1 00:00:01,760 --> 00:00:06,160 What would it look like to start a community that was really, 2 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:10,960 it's for the people like Jesus would be for. 3 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:14,080 Welcome to Heaven Earth Church. 4 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:17,760 I'm Ross Stackhouse, the founding pastor of Heaven Earth Church. 5 00:00:18,240 --> 00:00:21,760 From the start, our heart has been to be a church for people who 6 00:00:21,760 --> 00:00:23,680 don't fit neatly into church. 7 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:25,800 We want to meet people where they. 8 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:27,360 Are and know their stories. 9 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:30,720 Because in every story, there is God's story. 10 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:33,500 And this podcast, podcast is just about that. 11 00:00:33,500 --> 00:00:36,620 It's about inviting you into the stories of the people of Heaven 12 00:00:36,620 --> 00:00:37,260 Earth Church. 13 00:00:37,980 --> 00:00:39,740 So let's turn to the story. 14 00:00:42,300 --> 00:00:46,220 Hello, good people, and welcome to the Heaven Earth Church 15 00:00:46,220 --> 00:00:46,940 podcast. 16 00:00:47,580 --> 00:00:50,940 This is the church who is looking to make a lasting impact 17 00:00:50,940 --> 00:00:51,820 in our community. 18 00:00:52,460 --> 00:00:54,820 I'm Brad Butler, the producer of the podcast. 19 00:00:54,820 --> 00:00:59,940 I'm pleased that we have here with us the lead pastor of Heaven 20 00:00:59,940 --> 00:01:01,260 Earth Church, Ross Stackhouse. 21 00:01:01,260 --> 00:01:03,620 Ross, so let's have a conversation, my man. 22 00:01:03,700 --> 00:01:04,340 Sounds good. 23 00:01:04,340 --> 00:01:05,100 Thank you, Brad. 24 00:01:05,100 --> 00:01:06,420 Thanks for doing this for us. 25 00:01:06,900 --> 00:01:08,460 Well, here we are, Ross. 26 00:01:08,460 --> 00:01:15,500 It is a holy week, and so we just completed Palm Sunday and Easter 27 00:01:15,500 --> 00:01:16,260 succumbing. 28 00:01:16,660 --> 00:01:18,740 So kind of tell me what's going on with your heart. 29 00:01:18,820 --> 00:01:23,140 How's it with your soul as we come up upon the Easter of 2026? 30 00:01:24,740 --> 00:01:29,340 You know, I have thought the last several years that a lot of 31 00:01:29,340 --> 00:01:38,310 my work, what I'm trying to do, revive the ancient roots of the 32 00:01:38,310 --> 00:01:45,190 Jesus movement for, for people now and why I love this time of year 33 00:01:45,190 --> 00:01:50,870 is that when you look at the very first movement, the epicenter 34 00:01:50,950 --> 00:01:55,110 of Christianity was the resurrection of Jesus. 35 00:01:55,750 --> 00:01:58,950 And that might, for some people, they're like, duh, of course 36 00:01:58,950 --> 00:01:59,420 it's. 37 00:01:59,810 --> 00:02:00,770 It was or is. 38 00:02:01,330 --> 00:02:04,930 But a lot of the Christianity we've experienced in our neck of 39 00:02:04,930 --> 00:02:10,130 the woods has made it about, you know, the crucifixion, the cross 40 00:02:10,130 --> 00:02:14,810 of Jesus, and how, you know, the good news is that Jesus shed 41 00:02:14,810 --> 00:02:17,730 his blood for your sins, which is certainly a part. 42 00:02:18,530 --> 00:02:23,570 His death is obviously a monumental part of our faith. 43 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:26,480 You know, it's. 44 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:27,080 It's huge. 45 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:35,440 But again, when you look at the event that sparked this wildfire 46 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:39,920 of Christianity and the thing that the, these, these guys and gals 47 00:02:39,920 --> 00:02:42,200 talked about, it was about the fact that he had. 48 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:46,840 They swore they had seen a vision of him raised from the dead. 49 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:48,200 And for them, that. 50 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:53,420 That made the light bulb, the light bulbs come on, that, you know, 51 00:02:53,420 --> 00:02:58,460 God's glory is coming to this earth, and this new creation is coming 52 00:02:58,460 --> 00:02:59,260 to this earth. 53 00:02:59,260 --> 00:03:02,300 And Jesus says, as the scriptures say, he's kind of the 54 00:03:03,500 --> 00:03:06,140 first fruits of this new harvest. 55 00:03:06,940 --> 00:03:11,460 And so that's why for us, that we talk about here, this big mission 56 00:03:11,460 --> 00:03:12,540 of big good news. 57 00:03:12,780 --> 00:03:13,500 Big good news. 58 00:03:13,500 --> 00:03:14,140 I love that. 59 00:03:14,460 --> 00:03:18,740 So how you see this, you talk about the resurrection, the illumination, 60 00:03:18,740 --> 00:03:20,380 the big event, the big good news. 61 00:03:20,460 --> 00:03:20,940 Yeah. 62 00:03:21,620 --> 00:03:25,420 Tell me how that is coming to play in the manifesting itself here 63 00:03:25,420 --> 00:03:26,340 at Heaven Earth Church. 64 00:03:26,340 --> 00:03:27,940 What are kind of things you've seen happening here? 65 00:03:28,340 --> 00:03:30,580 Well, you know, I was just looking at the impact report again 66 00:03:30,580 --> 00:03:34,940 that we put together for 20, 25, and just things that you said 67 00:03:34,940 --> 00:03:35,100 it. 68 00:03:35,100 --> 00:03:38,100 You know, we want to make a lasting impact in our community. 69 00:03:39,380 --> 00:03:42,580 And in case folks don't know, that's our abbreviated mission statement. 70 00:03:42,740 --> 00:03:44,980 We have three pillars that go with that. 71 00:03:44,980 --> 00:03:49,060 We say we want to do that by building relationships with all kinds 72 00:03:49,060 --> 00:03:49,700 of neighbors. 73 00:03:50,550 --> 00:03:53,030 We want to help people experience freedom from their burdens, 74 00:03:53,030 --> 00:03:56,070 and we want to help people know Jesus and live like him together 75 00:03:57,190 --> 00:03:57,670 simply. 76 00:03:57,670 --> 00:04:00,630 Our mission is that we look again at the first movement. 77 00:04:00,630 --> 00:04:04,510 And the basic idea is that when Jesus came through a city or 78 00:04:04,510 --> 00:04:07,030 a village, it was never the same. 79 00:04:07,190 --> 00:04:11,510 You know, there was life before he showed up and then and 80 00:04:11,510 --> 00:04:12,110 life after. 81 00:04:12,110 --> 00:04:15,670 And so, like in our impact report, we are holding ourselves 82 00:04:15,670 --> 00:04:16,230 accountable. 83 00:04:16,470 --> 00:04:17,910 Is that happening with us? 84 00:04:18,230 --> 00:04:20,790 So you're taking these four areas and see what kind of impact 85 00:04:20,790 --> 00:04:21,510 is actually being. 86 00:04:21,510 --> 00:04:21,910 Right. 87 00:04:22,180 --> 00:04:22,300 Right. 88 00:04:22,300 --> 00:04:22,980 And so you can. 89 00:04:23,060 --> 00:04:23,940 Let's go through those. 