Why are you a Christian?

I could say that a Christian because my parents are practicing Christians, meaning I grew up and was enculturated in the Christian lifestyle. I can also say that after an up-and-down journey of searching for identity, meaning, and purpose, I chose to adopt the ways of Jesus as my own. It was a twisty, wind-y path, for sure.

The truth is, there are many reasons I'm a Christian today. One of those reasons is that the way of Jesus is the only way of life I know, which allows for, is okay with, and leads me (and every human being) through joy and suffering.

I tend to welcome joy with open arms. Not so much with suffering. Author, historian, and scholar Kate Bowler says, "Suffering is a slow burn, and it never really ends". In other words, suffering is part of the human experience. You cannot escape suffering.

And still, every other spiritual and religious system cannot hold suffering for what it is: part of life.

To be clear, suffering stinks... and I'm not the best at living with it. I tend to want answers and reasons.

We are told that suffering must be avoided to experience enlightenment and become centered. Or, suffering must be eliminated to achieve existential peace. I've recently read that suffering must be denied to reach a place of self-actualization and a vision board of your ideal life.

Jesus' way is different. After all, Jesus calls himself the way, the truth, and the life. He then says humanity can only experience a whole and complete life (the joys and sufferings) through Him. A whole and complete life is one of both joy and suffering.

The scriptures testify that along with the joy and giggles, Jesus doesn't deny suffering. Instead, He considers it part of what makes Him (and us) human. Jesus doesn't eliminate suffering; He receives it. Jesus doesn't avoid suffering; He walks right into betrayal, beatings, bullying, and death.

For me, if God's best plan is to send Jesus to suffer and die on a cross, lose his entire family, take on the sin of the entire world, and believe that there is no better way than to walk through death itself… if that way is good enough for Jesus… It's good enough for me, too.

Only in and through Jesus' way can our lived experiences have the space to fully hold the stink of suffering.

So, how do I live like Jesus when it comes to suffering?

Most self-help approaches encourage engaging in activities to redirect your thoughts. I do them. But, honestly, they're quick respites or ways of coping with suffering - none of them lead me through suffering.

So, I take a cue from the someone who has lived through suffering: Jesus.

Jesus experienced happiness, anger, grief, loss, excitement, sadness, and anxiety. I remind myself to be present with what I am feeling. Those feelings are genuine and will return.

I will then invite Jesus to sit with me in those feelings. Jesus understands, and I am promised that the Holy Spirit will connect me back to God through wordless groans when I am too weak to know what to pray for (Romans 8:26).

I'm far from perfect when it comes to living with suffering.

At the same time, I can say that more often than not, God shows and reminds me that His miracle isn't that the suffering is avoided, eliminated, or denied. . . it is that Jesus is still here with me in it and walking me through it.

And that's (one of the reasons) why I'm a Christian.
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Why are you a Christian?

Email me, leave a comment, or let's grab time to catch up.

I want to control how long I live.

I go to the doctor as a preventative measure to catch little things before they become big things. I eat (reasonably) well and exercise. My financial planner is looking at us living well into our 90s.

These are all good things that support stewarding the body and life and the gifts God has given me to glorify Him and bless others.

This past month, two influential men in my life unexpectedly died. One of them was kind of expected. The other was completely unexpected.

​Then, last week, a brother pastor only a few years older than me died.

Clearly, I cannot control how long I will live.

This past week, I have been thinking a lot about “the afterlife”—heaven. So, I spent some extra devotion time reading God’s Word about heaven. Here are some thoughts I’m treasuring about heaven today.

Heaven is real. I have unwavering confidence in a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21:1).

Heaven is filled with peace and goodness. Unlike the ominous sea symbolizing chaos and evil, heaven has a life-giving river, symbolizing peace and goodness (Revelation 22:1-5).

There is a reunion with loved ones. The new city (Jerusalem) represents God’s faithful people being gathered together in the ultimate place of peace (Revelation 21)

There is no more sorrow. There will be no pain, death, or negative emotions in heaven—only joy and completeness (Revelation 21:5).

There is so much more, too.

In the meantime, my faith leads me to echo the words of the psalmist: "I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done." (Psalm 118:17)

What do you think heaven is like? Email me, or let’s catch up over tea or coffee.

