WEBVTT 00:00:00.330 --> 00:00:02.229 Not long after my sister and brother -in -law 00:00:02.229 --> 00:00:04.169 got married, he set out to assemble a grill. 00:00:04.710 --> 00:00:06.990 Now, if you ask him, the manufacturer simply 00:00:06.990 --> 00:00:09.589 forgot to send all the parts. But if you ask 00:00:09.589 --> 00:00:11.810 my sister, she's pretty sure he never actually 00:00:11.810 --> 00:00:13.710 looked at the instructions in the first place. 00:00:14.189 --> 00:00:18.170 What I do know is that grill did not go together 00:00:18.170 --> 00:00:21.210 the way he thought. After a lot of sweating and 00:00:21.210 --> 00:00:24.649 profound crisis of patience, that grill ended 00:00:24.649 --> 00:00:27.239 up thrown straight out into the yard. Which honestly 00:00:27.239 --> 00:00:29.920 is, I guess, one way to handle an unclear assembly 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:34.100 process. But if we're going to be honest, we've 00:00:34.100 --> 00:00:37.020 all done something similar. Some of us probably 00:00:37.020 --> 00:00:38.880 have a piece of furniture in our house right 00:00:38.880 --> 00:00:41.719 now that we hope guests don't take a close look 00:00:41.719 --> 00:00:44.840 at. You know that one. You claimed the box was 00:00:44.840 --> 00:00:48.060 maybe missing some parts too. But deep down, 00:00:48.179 --> 00:00:50.619 you know you skipped a bracket that didn't seem 00:00:50.619 --> 00:00:53.759 that necessary. And now the whole thing just 00:00:53.759 --> 00:00:56.240 leans a little bit. And it makes you a little 00:00:56.240 --> 00:00:59.280 nervous. But it looked close enough to the picture 00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:01.880 that you just kept going. And I think we do the 00:01:01.880 --> 00:01:05.040 exact same thing with the church. We recognize 00:01:05.040 --> 00:01:07.879 the individual parts. We know there should be 00:01:07.879 --> 00:01:10.620 preaching, worship, prayer, leadership, fellowship, 00:01:10.799 --> 00:01:14.599 and a sign up to serve somewhere. Because we've 00:01:14.599 --> 00:01:18.000 seen those pieces arranged the same way for most 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:21.019 of our lives. We assume we know exactly how the 00:01:21.019 --> 00:01:24.060 whole thing is supposed to function. But familiarity? 00:01:24.670 --> 00:01:27.950 is not the same thing as instruction. Something 00:01:27.950 --> 00:01:30.810 can look dangerously close to the picture while 00:01:30.810 --> 00:01:33.569 still being built on assumptions that were never 00:01:33.569 --> 00:01:36.730 part of the original blueprint. This season isn't 00:01:36.730 --> 00:01:39.250 about throwing the church into the yard. This 00:01:39.250 --> 00:01:42.489 isn't a deconstruction project, and it's not 00:01:42.489 --> 00:01:45.510 a cynical attack on pastors, traditions, buildings, 00:01:45.709 --> 00:01:48.349 or denominations. It's simply about slowing down 00:01:48.349 --> 00:01:52.129 long enough to open the manual, Scripture, and 00:01:52.129 --> 00:01:55.900 ask, a foundational question. Does what we believe 00:01:55.900 --> 00:01:59.040 about the church match what Jesus actually built? 00:01:59.540 --> 00:02:02.439 Before we talk about leadership structures, growth 00:02:02.439 --> 00:02:05.939 strategies, shepherding, conflict, or multiplication, 00:02:06.400 --> 00:02:09.520 we have to start at square one. What actually 00:02:09.520 --> 00:02:14.460 is the church? Welcome to Grace in the Grind, 00:02:14.539 --> 00:02:16.159 brought to you by Arrow and Roots Coffee Company, 00:02:16.199 --> 00:02:18.610 where faith meets the everyday. Here we take 00:02:18.610 --> 00:02:20.889 time to notice God's presence in the middle of 00:02:20.889 --> 00:02:23.430 life's busiest