Wednesday, August 14, 2024
In the second hour, his guest is Pastor of New Life Church, Brady Boyd. Brady brings Kerby his newest book, Life-Minded: 8 Practices for Belonging to God and Each Other.
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[00:00:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Across America, Live, this is Point of View, Kirby Anderson.
[00:00:20] [SPEAKER_04]: So we're going to spend some time talking about unity within the body of Christ. You know, certainly the church is supposed to be that particular institution. It's supposed to be a place for meaningful connection where we worship, where we pray, where we participate in glorifying God, learning God's word, taking it out into the world through evangelism, defending God's word through apologetics and the rest of the world.
[00:00:43] [SPEAKER_04]: And so really, as brothers and sisters in Christ, we really want to know how to love each other better. But we also recognize that there are divisions in the church. Not surprised to see them in the 21st century because we see Paul writing about them in the first century.
[00:00:59] [SPEAKER_04]: But he also reminds us in Ephesians 4 to make every effort to keep the unity of the spirits through the bond of peace. So that's why we're going to be talking about this book, Life-Minded. It is a book that certainly helps you understand eight practices for belonging to God and to each other. It is published by our friends at Our Daily Bread. So if you'd like to know more, we have information about it on the website, about 200 pages.
[00:01:28] [SPEAKER_04]: And it is written by Pastor Brady Boyd, who serves as the senior pastor at New Life Church in Colorado Springs. You might also be aware of the fact that he co-hosts the podcast Essential Church, which really is a conversation with pastors and other leaders about that.
[00:01:46] [SPEAKER_04]: He's written other books, in particular, Addicted to Busy. But this one, Life-Minded, is Eight Practices for Belonging to God and Each Other. Brady Boyd, thank you for joining us today here on Point of View.
[00:02:01] [SPEAKER_02]: Hey, thank you, Kirby. Thanks for having me. I loved your intro. I love that you tackle tough topics. I love that you're fearless about some of these things.
[00:02:10] [SPEAKER_02]: And I think this is a topic that has to be discussed. We have to talk about it because it's tearing your church apart. It's tearing our culture apart right now.
[00:02:18] [SPEAKER_02]: The inability, really, to have noble disagreements with our brothers and sisters. And it's quite alarming, I think.
[00:02:26] [SPEAKER_04]: Yes, to disagree without being disagreeable. The first part of the book talks about why we try. We'll focus a little time and attention on that.
[00:02:33] [SPEAKER_04]: Then we have the Eight Practices. And then at the end, The Legacy We Long to Leave. And again, if you are familiar with Daily Bread, at the end of the book, you'll have all sorts of other resources that come from them as well, going all the way back to Oswald Chambers, my Utvos for his highest and much more.
[00:02:52] [SPEAKER_04]: But I guess the best way to get into this is to tell your story. Because, of course, you do a little bit later talk about what you went through to become the pastor at First Life Church.
[00:03:01] [SPEAKER_04]: But then you have had other opportunities to grow the church and to have a place where you had had kind of a, if you will, a satellite church that was meeting.
[00:03:13] [SPEAKER_04]: And then, interestingly enough, there was a church that was church building was going up for sale.
[00:03:19] [SPEAKER_04]: But you came up with the idea, instead of just buying the church building, coming together with a denominational church and to bring two churches together, which have very different theologies, I think gave you a real appreciation for what we can do to bring about the unity in the body of Christ.
[00:03:40] [SPEAKER_04]: Can you explain that story?
[00:03:42] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, it's a great story. There's a church here in our city that's been around for 35, 40 years.
[00:03:48] [SPEAKER_02]: And when COVID struck, you know, and they had to meet online for a few weeks, they never really recovered from that.
[00:03:55] [SPEAKER_02]: They had a lot of elderly members. So when the church came back in, they just weren't able to attend in person.
[00:04:01] [SPEAKER_02]: Their giving began to dip. And this is a church that's been in the heart of our city.
[00:04:06] [SPEAKER_02]: It's in the geographical center of our city here in Colorado Springs.
[00:04:10] [SPEAKER_02]: And I caught wind one day that they were about to put the building up for sale.
[00:04:14] [SPEAKER_02]: And it broke my heart because we need more churches, not fewer churches.
[00:04:18] [SPEAKER_02]: And unfortunately, around the world right now, church buildings are closing at the rate of about 2,000 a year.