The word of the day is "freedom."

Every election cycle seems to bring the fringes of freedom to the forefront. On one hand, we hear that we are losing our freedoms. Moments later, we discover new dimensions of our freedom. And then we hear stories about how freedom has been used and abused for personal gain and not to love and serve others.

I think we can all agree that to have freedom is to have power. And as Jesus' followers, we have the power to forgive.

Yes, forgiveness is a human choice. It is also the responsibility of Jesus' followers.

Here is why.

Pastor/Author Tim Keller shares that the modern definition of freedom is having complete human autonomy, and that's not a new idea. In John 8, people tell Jesus they are not slaves to anyone.

Truth… we do have the freedom to forgive. It's our choice… unless Jesus has a different definition of freedom (which He does).

Jesus says that freedom is not autonomy but rather doing things that free people get to do.

Jesus says that you only get free by obeying His teaching. If you are really my disciples, you will obey my teaching. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. And, if Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life - this is how we know the only wholly free person who has ever lived - Jesus Christ, by freely choosing to do what He says to do.

In a world that defines freedom as complete individualism, that sounds outrageous. But that's how freedom has always worked. Human beings have always been influenced, motivated, or driven (or enslaved) by someone or something.

For Jesus followers, we are free because we are loved and forgiven apart from what we do. Through Jesus, we are loved and forgiven by His free grace, forgiveness, and love. Period.

Why? So we can be free to give away the same grace, forgiveness, and love to people who are undeserving of it (that would be all of us).

Do you see how choosing to forgive others generously is a matter of our freedom to live more like Jesus? And if you have ever forgiven someone who knew they didn't deserve it, you know how powerful that can be for you and the recipient.

Which means there is also power in unforgiveness. But not in the way you may think.

We may assume that we are free to withhold forgiveness (which we are). By doing so, we unleash power over someone else for the wrong they have done to us. But the reality is that unforgiveness really unleashes power against ourselves. Instead of being influenced, motivated, or driven (or enslaved) by Jesus, we turn deeper into ourselves.

Unforgiveness is like a cancer that suffocates our soul. Our faith weakens because unforgiveness is another way we place ourselves on God's throne—the only one who can forgive sins. We look more and more to ourselves to justify or adjudicate the wrong or injustice we have experienced. And as if the cross was not enough, we choose to crucify ourselves (or others) for the sin that has already been forgiven.

The power of unforgiveness is real and powerful. It destroys us from the inside out.

The truth is that the only way out of unforgiveness is to see God as a loving parent who wants you—His forgiven child—home with Him again.

Have you experienced the power of forgiveness? If so, please drop me a note—I'd love to hear all about it.

If you are struggling with unforgiveness, know that you are not alone. Email me, and let's walk through it together.

Years ago, my friend Ross texted me, "I don't need a church to be a Christian."

I used to believe that, too.

As a young Christian, I focused on a personal relationship with Jesus, singing "Jesus and Me" songs and immersing myself in a hyper-individualistic culture. But I found myself spiritually stagnant and isolated.

Despite my efforts—reading the Bible, praying, and listening to worship music—I felt alone and frustrated.

My mentor asked when I last attended church. Realizing I needed community, I decided to give it a try. I found a church where I could worship, grow, and discover that faith isn't meant to be lived alone. It's a place where I belong, where we all belong.

Here are two reasons you need the church (and one reason your church needs you).

We need each other to keep growing.
God cares about our growth, and the church helps us focus on Jesus. Weekly confession, communion, and hearing God's Word remind us we're not alone. The church is there to support us, to encourage us to keep going, even when life is messy.

God's mission is a team effort.
The church embodies Jesus' presence and power, reaching out to others in love.
Last week, an older woman's son was working on rebuilding her deck. Last weekend, he got injured and couldn't complete it. A small group of guys heard about it and knocked it out on Saturday morning. This is the incredible power of the body of Jesus, the church, and it's God's heart and mission.
It's impossible to fulfill God's mission alone. Jesus said people would know God by our love for one another. The church is essential for participating in this mission.

