Ep. 216 - Looking For The One!
Welcome to this episode of Tell Me More. We're talking about going fishing. We're talking about Jesus, and we're enjoying a conversation about this whole fall and its emphases. And so we're really glad you're listening, and we hope you have a good time.
Speaker 2:Well, welcome to another episode of Tell Me More.
Speaker 1:We've been recording for three minutes.
Speaker 2:We've been recording for three minutes. I didn't know it, but And we've also been It's true. Sharing our collective trauma around fishing.
Speaker 1:We got it. Turns out I wanna hear about it.
Speaker 2:We all have fishing related trauma.
Speaker 3:We do. Do. But but in I think in the interest of full disclosure, I actually did this welcome last week. You did. Did
Speaker 1:the opening. Did. I haven't gone back and listened. We will. And
Speaker 3:you all and
Speaker 1:you all if you skip this because I wasn't on it I'm just kidding. No one does that. Just a whole lot of people did. Go back and watch it.
Speaker 3:It's just Kurt and I Just Kurt
Speaker 1:really sure was which is enough.
Speaker 3:And, it was believe it or not, it was a lot about flourishing. I'm shocked. Was surprising.
Speaker 2:Call me surprising.
Speaker 3:It. Do believe it. I was working with buttons, I was running this whole thing
Speaker 2:over here. It turns out my job is actually not hard at all here.
Speaker 1:Yeah. But it's also
Speaker 3:not in
Speaker 1:jeopardy. What a good place to be. Great.
Speaker 2:Easy job, not in jeopardy.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Turns out a month from now, a month from today, we'll be in at the Flourishing Retreat.
Speaker 3:We will be. We talked about it last week. We're actually not gonna be technically in Assisi. We're in the region of Assisi. We'll be in Montefalco.
Speaker 1:Montefalco. I have been researching this morning
Speaker 3:We will be in Assisi.
Speaker 1:Not flights. Trains, cars, can you Automobiles. Can you taxi around that? Anyway, things
Speaker 3:It's a little challenging.
Speaker 1:Well, they sent the itinerary and not every meeting is in one place. So it's like, oh I might need a car. We'll figure it out. But that's for me to figure out and the listener to not worry about We will figure it out. I'm on it.
Speaker 2:Will Katie get a car? Stay tuned.
Speaker 1:Okay. Fishing. Speaking of fishing, might we? Yeah. When I was We we have a lake house.
Speaker 1:My family is We like to be on the water like, I feel like all my extended family members at some point have had some little cabin on a lake. We I want them. So growing up, we'd always fish. I had my little snoopy fishing pole, I'd go with the guys or whatever. And I remember one year they got They didn't get worms, they got minnows.
Speaker 1:And I cried and cried and cried and made them pour all the minnows out, because I didn't because you watch the little minnows suffer on the hook. Yeah. And I I wasn't abiding by that.
Speaker 2:Something about watching something suffering with eyeballs.
Speaker 1:And yes, the worms whatever, I just don't care at all. And then the all the men were like, for real? And my dad poured all those minnows out. Good old
Speaker 2:Andy. Good
Speaker 1:old Andy. Yeah. And I'm sure all the guys were like, what the heck? They probably had more. Mean they that's my one of my earlier fishing memories.
Speaker 1:One of my latter ones is my dad getting his thumb caught in a trot line thing and then we have to go to the ER.
Speaker 3:I have fishing stories from Oklahoma that I'm gonna wait until on Sunday morning.
Speaker 1:Is there water in Oklahoma? No fishing on How
Speaker 2:does one actually has more Shoreline, shoreline than any other
Speaker 1:help me understand what that means.
Speaker 2:All the rivers and ponds, they actually have more. I used to teach outdoor education in Oklahoma which also had its fair share of fishing. Oklahoma has more shoreline than any other state and it's also illegal to go whaling there.
Speaker 1:I would think that that is redundant and unnecessary but I also took fishing class at Stephen F. Austin State University.
Speaker 3:There you go.
Speaker 1:Angling one zero one.
Speaker 2:A college educated fisherman.
Speaker 3:Alabama has like, they have like really large shorelines too because of all the lakes. There's a ton of lakes in Alabama. Alabama's a big fisherman.
Speaker 1:I'm very surprised to hear that that's Oklahoma. Yeah. Oklahoma So now I'm thinking through like Yeah.
Speaker 3:There's a of
Speaker 2:like aquifers that bubble out.
Speaker 3:It must
Speaker 1:be. Because I'm thinking about like Minnesota. Lakes on lakes on lakes.
Speaker 3:The Red River. That is a thing. Everybody lives along the Red River, fishes the Red River.
Speaker 1:That makes sense. Big deal.
Speaker 3:We have massive catfish Mhmm. That live in the Red River. I'm talking a 100 pound catfish.
Speaker 1:Yep. That the Red River.
Speaker 2:No thank you
Speaker 1:so much. So noodling?
Speaker 3:You
Speaker 1:ever gone noodling? I've grablin. Grablin?
Speaker 3:Mhmm. I'm gonna talk about
Speaker 1:what I've been. Okay. Stephen F. Austin State University. I needed
Speaker 2:should make
Speaker 1:an a? Yeah. Here's the deal. Everybody needs a PE credit, so I took that in outdoor adventure in which I learned to juggle. So thanks SFA.
Speaker 1:But Woah. Outdoor adventure.
Speaker 2:Reverend prom queen Katie Hodges got an a in angling and learned to juggle at college. Can everybody Yeah.
Speaker 1:I can. I mean, basic juggling. Yeah. I can't do anything too fancy but I did. That's that's actually a long longer story there that is totally not a surface but but I'll tell it if you me.
