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Tell Me More is a weekly podcast hosted by Katy Reed Hodges and Luke Stehr, where they unpack the Sunday sermon with Dr. Dennis Wiles. This podcast is designed on the premise that Dr. Wiles always has more to say than can fit in a 35 minute sermon - so we have fun discussing it here each week. We hope that in listening you are educated, encouraged and more connected to the pastor and his teaching!
Hey, friends. Welcome to another episode of Tell Me More. We have a great conversation with doctor Wiles and Ashley Berryhill talking all about, doctor Wiles' trip to Canada and some insights that he gained while he was there and all about evangelism and availability with sharing the gospel. So enjoy this conversation we had today. Hey, everyone.
Speaker 1:Welcome to another episode of Tell Me More. My name is Katie Hodges. And, yeah, my hair may look different, but my name's Katie. No. My name's Michael.
Speaker 1:I'm the discipleship minister of worship here, and I'm joined with Ashley Berryhill, discipleship... Wow. Minister of discipleship engagement.
Speaker 2:Yes. You can say it. Discipleship minister of engagement.
Speaker 1:Nailed it. You said it way better than I would. And your pastor, we love him. We're so glad he's back from Canada, doctor Dennis Wiles. Are you now Canadian?
Speaker 3:I'm I'm close. I'm I'm very close. And really good job on the intro, you know. But anyway, yeah. I've...
Speaker 3:Well, I've I've been to Canada. I've learned a little bit. But, yeah, it was awesome.
Speaker 2:Tell us
Speaker 3:more. Y'all both have been.
Speaker 2:You're We have. We've enjoyed
Speaker 3:it. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah. We
Speaker 1:went They
Speaker 3:all went together. Right?
Speaker 1:Yeah. Two years ago. Yeah. Two years ago, Ashley and I went with a few others. We flew with the peelers.
Speaker 1:It was awesome. Extremely informative. Yeah. You got to share a little bit with our church yesterday, but... And we'll share more, but we'd love to hear.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Just give us the lay of the land, what that trip was like, what some things that you experienced. We'd love to hear. Well,
Speaker 3:it was... This was an Ascents sponsored trip. We have in our Ascent movement, we have now three mission organizations that have pulled together to help provide oversight for us regarding our missional investments through as... The Ascent Movement. And that's TMS Global, which used to be the sending organization for the United Methodist Church, And Canadian Baptist Ministries, which is the overall missional entity for all of Canadian Baptists Mhmm.
Speaker 3:And then Restore Hope. So Cindy was with me on this trip, and we took Peggy Kulis from our church. She's on our great commission council. And then a couple other churches joined us. They had missions pastors that were with us, and then we had representatives from all three mission organizations.
Speaker 3:And the Canadian Baptist Ministries actually hosted us or CBM as they're affectionately called. Mhmm. And so, yeah, it was it was... This particular trip was somewhat of an experiment for us. We're trying to craft a missional path for churches that are in the ascent movement Mhmm.
Speaker 3:To begin a we're do be that. Mission on into the future. And And this trip's kind of an opportunity for people to be engaged in something that's strategic missiologically in a place that's somewhat accessible, Canada, but also will involve cross cultural ministry, which as y'all both know is very much accessible in Canada. So Mhmm. We've heard from our churches in the ascent movement, they're looking for something like that.
Speaker 3:They want something... An opportunity that's accessible that is cross cultural, but that's missiologically strategic. In other words, it's not just something to go see and and think, oh, that's cool. But actually, to be a part of something that's actually really, really well done so that it can be modeled in front of you, but also to help shape you and form you in your own missiology and then take back to your church. And we are developing materials that will serve as the guide and prepare you for the work and then how to follow-up.
Speaker 3:Once you get home, there's a whole module that they're developing to help your people evaluate this when you get home. So so this was kind of the guinea pig trip. And so I wanted to go since I'm chair of the Ascent Council. I wanted to see it all for myself. You know?
Speaker 3:So... And we partner with Jennifer Lau. Jennifer is the director of Canadian Baptist Ministries and just an incredibly delightful person. Mhmm. Really, really good missiologist, great mission partner Mhmm.
Speaker 3:And just a great role model in so many ways of how to lead an organization and also how to engage strategically in mission. So Mhmm. So, yeah, it was it was a great trip. We started in Ontario. And so we began our trip for a few days.
Speaker 3:We spent a few days there in what they call the GTA, the Greater Toronto Area. Mhmm. And just some immersive stuff just in the city of Toronto. But then we visited several really, I think, missiologically strategic churches. And met with practitioners, met with pastors, seminary professors.