Finally, here's why your church needs you.
Your presence, voice, and smile are not just important, they are vital. You might be the encouragement someone else needs. The church is a gift from God, and you are a precious part of it, helping us grow and reminding us we're loved beyond our understanding. Let's journey together, supporting each other as "the church", people united by faith in Jesus, together.

The keys have changed.

The house I grew up in required a skeleton key to access some of the rooms. Recently, we changed our traditional key locks to an electronic keypad. Our church's exterior doors require keycard access. I now need the hotel's app to access a room. One of my sons told me that he can install a fingerprint sensor on his bedroom door so that only he and his brother can enter.

Indeed, the keys have changed!

Suppose we use the keys metaphor to give people access to ministry skills, authority, and opportunities. In that case, it might sound something like this…

The church we grew up in needed competent and skilled specialists to volunteer, coordinate, and lead programs. Over time, volunteers needed to go to work, or their seasons of life changed. Today, staff are hired to lead ministry programs. And when there is a ministry opportunity, we hire more staff, expect an unequipped volunteer to do the bulk of the work, or say "no" because those who "hold the keys" are already at their capacity.

That's not a knock on staff or volunteers—it's just a reminder that the keys to ministry have changed.
Each of us knows someone who is wanting to lead something. The challenge is that if those who desire to lead do not receive an opportunity, are not equipped, or do not receive authority to lead among the people of God, they will find a way to do it elsewhere.

That's a perfect thing in a world that needs godly leaders everywhere. At the same time, we need godly leaders to equip God's people for ministry (Ephesians 4:12).

It's not either-or… it's both-and.

Today, we need more humble, teachable, and hungry leaders to share the keys of life and ministry where they live, work, learn, and play. This means increasing awareness of opportunities for people of all ages to lead (not just sub-in, but truly lead). It also means growing in our abilities to trust and empower more people (and perhaps even ourselves) with ministry skills, authority, and opportunities to lead forward.

Kara Powell from Fuller Youth Institute and her team take the metaphor even further by saying:

• Keyless leaders are full of potential and passion and do not know where they can lead.
  

• Key-hoarding leaders are skilled at what they do, while most assume they are "paid to do the work."


• Key-loaning leaders invite others to lead in their absence and assume leadership upon their return. This is very common among paid ministry staff
  

• ​Keychain leaders share opportunities to learn and experience leadership together. They delegate authority while remaining accountable.

What would that look like for you?

• My friend Dave talks about having an "ICNU" conversation. Who do you see wanting to lead? Don't keep that idea to yourself… share it with them. You can begin by saying, "I see in you an excitement to lead. Would you be willing to tell me more about that?" Then, listen and say, "Thanks, God for doing your work right in front of my eyes.""

 

• Let us know who you see as potential ministry leaders. Email me or any of our team, and let's begin the conversation. Your recommendation matters.

 

• Do you feel called to lead where you live, work, learn, and play in a greater way? I'd love to explore that and encourage you to be the light and love of Jesus in the cracks and crevices of our world. Please drop me a note at HERE, and let's discuss it. 

What could that look like for us as a church?

• We want to continue investing in ministry interns. Over the last four years, we've learned from and mentored young people like Mady, Serena, Kendall, Trevor, Juniper, Deborah, and Cary. Your continued generosity to our Leadership Development Fund helps us equip leaders to serve in the church and world.

Vision is always caught more than taught, so I'd love to engage with and listen to what excites you about what "Champion Leaders of All Ages" means to you. Please click HERE to email me, or let's connect over coffee or tea.

Look for a new series of blogs throughout October focusing on living a Spirit-Filled Life. Until then… Cheers and blessings!

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Do you ever feel like you get caught up in the speed of life and miss the people along the way?

You're not alone.

Life is busy.

We can list why we are busy with kids, work, appointments, school, and church activities. Still, there is no doubt that in life's busyness, we miss the people God has placed around us in our coming and going.

Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. A priest and Levite were too busy to help a wounded and naked man along the road they were traveling. So, while the priest and Levite told the wounded and naked man their position and beliefs with their dismissive actions, the Samaritan engaged the man with courage, vulnerability, and a posture of unconditional love and generosity.