Speaker 1:Anyway, tweet me and I'll tell you the full story.
Speaker 2:We did that last time. Alright, Jalen. Yeah. You heard it here.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Yeah. We got it. Okay. Two people said, I listen to the whole, you know, because sometimes I say like, if you listen to far, I'll buy you a snow cone.
Speaker 1:Two people texted me. One of them, I have bought a snow cone. It was Jalen.
Speaker 3:I can see.
Speaker 1:I'm proud. I am too. I took angling one zero one. There's a huge written exam, which is very hard because it's very technical. But if you can get exempt from that, if you that we have this fishing day at, like, the ag pond, and if you catch the first fish, the most fish are the biggest fish.
Speaker 1:You don't have to take the written exam. And I caught the most fish.
Speaker 3:Well done.
Speaker 1:Look at you. It was like the same little perch but they didn't say. So I just anyway.
Speaker 3:Well Cindy and I at UAB
Speaker 1:I'm also a good caster.
Speaker 3:We took a marine life
Speaker 1:There it is.
Speaker 3:Oceanography class.
Speaker 1:In Birmingham.
Speaker 3:In Birmingham, but you went down to Mobile to Mhmm. For for the kind of the lab part. And one of our professors who was a very odd man, he had like a trowler or trawler, whatever you call it, kind of boat. And so we go out into the bay, and he had this, net behind us, and he wanted us to reel the net in. Well, I'm not much of a boat person.
Speaker 3:I don't know anything about it. And so, you're on this side and another guy's on the other side. And your only job is is to reel the net in at the same time.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 3:Okay? So while we're doing that and there full of fish, all of a sudden the school of dolphins swims by us. Beautiful jumping and everything. And I got a little distracted, but my colleague
Speaker 1:kept He was not distracted. Uh-huh.
Speaker 3:So in other words, the net got turned sideways and it created slack in the rope on my side. And the rope got pulled under the boat and got caught into the motor, into the propeller underneath the boat. So our professor is, you know Yeah. On his radio Mayday, Mayday, telling people that we're stuck. Then the only answer is to is to somehow loosen that rope from around the propeller.
Speaker 1:Somebody has to get down there.
Speaker 3:And since I'm the one that did it, he said, you have to go do
Speaker 1:it. Uh-huh.
Speaker 2:Pass. So I'm
Speaker 1:I'm Ugh.
Speaker 3:I've done it with you. Whatever.
Speaker 1:And he and I said, well, I don't have
Speaker 3:a swimsuit or whatever. So I go down. He gives me this pair of pants to put on, which don't fit me if I put them on. He gives me a knife.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 3:I literally put the knife in my mouth, and he says, go under the water
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 3:Under the boat and go to the propeller and cut this rope from around the propeller. Yeah. So, I mean, it took me, like, 10.
Speaker 1:Dives? Yes. Cut your exhaust.
Speaker 3:Yeah. And I had no I would've been. Nothing. Was just just go Yeah.
Speaker 1:You and a knife.
Speaker 3:It's a pants outfit. That I mean, I'm not really I'm just not that guy. You know? But I felt like I was taking my life in my hands, but I finally got it. I got that thing out of there.
Speaker 1:And I've had to do that a few times with
Speaker 3:I think I made a c in the because I because I messed
Speaker 1:You his run their nut. You run their net, which probably wasn't that cheap on a boat like that.
Speaker 3:That's right.
Speaker 2:I think this is, like, the part of me that lived on Cape Cod for a year, just, the fear because at the time we lived on Cape Cod because of ocean warming, great white sharks have really started to move into that part of the Atlantic. Okay. And so like Good news,
Speaker 3:we don't have those in Alabama.
Speaker 2:We don't have those in Alabama in Texas. But man, just you don't really go swimming in the Atlantic around Massachusetts anymore. Think this summer after we moved Yucky. Don't attack you know a mile from our house. Wow.
Speaker 2:So I can still
Speaker 1:Fishing.
Speaker 3:Every once in while
Speaker 2:asking to fish
Speaker 3:her bigger about that.
Speaker 1:It's a metaphor.
Speaker 3:Aren't we grateful? With that knife in my mouth.
Speaker 1:I know. I I I've had to do that for some minute. It scares me. It's like when you have to put your hand down the disposal to get something out in your kitchen, and you're like, this is gonna go off any minute. At any minute, this is gonna chop me up.
Speaker 1:I do not like it.
Speaker 3:Wow. Be traumatic.
Speaker 1:It's a metaphor, though. It's a metaphor. But last week
Speaker 2:Hopefully, evangelism is not as traumatic.
Speaker 3:Last week, it was just Kurt Grice and Dennis Wiles at this stage. Where were y'all?
Speaker 2:Katie, do you wanna go first?
Speaker 3:Where were y'all?
Speaker 1:Was I took my lady colleagues, and we went to the Truett's I think it's it's called the CALD Conference. It's a little little history of church seminary. Y'all know, I think, that historically is very Baptist. Like, when we went there, was pretty pretty Baptist with a few others, and they have opened up a Wesley House for our
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Kind of Methodist friends.
Speaker 3:So good.
Speaker 1:They've opened up an Episcopal or Anglican Anglican. Anglican House for Anglican friends. And so now it's a very diverse it's still Baptist theologically, but it's it's got a lot of students from a lot of
Speaker 3:walks The new professor of Christian ethics is a woman, Anglican
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:Scholar who now teaches at Trinity. I had lunch with
Speaker 1:her the Much other more.