Speaker 3:We spent one day at Tyndale University and and engaged in a kind of interactive lecture on multi culturalism and intercultural expressions in the church and just intercultural expressions anywhere actually. Very informative. It was kinda cool to be on Tyndale's campus. This is the this is the five hundredth anniversary of William Tyndale's translation of the bible Mhmm. Into English, and which was a revolutionary accomplishment.
Speaker 3:Cost Tyndale his life, you know, they strangled him and then they burned him. Just to make sure he was dead, they burned him at the stake because he had taken the scripture and translated into a language that wasn't Latin. You know? What's fascinating is a couple... And and he railed against king Henry the eighth's desire to annul his marriage with...
Speaker 3:And and when he was he was trying to get the pope to annul his marriage and the pope wouldn't do it. And because the pope was actually kin to Catherine of Aragon, they're... They were family. Pope had other reasons as well, but Tyndale just railed against the king for that. And then after he was he was put to death by king Charles, actually.
Speaker 3:But a couple years later, Henry declared his independence from a Catholic church. And then he actually took the translations of Tyndale and distribute them to all the churches, you know, even after he had been murdered. So kind of a fascinating story. But it's kinda cool to be on that campus to Mhmm. Pay homage to
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:One of our heroes, William Tyndale. Mhmm. Learned a lot there.
Speaker 2:Any particular insights, observations?
Speaker 3:Well, you know, just... I think one is just getting your vocabulary straight, you know? Mhmm. That's one thing. Because you can be multi something without being inter.
Speaker 3:Mhmm. You know, you can be multi generational at your church without really being intergenerational. Mhmm. So you can be multiethnic without being interethnic. You can be multicultural without being intercultural.
Speaker 3:So we spent a good bit of time learning about that. Mhmm. Also, just how we communicate with each other. And we we did some exercises where you had to kind of do some blind communication, and it was fascinating how how we just choose different ways to express things. You know, and it was a really cool learning experience.
Speaker 3:And, you know, I think in terms of church, it was it was insightful in a lot of ways just realizing that there are all different kinds of missiological strategies that work. You've just gotta figure out what's best for your setting. Mhmm. And we saw so many different expressions of them. And some...
Speaker 3:You know, we we we saw some... They were honest enough to talk about some failed experiments, things that didn't quite work, but some things that are working now. So so... Yeah. And just the transition that everybody's going through missiologically.
Speaker 3:Then we took a five hour train ride to Montreal and spent the next couple of days in Quebec. And as I was sharing with the staff today, it's kinda fascinating to be in one country and you go on a train ride five hours and you feel like you've entered a whole another country because Quebec is French speaking. Much more European to me than Toronto. I I felt very much at home. And I think I've spent so much time in Rome and in Europe.
Speaker 3:I just felt... I really felt at home in Montreal and and the whole Quebec area. It it really felt... I don't know. Just...
Speaker 3:It just felt normal to me. But the... And the incredible breadth of cultures and ethnicities that now comprise Canada is a little bit overwhelming. You know? And then just watching how they're trying to take the gospel to these various communities, it was really insightful and it was very encouraging.
Speaker 3:So one of the things we did, spent some time just learning. So Rafael Eunzenberger, who was here, he did one of our lectures. And we several lectures in both places. But it was mainly built around culture and what's happening in our culture and what forces are at work. And so we we talked a lot about the secularization of culture.
Speaker 3:And... But that... What's fascinating is the research now is showing us that secularity, in other words, coming to the place where the square, if you will, is just completely devoid of religion, is not really the result of secularism. Plurality is actually really the result of secularism. And seeing that at play in Canada just reminded me of how I believe that to be true.
Speaker 3:We're already seeing that here in The US. Mhmm. Because it's not that that people are necessarily secular per se. Some are. It's almost like a generational thing in Canada.
Speaker 3:But both there and here, the younger you get, the more interest there is in spiritual things. And the research is just pretty clear. RAF showed us some research. They had just finished in Canada. And it's pretty striking, difference between baby boomers and then as you go down to Gen Alpha, just make your way younger.
Speaker 3:People are way, way more open to spiritual conversations. It's not that they're secular. It's just pluralistic. They just don't know.
Speaker 2:Mhmm.
Speaker 3:They don't what... They're not sure what to choose. You know? Mhmm. So so, yeah, it's fascinating.
Speaker 3:I think too, the power of the gospel, I was just reminded of that's really what works, you know, and it and it's not... It can't be draped in cultural trappings. You know? That's never worked. It it didn't work in in Montreal.
