WEBVTT - Spiritually Engaging in the Church 0:00:00.380 --> 0:00:04.430 Coming to you from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio. 0:00:04.460 --> 0:00:09.110 This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio. Young Thunder, 0:00:09.110 --> 0:00:11.390 what's the best thing you've ever had a front row 0:00:11.390 --> 0:00:12.170 seat to? 0:00:12.350 --> 0:00:13.910 Ooh, that's a great question. 0:00:13.940 --> 0:00:16.070 Best thing you've ever had a front row seat? 0:00:16.100 --> 0:00:19.100 Well, I would say the best thing I ever had 0:00:19.100 --> 0:00:22.880 a front row seat to was I went to a 0:00:22.880 --> 0:00:27.140 Bulls game with my wife, and we were given. 0:00:27.170 --> 0:00:27.950 A front row seat. 0:00:27.980 --> 0:00:30.380 I did not I did not purchase these tickets, but 0:00:30.380 --> 0:00:34.040 we were given 100 level seat tickets. So it wasn't 0:00:34.070 --> 0:00:37.159 like courtside, but it was like, I don't know, a 0:00:37.159 --> 0:00:39.979 few rows back, but I've never been that close to 0:00:40.010 --> 0:00:42.949 any sports action before and that was pretty amazing. 0:00:42.979 --> 0:00:46.430 That's pretty cool. Yeah, the closer you get, the better 0:00:46.430 --> 0:00:50.180 it come becomes. Some of those, specially at something like 0:00:50.180 --> 0:00:50.870 a basketball game. 0:00:50.870 --> 0:00:53.810 Oh yeah. You don't realize how tall those guys are 0:00:53.810 --> 0:00:58.520 until you get like 100ft away from them. They're giants, man. 0:00:58.700 --> 0:01:01.850 Yeah, it's It's fun. All right. We got a front 0:01:01.880 --> 0:01:06.320 row seat for you. You ready for this? Oh, and 0:01:06.319 --> 0:01:11.300 I mean this. Seriously, if you take part in what 0:01:11.300 --> 0:01:13.670 I'm asking you to join, we are going to give 0:01:13.670 --> 0:01:15.979 you a front row seat, and we're going to add 0:01:15.980 --> 0:01:20.119 some mustard to it this spring. Share next Tuesday kicks 0:01:20.120 --> 0:01:23.510 off spring share. It's going to be crazy. It's going 0:01:23.540 --> 0:01:27.410 to be a madhouse. It's going to be fun. It's 0:01:27.440 --> 0:01:29.780 one of my favorite weeks of the year. You might say, 0:01:29.780 --> 0:01:31.730 you got to be kidding me. No, it's one of 0:01:31.730 --> 0:01:34.429 my favorite weeks. And here's why. Because the gospel does 0:01:34.430 --> 0:01:39.590 change everything and ministry costs money. But when you, the 0:01:39.590 --> 0:01:43.399 boom crew, get involved, it is so fun. The amount 0:01:43.400 --> 0:01:47.690 of comments coming in is staggering. Now we have now 0:01:47.690 --> 0:01:50.900 for a few years been calling you to come and pray. 0:01:50.900 --> 0:01:53.600 Join us in prayer. This year we're going to do 0:01:53.600 --> 0:01:55.820 something a little bit different. We're going to still send 0:01:55.820 --> 0:01:59.410 out videos in the morning before each day, and you're 0:01:59.410 --> 0:02:01.840 going to get a prompt before your half hour slot. 0:02:01.840 --> 0:02:04.150 Or if you pick more than one, you'll get an 0:02:04.150 --> 0:02:07.000 email from somebody saying, hey, your half hour is coming 0:02:07.000 --> 0:02:10.360 up today at this slot. Just a reminder, we're asking 0:02:10.360 --> 0:02:12.790 for ten of you per half hour to jump in 0:02:12.790 --> 0:02:15.970 and pray. And the mustard that we're adding this year 0:02:15.970 --> 0:02:18.250 is we're going to include a link asking you to 0:02:18.280 --> 0:02:21.550 give us feedback so that we can hear what the 0:02:21.550 --> 0:02:23.170 Lord is saying to you. We're going to give you 0:02:23.169 --> 0:02:27.010 prayer prompts, things to be praying about. Observations from our side. 0:02:27.010 --> 0:02:29.440 But as you pray and you're hearing from the Lord, 0:02:29.470 --> 0:02:32.110 maybe it's a passage of Scripture or something you feel 0:02:32.110 --> 0:02:34.720 prompted with just pass along to us as a result 0:02:34.720 --> 0:02:38.859 of what you're hearing. We're asking you to give us feedback, 0:02:38.860 --> 0:02:41.950 so we're going to make this a real mosh pit 0:02:41.980 --> 0:02:44.380 of prayer. We're going to be packed in here together. 0:02:44.380 --> 0:02:46.660 It's going to be a lot of fun. And I'm 0:02:46.660 --> 0:02:49.600 asking you to jump in. We're down to 200 and change. 0:02:49.600 --> 0:02:52.030 That's it. We want to have these all grabbed up 0:02:52.030 --> 0:02:56.590 by tomorrow during Freedom Friday. So I'm asking you to 0:02:56.620 --> 0:03:00.160 come join in. You've never done this before. You've never 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:04.060 prayed for 30 minutes. We're going to take the question 0:03:04.060 --> 0:03:05.920 mark out of it about what you pray for. We're 0:03:05.919 --> 0:03:08.500 going to give you all the prompts you need, and 0:03:08.500 --> 0:03:10.450 we're going to get feedback from you this year. We're 0:03:10.450 --> 0:03:12.910 going to we're going to find a way that you 0:03:12.910 --> 0:03:15.040 can give us feedback. This is what the Lord's saying. 0:03:15.040 --> 0:03:16.510 So I want you to come in and grab it. 0:03:16.510 --> 0:03:20.109 Right now we're down to 200 and change for seats. 0:03:20.110 --> 0:03:22.300 And when they're gone, they're gone. So I'm asking you 0:03:22.300 --> 0:03:24.370 to come and grab them. If you've some of you. 0:03:24.370 --> 0:03:25.960 I know how this works. You grab a link and 0:03:25.960 --> 0:03:28.179 then you go on with your day and you're like, ah, 0:03:28.210 --> 0:03:32.230 forgot about that. So this is a heads up reminder 0:03:32.230 --> 0:03:34.630 right now. Jump in, be a part of this thing. 0:03:34.660 --> 0:03:40.300 Text crew to (800) 555-7898. I mean how how better does it? 0:03:40.540 --> 0:03:43.300 This doesn't get much better. You get to be in 0:03:43.300 --> 0:03:46.930 the in the engine room of making this thing happen. 0:03:47.170 --> 0:03:50.050 So I'm asking you to jump in right now. Let's 0:03:50.050 --> 0:03:53.980 make this a incredible time. You get a front row 0:03:53.980 --> 0:04:00.840 seat to watch what God's doing. Text crew to 805 five, five, 78, 98. 0:04:00.870 --> 0:04:03.210 And I'd ask that you not only get this link, 0:04:03.210 --> 0:04:06.180 but fill in a slot right now so that we 0:04:06.180 --> 0:04:08.880 can know where we're at here in the next few minutes. 0:04:08.880 --> 0:04:13.620 But text the word crew to 805, five, five, 78, 98. 0:04:13.620 --> 0:04:17.970 And look, we we originate from Chicago. But I'm asking 0:04:17.970 --> 0:04:21.270 people all around, those of you in the Nashville area, 0:04:21.300 --> 0:04:24.479 I'm asking you to jump in. In particular, I've got 0:04:24.480 --> 0:04:28.169 a heart for Nashville just because of a vantage point 0:04:28.170 --> 0:04:30.990 that I see. And I'm like, okay, God, you're wanting 0:04:31.020 --> 0:04:33.750 to do a work down there. So let's get some 0:04:33.750 --> 0:04:39.030 Nashville prayers spoken. Thank you. Las Cruces, Pikeville. Way to go, Alabama. 0:04:39.060 --> 0:04:42.750 Way to go, Maryland. Awesome. These are all the different 0:04:42.750 --> 0:04:46.110 regions where we are. Even in Alaska. Come on. Alaska. 0:04:46.140 --> 0:04:49.680 That's my home state. Yes. I'm asking everyone to jump 0:04:49.680 --> 0:04:56.159 in here right now. Text crew to (800) 555-7898. As you 0:04:56.160 --> 0:04:59.339 open up the link, you'll see plenty of slots left, 0:04:59.339 --> 0:05:02.250 mostly filled in the first couple of days, but you 0:05:02.250 --> 0:05:04.920 just scroll down, find a slot that works for you. 0:05:04.920 --> 0:05:08.279 If you've got a real heart for prayer, just grab 0:05:08.279 --> 0:05:15.930 more than one. No problem there. Text crew to (800) 555-7898. 0:05:15.930 --> 0:05:17.940 And I just want to tell you ahead of time 0:05:17.940 --> 0:05:20.609 how thankful I am for you. Do I believe in 0:05:20.610 --> 0:05:23.549 the power of prayer? Oh do I. My goodness. I've 0:05:23.550 --> 0:05:25.859 seen God move mountains through prayer. I've been a part 0:05:25.860 --> 0:05:29.520 of two spiritual awakenings that I can absolutely say, without 0:05:29.520 --> 0:05:34.350 a doubt, originated through a heartfelt, collective group of people 0:05:34.350 --> 0:05:38.760 getting on their knees before God and begging him, asking 0:05:38.760 --> 0:05:41.880 him to show us where to go, how to go, 0:05:41.880 --> 0:05:44.580 but that his power would go before us. So I'm 0:05:44.580 --> 0:05:47.940 asking you to jump in right now. Text crew to 0:05:47.970 --> 0:05:52.890 800 555 7898. In the front row seat, as you 0:05:52.890 --> 0:05:56.180 get to see God, do something and it will Enliven 0:05:56.180 --> 0:05:58.669 your heart for for things that are on your heart 0:05:58.670 --> 0:06:01.190 in your life. And I want to thank you ahead 0:06:01.190 --> 0:06:03.350 of time for that. Got a lot of links going 0:06:03.350 --> 0:06:06.800 out right now. Grab those slots, guys. Godspeed to you. 0:06:06.830 --> 0:06:11.479 Got a crazy question coming up for you. I mean, crazy. 