Speaker 3:I didn't even know she was
Speaker 1:Like, humanically diverse? Yeah. Am I saying that right? And it's lovely. I'm I'm very looks proud of
Speaker 2:a lot like the ascent movement.
Speaker 1:I think it's awesome. And and it's got it seems to be all the best of the people that we love. And so but instead of doing a Baptist Women in Ministry conference
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 1:Which would only catch 40%
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 1:Whatever it is now.
Speaker 3:Y'all went fishing in More Ponds. Y'all see how I did that?
Speaker 1:Just yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Ahead. Maybe perhaps doctor Todd Still went fishing in more But because of that and because of some grants and a lot just the landscape's so different now than it was even when I was in seminary.
Speaker 1:It just was it just is. They have started this new thing, which is a women in ministry, women in leadership conference for all, and it's it's called the CALD conference, and they did a great job. Rebecca Pohayes was on that leadership team, Carrie Burrows, who's their alumni coordinator.
Speaker 3:Great people.
Speaker 1:I'm missing other people. And of course, I got to see a lot of my, like, female heroes. But we went down. Ashley, Casey, Chelsea, and I all went. And it was really, really well done.
Speaker 1:Just the the quality of the speakers, quality of the breakouts, the the thoughtfulness of who was involved in it, it was really really good.
Speaker 3:So good.
Speaker 1:Yeah. That's where I was.
Speaker 2:I'm a little jealous.
Speaker 1:It was really
Speaker 2:really love DJ Gupta was one of the speakers,
Speaker 1:He and I love presented can I talk about this for He presented on he's written a book, Tell Her Story, which is highlighting females in the bible?
Speaker 2:Nijay Gupta is a phenomenal New Testament scholar who teaches at Northern, where I'm getting my doctorate.
Speaker 1:Also a Pauline scholar. Yes. So he and Doctor. Still have a lot in common and Doctor. Still introduced him.
Speaker 1:But he's got a new book coming out that I'm also very interested in, and the premise of it is he's kind of exploring this idea that women a woman's value and identity is not contingent on a man. Going through some bible females in the bible because we do think of, like, Adam and Eve, which is beautiful. Relationship that's a positive.
Speaker 3:Abraham and Sarah.
Speaker 1:Yeah. You can name it. I mean, who's Junia's partner? Junia and and
Speaker 2:Andronicus. Chronicus.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Couldn't get there.
Speaker 3:Sonny and Cher. Oh, I mean, a lot
Speaker 1:of them. And that is, I think I mean, he you read the you read his book when it comes out. That isn't there's no, there's nothing negative there. That's not the deal. Right.
Speaker 1:But he's just in defense of some women who stand alone in the bible and how their value is not contingent on a man, which is very countercultural to that age, and maybe our age as well. A really compelling talk that he gave, and was very affirming of the women in the room, and very He was the only dude given the mic, really, in terms of like main stage. Yeah. With good reason. So But it was the the CEO of Today led the first one.
Speaker 1:Quite a dynamic speaker, preacher. I was thinking CEO would be more like a TED Talk. It was not a TED Talk. It was a sermon. It was about the slain lamb in Revelation seated on the throne.
Speaker 1:I mean, was powerful. Okay. So way to go, Christianity Today. Like, who's this She's woman? Doing
Speaker 3:a great job at Christianity Today, I think.
Speaker 1:I think so too. I mean, and I'm I'm pro Christianity Today. Somebody asked me that the other day. Like, what do you think? I'm like, I think it's a great publication.
Speaker 1:So there's I my
Speaker 3:it's best one we ever.
Speaker 1:There's my
Speaker 3:endorsement In general.
Speaker 1:There's my endorsement you didn't ask for, but I think if you do
Speaker 2:good publication.
Speaker 1:Yes. It is. If you want, like, a journal a journalism that you can Yeah. Trust, whatever that is.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Russell Moore. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Let's Russell Moore.
Speaker 3:Is alive today. Let's just
Speaker 1:And a lot of the contributors are people like Najee Gupta and the CEO. She's just very theologically rich. I mean, not just preached a sermon on a text, but brought in a lot of theologians, and I was just super, like, that's the first like, we just got there, sat down, she started preaching.
Speaker 3:Wow.
Speaker 1:And it was like, woah, this is something. And I'd say just the whole the whole thing went like that. So there's my little Truett plug update. Truett's still doing quite well. It is.
Speaker 1:It's just doing a good
Speaker 3:good place. Have the most students in its history.
Speaker 1:Yeah. It's like five fifty.
Speaker 3:This semester.
Speaker 1:When I was there, was like 300.
Speaker 2:Something like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Mean, that's for this day and age, quite
Speaker 3:tough. Know, when I first started teaching at Truett in o six, let me think. O six? I think that's right. My I would say I taught eight years at the level.
Speaker 3:I might have had three, maybe four at the most in eight years that weren't Baptist.
Speaker 1:Non Baptist.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Most all
Speaker 1:of our
Speaker 3:demon seminars in the last year, and I might have had three Baptists, maybe four.
Speaker 1:We're doing something new here.
Speaker 3:On the doctoral level. It's very diverse and very enriching in our conversations. So give an account of yourself, Luke Stair, where were you, young man, while I was here manning the
Speaker 1:You were having to push a button. How dare he?
Speaker 3:I was multitasking. Was trying to be thoughtful,
Speaker 2:responded were so focused and diligent.
Speaker 3:Had to facilitate the conversation. I had to run the soundboard. Yeah. I kept having to give directions to Addison.
Speaker 1:Right. Did you edit it? It was a
Speaker 3:it was an entire thing.
Speaker 1:Did you edit it after this and upload it?
