New & Popular: Crazy Faith by Michael Todd

Show Notes

This week's episode features one of our NEW studies, Crazy Faith by Michael Todd. In this episode we get the first installment in Michael's life story that involves baby faith and maybe faith.

 

Watch the video of Session One

Get information on the Study Guide

Today I’ve got a new study for you, Crazy Faith, by Michael Todd. In case you’re not familiar with Michael Todd, he’s the lead pastor of Transformation Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and he’s gaining quite a following. You’re going to hear why when you listen to this first session of Crazy Faith, where he gives us the first installment in his life story that involves baby faith and maybe faith.

Stay far away from normal when it comes to matters of faith.

Will you be remembered as a person who claimed to follow God but liked to play it safe? Or as a person who lived your life out on the limb and trusted God enough to act with crazy faith?

In this five-session video Bible study (video streaming included), bestselling author and pastor Michael Todd reveals how to step out in faith and dive into the purposeful life of trusting God for the impossible.

There are many things that seem normal today that at one point in time seemed crazy. History-making inventions that started out as crazy ideas. People who risked everything to stand up for what they believed. But our see-it-to-believe-it generation tends to have a hard time exercising true faith—one that steps out, takes action, and sees mountain-moving results. Many of us would rather play it safe and stand on the sidelines. But it's crazy faith that helps us see God move and reveals his promises.

Study Gateway is a streaming video Bible study service that gives instant access to video studies taught by hundreds of the world's most influential Christian authors, teachers and pastors, published HarperChristian Resources. Subscriptions plans are available for personal use, for small groups, and for whole churches. Learn more at StudyGateway.com.

Creators & Guests

Guest

Michael Todd

Pastor Michael along with his wife Natalie, have been the Lead Pastors of Transformation Church based in Tulsa, OK since February 2015. They were entrusted with Transformation Church by the founding Pastor, Gary McIntosh after 15 years of operation. Their personal philosophy and driving passion is re- presenting God to the lost and found for transformation in Christ. Their mission is to place Christ in the center of culture to impact their community, city and world with the gospel presented in a relevant and progressive way.

What is Study Gateway First Listens?

Study Gateway's First Listens: Find your next Bible study! Join host Shelley Leith as she curates first sessions of Bible studies on various themes each season, taught by some of the world’s most influential Christian authors, teachers, and pastors. To learn more, visit https://StudyGateway.com.

First Listens Season 1: Episode 3
Crazy Faith
By Michael Todd

Hi there! It’s Shelley Leith here, host of Study Gateway’s First Listens, where you get first listens to first sessions so you can find your next video Bible study.

This season of First Listens is called New & Popular, where we’re listening to the audio of the first sessions of the newest and most popular video Bible studies from HarperChristian Resources that are streaming on Study Gateway. In this season you’ll hear sessions by Louie Giglio, Jennie Allen, Michael Todd, Sadie Robertson Huff, Lysa TerKeurst, Anne Graham Lotz, and Sarah Jakes Roberts, and with these new and popular first listens, you’re going to get some great ideas for choosing your next Bible study!

Today I’ve got a new study for you, Crazy Faith, by Michael Todd. In case you’re not familiar with Michael Todd, he’s the lead pastor of Transformation Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and he’s gaining quite a following. You’re going to hear why when you listen to this first session of Crazy Faith, where he gives us the first installment in his life story that involves baby faith and maybe faith. Let’s listen to Session 1, called Starting Out!

[MUSIC PLAYING]
MICHAEL TODD: Back in 1999, a couple heard the Lord calling them to do something that would be considered by most to be crazy. Their story I'm going to tell you in just a little bit. But let me set the scene for you.

The place, the north side of Tulsa, Oklahoma, which has historically been inhabited by minority families. In 1921, a devastating race massacre took place in a prominent upper class district of North Tulsa, called Greenwood, where many distinguished Black people lived and owned thriving businesses. The area was known as Black Wall Street, because it was affluent. It was a national epicenter of economic prosperity for African-Americans. Close to 1/10 of the population of the city of Tulsa back then was Black. And most of them lived in this area called Black Wall Street.

Some white people saw this prosperous district as a threat to their comfortability and segregated lives. They allowed their hearts to be filled with hatred. And on May 30, 1921, racial tensions came to an explosive head. A young Black teenager stepped onto an elevator of a fancy office building. And moments later, the young white elevator operator screamed of foul play.