moments, to find encouragement, 00:02:23.629 --> 00:02:26.830 clarity, and a reminder of His grace right in 00:02:26.830 --> 00:02:29.330 the grind of daily life. So grab your coffee, 00:02:29.349 --> 00:02:33.409 and let's take a sip of this cup together. Today, 00:02:33.530 --> 00:02:35.949 we are unpacking one of the easiest traps to 00:02:35.949 --> 00:02:39.009 fall into when it comes to church, assuming that 00:02:39.009 --> 00:02:41.509 because we recognize the pieces, we understand 00:02:41.509 --> 00:02:44.289 the design. Most of us know the drill when we 00:02:44.289 --> 00:02:48.460 walk into a Sunday gathering. a few prayers, 00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:51.639 and some fellowship over mediocre coffee. Those 00:02:51.639 --> 00:02:53.840 things are familiar, and honestly, a lot of them 00:02:53.840 --> 00:02:56.680 are at least somewhat biblical. But just like 00:02:56.680 --> 00:02:59.080 that backyard grill, having all the right parts 00:02:59.080 --> 00:03:02.020 sitting on the lawn doesn't mean they've been 00:03:02.020 --> 00:03:05.280 put together correctly. Most of us never sat 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:07.580 down and asked, where did my understanding of 00:03:07.580 --> 00:03:10.159 church actually come from? We just inherited 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:13.020 it. We understood it from the congregation we 00:03:13.020 --> 00:03:15.439 grew up in, the denomination that shaped us, 00:03:15.539 --> 00:03:19.639 the pastors we trusted. and traditions that were 00:03:19.639 --> 00:03:23.319 already in place long before we arrived. A lot 00:03:23.319 --> 00:03:26.139 of that inheritance is good, faithful, and beautiful, 00:03:26.280 --> 00:03:30.099 but most of us never stop to examine it. We just 00:03:30.099 --> 00:03:32.340 assumed that because it was familiar, and because 00:03:32.340 --> 00:03:35.819 faithful people handed it to us, it must be the 00:03:35.819 --> 00:03:38.960 design scripture gives us. But inherited does 00:03:38.960 --> 00:03:43.139 not automatically mean examined. Familiar does 00:03:43.139 --> 00:03:45.719 not automatically mean faithful, and functional 00:03:45.719 --> 00:03:49.090 does not always mean aligned. We use the word 00:03:49.090 --> 00:03:51.189 church to describe a lot of different things. 00:03:51.669 --> 00:03:54.710 We call the building the church. We call the 00:03:54.710 --> 00:03:57.250 Sunday gathering church. We call the organization 00:03:57.250 --> 00:04:00.789 and its programs church. And again, those things 00:04:00.789 --> 00:04:03.349 can help the church do what it's called to do. 00:04:03.610 --> 00:04:08.270 But none of them by itself is the church. Today, 00:04:08.389 --> 00:04:12.270 we're looking at Matthew 16, Acts 2, and 1 Peter 00:04:12.270 --> 00:04:15.650 2. Together, they give us a picture of the church 00:04:15.650 --> 00:04:18.399 that is deeper than a building. Broader than 00:04:18.399 --> 00:04:21.500 a weekly service and far more personal than an 00:04:21.500 --> 00:04:24.579 organization. We aren't asking what kind of church 00:04:24.579 --> 00:04:28.819 we prefer today. We're asking what Christ actually 00:04:28.819 --> 00:04:32.060 established. Because if we don't get the definition 00:04:32.060 --> 00:04:35.040 right, we can spend years tightening bolts on 00:04:35.040 --> 00:04:37.160 something that was never put together according 00:04:37.160 --> 00:04:41.120 to the instructions. If we want to know what 00:04:41.120 --> 00:04:43.639 the church is, we have to start with the one 00:04:43.639 --> 00:04:48.319 who built it. In Matthew 16. Jesus asks his disciples 00:04:48.319 --> 00:04:51.180 a question. Who do people say the Son of Man 00:04:51.180 --> 00:04:54.180 is? They give him the popular answers, John the 00:04:54.180 --> 00:04:56.860 Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. 