Episode Transcript
[00:00:03] All right.
[00:00:04] Good morning. Good morning. It's always a great day when Quanita is in the house. I just gotta say. Gotta say. Also, there are games outside. We're starting a new series. There is watermelon for you after service. It is a great, great day to be here. And the series that we are starting is called the church the world needs. And we're gonna get to it in just a second. But first, I want to share something with y'all. Is that okay? I love to share things that I love with people that I love. Obviously, that's you guys. And so I was scrolling on my instagram, as I tend to do quite a lot, and I came across a new account, new people that I am low key, obsessed with. They are magicians. Have you heard of the pair of magicians called Siegfried and Roy? Okay, it's not them, but this is called Sigfried and joyous. Siegfried and Joy. And they do a couple specific magic tricks. They kind of have their little thing. Their little tricks that they do. So I'm going to show you a couple. I want you to watch carefully, because if you don't watch closely, you might miss it.
[00:01:15] That's okay. We're gonna try to get. We're gonna figure out upstairs.
[00:01:20] It's not karaoke. I promise. It's not karaoke. It really is magicians. Should we try it again?
[00:01:28] I'm waiting on the thumbs up back there. True. Okay, we're gonna try it again. Watch this. Watch closely.
[00:01:37] Okay. The magic trick is just getting y'all to keep looking at the screens for literally no reason.
[00:01:45] Do you guys recognize anybody? Know who these people are? Just by the song. Solely by the song. I'm gonna explain it to you. I'm gonna give them one more minute, but I want you to get a visual. So what these two guys do is they stand and they hold up a gold sheet, and they take this gold sheet, and they shake it. And then the other guy stands in the background, and you can see him in the side crawling away off camera, and then drop the sheet, and they're like, oh, my gosh. It's amazing. They're gone. And the people around aren't really sure what to do sometimes. Sometimes they're confused. Sometimes they laugh. Sometimes they're like, what? Like, you guys are right now with me trying to enact a video for you. All right, I think we're gonna try it one more time.
[00:02:37] I literally don't know what else to do about. Okay. Anyways, it's fine. I did not build my whole entire intro around this video. It really is. Okay. Okay. So what happens is, I'm gonna just. We're just gonna move on. So what has happened with this. This pair of magicians, right. Is in the comments section. There are people that are, like, calling them out because I think they're asking the wrong question. The question that these critics, I think, are asking is, like, is this magic good? Are these tricks really well executed? And so people are leaving comments that are not very nice. And they're literally saying, like, this is not magic. You're doing magic wrong.
[00:03:15] But what I was going to show you, look them up later. Please promise me, Sigfried. Enjoy. There are now other videos of, like, copycat videos of other people all around the world replicating and doing these videos in just the same way. So we have got firefighters and police officers doing this at their stations, pulling up whatever sheet that they have, shaking it, getting in the fire truck, driving away.
[00:03:43] You totally see it drive away. They drop the sheet, and they're like, this is amazing. There are kids in orphanages in Uganda. That's the one that I wanted to show you. They hold up, like, a spider man blanket, and they all rally around the kidde that is on the floor crawling out of camera. They're doing it in nursing homes, you guys. It's so funny. They dropped the sheet, and you can see the lady in the back in her wheelchair just, like, going down the hall.
[00:04:12] It is the best thing. It is the best thing. So promise me you will look them up later. But my whole point in telling you this is this. Siegfried and Joy have changed what people think of when they think of magic. They have changed what people think of when they think of magic. And this is what we are trying to do here at mosaic. We are not trying to make people, like, low key disappear. That is an idea, actually.
[00:04:39] Maybe it is, but we want to change what people think about when they hear the word church. When people hear the word church, we want them to think about something else. And so that's what this series is about. We want to become a church. We want to become a people. Then when the outside world looks in at the church, they're like, oh, not only does this look fun and inviting and attractive, but it's something that I want to be part of, and it's something that I then want to replicate also. We want to inspire people to be the kind of people to become the church that Jesus called us to be. And so in this series, we are gonna ask that question, what is the church that the world needs. And sometimes we just sit back, right? Like, we know that the world needs change, but we feel like we're in that John Mayer song, just waiting on the world to change.