0:06:11.510 --> 0:06:14.630 We're talking about being the church, and we know that 0:06:14.630 --> 0:06:17.840 it requires a certain level of passion to make that 0:06:17.839 --> 0:06:25.400 move from just attending or going to being. And it's 0:06:25.400 --> 0:06:27.950 that passion feature that we're going to mess with here 0:06:27.950 --> 0:06:29.210 for a little bit. And I'm going to prove it 0:06:29.210 --> 0:06:30.739 to you in a funny way. You're going to want 0:06:30.770 --> 0:06:32.900 to keep it pinned right here. Can I say 80 0:06:32.930 --> 0:06:37.580 plus thousand dollars for a Cheeto? What would motivate someone 0:06:37.580 --> 0:06:41.900 to pay 80 plus thousand dollars for a Cheeto? Now, 0:06:41.900 --> 0:06:45.830 some passions are guided. Well, some are misguided. As in 0:06:45.830 --> 0:06:47.240 Cheeto man. Hang on. 0:06:47.300 --> 0:06:50.540 He's a sports fanatic with a stat for anything you 0:06:50.540 --> 0:06:54.830 can think of. Young Thunder is in the crew. It's 0:06:54.830 --> 0:06:57.349 curling crew on Moody Radio. 0:06:57.410 --> 0:06:59.210 I want to thank you, those of you that have 0:06:59.210 --> 0:07:02.330 jumped in. Grateful for you. A lot of people grabbing 0:07:02.330 --> 0:07:04.580 that link crew and some of you maybe didn't hear it. 0:07:04.580 --> 0:07:07.880 You're like, what's that again? Half hour slots during share. 0:07:07.910 --> 0:07:10.700 Not only are you praying and getting video prayer prompts 0:07:10.700 --> 0:07:14.540 from us every morning, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 0:07:14.540 --> 0:07:17.510 but then prompts for the slot or slots that you 0:07:17.540 --> 0:07:20.780 selected and we're grateful for you. We've got we're probably 0:07:20.780 --> 0:07:24.080 nearing just at 200, maybe less than 200 slots left, 0:07:24.080 --> 0:07:27.020 and they're going to go fast. Now, invariably what happens 0:07:27.020 --> 0:07:29.240 is people are like, ah, is it too late? So 0:07:29.240 --> 0:07:31.580 get signed up because you're going to get a front 0:07:31.610 --> 0:07:33.680 row seat and we're going to have a new feature 0:07:33.680 --> 0:07:35.570 this year. We're going to have a portal so that 0:07:35.570 --> 0:07:38.450 we can hear back from you what you're hearing from 0:07:38.450 --> 0:07:41.270 the Lord. If you feel led to send us something back, 0:07:41.270 --> 0:07:43.940 we're going to we're going to take that so seriously. 0:07:43.970 --> 0:07:46.130 I've already been talking with my bride. Yesterday we were 0:07:46.130 --> 0:07:49.400 on a drive and I said, hey, baby, you know, 0:07:49.430 --> 0:07:55.180 I'm wondering what what your thoughts are for share this year. 0:07:55.420 --> 0:07:58.420 Always praying through. What are the angles? And she said, 0:07:58.450 --> 0:08:05.770 you know, Bob, I really love to give when our 0:08:05.770 --> 0:08:09.250 minds are enthralled with the power and the goodness and 0:08:09.250 --> 0:08:12.610 the providence of God. I said, really? She says, yeah, 0:08:12.610 --> 0:08:17.410 that's what really captures me almost more than anything else. 0:08:17.410 --> 0:08:20.380 When we realize how big God is and how great 0:08:20.410 --> 0:08:23.500 he is and how good he is toward us. So 0:08:23.500 --> 0:08:25.690 I'm going to make every effort that we remind you 0:08:25.690 --> 0:08:28.150 that all year long this year. And I'm asking you 0:08:28.150 --> 0:08:29.920 right now, I don't want you to give right now, 0:08:29.920 --> 0:08:31.660 but I want you to prepare your heart. I want 0:08:31.660 --> 0:08:34.030 you to be here and be part of the boom 0:08:34.030 --> 0:08:36.670 crew this year. And one of the first ways you 0:08:36.670 --> 0:08:39.280 can do that is to grab this half hour slot 0:08:39.309 --> 0:08:46.720 of prayer. And we're ready for you. Text crew to (800) 555-7898. 0:08:46.720 --> 0:08:50.170 And it's a really cool roster. It's a cool thing, man. 0:08:50.440 --> 0:08:54.280 The automation of digital right now is just crazy. Soon 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:56.079 we're going to have an AI bot in here running 0:08:56.080 --> 0:08:56.800 this whole thing. 0:08:56.830 --> 0:08:57.430 It's very true. 0:08:57.429 --> 0:09:00.189 But right now we just got humanoids. So here we go. 0:09:00.190 --> 0:09:06.010 Just text crew to (800) 555-7898. Okay, I want to prove 0:09:06.010 --> 0:09:10.510 to you that passion can move us. Little passion in 0:09:10.510 --> 0:09:13.240 the belly can move us to good. Can move us 0:09:13.240 --> 0:09:15.100 from going to church to be in the church. And 0:09:15.100 --> 0:09:18.100 that's our aim this whole week long. Really be in 0:09:18.100 --> 0:09:20.860 the church. But I want to prove this passion point 0:09:21.130 --> 0:09:25.210 in the weirdest way. Young Thunder gave me a story 0:09:25.210 --> 0:09:27.160 and I said, where do you go when you're finding 0:09:27.160 --> 0:09:31.360 these stories? Man, it's so bizarre. This is so bizarre. 0:09:31.390 --> 0:09:32.559 Take it away, young thunder. 0:09:32.559 --> 0:09:36.609 So, uh, Carl had never heard these stories before, but 0:09:36.610 --> 0:09:40.420 you might have boom crew. You know, when someone is 0:09:40.420 --> 0:09:42.190 eating a bag of chips and they pull one out 0:09:42.190 --> 0:09:44.620 and they go, oh, that looks like Darth Vader, or, oh, 0:09:44.650 --> 0:09:46.929 that looks like Abraham Lincoln. And they try to sell 0:09:46.929 --> 0:09:49.120 it because it's a it looks like a famous person 0:09:49.120 --> 0:09:51.910 kind of kind of looks like a famous person. And 0:09:51.910 --> 0:09:53.930 people go crazy for it. So the latest. 0:09:53.990 --> 0:09:54.770 Something, man? 0:09:54.800 --> 0:09:58.939 Yeah, I know the latest one is a hot Cheeto 0:09:58.970 --> 0:09:59.990 shaped like. 0:10:00.020 --> 0:10:01.100 Hold it. What's a hot Cheeto? 0:10:01.130 --> 0:10:03.020 A hot Cheeto is just a Cheeto. That is. It's 0:10:03.020 --> 0:10:05.450 it's flamin Hot, so it's it's like a spicy cheese. 0:10:05.450 --> 0:10:08.480 All kinds of preservatives and chemicals. And it will kill 0:10:08.480 --> 0:10:11.240 you in ten years or less. But anyway, I digress. 0:10:11.270 --> 0:10:13.429 Yeah, absolutely. It's for those who are here for a 0:10:13.429 --> 0:10:14.810 good time. Not a long time. You know what I mean? 0:10:17.179 --> 0:10:20.689 So that's outstanding. 0:10:20.720 --> 0:10:21.380 I love it. 0:10:21.410 --> 0:10:21.890 All right. 0:10:21.890 --> 0:10:22.250 Go ahead. 0:10:22.250 --> 0:10:25.430 So someone was apparently eating a bag of Flamin Hot Cheetos, 0:10:25.429 --> 0:10:28.940 and they pulled out something that looked like a a 0:10:28.970 --> 0:10:33.140 cartoon character from the cartoon or the video game Pokemon. 0:10:33.170 --> 0:10:36.740 A little, little thing like that. I know the character. 0:10:36.740 --> 0:10:39.620 It kind of kind of looks like it. It's like 0:10:39.620 --> 0:10:42.740 a dragon type of thing, but it doesn't really look 0:10:42.740 --> 0:10:45.110 like it. But they they put it up on auction. 0:10:45.110 --> 0:10:46.429 They said, oh, let's put it up here. I'll put 0:10:46.429 --> 0:10:50.120 it up for $250. That's, that's where the auction. 0:10:50.300 --> 0:10:51.200 That's where it began. 0:10:51.230 --> 0:10:53.130 Yeah. I mean, that sounds like a lot for a 0:10:53.160 --> 0:10:54.660 for one Cheeto. When a bag. 0:10:54.660 --> 0:10:56.790 Of Cheetos, it's a lot for a Cheeto. 0:10:56.820 --> 0:10:59.400 Yeah, a bag of Cheetos is, like, $3. So? So 0:10:59.400 --> 0:11:02.970 one Cheeto, $250. It's a lot. Apparently, the auction went crazy. 0:11:02.970 --> 0:11:07.979 And where it finished out was someone spending $88,000 for 0:11:07.980 --> 0:11:13.020 this one Cheeto. And they spent $15,000 in fees. So 0:11:13.020 --> 0:11:18.569 they spent over $100,000 on one Cheeto. That kind of 0:11:18.600 --> 0:11:20.970 looks like a cartoon character. 0:11:22.530 --> 0:11:26.340 The word unbelievable gets overused, but right now it's appropriate. 0:11:26.370 --> 0:11:28.050 I think that's pretty appropriate. 0:11:28.110 --> 0:11:31.800 88 K plus 15 K in process fees for the 0:11:31.800 --> 0:11:32.400 auction house. 0:11:32.429 --> 0:11:32.969 Yes. 0:11:33.000 --> 0:11:34.800 Oh, for crying out loud. 0:11:36.540 --> 0:11:39.570 So what's that? 103 $103,000? 0:11:39.600 --> 0:11:41.010 Yeah. It's ridiculous. 0:11:41.100 --> 0:11:43.380 Anyway, we do crazy stuff, so. 0:11:43.410 --> 0:11:43.710 Yes, we. 0:11:43.710 --> 0:11:43.980 Do. 0:11:44.010 --> 0:11:45.510 I'm going to give you an opportunity to get a 0:11:45.510 --> 0:11:48.810 Carl and crew prize pack. Your passion drove you to 0:11:48.840 --> 0:11:51.929 purchase something. You look back going, what was I thinking? 0:11:51.929 --> 0:11:54.329 What was I thinking? Cheeto man's going to believe that 0:11:54.330 --> 0:11:56.010 one day he's going to look back and go, what 0:11:56.010 --> 0:11:56.670 was I thinking? 0:11:56.700 --> 0:11:57.210 That's right. 0:11:57.240 --> 0:11:59.429 Leave it out on the counter. And his kid eats it. 0:12:01.950 --> 0:12:04.980 88 you better hide that thing. Hide it after you 0:12:05.010 --> 0:12:05.969 sell it, because. 