Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
This is The Oaks Equipped, a podcast from The Oaks Church in Liberty Hill, TX where Pastor Josh Mings talks through the stuff he didn’t have time to say on Sunday, answers the questions people are actually asking, and keeps things way more real than polished. Expect biblical truth, practical takeaways, and just enough humor to keep you guessing whether he meant it.
If you want to follow Jesus with clarity (and laugh at least once), you’re in the right place.
Welcome back to The Oaks Equipped podcast with Glenn McGordy and Josh Mings. Welcome, Josh.
Josh Mings:Howdy, everybody. How are we doing today?
Glen McGorty:We're doing fine. It's a little cold after today.
Josh Mings:I guess fall has decided to show up.
Glen McGorty:Yeah. Gearing gloves and a hat. It was there. But with fall comes Halloween and and you go to the stores and even as I drive in the neighborhood I see Yeah. Very large skeletons coming out of the ground and all kinds of
Josh Mings:Yeah.
Glen McGorty:Ghoulish and crazy characters but we also see a lot of kids in the neighborhood and a lot of people with expectations that they're gonna be come knocking on our doors.
Josh Mings:That's right. It is that special time of year when Candy will be falling from the heavens. So, yeah, we, this is something that we get asked all the time about our position on Halloween. And, to me, this falls in the open handed category of something that can be redeemed. And so as many of you have heard, we've been talking about our mission ten thirty one.
Josh Mings:It's not to take a stance on should Christians participate in Halloween or not. I particularly don't care for it, but that's not that's not rooted in anything that should become a command or a law to anyone else. But we do acknowledge something very important that the Great Commission is given to every believer. So every person listening to this podcast who's a believer, the expectation of our master and savior and king is the the Great Commission that we go and we make disciples. And so we have an advantage on October 31 every year.
Josh Mings:The mission field that Jesus has called us to comes to our door. And so what we wanna do is be really strategic about, loving our neighbor. And sometimes it's hard. People are busy. People are coming and going.
Josh Mings:It's hard to learn people's names. It's hard to make friendships, but this is one night a year where they're walking on the street coming to your door expecting candy. And so we wanna capitalize on that.
Glen McGorty:Yeah. It's a great opportunity to get to know your neighbors. Right? Sit down with them in whatever way you do it. It's all different ways you could do it.
Glen McGorty:I know you've had some different ways of doing it. We used to just sit on the end of the driveway with neighbors in our cul de sac, all sit together, eat some black beans and rice, and put all the candy together, and all the families came together. Yeah. So it gave us an opportunity to meet the kids that were coming and their parents, but also just to get to know our neighbors who we don't usually get that much time to interact with.
Josh Mings:A 100%. That... And that's the big idea. I know that in our... What we've talked about, particularly those who are partners and they've heard our strategy, bless is a strategy that we use.
Josh Mings:And again, I just... I recognize that, hey, you may be more introverted or you just haven't had a chance because your neighbor is... You know, they come home from work, pull in the garage, shut the garage, and you don't ever see them. So this is a day where the strategy and the hope is you're just gonna meet your neighbors. So the strategy is not full blown full blown gospel conversation in your driveway.
Josh Mings:If that happens, praise praise God. Thank God for the opportunity. But the strategy is, hey, they're out, you be out, and learn your neighbor's name. So keep a keep a... Keep your phone in your pocket as soon as you meet someone, write their name down Yeah.
Josh Mings:And fill your bless list, and and capitalize on the opportunity that exists on this unique day.
Glen McGorty:Yeah. And with the... With their name. Note something about the conversation of the kids playing baseball. Mhmm.
Glen McGorty:Maybe some... Mothers or somebody's in the hospital. Those are great places to come back and say, hey. How's Johnny's baseball? Yeah.
Glen McGorty:I'm on Johnny's good. Hospital. But these these are great times for what we call gardening versus harvesting. Mhmm. We're just looking for a way to turn up the soil, get ready to plant some seeds, and we're just trying to get to know people, right, where they'll come from.