Think about it like this: if we are the wounded and naked ones, then Jesus is our true Good Samaritan. Jesus was wounded for us, and by His wounds, we are healed. Jesus was stripped naked for us so that we could generously receive everything we need for life with Him both now and into eternity. And we are now the hands, feet, and voice of Jesus on earth… the body of Christ for the world to see and experience our true Good Samaritan.

Jesus wants all of His neighbors to experience His mercy through His body, the church (you and me).

So, how do we become the best expression of Jesus, our Good Samaritan for our neighbors and community?

That's why the second of our three priorities is to be the best neighbors by personally knowing, caring for, and serving our immediate neighbors.

Here are three ways we can begin.

Use the Neighbor Map Tool to learn your neighbor's names, stories, and circumstances.
Being a good neighbor begins with awareness. Using the Neighbor Map Tool, write the names of the people around you. Suppose you live in a community like an apartment complex, senior living, or dormitory. In that case, these people live down the hall or above/below you. If you live in a neighborhood, these people live within walking distance from your house. If you live in a more rural setting, these people live in the homes you drive by as you head into town.

After you learn their names, invite them over for coffee or lunch… or a playdate if you both have kids. You aren't obligated to do it again, but you might surprise yourself and want to do it again. After they leave, add something about them to your Neighborhood Map Tool - a story or circumstance you relate to and how you will pray for them.

I've used versions of the Neighbor Map Tool for over 10 years and have not only met some incredible neighbors but have had the opportunity to be merciful and love them as Jesus loves them.

Everybody wins when we engage in social issues with Jesus.
It's becoming a little toasty when it comes to issues like gender, sexuality, reproductive rights, immigration, and a plethora of other topics we can scroll through on our feeds. I'm pretty sure the Samaritan didn't check the wounded and naked man's position on any number of issues before showing him mercy and love. I'm glad Jesus doesn't do that to us, either… and neither should we.

Engaging in social issues is more like keeping a conversation than advocating for a position. It adopts a humble, curious posture and is open to discovery (like Jesus) rather than ensuring others know right and wrong. It looks like having the courage to embrace ethnic and socio-economic diversity as differences rather than social disorders.

I'd love to help you develop this skill. Reach out to me at [email protected] to start a conversation.

The good news is that God's Word engages every social issue with Jesus, who is full of grace for those who get it wrong and truth for those who think they have it right.

Everybody wins when we engage in social issues with Jesus.

Let's Serve
Like Jesus, our Good Samaritan, we can show mercy by generously giving our time, talents, and finances to help our neighbors.

You can plan a neighborhood Faith in Action project to meet a specific neighbor's needs. From helping make and provide meals to relieve some stress during an unsettled time to yardwork and house projects - Faith in Action has you covered. Reach out to Kristi at [email protected] to get started.

Vision is always caught more than taught, so I'd love to engage with and listen to what excites you about what "being the best neighbor" means to you. Please email me at [email protected], or let's connect over coffee or tea.

Next week, I'll wrap up our What's Next series, focusing on how to champion leaders of all generations together.

This Sunday, I shared about Jeff. He might say he has much in common with his fantasy football group, where he can be himself. He's goofy, memorizes stats, and can tell you anything about the Chicago Bears. I wonder how Jeff might know that he has so much in common (including eternity) with the people of God… that he belongs with the people of God.

Jesus wants everyone to be together with him.

A doctor named Luke was among the thousands of people who followed Jesus. Scholars believe that he was also one of the 70 that Jesus sent out into cities and villages and share that God wants everyone to be together with him. He would emphasize that Jesus is the way God brings all people together. He then tells us that Jesus physically ascends into heaven. The question was, is God with us anymore? Luke's response is an emphatic "yes" as he tells us that God sends us the same Holy Spirit that Jesus always has to bring us all back together with Him.

The Apostle Paul reaffirms this when he tells the Jesus lovers in Corinth, "God's Spirit lives in you" (1 Corinthians 3:16). In other words, Jesus is always with us. Perhaps more profoundly, like Luke, we help people belong because everyone belongs with the people of God.