00:04:57.600 --> 00:05:00.100 But then Jesus turns the question directly towards 00:05:00.100 --> 00:05:05.000 them. But who do you say that I am? Peter, being 00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:06.540 the one that's going to jump in quick, says, 00:05:06.699 --> 00:05:09.139 You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. 00:05:09.959 --> 00:05:14.180 And Jesus responds, On this rock, I will build 00:05:14.180 --> 00:05:17.220 my church. and the gates of hell shall not prevail 00:05:17.220 --> 00:05:20.540 against it. Just slow down and listen to the 00:05:20.540 --> 00:05:24.759 wording. I will build my church. Jesus isn't 00:05:24.759 --> 00:05:27.220 speaking like a consultant offering suggestions. 00:05:27.740 --> 00:05:31.699 He speaks as the owner. It is his church. He 00:05:31.699 --> 00:05:34.339 is the builder. He is the one with the authority 00:05:34.339 --> 00:05:38.480 to define what it is and what it's for. That 00:05:38.480 --> 00:05:41.259 means we cannot begin with what's most popular, 00:05:41.399 --> 00:05:43.949 what seems most effective, Or what feels most 00:05:43.949 --> 00:05:46.889 comfortable to us? Those questions may have a 00:05:46.889 --> 00:05:49.629 place somewhere. But they do not come first. 00:05:49.910 --> 00:05:52.730 The first question is, what kind of church is 00:05:52.730 --> 00:05:56.230 Jesus building? We don't get to manufacture it. 00:05:56.269 --> 00:05:58.709 We receive it as something he's already defined. 00:05:59.209 --> 00:06:01.829 And Jesus is not merely maintaining an institution. 00:06:02.189 --> 00:06:06.050 He's building a people. The Greek word here that 00:06:06.050 --> 00:06:09.470 we call church is ekklesia, meaning an assembly 00:06:09.470 --> 00:06:13.500 or congregation. That does not make Sunday gatherings 00:06:13.500 --> 00:06:16.680 optional or unimportant. The church gathers because 00:06:16.680 --> 00:06:19.540 it is a community of people. But the gathering 00:06:19.540 --> 00:06:22.120 is not the whole definition either. The church 00:06:22.120 --> 00:06:24.279 exists before you pull into the parking lot on 00:06:24.279 --> 00:06:27.300 a Sunday morning. And it keeps existing long 00:06:27.300 --> 00:06:29.779 after the benediction is spoken and the lights 00:06:29.779 --> 00:06:32.980 are turned off. It's the people of Christ living 00:06:32.980 --> 00:06:37.339 under the lordship of Christ. We see this play 00:06:37.339 --> 00:06:40.819 out vividly in Acts chapter 2. After Peter preaches 00:06:40.819 --> 00:06:43.600 at Pentecost, the text says about 3 ,000 people 00:06:43.600 --> 00:06:46.980 were added to their number in a single day. That 00:06:46.980 --> 00:06:50.339 is a spectacular growth statistic. But Luke doesn't 00:06:50.339 --> 00:06:53.139 just give us the number and move on. He shows 00:06:53.139 --> 00:06:57.980 us what that 3 ,000 people actually did. They 00:06:57.980 --> 00:06:59.740 devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching 00:06:59.740 --> 00:07:02.339 and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread 00:07:02.339 --> 00:07:06.399 and prayers. Acts 2 is not a command to reproduce 00:07:06.399 --> 00:07:09.670 every detail of first century Jerusalem. but 00:07:09.670 --> 00:07:12.709 it does reveal the kind of devotion, shared life, 00:07:12.889 --> 00:07:17.009 the gospel produced. Pay attention to the word 00:07:17.009 --> 00:07:20.930 devoted. They didn't casually sample these things 00:07:20.930 --> 00:07:24.129 when their schedules allowed. They built their 00:07:24.129 --> 00:07:27.269 lives around them. They shared life. They ate 00:07:27.269 --> 00:07:29.649 meals in each other's homes. They prayed together. 