0:12:06.390 --> 0:12:06.990 Oh my. 0:12:06.990 --> 0:12:09.240 Goodness, who's got those kind of ducats to do that 0:12:09.240 --> 0:12:09.990 crazy stuff? 0:12:09.990 --> 0:12:10.920 I don't know. 0:12:10.950 --> 0:12:11.700 I don't know. 0:12:11.700 --> 0:12:12.180 But. 0:12:12.179 --> 0:12:16.050 What is that crazy thing that you purchased? And if 0:12:16.050 --> 0:12:18.780 you call in and are willing to be a little 0:12:18.809 --> 0:12:21.600 bit self-effacing and you look back and go, why did 0:12:21.600 --> 0:12:25.770 I do that? I'll give you a prize back. I'm 0:12:25.770 --> 0:12:32.790 proving a point. Passion drive initiative can be great and 0:12:32.790 --> 0:12:40.200 it can be not so great. 800 555 7898. Give 0:12:40.230 --> 0:12:41.670 us a call right now. Light em up. We're going 0:12:41.700 --> 0:12:43.800 to go lightning round here. Get your stories in. I 0:12:43.800 --> 0:12:45.690 don't care how many prize packs I give away. You 0:12:45.720 --> 0:12:48.689 got a crazy story of something you bought. And you're 0:12:48.690 --> 0:12:56.449 looking back going, why did I do that? 800 555 7898. 0:12:56.480 --> 0:12:57.230 Give us a call. 0:12:57.770 --> 0:13:04.400 Money money money money money money money money money. 0:13:04.730 --> 0:13:09.260 But it seemed so right. It had to have. 0:13:09.260 --> 0:13:09.620 It. 0:13:09.890 --> 0:13:11.120 Got to throw my money at it. 0:13:12.110 --> 0:13:14.600 Man, I got to have that. My life will change 0:13:15.350 --> 0:13:16.400 if I can just get that thing. 0:13:16.429 --> 0:13:17.240 You just have it. 0:13:17.630 --> 0:13:24.260 Uh, so I'm asking you for proving a spiritual point here, because, listen, 0:13:24.260 --> 0:13:27.320 there is an effort to move from going to church 0:13:27.320 --> 0:13:29.840 to being the church, and there's got to be something 0:13:29.840 --> 0:13:32.360 that's enthralling your mind to make that move. And then 0:13:32.360 --> 0:13:34.970 it boils a passion inside you goes, I got to go. 0:13:34.970 --> 0:13:38.240 And we're proven the power of passion, both for good 0:13:38.240 --> 0:13:43.100 and for evil. And it's funny sometimes because I'm asking 0:13:43.100 --> 0:13:46.099 the question, would you go by and you're like, this 0:13:46.100 --> 0:13:48.680 is going to be it, man, I'm so excited. And 0:13:48.679 --> 0:13:51.260 then you found out, Well, it wasn't quite it. 0:13:51.290 --> 0:13:51.590 Not so. 0:13:51.590 --> 0:13:54.439 Much. Marion, Indiana. What do you say, Mary? 0:13:55.610 --> 0:13:59.240 I bought a car a long time ago from an 0:13:59.240 --> 0:14:02.120 old man at work, and later on I found out 0:14:02.120 --> 0:14:04.550 it was a beater. Later on, I found out that 0:14:04.550 --> 0:14:07.160 the engine was held up by a thick chain. 0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:10.850 It was held together by a chain hold. 0:14:10.850 --> 0:14:14.540 It was it was it? So there weren't mounting bolts anymore. 0:14:14.570 --> 0:14:16.460 It was a chain holding it to the frame. 0:14:16.460 --> 0:14:19.490 It was a chain. It was a thick chain. 0:14:19.640 --> 0:14:21.080 Did you try to drive it? 0:14:21.830 --> 0:14:22.850 Yeah, I drove. 0:14:22.850 --> 0:14:23.330 It, I. 0:14:23.330 --> 0:14:26.510 Drove it, but I got rid of it after I 0:14:26.510 --> 0:14:28.940 found out about the chain. Because I had my kids, 0:14:28.940 --> 0:14:31.430 I would drive my kids around in the car. 0:14:31.610 --> 0:14:33.560 Oh, yeah, that makes sense. Mary. 0:14:33.590 --> 0:14:36.500 Thanks. Hold on the phone there. Hold on. You get 0:14:36.500 --> 0:14:38.810 a calling crew prize pack. That's why we call you 0:14:38.810 --> 0:14:41.330 the boom crew. Oh my goodness, why are we getting 0:14:41.330 --> 0:14:44.900 so many calls? Okay, by the way, chaining a vehicle together, 0:14:44.900 --> 0:14:47.750 that's an Alaska thing. We had a Willys Jeep on 0:14:47.750 --> 0:14:51.100 a commercial fishing setnet site on the edge of the ocean. Yeah, 0:14:51.130 --> 0:14:54.130 and the saltwater got into this Willys Jeep so much 0:14:54.130 --> 0:14:56.680 when they were driving down the beach and the and 0:14:56.680 --> 0:14:59.200 the whole thing just broke in half chunk. And so 0:14:59.200 --> 0:15:02.080 the middle just went right down to the sand. And 0:15:02.080 --> 0:15:05.080 so we jacked it up with hydraulic jacks. No joking. 0:15:05.080 --> 0:15:07.510 We chained it together as tight as we could. And 0:15:07.510 --> 0:15:10.360 then we spot welded it to the metal that was left. Yeah. 0:15:10.390 --> 0:15:12.670 Drove it around for the rest of the summer. 0:15:12.700 --> 0:15:13.780 That's crazy. 0:15:13.810 --> 0:15:16.540 Yeah, it was good. It was good for hauling fish around. But, yeah, 0:15:16.540 --> 0:15:18.250 we chained that sucker together. 0:15:18.790 --> 0:15:19.870 It's so good, man. 0:15:19.900 --> 0:15:23.619 Oh, Willie. Haven't heard you forever in Illinois. What do 0:15:23.620 --> 0:15:24.490 you say, Willie? 0:15:25.330 --> 0:15:28.540 Hey, man, good to hear you. But I listen to 0:15:28.570 --> 0:15:32.290 you every day. But I bought some tee tee shirts, 0:15:32.290 --> 0:15:37.630 52 tee shirts that 20 something years ago in Utah. And, uh, 0:15:37.660 --> 0:15:40.600 I paid $15 for them. I got home, and I 0:15:40.600 --> 0:15:42.880 was bragging to my dad them that I had bought 0:15:42.880 --> 0:15:45.160 the tee shirts. When I opened it up, it was 0:15:45.160 --> 0:15:47.020 only one tee shirt in there. The rest of them 0:15:47.020 --> 0:15:48.220 was baby doll clothes. 0:15:54.160 --> 0:15:59.680 You thought you had won the lottery on t shirts. Willie. Oh, Willie. 0:16:00.760 --> 0:16:03.790 I thought I had did something. I paid $15 for 0:16:03.820 --> 0:16:05.710 a t shirt 25 years ago. 0:16:05.740 --> 0:16:08.530 He said. He said I'm fully grown. I'm never going 0:16:08.560 --> 0:16:12.400 to have to buy clothes again. This is a perfect deal. Oh, man. 0:16:12.430 --> 0:16:14.980 Willie, 52 shirts was one. 0:16:14.980 --> 0:16:17.230 Of them clothes. Baby doll clothes. 0:16:18.550 --> 0:16:21.580 It didn't say what size it was for. Oh, Willie, 0:16:21.580 --> 0:16:22.480 you're a hoot, man. 0:16:22.510 --> 0:16:24.520 Thanks for calling in. Willie, how are you doing with 0:16:24.520 --> 0:16:26.410 the Lord? You walking strong with them, man? 0:16:26.440 --> 0:16:28.479 Hey, man. Stay blessed. Hey, man, I'm going to send 0:16:28.480 --> 0:16:31.120 you a picture. I was a speaker at my home 0:16:31.120 --> 0:16:34.600 church for the nurses and the nurses, and I was 0:16:34.600 --> 0:16:37.570 a speaker man, and the Lord really blessed me. I'm 0:16:37.570 --> 0:16:39.430 going to try to send you a picture. Okay? 0:16:39.460 --> 0:16:42.100 Yeah, send me a picture. I want to see it. Willie. That's. Godspeed. 0:16:42.130 --> 0:16:43.870 Stay on the horn, Willie. We're getting you, Carl and 0:16:44.080 --> 0:16:48.010 crew prize pack. Uh, Beth Ann, do we have Beth in? Yeah. 0:16:48.040 --> 0:16:50.590 Beth in New Mexico. What do you say? Beth Ann. 0:16:51.670 --> 0:16:57.400 I bought a fancy 2021 organizer calendar planner and had 0:16:57.400 --> 0:17:00.010 nowhere to go and nothing to do, nothing to put 0:17:00.010 --> 0:17:00.610 in it. 0:17:01.540 --> 0:17:03.310 Because it was Covid. 0:17:04.420 --> 0:17:04.899 Oh, that's. 0:17:04.900 --> 0:17:05.710 Right. 0:17:05.980 --> 0:17:07.390 That's right. 0:17:07.690 --> 0:17:08.500 I got this. 0:17:08.530 --> 0:17:09.940 This nice new planner, and. 0:17:10.119 --> 0:17:12.430 I don't need to write anything. Planner man. 0:17:12.910 --> 0:17:16.869 And got it for 149. Was it a Franklin Covey? 0:17:17.890 --> 0:17:20.290 Uh, no. It was one of those happy planners with 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:22.600 the little clips in it, I customized it. 0:17:22.630 --> 0:17:25.600 Oh, the customizable jobbies man. 0:17:25.630 --> 0:17:27.250 Oh my word. 0:17:27.280 --> 0:17:29.290 Yeah, that was the year I was going to get 0:17:29.290 --> 0:17:31.629 everything together. And then the world fell apart. 0:17:33.160 --> 0:17:35.950 Isn't that always how it goes? This is the year. 0:17:35.980 --> 0:17:37.689 This is it. And then something like that happens. 0:17:37.690 --> 0:17:38.290 Oh my goodness. 0:17:38.890 --> 0:17:39.879 Listen to Jane. 0:17:41.200 --> 0:17:45.129 I missed you, I missed that, you hear I lost her. Anyway, 0:17:45.160 --> 0:17:47.939 Beth Ann, stay on the horn. Your connection to strings 0:17:47.940 --> 0:17:52.050 broken somewhere over Texas between here and New Mexico. All right. 