90 00:04:24,020 --> 00:04:24,420 Yeah. 91 00:04:24,420 --> 00:04:29,380 So we talked about in the impact report, like, we. 92 00:04:29,620 --> 00:04:31,900 We had events in the park this year at. 93 00:04:31,900 --> 00:04:33,460 At east park, where we're just. 94 00:04:34,260 --> 00:04:35,740 We're trying to go to our. 95 00:04:35,740 --> 00:04:39,060 Our neighbors and meet them on their turf and build relationships. 96 00:04:39,060 --> 00:04:41,940 And so we had a couple of nights in the park of Pumpkins in 97 00:04:41,940 --> 00:04:45,460 the park event, and we had obviously a lot of our folks there, 98 00:04:45,460 --> 00:04:47,380 but we also met new neighbors there. 99 00:04:48,020 --> 00:04:53,300 And just trying to be a presence of kindness and joy in the. 100 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:57,920 Was an exciting thing we did last year, But I was even reading, 101 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:01,240 like, things that, you know, they aren't huge numbers, but we 102 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:06,400 had a couple of members who took flowers and fruit from people's 103 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:11,440 gardens down to the mobile home community where they live a 104 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:16,160 Sunday after church and just pass them out to everybody there 105 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:18,200 as a part of our garden team initiative. 106 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:20,800 So they're building relationships with their neighbors 107 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:24,960 there, and we're also, you know, blessing those folks with. 108 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:27,040 Yeah, exactly. 109 00:05:29,280 --> 00:05:33,440 But then when you look at that second pillar of helping people experience 110 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:37,680 freedom from their burdens, that's big for us because there's 111 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:39,039 a reason we put it that way. 112 00:05:39,039 --> 00:05:39,479 It's. 113 00:05:39,479 --> 00:05:41,360 We want to go beyond charity. 114 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:44,360 And don't get me wrong, charity matters, like organizations 115 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:48,400 need funding and money to do what they do. 116 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:53,200 But we also want to be an ongoing presence through partnerships 117 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:56,380 with or organizations in the community. 118 00:05:56,540 --> 00:05:59,460 So we, we do the, we fund stuff too. 119 00:05:59,460 --> 00:06:04,180 Like so we give 5% of what comes into our church and day to 120 00:06:04,180 --> 00:06:07,540 day operations we give back out. 121 00:06:07,540 --> 00:06:07,900 Right. 122 00:06:08,940 --> 00:06:13,260 We give another 6% of what comes into the state and global initiatives 123 00:06:13,260 --> 00:06:14,460 of the inumc. 124 00:06:15,340 --> 00:06:20,300 But we also did things like, you know, we partnered with United 125 00:06:20,300 --> 00:06:24,780 Way again to, to as part of their Christmas angel project. 126 00:06:24,860 --> 00:06:25,500 We do that. 127 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:29,560 Um, we continue to work with, we've. 128 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:30,600 Had pretty good participation. 129 00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:32,440 Oh yeah, for sure. 130 00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:32,800 Yeah. 131 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:36,400 And we've, we continue to work with Spaces for All, which is the 132 00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:42,320 5:1c3 nonprofit that our church started in 2021 to grow. 133 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:45,400 Its mission especially is related to affordable housing. 134 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:50,400 Spaces for all started the Johnson County Housing Coalition 135 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:53,640 a couple years ago and that's really picking up steam. 136 00:06:54,280 --> 00:06:58,560 The housing coalition that's run by one of our members, Amanda 137 00:06:58,560 --> 00:06:58,830 O. 138 00:07:00,980 --> 00:07:04,260 Has a new program with Franklin Union, Edam Township to 139 00:07:04,260 --> 00:07:05,860 remove barriers to housing. 140 00:07:06,740 --> 00:07:09,460 We're getting ready to enter into a service contract with the 141 00:07:09,460 --> 00:07:13,380 city of Greenwood to, to do an owner occupied rehab program. 142 00:07:14,260 --> 00:07:17,540 We're talking with another church to potentially acquire some 143 00:07:17,540 --> 00:07:22,300 property to build to add to what's called our residency rental 144 00:07:22,300 --> 00:07:22,540 program. 145 00:07:22,540 --> 00:07:26,850 Because we said like, hey, we want to make a lasting difference 146 00:07:27,570 --> 00:07:29,010 with housing issues here. 147 00:07:29,090 --> 00:07:32,970 So it's not just within the body, the church building and people 148 00:07:32,970 --> 00:07:36,490 here, it's in the community and very tangible brick and mortar 149 00:07:36,490 --> 00:07:37,170 things as well. 150 00:07:37,250 --> 00:07:37,810 Yep. 151 00:07:37,890 --> 00:07:38,250 Yeah. 152 00:07:38,250 --> 00:07:45,170 And as far as our vision going forward, our board has worked to 153 00:07:46,530 --> 00:07:52,360 make that partnership focus even more clear and intentional. 154 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:58,480 So coming up this year we've identified four focus areas that 155 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:04,760 we're really going to zero in on throughout this year. 156 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:10,320 So in April and May we're really going to work with organizations 157 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:14,600 primarily Upstream Prevention, to focus on mental health and recovery. 158 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:17,320 In the summer we're going to do food insecurity. 159 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:21,000 So we're reaching out to folks like Inner Church, Food Pantry, potentially 160 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:24,980 the school corporation to see like how can we work with that. 161 00:08:25,460 --> 00:08:29,780 And then in the fall we're going to focus really on that housing 162 00:08:29,780 --> 00:08:30,100 issue. 163 00:08:30,100 --> 00:08:33,140 So we're going to work with Spaces for All in that sort of quarter. 164 00:08:33,620 --> 00:08:36,100 And then at the end of the year we really want to spend our 165 00:08:36,100 --> 00:08:38,740 energy and, and resources on youth initiatives. 166 00:08:38,740 --> 00:08:38,940 So. 167 00:08:38,940 --> 00:08:41,260 And we're going to, it's not just a board initiative. 168 00:08:41,260 --> 00:08:42,660 We're going to phone those. 