After the teen's arrest the next morning, angry white mobs assembled in the streets. By evening, they were burning Black businesses and homes to the ground with no remorse. Hundreds of innocent people were murdered in a violent attack that is now known as the Greenwood Race Massacre. Those 18 plus hours of chaos caused immense devastation to that community. And the sad truth is, that community is still working to recover a century later. An already divided city was completely torn apart.

So when God spoke to that couple that I mentioned earlier, Gary and Debbie McIntosh, and told them to start a ministry in that very divided area in Tulsa, it was nothing short of crazy. Why? Because the McIntoshes were white. Nevertheless, they were convinced God had called them to the Blackest part of town with the most devastation, and the most damage to start an act and love in crazy faith.

They rented out of space, started hosting prayer meetings, and obeyed God's call to reverse the curse over the city of Tulsa. What's crazy is that the church begin to grow. From a small group of just 40 people, the church began to expand into what it is today. More about that in just a little later. But what I want you to see in this first session is that God wants us to have crazy faith like the McIntoshes, to not just be ones who sit on the sidelines, but will step out in crazy faith against all odds, and do what may not make complete sense, but will make a miracle.
[MUSIC PLAYING]

Welcome to Crazy Faith Curriculum. My name is Michael. Some people call me a pastor. Others call me an author. Some even call me an influencer. But you can call me your Crazy Faith coach.

See, ever since I was a little boy, I had the audacity to believe God for crazy things. Time and time again, he has proven that if I put my trust in him, he could do exceedingly, abundantly above and beyond anything I could, ask, think or imagine. And because I've been doing this crazy faith thing for a while now, I want to be your coach and help you, your family, your team get everything that God has for you in crazy faith. After all, it's only crazy until it happens.

So let's jump right in. This whole faith journey starts with baby faith. Everybody say baby faith. I couldn't hear you. Everybody say baby faith. Now, I know for most of you you're like, I don't do anything small. I'm a grown adult. I got babies.

Hold on one second. Calm down. I want you to know that baby faith is maybe the most important part of starting your journey in faith. Let me tell you a story. Me and my wife Natalie have been married for decades now. Not decades, but over a decade.

And when I first met her, if I would have gone up to her and seen her beauty-- because she is gorgeous-- and dropped down on one knee at that moment and propose to her, she would have called me crazy. But I took baby steps, and got to know her, and was able to date her, and court her. And it allowed us to develop a relationship that now is flourishing. And some would even call it hashtag relationship goals.
See, the truth is, most people don't want to start anything small. OK. Hands raised if you like starting small. Yep. Put your hand down. You don't like starting small either. But what God can do with something small is beyond anything we could ever imagine.

There's a story in the Bible that tells us how valuable imagination is, how to develop our baby faith. It's with childlike trust. See, in Matthew 18 the disciples begin to have this conversation, who's the greatest in the kingdom? And Jesus is like, let me teach all of y'all something. He calls a little child over and he says, unless you become like the little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

And when I begin to think about what do little children do? Little children trust completely. Little children obey. Well, some children obey. Your kids probably don't. But little children have imagination.

All I'm trying to say is, your imagination unlocked could begin to start a crazy faith journey that would change your family forever, change your ideas forever, change who you are and how you impact others forever. Unlock your imagination, because that's the beginning of taking baby steps. And when I think of baby steps, I have to think of my kids. I have four beautiful kids.

But one of my daughter's name is Ava. And she is sassy. So when she was 11-months-old, she wanted her sippy cup. And she was tired of waiting on me and her mother to get her sippy cup. So one day she got up on the couch, and she decided she was going to walk to get her sippy cup. As soon as she began to take baby steps, she fell.

And this is where everybody gets scared to take baby steps, because they think, well, what if I fall? What if it doesn't happen? What if this doesn't actually end up the way I thought? What happened to Ava is what I believe is going to happen for you.

We begin to encourage her and say, baby, you can do it. Get up. There's more in you. And the crowd begin to form of her brothers, and sisters, and family members, and we're clapping. And something came on the inside of her. And she turned with determination, and she began to take more steps. And that was the first time she ever walked. But it was baby steps that made the way for her to be able to reach the purpose that was on the inside of her.