0:17:52.050 --> 0:17:55.590 Stay on the horn. Um. Oh my goodness. Young thunder. Go! 0:17:55.619 --> 0:17:58.230 Yeah. So for me, I I'm a big sports fan. 0:17:58.230 --> 0:18:00.300 I love my sports teams and I can get really 0:18:00.300 --> 0:18:03.450 crazy about them. And my my most favorite sports team 0:18:03.450 --> 0:18:06.030 is the Chicago Bears. And so a couple years ago, 0:18:06.030 --> 0:18:08.820 I'm not going to say the name of the player. I, uh, we, 0:18:08.850 --> 0:18:11.850 we drafted really high and got a player that I 0:18:11.850 --> 0:18:14.070 was really excited about. And I said, this is it. 0:18:14.100 --> 0:18:16.320 This is the player. He's going to change everything. We're 0:18:16.320 --> 0:18:18.389 going to be good. Finally. And so I bought a 0:18:18.390 --> 0:18:21.720 jersey preemptively before he'd played one game, and I spent 0:18:21.720 --> 0:18:24.960 like $150 on it because I was like, this is it, 0:18:24.960 --> 0:18:26.550 I got it. And this is like, you know, when 0:18:26.550 --> 0:18:28.830 you buy a jersey before a player has played a game. 0:18:28.859 --> 0:18:29.310 You bought. 0:18:29.310 --> 0:18:29.820 A Justin. 0:18:29.820 --> 0:18:30.660 Fields jersey. 0:18:30.750 --> 0:18:32.040 I'm not saying the name of the player. 0:18:32.070 --> 0:18:33.990 You bought a fields Jersey? 0:18:33.990 --> 0:18:36.840 I bought a fields jersey. And and I said, this 0:18:36.840 --> 0:18:38.310 is it. And I bought before he played a game. 0:18:38.310 --> 0:18:40.350 And I was like, this is my confidence to show 0:18:40.350 --> 0:18:42.540 that that he's going to do it and this is it. 0:18:42.540 --> 0:18:44.879 This is our year. And then like three years later, 0:18:44.880 --> 0:18:47.140 he was off the team and and we traded him. 0:18:47.350 --> 0:18:49.210 He got a late round pick, $50. 0:18:49.660 --> 0:18:53.860 What you got is $150, uh, garage rag. 0:18:54.310 --> 0:18:54.460 For. 0:18:54.460 --> 0:18:55.360 Your car cleaning. 0:18:55.359 --> 0:18:57.580 I still wear it, but I'm like, you know, so 0:18:57.580 --> 0:18:59.859 I don't buy jerseys until they play a game anymore 0:18:59.890 --> 0:19:02.020 because I need him to stay around here a little longer. 0:19:02.260 --> 0:19:04.570 This is so funny. See, a little bit of passion 0:19:04.570 --> 0:19:06.850 boiling in your soul will cause you to do something. 0:19:06.850 --> 0:19:07.690 Sometimes it's for. 0:19:07.690 --> 0:19:11.320 Good, sometimes it's for not so good. Or is line 0:19:11.320 --> 0:19:11.889 six ready? 0:19:11.920 --> 0:19:12.700 Line six is ready. 0:19:12.730 --> 0:19:15.100 Lewis in Illinois, first time caller. What do you. What 0:19:15.100 --> 0:19:16.270 did you do? Lewis? 0:19:17.200 --> 0:19:20.170 Hey, all the gamers out there, I ended up buying 0:19:20.200 --> 0:19:24.430 for my PlayStation four a mod controller for this Black Ops. 0:19:24.430 --> 0:19:27.100 I was really into the game and so this thing 0:19:27.100 --> 0:19:29.439 was supposed to make me faster. I was supposed to 0:19:29.440 --> 0:19:31.840 get drop shots. I was supposed to like get all 0:19:31.840 --> 0:19:35.590 these reward points, and no matter how hard I tried, 0:19:35.590 --> 0:19:38.020 I still did not was not a winner on that. 0:19:38.020 --> 0:19:40.869 So and that was about 500 bucks. I might have 0:19:40.869 --> 0:19:43.720 fired it like the the buttons were actually like little 0:19:43.750 --> 0:19:46.880 nine millimeter bullet's on there. You know, I was like 0:19:46.910 --> 0:19:50.270 a superstar with this in my own world. But the 0:19:50.270 --> 0:19:52.700 stats obviously proved different. 0:19:52.700 --> 0:19:56.540 So all the gaming metaphors, all the. 0:19:56.540 --> 0:20:01.100 Gaming, all those gaming words you were saying, it makes 0:20:01.100 --> 0:20:03.080 no sense to me at all, dude. 0:20:03.410 --> 0:20:03.859 I mean. 0:20:03.859 --> 0:20:04.040 I. 0:20:04.040 --> 0:20:04.340 Played. 0:20:04.340 --> 0:20:07.010 Ping pong back in the day. Did anyone else play pong? 0:20:07.040 --> 0:20:09.470 I had a first generation pong game. My folks pop 0:20:09.470 --> 0:20:11.690 for it. It was black and white. You change, you. 0:20:11.690 --> 0:20:12.290 Could change. 0:20:12.290 --> 0:20:14.810 The size of the paddles and the speed of the ball. 0:20:14.810 --> 0:20:15.950 It was amazing. 0:20:15.950 --> 0:20:16.430 Lewis. 0:20:16.460 --> 0:20:17.210 Do you remember. 0:20:17.240 --> 0:20:17.690 Pong? 0:20:17.720 --> 0:20:21.169 Atari? Uh, yeah. I had one of my first game games. 0:20:21.170 --> 0:20:23.720 Was like an Atari, and I grew up with the Nintendo. 0:20:23.750 --> 0:20:25.879 Then I got, you know, all of them, the Super 0:20:25.880 --> 0:20:28.310 Nintendo and, you know, so I was always a gamer 0:20:28.310 --> 0:20:31.879 throughout my whole, uh, younger life. And now now it's just, uh, 0:20:31.880 --> 0:20:34.730 an expensive, uh, it's an expensive DVD player. My daughter 0:20:34.730 --> 0:20:37.070 plays it every now and then. I don't have time 0:20:37.070 --> 0:20:37.520 for that. 0:20:37.550 --> 0:20:38.150 I love it. 0:20:38.180 --> 0:20:40.369 I'm not leveling up in that game. I need a 0:20:40.369 --> 0:20:42.020 level up in the reality. 0:20:42.050 --> 0:20:44.120 We got to level up in Jesus, man. 0:20:44.150 --> 0:20:44.840 Hey, man. 0:20:44.869 --> 0:20:45.620 I love it. 0:20:45.650 --> 0:20:48.290 I know exactly what he's talking about. All those little 0:20:48.320 --> 0:20:51.350 behind the scenes words and stuff, and that's hilarious. Five. 0:20:51.530 --> 0:20:52.939 What was he saying? What was he talking about? 0:20:52.970 --> 0:20:55.580 He's basically saying you can buy controllers. That the main 0:20:55.580 --> 0:20:58.280 controller that you can buy for a video game console 0:20:58.280 --> 0:21:00.290 now is like 60 bucks. That's about what it cost 0:21:00.320 --> 0:21:03.590 to get a normal one. But you can pay to 0:21:03.619 --> 0:21:07.520 modify controllers to add extra buttons and put them over 0:21:07.520 --> 0:21:10.580 here to where your fingers can press them faster so 0:21:10.580 --> 0:21:10.940 you can. 0:21:10.940 --> 0:21:11.240 Play. 0:21:11.240 --> 0:21:14.390 It better. But I guess a waste of 500 bucks 0:21:14.390 --> 0:21:14.660 it was. 0:21:14.690 --> 0:21:17.000 Trust me. It doesn't say in the word well done, 0:21:17.030 --> 0:21:20.930 good and faithful gamer. Don't say. 0:21:20.930 --> 0:21:22.010 That. No it doesn't. 0:21:22.820 --> 0:21:25.820 And by the way, I don't want to denigrate all gaming. 0:21:25.850 --> 0:21:27.170 I know I love video games. 0:21:27.350 --> 0:21:28.490 I mean, yeah. 0:21:28.520 --> 0:21:31.760 It's so wild to me. So I've got, you know. 0:21:34.130 --> 0:21:36.860 I've got people around me who are like, you know, 0:21:36.890 --> 0:21:40.639 they're like blowers and goers in industry. They're in their 30s. And, 0:21:40.670 --> 0:21:42.080 you know, I'll talk to them. I go, what are 0:21:42.080 --> 0:21:44.060 you doing tonight? And I'm. Oh, I'm going to I'm 0:21:44.060 --> 0:21:46.010 in a game and I'm like, it doesn't even make 0:21:46.010 --> 0:21:47.690 sense to me. What do you mean? You're going to. 0:21:47.690 --> 0:21:48.440 Game. 0:21:49.100 --> 0:21:52.100 You're gainfully employed. You have a wife. You have children. 0:21:52.100 --> 0:21:53.360 What do you mean? You're going to game? Do those 0:21:53.359 --> 0:21:56.330 things go together? I know I'm sounding old now. 0:21:56.359 --> 0:21:58.100 They do. I love. 0:21:58.100 --> 0:21:58.399 It. 0:21:58.970 --> 0:22:02.119 Too funny. Thanks for staying on the horn, guys. That's 0:22:02.119 --> 0:22:04.490 the boom crew right there. Proven a point. And here's 0:22:04.490 --> 0:22:09.110 the point I want to prove. We've been talking about 0:22:09.109 --> 0:22:11.600 being the church all week long. You know what? There's 0:22:11.600 --> 0:22:15.530 got to get and get on your knees and pray. 0:22:15.530 --> 0:22:20.720 Because there's got to be enough boiling passion inside you. 0:22:21.170 --> 0:22:26.990 Akin to we've heard the funniest stories today. Buying something 0:22:26.990 --> 0:22:31.100 that it's that same like, yes, let's pray for that 0:22:31.100 --> 0:22:34.490 passion that caused us to do something stupid with some money, 0:22:34.490 --> 0:22:37.669 to do something wise with our life. That's what we need. 0:22:38.150 --> 0:22:42.310 The funny thing is, from a brain science standpoint, it's 0:22:42.310 --> 0:22:47.470 the same endorphin kind of area in our brain, and 0:22:47.470 --> 0:22:50.470 yet we've just got to get it directed toward God 0:22:50.470 --> 0:22:53.290 and what he wants to do. It's pretty cool. 0:22:53.320 --> 0:22:53.980 Yeah. It is. 0:22:54.280 --> 0:22:55.899 Uh, give us a quick hit. News. What do we 0:22:55.930 --> 0:22:58.000 got going on out there? Anything great? 0:22:58.030 --> 0:23:01.060 Uh, no. Well, yeah, we got some good things going 0:23:01.060 --> 0:23:01.510 on out here. 0:23:01.540 --> 0:23:01.840 Give me. 0:23:01.840 --> 0:23:02.200 A good. 0:23:02.200 --> 0:23:02.500 Thing. 0:23:02.530 --> 0:23:04.959 Okay, I'll give you a good thing. So I think 0:23:04.960 --> 0:23:07.840 this is, uh. Let's see. Hold on, I gotta I'm 0:23:07.840 --> 0:23:09.429 going to skim through my stuff. 0:23:09.460 --> 0:23:11.440 So, in other words. No, no, we don't. 0:23:11.470 --> 0:23:12.580 We're doing news live here. 0:23:12.730 --> 0:23:14.800 No, I think you know what I'm going to say. 0:23:14.800 --> 0:23:19.750 This one. It's it's important because of who the countries are. 0:23:19.780 --> 0:23:22.330 All right. President Trump is warning Hamas that it must 0:23:22.359 --> 0:23:24.160 release the hostages held in Gaza. 0:23:24.190 --> 0:23:24.909 This is a good story. 