Speaker 2:My job is so difficult on this podcast. So where were you young man? Jaylen and I are a global resident. We're in Montreal and so I was facilitating a tour in partnership with the French Baptist Union for American Baptists of Pennsylvania and Delaware. So ABKA pad as it's currently called.
Speaker 2:Love that.
Speaker 3:They're changing that name I heard.
Speaker 2:They're changing the name. Mhmm. But the American Baptists of Pennsylvania and Delaware are members and ascent. And so working with Rafael Unzenberger who's preaching this coming Sunday, we've facilitated a learning immersion tour for some of their pastors and denominational leadership and Jalen got to tag along. So I was walking around the city of Montreal Right.
Speaker 2:Engaging in conversations and Awesome. Just having a
Speaker 3:great time working with our partners up there. Mhmm. And and I will be there next week. Right? Yeah.
Speaker 3:The next week. I will be in Monterey Grande with Rafael. Mhmm. Doing a very similar thing. But you probably heard me let the church know that Raphael will come with an Alabama accent Sunday.
Speaker 3:So they should be prepared.
Speaker 2:You know, I find that the French twang and the Alabama twang are pretty much very similar.
Speaker 3:That's what I think. Maybe that's why I can understand him so easily.
Speaker 1:Well, that might be a good what's going on around here.
Speaker 2:Yes. That is a good thing.
Speaker 1:There's lot going on this Sunday.
Speaker 3:We're in the middle of fall emphasis on evangelism and we've got a big we have a big weekend.
Speaker 2:We do. So what's happening Friday night?
Speaker 1:Well, there's family movie night. Yep. But there's also families
Speaker 2:But it's a special
Speaker 1:family movie before the new children's have a new children's This weekend is her in view of a call weekend.
Speaker 3:So good. Friday night, Saturday all day mostly.
Speaker 1:Help me get this right. The public, like, bring your family and come meet her, is before movie night. It starts at 05:30.
Speaker 3:I was gonna say it's early.
Speaker 1:In the Children's Building.
Speaker 3:That is great. And downstairs. Because she has to leave when family movie night starts. Her son is the starting middle linebacker at their high school. Yep.
Speaker 3:And they have a game Friday
Speaker 1:night. She's a part of that light mom.
Speaker 3:Ahead. She's
Speaker 1:gonna meet our families. And then Saturday is, I think, more like committees and staff.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I think children's ministry volunteers.
Speaker 3:Okay. Thank
Speaker 1:you. See,
Speaker 2:I I think you're
Speaker 1:in there as well. Thanks.
Speaker 3:And then Sunday she'll be in both worship services. We will let her share a word and the church will be voting by ballot to call her based on the recommendation of the search committee and the deacon council.
Speaker 2:Mhmm.
Speaker 3:And it's awesome. We're so excited about her coming. And then we also have
Speaker 2:Rafael Onzenberger.
Speaker 3:As our guest preacher for the day, our engagement team, which y'all both have been a part of. You have been are you still
Speaker 1:on the engagement? Yep. Sit in meetings. Can't take credit for the work.
Speaker 3:Work, Ashley
Speaker 1:But I do speak into some things. Brad. The real engagement team. Persley. Is smaller.
Speaker 3:But they recommended that we bring in a guest speaker during the semis on evangelism. And so Raphael is coming from Canada. And then the next week will be Oza Jones. I will be with Rafael, strangely enough You will. In Canada.
Speaker 3:I thought it was so cool. I don't know which service you listened to, but in the second service, when I announced that Oza Jones was gonna be preaching the whole Oh, music group they erupted. Broke out into applause.
Speaker 1:I love him.
Speaker 3:I thought great. I love that. Ozo's a great guy.
Speaker 2:He is.
Speaker 3:And then Gary Stidham, and then our folks broke out in applause for Gary. You know? And so we had to throw my name in there for me to give some applause finally.
Speaker 1:Make you feel good.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Yes. It's been a couple of weeks when we had my celebration. I was feeling It's wearing off. It's wearing You
Speaker 1:can go read those notes.
Speaker 2:You had to hit your own buttons last week.
Speaker 1:Go read the notes we wrote to you and feel better about yourself.
Speaker 3:Think about it. You've got three really gifted evangelists that are going to be speaking to our church on Sunday morning during this series. I'm really pretty pumped about this, interesting how it's worked out my schedule and all that.
Speaker 1:And they are. That's three pretty top notch.
Speaker 3:And very different. They're all very different. I think they represent different approaches to
Speaker 2:a They
Speaker 3:do. Maybe it's a good way
Speaker 2:to go. In a really good and healthy way.
Speaker 1:Yes. It's a very diverse crowd in almost all ways.
Speaker 3:And they're all friend. Well, Gary's our family, but they're well, so is Oza, I get. Well, so is Rafael now. So they're they're family and friends. Levels.
Speaker 1:You know? I mean, Gary's a he's been here twenty years, he's a deacon
Speaker 3:in our church.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So That's right. He'll teach at Sunday school every Sunday.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Like So and then we'll go straight from that into our engagement We will.
Speaker 2:And really It's gonna be a
Speaker 3:good month. Forward to that. Yeah. So we're we're on a we're on a little bit of a roll here, I think. And
Speaker 2:I would
Speaker 3:agree. I'm excited about it. And so anyway, well, I'm glad you got to go.
Speaker 2:Oh, was great. You know, it's so encouraging to see. We if you weren't aware as a listener, we do have a formal partnership with the French Baptist Union of Canada through Ascent. They're one of our global partners. They're doing some incredible work effectively working with the least reached people group in North America which are French speakers which you don't necessarily always think of
Speaker 3:That's right.