169 00:08:43,460 --> 00:08:45,300 Well, let's, let's break those down a little bit. 170 00:08:45,860 --> 00:08:51,100 You've got initiatives that are helping with food, you Got initiatives 171 00:08:51,100 --> 00:08:56,620 helping with housing, you got issues helping with mental health 172 00:08:56,700 --> 00:08:57,420 and other. 173 00:08:58,380 --> 00:08:59,460 And relationships. 174 00:08:59,460 --> 00:08:59,900 Yeah. 175 00:08:59,980 --> 00:09:03,660 So it seems like you're looking to kind of do the full. 176 00:09:03,900 --> 00:09:06,620 The full body of the church here. 177 00:09:06,620 --> 00:09:07,500 Yeah, yeah, we. 178 00:09:07,580 --> 00:09:08,460 We wanted to. 179 00:09:09,420 --> 00:09:14,420 A few of us sat down, Jill Bevins, Jason Baker and I, and we 180 00:09:14,420 --> 00:09:18,140 really just kind of thought, like, obviously there's so much that 181 00:09:18,140 --> 00:09:23,500 we could do, but how do we focus on a few areas and really do 182 00:09:23,500 --> 00:09:26,260 what we can to be a part of a lasting impact? 183 00:09:26,420 --> 00:09:29,700 And those are the areas that we identified. 184 00:09:29,860 --> 00:09:33,220 And so, again, like I said, for mental health and recovery, we're 185 00:09:33,220 --> 00:09:36,740 going to keep working with upstream prevention, and obviously 186 00:09:36,740 --> 00:09:39,300 we're going to continue to try to build Recovery Church. 187 00:09:40,180 --> 00:09:43,820 And then we're going to, like I said, work with a couple pantries 188 00:09:43,820 --> 00:09:49,240 to invest there, and then in the fall, work with spaces for all. 189 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:53,000 And then at the end of the year, just look at several opportunities 190 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:54,080 for youth initiatives. 191 00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:57,960 But the goal is that not just that we would give funding to those 192 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:01,880 organizations, but that we'll bring their executive directors here 193 00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:06,840 to talk to our people and also help our people go there and plug 194 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:07,880 in and serve. 195 00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:10,440 So true partnership, right? 196 00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:10,880 Right. 197 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:15,840 An integrated partnership, not just a, you know, we drop in a few 198 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:17,440 dollars or a few volunteer hours. 199 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:17,800 Right. 200 00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:19,360 Is it integrated? 201 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:21,360 Yeah, that's right. 202 00:10:21,360 --> 00:10:22,320 Leadership system. 203 00:10:22,640 --> 00:10:23,000 Yeah. 204 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:25,600 Because, you know, that second pillar is we want to help people 205 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:27,600 experience freedom from their burdens. 206 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:28,320 Right. 207 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:31,120 And then one of our core values, one of our five core values, 208 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:33,600 is we want to bless the community through partnerships. 209 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:40,170 And so when you think about those two things, they really hold 210 00:10:40,170 --> 00:10:41,530 us accountable like that. 211 00:10:41,530 --> 00:10:42,730 That's what we want to be about. 212 00:10:42,730 --> 00:10:43,050 We. 213 00:10:43,050 --> 00:10:43,410 And. 214 00:10:43,410 --> 00:10:46,170 And we want to show some fruit on those in those areas. 215 00:10:47,130 --> 00:10:48,250 So I think there's another. 216 00:10:48,650 --> 00:10:51,210 You've touched on two of the pillars here. 217 00:10:52,010 --> 00:10:52,970 What was the next one? 218 00:10:53,770 --> 00:10:54,730 The mission statement. 219 00:10:54,810 --> 00:10:55,210 Right. 220 00:10:55,610 --> 00:10:56,050 Yeah. 221 00:10:56,050 --> 00:10:56,450 So we. 222 00:10:56,450 --> 00:10:59,210 We talk about we want to build relationships with all kinds of neighbors. 223 00:10:59,210 --> 00:11:00,090 That's pillar one. 224 00:11:00,410 --> 00:11:03,210 And then the second one is experience freedom from their burdens. 225 00:11:03,210 --> 00:11:07,240 And the third one is just helping people know Jesus and live 226 00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:07,960 like him together. 227 00:11:08,040 --> 00:11:10,040 Okay, how are we doing on that one? 228 00:11:10,520 --> 00:11:11,560 I think we've done. 229 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:13,160 We're doing a lot better. 230 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:14,520 We. 231 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:20,800 So in 2023, we developed kind of as a deeper dive of our core values, 232 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:23,480 we developed five discipleship essentials. 233 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:25,000 And these are the things we said. 234 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:31,840 If we develop some tools and environments where people spend time 235 00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:34,680 with these essentials, we think that's going to help them grow 236 00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:40,360 spiritually and emotionally, such that they bear fruit of discipleship 237 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:41,680 or Apprenticeship with Jesus. 238 00:11:41,680 --> 00:11:45,920 So this past year, we implemented our Discovery Learning 239 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:46,480 communities. 240 00:11:47,280 --> 00:11:55,120 So we did what we had now called discovery 1, 2, and 3, and 241 00:11:56,080 --> 00:11:57,680 we had close to. 242 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:00,000 It was about 15 to 20 people. 243 00:12:00,640 --> 00:12:03,400 Unique people go through at least one of those experiences. 244 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:06,480 And we had a decent chunk of people who did all three. 245 00:12:08,830 --> 00:12:11,990 Discovery one, you know, was about, you know, discovering more 246 00:12:11,990 --> 00:12:14,910 of your story and kind of the core values of Heaven Earth Church. 247 00:12:14,910 --> 00:12:17,710 Two was getting into our essentials that we just talked about. 248 00:12:18,270 --> 00:12:22,510 And three was what's called a rule of life workshop, where it helps 249 00:12:22,510 --> 00:12:26,870 you identify your values and build a schedule that aligns it with 250 00:12:26,870 --> 00:12:27,350 your values. 251 00:12:27,350 --> 00:12:30,110 We had 14 people come to that on a Friday night. 252 00:12:31,230 --> 00:12:36,980 So sound like people are hungry for this type of intimate 253 00:12:36,980 --> 00:12:39,540 relation with Jesus going deeper. 