Speaker 3:It didn't work in Quebec. It hasn't worked in Europe. And so you you just you can't encapsulate the gospel with earthly expressions of power. Mhmm. If you do, you really truncate the gospel and it really becomes something that's not the gospel.
Speaker 3:Right. And and why we fall fall for that so often, I'm not really sure. It's different here in The US than it is in Canada. Mhmm. The trappings are different, but it's the same principle.
Speaker 3:Yeah. You know, we... I I look at my culture culture and sometimes we we are worried about or confused by political expressions of power and somehow associate them with the gospel. And you just... You you know, when you do that, you're just in...
Speaker 3:You're just on thin ice, you know? It's just it's it's just not... It's really not how the gospel has ever flourished. It it doesn't have to be carried by the culture. That's not really how it works.
Speaker 3:Mhmm. It doesn't have to be propped up, you know, by political power. The the gospel needs none of that. It it actually runs free of that. And and so we saw examples of that in Canada where where there were those in power who took the gospel and to enforce it upon the people, and it and it ended up being bankrupt.
Speaker 3:And and, it just it just doesn't work. So, yeah, I brought that back home. Just a good reminder to me that, you know, the gospel is the gospel and the proclamation of who Jesus is. That's what really changes people's lives. So so, yeah, it was encouraging.
Speaker 3:It was fun. Yeah. Learned a lot. Had a great... It was a good dynamic with our team.
Speaker 3:You know, we had we had different types of folks on our team from various backgrounds. And and even the the way that Canadian Baptist Ministries and also the French Baptist Union... Canadian French Canadian Baptist Union, they obviously are together. Even how they shaped the conversations and the journey, it was very... It was it was art...
Speaker 3:It was articulated to us how they were gonna do it, but it was very meticulous in how they did it. They did it in a certain order Mhmm. If that makes sense. And then then they intentional. Challenged us to critique that order and decide, okay, what what do we think is best and what should anybody learn who decides they're gonna come and experience the multicultures of of Canada.
Speaker 3:So still chewing on that a little bit, to be honest with you. Mhmm. But but it was a great a great time. And I think I've... I came back inspired and I think certainly better informed about my own understanding of how the gospel needs to be expressed here and anywhere else that we choose to take it.
Speaker 3:Mhmm. So... Yeah. Mhmm. That's good.
Speaker 3:Anyway, that's good.
Speaker 1:When you talk about the gospel being expressed and shared and that when we truly believe that it is powerful enough on its own. Mhmm. I think about yesterday and what you shared, and you even told the story about the pastor who
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 1:They baptized 850 people. They had to put a cap on baptisms. Unbelievable. I think we, in America, especially being in the buckle of the bible, we forget about that, which is sad as Christians to even say that we we can forget about the power of the gospel on its own. But paired with the power of the gospel is it takes our availability to it Mhmm.
Speaker 1:And our sensitivity to it. And I'm guilty just as the next person, church church goer, Christian, to forget of saying, God, help me to be available to your spirit, to be led by you constantly, not to let the systems that we tend to try to build to force that or even politics or government or whatever. Talk a little bit about what... As you're, you know, coming back from Canada and even just for us here in Arlington, what are some practical things that we need to do that we can do to be more available to the spirit of God? What are some things that maybe we need to lay down?
Speaker 1:What what do you sense in your spirit? Mhmm.
Speaker 3:Well, I think first... And thank you for that. I I think there's... To me, there's a kind of a spirit of humility that goes with it that, you know, the the force and the power of the gospel does not depend upon us. That...
Speaker 3:That's not yet. It's not... You know, it's not that that we're the ones that make it work. That's just not how. Right.
Speaker 3:It's not how it is. However, you know, again, on this trip, you know, as I got to thinking and and sometimes when I'm doing something like this, I'll do a little research just because I'm responding to what I'm seeing. And so, you know, you you read about William Tyndale, and you just think about what all was happening in in his life and in England at the time when he decided the gospel... The the the bible needed to be in the hands of the people. The people didn't speak Latin anymore.
Speaker 3:You know? They... These these were Anglos. They they were speaking English. And he believed that the bible, the word of God was powerful enough that it should be put in the hands of the people.
Speaker 3:And we're incredibly indebted to him for that, you know, because about 80%, give or take, of the King James Bible is actually Tyndale's translation of the the scripture. So he's had way more impact on the English speaking world and English speaking church than maybe any other one person that's ever lived, and most people don't even know his name. You don't even know who he is. And and so I was just reflecting on that. Well, as a part of that, I just began thinking about all of these leaders who...
