Camilo Buchanan

Saint Augustine of Hippo taught that God displayed radical grace for us and that we were made for God's glory. Through his writing, legacies of faith are still impacted by his words to this day.

Camilo Buchanan reminds us that when we know whose we are, we can then know who and why we are, and we can live out our purpose of proclaiming His name to a broken and lost people.

Camilo Buchanan opens up Hebrews 1-2, encouraging and reminding us to keep our faith anchored in Jesus, our High Priest, who is superior overall.

In this talk, Camilo Buchanan reminds young adults to seek God rather than seeking spirituality. One is empty and will lead you further from God, but the other will lead you to life, freedom, and your identity in Him.

We had wanted to visit this national park for years, and we finally made the trip out west to make that desire a reality. So, we flew in, rented a car, and started driving. As our car got closer to our destination and the geography peeking through the windows started to morph, there was no sign of a canyon, let alone a grand one.  A little confused, we parked our car and walked toward the heliport, ready for our aerial tour of the Grand Canyon. I started mentally preparing myself for a long journey, especially given that I couldn’t see the destination I was headed to.  You can imagine my surprise and terror when, mere seconds after taking off, the ground opened up, and we were in the Grand Canyon. And Grand it was.  As we soared over the Colorado River and began our descent over 3,000 feet below, I couldn’t help but be taken aback by the majesty of what I was experiencing. Then it struck me: when we parked our car in that lot just a few minutes prior, we already were where we were trying to go, but we didn’t have the discernment to realize we had already arrived. What if you’re trying hard to get somewhere, accomplish something, or become someone you already are? Paul writes in Ephesians 2:6 that God has “seated us in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Paul doesn’t say that God is going to seat us. He doesn’t tell us to strive to find a seat. Paul is not using a metaphor. He is stating a fact that is a present reality for the believer. You may have noticed that wherever you’re currently reading this article, you are not in “heavenly places.” So what is Paul talking about? He’s describing the “already, not yet” of the Kingdom of God. That in Jesus we have been made alive, and we will be made alive. (Ephesians 2:5) In Jesus, we are sanctified but are not yet sanctified. (2 Corinthians 3:18) We’re currently raised with Christ (Colossians 3:1), but there’s coming a day when we shall be raised with Christ. (Revelation 20:6) All of these spiritual realities are ours already, but we aren’t experiencing the fullness of these realities presently. This may seem like a contradiction, but it’s more so a tension in which we get to exercise faith. This boggles the mind because we experience the concept of time linearly. But our God is eternal. He sits outside of time. He holds time in the crevices of His palms. There is no time in human history that He does not currently exist in or is unaware of. God has never been in “after” (Revelation 1:18, Revelation 21:6). God has never experienced the concept of “before.” He simply is, which is bad grammar but good theology. The question is, “How does this good orthodoxy become a lived orthopraxy?” This theology changes your life when you start to operate in faith based on it being true. When you begin building your faith not only based on what God has already done in your past but also on what He has already done in your future. Faith aligns our not-yet reality with God’s already reality. 1. Your seat is an endorsement of your position.  Since you are already seated in Christ, your faith should cause you to live according to that reality. If you’re already seated in Christ, you don’t have to beg God to move on your behalf.  I once went to see a mentor who I knew to be well off financially, but when invited over to his home, I was mesmerized by his level of wealth. In the same way, we may think we understand the idea of God being rich in mercy, but if you were to sneak into the home of the wealthiest person on earth, it would not compare to the riches of His mercy (Ephesians 2:4). We would be left awestruck. You didn’t sneak into the Kingdom. The blood of Jesus that went before you has paid the price for your seat. 2. If you’re already seated in Christ, you’re not a victim; you’re a victor.  Your seat implies victory! I’m not saying that in the not yet, there isn’t pain or the aftermath of trauma or disappointment to sort through, but there is also an assignment on your life already. You don’t have to wait to fulfill your purpose. According to Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” What people have done to you is not more powerful than what Jesus has done for you. God has already gone before you to secure your victory. 