I want to encourage you in the same way that Ava was able to take baby steps, each and every step you take in baby faith is a momentous occasion. Celebration is happening in heaven, and happening with everyone around you. This momentum is bringing what you need for more miracles.

Over and over in the scriptures, there seems to be this theme of small that Jesus loves. And in Matthew 17 when the disciples were trying to cast out a demon in a little boy and weren't able to, Jesus confronts them with not having enough faith. But he tells them, the faith that you need is not great faith. It's small faith.

Disciples said something like this, hey, why didn't this work for us? Jesus says in Matthew chapter 17 verse 20, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, move from here to there, and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

How do you develop this type of baby faith? By having mustard seed faith, small faith, baby faith. A mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds in the world. But God says, with that little bit of small faith, you can have mountain moving faith. And I want to encourage you that just with your baby faith, God can move mountains.

Baby faith is the next step you make, not the greatest step you make, the next step you make. I tell our church all the time, this journey of crazy faith is about progression, not perfection. And today, I want to encourage you, take a baby step, and see what God can do with something small.
[MUSIC PLAYING]

I’m so glad you’re joining us here at Study Gateway’s First Listens, and I hope you’re enjoying the first session of Michael Todd’s Crazy Faith, published by HarperChristian Resources and streaming on Study Gateway. Study Gateway is a streaming video service, and we’re the only one that has a subscription plan especially for small groups. For our First Listens listeners, we are offering an exclusive rate on our small group plan. When you use the promo code FIRST at studygateway.com, you’ll get a small group plan for up to 20 people for only $15.99/month, a 20% savings. And, for a complete experience with Crazy Faith, take advantage of our publisher-direct pricing on the essential Bible study guide designed to be used with the videos. You’ll get the group discussion questions and leader materials, the Scripture text and key ideas, and personal Bible study and discipleship activities to do between sessions. Get all the details at Studygateway.com.
And now, back to Michael Todd.

So I know we've been talking about baby faith. But really, some of you are confused right now. You're like, hold on, you're telling me to just step out, and try something, and move with what God is saying. And you're thinking what I was thinking. Maybe this will work. Maybe it won't.

That's actually an OK response. Because I believe God honors maybe faith. Yeah, like maybe this is God, and maybe it isn't. But the one thing we'll never know if we do not step. See, I think that God is trying to get many of us out of our comfort zone, but into what I like to call the gray zone, or the crazy zone, or most commonly known to people who step in crazy faith, the grace zone.

There is grace and mercy as we begin to move. Because God doesn't allow us to get to the end of a thing without knowing the beginning of it. That's why Hebrews tells us that "God is the author and the finisher of our faith." That means this journey, we're going to go on, have some maybes attached to it.
You will not be 100% sure of every step that you make in faith. And for all my people who want to know the plans-- how many planners do I have? Come on, right now, lift your hand if you need to know exactly where we're going, what time we're leaving, and what time we're going to be able to see everything come to pass.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is not the faith journey. The faith journey sometimes requires us to believe, to trust, and to go on a maybe. OK. Give me Bible for that, Pastor Mike. I got you.

In Genesis 12, there's a man named Abraham. And God tells Abraham to leave his country and everything that's familiar. Now, I want you to think about that. That would be like God telling you to leave wherever you live right now, and go to another place.

He said he promised to bless him and make his name great, and curse those who curse him. And Abraham took his whole squad, everybody, and started walking. Now, most of you are like, oh, because God said so. But God did not tell him where he was going.

He said, go to the land. I will show you. Now, hold on one second. Now, I need to know where we're going before I start moving. And God is saying, I need you to start moving before I clarify where you're going.

That's a word for somebody right there. Somebody needs to know that God wants obedience before you get clarity. And you don't have to understand everything to be obedient. You can step in maybe faith.

Faith begins where understanding ends. And that's why I need to let you know it may not make sense, but it can make a miracle. Abraham had to step out in faith. And honestly, stepping out in faith leaves you vulnerable. It makes you rely and depend on God as your provider. And many of us are standing in a place waiting for God to provide when he said, if you step, I will provide.

I'm encouraging somebody right now that maybe it looks scary. And maybe it's not clear. And maybe you want everybody to agree. And maybe God's calling you to do something in maybe faith.