Glen McGorty:And a lot of times, like, in your neighborhood where people are new to the neighborhood, a great opportunity to say, so where'd you move from? And Yeah. Have you found a church home? You know, something light that don't necessarily have to go Yeah. In a dug
Josh Mings:or Absolutely. So just... I'll just share a story that happened yesterday to help encourage you for what's gonna happen on 10/31. Four doors down, a new lady moved into the neighborhood. House has been open for a long time.
Josh Mings:The house was actually built before mine, but no one lived there. It's weird. It's it's just been sitting vacant. So she finally moves in and she's out walking her two dachshunds. Come to find out her husband's moving in a couple weeks.
Josh Mings:He's still, on the East Coast trying to get everything sold over there and settled. And so I didn't, in that first interaction, I didn't lean in and say, are you ready to talk about Jesus Christ, my personal Lord and savior? No. I just said, hey. I'm Josh.
Josh Mings:My wife's Abby. Happy to meet you. Asked her questions about her dogs because she was walking two dogs, and she began to ask me questions about the neighborhood. And and so it was just being a decent human being Yeah. And get...
Josh Mings:Getting to know her, showing a genuine genuine interest in, you know, her dogs and got to find out about her, grandkids different things. And so that's the gardening that you're mentioning. I didn't I didn't hand her a track. I didn't invite her to church. I just simply got to know who she was.
Josh Mings:Immediately went inside, grabbed my phone, wrote her name down Right. Before I forget because I was about to forget.
Glen McGorty:Oh, forget. And what's crazy is you you did it as a conservator. Absolutely. Like, because you had some interest in understanding who your neighbor is down there. Yeah.
Glen McGorty:What is her interest? Where is she from? Yeah. And those are all great avenues of coming back later.
Josh Mings:She's not a project. She's a person.
Glen McGorty:That's
Josh Mings:right. And because she's made in the image of God, I care for her. Right. And so I don't know what will happen. Hopefully, we have another conversation.
Josh Mings:Hopefully, I'll see her on October 31 when we're manning our driveway. Yeah. And maybe I'll get to meet her husband. But that's just the first contact. So if you take if you take that principle, which you're saying gardening, that's all mission ten thirty one is about.
Josh Mings:That's all we're doing. Yeah. That's the strategy we want each person to employ.
Glen McGorty:Yeah. And, again, the key is be sincere, ask a lot of questions. Right? And and listen listen to what they're saying. Absolutely.
Glen McGorty:And the good thing is with with a woman by herself here, with your do it yourself skills, you can
Josh Mings:They're... Right. Right. I'm sure that will not be helpful to her.
Glen McGorty:But it'll be great when her husband comes. It'll probably be some introductions and another launch pad from that part.
Josh Mings:And that's... So so that's a good... The gardening is the why. It's the the the hope there is that we move in genuine relationships with people, learn their names, whatnot, but the how is where it gets unique. And so what's been cool about this process so far is we've had a number of people sign up for it.
Josh Mings:And the reason we've asked people to sign up for it is because we wanna see the unique things that come about of what people are gonna do that night. And this is where I wanna be crystal clear. I wanna encourage everyone to create their own environment of what they'll be in their most natural habitat. So, like, we've had a few people who are like, hey. We're gonna...
Josh Mings:We're just gonna pull our grill out into the cul de sac, and we're gonna grill hamburgers and hot dogs. That's great. It's fantastic. We've had we've had some people who... They're gonna...
Josh Mings:They're getting like the big boxes of candy bars, not like the little fun size, but like the big candy bars. And they want that to be the draw where people be like, oh my goodness, you gotta go down to this house because they're giving out king-size Snickers Wow. And to... You know.
Glen McGorty:What's the address?
Josh Mings:Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. So so so here's the point, like, you know, if you enjoy playing yard games like cornhole or tossing a football Yeah. Make that your activity.