[00:04:24] [SPEAKER_02]: So that's a big problem.
[00:04:25] [SPEAKER_02]: And so I just went to the pastor and I said, hey, why don't we merge?
[00:04:29] [SPEAKER_02]: Why don't we come together?
[00:04:31] [SPEAKER_02]: And let me – I had a group of people about a half a mile down the road that was meeting in rented space.
[00:04:38] [SPEAKER_02]: I said, let's don't make this a daycare center. Let's make this a church.
[00:04:41] [SPEAKER_02]: Let's fill the building up with people.
[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_02]: And after several months of talking and praying and, you know, disagreeing on some things but praying together some more, we decided to merge.
[00:04:55] [SPEAKER_02]: And they were down to about 40 people.
[00:04:58] [SPEAKER_02]: And on Easter Sunday this past year, we had over 2,000 people in that building.
[00:05:03] [SPEAKER_02]: So they went from 40 to 2,000 people because they were willing to – they were willing to give unity a chance.
[00:05:11] [SPEAKER_02]: They were willing to partner with us.
[00:05:13] [SPEAKER_02]: And I just found it to be so refreshing in a world right now that's so divided, Kirby.
[00:05:18] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, people are disagreeing and ending friendships over secondary issues, in my opinion.
[00:05:25] [SPEAKER_02]: And it was refreshing to me to see two churches come together, link arms together, and see something be resurrected instead of something be destroyed.
[00:05:33] [SPEAKER_02]: And so it's such a good story.
[00:05:34] [SPEAKER_02]: It's the opening story of the book.
[00:05:37] [SPEAKER_02]: Lots of good stories in the book about unity.
[00:05:39] [SPEAKER_02]: I still believe in it.
[00:05:40] [SPEAKER_02]: I still think it's possible.
[00:05:41] [SPEAKER_04]: I do, too.
[00:05:42] [SPEAKER_04]: And, again, you talk about getting some phone calls from Pastor Lee about, well, I got this question.
[00:05:48] [SPEAKER_04]: I got that question.
[00:05:48] [SPEAKER_04]: So even though you're on the other side of it talking about how it worked, at the time it was like, oh, is this going to really work?
[00:05:55] [SPEAKER_04]: And I think that's the question, actually, Brady, that a lot of pastors right now are thinking.
[00:06:01] [SPEAKER_04]: I wish we had unity in the church.
[00:06:04] [SPEAKER_04]: But we have battles over everything.
[00:06:06] [SPEAKER_04]: And it's not just doctrine.
[00:06:08] [SPEAKER_04]: It's over whether or not we're going to have a fellowship hall and what the curtains are and the color and whether we're going to have this.
[00:06:13] [SPEAKER_04]: And you know as well as I do.
[00:06:15] [SPEAKER_04]: We always make jokes about the curtains or something else.
[00:06:18] [SPEAKER_04]: But it is amazing.
[00:06:19] [SPEAKER_04]: If you go back and look at the history of church splits, and since I'm the guy around the table who's been around for a few years, I can tell you some incredible stories.
[00:06:28] [SPEAKER_04]: And I'm sure you can tell a few as well of, are you serious that we had a church split over that?
[00:06:35] [SPEAKER_04]: And that's why we really need to work at this issue of unity, don't we?
[00:06:40] [SPEAKER_02]: Absolutely.
[00:06:41] [SPEAKER_02]: And can I just read a passage of Scripture to your audience out of Romans 12?
[00:06:45] [SPEAKER_02]: And this really – yes.
[00:06:47] [SPEAKER_02]: I've been reading this passage of Scripture to myself for about a year and a half now as I've written this book.
[00:06:52] [SPEAKER_02]: And is it okay if I just read a couple of –
[00:06:54] [SPEAKER_04]: No, I was going to read part of it anyway.
[00:06:55] [SPEAKER_04]: So thank you.
[00:06:56] [SPEAKER_04]: You jumped ahead.
[00:06:57] [SPEAKER_04]: That's perfect.
[00:06:58] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
[00:06:59] [SPEAKER_02]: It's right at the beginning of the book.
[00:07:01] [SPEAKER_02]: And I just found this to be so fascinating because it was written to a group of believers living in Rome.
[00:07:06] [SPEAKER_02]: And Rome was more violent and more perverted than anything any of us have ever experienced.