254 00:12:39,780 --> 00:12:44,580 I think people are hungry for stuff that actually matters. 255 00:12:44,820 --> 00:12:50,260 You know, I. I think especially with the pandemic, I think 256 00:12:50,820 --> 00:12:55,620 what we saw after that was a lot of people withdrawing from a 257 00:12:55,620 --> 00:12:59,170 life of just doing stuff to do stuff. 258 00:12:59,410 --> 00:12:59,810 Right. 259 00:13:00,850 --> 00:13:01,370 I don't. 260 00:13:01,370 --> 00:13:04,890 I think it helped people notice or feel that the things they 261 00:13:04,890 --> 00:13:09,970 were doing, perhaps more out of a sense of obligation, they maybe 262 00:13:09,970 --> 00:13:10,770 didn't like it. 263 00:13:11,330 --> 00:13:12,770 They certainly didn't love it. 264 00:13:13,330 --> 00:13:16,090 And so the pandemic was like, why am I. 265 00:13:16,090 --> 00:13:17,410 Why am I going to go back to that? 266 00:13:17,410 --> 00:13:18,250 Is it worth it? 267 00:13:18,250 --> 00:13:18,690 Yeah. 268 00:13:18,930 --> 00:13:19,770 And so that's. 269 00:13:19,770 --> 00:13:24,850 That's kind of a burden that we carry, I would say somewhat gladly, 270 00:13:24,850 --> 00:13:29,360 is that we want to create environments and communities here 271 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:31,360 that are worth being a part of. 272 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:36,360 And so that's why we actually refined the Discovery Learning communities 273 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:37,200 for this year. 274 00:13:40,320 --> 00:13:46,880 We just redid Discovery one, and we made it even more of an experience 275 00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:52,330 for people to discover where they've been with faith, where they 276 00:13:52,330 --> 00:13:54,770 are now, and where they feel called to go. 277 00:13:54,770 --> 00:13:57,410 So it was more about self discovery and faith. 278 00:13:57,570 --> 00:13:58,850 Can you give me an example with. 279 00:13:58,850 --> 00:14:01,930 You don't have to get the details or personalities, but have 280 00:14:01,930 --> 00:14:02,890 you seen people change? 281 00:14:02,890 --> 00:14:05,570 Have you seen people illuminate in this process? 282 00:14:05,890 --> 00:14:06,610 No doubt. 283 00:14:06,610 --> 00:14:08,890 I mean, there's no doubt about it. 284 00:14:08,890 --> 00:14:09,250 We. 285 00:14:09,250 --> 00:14:19,180 I mean, I think of one person in particular who, you know, she 286 00:14:19,180 --> 00:14:25,780 just came out of, you know, some church experience where I might 287 00:14:25,780 --> 00:14:27,380 describe it as more sort of. 288 00:14:27,380 --> 00:14:31,260 Yeah, very heavy obligation environment. 289 00:14:32,700 --> 00:14:37,500 Some might call it, you know, legalistic, and was really kind of, 290 00:14:38,620 --> 00:14:44,700 by this person's account, just was becoming disillusioned and kind 291 00:14:44,700 --> 00:14:49,260 of burdened by that environment, and then has come here 292 00:14:49,500 --> 00:14:56,700 and has felt a new sense of freedom, but also excitement and 293 00:14:56,700 --> 00:14:57,580 hope about. 294 00:14:57,660 --> 00:15:01,179 About depth and a new way. 295 00:15:01,260 --> 00:15:04,820 Interesting way you turn that phrase, an excitement and hope about 296 00:15:04,820 --> 00:15:05,340 depth. 297 00:15:05,420 --> 00:15:06,540 Yeah, I love that. 298 00:15:06,700 --> 00:15:07,140 Yeah. 299 00:15:07,140 --> 00:15:07,900 Yeah, she. 300 00:15:08,700 --> 00:15:10,380 And she inspires me. 301 00:15:10,380 --> 00:15:14,380 Like, her stories about what she's saying inspire me. 302 00:15:14,380 --> 00:15:16,940 But, you know, even after the Rule of Life workshop, you know, 303 00:15:16,940 --> 00:15:20,180 somebody texted me and saying, like, I didn't know how much I needed 304 00:15:20,180 --> 00:15:20,460 that. 305 00:15:21,580 --> 00:15:22,580 And I think that's. 306 00:15:22,580 --> 00:15:24,460 I think that's true for a lot of people. 307 00:15:24,460 --> 00:15:25,180 Like, we. 308 00:15:27,180 --> 00:15:28,820 We experience this a lot here. 309 00:15:28,820 --> 00:15:32,100 Like, there we have a fair amount of people who, like, they 310 00:15:32,100 --> 00:15:35,380 know what they don't want anymore, but they're having a hard 311 00:15:35,380 --> 00:15:38,860 time discovering what their soul does want now. 312 00:15:38,940 --> 00:15:39,500 And what. 313 00:15:39,500 --> 00:15:42,060 And you're like, what is God for me now? 314 00:15:42,870 --> 00:15:45,990 I know I'm not there, wherever there is now, but what's next? 315 00:15:45,990 --> 00:15:46,630 What's next? 316 00:15:47,510 --> 00:15:49,990 How do I find that and how do I go deeper with that? 317 00:15:50,390 --> 00:15:51,230 So how are you doing that? 318 00:15:51,230 --> 00:15:52,790 How are you helping people take the next step? 319 00:15:53,670 --> 00:15:54,710 Well, that's why we. 320 00:15:54,950 --> 00:15:59,390 We didn't want to create like, a, you know, A to B to C to D kind 321 00:15:59,390 --> 00:15:59,830 of thing. 322 00:16:00,230 --> 00:16:01,510 But we did want to. 323 00:16:01,510 --> 00:16:06,950 Jesus didn't always resolve people's confusion because sometimes, 324 00:16:06,950 --> 00:16:10,350 you know, as teachers will tell us, as we've all experienced, 325 00:16:10,350 --> 00:16:12,390 like, sometimes confusion can help you. 326 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:15,560 If you think of the four rooms of change, something I talk about 327 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:20,040 a lot, denial, confusion, renewal, you know, that. 328 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:22,400 That confusion can help. 329 00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:25,120 Jesus didn't always get to sort it out. 330 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:25,680 Yeah. 331 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:27,400 Unravel things to put it back together. 332 00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:27,720 Yeah. 333 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:30,480 There's bad confusion that's not necessary, and we want to get 334 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:30,920 rid of that. 335 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:31,280 But. 336 00:16:31,520 --> 00:16:35,520 But one thing Jesus always did offer people was a sense of direction. 337 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:40,120 You know, they might have not known exactly why, but, you know, 338 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:43,550 you see, if you watch the Gospels, he's like, okay, we need 339 00:16:43,550 --> 00:16:45,750 to go across this lake over there now. 340 00:16:45,990 --> 00:16:48,510 And then it was like, okay, now we're going to go back across 341 00:16:48,510 --> 00:16:49,910 the lake to our villages. 342 00:16:50,230 --> 00:16:52,510 But once we get there, you know, we're going to go over to the 343 00:16:52,510 --> 00:16:57,110 coast to ty, and we're going to run into some lady over there. 344 00:16:57,190 --> 00:16:59,750 And then in, you know, like, Luke, chapter nine, he's like, he 345 00:16:59,750 --> 00:17:00,990 set his face on Jerusalem. 