3. If you’re already seated in Christ, you don’t have to compare. You are seated in Christ. You’re not seated in yourself or your neighbor, only your savior. So there’s no need to compare your journey to others because, for those of us who’ve put our faith in Jesus, we’ve all been given a seat. No one has a leg up or down because the Cross leveled the playing field. Your God has gone before you to prepare a table for you in the presence of your enemies. That should be your focus, not someone else’s table. 4. If you’re already seated in Christ, you don’t have to worry about the future.  Why? Because Christ is still seated.  Once, on a flight home from Seattle, we started to experience really bad turbulence. But instead of panicking, I looked at the flight attendant down the aisle, who was incredibly calm. If she wasn’t worried, I wasn’t going to be worried. If she stayed seated, I was going to stay seated. I know life may look confusing, but your God has gone before you and is already seated so you can be, too. This is what faith is. It’s saying God, I trust you because you’ve gone before me. I trust you because wherever I’m trying to go in this life, you’re already there. This isn’t the prosperity Gospel or the poverty Gospel; this is the already Gospel. The gap between where you are and where you wish you were is where you activate faith in the God already there. And because He’s already there, you’re already there because you are in Him.  Rest. You’ve made it to the Grand Canyon of wonder, but it can only be traversed by stepping in faith. Faith that your God has gone before you. PRAYER God, I worship you because you’re already there. You’re already seated on the throne of eternity. You’re already securing my future. You’re already redeeming my past. You’re already interceding for me at the right hand of the Father. You’re already building your church. You’re already sovereign over my story. You’re already vanquishing Hell, and its schemes. You’re already my healing. You’re already my Sabbath. You’re already my portion. You’re already my comfort. You’re already my joy. You’re already my victory. Amen.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.Philippians 4:8 In seasons of turmoil, it’s important that you not only get a heavenly perspective on your circumstance but also a heavenly perspective of yourself. It’s unlikely that God randomly selected you to go through what you’re going through. The hardship, setback, or uncertainty you may find yourself in is there—at least in part—to give, develop, or show you something, not just about God, but about you. Some trials are there for God to give you something. David faces Goliath to set the stage for David to become King. God put him through it to give him a platform. If you’re in a tough season, look for what God is trying to give you in the midst of it. For all of us, if we are wise enough to discipline ourselves in the midst of our hardship, that dark season can actually be a development season. The fruits of the Spirit are not revealed in times of bliss but blossom in times of toil. Do you want patience? God may keep you in a situation longer than you’d like. Do you want joy? Paul testifies about LEARNING how to be joyful through trials from a jail cell. Do you want peace? The disciples realized that peace is found in the person of Jesus in the middle of a storm! Be careful what you wish (pray) for. Or maybe for you, this season is designed for you to realize your calling. God calls Moses, who is a stutterer, to speak. God calls Joseph, the youngest brother, to lead the family. God calls Esther, an orphan and ethnic outcast, to save a nation and serve as queen. Perhaps this season isn’t designed to kill you but to reveal you. I’ve learned there’s no need for others to know who you are if you don’t know who you are. Not for your fame or notoriety or even self-esteem, but so that you would stand firm, uncompromising in your pursuit of the renown of the glory of God. People who don’t know who they are are subject to not knowing what they should do or how they should live. But people who realize they are more than conquerors are not easily swayed. Don’t just come out of the adversity you’re facing with a clearer understanding of who God is or the purpose of the pain, come out with a stronger sense of who God has uniquely made you to be. You can learn to love the process. — What’s something about you you want to look different on the other side?Has your aim in the past been to grow in or survive hard seasons?In Judges 6:11-18—God calls a guy named Gideon a mighty warrior, but Gideon doesn’t see himself that way. So God sends him into a battle with the odds against him, but God is with him, and he is victorious. What stood out from God’s initial talk with Gideon in that passage?What’s a harder battle for you, pride or confidence, and how do you let scripture instruct you?