[00:05:33] I almost sang Celine Dion. I was not about to also sing John Mayer. But sometimes we don't know what to do, right? Sometimes we're like, we wanna be part of the change, but we don't know what to do. Or we're not even sure if what we do is going to affect any kind of real change, so we just kind of wait on someone else to do it. I think sometimes the church can come across itself that it doesn't like change.
[00:05:56] They're playing the video upstairs. Y'all hear that sometimes? Or somebody. One of y'all listen. If you're gonna watch it now, during my message, called out, at least put it on silence, please. Thank you.
[00:06:09] I really appreciate you following directions. Just turn it down. Is that leah? Just turn it down. Just sometimes. We're gonna have fun today. Sometimes the church can come across like it doesn't like to change, right? Because it wants its tradition. It wants its orthodoxy, which is the thing that they believe. They want to hold really tightly to the way things have always been done. But for others of you, you're like, no, I actually do associate the church with change because I had to change in order to show up there.
[00:06:41] You had to change the way you looked, the way you lived, the way you believed, or maybe you didn't do it, but that was pretty much what they were saying was expected of you. You have to change before you can come in here.
[00:06:52] The problem with that definition of church is that the church is not actually a place of entry. The church is not actually a place that we go to and that we walk into. The original greek word for church was ekklesia. Can you guys say ekklesia?
[00:07:09] We're gonna talk about that a little bit today. Ekklesia, which basically just means a gathering of people. It's a group of people. The church is not a building. The church is us. The ekklesia is us. And so this series is actually about us and the kind of people that we need to be. So Pastor Naeem and I are gonna talk about it for the next few weeks, but today I wanna leave you with the first thought, which is that the church that the world needs asks the right questions instead of having all the answers.
[00:07:39] The church the world needs asks the right questions instead of having all the answers. So what does it look like for us, the ecclesia, to be the people that ask the right questions. So we're gonna look at a story. We can jump right into it. In the gospel of John, Jesus and his disciples have just left the temple and so they're walking down the street. We don't know where they're going, but they left the temple and they're en route. So in John nine, it says, walking down the street.
[00:08:05] Are you kidding me? Is it behind me now?
[00:08:11] Am I being punked? What's happening?
[00:08:15] I will just read it to you. It's fine. Walking down the street, Jesus saw a blind man from birth. His disciples asked, rabbi, teacher, who sinned, this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind? Jesus said, is it back there? Can you help me? Jesus said, you're asking the wrong question. Wrong question. You're looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause and effect here. Look instead for what God can do. The church the world needs is the one that asks the right questions because for too long it has been asking and answering the wrong ones. I think sometimes people will ask a question and the church and its opinions or traditions or whatever it is will give very specific answers. So somebody might come into church and say, hey, I'm in a hard situation. Something really bad happened and I need help and I need prayer. And the church says, well, the cause of that is that you just didn't really have enough faith. And so what we have to blame is probably your weak prayer life. Maybe you should come to church more. Maybe you just need to read your Bible more. People might say, hey, what is up with the economy? I have no hope for the future. I don't know what is happening in our country. And the church might say, well, the cause of that is because we're no longer a christian nation. And who's to blame are the past leaders that have been leading and putting different things into place.
[00:09:47] People might come to the church and say, why are terrible things happening in our schools?
[00:09:53] And the church will say, well, the cause is just this epidemic of evil and what's to blame is that people don't go to church enough. And so it's all the people that just don't go to church on a Sunday that are making all of this just happen.
[00:10:08] While I think there could be some truth under those responses, Jesus is saying very plainly right here, stop looking for the cause and effect. Stop going back to find who to blame and ask better questions. So the first question we're going to ask today is, what is God doing? What is God doing? It isn't a why question. Of why did this happen? But what is God doing right now in our lives? If we want to be the church that the world needs, we have to start asking, what is God doing in our lives?