[00:07:12] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, these are first-century Christians risking it all to follow Jesus in a very dark place.
[00:07:18] [SPEAKER_02]: And listen to what the writer of Romans said to this little – probably a group of less than 100 believers in one of the most powerful cities in the world.
[00:07:26] [SPEAKER_02]: Listen to what he said to them.
[00:07:48] [SPEAKER_02]: And I love this last part.
[00:07:54] [SPEAKER_02]: But practice hospitality.
[00:07:56] [SPEAKER_04]: Yes, practice hospitality.
[00:07:57] [SPEAKER_02]: That's the key right there.
[00:07:59] [SPEAKER_02]: We have got to get back to human-to-human contact.
[00:08:02] [SPEAKER_02]: We've got to start having people in our homes.
[00:08:04] [SPEAKER_02]: We've got to go out to meals with people.
[00:08:06] [SPEAKER_02]: And I'm not just talking about the people that agree with us.
[00:08:09] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm talking about the people in our neighborhood, the people that we bump into.
[00:08:13] [SPEAKER_02]: This is exactly what caused Christianity to take over the world.
[00:08:18] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, 300 years later, Rome was a Christian city.
[00:08:22] [SPEAKER_02]: And they did it by practicing hospitality, taking care of the widow, the orphan, and the poor there in Rome,
[00:08:27] [SPEAKER_02]: and demonstrating something radically different than what the Romans were accustomed to.
[00:08:33] [SPEAKER_02]: And I think we're back in Rome again.
[00:08:35] [SPEAKER_02]: Here we are.
[00:08:36] [SPEAKER_02]: I think so.
[00:08:37] [SPEAKER_04]: Again, Romans 12, and there's some other parts of that passage as well.
[00:08:41] [SPEAKER_04]: We'll come back and talk a little bit more about Life Minded with Pastor Brady Boyd right after this.
[00:08:58] [SPEAKER_01]: This is Viewpoints with Kirby Anderson.
[00:09:04] [SPEAKER_04]: Whenever I talk about the U.S. national debt, often someone asks, why can't we just cancel the debt?
[00:09:10] [SPEAKER_04]: People do this with bankruptcy.
[00:09:11] [SPEAKER_04]: Why can't the government do the same?
[00:09:13] [SPEAKER_04]: Well, the U.S. currently has $35 trillion in national debt plus another $217 trillion in unfunded liabilities.
[00:09:21] [SPEAKER_04]: Government debt is issued by the U.S. Treasury through what are called U.S. Treasuries.
[00:09:25] [SPEAKER_04]: When you purchase a T-bill, it shows up in your bank account or your brokerage account as an asset.
[00:09:31] [SPEAKER_04]: The U.S. owes $6 trillion in T-bills, $14 trillion in T-notes, and $4.5 trillion in T-bonds.
[00:09:37] [SPEAKER_04]: Why not just cancel all the debt?
[00:09:39] [SPEAKER_04]: Well, debt is a liability that the U.S. government owes someone.
[00:09:43] [SPEAKER_04]: Your elderly parents and grandparents probably own some T-bills.
[00:09:46] [SPEAKER_04]: This government debt is an asset for them.
[00:09:49] [SPEAKER_04]: If you cancel all the U.S. government debt, then those T-bills would be worthless.
[00:09:53] [SPEAKER_04]: They can't buy groceries or pay for utilities or medical care.
[00:09:58] [SPEAKER_04]: Canceling U.S. government debt would instantly impoverish millions of Americans, most of whom are retired.
[00:10:04] [SPEAKER_04]: These Treasuries may also be sitting on the balance sheet of an insurance company that will need the money to pay out future claims.
[00:10:10] [SPEAKER_04]: They would also be sitting on the balance sheet of other countries.
[00:10:13] [SPEAKER_04]: For example, Japan has $1.1 trillion.
[00:10:16] [SPEAKER_04]: China has $768 billion.
[00:10:19] [SPEAKER_04]: Even if you could cancel the debt, it would have no impact on the country's unfunded liabilities.
[00:10:24] [SPEAKER_04]: These are future promises that will be needed to be paid out and will eventually convert into debt and be held on the U.S. government's balance sheet.
[00:10:31] [SPEAKER_04]: This is additional debt dumped on future generations.