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.       In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. Romans 8:18-30 Most of us can push through something painful if we at least know the purpose. I can work out if I know it will make me stronger. I can study if I know I’m getting a degree. I can practice if I know a championship is on the line. I can work overtime if I know I’m in line for a promotion. But often in life, we’re hit with something that seems random. We’re hit with a storm that seems as steady as the wind. A health crisis upends our way of life. The economy crashes right when we’re looking for a job. The relationship fails again. Your friend cuts you off out of nowhere. You’re discriminated against simply because of who you are. That’s the stuff that’s hard to look past. And if you’re not careful, you can become bitter, not just at your circumstance or even at a person, but with God Himself.  This is why theology is important. If you read scripture and see a God who is as out of control as you are and simply tries His best to bless those whom He loves, your faith will falter. But if you read scripture and conclude that God is writing all of history, it implies that everything has a purpose, including the situation that you’d rather not be in right now.  Whether that’s encouraging or not is really up to you. We can sulk at His sovereignty and think, “If I were God, I would do it differently,” or we can surrender to His sovereignty and say, “His ways are higher than my own.” I’m not asking you to have blind faith. I’m asking you to consider the blind men who had faith and allowed Jesus to wipe mud and spit on their eyes. That may not have been comfortable, but I’m sure their sight was worth it.  I’m asking you to consider Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who told the king their God would deliver them from the fiery furnace, but even if He didn’t, they still wouldn’t bow. As it turns out, God doesn’t prevent them from getting thrown into the fire. Instead, He jumps in with them, and they come out unharmed with their king worshipping the King. (Daniel 3:16-28) I’m asking you to consider Jesus, who asked God the Father if there was any way He could get out of going to the cross but concluded, “Not my will but your will be done.” That will that Jesus surrendered to was His resurrection, glory, and our salvation.  I’m asking you to consider that God always wants to do more in & through us than we even know to ask. I’m not asking you not to be honest. I’m just asking you to have an honest perspective. Has He ever left you? Has He ever forsaken you? Why would He start now? You can walk through the fire in confidence when you know who is walking with you. You are never alone. There’s another in the fire. And the promise of the Father is not just that He’ll see you on the other side, but that He carries you through to the other side. — I don’t know what you’re going through right now, but I know there’s a purpose to it. And if you surrender, He just may let you see it.  What’s something you’ve been through that at the time looked pointless but turned out to be purpose?How do you mature to the point that you can join Paul in rejoicing always?Are there areas of your life that, if you’re being honest, don’t seem redeemable?Romans 8:18-30—what stood out to you from this text?Why is it reassuring that God is sovereign and close during your trials?