That's why one of our three priorities is creating belonging everywhere by prioritizing relational connections. In other words, it's one way we want to focus as a church on seeing people transformed by the gospel by discipling all generations where they live, work, learn, and play (or wherever we gather).

We've all been in crowds of thousands and felt isolated and alone. And, let's face it—even though there are close to a million people in Pierce County and 225,000+ in our neck of the woods, many feel isolated and alone. Like Jeff, I wonder how each one of them might know that they belong with the people of God.

We often find ourselves together with people. Whether it's a worship service, meals, sports practices, home projects, community service, meeting up for a life group or Bible study, kids and youth activities, social activities, or meetings, I believe how we gather matters.

So, here's the secret to belonging at home, school, work, or on the field.

Vulnerability.

According to researcher Brene Brown (Daring Greatly), vulnerability is uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure. She goes on to say that vulnerability isn't weakness but incredible courage. Vulnerability is seen in the moments we share when we are scared, uncertain, or emotionally exposed or ask for forgiveness. More profoundly, she writes, "Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity."

While Brene is approaching the conversation from a social science perspective, she may or may not know that what she is saying is deeply spiritual (and biblical).

Allow me to explain. God made each of us in the image of God with emotions (Psalm 139). Because of sin, like the first humans, we hide when we are scared and uncertain because we are exposed (Genesis 3). It’s like we are spiritually naked and we don’t want anybody to see us. So, living in darkness is easier than being vulnerable by stepping into the light. And yet, we know that Jesus is the light of the word, the light no darkness can overcome (John 1). And it’s in Jesus, we experience love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, creativity - and so much more… We receive all the gifts of God to enjoy and be a blessing to the people around us.

With that perspective, in order to create belonging everywhere, we must take risks and do new things because if everyone belongs with the people of God, we are the ones God uses to help people experience the belonging of God.

Where can we begin?

Make a list of 5 people you trust.
It begins with vulnerability—sharing something scary or uncertain, asking for forgiveness, or emotionally exposing ourselves. It takes incredible courage to do that with another human being.

It's OK if you don't have five right now. How about one person? Then, challenge yourself to take a risk and open yourself up to one new person in the next year. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was trust. Take your time, but also take the risk.

Meet New People (Make Introductions)
Most people feel uneasy meeting someone new. Meeting new people may feel uncomfortable because we are opening ourselves up to the opportunity for rejection. However, we are also opening ourselves up to making new friends and helping "the Jeffs" know they belong with the people of God.

How were you introduced to the people of God? In what way was it natural or awkward? How can you introduce people where you live, work, learn, and play to the people of God where they belong?

Empathy
When we introduce people to the people of God, many discover they have more in common than they thought. Neuro-research tells us that the more we get into the weeds of each other's lives, the more we share time and activities with each other… We begin to share our everyday lives together.

True belonging emerges in a life together with Jesus.

Environment
We've all been in places that do not allow relationships to happen. The restaurant is so noisy that you can't talk over dinner, and the store is so crowded that you can't wait to leave. This is an event where people avoid the food rather than the food attracting each other around the table.

Our Master Planning Team can't wait to share more about how we can make our ministry spaces an even better environment for belonging with you and the people who belong to God (and may not even know it yet).

Creating belonging for everyone can be scary. But I have discovered that if I run away from the risk, uncertainty and fear enter my mind or twist my stomach. I often say, "I'm not good enough."

To that, I remind myself that God's Spirit already lives in me (1 Corinthians 3:16) and that I am God's masterpiece, created to do this good work that God has given me to do since the beginning of time (Ephesians 2:10). I think about how much I want "the Jeffs" of the world to know that they belong with the people of God. And I then say, "I love you, God… let's love people and live like Jesus together."

Vision is always caught more than taught, so I'd love to engage with and listen to what excites you about what "creating belonging everywhere" means to you. Please email me at [email protected], or let's connect over coffee or tea.

Next week, we will explore what it means to prioritize discipling all generations by being the best neighbors.

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If you’ve spent time in the workforce, educational spaces, and churches, you’ve probably heard “mission” and “vision.” While they’re related to each other, they are distinct. Depending on your context, the words can also mean different things to different people.

That said, here’s what it sounds like and means here in our ministry context.