0:23:24.940 --> 0:23:27.580 Or, in his words, it's over for you. A six 0:23:27.609 --> 0:23:31.300 week Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas expired on Saturday. 0:23:31.330 --> 0:23:33.430 There have so far been no discussions on a second 0:23:33.430 --> 0:23:35.109 phase of the deal, which calls for the release of 0:23:35.109 --> 0:23:37.960 remaining hostages. The reason I say that's a good news 0:23:37.960 --> 0:23:42.660 story is because enough already Hamas has been holding these 0:23:42.660 --> 0:23:45.209 hostages for now, almost two years, about a year and 0:23:45.210 --> 0:23:48.179 a half. And and they're not letting them go, and 0:23:48.180 --> 0:23:51.360 they're torturing them and they're causing them great psychological harm. 0:23:51.359 --> 0:23:54.090 And Israel wants them back and needs them back and 0:23:54.090 --> 0:23:56.310 deserves them back. And I'm glad that the US is 0:23:56.310 --> 0:23:58.739 standing with Israel in that saying, we're going to give 0:23:58.740 --> 0:24:00.510 them all the support they need. Go do what you 0:24:00.540 --> 0:24:01.350 got to do. 0:24:01.440 --> 0:24:02.280 Yeah. 0:24:03.690 --> 0:24:05.520 Oh, man. You look at the world and I mean, 0:24:05.520 --> 0:24:08.760 sometimes you just shout out, come, Lord Jesus. My goodness. 0:24:08.790 --> 0:24:08.909 Yeah. 0:24:08.940 --> 0:24:09.420 No doubt about. 0:24:09.420 --> 0:24:09.960 That. 0:24:10.350 --> 0:24:14.399 Um, listen, as the Lord tarries, meaning that's an old 0:24:14.430 --> 0:24:17.940 term for he's waiting, willing that none should perish, by 0:24:17.940 --> 0:24:22.080 the way. God's delay is not because he is slow 0:24:22.080 --> 0:24:24.929 to move. It's that he is extending his arm of 0:24:24.930 --> 0:24:27.510 grace to people who you love. And you want to 0:24:27.510 --> 0:24:31.379 see him saved. Quick shout out here. We're needing. I'm 0:24:31.380 --> 0:24:33.630 trying to get a head count on this. We we 0:24:33.660 --> 0:24:36.389 got super died down with a horrible flu bug. Like chills. 0:24:36.390 --> 0:24:37.560 Like shaking chills. 0:24:37.590 --> 0:24:37.889 Yeah. 0:24:37.920 --> 0:24:42.390 Ali's got the same. And Young Thunder's feeling sketchy. We're 0:24:42.420 --> 0:24:45.120 out of. I mean, I feel like we need some 0:24:45.119 --> 0:24:47.760 lug nuts around here to get the wheels back on. 0:24:47.790 --> 0:24:48.060 Yeah, I. 0:24:48.060 --> 0:24:49.260 Know, I know. 0:24:49.560 --> 0:24:52.229 We're going to make it. So here's here's what we're 0:24:52.230 --> 0:24:54.060 going to need. We need you to pray because next 0:24:54.060 --> 0:24:59.310 week is a crazy, fun spiritual circus around here. It's 0:24:59.310 --> 0:25:04.020 awesome where we watch God do amazing things, leveraging resources 0:25:04.020 --> 0:25:08.160 to his glory and and our satisfaction, quite candidly. But 0:25:08.160 --> 0:25:10.200 if you haven't gotten a seat yet at the table 0:25:10.200 --> 0:25:13.050 to pray half hour slots, we're going to send you 0:25:13.050 --> 0:25:16.469 updates as it's leading up to your slot. We're going 0:25:16.500 --> 0:25:20.580 to give you early morning videos, the whole everything you need. 0:25:20.580 --> 0:25:22.410 So I want you to come and get it. Would 0:25:22.410 --> 0:25:27.480 you text crew to (800) 555-7898, get a half an hour slot, 0:25:27.480 --> 0:25:30.030 get registered. We'll send you prompts to remember to be 0:25:30.030 --> 0:25:35.699 their text crew to (800) 555-7898. 0:25:35.730 --> 0:25:38.640 She was trying to earn her way to God, but 0:25:38.640 --> 0:25:42.119 God showed her she didn't have to. Ali is in 0:25:42.119 --> 0:25:45.750 the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:25:45.780 --> 0:25:49.770 All right, guys, this is, um, an important question. You 0:25:49.800 --> 0:25:55.110 shifted from going to church to being the church. Somebody 0:25:55.109 --> 0:25:58.650 needs to hear your story right now. How did that work? 0:25:58.650 --> 0:26:02.639 What did God do? Give us a call right now. 0:26:02.670 --> 0:26:10.590 Simple to do. 800 555 7898 800 555 7898. 0:26:10.619 --> 0:26:14.850 Carl, you know, in your testimony, you you share openly 0:26:14.850 --> 0:26:18.300 that you grew up in church, but you didn't get 0:26:18.300 --> 0:26:23.160 saved until your, your early 20s. How was it going 0:26:23.190 --> 0:26:25.950 to church for you? Because you went to church for 0:26:25.950 --> 0:26:29.010 your whole childhood. What was the difference when when you 0:26:29.040 --> 0:26:31.080 came to Christ about how you went to church and 0:26:31.080 --> 0:26:33.060 now how you're being the church? 0:26:33.600 --> 0:26:37.050 Yeah, I think the difference was that, you know, I 0:26:37.050 --> 0:26:41.450 had a Pretty common problem. I was lost, so I 0:26:41.450 --> 0:26:45.350 was I was known, but I wasn't known at a 0:26:45.350 --> 0:26:49.430 deep heart level. So I was in church a lot, 0:26:49.670 --> 0:26:54.889 so I was going to church. But my shift was 0:26:54.890 --> 0:26:57.260 when I was radically transformed by Jesus. 0:26:57.290 --> 0:26:57.590 Yeah. 0:26:57.619 --> 0:27:01.580 Then I had this urge to open up my heart 0:27:01.580 --> 0:27:04.760 and be known by others. And it was it was 0:27:04.760 --> 0:27:11.870 a powerful thing. It's it's a fascinating it's a fascinating 0:27:11.900 --> 0:27:15.560 thing because the dichotomy is we are not to effort 0:27:15.560 --> 0:27:18.260 in our own strength to prove anything to God or 0:27:18.260 --> 0:27:23.330 like we're earning. But the work of getting from the 0:27:23.330 --> 0:27:25.700 pew or the chair into the hoop and work for 0:27:25.700 --> 0:27:27.830 the church, that's a that's a work. 0:27:27.859 --> 0:27:29.810 Yeah. And you know, yeah. 0:27:30.109 --> 0:27:33.230 What you said made me think about it because I 0:27:33.260 --> 0:27:37.490 grew up in the church, too. I think that this 0:27:37.490 --> 0:27:40.399 can really it's a difficult problem for everybody. But I 0:27:40.430 --> 0:27:43.370 think about those, especially who grew up in the church. 0:27:43.400 --> 0:27:46.280 It's so easy when you're learning the motions as a 0:27:46.280 --> 0:27:48.860 kid to just kind of think of them simply as 0:27:48.859 --> 0:27:52.850 motions and not as anything different than that. And so 0:27:52.850 --> 0:27:56.659 it's so important that we understand what being the church 0:27:56.660 --> 0:27:59.180 really is, because if we're not given that greater vision, 0:27:59.180 --> 0:28:01.159 we just fall into those motions. And then as we 0:28:01.160 --> 0:28:04.010 get older, it's harder and harder to get out of it. 0:28:05.210 --> 0:28:05.660 Yeah. 0:28:05.690 --> 0:28:07.310 And I know there's a lot of I mean, we 0:28:07.340 --> 0:28:11.209 got scores of texts that came in and the majority 0:28:11.240 --> 0:28:14.540 by slightly. It's about a 5050 split going to church 0:28:14.540 --> 0:28:18.800 versus being the church. But then I've got text messages 0:28:18.800 --> 0:28:20.990 I've got to respond to here, people that want to 0:28:21.020 --> 0:28:22.850 know how in the world am I going to do this? 0:28:22.880 --> 0:28:24.650 And let me just tell you right now, it's going 0:28:24.680 --> 0:28:27.440 to take a little risk. It's going to take a 0:28:27.440 --> 0:28:29.810 little risk. You're going to get you're going to have 0:28:29.810 --> 0:28:32.780 to get out of the comfort zone. The effort that 0:28:32.780 --> 0:28:35.359 we put in the grace of God that is given 0:28:35.359 --> 0:28:38.500 to us means if there's a QR code that pops 0:28:38.500 --> 0:28:40.450 up to get involved in a group, you got to 0:28:40.450 --> 0:28:42.880 get your phone out, hold it up to the QR 0:28:42.880 --> 0:28:46.090 code and click it. You've got to get to the 0:28:46.090 --> 0:28:50.680 new member class. You've got to move toward opportunities that 0:28:50.680 --> 0:28:57.370 are afforded. And that's healthy. That movement is healthy, and 0:28:57.370 --> 0:28:59.230 it's one of the greatest gifts that you can give 0:28:59.260 --> 0:29:04.450 to yourself. Grace is not against effort. It's against earning. 0:29:04.750 --> 0:29:09.220 But the opportunity that we have is absolutely huge. Lewis 0:29:09.220 --> 0:29:11.950 first time caller right here in Illinois. What do you say? 0:29:13.330 --> 0:29:17.260 Hey, Carl. Yeah. So, uh, first of all, uh, you know, 0:29:17.290 --> 0:29:19.960 it just took a long time of prayer. My bride was, uh, 0:29:19.960 --> 0:29:22.959 continue praying for me, and, uh, I just totally committed 0:29:22.990 --> 0:29:27.040 myself to Jesus Christ, uh, here a few years ago. And, 0:29:27.070 --> 0:29:30.700 you know, I've always attended church, but it was. There 0:29:30.700 --> 0:29:33.520 is a big difference attending and being the church. Uh, 0:29:33.520 --> 0:29:35.380 you know, you do have to have that, you know, 0:29:35.410 --> 0:29:37.120 a little bit of risk, you know, out of your 0:29:37.120 --> 0:29:41.560 comfort zone. Going to church and, you know, being intentional 0:29:41.560 --> 0:29:45.370 about joining small groups at our church, at Robertsville Bible Church, 0:29:45.370 --> 0:29:48.460 we have MTM, where it's a man to man. It's 0:29:48.460 --> 0:29:51.760 a small group of believers. We get in vulnerable places. 