00:07:29.889 --> 00:07:33.389 They met practical needs. They worshipped. This 00:07:33.389 --> 00:07:36.430 was not, see you next Sunday, and hopefully everything 00:07:36.430 --> 00:07:39.689 goes well until then. Their lives had started 00:07:39.689 --> 00:07:42.610 overlapping. They weren't just a crowd of individuals 00:07:42.610 --> 00:07:45.209 who happened to attend the same weekend event. 00:07:45.730 --> 00:07:49.269 They were a family. Their faith was personal, 00:07:49.350 --> 00:07:53.529 but it was never private. Sometimes we want to 00:07:53.529 --> 00:07:56.689 walk in, receive something helpful, and leave 00:07:56.689 --> 00:07:59.810 without anybody knowing enough about us to ask 00:07:59.810 --> 00:08:03.149 the difficult questions. And look, preaching 00:08:03.149 --> 00:08:06.300 does matter. Singing matters and prayer matters. 00:08:06.639 --> 00:08:10.379 Gathering is a big deal. But Acts 2 describes 00:08:10.379 --> 00:08:13.540 a shared life shaped by the gospel. They weren't 00:08:13.540 --> 00:08:15.540 just receiving something from the gathering. 00:08:15.660 --> 00:08:18.259 They were carrying responsibility for one another. 00:08:19.300 --> 00:08:21.720 Peter brings this home with a striking picture 00:08:21.720 --> 00:08:25.240 in 1 Peter 2. He calls Jesus the living stone, 00:08:25.420 --> 00:08:28.899 rejected by the world but precious to God. Then 00:08:28.899 --> 00:08:31.819 he turns to believers and says, You yourselves. 00:08:32.720 --> 00:08:36.620 Like living stones are being built up as a spiritual 00:08:36.620 --> 00:08:40.139 house. Think about that image. Peter's picture 00:08:40.139 --> 00:08:42.580 does not leave us as individual rocks scattered 00:08:42.580 --> 00:08:45.580 around the property. Christ is fitting us together. 00:08:45.820 --> 00:08:49.379 A stone by itself may be useful. It may even 00:08:49.379 --> 00:08:52.720 be beautiful. But it's not a house. A house only 00:08:52.720 --> 00:08:55.259 takes shape when the stones are joined together 00:08:55.259 --> 00:08:58.360 according to the builder's design. That means 00:08:58.360 --> 00:09:00.799 Christian life was never intended to be lived. 00:09:01.149 --> 00:09:04.070 in permanent isolation. Now there are seasons 00:09:04.070 --> 00:09:06.669 where connection is difficult. Hurt can make 00:09:06.669 --> 00:09:09.710 it hard. Illness can make it tough. Distance, 00:09:09.710 --> 00:09:12.490 grief, limited options, or a season of recovery 00:09:12.490 --> 00:09:16.669 can make it hard to be joined together. But scripture 00:09:16.669 --> 00:09:20.129 does not allow for chosen disconnection as the 00:09:20.129 --> 00:09:24.110 normal pattern of Christian life. If Christ is 00:09:24.110 --> 00:09:27.629 the cornerstone, then every living stone is positioned 00:09:27.629 --> 00:09:31.450 in relation to him. And if you are joined to 00:09:31.450 --> 00:09:34.970 Christ, you are also joined to his people. The 00:09:34.970 --> 00:09:37.730 New Testament uses words like body, household, 00:09:37.970 --> 00:09:41.009 flock, and family. It keeps pointing us back 00:09:41.009 --> 00:09:44.629 to the same truth. We belong to Christ. And because 00:09:44.629 --> 00:09:47.090 we belong to Christ, we belong to one another. 