Josh Mings:What people do, I want you to own it. I want you as a family to sit down and say, okay. This is what we're passionate about. Put yourself in the... Your most natural habitat so that conversation becomes easy.
Josh Mings:You can connect with people who are like minded, people who, oh, I'd love to play cornhole, or I'd love to toss the football, or I love hot dogs, or whatever the case is. When you're in your most natural environment, then having conversations with people becomes the most natural. So you own just like a missionary would. That's... The the the principle here is that's how a missionary operates.
Josh Mings:They operate in their most natural habitat in the way that will be most compelling to the people around them. And so whether it's barbecue or you put a movie out on the screen or you're playing music, like, whatever it is that you wanna do, I'm asking every listener to say, okay. This is what we can do. This is what would be the most fun. And then you be...
Josh Mings:You feel released to go and do that. So so we understand the why. The how the how is free. You do whatever you want in order to create that type of environment.
Glen McGorty:What are some suggestions, like, in terms of preparation for this event? Because, again, you're on mission.
Josh Mings:Yeah. For for preparation, I think I think the idea is after you've... If you if you settle on the why, we're doing this because this is in fulfillment of the Great Commission. People are not projects, but this is just a a fact finding, get to know people, And then you figure out what you're gonna do. I definitely think before you step out on the lawn, you say a prayer and say, Lord, I know your command is that I go and make disciples.
Josh Mings:I'm taking this first step. Would you prepare the hearts of the kids and the families that are gonna be walking around the neighborhood? And then the next thing you could do... So there's a spiritual element to this. Like, you're asking God just like I step up every week before I teach.
Josh Mings:I ask the Lord to help me, to fill me. You need to do the same thing as you're living on mission. But then there's some tactical things. I think you need to have your your phone in your back pocket or a notepad in your back pocket. So as soon as you have a conversation with someone, you write their name down because you'll forget.
Josh Mings:And then this exercise that we're trying to do, you're gonna miss out on. And so if you need a bless list, we we have a little cheat sheet that we can give you at the next steps table. You come get it. I'll be happy to give it to you. Then you can write their name down, and then starting the next day, you can begin to pray through the bless strategy.
Josh Mings:The other thing is, this is helpful, I don't know if it's helpful to me, is think through three to five simple questions. That way when you are introduced to someone or you introduce yourself to someone, you're not just stuck in the generic, how's the weather? What do you do?
Glen McGorty:Yeah. Exactly.
Josh Mings:You know, I would simply ask things like, hey, nice to meet you. What street do you live on? Right. You know, begin to identify, hey. This person...
Josh Mings:Oh, this person only lives two doors down from me or around the corner or, like... So maybe a simple question is, what what street do you live on?
Glen McGorty:How long have you lived there?
Josh Mings:Yeah. If you see that they have kiddos, hey. What what school do your kids go to? Oh, my kids go to the same school. Like Yeah.
Josh Mings:Come come preloaded with a handful of simple questions. That way, you're not awkward and you know how to keep the conversation moving to show that you genuinely care. Yeah. And then I can't... I've said it, but I'll say it again.
Josh Mings:After you've met them, write their name down. Yeah. What would you add to that?
Glen McGorty:No. I think you hit him and on the head. I... The only thing I would add is sometimes I ask people, how long have you lived here? Where you come from?
Glen McGorty:Like, met the lady down the street. She just moved in. That was obvious. But I asked something, how long... What what brought you to all, sir?
Glen McGorty:Oh, okay. Yeah. And where did you come from? I didn't see... Again, as sometimes I'm looking for a connection, like, oh, I'm I'm from four.
Glen McGorty:Oh, I grew up from four. Oh, I knew some people that... Or are you a Yankee fan?
Josh Mings:Are you from what? Yeah.
Glen McGorty:You know, something like that. You know? I like the Yankees. Do you like the Yankees? No.