0:29:51.760 --> 0:29:55.000 We share each other's testimonies, we pray for each other. 0:29:55.030 --> 0:29:57.820 You know, we're just, you know, fellowshipping with each other. 0:29:58.210 --> 0:30:01.270 Iron sharpens iron, you know. Yeah. And so I'm a 0:30:01.270 --> 0:30:05.020 firm believer of, you know, small groups and you can't 0:30:05.020 --> 0:30:07.030 do this walk alone. And we have to lean on 0:30:07.030 --> 0:30:09.040 each other. And that's what the body of Christ is. 0:30:09.070 --> 0:30:12.100 And we just have a heart to serve, um, other 0:30:12.100 --> 0:30:15.670 people to serve, you know, to serve people that walk 0:30:15.670 --> 0:30:19.060 alongside with them and to and to to help them 0:30:19.060 --> 0:30:22.180 in their walk with Jesus Christ. And and the Lord's 0:30:22.180 --> 0:30:25.810 just really has transformed my heart and me and my bride. 0:30:25.840 --> 0:30:29.620 Now we're actually doing a Art of Art of marriage 0:30:29.860 --> 0:30:32.710 seminar group. You know, at our church, we're kind of 0:30:32.740 --> 0:30:35.320 being like in a little bit of risk, like we're like, 0:30:35.350 --> 0:30:37.469 it's a little bit risky, you know, because, you know, 0:30:37.500 --> 0:30:40.830 being up on stage and stuff like that. But, you know, 0:30:40.860 --> 0:30:43.830 the Lord called us, hey, the Lord restored our marriage 0:30:43.830 --> 0:30:46.050 and did wonders. And we just want to bring that 0:30:46.050 --> 0:30:48.780 hope that there is hope in your marriage. And there is, 0:30:48.810 --> 0:30:52.170 you know, and in Jesus Christ, you can do you 0:30:52.170 --> 0:30:53.610 can do anything, you know, I mean. 0:30:53.640 --> 0:30:54.120 Lewis. 0:30:54.150 --> 0:30:56.040 Lewis. And we need all the believers. 0:30:56.070 --> 0:30:59.190 Yeah. Lewis, this is this is you're a poster boy 0:30:59.190 --> 0:31:02.520 for this man. This is great. But here's here's the deal, 0:31:02.520 --> 0:31:05.190 isn't it? Lewis, you've got to make a move. You 0:31:05.190 --> 0:31:08.160 can sit there till the cows come home, baby, but 0:31:08.160 --> 0:31:10.410 you've got to some. Sooner or later, you got to 0:31:10.410 --> 0:31:13.860 take that step into the body of Christ. You got 0:31:13.860 --> 0:31:16.800 to go to em. To em. You got to get there. 0:31:16.800 --> 0:31:19.650 You got to open your heart. And that's an effort 0:31:19.650 --> 0:31:23.790 that takes you said it risk. And that's a good word. Lewis. 0:31:23.790 --> 0:31:26.730 Hey thank you man. Boom. This is why we call 0:31:26.730 --> 0:31:29.940 you the boom crew. Two brothers back to back right there. 0:31:30.090 --> 0:31:35.490 The point is this. It's a big difference From going 0:31:35.490 --> 0:31:39.390 to church and being the church. And I want to 0:31:39.420 --> 0:31:44.490 ask you, would you take a risk this week? Would 0:31:44.490 --> 0:31:49.530 you take a risk? Would you grab a QR code? 0:31:49.860 --> 0:31:53.880 Would you join that member class? Would you be a part? 0:31:53.910 --> 0:31:56.100 Would you identify your gifts? 0:31:57.300 --> 0:31:58.050 Let's go. 0:31:58.080 --> 0:32:03.030 She's a choreographer extraordinaire and everything is Greek to her. 0:32:03.060 --> 0:32:06.990 Super dei is in the crew. It's Carl and crew 0:32:07.020 --> 0:32:08.430 on Moody Radio. 0:32:08.460 --> 0:32:12.000 Well, going to church, that can be hard, especially post Covid. 0:32:12.030 --> 0:32:16.110 Being the church. Oh, that's another step. But what if 0:32:16.110 --> 0:32:19.770 that all came together with me right now, Jonathan Griffiths. 0:32:19.800 --> 0:32:21.660 You might have heard him when we had him down 0:32:21.660 --> 0:32:25.740 in Dallas, Texas. This guy, it's in his wheelhouse when 0:32:25.740 --> 0:32:28.560 we're talking about getting gathered up for the good of 0:32:28.560 --> 0:32:31.500 each other and for yourself. Good morning, my man. How 0:32:31.500 --> 0:32:32.070 are you? 0:32:32.100 --> 0:32:35.100 I'm doing well, Carl. Great to be with you again. 0:32:35.130 --> 0:32:36.090 How are you doing? 0:32:36.120 --> 0:32:38.940 Ah, we're doing great, man. We're doing great. We're looking 0:32:38.940 --> 0:32:41.820 at some numbers. We've been using these over the past 0:32:41.820 --> 0:32:46.980 several weeks. 22% increase in Bible purchases year over year. 0:32:46.980 --> 0:32:51.479 Last calendar year. Pretty amazing statistic. There is a hunger 0:32:51.480 --> 0:32:55.920 for God out there. It isn't always translating to the church. 0:32:55.920 --> 0:32:59.550 And I just want to begin with a tough question. 0:32:59.550 --> 0:33:02.520 What are the obstacles to getting people to even go 0:33:02.520 --> 0:33:04.650 to church? And then we'll talk about being the church. 0:33:04.650 --> 0:33:07.860 But what are the barriers that keep people from getting there? 0:33:07.860 --> 0:33:09.690 Well, I think I think there are a few of them, 0:33:09.720 --> 0:33:12.420 you know, we're naturally consumers and we're thinking about what's 0:33:12.420 --> 0:33:16.410 convenient and what works for me. And that that attitude 0:33:16.410 --> 0:33:18.420 just spills over to church life. And so if I've 0:33:18.420 --> 0:33:21.090 got something else going on, some something that makes it 0:33:21.090 --> 0:33:23.850 inconvenient to get there one weekend, I might just be 0:33:23.850 --> 0:33:26.490 disinclined to go. I think that's more and more common. 0:33:26.520 --> 0:33:29.520 Gone are the days when someone who views themselves, you know, 0:33:29.550 --> 0:33:32.070 who views themselves as a regular at church gets there 0:33:32.070 --> 0:33:35.100 every single week. Regular for a lot of people, means 0:33:35.100 --> 0:33:38.040 two Sundays in four. That's a problem. But I think 0:33:38.040 --> 0:33:41.520 also the fact that we've got so good at our technology, 0:33:41.550 --> 0:33:44.160 streaming our services, we had to learn that over Covid. 0:33:44.160 --> 0:33:46.710 And and I think people have started to love that. 0:33:46.710 --> 0:33:49.890 And that's become an alternative to showing up for a 0:33:49.890 --> 0:33:50.880 number of people. 0:33:50.910 --> 0:33:53.790 Yeah, that's a tough one. Jonathan Griffiths, my guest. He 0:33:53.790 --> 0:33:58.110 serves as lead pastor of Metropolitan Bible Church in Ottawa, Canada. 0:33:58.140 --> 0:34:00.180 You're a little bit in front of us. We were 0:34:00.180 --> 0:34:03.060 talking about this, but you're a little more European than 0:34:03.060 --> 0:34:06.930 us in that it's more post-Christian. How would you describe 0:34:06.930 --> 0:34:08.850 where you're ministering in Ottawa? 0:34:09.210 --> 0:34:11.520 Well, I think you hit the nail on the head. 0:34:11.520 --> 0:34:14.490 I think all that's coming down the pipeline for the 0:34:14.489 --> 0:34:18.420 United States, culturally, we seem to encounter it just a 0:34:18.420 --> 0:34:22.410 little bit more quickly in Canada. Uh, and, and, you know, 0:34:22.440 --> 0:34:24.660 it's not it's not vastly different, but we're a bit 0:34:24.660 --> 0:34:27.930 further ahead. We're a bit more post-Christian. Uh, and one 0:34:27.930 --> 0:34:31.020 of the factors in our particular context in the city 0:34:31.020 --> 0:34:34.790 of Ottawa, capital city of Canada, National Capital Region. We're 0:34:34.790 --> 0:34:37.460 right on the border of English Canada and French Canada, 0:34:37.489 --> 0:34:41.330 border of Ontario and Quebec and and French Canada has 0:34:41.330 --> 0:34:44.600 moved in a in a direction of secularism that has 0:34:44.600 --> 0:34:48.620 been vastly accelerated beyond that of the rest of Canada. 0:34:48.620 --> 0:34:52.190 Historical reasons for that. But the province of Quebec is 0:34:52.190 --> 0:34:56.210 the least reached region in the Americas, North south central 0:34:56.210 --> 0:35:01.880 Caribbean probably about 1%, evangelical Christian 1%. And so, yeah, 0:35:01.880 --> 0:35:05.299 that's on our doorstep. Many in our congregation drive over 0:35:05.300 --> 0:35:09.379 from Quebec. So we're we feel that very acutely as well. 0:35:09.500 --> 0:35:13.340 Jonathan, let's linger on this point because, you know, my 0:35:13.370 --> 0:35:16.340 goal here isn't to get people to go to church. 0:35:16.340 --> 0:35:19.850 I often tell parents with wayward kids, pray that your 0:35:19.850 --> 0:35:23.120 child comes to a troubled point in their life when 0:35:23.120 --> 0:35:28.310 they cry out to God and say, My God and 0:35:28.310 --> 0:35:31.780 my Savior, Jesus Christ, because we want them in Christ 0:35:31.780 --> 0:35:34.840 more than we want them in church. What's going on 0:35:34.840 --> 0:35:38.830 that it's caused people, especially post Covid to just say 0:35:38.860 --> 0:35:42.069 are assembling. Isn't that important for me? I guess there's 0:35:42.070 --> 0:35:44.350 a lot of people in that bucket, some of which 0:35:44.350 --> 0:35:46.989 have an illusion of salvation. They don't really know Jesus. 