00:09:56.549 --> 00:10:00.690 So let me ask this clearly. When you read those 00:10:00.690 --> 00:10:03.889 passages, does that sound like the way we actually 00:10:03.889 --> 00:10:07.509 experience church? I'm not asking if it's familiar 00:10:07.509 --> 00:10:10.269 because you've heard those verses before, but 00:10:10.269 --> 00:10:12.889 is it familiar because it describes the culture 00:10:12.889 --> 00:10:17.250 your local body has? Are we sharing life together 00:10:17.250 --> 00:10:21.529 or only sitting in adjacent chairs? If someone 00:10:21.529 --> 00:10:25.389 began to drift or they're hurting, would the 00:10:25.389 --> 00:10:28.879 body notice and move towards them? If the New 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:32.159 Testament picture feels foreign, the answer isn't 00:10:32.159 --> 00:10:34.460 to become cynical or start throwing rocks at 00:10:34.460 --> 00:10:37.679 your local church. It is an invitation to examine 00:10:37.679 --> 00:10:40.559 our own hearts and ask where our expectations 00:10:40.559 --> 00:10:43.840 and habits need to be brought back into alignment 00:10:43.840 --> 00:10:48.200 with Scripture. One of the easiest places to 00:10:48.200 --> 00:10:51.159 spot this misalignment is right in our own vocabulary. 00:10:51.860 --> 00:10:54.799 We ask things like, Are you going to church today? 00:10:55.240 --> 00:10:58.399 What time does church start? I've missed church 00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:03.220 this weekend. I say all those things. I am not 00:11:03.220 --> 00:11:06.279 suggesting we start correcting one another in 00:11:06.279 --> 00:11:08.179 the parking lot every time somebody says they 00:11:08.179 --> 00:11:10.980 are going to church. We all know what we mean. 00:11:11.340 --> 00:11:15.159 We mean the gathering. But the words we default 00:11:15.159 --> 00:11:18.139 to can reveal what we instinctively picture. 00:11:18.399 --> 00:11:21.840 If the church is primarily an event I attend 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:25.679 then my role can slowly be reduced to that of 00:11:25.679 --> 00:11:29.149 an audience member. I arrive, I listen, I receive, 00:11:29.429 --> 00:11:32.370 then I leave. But the New Testament describes 00:11:32.370 --> 00:11:36.110 something much deeper than an attendance. It 00:11:36.110 --> 00:11:39.190 describes people joined to Christ and joined 00:11:39.190 --> 00:11:42.590 to one another. The question is not only, did 00:11:42.590 --> 00:11:46.750 I attend? It is also, am I being built together 00:11:46.750 --> 00:11:51.190 with other believers? And before anybody hears 00:11:51.190 --> 00:11:54.289 me saying something I'm not saying, let me be 00:11:54.289 --> 00:11:57.240 clear. I am not against church buildings. The 00:11:57.240 --> 00:11:59.419 Sunday service is not the enemy. Programs and 00:11:59.419 --> 00:12:03.620 organization are not inherently wrong. A church 00:12:03.620 --> 00:12:07.340 building can be a tremendous tool. It gives us 00:12:07.340 --> 00:12:10.440 a place to gather, teach children, feed people, 00:12:10.620 --> 00:12:13.299 care for those who are hurting, and walk with 00:12:13.299 --> 00:12:16.240 one another through weddings, funerals, and ordinary 00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:19.799 life. Organization helps us steward resources 00:12:19.799 --> 00:12:23.860 well. Programs can create opportunities for discipleship 00:12:23.860 --> 00:12:27.090 and service. The danger comes when the tool quietly 00:12:27.090 --> 00:12:30.669 becomes the identity. A building can house the 00:12:30.669 --> 00:12:34.409 church, but it isn't the church. A service can 00:12:34.409 --> 00:12:37.309 gather the church, but it isn't the whole life 00:12:37.309 --> 00:12:40.669 of the church. A program can help people grow, 00:12:40.830 --> 00:12:44.809 but it can never replace real, messy relationships. 