[00:10:45] The good news is this is a skill that you can learn. You can learn to see things differently. You can learn to see God differently because I guarantee he is working in your life in a way that you just have not yet seen.
[00:11:00] And it's not because you don't have good enough prayers, and it's not because you don't have enough faith, but it might be because you haven't taken the chance or the moment to just stop and look around and go, God, where are you hiding in plain sight? Where are you in places that I don't think to look for you?
[00:11:23] I am somebody that can find. There's kind of a joke with my friends that, like, I can find a sermon in anything. I can find God in anything. I don't think most people look at the Siegfried and Joy Page and they're like, oh, yeah, I see God in there, but I do. I do. And it's not because I'm holier than you, and it's not because I'm a pastor, but it's because a couple years ago, I asked God for this specific thing, and I said, God, please give me your eyes. Please help me to see where you are in the places that I am not seeing you. Please help me to see where you are in the weirdest, most unexpected places so that I can then show other people where you are present in their lives.
[00:12:04] This is a skill that you can practice and ask holy spirit to help you with and that you can learn. So we look again. What is God doing?
[00:12:14] And Jesus continues in the passage, and he says, we need to be energetically at work. For the one who sent me here, working while the sun shines, when night falls, the workday is over. Jesus was very good about using examples and using things that they already know. There was no instagram back then. There was also not light, so they just knew when they woke up, it was time to work. When the sun went down, they could stop.
[00:12:40] He says, for as long as I am in the world, there is plenty of light. I am the world's light. We need to be energetically at work.
[00:12:53] And did you notice even though he was with the disciples, this was not an invitation? Jesus wasn't like, hey, I'm gonna go do a thing. Do you wanna come? Hey, I'm gonna go help some people. Do you wanna come? Like, if you want if you're not busy, if there's not a football game on, if you don't wanna go to brunch, okay, I'm obviously not talking about y'all. Y'all are here, okay? But Jesus wasn't saying. He wasn't extending an invitation to them of like, hey, I'm gonna do this if you want. It was implied. It was implied. He's like, as a follower of me, you're going to come and help and do the work that I am doing. And so this is the second question that I have for us today. How can I help? When we look around and we see what it is that God is doing, our next question needs to be, how can I help? Because as a follower of Jesus, as a committed follower of Jesus, for those of you that are, you're kind of signed on to do what he has commanded for us to do, to join in, in the work that God is already doing.
[00:13:56] This man was blind, right? Actually blind, that they were standing there in front of. And it's almost as if Jesus is like, do you not see this? Like, are we just gonna waste time asking the wrong questions about how it happened or who's at fault? He's like, no, no, no. As long as I'm here, we work in the daytime, and as long as I'm here, there's always light. It's always going to be, and there is plenty of light to go around, actually. Later, Jesus takes this statement of saying that he is the light of the world in Matthew. At the end of the sermon on the mountain, he changes it for extra credit. Anybody know what he says in Matthew?
[00:14:39] You are the light of the world. Then he says, you are the light of the world. He's like, I am going to take the same power that is within me so that when I'm not here to do it, and I'm gonna give it to you, I'm going to extend it so the same light can come from you. It's almost as if he's asking the onlookers, his disciples and the pharisees and the other people that are there, like, if you have the power to heal someone, why would you not use it? If you have the power to shine the light of God on someone's life so that they can see where God is moving, why would you not do that? Let's not waste time asking all of the wrong questions. And I think the same question goes to us as a church. The same hope and light is in you. If you have the power to help, why would you not use it as a church which is both mosaic and the global church? Are we going to stand around and ask a bunch of questions trying to figure out the cause and the effect and who is to blame? Or are we going to roll up our sleeves and do good while we're here joining in with the work that God is doing?