346 00:17:00,990 --> 00:17:02,150 We got to go to Jerusalem. 347 00:17:02,150 --> 00:17:04,150 Now, there was always kind of a. 348 00:17:04,470 --> 00:17:07,430 A sense of momentum and trajectory, and we're trying to help 349 00:17:07,430 --> 00:17:10,150 folks with that with the discovery learning communities. 350 00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:15,320 But even with our Sunday morning conversations, people may 351 00:17:15,320 --> 00:17:20,000 not know this, but every single series we do is aligned with 352 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:21,720 our discipleship essentials. 353 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:27,720 But one other thing about that is, months ago, I just started trying 354 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:30,840 to pay attention to what people were giving me about feedback 355 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:32,440 about what they wanted to Talk about. 356 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:35,240 And so our series are built off of that too. 357 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:37,080 So for example, that we just did. 358 00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:39,180 A series of responding to the, to the need. 359 00:17:39,740 --> 00:17:42,060 Core value one, we want to meet people where they are. 360 00:17:42,060 --> 00:17:42,460 Right. 361 00:17:42,620 --> 00:17:46,540 So I don't want to have a conversation on Sunday that people 362 00:17:46,540 --> 00:17:47,500 aren't wondering about. 363 00:17:47,820 --> 00:17:51,060 So the reason we just had this series, the Prayerful Life, a conversation 364 00:17:51,060 --> 00:17:55,220 for beginners, experts and skeptics, is because we had a couple 365 00:17:55,220 --> 00:17:59,020 of people like, man, I really want to try to understand prayer 366 00:17:59,020 --> 00:17:59,820 at this point. 367 00:18:00,460 --> 00:18:04,580 Again, it's like, I know I'm not there with prayer anymore, but 368 00:18:04,580 --> 00:18:06,380 I'm not sure where I am now with it. 369 00:18:06,990 --> 00:18:08,310 They're in that messy middle. 370 00:18:08,310 --> 00:18:09,150 Yeah, yeah. 371 00:18:09,630 --> 00:18:12,190 Have we touched yet on, on the fourth pillar? 372 00:18:13,310 --> 00:18:16,630 Well, that really, that's just, there's kind of the umbrella 373 00:18:16,630 --> 00:18:21,030 which is making the lasting impact and then the way we see ourselves 374 00:18:21,030 --> 00:18:26,590 doing that is relationships, helping people experience freedom 375 00:18:26,830 --> 00:18:29,350 and then basically the discipleship pillar. 376 00:18:29,350 --> 00:18:30,030 So those are the three. 377 00:18:30,030 --> 00:18:30,270 Yeah. 378 00:18:30,270 --> 00:18:34,600 So we touched on these four pillars and kind of the, the doctrinal 379 00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:39,240 foundations of the church and practicalities of where we stand 380 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:45,400 in terms of, you know, are people's needs being met, are we 381 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:49,720 having a vibrant worshiping body, Children's ministry, youth 382 00:18:49,720 --> 00:18:52,520 ministry, small groups, Kind of give us a breakdown where we're 383 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:53,240 at on all that. 384 00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:57,720 I think that's always a work in progress process. 385 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:01,930 You know, we're, I think we've made a lot of strides in all those 386 00:19:01,930 --> 00:19:02,290 areas. 387 00:19:02,530 --> 00:19:07,810 You know, we, we don't see ourselves as like a, a program based 388 00:19:07,810 --> 00:19:13,610 church, like, because, because I've been in part of a bigger church 389 00:19:13,610 --> 00:19:18,010 and you can fall into this trap of having a lot of activity, 390 00:19:18,010 --> 00:19:21,770 but it's not necessarily meaningful activity or productive 391 00:19:21,770 --> 00:19:22,210 activity. 392 00:19:22,210 --> 00:19:26,650 Or you can have these program areas that are kind of each doing 393 00:19:26,650 --> 00:19:30,170 their thing, but they're not really united in this camaraderie 394 00:19:30,170 --> 00:19:31,970 or this shared mission. 395 00:19:32,850 --> 00:19:36,410 So that's how we try to do what we're doing here. 396 00:19:36,410 --> 00:19:41,650 We try to work from the inside out with like a shared sense of mission, 397 00:19:42,770 --> 00:19:48,850 some camaraderie around, some essentials and core sort of convictions. 398 00:19:49,890 --> 00:19:52,610 But yeah, also people are like, hey, what do you have for my 399 00:19:52,610 --> 00:19:52,970 kids? 400 00:19:52,970 --> 00:19:59,350 You know, and we literally had a first time person on Sunday who 401 00:20:00,230 --> 00:20:04,390 she, she came by herself without her kids because she wanted 402 00:20:04,390 --> 00:20:05,190 to do her homework. 403 00:20:05,190 --> 00:20:07,430 And as a parent, man, like I, I get it. 404 00:20:07,430 --> 00:20:08,750 I really appreciate that. 405 00:20:08,750 --> 00:20:13,710 And so yeah, we've, we've really stepped up our game with what 406 00:20:13,710 --> 00:20:15,110 we do for kids church. 407 00:20:16,710 --> 00:20:21,110 We like for example, we've, we've experimented with a couple 408 00:20:21,110 --> 00:20:22,910 of different, you know, learning tools. 409 00:20:22,910 --> 00:20:26,790 And now we do something from Spark House called Whirl. 410 00:20:26,790 --> 00:20:27,550 And our kids. 411 00:20:27,550 --> 00:20:30,850 The kids it as this really interactive video. 412 00:20:30,850 --> 00:20:31,690 But, like, you. 413 00:20:31,690 --> 00:20:35,050 You have fun, but you also, you really learn some stuff. 414 00:20:35,050 --> 00:20:38,690 I just had someone call me this morning, and on the ride home, 415 00:20:38,690 --> 00:20:43,050 the kids said to a grandparent, like, I want to go back 416 00:20:43,050 --> 00:20:43,810 to that church. 417 00:20:44,130 --> 00:20:44,930 And so. 418 00:20:45,650 --> 00:20:47,890 And they want to come back for the right reasons. 419 00:20:47,890 --> 00:20:48,290 Yeah. 420 00:20:48,290 --> 00:20:51,250 It's not like we just got entertained and they gave us candy. 421 00:20:51,250 --> 00:20:54,920 Like, it was fun and safe and meaningful. 422 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:55,560 They're learning. 423 00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:56,120 Yeah. 424 00:20:56,120 --> 00:20:58,040 And then on the youth side, and. 425 00:20:58,040 --> 00:20:59,120 The parents need to know that, too. 426 00:20:59,120 --> 00:21:00,120 These kids are getting something. 427 00:21:00,360 --> 00:21:00,760 Yeah. 428 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:01,080 Yeah. 429 00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:01,480 The you. 430 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:08,880 On the youth side of things, Emily has really invested in what 431 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:09,120 the. 432 00:21:09,120 --> 00:21:14,000 What that group does every other night on Sunday nights. 