Speaker 2:That as a major population on our continent but it is the third most common language on our continent.
Speaker 1:And it's by far the least reached
Speaker 2:By far. Fascinating, isn't it? It is. So it was
Speaker 3:a great, great week. Yeah. Well we I just want y'all to know we held it all together here without y'all. So we
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 1:Was gone like a day and a half. One and one half days. And here for every evening meeting last week.
Speaker 3:So That's exactly right. You
Speaker 2:drove That's a long drive back.
Speaker 3:You pulled it in
Speaker 1:a smiles. Went to gym. Intentionally do that, but some of the women You
Speaker 3:doing were what I do.
Speaker 1:Some of my lady colleagues could not they could only do a day trip because we're all young moms and just stuff going on. So good. So I took advantage of that to be present for a meeting.
Speaker 3:Yeah. But Well done.
Speaker 1:The priority was my my fellow friends. Meanwhile,
Speaker 3:while all that's going on we are in the middle of this conversation on evangelism. Mhmm. It's a church.
Speaker 1:Tell us everything.
Speaker 3:Alpha has got Yeah.
Speaker 2:Alpha's rolling. We just finished our second week and it's picking up steam, which is
Speaker 3:super exciting. I have a sign in my yard, and, people are kind of wondering about it because they don't know what it is. It says, like, curious, you know, on one side. Mhmm. So I live in a little cul de sac, so it's not like we get a whole lot of traffic.
Speaker 3:But but my in my neighborhood, if somebody puts a sign in their yard, we all You
Speaker 1:all know. Yeah. You're 20 houses. Yeah. You're like,
Speaker 3:what is going what is that?
Speaker 2:You know? So it is not too late to invite people to Alpha.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And in fact, people are bringing their friends.
Speaker 2:They are. It's happening. It's just such a good space to ask good questions about the Christian faith. Last week, we just got into who is Jesus?
Speaker 3:Yeah. And this night, I know you couldn't be here. But at the table Mhmm. We had a really, I felt like, meaningful prayer time around our tables, that Ashley led. Kurt Greist did the devotional.
Speaker 3:And by the way, church members, if you haven't been yet on Wednesday night, you really need to come. It's very meaningful. It's very different than anything we've ever done to me since I've been here.
Speaker 1:It is what you need to be doing on a Wednesday night Yeah. It's unless you have another commitment.
Speaker 3:Yeah. It's very
Speaker 1:It's where you need to be.
Speaker 3:Very meaningful. I mean, when you're looking around the room and you just see a 100 or so people in little groups all praying at the same time over lost people that they know and praying over each other, trying to figure out better ways to to share and and groups of people who would not normally be
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 3:Together praying. You know? It's not like they're, they're they're in their Sunday school group or you know what I mean? That's that's not what it is. Like I sat at the table with two guys that I've never sat with and prayed with before, to my knowledge, I don't think.
Speaker 3:And it gave us a chance to talk about, well, who is it that we who has the Lord put on our hearts? We've been praying about that. And what are we doing about it? And I had to be honest enough to say, I've had two men that were put on my hearts, but I've yet to share the gospel with them. I've talked to them about church stuff and all that.
Speaker 3:Mhmm. But I've not said anything to them. As I told y'all yesterday at the staff meeting, Sunday I'm leaving church Sunday, and one of the guys that was at my table says, hey. I've been praying for the two guys, you know, that you that you mentioned and for you. And I said, hey.
Speaker 3:Thank you. I said, still hadn't shared the gospel with them, but thank you for that accountability and the question. And so yesterday morning, when I got up, I I didn't do my normal, Lord, put the one person in front of me today, which I've kinda started to develop the habit of asking the Lord to do that. I didn't do that yesterday morning. I was praying big prayers yesterday morning over a lot of other things.
Speaker 3:And then when I go to get in my car, one of those guys who was on my list is literally in front of my car. I I I can't pull out of the driveway until he moves, and I just started laughing. And I thought, well, I've got this church member praying that that he and I would inter because I told them I haven't seen him in a while. He lives in my neighborhood, but I just haven't seen him in a And I I'm getting in my car, and he's literally right in front of me. And so I'm either gonna have to run over him or talk to him or he's gonna have to move.
Speaker 3:And so I started laughing. I said, okay, Lord. You you you're awesome. You know? So I pulled up next to him.
Speaker 3:We had a conversation. So I still haven't shared the gospel with him, but I'm praying for him. And and and we had a chance to kinda reconnect about some things. Good. So so, yeah, Wednesday night is where that kind of prayer time and vulnerable conversations are happening at the table as we call it.
Speaker 3:It's it's just been really good, really meaningful. I've so enjoyed the two that that we've had that I've been to, so I really would love for our people to come.
Speaker 2:Be there or be square.
Speaker 3:Yeah. It's really good. It's great. And then and then we're meeting on Sunday mornings.
Speaker 1:Turns out We did do training.
Speaker 3:Yeah. But you're also training people. We are. And you had a standing room only crowd Sunday We did. In the fellowship hall.
Speaker 2:And so our adult bible studies have been rotating through, the fellowship hall where we're just kind of doing very practical, here are some steps you can take to be evangelistic in just your ordinary daily life. Mhmm. So really trying to just Mhmm. It's not we're not doing bible study necessarily. I do talk about the bible but it's really here are some practical steps you can take.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. And so at this point I think the only group of adult bible studies we've got left are our traditionals who will see this Sunday and then will rotate again in October.
Speaker 1:And those that aren't in the fellowship hall or in their bible study classes studying Jonah. Jonah. Which has been a great study so far.