Speaker 3:From that era and just past that era who just had such a profound impact upon the church. And and so, yeah, Tyndale was was definitely one of those. But William Carey was another one that I just kept thinking about. And Mhmm. So when William Carey felt called to go to India, he shared that, you know, with his Baptist association, you know, and and he was young.
Speaker 3:And one of the ministers basically said, I'll use my words for it, but pretty much said, if the Lord intended the heathen to hear the gospel, he would make sure that they heard it. So basically, told, you know, we and Carrie, there's no reason for you to go. If it was God's will for the heathen to be saved, they'll be saved. Well, the gospel is... Doesn't depend upon us for its power, but it does have to be shared.
Speaker 3:You know? As people, we have to be available to be used by God to share it. Mhmm. And so that's that's where that unusual mysterious partnership is. Mhmm.
Speaker 3:And to me, that's a part of the humility of it. It's not it's not my power or my ingenuity. It's really the the beauty and the force of the gospel, but it does require my cooperation, so to speak. Mhmm. And that's where availability comes in.
Speaker 3:Mhmm. And and I think that in this in our setting, there are a number of challenges we face, I think. One of them is just the, I think, the busyness of life. We have so many things that just draw us and distract us, if you will.
Speaker 2:Guilty as charged.
Speaker 3:Yeah. We all we all live with it before you're just not as accessible as probably the Lord would like for us to be. Mhmm. And so that's why I think we run pretty roughshod past Divine appointments all the time. You know?
Speaker 3:They're they're there. They're just, you just gotta seize upon them. And I think in my own life, it's that way. And sometimes, you know, it's... I don't know if we don't wanna be bothered or if we're, you know, we just got other priorities on our minds, and we just kinda mindlessly walk past people all the time without acknowledging them.
Speaker 3:You know, I I... I'm I'm sorry. I'm making a habit of... You know, this this idea that you would pray for the one person every day, you know, looking for the one. Lord, if you just put somebody on my path today, I'll do my best to be available and all that.
Speaker 3:Well, I've tried to get that discipline going in my life. Sometimes I don't think about it till I'm in the car on the way to work or I'm... Whatever. I think, oh, okay. I forgot about asking the Lord.
Speaker 3:It may seem... Sound kinda trite, but, you know, we're supposed to connect what happens to us what we're praying. So Mhmm. But... And you just never know how people are going to respond.
Speaker 3:So I've tried to just be available and ask God to show me when the opportunities arise. And, you know, I I was in a a restaurant the other day, and I was by myself. I was waiting on a friend of mine and I... Who I'd really... I say a friend of mine.
Speaker 3:I don't really know him yet, but he's a colleague. And and it's really my first time to meet him. We've become friends a little bit. And... But, anyway, I was waiting on him, and the young lady waiting on me was just...
Speaker 3:She didn't know me. And and she said, have you got plans after lunch today? I don't... Know, she was just making a conversation. She said, would you like a beer or anything?
Speaker 3:And I kinda smiled, and I said, well, you know, actually, I'm a babbish preacher. And she was like, oh, okay. And, and I was teasing the guy that was coming to meet me because he's from another denomination. I said, I got a guy that's coming as a pastor. I said, but, you know, he's not he's not a Baptist.
Speaker 3:You might need to leave that drink menu, you know, for him. And, she thought that was funny. And so when he got there, we we joked about that. She said, well, the Baptist here wanted to know if you want anything to drink. And he said something like, well, I'm not gonna drink in front of him.
Speaker 3:You know? So we kinda had him... She kinda watched all that play in front of us. And then... So then I just told her, I said, well, when she brought our meal, I said, we're, you know, we're gonna pray together.
Speaker 3:Anything we can pray for you. You know? And, you know, typically, here in this community, y'all know it's mostly students that are working in a lot of these restaurants here close to the church. So normally, if I ask it, it's, man, I got a test coming up or, you know, I'm really overwhelmed. I've got this going on.
Speaker 3:I got that going on. Whatever. And she kinda stood there for a second, and she just looked at me. And she said, well, you both are pastors. Right?
Speaker 3:And I said, yeah. And she said, well, really hadn't said this to anybody, but I think I'm... I I think I may be bipolar. And I'm I'm going to the doctor about it. I'm pretty nervous about it.
Speaker 3:And I just kinda looked at her, and I said, well, would you... You want us to pray for you? And she said, please. And then she like, can I can I stand right here while y'all pray? And I said, well, of course.