433 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:17,800 Like, again, it's very safe place of belonging. 434 00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:20,360 But also they're. 435 00:21:20,360 --> 00:21:24,880 They're digging into substantive matters of faith on their 436 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:25,240 terms. 437 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:29,160 And Emily's really working to cultivate that with the help of her 438 00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:32,000 husband, Adam, and also Ellie Howard. 439 00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:36,960 So, I mean, I really feel good about the culture that we're building 440 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:38,080 here for. 441 00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:39,760 For people of all ages. 442 00:21:41,679 --> 00:21:42,400 Well, it's. 443 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:46,640 I think you've given a pretty good synopsis here, Ross, of kind 444 00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:47,040 of the. 445 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:50,400 Kind of the doctrinal kind of where we're at on that and kind of 446 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:52,740 the state of the church ministries here. 447 00:21:53,300 --> 00:21:53,860 Let's. 448 00:21:55,700 --> 00:21:57,220 Let's do a little vision casting. 449 00:21:57,780 --> 00:21:59,180 You know, tell me. 450 00:21:59,180 --> 00:22:01,620 Tell me what God's laying on your heart about what's next. 451 00:22:01,940 --> 00:22:05,340 I know heaven or church has been around for whatever, seven or 452 00:22:05,340 --> 00:22:05,940 eight years now. 453 00:22:05,940 --> 00:22:10,220 And I know that you're always thinking, you're always praying, 454 00:22:10,220 --> 00:22:11,940 you're always thinking kind of what's next? 455 00:22:12,180 --> 00:22:14,620 What's God laying on your heart about what's next in the vision 456 00:22:14,620 --> 00:22:15,780 Future, meaning forward. 457 00:22:18,450 --> 00:22:24,530 Well, so from the very start, truly, when I look at, like, there's 458 00:22:24,530 --> 00:22:31,930 a picture here of almost a. I guess I'd say, like, primitive vision 459 00:22:31,930 --> 00:22:34,450 diagram for us or strategic vision. 460 00:22:35,490 --> 00:22:37,850 We always dream that we would not be. 461 00:22:37,850 --> 00:22:41,010 We never have wanted to be a megachurch. 462 00:22:41,890 --> 00:22:42,850 Those are fine. 463 00:22:42,850 --> 00:22:45,010 You know, for some people, that's really helping them. 464 00:22:45,010 --> 00:22:47,430 And we just. 465 00:22:47,430 --> 00:22:48,510 We didn't want to be that. 466 00:22:48,590 --> 00:22:51,750 We wanted to be almost intentionally small. 467 00:22:51,750 --> 00:22:53,910 You know, our vision is we want to be a neighborhood of friends 468 00:22:53,910 --> 00:22:55,230 who bring heaven to earth. 469 00:22:57,870 --> 00:23:02,990 So what we've talked about is almost being a small church that 470 00:23:03,070 --> 00:23:03,870 multiplies. 471 00:23:04,750 --> 00:23:05,390 Okay. 472 00:23:05,710 --> 00:23:12,350 And so what that looks like, we think is, you know, like you said, 473 00:23:12,350 --> 00:23:12,630 we. 474 00:23:12,630 --> 00:23:17,270 We had to kind of relaunch if you will, in 2020, 2021. 475 00:23:17,270 --> 00:23:21,850 Because that really interrupted a lot of our momentum. 476 00:23:21,850 --> 00:23:26,370 But so for the last five years, four or five years, we've 477 00:23:26,370 --> 00:23:31,130 been kind of working the soil, cultivating something that has, that 478 00:23:31,130 --> 00:23:37,210 can last, but also prepares us to maybe now grow to the point where 479 00:23:37,850 --> 00:23:38,730 maybe our. 480 00:23:38,970 --> 00:23:42,930 The number of folks that are engaged weekly, you know, Sunday 481 00:23:42,930 --> 00:23:47,530 gathering in person, Sunday online recovery church groups, gets 482 00:23:47,530 --> 00:23:49,530 to 100, 150. 483 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:54,800 And once we get to that point, we would maybe discern, and I'm talking 484 00:23:54,800 --> 00:24:00,000 in the next two to five years, we would look at, hey, is there a 485 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:04,000 core group of people that can start the next thing? 486 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:08,160 So kind of a church multiplication strategy. 487 00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:08,800 Yeah. 488 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:13,840 We don't want to become one big thing of like a thousand people. 489 00:24:13,840 --> 00:24:17,770 We would rather really kind of keep like a. 490 00:24:17,770 --> 00:24:19,890 A family of folks here that are just. 491 00:24:19,890 --> 00:24:23,810 That are really involved in this mission and then we help another 492 00:24:23,810 --> 00:24:27,290 group of people, you know, replicate that. 493 00:24:27,290 --> 00:24:31,370 And then it'd be really cool in 10 to 20 years maybe to have like 494 00:24:31,530 --> 00:24:31,850 that. 495 00:24:31,850 --> 00:24:33,330 That multiplication continues. 496 00:24:33,330 --> 00:24:34,010 And we don't even. 497 00:24:34,010 --> 00:24:36,810 We're not even controlling the, the kind of the. 498 00:24:36,810 --> 00:24:38,410 The next iterations of that. 499 00:24:39,050 --> 00:24:43,860 So it all would be related and integrated, but that have its own 500 00:24:44,420 --> 00:24:47,100 sense of its own life force. 501 00:24:47,100 --> 00:24:47,460 Yeah. 502 00:24:47,620 --> 00:24:48,340 As it were. 503 00:24:48,340 --> 00:24:49,820 And well, that. 504 00:24:49,820 --> 00:24:50,420 That's good. 505 00:24:50,660 --> 00:24:51,060 Our. 506 00:24:51,140 --> 00:24:52,420 Ultimately, it. 507 00:24:52,420 --> 00:24:53,860 It's pretty simple for us. 508 00:24:56,420 --> 00:25:01,460 We want to help people rediscover or discover. 509 00:25:03,300 --> 00:25:06,220 Like, I. I've said this probably every time on here, like 510 00:25:06,220 --> 00:25:07,260 the electricity. 511 00:25:07,260 --> 00:25:13,840 Electricity of Jesus, the dynamism of Jesus, the healing power 512 00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:18,480 and love of Jesus after all this religion. 513 00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:19,040 Yeah. 514 00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:27,280 And just like find him on his terms and experience the vibrancy 515 00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:31,680 of his spirit dwelling within after all the religion just like 516 00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:34,360 get back to those simple things and just do the stuff that 517 00:25:34,360 --> 00:25:34,840 he's doing. 518 00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:38,370 I believe if we do that, everything gets. 519 00:25:38,690 --> 00:25:42,210 Everything doesn't get easy, but a lot of things get better. 