00:12:46.110 --> 00:12:49.549 It's incredibly easy for this kind of conversation 00:12:49.549 --> 00:12:53.649 to turn into a bitter, hypocritical rant. We 00:12:53.649 --> 00:12:56.149 can start talking as if the church has completely 00:12:56.149 --> 00:12:59.029 failed for 2 ,000 years and we are the first 00:12:59.029 --> 00:13:01.990 generation wise enough to notice. And honestly, 00:13:02.169 --> 00:13:06.750 there is some arrogance in that. As though generations 00:13:06.750 --> 00:13:09.289 of faithful believers missed everything and we 00:13:09.289 --> 00:13:12.610 finally arrive to straighten them out. God has 00:13:12.610 --> 00:13:15.629 been profoundly faithful to his people through 00:13:15.629 --> 00:13:19.049 deeply flawed, imperfect congregations for generations. 00:13:19.960 --> 00:13:22.620 Most of us heard the gospel inside a traditional 00:13:22.620 --> 00:13:25.639 church building. We learned Bible stories in 00:13:25.639 --> 00:13:30.019 Sunday school rooms with flannel graph. We were 00:13:30.019 --> 00:13:33.799 loved, prayed for, and sustained by older saints 00:13:33.799 --> 00:13:37.179 whose names may never be known outside of their 00:13:37.179 --> 00:13:40.820 small towns. I am profoundly grateful for the 00:13:40.820 --> 00:13:44.960 churches and the pastor that shaped me and the 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:47.500 ones that didn't do everything perfectly even. 00:13:48.269 --> 00:13:51.450 Grace allows us to be grateful and honest at 00:13:51.450 --> 00:13:54.330 the same time. We can honor what was faithful 00:13:54.330 --> 00:13:57.450 without pretending it was flawless. We can say 00:13:57.450 --> 00:14:00.129 God deeply used that environment while still 00:14:00.129 --> 00:14:03.049 allowing scripture to realign our current practices. 00:14:03.889 --> 00:14:07.029 Christ hasn't given up on his bride. He is still 00:14:07.029 --> 00:14:10.690 building, refining, and restoring her. The hope 00:14:10.690 --> 00:14:13.350 of the church does not rest on our ability to 00:14:13.350 --> 00:14:16.250 engineer the perfect model. It rests entirely 00:14:16.909 --> 00:14:20.909 on the promise of the one who said, I will build 00:14:20.909 --> 00:14:24.769 my church. So here's what I want to invite you 00:14:24.769 --> 00:14:29.789 to this week. Read Acts 2 and 1 Peter 2, but 00:14:29.789 --> 00:14:32.750 do not read them with your pastor's face in mind. 00:14:32.950 --> 00:14:35.649 Do not read them to build a case against your 00:14:35.649 --> 00:14:39.470 church. Do not read them as a checklist for everything 00:14:39.470 --> 00:14:44.909 somebody else should fix. Ask, Lord, where am 00:14:44.909 --> 00:14:48.169 I in this picture? Am I making myself available 00:14:48.169 --> 00:14:51.889 to be known? Am I allowing other believers to 00:14:51.889 --> 00:14:56.330 encourage me, challenge me, and correct me? Am 00:14:56.330 --> 00:14:59.870 I sharing life with people? Do I know what the 00:14:59.870 --> 00:15:04.309 people around me are carrying? Am I using what 00:15:04.309 --> 00:15:08.470 God has given me to strengthen the body? The 00:15:08.470 --> 00:15:13.789 church is not them. If you belong to Jesus, the 00:15:13.789 --> 00:15:17.490 church is us. And that means this conversation 00:15:17.490 --> 00:15:21.269 has to begin with what Christ may be asking of 00:15:21.269 --> 00:15:24.970 me. For some listeners, church brings up beautiful 00:15:24.970 --> 00:15:27.889 memories. For others, it brings up real wounds. 00:15:28.269 --> 00:15:31.570 Being overlooked, unsupported, controlled, or 00:15:31.570 --> 00:15:33.730 hurt by people who represented Christ poorly. 00:15:34.750 --> 00:15:37.889 Those experiences should not be minimized. But 00:15:37.889 --> 00:15:41.490 here's the thing. We can't let our best experiences 00:15:41.490 --> 00:15:45.879 or our deepest hurts define the church. Only 00:15:45.879 --> 00:15:49.379 Christ gets to do that. Human failure does not 00:15:49.379 --> 00:15:53.139 invalidate his design. It shows how deeply we 00:15:53.139 --> 00:15:57.200 need his grace to live it out. Before we close, 00:15:57.279 --> 00:15:58.860 I want to thank you for being a part of Grace 00:15:58.860 --> 00:16:01.139 in the Grind. If these conversations are helping 00:16:01.139 --> 00:16:03.360 you think more carefully about scripture and 00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:05.980 live your faith more intentionally, one of the 00:16:05.980 --> 00:16:08.919 simplest ways to support the podcast is by grabbing 00:16:08.919 --> 00:16:10.659 a bag of coffee from Aaron Roots Coffee Company. 