When Change Comes, Faith and Community Follow

``When change comes, when change happens, faith comes next. Don't put your faith in me, don't put your faith in the leadership, put your faith in Jesus Christ, the work that he did, and in his resurrection. Do you think he went through all of that so that we wouldn't reach the one? He did that so that we can be a family united to show the world what it looks like to serve and love a God that is bigger than all of us. Let's pray. [00:51:57] (39 seconds)  #FaithAfterChange

He looks at the change in the weather, and he starts to sink. I can relate to that. What I can't relate to is Paul. Okay? Paul is the only one of these stories where there wasn't a question and there wasn't a denial. Paul has this change on the road to Damascus, and from there on, it is just like something clicked in him. Paul actually says this, that Christ is what came next. He says it this way, for me to live is Christ, to die is gain. [00:30:43] (52 seconds)  #DamascusConversion

Maybe I can't speak for every person in this room and that's okay. But what I can tell you is that the elders of this church and the leadership team of this church and the people that make up those groups have gone all in, not on a plan, not on a church building, but on Jesus Christ and this family that we're a part of. That's what we went on all in on. I don't know how better else to explain it. We need a family and we need a community to face what's on the other side of all of this. [00:49:05] (47 seconds)  #AllInOnJesus

I know that they discussed that plan. They put a lot of thought and a lot of wisdom and seeking God into the plan that is going to happen for this church in the future. I also know that none of us are perfect. That plan may have a wobble in it. That plan may have a mistake or two, but that's okay. And despite all of that, for one of the first times in my life, I'm choosing to go all in on the change. [00:45:37] (35 seconds)  #TrustTheImperfectPlan

I want you to think about that for a second. For Paul, living was showing people who Jesus Christ was. Living was showing them the power of Jesus, the transformative power that lived inside of him. That was living for Paul. If he died along the way, he considered a gain because he knew what was coming next. Paul was 100% all in on the change that God presented him, and I cannot relate to that, if I'm being completely honest with you all. I can't relate to that. [00:31:35] (42 seconds)  #LiveLikePaul

You may have heard the phrase, well, you can be a Christian and not go to church. And while I understand the thought behind that, if I'm being real with this group right now, there is not a statement that I hate more than that statement. Christians need community. In my house, in my family growing up, we had this thing, my dad was really good at like one liners and little phrases and ways to like kind of put things together. And, one of the things that he had with scripture was the four basics. [00:41:22] (38 seconds)  #ChristiansNeedCommunity

But, here's the thing, because of that, questions are okay. Remember, Jacob, Abraham, they questioned God and God didn't end their story. They asked questions, they weren't sure, they were scared and it didn't end there. Uncertainty is okay. Mistakes. Mistakes are okay. We're not perfect. We try to be, we want to be, but we're not. Peter was not perfect and look at how Jesus used Peter. Paul was not perfect and look at how Jesus used Paul. And I say that because listen, our elders and our leadership put a really good plan together. I watched them pray over that plan. [00:44:42] (55 seconds)  #QuestionsAreOkay

Paul had a community that was strong and that was behind him, holding him up so that he could present the message of Jesus Christ to the world. It was the community behind him that Jesus used to keep Paul going forward. And that's the thing about us, we need community. I needed community in my story. I said I'd put a pen in it. So, take the pen out, let's finish the story. [00:33:01] (30 seconds)  #CommunitySupports