520 00:25:42,530 --> 00:25:43,010 Yeah. 521 00:25:43,410 --> 00:25:45,650 Sounds a little bit like Acts 2, 42 and following. 522 00:25:45,810 --> 00:25:46,370 I mean. 523 00:25:47,250 --> 00:25:47,730 Yeah. 524 00:25:47,890 --> 00:25:51,450 Pretty much reminds me of a. I'm an old Christian rock dj. 525 00:25:51,450 --> 00:25:54,970 There was a song when I was doing that called I'm Not Religious. 526 00:25:54,970 --> 00:25:56,170 I just love the Lord, you know? 527 00:25:56,170 --> 00:25:56,490 Yeah. 528 00:25:56,490 --> 00:25:58,530 I mean, that's. 529 00:26:00,690 --> 00:26:04,130 I mean, maybe we'll have to do a series of episodes like Jesus after 530 00:26:04,130 --> 00:26:05,450 the Fall of Christianity. 531 00:26:05,450 --> 00:26:05,940 There you go. 532 00:26:06,090 --> 00:26:07,010 Like, I mean, because that's. 533 00:26:07,010 --> 00:26:10,810 That's really what's happening in, in the west and in America is 534 00:26:10,810 --> 00:26:14,650 that Christianity as an institution is in. 535 00:26:14,650 --> 00:26:17,770 Is still in a very relatively steep decline. 536 00:26:18,490 --> 00:26:20,490 That's not necessarily a bad thing. 537 00:26:21,370 --> 00:26:23,730 Well, it goes to that chaos a little bit, yeah. 538 00:26:23,730 --> 00:26:26,170 Out of chaos can come form formation. 539 00:26:26,410 --> 00:26:26,810 Right. 540 00:26:26,970 --> 00:26:28,810 So we'll see what happens here. 541 00:26:29,610 --> 00:26:31,610 Well, let's kind of bring it around to this, Ross. 542 00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:38,080 We're saying here that Easter is coming, but to get the Easter, 543 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:39,200 you got to go through Good Friday. 544 00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:39,920 Right. 545 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:43,760 So what are some Good Friday moments? 546 00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:47,680 What are some of the challenges before us that may be 547 00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:51,120 things to be mindful of, be discerning of? 548 00:26:54,080 --> 00:27:01,250 That's a great question, I think, for the cultural moment we're 549 00:27:01,250 --> 00:27:01,530 in. 550 00:27:02,890 --> 00:27:14,410 Is that what characterizes it is that our tension is increasingly 551 00:27:16,170 --> 00:27:24,490 burdened, our attention spanned is increasingly tapped. 552 00:27:25,930 --> 00:27:32,970 Are our opportunities to engage in a multitude of things is 553 00:27:32,970 --> 00:27:33,850 continuous. 554 00:27:35,290 --> 00:27:38,810 There's this phenomenon mentioned in the book, the ruthless 555 00:27:38,810 --> 00:27:42,410 elimination of hurry called continuous partial attention. 556 00:27:43,690 --> 00:27:48,650 I think one of our struggles to experience meaningful things now 557 00:27:49,530 --> 00:27:53,330 is that we're always going to be struggling against continuous 558 00:27:53,330 --> 00:27:54,490 partial attention. 559 00:27:55,290 --> 00:27:57,130 Always distractions, always fragmentation. 560 00:27:57,370 --> 00:27:57,850 Yeah. 561 00:27:58,090 --> 00:28:03,930 So that is something that is, I do believe is unique in our time, 562 00:28:04,170 --> 00:28:12,010 is that we will struggle almost to stay with or persevere 563 00:28:12,810 --> 00:28:16,850 in a community or experience almost because our brains are being 564 00:28:16,850 --> 00:28:20,810 rewired towards continuous partial attention. 565 00:28:21,210 --> 00:28:25,810 But we know, everybody knows this at a core level, that the best 566 00:28:25,810 --> 00:28:30,330 things are the things with which we're steadfast, the things 567 00:28:30,330 --> 00:28:34,210 with which we kind of balance desire and discipline. 568 00:28:34,210 --> 00:28:35,330 So, like, I'll talk. 569 00:28:35,330 --> 00:28:36,530 I talk about this often. 570 00:28:36,610 --> 00:28:40,610 Like, if we're only waiting till we feel like to do something, 571 00:28:42,050 --> 00:28:44,250 we're never going to do it and stay with it. 572 00:28:44,250 --> 00:28:49,890 But on the other side, if we're all, like, if we're just leveraging 573 00:28:49,890 --> 00:28:52,810 all discipline, well, that's not sustainable either. 574 00:28:52,810 --> 00:28:53,970 Then we're going to burn out. 575 00:28:54,290 --> 00:28:58,450 So we kind of have to have the discipline that helps us experience 576 00:28:58,530 --> 00:28:59,770 the good fruits of something. 577 00:28:59,770 --> 00:29:02,610 So it raises up our desire and we're raising. 578 00:29:02,610 --> 00:29:04,650 We're kind of growing in desire and discipline. 579 00:29:04,650 --> 00:29:08,290 I think that's a big challenge for people in our time. 580 00:29:08,370 --> 00:29:09,330 Huge challenge. 581 00:29:09,730 --> 00:29:13,890 Well, you got to have discipline in order to get things 582 00:29:13,890 --> 00:29:14,090 done. 583 00:29:14,090 --> 00:29:14,570 But you have to. 584 00:29:14,570 --> 00:29:15,730 Have to delight as well. 585 00:29:15,810 --> 00:29:16,410 Exactly. 586 00:29:16,410 --> 00:29:18,450 So many people do not have delight in their life. 587 00:29:19,170 --> 00:29:25,740 And I think that's what when we say at heaven or church, that 588 00:29:25,740 --> 00:29:27,780 intersection of heaven and earth coming together. 589 00:29:28,340 --> 00:29:30,340 I think that's part of what this is all about. 590 00:29:30,580 --> 00:29:30,980 Right. 591 00:29:31,060 --> 00:29:32,260 Where they're not separate. 592 00:29:32,260 --> 00:29:33,540 Heaven and earth are not separate. 593 00:29:34,500 --> 00:29:35,860 They are intersecting. 594 00:29:36,100 --> 00:29:37,299 And I like that. 595 00:29:37,460 --> 00:29:37,780 Yeah. 596 00:29:37,780 --> 00:29:41,580 I mean, ultimately, you could almost refront, like, some folks 597 00:29:41,580 --> 00:29:43,980 have heard the word discipleship so much that they roll 598 00:29:43,980 --> 00:29:44,340 their eyes. 599 00:29:44,340 --> 00:29:45,220 I don't blame them. 600 00:29:45,380 --> 00:29:47,660 But then there are other folks who are like, honestly, I don't even 601 00:29:47,660 --> 00:29:48,340 know what that means. 602 00:29:49,940 --> 00:29:55,180 Discipleship is essentially having a growing sort of undivided 603 00:29:55,180 --> 00:29:56,500 attention towards Jesus. 604 00:29:57,220 --> 00:30:00,500 And that's when you say that out loud and then you put that next 605 00:30:00,500 --> 00:30:02,260 to continuous partial attention. 606 00:30:02,660 --> 00:30:04,500 You see right there, the tension. 607 00:30:04,819 --> 00:30:07,540 I think there's a little bit of tension between devoted and divided. 608 00:30:07,780 --> 00:30:08,900 Yeah, for sure. 609 00:30:09,060 --> 00:30:10,420 So we could do that. 610 00:30:11,060 --> 00:30:13,060 Well, Ross, let's bring it around to this. 611 00:30:13,300 --> 00:30:17,990 We're talking about Easter coming and some great opportunities 612 00:30:17,990 --> 00:30:20,230 here in the church and some challenges, to be sure. 613 00:30:20,550 --> 00:30:22,710 Our culture is certainly a challenge. 