United Church Podcast

Churches want to grow, to meet people far from God and introduce them to Jesus; to help them take first steps and next steps in practicing Jesus’ way of life; to invite them to participate in our common work of helping each other grow healthy and mature so we can do the work that God has given us to do as his people and his partners. This church wants to grow. You want to grow, healthy and whole. You want to be the person God lovingly made you to be. But when churches want to grow, there's often something that's missing: churches struggle with the strength of their relational connections. Tune in as we explore the fact that growing together is not automatic and provide practical steps on how you can grow through life-giving relationships.

Duplicity is defined as deceptive, double-dealing, funny business, or fraud. At its core, duplicity is failing to be who we say we are. We need to be keenly aware of the dangers of duplicity. Though this may seem aimed more at those of you who follow Jesus, if you are not a Christian, there is something helpful for you, too. You want to be known as a person who is trustworthy and deals honestly with people. I know you do. So whether you are a Christian or not, there is resonance here. We need to be keenly aware of the danger of being duplicitous in our work. We must be keenly aware of the dangers of duplicity in our marriage. We must be keenly aware of the dangers of duplicity in our friendships, parenting and politics. But more than any other area, we need to be keenly aware of the dangers of dealing falsely with God. Listen in as we continue in The Jesus Revolution sermon series and dive into how to live a life of integrity. For more information on Renovation Church, visit renovationchurch.com.

Your heart desires to share your person and possessions and love people freely. After all, Jesus said, “​It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). If Jesus has changed your life, I believe you aspire to be like Him and live by His words. But here is our reality: Our culture has groomed us to keep instead of release. We intuitively know that there is little satisfaction beyond a certain point of financial comfortability, but my goodness, this hurdle of keeping and collecting keeps getting in the way. I know that can sound nebulous, but it is the best way I can say it. Proximity to Jesus and encounters with the Holy Spirit freed me to move from keeping to sharing, sharing my person and possessions. We see the same in Luke’s record of the early church. The encounters with God’s Spirit motivated the first followers of Jesus to be bold in telling people about Jesus and incredibly open-handed with their person and possessions. The same can happen for all of us. Tune in for the continuation of "The Jesus Revolution" sermon series as Pastor Leonce uncovers three observations about the moment Luke records in Acts 4. If you embrace these observations, you will find the same freedom they did.

Luke tells us that Peter and John showed extraordinary courage under fire during the interrogation in Acts 4:29-31. Boldly, they told the religious leaders that there was no salvation apart from Jesus. Peter sharing Jesus’ resurrection caused issues for the Sadducees. They did not believe in a resurrection of any kind and certainly could not ascribe to a resurrected Messiah, especially that Messiah being Jesus, whom they had just crucified. Here is a question for us to ponder together. What happened the last time you felt that talking about Jesus would cost you? Did you go quiet? Did you retreat? Did you pray for God to get you out of the situation? Tune in as we explore the question of why we should pray for boldness.

We're continuing our sermon series on The Jesus Revolution! The last time we were in Acts, we saw that the tone of Luke’s record shifts. Until this point in Acts four, there had been no resistance to Jesus’ people. Indeed, the picture is of the general acceptance and favor given to them by the people.  Yet, in chapter four, the picture changes. The political leaders, posing as religious figures, turn against Jesus’ people, acting oppositional and breathing threats.  What do we do when our faith in Jesus meets opposition to Jesus? Is there any threat that should cause us to stop telling people what we have experienced and seen in our relationship with Jesus? 

How can we, in our own contexts, prioritise the well-being of others?  The question is born of what I believe is your deep desire: to put others before yourself. I believe that beneath many layers of cultural sediment, our deepest desire is to regard others' interests over our own, particularly if we practice the way of Jesus. Our issue in activating that desire is that our host culture taught us to prioritise ourselves. We have been socialised into self-focus. Family, I have been socialised the same way, into the same behaviour. I know that the struggle is real, and very often, I want to put my preferences, interests, and myself above everyone else, even my own family. But when we received Jesus and, by the Holy Spirit, adopted His will and way, we were re-socialised out of our host culture and into Jesus’ culture. In Jesus’ culture, we put others first because others matter.

