About The Exalted Christ

The Exalted Christ is a resource ministry that exists to stir Christ’s church on to love and good deeds. We do this by pointing people to the resurrected and exalted Christ who came to seek and to save that which was lost, who ascended into heaven, and who is coming again in glory to judge the world in righteousness. We produce content that will encourage everyone to look to Christ as He truly is — risen and exalted — and to then properly exalt Him in their own hearts, minds, actions, and lives. To the praise and glory of His great name.

Our Story

The co-founders of The Exalted Christ met each other through ministry in the local church setting. Joe Kohler was part of a visiting teaching team doing a series at a local church where Travis Maxey was part of the leadership team. The focus of that training and teaching was on personal evangelism. At the time, Travis and Joe did not see eye-to-eye. Although the two remained casually in touch, it was not until a few years later when they would begin to minister together in true unity.

It is not uncommon for people to disagree on what the Scriptures teach, emphasize, and on how these truths should be implemented in their lives as individuals and within the life of the local church. What is uncommon is for people to humble themselves, seek the Scriptures with the confident expectation that God has told us what is right, and then to seek to have our lives be conformed more and more into the image of Christ by His amazing grace. It also requires that we be willing to admit where we have been wrong and be willing to change our lives and minds accordingly. If we will actually do this harder and uncommon task, we can expect to see genuine biblical unity grow instead of disunity.

By studying, praying, and ministering together, both Joe and Travis have seen that there were elements of truth in their perspectives when they met. By choosing to emphasize what the Bible says — not just what they think it says or what others have told them it says — and to look to the exalted Christ above all else, their unity has grown deeper and stronger.

We fully expect that our unity and fruitfulness for the kingdom of God will continue to grow as we refine our understanding of Christ and the gospel of His kingdom. We expect that as we, the church, focus on Christ instead of man-made doctrines and the traditions of men, that we will stimulate one another on to love and good deeds in greater measure.

Through our varied experiences, we’ve had the privilege of seeing some truly healthy local church fellowships, the heartbreak of seeing some not-so-healthy congregations, and plenty somewhere in between. Our path to greater unity as brothers in Christ, in addition to the wonderful fruit we’ve seen in the local church setting as we’ve ministered together, has been influential in our desire to see Christ exalted to His proper place in the hearts, minds, actions, and lives of His people who are called by His name.

When we exalt anything else above Him, we are deviating from what God has shown us is right. When we do this, we will necessarily begin walking in our own ways, doing what seems right in our own eyes. We must be willing to admit that this is sin. The antidote is to exalt Christ and to encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ to do the same.

Our Mission

It is our desire to make disciples. Not just intellectually but practically. Balanced disciples who know who God is and who act in accordance with this knowledge. Disciples whose greatest desire in life is to exalt God through Christ in every thought, word, disposition, and deed.

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making a purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs.” (Hebrews 1:1-4)

Scripture affirms that God has highly exalted Jesus and bestowed on Him:

“the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).

We, as God’s people, exist to lift up Jesus whom God the Father has made both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36). It is our desire to pay much closer attention to the exalted Christ, lest we drift away (Hebrews 2:1). We lovingly point one another to Him who has called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9), that we may be stirred both to love and to good works (Hebrews 10:24). We do all this because of Christ, and for Christ, so that in all things God may receive glory, honor, power, and praise (Revelation 5:11-14).

If we neglect to pay much closer attention to the exalted Christ, then we could be in grave danger of drifting past the port of salvation freely offered in Christ (Hebrews 2:1). For as it is written,

“For if the word spoken through messengers proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” (Hebrews 2:2-3)

The risen Christ, whom is seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high must be our point of reference. He is the star that we set our sail towards. If He is not, then we—like the Hebrews—could be in danger of neglecting so great a salvation. This is our great task: to consistently point one another back to Christ, and to lift His name up to the world, so that every person has an opportunity to repent and believe the gospel.

"To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:17)

Amen and amen.