00:16:11.039 --> 00:16:13.950 You get genuinely good coffee and it helps us 00:16:13.950 --> 00:16:16.570 keep making episodes like this one. You can find 00:16:16.570 --> 00:16:17.990 Arrow and Roots through the link in the show 00:16:17.990 --> 00:16:20.490 notes. No pressure, no guilt, just good coffee 00:16:20.490 --> 00:16:23.250 helping support honest conversations about following 00:16:23.250 --> 00:16:28.330 Jesus in everyday life. That backyard grill ended 00:16:28.330 --> 00:16:31.110 up abandoned in the yard because the pieces didn't 00:16:31.110 --> 00:16:33.289 fit. Whether that was actually due to missing 00:16:33.289 --> 00:16:36.210 parts from the factory or because the instruction 00:16:36.210 --> 00:16:38.429 manual was treated like an optional suggestion, 00:16:38.789 --> 00:16:42.000 I don't know. And look. I'm not throwing stones. 00:16:42.139 --> 00:16:44.539 I have plenty of questionably assembled pieces 00:16:44.539 --> 00:16:47.259 of furniture in my own home that wouldn't pass 00:16:47.259 --> 00:16:49.720 a serious inspection. But the metaphor sticks. 00:16:50.100 --> 00:16:53.080 When things aren't coming together, jamming the 00:16:53.080 --> 00:16:55.759 pieces harder out of frustration never works. 00:16:56.460 --> 00:17:00.279 And convincing yourself those leftover parts 00:17:00.279 --> 00:17:02.960 weren't important does not make the structure 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:05.519 any more stable. Sometimes you have to stop, 00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:08.859 step back, open the manual, look at the design, 00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:14.680 to realign what you've built. That's what we're 00:17:14.680 --> 00:17:17.180 doing this season. We're not throwing the whole 00:17:17.180 --> 00:17:20.559 thing into the yard. We are stopping long enough 00:17:20.559 --> 00:17:24.880 to look at the instructions again and be honest 00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:27.960 about anything we may have assembled around our 00:17:27.960 --> 00:17:31.380 assumptions instead of Christ's design. Jesus 00:17:31.380 --> 00:17:33.859 is still building his church, and if you belong 00:17:33.859 --> 00:17:37.859 to him, you are part of what he's building. Thank 00:17:37.859 --> 00:17:40.079 you for joining me for this first cup of Pot 00:17:40.079 --> 00:17:45.039 3. Over the coming cups, we're going to keep 00:17:45.039 --> 00:17:48.640 examining the identity, leadership, life, mission, 00:17:48.839 --> 00:17:52.000 growth, and multiplication of the church through 00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:55.059 the lens of scripture. If this episode challenged 00:17:55.059 --> 00:17:57.180 or encouraged you, share it with someone who 00:17:57.180 --> 00:17:59.920 is willing to have honest and gracious conversations 00:17:59.920 --> 00:18:02.980 about what the church is meant to be. You can 00:18:02.980 --> 00:18:05.740 also follow Grace on the Grind on your preferred 00:18:05.740 --> 00:18:08.380 podcast platform so you don't miss the next cup. 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:11.960 Until next time. Keep the coffee strong and your 00:18:11.960 --> 00:18:14.420 faith stronger. And remember, there's grace in 00:18:14.420 --> 00:18:14.700 the grind.