Speaker 3:So I prayed for her. And I thought to myself, you just never know, you know, what's going on. I mean, she's just a server working busy as loud. You know, it wasn't like we were in some intimate setting. That was not it at all.
Speaker 3:It it was, you know, dishes clanging and, you know, TVs blaring. And, I mean, when she paused, I thought, okay. What's what's going on here? You know? And then for her to say, I've never said this to anybody, but...
Speaker 3:You know? And I thought, okay, Lord. You just... You know? So I've been back to see her a couple of times.
Speaker 3:And and so now we've got a little, you know, kind of a little shared history, if that makes sense.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And so that to me is is not rocket science, and it's not that big a deal. You know what I mean? It's not like I... I'm Billy Graham. You know?
Speaker 3:I was I was just being very innocent. You know? Maybe I can pray for you. And for her to admit... And I told her later when I went back by, said, you know, you kinda surprised me.
Speaker 3:And she said, me too. I I surprised myself. Well, I just think that those are the kinds of things that, you know, everybody that we encounter, they're actually human beings. You know? They're they're showing up at their job or wherever it is that we encounter them with who knows what and what's going on in their lives.
Speaker 3:And I don't know. I just think there's something about a spirit of humility in those moments that people will feel drawn to. You know? And and I'm not there to claim some kind of victory, you know, so I can share some story one day that I led this girl to Christ. You know?
Speaker 3:I genuinely, human to human, just care about her, and I still do. And I think she senses that. Mhmm. Mhmm. And so I was in there the other day, and I walked in, and she said, you're not gonna believe this.
Speaker 3:She said, I I just couldn't wait to see you again. And I said, really? She said, I need to show you something. I said, okay. She said, hold on one second.
Speaker 3:So she goes... She comes back and gets the phone. She says, my brother was just ordained as a priest. Can you believe that? And I said, said, well, I I don't know.
Speaker 3:She said, I couldn't help myself. I was thinking about you the whole time it was going on. She said, can I just show you some pictures? So she just shows me pictures of her her brother's ordination. And she said, I don't even know what any of this means, but I knew you would, and I just wanna show it to you.
Speaker 3:And I just thought, okay. So, again Mhmm. I have no idea where all that's gonna lead, but I love the fact that we've made this little connection, you know, that she she knows I really do care about her. Mhmm. And she's not quite sure what my life is like, which is okay.
Speaker 3:So I just think that that being available, you know, it it goes a long way both for God, I think, and for other people, you know, and just being humble in those moments. You know? So so, yeah, I just think their divine appointments are everywhere. You know? And it's easy to miss.
Speaker 3:You know? Yeah. I was flying back on an airplane from Africa the last time I went, and there was a young man sitting next to me, and it was a it was seating between us. And he was very quiet, and he was an Asian and headphones and, you know, I you mean, can kinda tell when somebody's probably not gonna wanna have a conversation with them, which is fine. And so I I was fine too, you know, whatever.
Speaker 3:And we're getting close to DFW, and he took his headphones off. And and so I was sitting there, and and then he just kinda started asking me a couple questions. Are you going home? I said, yes. And how about you?
Speaker 3:He said, yes. And we'll kinda talk for a minute. Excuse me. And and he said, well, where where do you actually live? I said, well, I live in Arlington.
Speaker 3:And he said, really? I said, yeah. He said, I just... He said, I did a PhD at University of Texas at Arlington. And I said, really?
Speaker 3:He said, did. And and he said, I said, in what? He said electrical engineering. And I said, well, I almost did a PhD in electrical engineering because... And I'm just messing with him.
Speaker 3:And he was like, really? And I said, I'm just joking. I said, no. I said, I'm not that smart. And he started laughing.
Speaker 3:So then he said, so what... So did you go to school? I said, I did. And and he said, where did you go to school? So when I...
Speaker 3:You know, I'm not sure. Is is he gonna even know what seminary... You know I mean? So I said, well, went to college back in Alabama. And and then I said I said, I went to kind of a special school, you know, for people who do what I do for a living.
Speaker 3:And he said, oh, really? What do you do for a living? And so I said, well, actually, I'm a pastor of of a church. He said, really? I said, I am.
Speaker 3:And and so we kinda talking. And so then he just said, so do you mind if I ask you some questions about Christianity?
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 3:I'm thinking, once again Bleh up. Yeah. You just... Come on.
Speaker 1:You know? Mhmm.
Speaker 3:And and so we had a really sweet conversation. Then he told me finally, he said, look. I'm a Hindu. And he said, so, you know, just trying to sort through all this sometimes is very challenging. He said, but I I want you to know I'm a spiritual person.