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Mark 4:35-41 It takes more than a week (or even a month) at the gym to see change. It takes more than one practice to master the game. But what we rarely talk about is what happens before the work: the stretching.  To go farther, longer, and faster, you do the opposite. You sit.  No one is handing out awards to the best stretcher. In the gym, they put the stretching mat in the corner. It is more ritual than a performance. But that’s because it’s necessary for growth. We’re talking about growing through hardship. And for that to be true in our lives, we must start somewhere as unconventional as stretching. We have to learn to let go. That may be the one thing you need to do in this season that you haven’t tried yet. Some years have lofty resolutions quickly traded in for an “I just have to hold on” mentality. The idea of growing at this time seems so foreign. We’re just trying to make it; we’ll worry about “growth” later.    But here’s the secret: the seasons, or years, of our life that seems the most out of control is when God proves He is in control. What’s too big for you isn’t too big for God. And in seasons of uncertainty, doubt, and seeming setbacks, God is still there, hoping you let go.  When discussing growth through trial, we should talk about grit and perseverance. All that is great. But the foundation isn’t grit; it’s worship. It’s sitting in His presence. It’s stretching your sight to see His power. His only requirement for you is to sit and see. There’s strength in the stretch. Too often, we want to show our faith by acting like nothing’s wrong, that we’re good and have everything under control. What if we could learn to exercise our faith by recognizing that while our circumstances may not seem conducive to growth, that has never stopped our Savior?  He has a knack for making a way out of no way. The level to which you will come out of this year better than you went in directly correlates to the level that you let go of trying to control the narrative of your life and lean towards the One who’s actually in control anyway. Trust in God should be one of the main things fortified on the other side of hardship. What you believe may be a little questionable, but whom you believe doesn’t have to be. — What do you have to lose? You’ve tried holding it all together. You’ve tried using willpower to get through life. You’ve tried suppressing your fears. Why not try letting go and stretching? Stretching your faith, to strive for nothing else than drawing near to the Father. Your preparation doesn’t provide evidence of your faith. Faith is realized when, instead of looking around at your life defeated based on what you see, you choose to look up and worship based on WHO you see.  Try it. Let go. You’re gonna make it through to the other side, and you’re going to make it there stronger than how you entered. Not because of you holding on, but because God is holding on to you.  What were your goals at the beginning of the year, and how have they shifted?Mark 4:25-41—Jesus tells them where they’re going, but circumstances cause the disciples to focus on the here & now and to question Jesus’ care for them. What can we learn from this story?When God has called you to something, He will get you there. How does that truth affect your faith?What are some comfort zones you’re being pushed out of this season?In a culture that values striving, how can you practically live out faith?

Without it, Paul said those of us who call ourselves “Christians” are to be the most pitied. Resurrection is kind of our thing. In the Old Testament, prophets resurrected people from the dead. In the New Testament, Paul resurrects someone who falls asleep and dies falling out of a window while listening to one of Paul’s sermons. Jesus Himself, resurrects a 12-year-old little girl, a young man, and His close friend, Lazarus. God raises people from the dead. Resurrection is what He does. However, in Genesis 22, a peculiar story takes place. Abraham, the patriarch of the Jewish faith, is told by God to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Abraham obeys the brazen command and begins to make the journey up the mountain where God has told him this would occur. On the way there, he tells his servants who’ve accompanied them on the journey not to continue. Saying, “the boy and I will go and worship, then we will come back to you.” That’s an odd statement for someone who is about to take their son’s life. Why does he say “we” will come back to you? I know the resurrection is a part of our story, but in Genesis 22, God has not raised anyone from the dead before… The answer is given to us not in the narrative, but in the book of Hebrews. The writer recounts the events in the 11th chapter. He says of Abraham that he concluded: “that God was able to raise him, even from the dead, from which he also received him figuratively.” Abraham may not have physically seen anyone resurrected before, but in a moment of confusion, he recalled that he and Sarah had a barren womb, and yet God gave them a son anyway. God had already made the impossible possible in Abraham’s family. God had proven that He was in the business of resurrection long before someone physically dead was brought back to physical life Jesus takes this further and declares that He is the resurrection and the life in John 11. It’s not just what He does; it’s who He is. Resurrection isn’t an event. Resurrection is a person named Jesus. What Abraham tells us is He is a safe and worthy place to anchor our faith and hope. He takes dead dreams, dead hearts, dead bodies, dead relationships, and dead souls and brings them back to life. If you ever need proof that God can bring resurrection to your story, don’t look ahead at the challenge; look back at the cross and the empty grave, and look up to He who is resurrection.

Camilo Buchanan, Campbell Sims, and Emily Buchanan open up the book of Jonah together, highlighting the pitfalls of this story vs. the goodness of God and how He used Jonah for His glory.

Camilo Buchanan kicks off our brand new collection, Holy Ground, teaching from Acts 16. As we are reminded of the many miracles God performed in the Bible, we are challenged to invite the Holy Spirit’s presence to every ground we walk on, deeming it holy ground and leaving us expectant.

Camilo Buchanan recaps the story of the man on the mat at the Pool of Bethesda and how God healed him and then told him to pick up his mat and walk. Similarly, God calls us to pick up our mats and be healed from the trauma we are keeping ourselves chained to.