The vocational calling of all of God’s people is to represent Him in this world as He brings the kingdom fully to fruition. We are integral to God’s plan to reconcile all things to Himself, and get as many people as possible back to Him.  If you practise the way of Jesus, I believe you want to accept this mandate. You want to see your one more come to know God’s love. You want to invite them to meet Jesus and His people. But we have an issue. Though we want to see our friends, family, and neighbours know Jesus' love for them, we do not share the good news or invite them to worship.  Why? We fear rejection and alienation.  I get it. There have been extended periods in my life while I was a pastor, and the only time I invited others to know Jesus’ love and Jesus’ people was when I was speaking publicly. I have had extended seasons where I did not attempt to interpersonally introduce people to Jesus and His people. 

Life is simply too busy to serve. Consider a typical week: juggling work deadlines, family responsibilities, and social commitments.  By the time the weekend arrives, the thought of adding one more task, like serving at church, can feel overwhelming. It's easy to feel like there's no room left to give  And yet an undeniable truth calls to us—Serving is Essential to The Way of Jesus. I understand this challenge personally. Before I was ever on staff at a church, I served. I remember one particular weekend when I had a major project due at work; we had a brand new baby on the way, I was in a Criminal Justice Master's programme, and I was coaching College and High School wrestling. I felt stretched thin and wondered how I could possibly find the energy to serve at church.  But I realised that in those moments of exhaustion, serving brought a sense of fulfilment and connection that nothing else could. Despite our busyness and challenges, the Scriptures clearly state that the primary way we can mirror Jesus and make a difference in other people's lives is by activating our gifts and serving.  So, how do we overcome these obstacles and create space for service in our lives? Here’s a practical plan to help us do just that: Model Jesus: Follow His example of serving others. Create Margin: Make space in your life by leaning on Jesus. Discover Your Purpose: Understand your unique gifts and calling. Use Your Gifts Well: Serve others with excellence.

As much as I believe you want every guest to feel like your church is alive and they can belong, we have an opposing force to that desire so strong that it is crippling the big “C” Church as a whole—the American way of life.  In his article, The Misunderstood Reason Millions of Americans Stopped Going to Church, Jake Meador writes, “Contemporary America simply isn’t set up to promote mutuality, care, or common life.” Simply put the American way conflicts with the way of Jesus.  Consider one of the composite characters in the book The Great Dechurching.  The character is described as a 30-something woman who grew up in church.  She meets a less religiously engaged guy; they get married, and, at some point early in their marriage, after their first or second child is born, they stop going to church.  Another case is someone entering early or mid-career, working a high-stress job that they feel demands a 60—or 70-hour workweek.  Add to that 15 hours of commute time, and suddenly, about two-thirds of their waking hours in the week are already accounted for.  After a few weeks of either scenario, and many others we could examine, the thought of going to church on Sunday and creating a hospitable environment for someone else feels like a burden.  The underlying challenge for many of us is that our lives are stretched like a rubber band about to snap, and church attendance and participation end up feeling like an item on a checklist that’s already too long. The merry-go-round of related emotions leaves us feeling guilty but justified. We feel guilty because we know what we should do, but we feel justified because life is what it is. But a vibrant, life-giving church requires more, not less, time and energy from its members. Being a part of a life-giving church invites us to prioritise one another over our careers, prayer and time reading scripture over accomplishment, coming to church and creating hospitable environments over a “slow Sunday.” We host an eternity-changing event every week, and if we follow Jesus' example, we must be good hosts in our homes and not let the American way get in the way of the way of Jesus.

Christianity is fundamentally an outward-facing faith. Based on Jesus' last command on this Earth, I say that we should make disciples of all nations. [Matthew 28:18-20] The beauty of that command is that it is very direct and vague. It tells us what to do. It does not tell us how to do it. This has given the church, at large, the freedom to adapt its local context while simultaneously holding on to the essentials.  Because of our context here in the States, most people's journey toward Jesus begins when they meet a Christian who is an active part of a local church. That Christian invites them to come to Sunday worship. They experience Jesus and His people; we hope this becomes the jumping-off point for their spiritual journey with Jesus.  So, for those of us who have friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers we love who don’t yet follow Jesus, we want to create a church environment that those we love will want to return.