Speaker 3:Speaking of fishing, Jonah.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Wow. Man. Wow. It's all coming together.
Speaker 2:He got fished.
Speaker 3:He did.
Speaker 1:Straight up. The dude did not want any of it.
Speaker 2:He was not going fishing at all.
Speaker 1:He wouldn't do anything.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So and then, yeah, Sunday morning.
Speaker 1:So tell us about Sunday. I mean, tell us about the sermon. Tell me more.
Speaker 2:You know? Share with us. Yeah. You know, I
Speaker 1:I just love a good parable.
Speaker 3:I've I've been trying to yeah. I love Luke 15. Jesus, it's
Speaker 1:just the you can't describe everything, but you can talk about what it's like. Yeah. You know what I mean? I just love the way he does that.
Speaker 3:Isn't he? He's just so good
Speaker 1:at it. Isn't he good?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So good.
Speaker 1:Let's just take a minute. Just love the parables. I mean, we all do. But like Mhmm. I'm reminded.
Speaker 1:They're just so rich and beautiful. They
Speaker 3:really are.
Speaker 1:I've been reading a few lately and thinking through them and yeah, just Thought provoking. There's so much Yeah. There's so much imagination in all of it. But anyway, I know that's part of your sermon. It's not the whole thing.
Speaker 3:But Yeah.
Speaker 1:Let's just take a second. Isn't Jesus cool? He is really good. He tells really good stories Yes. And asks really good questions.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. Mhmm.
Speaker 1:May we may we be. Yeah. And he's always good in the moment.
Speaker 3:He is so good in the moment and kinda knows the he can read a room. I mean, he's God. But you know what I mean? It's like he knows he knows they're mad at him for, why are you hanging out with all
Speaker 1:these people? Cuts to
Speaker 2:the Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1:You know? Yeah. He gets why they're really asking. So he's a good listener too.
Speaker 3:And it's it's it's just just the opening to the Luke 15 is convicting because it just says all these people just want to hang out with Jesus. You know? They and and it and the pharisees, the religious leaders, I mean, they jealous of that? Or I mean, what is it? Or they're condemning him, but I also think there's a little bit of jealousy in it.
Speaker 3:You know? That, well, they don't wanna hang out with them. You know? And there's a reason, you know, because they're condemning them. And so, so, yeah, I I love that about I love everything about Jesus.
Speaker 3:But, yeah, he's such a good storyteller, though. And the story about the sheep. I mean, what I love about is he takes to me what the genius of Jesus is, somehow, he takes just the everyday stuff that they all know. They all know. Yeah.
Speaker 3:They know every
Speaker 2:single sheep. They Yeah.
Speaker 1:There could be, upon that hill Yeah. A 100 sheep
Speaker 3:That's right.
Speaker 1:With their shepherd. You know what I mean?
Speaker 3:And then they'll have friends that do it. So it's like, of course they know the shepherd would go looking. Of course he would.
Speaker 1:The dude's talking about wheat and chaff. He's talking about fish. Mean, he's like
Speaker 3:Everything that they know. Bread. I just love that. But somehow, there's like a stinger in it, though, a little bit, you know. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 3:Just kind of a wow, okay,
Speaker 1:got it. Brilliant. He was brilliant.
Speaker 3:And it's so good because it communicates, the stories to me are what translate. I think I view myself so often as kind of a left brain, propositional kind of person. I do like that.
Speaker 1:Intellect, analytical. I do, but,
Speaker 3:I don't and I'm not saying that because I think I'm smart. I think it's just what communicates Yeah. To
Speaker 1:Sure you are.
Speaker 3:But but the older I've gotten, stories are so compelling, and so they just translate better. Just thinking about going to Montreal, I've already started praying about what what are we going to see. They've already kinda walked us through. Here's what you're gonna do. You're gonna see this.
Speaker 3:You're gonna be engaged in this. And I already have been thinking about conversations that propositional truth is not the best way to engage. It's it's more narrative. It's your story. It's their story.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah. You know what
Speaker 1:I mean? And so and and Jesus was just so good at
Speaker 3:that, you know? And so
Speaker 2:And I think there's just so much wisdom for our people as you think about what it looks like for you to share the gospel with others. And so I think sometimes we, as especially like modern western people, we tend to operate propositionally but most of you would rather watch a movie or a show than a documentary.
Speaker 3:That's right. That's just the truth.
Speaker 2:And so and it's because we we connect with stories on a much deeper
Speaker 3:level. And so And it opens up something inside of you to me. When you hear somebody's story
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 3:It it kinda moves us away from the mic drop truncated conversations that we're just It's kept me. It just captivates our culture right now. Everybody does. Know, you you I mean, we're in the political season. Right?
Speaker 3:Are we always in a political season?
Speaker 1:It has felt that way. You know, I
Speaker 3:think that's
Speaker 2:yes. Okay.
Speaker 3:So we all know what that means. You you that if you're watching regular television
Speaker 1:Particularly if you're, like 30 and under. Yeah. It just has to feel like it's just all you've Yeah. Ever
Speaker 3:every commercial has a mic drop. Mean, it's obvious where I'm showing you this and kind of the rationales, you just have to be an absolute idiot not to.
Speaker 1:Right. And sadly, pastors are doing it too and it's really making me angry. We can rise above that.
Speaker 2:Not a great use of your platform.
Speaker 1:We can be better than that. We're Baptists.
Speaker 3:That's right.
Speaker 1:Podcasting. Podcasting pastors Do of which I am better. Yes. I'm getting real Especially if you're
Speaker 2:a Baptist.
