security is found in obedience to God, not in our circumstances, and delayed obedience is disobedience.

In this bonus episode of the Charge On Podcast, Dallas and Pastor Wayne share the incredible story behind the Haywood campus roof collapse — how God’s providence protected the church, how the team responded overnight, and what’s next for both Haywood and Five Forks. Hear updates on construction, insurance, and how God continues to grow His church through every challenge.

In this episode, Pastor Wayne Bray unpacks the heart of the Great Commission—reminding us it’s not optional but essential to the church’s identity. He challenges believers to live missionally right where they are, focusing on two key arenas: the family and the workplace. Pastor Bray highlights the family as the foundation of Christian mission, calling men to lead spiritually by loving and treasuring their wives amid a culture where the nuclear family is rapidly eroding. He also redefines the workplace as a mission field, urging Christians to see their true business as winning people to Jesus. This episode invites every believer to embrace their everyday calling as faithful missionaries in ordinary life.

Pastor Wayne Bray preached from Psalm 63 about four priorities for encountering God during the church's Encounter Initiative. The sermon emphasized that it's 'time to seek the Lord' based on Hosea 10:12, focusing on breaking up fallow ground in our hearts. David's example in the wilderness shows us how to earnestly seek God even in difficult circumstances. The four priorities are: prioritizing spending time with God (seeking Him early), spending intentional time with God's people in God's presence (corporate worship), prioritizing praise regardless of circumstances, and prioritizing thinking about God during idle moments. The message challenged believers to move beyond casual Christianity to genuine spiritual hunger, making room for God by removing distractions and truly seeking Him with the same passion they show for other priorities in life.

In this podcast episode, Pastor Wayne Bray and host Dallas Wilson discuss how Christians should engage with culture in today's polarized and chaotic world. They explore the tension between standing firm on biblical truth while effectively engaging with a culture that often holds opposing values. The pastors emphasize that Christians should neither isolate themselves from culture nor assimilate to it, but rather engage meaningfully while keeping the gospel as their primary focus. They discuss how politics has become increasingly theological, forcing Christians to address moral issues in the political arena without letting politics drive their faith.

In this episode of the Charge On Podcast, hosts Dallas Wilson and Pastor Wayne Bray discuss leadership lessons and pastoral wisdom. Dallas shares a list of valuable insights he's learned from Wayne over their eight years working together. They explore how to view people through a lens of compassion rather than anger, especially when dealing with sinful or spiritually immature individuals. Wayne emphasizes the importance of hard work in ministry, the danger of platform-building for personal gain, and the need to take God's mission seriously without taking oneself too seriously. Throughout the conversation, they highlight the value of mentorship in ministry and Upstate Church's commitment to developing young leaders.