I'm encouraging you that as you start to move in this level of faith in God, you don't have to be 100% sure. As a matter of fact, I tell people all the time, if I'm 51% sure it's God, I'm doing it. And I'm telling you, some of you, you need to believe God not to be 100% sure, 78% sure, 65% sure. All you need to do to step out in faith is be 51% sure.

And I'm telling you that God will begin to open up favor, understanding, wisdom, and courage to do the amazing things that may seem really big right now, but are a part and attached to your destiny and your future. Maybe this was the encouragement that you needed to stop playing it safe, and begin to move in the great things that God has for you.

Let me equip you with something that really helped me. I call it the faith formula. Write this down. Intellectual agreement plus trust equals faith. Intellectual agreement is the knowledge that something is true, acquired through teaching and experience. Trust though, is reliance on what you know is true. Unless you have both, you don't have faith.

Let me give you a real time example. Most of us are probably sitting down in a chair. You would agree that everybody feels like a chair can hold you up. But the way we know you have faith in that chair is when you sit down on it.

You can't just know it. You have to exercise what and put your trust in it, or put your weight on it. And that's how we know you truly believe in it.

Many people have trouble believing in God, because he's invisible to our human eyes, and intangible to our human skin. And so we do not trust, or put our weight on what he has said, and what he has promised. But I'm telling you, this faith formula is for your life.

Don't just believe God exists. Put your faith on it. Put your weight on it. Put your life on it, because it's the only sure foundation.

And for all my skeptics out there that don't believe, well, I don't see God. He's invisible. Let me help you. You don't see wind either. But you can feel the effects of it every day. And Wi-Fi, because everybody's connected to Wi-Fi right now, when's the last time you saw Wi-Fi? Never. But you are connected to the entire world by these things that are invisible.

See, putting your faith in God is like putting your faith in the wind or Wi-Fi. Just because you can't see him, doesn't mean he is any less real or powerful. God is real. Let me ask you an honest question. If you can trust the Wi-Fi provider, and you can trust the chair manufacturer, why can't you trust the wind maker?

Why can't you trust God? If you don't trust God's word enough to put your weight on it, then you don't actually have faith in him. Maybe is an OK place to start trusting in what the Bible says, and about God's word, and putting your life on his word. We have to start exercising our baby faith and our maybe faith somewhere. So why don't we start today?

I'm encouraging you that everything that you want to see in your life can happen as you step out in your baby, and your maybe. And I promise you, it'll turn in to crazy. This is your sign. Don't stop now. Keep moving forward, and allow God to show you who you can be as he is your Father, and you are his child.
He knows exactly what's best for you. And he knows what you need. So I'm telling you, lay back, sit down, and put your faith, or your weight on the Prince of Peace, the God of the universe, the wind maker, the one who knows it all, the source of all good and perfect things. This is your moment to start walking in baby faith and maybe faith.
[MUSIC PLAYING]

Alright! Doesn’t he just get you pumped up to step out in your baby faith, and your maybe faith, and turn it into crazy faith? You have just enjoyed a first listen to the first session of Crazy Faith, a video Bible study by Michael Todd, published by HarperChristian Resources and streaming on Study Gateway. Here at Study Gateway you can find your favorite authors, pastors and Bible teachers, all in one place. We’re the only streaming video subscription service that offers a small group-sized plan, AND has user-based pricing for churches, no matter what the size. And don’t forget, you can use the promo code FIRST to get a 20% savings on a small group plan. What does 20% mean to your wallet? It means you’re going to save $4/month, so instead of $19.99/month, you’ll pay only 15.99/month for your entire small group of up to 20 people, which works out to only 80 cents per person per month!

With Study Gateway, you also get a direct link to our store, where you get publisher-direct pricing on the essential Bible study guide for Crazy Faith; a study guide designed to help you remember what you’ve learned in the videos, guide your group’s discussion about your insights, dig deeper into what the Bible says about this topic, and apply what you’re learning to your life. Is Crazy Faith going to be your next study? Get started right now by going to studygateway.com, click start free trial, choose the monthly small group plan, and use the promo code FIRST.

Make sure you rate and review this podcast – that helps other people find this show. We’re so glad you came! Be sure to join us next time on Study Gateway’s First Listens.