Speaker 1:We invented the separation It's of church in the our idea. It's
Speaker 3:our idea, man. Come on. We have the copyright. Thinking I'm about stories though. Just
Speaker 1:tell the story of Jesus. That is what you should be doing right now.
Speaker 2:And so when I
Speaker 1:this is
Speaker 2:what we're gonna talk about in October. Spoiler alert, adults. You know, when I think about teaching people to do evangelism, I think there's tremendous merit in things like Three Circles or Romans Road. Of course. They're wonderful things.
Speaker 1:Well, you have to articulate the gospel. Yeah. Yeah. You gotta figure out
Speaker 3:to do it.
Speaker 2:They're so good. But what I really encourage people to lean into, because if you're like me, I'm actually better remembering stories
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Is learn to tell a story of how Jesus gives you hope because our world is just so starved Mhmm. For hope. The world feels hopeless to so many people. Mhmm. So think about a hard time in your life.
Speaker 2:How did Jesus get you through it? Mhmm. Learn to tell that story because that's what's actually gonna connect
Speaker 3:That's right.
Speaker 2:On a heart level with the people Like, around you've talked so many times about like having triplets Mhmm. And just how God has carried you through
Speaker 1:Straight up.
Speaker 2:A rough pregnancy
Speaker 1:This is my story. Infancy.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Like, and that is a story that speaks to people at a heart level. And then the other thing I like to encourage people to do is pick a story from the gospels of something Jesus did and then just learn to tell that story in your own words. Mhmm. Yep.
Speaker 2:And if you can do those two things, you're actually primed
Speaker 1:and ready
Speaker 2:to just have a spiritual conversation with anybody you meet. Mhmm. Because everybody's going through a hard time at some point.
Speaker 1:Yep.
Speaker 2:Yep. It just happens. And the
Speaker 3:stories of Jesus are so relatable. You know what mean? They are. To me, they are. And I just think it creates bridges for conversation.
Speaker 3:Because I know in West Africa, when we're there, it's all stories. Mean, that's
Speaker 1:just talk what you about Cindy Tellen. I think it was the Tucson's,
Speaker 3:the storybook. The prodigal son. Yeah. West Africa.
Speaker 1:How it captivated can relate because they to live in a society that has a powerful father, you what I mean.
Speaker 3:You hand down the inheritance
Speaker 1:Right, to the older all of that translates
Speaker 3:And your quite son wanted it and that chief was like mhmm.
Speaker 1:Yeah that's such
Speaker 3:Well relevant
Speaker 1:this is
Speaker 2:super nerdy but a lot of philosophers and people who are studying culture will talk about we live in what's coming to be known as a post truth era and so people aren't necessarily as concerned with truth. Mhmm.
Speaker 3:And you can you know Not sure what they believe anymore.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Because how can you know, what can you trust. So it's not so much that we need to you know prove that God exists and do the defensive apologetics. We're moving into an era where it's how can we instead of emphasizing truth emphasize goodness or beauty. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And so thinking about how you share the gospel not so much to prove that it's true Mhmm. But to prove that it's good. Mhmm. It's kind of a it's a different emphasis. And so that's And stories help with that.
Speaker 3:They do. You know? And that's a part of I mean, fishing, Jesus wanted us to learn people and how to relate to people. That's I mean, you know, the guys that are really good at fishing, you know, just like when I was seeing Sunday morning, I mean, if you talk to Mike Stiger and you just ask Stiger, hey. It's September, you know, in this part of Colorado.
Speaker 3:What is going on? He can tell you, well, you know, typically the water temperature is about like this, and that means the trout are gathering in these kinds of areas. And you know, the little larvae, they haven't actually, hatched yet. So there's no real The fish know good and well. If you try to fish with that fly, they got sense enough to know, Well, that's not real because they don't even exist yet.
Speaker 1:Out of season.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So why would you even waste your time? You can go do it if you want to, but you just won't catch anything. Yeah. You'll just be standing there all day.
Speaker 3:But if you want to right now, what's happening? Here, let me show you this. And he'll, like, pick a rock up and scoop it up, he'll go, see all those little things right there? See, that's what they're eating. Right.
Speaker 3:And that's what they all know. That's what's around here right now. So that's so look at this fly. Yep. Ain't it crazy that it looks just about like that?
Speaker 3:You know? You're like, okay, dude. You know?
Speaker 1:You you you He's learned his
Speaker 3:Yeah. And so well, Jesus just want us to know wants us to know people and what is it that they need and what's going to speak to them. And and so that's where these stories and having a heart for people and then giving God a chance to bring them in your life. And so I've I've just been thinking about practical ways to talk to our people about it. And so in my mind, I I do think about just ways that I can remember things.
Speaker 3:So share is just one of those things that I've just had in terms of my own prayer Mhmm. Knowing that I'm that I wanna see lost people. I know that if I don't have a heart for them, they're going to know that I don't, that I you know, that it's not that you don't care about them. But I but I also know God's really good at bringing them into your life. So asking God to show you and also know that I need to be ready, that's the part of the what is it that, you know, stories or you got something in your pocket that you can tell real quick.
Speaker 3:And, and then you just gotta do it sometimes. You just you gotta do it. You know? And so, that's that's what I wanted to give them Sunday morning and then challenge them to just go looking for the one. So that that's what I like about that book, Looking for the One, because it can be overwhelming.
Speaker 3:I can remember when we first started working with the Fulani in West Africa years and years ago, we were in Alabama. Well, there's this massive group of Fulani all over West Africa, of them. And so when Cindy first started talking to us about it, I can remember thinking, I mean, this is almost like a joke. I mean, we're first man was Huntsville. There's I mean, how many million are there?