[00:15:55] I think when people think of the word help in church, there's two things that often come to mind, which is to give and to serve. To give and to serve. To give and to serve. These are also kind of implied, I think, as followers of Jesus, but we think about them in a particular way. Right? Whenever you hear the word give, you think money. Whenever you hear the word serve, you think time. And this is a valid thought because these are two things that the church actually needs in order to function. It is a fact of life. We need money to do the things and we need people to help us do them. It's just part of it. But I think also it's bigger than that. It can also be bigger than that. Outside of your tithe, what are you giving? What are you giving to the world around you? Are you giving joy? Are you giving hope? Are you giving calm conversations where you can discuss and dialogue? Are you giving a safe space to land? Are you giving acceptance? Are you giving people room to fail or fail you?
[00:16:57] What are the things that we, as the ecclesia, are giving to the people around us? And how are you serving outside of your hour or so here on Sundays? Where are you taking your light? Into dark places.
[00:17:13] It's really hard to serve and to be a light in a place where we won't take our presence.
[00:17:19] Where are we serving the world around us?
[00:17:23] I think a lot of times darkness, when we talk about darkness and the church and trying to be the light and go into the darkness, I think we equate that often with people that are unsaved, people that don't yet know Jesus. And that is something that we can do, that is something that we should do, is try to reach people that don't have that relationship with God.
[00:17:43] But darkness is not just about salvation.
[00:17:46] I will tell you, I am a Christian and I have dark moments.
[00:17:52] We can take our light into other people's dark moments as well. You can deeply love Jesus and be in a very dark moment. You can deeply love Jesus and be in a dark season where you don't need someone to come in and try to figure out why the thing happened or find a solution for you. All you really need is someone to come in with a little bit of light and make it brighter. What are we giving and serving when we help?
[00:18:26] Jesus goes on with the story, and it says, he said this. Jesus said these things and then spit in the dust, made a clay paste with the saliva, rubbed the paste on the man's eyes and said, go wash at the pool of siloam, which means scent. The man went and washed and saw. And so Jesus does the miracle. The guy can see. He sends him to wei to go get cleaned up. And immediately the Pharisees swoop in with, like, an interrogation of all the wrong questions all over again. They're like, who did this? Did he say he was the son of God? Can he prove it? Is there evidence? What did he say? What does scripture say about this? How does what just happened aligned with what we believe? Because today is actually Sabbath. It's a Sunday, and Jesus isn't supposed to be making anything, including mud. So that means that this guy and your whole entire healing actually goes against our religious rules.
[00:19:24] These are the questions the Pharisees went and asked the man. And I love this guy's response. That is my favorite part of his story. John 925. He replied, I know nothing about that one way or the other, but I know one thing for sure.
[00:19:40] I was blind. I now see he's like, I don't know the answer to all your questions. I don't know. I don't know about any of that. All I know is I'm different.
[00:19:53] All I know is he touched me and I'm changed. I don't have all the answers. All I know is I'm changed. And I love, actually, that scripture didn't list out all of the details of how it happened, and it doesn't give us a description of everything that took place there. Because the world doesn't need another church that has all the answers.
[00:20:14] The world needs a church that is asking better questions.
[00:20:19] Last Sunday, Pastor Naim said that we just have to be willing, because God is able. We have to be willing to help. We have to be willing to do things. We have to be willing to risk. We have to be willing to follow that dream that God gave us, because he is the one that is able to do all of the different things.
[00:20:37] So we have to ask, are we willing to have our eyes opened to see the people that are around us? Are we willing to join in, in the work that God is already doing?
[00:20:50] You know, this miracle happened again. They were just walking. It wasn't in a church. It wasn't on Sunday morning. Well, it was a Sunday. So that's a lie. Actually, I can't say that.
[00:21:00] But it took place just on the street. Because Jesus was interruptible. And they were in passing from one place to the next place. And I don't know why God does what he does. But I have to wonder sometimes about his intentionality.
[00:21:17] Because if we look at the life of Jesus. And all of the miracles that he did. And all of the life change that he did, none of them took place in the church. None. None of them took place in the church. And I just wondered if God is, like, so kind and gracious that he was like, I just want this to be a message for you. I want you to understand, not that God can't work in the church. But everything happens outside of it. Because God cannot be contained to a building. God cannot be contained to a space. God cannot be contained to a certain hour of the day or day of the week.
