Growing up in the Bible Belt taught me the stark difference between wearing Christianity on Sundays and truly walking with Jesus every single day. My guest and I peel back the layers of what it means to foster an intimate, ongoing relationship with our Savior, one that stretches far beyond the church doors and into the very fabric of our lives. We navigate through the idea of ecclesia, redefining church as a dynamic, purpose-driven community where believers uplift each other, even through the toughest times.
This episode isn't just for those who sit in the pews; it's a call to anyone seeking hope, change, or a moment of comfort. Together with my guest, we reveal how humility and accessibility can revolutionize your faith, no matter where you stand in the church hierarchy. Join us as we extend a heartfelt prayer and discuss the vitality of a supportive community that champions spiritual growth, reminding each one of us of God's infinite love and the transformative power of a true relationship with Jesus.
Thanks for Listening, and subscribe to hear a new episode each week!
Growing up in the Bible Belt taught me the stark difference between wearing Christianity on Sundays and truly walking with Jesus every single day. My guest and I peel back the layers of what it means to foster an intimate, ongoing relationship with our Savior, one that stretches far beyond the church doors and into the very fabric of our lives. We navigate through the idea of ecclesia, redefining church as a dynamic, purpose-driven community where believers uplift each other, even through the toughest times.
This episode isn't just for those who sit in the pews; it's a call to anyone seeking hope, change, or a moment of comfort. Together with my guest, we reveal how humility and accessibility can revolutionize your faith, no matter where you stand in the church hierarchy. Join us as we extend a heartfelt prayer and discuss the vitality of a supportive community that champions spiritual growth, reminding each one of us of God's infinite love and the transformative power of a true relationship with Jesus.
Thanks for Listening, and subscribe to hear a new episode each week!
I have a story that a lot of people have had in their life being in the Bible Belt, which is I grew up in church. Of course, every Sunday morning, every Sunday night, every Wednesday night, every time the doors are open, we are there. We're there not, not, not late, like in just before church starts. We're there before church starts and we're there late. See, my dad was a Pentecostal pastor, so we didn't have church unless it went late, and so I grew up in that mindset. I grew up in church. There's something to be said about that, but there's also something to be said about those that don't grow up in church, because it really gives you an opportunity to learn and to see things from a different perspective that I didn't know, I didn't understand. So it took me a long time in my life to sort of get there.
Speaker 1:The biggest thing is for those that grow up in church you are set up from the very beginning to act like a church person. You're, you know and understand how to act like church, and so in many ways you grow up putting on your church attitude just like you do your church clothes right. You have your nice little even as a little boy I had my nice little suit and tie and I had my nice little church attitude. And you're raised with that church little attitude. You're raised even as a teenager. You have a little bit different attitude, but it's still the church attitude, it's the church mindset.
Speaker 1:Okay, is there anything wrong with that? Not necessarily, I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is when we know and understand Jesus Christ, he's not something you really put on and take off, right, he's something that is every day, not just at 10 o'clock on Sunday morning, but he's Monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday. You know, in our, in our lives, even today, we go, we often will go to church and it's like we clock in. Here I am, I'm here to do my duty and I'm going to, I'm going to spend my time with you and then once 12 o'clock hits, then you clock out.
Speaker 1:See you next week, god. Because this is God's house, right, we think this is God's house. So we're going to come back next week. So see you next week, god. Because I have the rest of my life, right, I have got Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday. That's different from my Sunday life, but you know what the kingdom says it's every day. Every day is the same. Yes, we have the Sabbath a whole different, a whole different thing. But our attitude, our, our churchiness isn't something you, you put on and take off. Our relationship, rather, is not something you put on and take off, it's something every day.
Speaker 2:I think today a lot of people Crispin are missing out on the day to day relationship with Jesus.
Speaker 1:What do you think? Everything, and it gets back at Jesus told us this, right, he, he described it this way he, he is going into, he's going into this area with his, with the disciples, where they're worshiping all kinds of different gods in that specific area. Son God, ron, you had, you had a bail. You have all all of the different gods, little G gods. So he looks around his disciples. He said so, who are these? People say that I am, and and and and. Then he says who do you say that I am? Of course, of course. They said, oh, some say you're, you're a John the Baptist. Some say, and it was Peter.
Speaker 1:Peter stood up and he said oh, you're the Christ, the son of the living God, and and Jesus. Love his answer. You know, the Bible is so funny sometimes. Jesus looks up at him and and he says this. He says this is in Chris, uh, uh, crispin terms. He says, uh, you know, you didn't have enough sense to come up with that by yourself. God gave that to you, the father gave it.
Speaker 1:So then he says here, here you go, your name is now Peter, and as Peter, which is, which means a rock or a part of a larger rock, and he says Peter or rock, you are a rock and on this rock I'll build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. I'm coming to the answer. That word we put as church is not what we go to every day, on every Sunday morning at 10 o'clock, and we in our mindset put that as we put a steeple on that particular scripture. But what he was saying, that word is ecclesia, right, and so that word ecclesia, when he says you are my ecclesia and on this rock I'll build my ecclesia, what is ecclesia? Ecclesia is a group that has a purpose. It's a governmental term. He's saying a kingdom, I will build my kingdom on this rock. I'll build my kingdom.