614 00:30:23,510 --> 00:30:29,790 But what's your word to a person maybe kind of checking out 615 00:30:29,790 --> 00:30:33,430 heaven, Earth church today or checking out their walk of faith 616 00:30:33,750 --> 00:30:39,790 and how might somehow come in alongside heaven or church or have 617 00:30:39,790 --> 00:30:42,950 our church come alongside them, how that might be a part of 618 00:30:42,950 --> 00:30:44,310 the opportunity or journey there. 619 00:30:44,390 --> 00:30:47,110 What would you say to that person or that family that maybe 620 00:30:47,940 --> 00:30:49,140 having that conversation? 621 00:30:51,220 --> 00:30:52,980 Probably the word from this Sunday. 622 00:30:53,140 --> 00:30:57,860 We looked a lot at this word from the Gospel of John, chapter 623 00:30:57,860 --> 00:30:58,180 15. 624 00:30:59,220 --> 00:31:05,300 He uses the word that is often translated abide almost a dozen times 625 00:31:05,940 --> 00:31:07,140 in that one chapter. 626 00:31:07,300 --> 00:31:07,700 Right. 627 00:31:08,260 --> 00:31:09,500 And that's a bit of a. 628 00:31:09,500 --> 00:31:12,500 It's not a word we use a lot is abide. 629 00:31:15,760 --> 00:31:17,200 But it kind of means to. 630 00:31:18,560 --> 00:31:20,640 It's used a lot of different ways, but it means to, like, kind 631 00:31:20,640 --> 00:31:22,000 of stay the course with something. 632 00:31:22,720 --> 00:31:23,920 It means to endure. 633 00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:26,240 It means to dwell in something. 634 00:31:26,560 --> 00:31:29,520 It means to plug into something, to stay connected. 635 00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:35,600 You know, Jesus says, those who abide in me, the father prunes, 636 00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:38,400 so they bear more fruit apart from me, you can do nothing. 637 00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:46,060 And so I would tell folks, abide, like endure. 638 00:31:47,180 --> 00:31:50,380 Try not to just skim the surface. 639 00:31:51,020 --> 00:31:58,100 Like, let yourself experience the beautiful fruit of diving in 640 00:31:58,100 --> 00:31:59,580 deep and staying the course. 641 00:32:00,220 --> 00:32:02,540 We see that with folks here all the time. 642 00:32:04,220 --> 00:32:05,180 I've seen it before. 643 00:32:05,180 --> 00:32:09,570 People are almost surprised about what happened when they went 644 00:32:09,570 --> 00:32:16,210 from just kind of a tenuous connection to making the choice to 645 00:32:16,210 --> 00:32:18,010 be more consistently engaged. 646 00:32:18,890 --> 00:32:20,490 And that's when the life change happens. 647 00:32:20,490 --> 00:32:21,610 Yeah, yeah. 648 00:32:22,010 --> 00:32:23,370 And that's a choice. 649 00:32:23,690 --> 00:32:28,130 Like, we're going to do everything we can to create, you 650 00:32:28,130 --> 00:32:31,930 know, communities and opportunities for folks to go from, 651 00:32:31,930 --> 00:32:34,330 you know, just connected to engaged or even connected. 652 00:32:35,330 --> 00:32:36,450 Engaged to committed. 653 00:32:36,850 --> 00:32:41,010 But at the end of the day, like, each of us has a choice to 654 00:32:41,010 --> 00:32:43,170 do that and to persevere in that. 655 00:32:44,210 --> 00:32:45,130 Well, that's awesome. 656 00:32:45,130 --> 00:32:46,850 Well, some great things here. 657 00:32:46,850 --> 00:32:48,130 And I just want to. 658 00:32:48,210 --> 00:32:50,930 We want to encourage people if they're having that conversation 659 00:32:50,930 --> 00:32:54,770 in their homes, among a married couple and their family, 660 00:32:55,570 --> 00:32:57,330 come check out heaven or church Right. 661 00:32:57,330 --> 00:32:57,770 Yeah. 662 00:32:57,770 --> 00:32:59,090 Come check it out and. 663 00:32:59,810 --> 00:33:01,910 And give yourself the. 664 00:33:02,390 --> 00:33:05,270 The joy of diving in deep. 665 00:33:05,910 --> 00:33:06,390 Yeah. 666 00:33:07,510 --> 00:33:10,030 Well, thanks for being with us today, Ross Tack. 667 00:33:10,030 --> 00:33:10,790 Thank you, Brad. 668 00:33:10,870 --> 00:33:11,830 Heaven Earth Church. 669 00:33:12,310 --> 00:33:14,070 Let's just give just a couple of details. 670 00:33:14,070 --> 00:33:17,510 If you do want to check out Heaven Earth Church, our physical 671 00:33:17,510 --> 00:33:20,310 location is on Main street in Whiteland, Indiana. 672 00:33:20,310 --> 00:33:21,110 What's the exact address? 673 00:33:21,110 --> 00:33:22,510 309 East Main Street. 674 00:33:22,510 --> 00:33:24,950 Right across from Whiteland High School, 9 East Main Street. 675 00:33:24,950 --> 00:33:27,190 Right across the street from Whiteland High School, near the intersection 676 00:33:27,190 --> 00:33:29,230 of Highway 31. 677 00:33:30,990 --> 00:33:33,630 The main service is at 9:30am Eastern Time. 678 00:33:34,110 --> 00:33:38,190 You can always check it out on YouTube as well. 679 00:33:38,830 --> 00:33:43,950 And the website is heavenearthchurch.org and it's a 680 00:33:43,950 --> 00:33:44,630 pleasure to be with you. 681 00:33:44,630 --> 00:33:46,590 You can always find out more about the church at the website, 682 00:33:46,910 --> 00:33:48,030 all kinds of details. 683 00:33:48,190 --> 00:33:53,310 And I might also add that Ross and Pastor Emily are very available 684 00:33:53,390 --> 00:33:57,750 as the other folks in the church for your questions or just 685 00:33:57,750 --> 00:33:58,590 to find out more. 686 00:33:59,070 --> 00:34:04,990 This is a group of people who I think that one of the things we 687 00:34:04,990 --> 00:34:08,350 say is said about having our church, if you feel like you don't 688 00:34:08,350 --> 00:34:10,190 fit in church, you fit in here. 689 00:34:10,350 --> 00:34:11,550 I do think that's true. 690 00:34:11,630 --> 00:34:13,030 My experience, yes. 691 00:34:13,030 --> 00:34:15,670 So people can check it out on their own terms, right? 692 00:34:15,670 --> 00:34:16,190 That's right. 693 00:34:16,190 --> 00:34:16,630 Yeah. 694 00:34:16,630 --> 00:34:16,990 Good. 695 00:34:17,470 --> 00:34:19,030 Well, thank you for being with us. 696 00:34:19,030 --> 00:34:21,320 My name is Brad Miller, the producer of the podcast. 697 00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:24,360 This is Ross Stackhouse, the pastor of Heaven Earth Church. 698 00:34:24,440 --> 00:34:27,800 We invite you to check out a church that has a mission to making 699 00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:29,880 a lasting impact in our community. 700 00:34:31,240 --> 00:34:33,720 We want to thank you for spending time with us today. 701 00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:37,240 My name is Ross Stackhouse, the pastor to Heaven Earth Church. 702 00:34:37,640 --> 00:34:40,960 And you may think out there that your story is over, but in fact, 703 00:34:40,960 --> 00:34:44,120 your faith story may just be beginning. 704 00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:44,940 If you want more. 705 00:34:45,089 --> 00:34:47,529 More information about our church or you're interested in the 706 00:34:47,529 --> 00:34:49,649 next step, you can go to heavenearthchurch. 707 00:34:49,729 --> 00:34:50,209 Org. 708 00:34:50,529 --> 00:34:54,169 Otherwise, we look forward to being with you next time at the Heaven 709 00:34:54,169 --> 00:34:55,409 Earth Church podcast.