Speaker 3:And I said, that's that's awesome. He said, I actually have an altar in my home. He said, I have a a place where meditate. And and he said, it's just a... It's a special place in my house.
Speaker 3:I said, well, that's awesome. He said, when I get home after this conversation, he said, when I get home, I'm going to go. He said, I'm... He said, I know there are a lot of Christian stores in in the Metroplex. And I was like, okay.
Speaker 3:I... Yeah. Yeah. You know, I'm not sure what what a Christian store is, but... And he said, there are.
Speaker 3:There are Christian stores. And I said, okay. And he said, I'm gonna go find a statue of Jesus. He said, I'm I'm pretty sure I can find one. I said, okay.
Speaker 3:And he said, would that be offensive to you if I went and bought a statue of Jesus? And I said, well, that's an interesting question. He said, well, I would never wanna be offensive to Christian. He said, so... But what I was thinking was I would I would go buy a statue of Jesus and I will put Jesus in my in my collection, in that holy place in my home.
Speaker 3:And I just kinda nodded. I said, well, okay. And then he said, would that be offensive to you? And I said, well, you know, I don't I don't know that you should worry much about that. And then he said, would it be offensive to Jesus if I did that?
Speaker 3:And and I said, well, you know, you're... I mean, now we're we're, like, on our descent. We're we're, you know, we're low. Mhmm. And I'm thinking, oh my gosh.
Speaker 3:So I just said, well, you know, I said, can I just be honest with you, please? Please. I said, you know, Jesus, he's he's not to be included in an array. That's that's not how it works with Jesus. He said, what do you mean?
Speaker 3:I said, well, Jesus actually claimed to be lord, which means it it rules out all the other options. Mhmm. If I can just be that... If you don't mind me being that direct. And he said, wow.
Speaker 3:That is very interesting. He said, well, I will not buy a statue of Jesus. He said, I'm I'm gonna have to give this some thought. He said, because you're telling me you can't just include him. I said, no.
Speaker 3:You you really can't. So now I have no idea whatever happened. Right. But I thought it was very interesting. He's looking at me, can I ask you some questions about Christianity?
Speaker 3:Yeah. Yes. So, again, why the Lord set us next to each other? I have no idea. You know, it a huge airplane, and Cindy wasn't with me, you know, for whatever reason.
Speaker 3:And so I don't know. It's just interesting to me how God just intersects us with, you know, people that that may need us. And now Mhmm. I think I think one of the things that people, I think, misunderstand about evangelism is that evangelism only means that you share the full Roman road Mhmm. And lead a person in a sinner's prayer.
Speaker 3:And if you don't do that, then, you know, you haven't really done anything. Mhmm. When to me, my take on that is, I think when we encounter people, the hope is that they'll they'll be moved one step closer to who the Lord is in their life. Right. And every once in a while, I happen to be the one there that catches them.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. Mhmm.
Speaker 3:You know, when they kinda fall into the family. More often than not, it's it's just I'm I'm one of the ones along the chain Mhmm. You know, along the way.
Speaker 2:So I was talking about that engagement. No. Equipping brunches. We have equipping brunches once a week and for bible study classes to come in. And this week, I spoke a little bit about that, but the continuum.
Speaker 2:Everybody's on a continuum. You may meet
Speaker 3:see. Yeah.
Speaker 2:You may meet people who are a negative 10 Mhmm. And zero maybe
Speaker 3:They're the most fun, by the way.
Speaker 2:But you never know what the Lord's gonna do.
Speaker 3:That's right.
Speaker 2:And so following Jesus would be a zero, and a 10 would be making disciples. And so where are they at on that continuum? You never know. Mhmm. But the Lord wants us to become what I would...
Speaker 2:What I was implying was come and see people from the Samaritan woman of she just... Jesus met her in a need Mhmm. Revealed himself to her, and she said, come and see. Mhmm. And because she said that, people started believing and they came.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. And then they listened to Jesus and then more people believed. And so it was... You don't have to have all the answers. You don't have to have the Roman road.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. Become a come and see people, you know, and so, yeah.
Speaker 1:I think as you were talking and as you were just sharing, Ashley, I think a lot of us sometimes are looking for what is the playbook. Mhmm. Like, what's this blueprint, Lord? Mhmm. And Lord, are you gonna give me a warning before you give me that Divine appointment?
Speaker 1:Like, are gonna give me an on ramp if it's coming? It's like... Doesn't usually work that way. Or like you said in the restaurant, it's loud. It's it's never this peaceful, serene Mhmm.