[00:21:52] All of Jesus miracles, all of the lives that he changed, happened outside of the church.
[00:22:00] Life change can happen when we are willing to see. How we can become the church in our everyday lives.
[00:22:08] So Jesus heals the man. And they go, and the Pharisees go and question him. And the Pharisees are all riled up now, right? Because they're like, we had questions. You didn't give us the answers. We're all fired up. So they go back to where the miracle happened in town. And Jesus is still there. And now it's just become like an impromptu teaching. This is what happens, I think, every time people see Jesus, he's like, all right, now let me give you a mini sermon. So that's what he's doing. And the Pharisees come back to hear what Jesus is saying. And as he's kind of wrapping up, we're going to skip ahead to verse 39. Jesus then said, I came into the world to bring everything into the clear light of day. Making all the distinctions clear. So that those who have never seen will see. And those who have made a great pretense of seeing will be exposed as blind.
[00:23:00] Some Pharisees overheard him, and they were like, uh, you talking about us? Is this movie about us? Does that mean you're calling us blind?
[00:23:10] Jesus said, if you were really blind, you would be blameless. But since you claim to see everything so well, you're accountable for every fault and failure.
[00:23:24] Jesus is like, yeah, actually, I am calling you blind. I am calling you blind because all you can see is your religion. And it's keeping you from seeing the people that are right. In front of you. It's keeping you from seeing the people that need your help. You're so focused on this one thing that you're certain about. That you can't see the overlooked and the marginalized. And the people in need. And the people that need help and the excluded.
[00:23:53] He's like, yeah, I would call that pretty narrow sided, pretty blind. See, Jesus said he came to make things clear. But there is a difference between clarity and certainty. And I think we see this here with Jesus and the Pharisees. What Jesus does in his light. His light brings clarity. So that it helps people to see where God is at work in their lives. But the Pharisees put their salvation effectively. In certainty, in the right answers, in knowledge, in knowing all the things and all of the things that they could write out and know.
[00:24:34] They were trying to be so busy upholding all of those right things, doing all of the right things, saying all of the right things, prove their righteousness. That they basically took God's law. And made that the focus of their faith. So much so that they could no longer see where God was actually at work in the lives of people around them.
[00:24:59] I love the church. I love the church. I am a church girl through and through. But sometimes I sit back and I have to ask. Has the church's religion gotten in the way of its own faith?
[00:25:13] Has the church's religion gotten in the way of its own faith?
[00:25:19] Have we let our orthodoxy, which is what we believe, stifle our orthopraxy, which is the way we live it out? Because they are two different things, and they are both necessary. Have we let what we believe stifle and become so important? The only focus that it is stifling the way that we are supposed to live out our lives?
[00:25:45] If we, like the Pharisees, become solely focused on certainty, we become narrowsighted. All we will be able to see are the things that we have to hit. The Bible studies, the quiet times, posting the scriptures, all the things we have to say and do, the people we have to support, the people that we have to vote for. So the whole world knows that we're Christians.
[00:26:08] In order to be right, we have to constantly be going back to a checklist. And there is comfort in that. So I understand there is comfort at the end of the day, of being able to pat ourselves on the back and be like, okay, I did it. I did everything I was supposed to do. I did everything that I was told. I did all of the things so that I can convince myself and the world and so that God knows that I love him and I am a Christian, and I want to be a Christian in this world.
[00:26:40] But the upside down kingdom of God was not created for us to be comfortable. It was never created for our comfort.
[00:26:50] The church that the world needs has to be willing to ask the right questions instead of focusing on the certainty of the right answers.
[00:26:59] We have to take these questions and we have to make them personal. What is God doing and how can I help?
[00:27:07] Am I helping? When I look around and see what God is doing? Am I helping or am I hindering it?