0:35:47.020 --> 0:35:49.839 They aren't in Christ. So getting into church doesn't have 0:35:49.840 --> 0:35:53.290 that motivation. What are some of the other issues that 0:35:53.290 --> 0:35:55.600 are there that these are all issues of the heart, 0:35:55.600 --> 0:35:56.799 aren't they, Jonathan. 0:35:56.830 --> 0:35:59.140 They well, they're all issues of the heart. And, you know, 0:35:59.170 --> 0:36:03.219 Covid was a great disrupter. And, you know, post Covid, actually, 0:36:03.250 --> 0:36:05.410 we're seeing a new wave of people come to Christ. 0:36:05.410 --> 0:36:08.020 And that's interesting. And we could maybe circle back to that. 0:36:08.050 --> 0:36:11.830 But I think one of the things that Covid did for, 0:36:11.860 --> 0:36:15.040 you know, cultural Christians, people who had a cultural reflex 0:36:15.040 --> 0:36:17.320 to show up at church, maybe to maybe to please 0:36:17.320 --> 0:36:19.989 an earlier generation in their family or out of habit 0:36:19.989 --> 0:36:23.080 or something like that. You know, Covid broke the habit. 0:36:23.080 --> 0:36:27.340 And if the heart wasn't there anyway, the the people 0:36:27.340 --> 0:36:30.430 who drifted away during Covid, they haven't come back. And 0:36:30.430 --> 0:36:33.490 that's a sadness. I think it's had a refining effect 0:36:33.489 --> 0:36:36.250 on the church, because I think the people who are 0:36:36.250 --> 0:36:38.710 there post-Covid are the people who really want to be there. 0:36:38.710 --> 0:36:41.410 It's no longer cultural reflex. I think a lot of 0:36:41.440 --> 0:36:42.610 that has just gone away. 0:36:42.640 --> 0:36:45.010 Yeah, I see that as well, both on our church 0:36:45.010 --> 0:36:47.799 campuses here in Chicagoland. And I hear it from pastors 0:36:47.800 --> 0:36:51.400 around the country, here in the States. How do you 0:36:51.400 --> 0:36:54.670 pray for people like that? There's a lot of people 0:36:54.670 --> 0:36:56.739 that are hurting. They might have a spouse that doesn't 0:36:56.739 --> 0:37:00.010 join them any longer. They might have wayward kids. It 0:37:00.010 --> 0:37:03.010 seems to me that yes, we pray that their heart 0:37:03.010 --> 0:37:06.580 condition would change more than they get to church. 0:37:06.610 --> 0:37:09.640 Yeah. You know, I think the great prayer is that 0:37:09.640 --> 0:37:13.540 spending some time at a distance from the people of God, 0:37:13.540 --> 0:37:16.630 and maybe not hearing the word of God would generate 0:37:16.660 --> 0:37:18.910 a hunger in their hearts. And that and that does happen. 0:37:18.940 --> 0:37:21.100 I mean, you know, you spend too much time just 0:37:21.100 --> 0:37:24.460 out there in the world and imbibing the culture and, 0:37:24.460 --> 0:37:28.089 and and it's it's not an encouraging experience. You discover 0:37:28.090 --> 0:37:31.500 the emptiness of what our world has to offer. And 0:37:31.500 --> 0:37:34.080 I think our particular cultural moment for a whole variety 0:37:34.080 --> 0:37:38.009 of reasons is is particularly vacuous in what it offers 0:37:38.010 --> 0:37:41.130 the heart and the soul and, and people are seeing that. 0:37:41.130 --> 0:37:43.890 So so we've got waves of young people without a 0:37:43.890 --> 0:37:46.920 Christian background who are getting interested in the gospel and 0:37:46.920 --> 0:37:49.379 who are maybe listening to the live stream or something 0:37:49.410 --> 0:37:52.049 and watching the live stream first, but showing up at church. 0:37:52.230 --> 0:37:54.840 And that's really interesting. And I think it's because in 0:37:54.840 --> 0:37:57.989 our cultural moment, we are just seeing the emptiness of 0:37:57.989 --> 0:38:02.489 attempts to find meaning and cohesion and hope apart from Christ. 0:38:02.489 --> 0:38:05.040 There's nothing else out there and people are seeing that. 0:38:05.070 --> 0:38:07.410 Coming up here. What I want to hit with you, Jonathan, 0:38:07.410 --> 0:38:10.170 is being the church, because it seems to me that 0:38:10.170 --> 0:38:13.169 if we become a group of people, and I want 0:38:13.170 --> 0:38:15.060 you to cast a vision for us, a group of 0:38:15.060 --> 0:38:20.100 people who are really becoming what God intended, that we're 0:38:20.100 --> 0:38:23.939 bearing one another's burdens, that we're all expressing our gifts 0:38:23.940 --> 0:38:26.610 in the body of Christ. Give us a vision. Coming 0:38:26.610 --> 0:38:30.240 up more with Jonathan Griffiths moving from just going to 0:38:30.270 --> 0:38:34.140 church and praying for those that aren't. But being the church. 0:38:34.140 --> 0:38:34.890 Hang on. 0:38:35.040 --> 0:38:37.980 You can take him out of Alaska, but you can't 0:38:37.980 --> 0:38:41.940 take Alaska out of him. Carl is in the crew. 0:38:41.969 --> 0:38:44.730 It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:38:44.760 --> 0:38:45.240 With. 0:38:45.239 --> 0:38:49.290 Me right now. Jonathan Griffiths, lead pastor of Metropolitan Bible 0:38:49.320 --> 0:38:53.069 Church in Ottawa, Canada. He's got a great vantage point, 0:38:53.070 --> 0:38:56.069 and frankly, one of the great advantages that we have 0:38:56.100 --> 0:38:58.920 having Jonathan on. Is there a little more European there, 0:38:58.920 --> 0:39:01.350 a little ahead of the curve with regard to people 0:39:01.350 --> 0:39:05.160 leaving the church? But it's good because you were mentioning this. 0:39:05.190 --> 0:39:08.759 It's with the people that are coming to church post-Covid 0:39:08.820 --> 0:39:11.430 and in this season that we're in for all kinds 0:39:11.430 --> 0:39:15.600 of reasons. There's a there's a higher intensity with these 0:39:15.600 --> 0:39:17.430 folks that are coming. Right? Jonathan? 0:39:17.430 --> 0:39:20.280 Well, that's what we're seeing. And and particularly with our 0:39:20.280 --> 0:39:22.860 young adults. I mean, I think this is my greatest encouragement, 0:39:22.890 --> 0:39:25.890 seeing the waves of young men and women, like college 0:39:25.890 --> 0:39:28.970 age or early career who are showing up. And I'll 0:39:28.969 --> 0:39:31.100 tell you, I think I've mentioned this in conversation before 0:39:31.100 --> 0:39:33.560 with you, Carl, but but it is our young adults 0:39:33.560 --> 0:39:36.650 who seem to have the most intense hunger for the 0:39:36.650 --> 0:39:38.810 Word of God. You know, gone are the days that 0:39:38.810 --> 0:39:41.930 they're interested in a cultural Christianity or a form of 0:39:41.930 --> 0:39:45.620 Christian entertainment on Sunday. They don't care so much about 0:39:45.620 --> 0:39:48.830 the packaging, but if they don't get, you know, deep 0:39:48.860 --> 0:39:51.230 teaching from the Word of God from the pulpit, they're 0:39:51.230 --> 0:39:52.610 going to be the first people who are going to 0:39:52.610 --> 0:39:55.790 complain about it and then probably go somewhere else, actually, 0:39:55.790 --> 0:39:59.780 because they're here for substance, they're looking for truth. I 0:39:59.780 --> 0:40:03.830 think many young, young people, young men in particular, I'm noticing, 0:40:03.830 --> 0:40:07.130 are feeling very disenfranchised in this cultural moment. They don't 0:40:07.130 --> 0:40:10.310 see a future for themselves. And they're looking okay. Where 0:40:10.340 --> 0:40:12.230 is meaning? Where is hope? Where is my value to 0:40:12.230 --> 0:40:15.050 be found? And they're finding that in Jesus Christ, which 0:40:15.080 --> 0:40:16.880 is which is just thrilling to the soul. 0:40:16.910 --> 0:40:19.940 Yeah it is. Give us a vision for what it 0:40:19.940 --> 0:40:21.500 looks like. And I'm going to give you a link 0:40:21.500 --> 0:40:24.560 here in a little bit. Uh, Jonathan Crew has a 0:40:24.560 --> 0:40:27.380 book called gathered for Good God's Good Design for the 0:40:27.380 --> 0:40:30.620 local church. What is God's good design? What should it 0:40:30.620 --> 0:40:33.080 look like? Give us some descriptions. 0:40:33.110 --> 0:40:35.660 Well, you know, in the great salvation plan of God 0:40:35.660 --> 0:40:37.520 throughout the Scripture, and we won't have time to trace 0:40:37.520 --> 0:40:41.150 all this. But but our salvation is not merely an 0:40:41.150 --> 0:40:44.390 individual thing from my soul. God saves us into a 0:40:44.390 --> 0:40:49.040 community and a family and a and an eternal kingdom, 0:40:49.040 --> 0:40:51.229 and he saves us so that we can be part 0:40:51.230 --> 0:40:53.810 of something together. And and we need to have an 0:40:53.810 --> 0:40:57.050 understanding that the, the local church is the visible expression 0:40:57.050 --> 0:41:00.110 of that and the the manifestation of it being a 0:41:00.110 --> 0:41:03.259 saved person means, um, entering into the life of that 0:41:03.260 --> 0:41:06.560 community fully. So it means showing up at the regular 0:41:06.560 --> 0:41:09.140 assembly of the people of God at the weekend, on 0:41:09.140 --> 0:41:13.130 a Sunday, prioritizing being there. It means finding your place 0:41:13.130 --> 0:41:15.739 to serve because God has given you gifts to use 0:41:15.739 --> 0:41:17.750 for the for the good of the body, so you 0:41:17.750 --> 0:41:21.440 find your place to serve. It means being there around 0:41:21.440 --> 0:41:25.400 the Lord's table table to participate in the Lord's Supper. 