Austin W. Duncan

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Austin W. Duncan Associate Pastor in the Middle Tennessee area. Married to Cassy with a pack of amazing dogs. I'm the Associate Pastor of Crosswalk Church in Brentwood, TN.

My mission is to reach the lost locally, nationally, and internationally (Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8), care for those that are reached with intentionality (Acts 20:28), train others to be effective in their own ministries (Eph. 4:12), and to encourage other believers to action (Eph. 6:7). I hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree (B.F.A.) in Studio Art with an emphasis in Digital Printmaking and a concentration in Photography from Texas Tech University. I also hold a Master of Arts Degree (M.A.) in Design and Media Management from The Art Institute of Dallas, and an Advanced Master’s Certification in Strategic Project Management from Villanova University. I am currently a candidate for a Masters of Divinity Degree (M.Div.) from Bethel Theological Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.

02/17/2026

It’s been a while since I’ve posted here on this page. Nearly a year. Life has been… full. Some grief. Some growth. Some writing. I’ve been working on something that’s become very personal to me, exploring gratitude when life is not neat, easy, or predictable. If you’re still following this page, I just want to say thanks for sticking around. I’m looking forward to sharing more with you.

04/13/2025

There are two moments in the Gospels where Jesus is described as amazed, and only one of those in a positive way - it was at a Roman centurion.

A man who said, “You don’t need to come to my house—just say the word.” Luke 7:9 says: "When Jesus heard this, he marveled at him..."

Why? Because this centurion got it. This wasn’t faith in what Jesus might do—it was faith in who Jesus is. That’s the kind of faith that made Jesus stop and marvel.

04/12/2025

Faith isn’t “cross your fingers and hope.”

Hebrews 11:1 says it’s assurance and conviction—but the original Greek takes it deeper.

ὑπόστασις (hypostasis) = a solid foundation. A property deed. Something you own.
ἔλεγχος (elegchos) = courtroom-level evidence. The kind that can stand up under scrutiny.

Faith isn’t a feeling. It’s trusting God based on who He is and what He’s proven. When you think about your faith, does it feel more like hope… or like something solid?

04/11/2025

You already live by faith.

You trust the doctor who writes your prescription.
You trust the pilot flying your plane.
You trust the chair you sit in without checking the bolts.

But when it comes to God? Suddenly faith sounds irrational to some people.

Here’s the truth: biblical faith isn’t blind—it’s built on evidence, trust, and action.

Jesus' inaugural miracle was indicative of the rest of His ministry. Restoring the joy at a wedding reception/at a celeb...
02/22/2023

Jesus' inaugural miracle was indicative of the rest of His ministry. Restoring the joy at a wedding reception/at a celebration.

Think about it this way: isn't the love and the joy that are inherent in a wedding ceremony and reception - aren't those things exactly characteristic of the ministry of Christ? He came into this world because of love (John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever shall believe in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life") and He brings joy to all who believe (Luke 2:10, "fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people”).

Hear me when I say this:

He's not just raising us from the dead.

He's not just casting out demons.

He's doing it because God created us in His image and in His likeness. He created us with the ability to know Him and therefore love Him, worship Him, serve Him, and fellowship with Him. He didn't create us because He needed us - He created us for His pleasure and so that we, as His creation, would have the pleasure of knowing Him - of fellowship with Him - of relationship with Him. To be in His presence in celebration, and in joy, and in love.

He created us to be with Him at the ultimate party and celebration with joy, laughter, fellowship, friendship!

Is that your image of the kingdom of God?

Because here's what that means:

All that you’ve experienced here on earth, the very best food, the very best friendship, the very best celebrations, the very best worship, the very best entertainment. It’s all just the appetizer for the banquet to come.

I just have to wonder how many people reject the invitation because they don't really believe that God wants them there....
02/20/2023

I just have to wonder how many people reject the invitation because they don't really believe that God wants them there. Look, I understand the instinct in all of us that thinks that we have to earn, we have to be worthy, we receive what we're worthy to receive.

Maybe you've thought, "why would God want me? If He knew the things I've done, or the things I've thought...How could He want me at the banquet?"

Maybe there's no name that someone could call you that you haven't already said to yourself 6 inches away from the mirror.

"Why would God want me and everything that I am at His feast?"

Because that's the gospel.

Christ became sin - for us. He became the things that you've done, the things that you've thought, the sin and the corruption that all of us are. He became that on the cross. He died for it. And it was put away.

Do you know His last words on the cross?

"Tetelestai"

It. Is. Finished.

It was a word that archaeologists have found on tax receipts - meaning that a debt had been paid. The debt has been paid for your sin!

It. Is. Finished. It's paid.

The invitation is open for all who will receive, regardless of the worthiness or unworthiness you bring to the table.

To think that you're worthy or unworthy is to miss the point because Jesus died for all of it.

Old things have passed away - all things are new in Him. That means that it doesn't matter what your old things are - they're passed away.

"Behold, he whoever thirsts shall come to the waters and drink. Let he who is thirsty, come."

Regardless of who you are or where you are.

12/25/2022

Wishing you all a merry Christmas today!