Speaker 1:You actually audibly hear the voice of God saying, Michael, share the gospel.
Speaker 3:So weird.
Speaker 1:It's just not how it works. And even the way you end the story of, I don't know where it's gonna lead. And I think that's just such a beautiful posture for us us to take is with that availability of it being consistent of of saying, I'm I'm a nerd, so I'm a music nerd. So Melody Mendez who led a song on Sunday, she she led us on called available. It was very fitting.
Speaker 1:Beautiful. But the chorus just says, I hear you call. I am available. Like, that's really simple. And it it says, I say, yes, Lord.
Speaker 1:I'm available. And I I think that's... That should be the posture of our hearts. And so whether it's through our equipping brunches where we're getting trained, and, yes, these trainings are extremely helpful to be equipped, but there's no blueprint or playbook when it comes to these moments other than knowing that just like the disciples, Jesus Jesus just simply said, follow me. Mhmm.
Speaker 1:But he didn't say, follow me. Here's all the places we're gonna go. Right. He he just said, follow me, and they said, yes, Lord. And so let that be us response in in all of this in this journey of evangelism.
Speaker 1:And so I'm I'm prompted with the table as well as we've been meeting together on Wednesdays. Talk about not really having a playbook. We have entered into these nights of worship and prayer together where we're considering the one that God has given us, that name, but then we've also considered our neighbors and the people that we walk past every day in life. And Mhmm. I'm just...
Speaker 1:I'm reminded every single Wednesday of the power of of joining together in prayer
Speaker 3:with the body of Christ. That's that's the secret.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And and I'm just... I'm I'm continually every single week encouraged with how we can so easily forget that. We can so easily think that we can do this faith journey on our own, but we we just can't. And so what would you say to just the power of a praying church in in watching the gospel being spread?
Speaker 1:You were just in Canada. Now you're back here, and we're thinking about how does that... What can we learn from the church in Canada, how
Speaker 3:it applies here in Arlington? What about in terms of prayer? What what are some some steps that we can take just as a church to join together and pray more intentionally? Well, I I I do believe that I've become more convicted about this as time has worn on, that prayer is at the heart of all of it, that it's... That's the real secret, is coming before the Lord and asking him for what he wants to give to us, praying for people that we know need him, praying for divine appointments, praying for us to be ready, praying for conversations, praying for lost people.
Speaker 3:You know, the Lord is the one who draws people to himself. And so praying for that, that that God will will draw people. Praying that God will bring people into the lives of lost people so that they will interact with one another and see authentic Christianity lived out in front of them. You know, this this text in first Peter three fifteen where Peter says to sanctify Christ in your hearts, revere him in your hearts, he says. And then be ready, he says, to give a defense Mhmm.
Speaker 3:For the hope that's in you. And and the kind of the implication is people are gonna ask about it. Mhmm. And so, to me, that's that's all connected. In other words, if you're living this life before people, that there'll be an opportunity, hopefully, to to share why you live the way you live in...
Speaker 3:With them. And so... But at the heart of that to me is is sanctifying Christ. It's it's praying. It's setting ourselves apart and aside for his word.
Speaker 3:So I think prayer is kinda the secret sauce, if you will. When you study the history of Christianity, I mean, renewal, every revival, every awakening, this pretty much ever happened, is on the heels of of great prayer movements. Mhmm. That's just the fact. So, in in this consistent with the scripture, you look at that early church, they prayed.
Speaker 3:Luke tells us that over and over and over and over and over. They prayed. You know, they prayed while they were praying. You know, the building would start shaking or while they were praying, God would speak to them. Mhmm.
Speaker 3:Do this. Or while they're praying, God would give them a vision. Go here. I mean, it's... I just think that it's it's at the very heart of everything, and I think that we can get too busy for it.
Speaker 3:You know, and we can even get too sophisticated for it as if our structures and our plans and our strategies are the secret sauce. Yeah. That... I mean, it's all important. But, you know, the fuel that drives it all, I believe, is prayer.
Speaker 3:Plus it just it just gives you a chance to commune with God, to be in fellowship with other believers. Mhmm. There's just nothing like it. And it's it's it's a little countercultural, you know. It's not flashy.
Speaker 3:Mhmm. But it's it's powerfully meaningful. So, yeah, I'm I'm glad we've started this on Wednesday evenings, and I would encourage any of our people who've never been to come. And just just be together to pray. You know, we're...
Speaker 3:That's really what happens on Wednesday nights now. It's a it's a time of prayer. Mhmm. And and I believe it is... It's going to be a long...