Glen McGorty:I'm a Mets fan. Okay. Well, heard there's a lot of rivalry up there. What's diff... What happens up there in New City?
Glen McGorty:You know, just things that will give you some interest about where they're coming from, what they're about.
Josh Mings:100. Yeah. And I'd say this, because you're so good at this, Glenn. If the listener hears this and they're like, hey, they need help with that? Stop by the next steps table.
Josh Mings:Brainstorm with Glenn for five minutes on how to... Seriously, how to keep... How to just keep the converse... Because I get it. It's awkward.
Josh Mings:Yeah. And and what I just have to do is I always go... Because I'm an introvert, I go into situations and I think through three to five questions just to keep myself, alert and and to keep it moving so it doesn't turn awkward. And then, you know, the last thing that you want is just to be sitting there staring at each other, and then they just take the candy and leave. And so, yeah, I think preparing a few questions beforehand is helpful.
Glen McGorty:And if you if you see it's a husband and wife, it's always nice if both you and your wife can address both the couple together, and and sometimes the men feel more comfortable speaking with the men, women with the women, But it gives you an opportunity to just kinda talk couple to couple with with that. And and recognize too that they probably wanna move on Yeah. If they're Of course. Wish they're just visiting. So just be sensitive to Yeah.
Glen McGorty:There's that they're gonna wanna get the kids that are probably running around like crazy in the front lawn. Yeah. Of course. They're wanna go to the next house, but
Josh Mings:Yeah. They got they got more candy to grab. And then the next thing is is is the follow-up. And so here's here's my ask. The reason people have been like, why why are you asking us to register?
Josh Mings:It's not it's not that we're trying to track you or anything like that. We wanna be systematic on the follow-up after this. So my my request is is that everyone takes pictures. I wanna hear the good news. We wanna celebrate the wins of this event.
Josh Mings:And so let me be clear what a win is. A win would be, I've got five neighbors' names. That's it. Not not, we invited Billy Graham and we led the entire neighborhood to the Lord. If that happened, that would obviously be beautiful and wonderful.
Josh Mings:But we need to celebrate the small wins along the way because, this is the first step in the blessed process, which is to begin with prayer, and so many people just don't have the names of their neighbors. And so that's the win. It's literally that simple. Begin there. And so when you're done with this event, we just want you to, you know, maybe take...
Josh Mings:Snap a couple of pictures of the things that are going on. If you have a meaningful conversations where you genuinely meet someone and and maybe it leads to something sincere, a a spiritual conversation, that's great. I mean, there are some there are some groups that are taking a more aggressive approach, and they're actually wanting to share their faith. And don't. I'm not discouraging that whatsoever, but I also want to note that it is a win just simply to meet someone and then begin the process of praying for them.
Josh Mings:Like, that's the right small step that some people need to take, and we wanna celebrate that. And so the Sunday after October thirty first, we wanna we wanna celebrate and talk about some of the things that happened. So I just wanna hear about it.
Glen McGorty:Yeah. And again, if you come to the next steps table and you have questions about how do I follow-up with this particular person, what kind of questions can I ask them at this point, we can start my brainstorm with you on that? A 100%. We have a book called tactics too that is also a book that just guides conversations, how to use questions. And a lot of it is just a matter of, like, Josh, you're always doing is clarifying the the answers that you get.
Glen McGorty:Yeah. And just asking a little bit more about how did you come to that conclusion? So we can help out. We've got lots of different books if you have a lot of different kinds of nameless, more... Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses.
Glen McGorty:We've got books that can help give you insights on that and give you a step up on that. Well, it should be a good event, and I and I do need that address for this. Yeah. She's a It's a diamond horse.
Josh Mings:I love it.
Glen McGorty:That should be good. Well, thanks again, Josh, and we're looking forward to 10/31. It's just two weeks away, and it's a Saturday. So it should be a great weekend as well. Thanks everybody, and we'll catch you next time on the podcast.