Speaker 3:You know? And, what language they speak? Well, eventually, we we visit with the the mission leaders that were helping us develop strategy, and we're right in the throes of coming here. And so this Ron Hill was our strategist, and he said, what if you just focused on the Western Fulfilled Day? Let's just drop it down to, like, three fifty thousand of them.
Speaker 3:Okay. That's still a lot, but it's not 25,000,000.
Speaker 1:Put your mind around They
Speaker 3:don't speak 25 different languages. It's basically a group of concentrated people that live in one part of West Africa, and they all speak the same language, and they carry the same things culturally, well, all of a sudden, I'm starting to go, oh, well, that feels a little more
Speaker 1:Yeah. Maybe you can do that. Inspirinable.
Speaker 2:Maybe I
Speaker 3:can think more about that and get more focused on how to pray for that. So that's how I feel about looking for the one. Trying to reach of Arlington is a little overwhelming. But if you just if they're just a person a day, even if it's every other day or whatever, somehow or another intersecting in a very practical way, I just think that's a little more tangible for our people. And I've already heard from a number of folks going, okay.
Speaker 3:I'm I'm I'm I'm trying it. I'm gonna I'm gonna see what happens. And Yep. One of them told me the other day that he he just said he he and his wife were at dinner. And he said, my wife's been praying it, and we could just see this guy Mhmm.
Speaker 3:Sitting at another table. And he said, I could just feel it coming. I'm looking at her. I'm kinda looking at him, and I'm and I know she's thinking, he might be the one, and I'm thinking, no. He's not the one because I just wanna have dinner.
Speaker 3:And he said, but it turned out he was the one for her. So but I love that they're even talking about it. Yeah. You know? And so that's that's how this thing can work.
Speaker 2:And with our adults in bible study, one of the things that we've talked about in fellowship hall, and it's just a different version of the same prayer, but Mhmm. It's encouraging people just everywhere you go, grocery store, doctor's waiting room, work Mhmm. It's God, what are you up to here? How do I join in? Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And so, it's just lifting your gaze
Speaker 1:That's right.
Speaker 2:That God is actually Yeah. Active in his You can join in. Mhmm.
Speaker 3:Because you know he's working.
Speaker 2:Mhmm.
Speaker 3:When you walk in any arena where there are human beings, the Lord is doing something in the lives of these people. You know, I I think I told you all a while back, I'm I'm I'm in a restaurant and I asked the little girl that was our server, I'm just gonna say a prayer. Can I pray for you? I mean, I do that all the time. And you all know because of where we live, they're almost all students in college.
Speaker 3:And so they're, man, I got a test on Friday, you know, like whatever. And this little girl just kinda stood there for a second and kinda looked off in the distance, and then she said, well and she had already found out that I was a pastor. I'd already we'd already had that conversation. But anyway, she stood there for me. She a second.
Speaker 3:She said, you know, I think I think I'm bipolar, and I'm about to go have some tests run. And I thought, okay. I just walked in here. I see this girl working. She's busy.
Speaker 3:And all of a sudden, she stops long enough to tell me maybe the most personal thing about her, you know what I
Speaker 1:mean Mhmm.
Speaker 3:To a stranger. Mhmm. And that and that's what hit me, Luke. I was thinking, man, Lord, you were at work, and who knows what is going on in this one restaurant, you know, with the sea of humanity in here. And this girl paws long enough to look at me and go, I'm I'm kinda scared about it.
Speaker 3:You know? Yeah. You know? And she's young.
Speaker 2:And we're crazy if we think that that God does not care
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:About her fear around That's right. What's going on
Speaker 1:in her Yeah.
Speaker 3:It's it's it's not rocket science, but it's something. Yeah. It it is something though. It's it it requires something out of us. So Yeah.
Speaker 3:Well, you that's kind of what
Speaker 2:we're after. Hit on. And the other thing we've been doing in the adult bible study because I know some people here listen and, you know, serving youth or preschool, so you aren't going through the rotation. So the other thing I've just encouraged people to do, because I think we can get intimidated by trying to start a spiritual conversation is Right. Sometimes people will just tell you something hard in their life.
Speaker 2:And so in that moment, I've just been encouraging people. You say, hey, I'm a follower of Jesus. Would it be okay if I prayed for you? And then you actually do it in that moment. And then I also had, if you don't know them, ask if you can put your hand on their shoulder if you feel like that's appropriate.
Speaker 2:Don't just do it Yeah. To a stranger. Ask first. And 99% of the time, people say yes to prayer.
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:It doesn't matter their religious background They do. What they believe. They most of the time, they're just, it's such a sign
Speaker 1:of care Mhmm. That they just take it. You're disarming.
Speaker 2:And so it's such a good way to start a spiritual interaction with someone. Yeah. So there you go.
Speaker 3:Look at us. At us.
Speaker 1:Back in the saddle. Continue.
Speaker 2:Okay. You're not, you're here next week?
Speaker 3:Not here next week. Here.
Speaker 1:We're gonna put Ralph in here.
Speaker 3:Ralphie here. We're gonna have Rafael in here. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Don't what think.
Speaker 3:We should have him. Yep. He's my friend.
Speaker 1:We're working on it.
Speaker 2:I like it. Yep. Okay. Well, that'll be fun.
Speaker 1:Let's see
Speaker 3:you then.
Speaker 1:See you then. Thanks for listening to the Tell Me More podcast today. You can subscribe to this podcast on your app of choice, or you can visit us at fbca.org to find out more information about the podcast and our church. Thanks for listening. Have a good day.