Mission defines our church’s identity. And while our identity makes us unique from other churches, it also unifies us as one under our true Lead Pastor, Jesus Christ. Because our unity is made and found in Jesus alone, His mission becomes ours. In this sense, churches may use different words to say the same thing. And it’s Jesus’ mission that unites 1000 excellent ways of following Him into a single “true north”: making disciples of all peoples (nations).

Disciple-making is not just what we do; it’s who we are created to be.

That’s why our mission is to make disciples who love God, love people, and live like Jesus. This is who we are in Jesus.

So, let’s explore our mission a little more, and then I’ll share some thoughts about the vision.

A decade ago, we worked hard as a congregation to make Jesus’ mission easy to remember and put into practice. (Some of you remember those conversations and processes!). It was so important that it made it into our Constitution - which organizationally is like etching it in stone. It’s truly a gift (thanks, God!).

Here’s some biblical background on our mission.

The gospel writer Luke quotes Jesus spelling out His God-given mission to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). The gospel writer Matthew quotes Jesus not only saving the lost (Matthew 18:11) but also the least (Matthew 25:40) and the last and lonely (Matthew 20:16).

It’s humbling (and overwhelming) that Jesus, who has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18), commissions His disciples (including you and me!) to join Him on His mission of seeking and saving the lost, the least, and the lonely.

Jesus says, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20a) 
Because it is Jesus’ mission, He promises to be with us until the very end (Matthew 28:20b).

With that said, what is vision?

One way to think of ministry vision is “where God is leading us next.” Typically, vision is an articulation of broad-scale, long-term, transformational change.

Let’s go a little deeper.

You may have read or heard the Proverb: Where there is no vision, the people perish. (Proverbs 29:18) Suppose you dig deeper into the Hebrew and the context of this passage. We discover that vision is defined as revelation. Another way of understanding perishing is that the people have no boundaries; they run wild (apart from God’s way). That doesn’t sound like a good time for God’s people.

Other ways to think about vision include: 

• Vision is the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom (Oxford Dictionary)
• A clear, challenging picture of the future of ministry as you believe that it can and must be (Aubrey Malphurs)
• The living language that anticipates and illustrates God’s better immediate future (Will Mancini)

So, vision is a plan… a picture… and living language that describes where God is leading us.

When I arrived at Our Savior, our vision between 2014 and 2020 had been to send disciples who take an unchanging God into a changing world. In that time, we experienced significant staff transitions in 2015, a major arson fire in 2016, a multi-million dollar rebuilding project in 2017, and a Senior Pastor Transition in 2018-2019.

That’s a lot, isn’t it?

Let’s pull back the curtain a little bit more.

When I arrived in Fall 2019, we began laying some groundwork for a re-visioning process. In Spring 2020, we started our COVID journey together. Throughout those years, our informal vision was to prioritize relationships. Internally, we’ve coined the phrase “Relationships are king” (though we know that Jesus is king!).
And it worked! While far from perfect, our ministry team and leaders have received feedback that the relationships make Our Savior unique and special. What began as a priority has become part of who we are, today.

That’s the power of a unified vision.

When we began to see a light at the end of the COVID tunnel, I started praying Psalm 25:4-5:
 Show me your ways, Lord,
 teach me your paths.
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God, my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.

In other words, Lord, show us your vision… how you would have us put your mission into practice.

Since then, hundreds of you have participated in providing feedback. We have gathered both real time and projected data, conducted environmental studies, hosted town hall information-gathering meetings, and contracted with BCRA to host focus groups. We completed a master campus plan and are ready to begin a phasing process to move forward. We re-launched healthy and growing core ministries, and we are currently considering what it might mean to become one church in multiple contexts or locations.

Over the last year, we’ve worked hard to clarify our vision - where God is leading us next… and we are ready to share it with you.

Ready for it?

We see people transformed by the gospel by prioritizing disciplining all generations where they live, work, learn, and play.
Vision is always caught more than taught, so I’d love to engage with and listen to what excites you about what “people transformed by the gospel” looks like for you. Please email me at [email protected], or let’s connect over coffee or tea.
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Next week, we will explore what it means to prioritize discipling all generations by creating belonging everywhere.​