Speaker 3:It's gonna have long term benefits in life of our church. That's what I believe. So, yeah, I just think it's it's crucial. And and it just... It...
Speaker 3:To me, it creates a certain posture in your own heart. You know? And and when you're sharing with each other, you know, there's a lot of vulnerability there. Like, I've I've had a couple of guys that are on my heart, and I've not done a good job to me and and and I'm trying to make sure I've communicated who Jesus is to them. And so I finally said that out loud to a couple of guys on Wednesday night.
Speaker 3:Mhmm. You know? And, well, now they know. Yeah. You know?
Speaker 3:And so
Speaker 1:That's awesome.
Speaker 3:They'll ask me every once in while. So have you had a conversation with someone? No. Know? And what's funny is, I think I told you all this on a...
Speaker 3:On one of our Monday devotionals. There's one guy in particular. I hadn't seen him in a while, and he's in my neighborhood. And and so I mentioned this to these guys, you know, about it. And so they...
Speaker 3:The next Sunday, one of them asked me about it. And I said, yeah. I just... I hadn't seen him in a while. So Monday so Monday morning, I got in my car to come to the to, the Monday meeting, staff meeting.
Speaker 3:And I'd forgotten that morning to even ask, Lord, send me that one person, you know, today. So I get in my car, and I left something inside. So I cranked it up. I ran back in the house. I come back out to get my car, and I go to pull my driveway, and he's literally walking right in front of my driveway.
Speaker 3:I mean, I I could have run over him had I left, and I just started laughing. You know? And I thought, okay, Lord. You know? I didn't even ask you to send me the one.
Speaker 3:And I and I and I told one of the guys on Sunday when he said, hey. Have you had a chance to talk to someone? Said, no. And I thought, okay. I'm gonna almost ran over him.
Speaker 3:Yeah. You know? And so I kinda pulled around to the side of him, and we stopped and visited for just a second. And I said, I didn't see you a while. He said, yeah.
Speaker 3:Whatever. And I said, alright. I said, well, we're gonna... We need to get together one day and play golf. And he said, I would love that.
Speaker 3:And I thought, okay, Lord. You know? And sometimes the Lord just puts them in front of your car, literally. So so he's he's on my he's on my list. So...
Speaker 3:Anyway. But it's funny. I'm not the only one praying for him.
Speaker 1:Right. Right.
Speaker 3:You know? That's
Speaker 2:a that's point.
Speaker 3:Brothers here in Christ in this church that are praying for him and asking me about it.
Speaker 1:That's right.
Speaker 3:So that's that's a that's a that's a cool thing to me. Yeah. I know. Yeah. And so if...
Speaker 3:Whenever something does happen, we'll all celebrate.
Speaker 1:That's right.
Speaker 3:You know? So that's part of the beauty in partnership of prayers, I would say. So... And I know y'all are the ones who planned the Wednesday night, so I would just tell y'all as your pastor, thank you. Good job.
Speaker 3:You you took something... Or all I did was share an idea with you all, and y'all took it and turned it into what it is, and it's it's really good. So I'm I'm proud of y'all for it, and we're grateful. So
Speaker 1:Well, we're we're honored as a church to to watch god continue to use it. And I think, you know, if you haven't gotten a prayer guide, we have a weekly prayer that doctor Rawls put together for every single week. We're praying a prayer every week, and this week's prayer is, father, help me to be sensitive to your leadership in my everyday life. Amen. And I would encourage you to continue every day to pray that prayer this week, and we'll continue that at the table.
Speaker 1:So you're invited to the table, 6PM in the fellowship hall. Doctor Wyle is gonna be leading us through a devotional time of prayer, and we'll worship together. And, we're very excited. We'll have some light bites too. It's just enough.
Speaker 1:What would you say?
Speaker 3:I said Just enough? To remind you that you're hungry. That's what I said.
Speaker 2:There you go.
Speaker 1:I love it. I love it. Well, we would love for you to come and, to find community there at the table. And, doctor Walls, do have anything else you want to
Speaker 3:No. That's all good. Thank y'all.
Speaker 1:Thank you.
Speaker 3:We miss Katie and Luke today. Yes. We do. But we're grateful. Yeah.
Speaker 3:We love to have you here today. It's awesome.
Speaker 1:Thank you. We're glad you've been. Thank you. Thank you. See y'all next time.
Speaker 4:Thanks for listening to the Tell Me More podcast today. You can subscribe to this podcast on your app of choice, or you can visit us at fbca.org to find out more information about podcast and our church. Thanks for listening. Have a good day.