[00:27:14] Because I think sometimes, if we're honest, there might be a work that God is trying to do in your own life, a work that God is trying to do in a family member or a coworker or someone else in your life. And he's actually like, hey, can you just not. Please and thank you so much.
[00:27:31] Cause you're not helping. Put it down. Go away. Stop talking to them. Please stop. You are hindering the work that I am trying to do right here in this situation.
[00:27:43] And I know this because this is what God told me this week. Actually, on Wednesday, there was another violent attack in a school. And I want to be cautious of how I talk about this because we have kids in the room. You probably know what I'm talking about.
[00:28:03] Like many of you, I had a very emotional response.
[00:28:07] Not just because I'm a parent, not just because I'm someone who genuinely loves all people and cares about all people, but also because I was in high school when Columbine happened, and there was a threat on my high school the next day, and I showed up and went to class. And I'll never forget sitting in that classroom.
[00:28:27] Also because I taught kindergarten for a long time. And when this awful violence actually reached an elementary school and Sandy Hook happened, I was a kindergarten teacher, and I went to class the next day, and I was there with five year olds, some who knew what was going on, some who didn't. I was there when we had to practice all of the active shooter drills. And I promise you, it doesn't matter if you're an adult or you're a kid, when you have to sit there and hunker down, not knowing if it's still a practice or if maybe this time it's real, it affects you, and your body remembers every time it happens.
[00:29:11] So on Wednesday, when I heard that it happened again, I was angry. And I wanted to pick up my phone and take to social media because I had a few choice words for some people that were apparently on the other side of that screen for legislators, for people that are getting ready to vote in this upcoming election.
[00:29:31] I was like, I have got to help. I have to help people understand. I have to help make a way so that this stops happening.
[00:29:41] And God was like, put down your phone.
[00:29:46] He was like, uh uh.
[00:29:48] This is not going to help you. Getting online and ranting and raging, even if it's justifiable anger. He's like, this is not going to help anything for you to get on social media and add your voice to the noise.
[00:30:05] I forget sometimes when I go on Instagram that I'm still a pastor.
[00:30:11] Some of you guys were like, we follow you. We know. You are so weird.
[00:30:16] But I have to remember, and this is why I think God stopped me, because there are people that follow me on Instagram and call me their insta pastor. I have never met them. Many of them have left the church. Many of them claim to no longer be christians. Many of them are like, I really don't know about God anymore. But they still come to my account. They still come to see what I'm telling them about what church can be and who God really is and who Jesus really is. And God was like, if you get on and you rant in rage, you are going to hinder what I am trying to do in these people's lives.
[00:30:57] So I was like, okay, well, what are you doing, and how can I help? Let me find another way.
[00:31:03] So I did on my social media. I did get on Instagram because that's where I live. But I decided to help. And so I shared resources. I shared books that have helped me understand different parts of legislation, different things that are going on. Storybooks and picture books that families can read to their kids when they're afraid to go to school the next day.
[00:31:26] I shared prayers. I shared phone numbers and apps and ways that you can call your senators and use your voice and talk about and fight for things that matter.
[00:31:36] We got a grocery store bouquet of flowers, and we split it up and we wrapped it in, like, wet paper towels and took flowers into my girls teachers the next day just to say, we see you. Thank you for showing up. Thank you for being here. This shouldn't have to be part of your job, but it is. We are entrusting our children to you, and that matters.
[00:32:00] Instead of asking why or who was to blame, I had to choose to believe that God is still at work, even in these situations.
[00:32:11] And the world around me needed to see God represented in a different way.
[00:32:18] I had to figure out a way to see what God was doing and how I could help be part of it. Because the church is us. The church ecclesia is us.
[00:32:31] Every day, in every place, in every conversation, in every situation, it is us. We don't go to church. We become the church in our everyday lives and all of the people that we interact with.
[00:32:47] So what about you?
[00:32:49] As you go through your week this week, which question do you need to ask yourself?