0:41:25.430 --> 0:41:28.259 It means being generous with what God has given you, 0:41:28.260 --> 0:41:31.050 that you might use your resources for the good of 0:41:31.050 --> 0:41:33.390 the gospel. And so we need to move away from 0:41:33.390 --> 0:41:38.640 this individualistic, consumeristic vision that we can we can cast 0:41:38.640 --> 0:41:42.930 for ourselves and have a God shaped, Bible shaped vision 0:41:42.930 --> 0:41:46.200 for what it means to be in redeemed community. 0:41:46.230 --> 0:41:50.969 What's the best practices for a person identifying their spiritual gifts? 0:41:50.969 --> 0:41:55.950 My estimation is that we've probably got, oh, in most churches, 0:41:55.950 --> 0:42:00.510 I would guess 20 to 30% of people can clearly identify. 0:42:00.510 --> 0:42:04.020 This is my spiritual gift according to Romans 12. First 0:42:04.020 --> 0:42:08.489 Corinthians 12. How do you help people discover those gifts 0:42:08.489 --> 0:42:11.879 that God has given each person who is born again? 0:42:12.150 --> 0:42:15.390 Well, of course, you know, there are tools and surveys 0:42:15.390 --> 0:42:18.210 available and those can be a help. But I think 0:42:18.210 --> 0:42:19.920 what I always want to give as an encouragement to 0:42:19.950 --> 0:42:23.490 people is to, um, discern these things and pray over 0:42:23.489 --> 0:42:27.310 these things, uh, in conversation with your church leaders. Whatever 0:42:27.310 --> 0:42:30.340 your structures are in your local church, you don't want 0:42:30.370 --> 0:42:31.840 to simply be doing this on your own and then 0:42:31.840 --> 0:42:33.850 show up at church and say to your leaders, my 0:42:33.880 --> 0:42:35.530 gift is this, and I want you to allow me 0:42:35.530 --> 0:42:37.630 to serve in this way. That's not quite the right 0:42:37.630 --> 0:42:39.640 way round. You want to you want to come in 0:42:39.640 --> 0:42:41.920 a spirit of humility and say, I'm ready to serve. 0:42:41.920 --> 0:42:44.230 And I'm. I think these may be my gifts and 0:42:44.230 --> 0:42:45.940 I'm discerning this, or I've seen the Lord use me 0:42:45.940 --> 0:42:48.250 in these ways. But would you help me to to 0:42:48.280 --> 0:42:51.010 to discern and discover these things and then to grow 0:42:51.010 --> 0:42:53.110 in the use of these gifts? I think that's a 0:42:53.110 --> 0:42:55.810 great posture. And as a church leader, as a pastor, 0:42:55.810 --> 0:42:58.870 if someone comes to me for that conversation, I tell 0:42:58.870 --> 0:43:00.760 you I want to help them. And I'm so thrilled 0:43:00.760 --> 0:43:03.130 that they've come to me to ask those questions. 0:43:03.160 --> 0:43:08.740 Love it. Jonathan Griffiths, my guest right now. And, Jonathan, 0:43:08.770 --> 0:43:11.200 there's a river that runs through it with you. And 0:43:11.200 --> 0:43:12.940 I can sense that. That's why I love to have 0:43:12.940 --> 0:43:18.130 you on here. This I've been wrestling with the inability 0:43:18.130 --> 0:43:23.440 to make disciples that the church seems to struggle with. 0:43:23.469 --> 0:43:27.070 And I know that our primary metrics for church success 0:43:27.070 --> 0:43:29.560 often default to how many people are coming and how 0:43:29.560 --> 0:43:32.500 much money is given, and we can do so much 0:43:32.500 --> 0:43:36.190 more if we begin to measure discipleship. What have you 0:43:36.190 --> 0:43:40.330 learned about making disciples, as opposed to growing a church 0:43:40.330 --> 0:43:43.000 from a size or giving standpoint? 0:43:43.030 --> 0:43:44.830 You know, I think we went through in our church 0:43:44.830 --> 0:43:47.830 a season post-Covid when we realized that, you know, we 0:43:47.830 --> 0:43:51.399 had we had the numbers of people showing up on Sunday, 0:43:51.400 --> 0:43:54.910 but the number of those people who were with us 0:43:54.940 --> 0:43:58.630 on Sunday who were actually being discipled in a discernible way, 0:43:58.630 --> 0:44:02.080 that we were really confident of, that that was a 0:44:02.080 --> 0:44:06.160 more discouraging number. And we came to realize again that 0:44:06.160 --> 0:44:09.310 discipleship is going to happen in the context of vital relationships. 0:44:09.340 --> 0:44:12.460 The the gathering on Sunday is crucially important. The public 0:44:12.460 --> 0:44:14.380 preaching of the Word of God. I have a very 0:44:14.380 --> 0:44:17.200 high view of that, but that needs to be followed 0:44:17.200 --> 0:44:21.520 up with much smaller units of relationship where where people 0:44:21.520 --> 0:44:25.320 are known and they are they are knowing others, and 0:44:25.320 --> 0:44:29.759 we've got trusted leaders who are engaging with individuals in 0:44:29.760 --> 0:44:32.970 the church family who are being discipled. So you constantly 0:44:32.969 --> 0:44:35.670 need to be breaking down the larger group to smaller 0:44:35.670 --> 0:44:39.029 groups where you've got trusted leaders who are who are 0:44:39.030 --> 0:44:42.030 given to the work of discipleship, who are opening up 0:44:42.030 --> 0:44:44.280 the Word of God with other believers and encouraging them 0:44:44.280 --> 0:44:46.830 from the word, who are giving them personal encouragement to 0:44:46.860 --> 0:44:49.980 grow and challenges where they need to have challenge, and 0:44:49.980 --> 0:44:53.700 those smaller units and those more personal relationships. They need 0:44:53.700 --> 0:44:55.950 to be there in every church. And and actually, the 0:44:55.950 --> 0:44:59.489 bigger the church, the more strategy and intentionality it takes 0:44:59.489 --> 0:45:01.140 to make sure that that is happening. 0:45:01.170 --> 0:45:02.040 Yeah, that's. 0:45:02.040 --> 0:45:04.230 A wise words. You know, I want to call you 0:45:04.230 --> 0:45:08.220 if you're a leader, pastor, small group leader, member. But 0:45:08.219 --> 0:45:11.520 you got a passion for discipleship, really discipleship. And to 0:45:11.550 --> 0:45:15.930 be the church gathered for good is Jonathan Griffith's most 0:45:15.930 --> 0:45:19.590 recent book, gathered for Good God's Good Design for the 0:45:19.590 --> 0:45:22.920 local church. This might be what God's Spirit is prompting 0:45:22.920 --> 0:45:25.950 you with right now. It's easy to get just text 0:45:25.980 --> 0:45:30.930 the word gather to 800 555 7898. Just the word 0:45:30.930 --> 0:45:34.860 gather g a t h e r. Just gather to 0:45:34.890 --> 0:45:40.410 805 five five 7898. I feel prompted. Something's on your heart, Jonathan, 0:45:40.410 --> 0:45:42.930 before we cut you loose, what do you say, my man? 0:45:43.080 --> 0:45:46.740 From moving to going to church to being the church, 0:45:46.739 --> 0:45:49.410 what do people need to know? 0:45:49.440 --> 0:45:51.420 Well, I think one of the things we really need 0:45:51.420 --> 0:45:55.350 to understand is that our own Christian discipleship and growth 0:45:55.350 --> 0:45:58.170 in Christ likeness is, at the end of the day, 0:45:58.200 --> 0:46:01.980 going to be severely inhibited if we have not invested 0:46:01.980 --> 0:46:04.920 ourselves in the local church? And I'm sure there are 0:46:04.920 --> 0:46:07.200 a lot of people listening today, even to this, even 0:46:07.200 --> 0:46:09.780 to this broadcast, who are in a place where you 0:46:09.780 --> 0:46:12.509 know they love the Lord, love the Word of God. 0:46:12.510 --> 0:46:15.840 But for whatever reason, you've decided to sit loose to church. 0:46:15.840 --> 0:46:17.790 And maybe the maybe the background of that is some 0:46:17.790 --> 0:46:22.290 personal hurt or disappointment. Lots of those stories, and I 0:46:22.290 --> 0:46:25.190 know so many of those stories so well, but the 0:46:25.190 --> 0:46:28.970 truth of the matter is, if we disengage personally, we're 0:46:28.969 --> 0:46:31.130 not going to grow and we're not going to flourish 0:46:31.130 --> 0:46:34.460 in our Christian life, because God's good design is that 0:46:34.460 --> 0:46:37.220 we should embed ourselves in the life of the local 0:46:37.219 --> 0:46:40.219 church for the good of others and for our own 0:46:40.219 --> 0:46:42.080 good to boom. 0:46:42.080 --> 0:46:43.910 That's why we call it the boom crew here, and 0:46:43.910 --> 0:46:48.200 that's an amen. Grab this link. Uh, if especially. And 0:46:48.200 --> 0:46:50.630 I'm I'm calling you as a pastor. If you need 0:46:50.630 --> 0:46:53.870 a fresh read, something to reorient yourself around what the 0:46:53.870 --> 0:46:57.410 church can be. Small group leader member who's got a 0:46:57.410 --> 0:46:59.900 passion for this? Get a copy for a friend or 0:46:59.900 --> 0:47:03.170 another leader or your pastor. It's called gathered for good. 0:47:03.170 --> 0:47:06.140 God's good design for the local church. What a work. 0:47:06.170 --> 0:47:08.120 And I'm asking you to grab it. Text the word 0:47:08.120 --> 0:47:14.510 gather to 800 555 7898. Just the word gather to 0:47:14.540 --> 0:47:19.340 805 five five 7898. Jonathan, as always, man, thank you 0:47:19.340 --> 0:47:20.690 for being with us here. 0:47:20.900 --> 0:47:22.790 Thanks so much, Carl. Great to be with you.