Speaker 2:So you've got the microphone and there's some people out there thinking well, I'd like to try this Jesus, but isn't it? All we have to do is give him our heart. You kind of will start the process inside of us.
Speaker 1:Well, you bring up a great point. There are so many people that don't go to church or that used to go to church and don't anymore because they can't live up to those standards. So you have seen these people that you go into this building and nothing's wrong with them. It's like these are perfect people, right? And then you get hurt. Well, let me tell you something. Yes, if you've ever been to a church, you've been hurt. If you've driven by a church, you've been hurt by the church, right? I mean, it's full of people and it's full of people that are flawed. And let me give you a great, let me ease your mind the guy that calls himself the pastor of that church I don't care where it is or the bishop, or whatever the label is he sins.
Speaker 2:Okay, Now wait a minute, You're saying that now, wait, you hear that thought. Someone just fell on the ground.
Speaker 1:He is human and, as humans, we're going to sin, we're going to fall.
Speaker 2:Listeners don't let that hinder your relationship with Jesus Christ, because he has something for you, a plan and a purpose. Does he have a purpose for all of us, chris?
Speaker 1:Absolutely, even before the foundation of the earth. I don't care if you think that you were not planned, or maybe you didn't realize there was something in your past, or maybe there are things that you've done in your past. I've heard people say you know what? There's no way God could love somebody like me. He actually does, actually, he had a plan for you before you were even conceived. Amen Doesn't change just because you did something wrong. You know, the Bible is full of people that God loved and was compassionate and passionate about, but they didn't always do the right things, right. I mean, the Bible is really funny.
Speaker 1:So you look at Elijah and Elisha. Elijah and Elisha both raised the dead. But did you know that, elijah? He was running from God for a time? He was running for his life. Then you have Elisha. Elisha was bald. Okay, there's nothing wrong with being bald, right, but he was going down the road one day and these kids started heckling him Baldie, baldie, or the word says it. Thou bald head, I think, is what it was. So you're Baldie. So what does he do? He calls the bears out to maul these kids, right? Is that the right attitude of what we call a Christian today? So, oh, look at Moses. Wow, moses, moses. Are you kidding me? Moses can't do everything right.
Speaker 2:Something happens, Crispin, when we allow Jesus to come into our heart and we just start doing life with Jesus. Every day is a new journey. He leads us to where he needs us to be. Am I right Even?
Speaker 1:if you feel like you've destroyed everything around you. Look at Moses. Moses and his wife got into an argument In Exodus 18, moses and his wife gets in an argument and she and the kids were not there. The kids never saw the miracles from Moses because they separated. So that was basically because the family unit at that time was not good, even though God was using him. So, yes, around us, every day we come up, there are things that happen in life. That's just life, right, that's just life.
Speaker 1:I don't care who you are, if you're the head deacon of the church or the head honcho of a church, or the pastor or regional or whatever that looks like. Whatever your title, god doesn't have titles. Jesus wasn't crazy about titles, he just was. Remember. He said for behold, I stand at the door and knock you understand? That letter was written to the church. So he was saying that to the church, right? So what he's saying is I don't care who you are, I'm standing right there, I'm knocking on your door and it doesn't matter what you've done wrong. He's still right there, he's never far from you. He's followed you where you are right now. Amen.
Speaker 2:In fact, crispin, there are people listening right now that have lost hope. They really want their life to change. Maybe they lost their job, maybe they had a bad doctor's report. The spouses left them and they don't know what they're going to do. You have the microphone. You, as a man of God, can talk to them, speak life into them.
Speaker 1:So if you think that everybody else in church is perfect and you can't get there, even if you do go to a church, whether you do or not, but your life is completely destroying, disintegrating around you and you're wondering how can I turn this thing around? You're in the ditch. You've come out of something. You've come out of situations. Your world has just completely crumbled around you, just like everyone else that we've talked about here. All you have to do is turn. Jesus is still right there. He is still right there with his arms open, saying come here, come into me. All of you who are weary and laden, I will give you rest. God is right there. Jesus is right there with arms open wide. All you have to do is breathe him in and breathe him out and let him run your life, let him help you walk through things, because you cannot do it by yourself.
Speaker 1:If you want to turn your life over to Jesus, it's really easy. All you have to do is ask and believe and confess that he, as Jesus Christ, turned your life over to him and he's there, and then, from there, you can grow and grow and grow. Find yourself some people that you can grow with. That's key. That's key, and I'm going to pray with you right now, father.
Speaker 1:I pray, lord, for every person that is listening and I pray for every heart that is open right now and I pray, lord, that you would pour into them and let them feel your love with everything that you are, all of the fullness that you have. I pray, lord, that you would just bless them abundantly, above all they could ask or imagine. That's your word, so we know, we can stand on it, because it's true when you say it. It's true and, lord, we pray that that person would know you above anything that they've ever tried, that they come to know you in such a great way that they now become the one that is standing for you, for you, in Jesus' name, amen.