[00:32:54] What is God doing in you? And are you helping or are you hindering it? What is God doing in him, in her, in that one family member, the co worker and your client and your kids teachers? Are you helping it or are you hindering?
[00:33:11] What is God doing in the world around you at school? When you're on the sidelines waiting for soccer practice to be over? At the grocery store, when you're waiting in line at the post office, what is God doing? Can you see him there? And how can you help?
[00:33:30] What do you see God doing at mosaic? Some of you have been around for a long time. Some of you are just checking us out, and that is also totally okay. We're so glad that you are here.
[00:33:42] As a church, we exist to reclaim the message and the movement of Jesus, not because we claim to have the one right answer, not because we claim to know all of the things, but because we want to create a church where everybody feels like they can come in, experience the love of God, and then is inspired. Inspired to go out and take it outside of this building. We come together to do this work as the body of Christ.
[00:34:11] Some of you recently signed up to join a volunteer team. Some of you have been volunteering for a long time because you're like, listen, I love it. I love it here. I love being able to be part of this community. We actually call our volunteers mosaic makers. Did you know that? We call them mosaic makers because we're like, well, you guys are the ones that make it all happen. You guys are the ones that help us to make this space. So when you tithe, when you serve, you are joining in and helping God do the work that he is doing here at Mosaic. And we would love for you to join us, but not just here, out there as well.
[00:34:52] I want to share one last thing with you. You guys can go ahead and stand up, and then I'll pray for us. But I want to share one last thing with you as we're talking about what the church the world needs is because there are a lot of people that are having this conversation. There are a lot of people that are walking around and you've probably seen them, heard their voices, and they're like, well, I'll tell you, the church the world needs, and it's none of them because this is wrong and this is bad, and they need to stop doing this and this is terrible. And it's really easy to sit back and criticize.
[00:35:23] But I just had this conversation this week. We have a podcast called Becoming Church. And I had an interview with two different girls, Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers. They have their own podcast called Pantsuit Politics. And so I hosted both of them, and we had a conversation about faith and politics and what to do as christians when there are elections. And it was a really fascinating conversation. But I also asked them, as people who grew up in the church, they had both left the church for a while, and then they both decided to come back. And so I asked them why. Why, when you were already out there, you had left, you had your reasons. Why did you choose to come back to a church that you yourself are saying is kind of broken and needs some help?
[00:36:10] And Sarah said, she said, I can't just sit on the outside of an institution and be mad about it. If I want it to be different, I have to be inside of it.
[00:36:22] I have to be inside of it. If we want to be the church that the world needs, if we want to be a church that makes the world better, if we want to change the church for better, we have to make it a place that's attractive. We have to live in such a way that it inspires other people to do the same. And we have to be inside of it. We have to help create by seeing what God is doing and doing our part to help.
[00:36:51] Let's be, let's be that kind of ecclesia. Yeah. Amen. All right, let me pray for us. God, I thank you so much. Lord, I thank you for all of the people that are in this room. God, the people that are watching on livestream, that are watching and listening back later.
[00:37:06] God, I pray that this week you would surprise them God, I pray that today you would surprise them by showing up in a place that they never expected to see you. God. That they would have a reminder that you are working in the hardest, most desperate situations. God. And that you would give them the confidence to reflect you, to represent you in this world. God, we speak against any lies that tell them that they're not good enough, that they're not smart enough, that they're not going to do it the right way, that they don't know enough, that they haven't memorized enough of the Bible.
[00:37:42] God. That they've made mistakes, that they're sinners, that they're too broken. God we pray against all of that.
[00:37:48] God and just ask for that light of Jesus to shine out of us.
[00:37:55] God, we want to be a church that you're proud of. God we want to be a people that truly reflect your heart and who you are in the world.
[00:38:05] God, would you point us in the direction of the people that need you? God, would you point us in the direction of the people that need a church like this?
[00:38:17] God we pray for churches and pastors all over the country, all over the world today. God, would you also be doing a work in them, in their people, in their hearts, so that we can truly come together in unity as your global church? God, showing people who you are in Jesus name, amen.