My original plan was to post a simple Merry Christmas message while visiting family back in Texas. Instead, on this Christmas morning I find myself writing this from my office. My family already traveled back a couple of days ago, and I was going to fly out this morning and meet them around 10-11 am. Sometimes, however, plans change whether we want them to or not. Now just a couple of hours after having flights cancelled due to various reasons (weather, staffing, rerouting flights, you name it...) I've been sitting here thinking about what I'm grateful for this morning.

Not really.

To be completely transparent, I actually spent a good chunk of this morning pretty bitter/upset/frustrated because of the cancelled flights. But luckily that didn't last all that long and I landed on just thinking about what this morning is really about. "Is this morning really about cancelled flights? Is it really about missing plans? Or is this about something else?"

When things happen outside of our control, especially when they disrupt plans in a major way it's easy to land in a place of frustration/anger/etc. However, things can also happen outside of our control that disrupt plans, and change everything, eternally, for the better. And thank God for that.

As I sit here in my office this Christmas morning, I keep coming back to this thought: "Celebrating Jesus' birth is a whole lot more than just a simple Christmas story."

The true meaning of Christmas is the celebration of an incredible act of love: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him" (John 3:16-17).

The real Christmas story is the story of God’s becoming a human being in the Person of Jesus Christ. Why did God do such a thing? Because He loves us! Why was Christmas necessary? Because we needed a Savior! Why does God love us so much? Because He is love itself (1 John 4:8). What an incredible gift.

Certainly greater than any cancelled flight could possibly take away.

The true meaning of Christmas is love. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve fell. And down they went, dragging all humanity with them into the darkness and death of sin. And what did God do? He certainly didn't tell us to find our own way out of the mess we were in, and He did so much more than shout down happy thoughts to us from heaven.

He came down to where we were and got us.

That’s what Christmas is all about—God’s coming down to rescue us, to do whatever it took to deliver us from sure death. God loved His own and provided a way—the only Way—for us to spend eternity with Him. He gave His only Son to take our punishment for our sins. He paid the price in full, and we are free from condemnation when we accept that free gift of love. "But God demonstrated His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

When even one person is in a life-threatening situation, we understand what has to be done. When God looked down at our sinful planet, He saw a whole world of people in mortal danger. We celebrate Christmas because we recognize the incredible gift of the birth of the Rescuer of all mankind that came to save us from the hopeless situation we were in. The gift that God did not stay in heaven; He came down to where we are in love (1 Cor. 13:4-7), grace (Phil. 2:6-7), and humility (Isa. 9:6).

So...

Merry Christmas, indeed!

Have you ever thought about why God, in His infinite wisdom included a law against coveting others in His top-ten list o...
07/27/2022

Have you ever thought about why God, in His infinite wisdom included a law against coveting others in His top-ten list of commandments for us (Exod. 20:7)? Maybe there's a reason there?

Perhaps God knew what leads to stealing, affairs, murder, and war?

That's because when we covet what someone else has, we want for ourselves what God in His wisdom has graciously given to someone else. Or, it could be said like this: jealousy is the opposite of being content with the goodness of God.

When a friend, family member, or someone else is placed so high in our heart that they consistently have control of our ...
07/20/2022

When a friend, family member, or someone else is placed so high in our heart that they consistently have control of our mindset and emotions - maybe that's an indication that God's starting to lose His spot on the throne in our hearts.

We so often look for things like satisfaction, meaning, and significance in the wrong people or places when we should be letting God be the one to provide those things.

What happens when someone occupies the throne in our heart? We hurt ourselves by giving someone we’ve placed on a pedestal the power to fill us with anger or peace, happiness or sadness.

And hurt people hurt people. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to hurt those that are close to me.

One of the most loving things we can do for those that we care about is to move them off the pedestal, and put Christ back in his rightful place at the top.

Or think about it this way:
We love others best when we love God most.

We all have idols in our lives, often times without even realizing it. What makes these idols so harmful, sly, cunning, ...
07/12/2022

We all have idols in our lives, often times without even realizing it. What makes these idols so harmful, sly, cunning, and deceitful is that often times they are good things that end up being elevated to a place in our hearts of an ultimate desire or an identity in which we find ourselves.

When we value something more than God, we dethrone Him in our hearts - and it's often without us even realizing it. Then one day - boom. It's happened. Timothy Keller in his book, Counterfeit Gods said it like this, and I love this:

"We think that idols are bad things, but that is almost never the case. The greater the good, the more likely we are to expect that it can satisfy our deepest needs and hopes. Anything can serve as a counterfeit god, especially the very best things in life."

So often Satan uses good things in our lives to slither onto the throne in which God should be seated in our hearts. When we own our sin and realize the sheer weight of it, when we dig down beyond the surface to the root of our sins and grasp the weight of it all - it ends up magnifying what Christ did for us that much more.

"I'm materialistic.
I'm violent and angry.
I'm a liar.
I'm a manipulator.
I'm lazy.
I am a comfort worshiper.
I am a power worshiper.
I am a control worshiper.
I am an approval worshiper.
I am rebellious.
I am broken."

However, thank God that there's a three letter word that Paul uses all throughout the New Testament after pointing out sins - "but".

"But" thank God we can repent.
"But" thank God that we're fully accepted.
"But" thank God there's a savior that's rich in mercy and abounding in steadfast love that can bring us back from all of that. How magnificent, splendid, glorious, and beautiful.
"But" thank God that no matter our sins, we have a savior with which we can walk in joy.

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