[00:10:35] [SPEAKER_04]: That is why we cannot cancel the U.S. debt.
[00:10:38] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm Kirby Anderson, and that's my point of view.
[00:10:46] [SPEAKER_01]: For a free booklet on a biblical view of intelligent design, go to viewpoints.info slash intelligent design.
[00:10:54] [SPEAKER_01]: Viewpoints.info slash intelligent design.
[00:10:58] [SPEAKER_00]: You're listening to Point of View, your listener-supported source for truth.
[00:11:04] [SPEAKER_04]: Prit was to have with us today Pastor Brady Boyd.
[00:11:06] [SPEAKER_04]: The book is entitled Life-Minded, Eight Practices for Belonging to God and Each Other.
[00:11:11] [SPEAKER_04]: You might want to number one to eight.
[00:11:12] [SPEAKER_04]: But before we get to that, you've got a chapter on the tyranny of the ideal.
[00:11:16] [SPEAKER_04]: And I think this is very important because you suggest let's get together for a small group.
[00:11:21] [SPEAKER_04]: And somebody sends a text and saying, well, I'm gluten-free.
[00:11:24] [SPEAKER_04]: And unless you're going to order gluten-free pizza, I can't really attend.
[00:11:27] [SPEAKER_04]: Somebody says, I've sworn off sugar.
[00:11:29] [SPEAKER_04]: I can't come there.
[00:11:30] [SPEAKER_04]: And then, of course, you also then in the church say, yeah, I've had people walk out of the church because I didn't support Trump.
[00:11:36] [SPEAKER_04]: I've had other people walk out of the church because I didn't support Biden.
[00:11:39] [SPEAKER_04]: I had people walk out of the church because you didn't tell people to get the COVID vaccine.
[00:11:44] [SPEAKER_04]: And some got upset because I didn't weigh in on the issue of critical race theory.
[00:11:49] [SPEAKER_04]: And after a while, you say, it is really hard to have anything that looks like unity, even in a small group, much less in the church,
[00:11:56] [SPEAKER_04]: with that kind of polarization that has made its way from the world even into the sanctuary of your church.
[00:12:04] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, there's no doubt about it.
[00:12:07] [SPEAKER_02]: There's a faction.
[00:12:09] [SPEAKER_02]: There is a friction.
[00:12:11] [SPEAKER_02]: There is a division that's happening in our culture.
[00:12:13] [SPEAKER_02]: And there's a lot of reasons for it.
[00:12:15] [SPEAKER_02]: I think it's easy to point out some of the easy reasons.
[00:12:18] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, COVID separated us, isolated us.
[00:12:21] [SPEAKER_02]: But also, social media is playing a big role in this right now.
[00:12:24] [SPEAKER_02]: And I think we all know this, that social media is not telling us the truth about everything.
[00:12:30] [SPEAKER_02]: We know that.
[00:12:30] [SPEAKER_02]: We're being manipulated.
[00:12:32] [SPEAKER_02]: We're being – our biases are being affirmed.
[00:12:35] [SPEAKER_02]: And our enemies are being – you know, in other words, when you're on social media,
[00:12:42] [SPEAKER_02]: you're told the worst things possible about your enemies and the best things possible about your friends.
[00:12:48] [SPEAKER_02]: And we know that neither one of those things are necessarily true.
[00:12:53] [SPEAKER_02]: Our friends are probably not as good of people as we think,
[00:12:55] [SPEAKER_02]: and our enemies are probably not as evil as we think.
[00:12:57] [SPEAKER_02]: And social media is pushing us apart, and the vitriol is getting louder,
[00:13:04] [SPEAKER_02]: and the separation between tribes has never been greater, especially in American culture.
[00:13:10] [SPEAKER_02]: And in that chapter, I talk about to Tocqueville, the great French philosopher who came to the United States back in the 19th century.
[00:13:18] [SPEAKER_02]: And he tells the story.
[00:13:19] [SPEAKER_02]: He goes, he couldn't believe the charity, the spirituality that he found in the United States
[00:13:26] [SPEAKER_02]: and how willing that neighbors were to help each other.
[00:13:30] [SPEAKER_02]: And he said that the American experiment might work as long as we kept that, that charity,
[00:13:37] [SPEAKER_02]: that willingness to help our neighbor.
[00:13:40] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's what we're losing right now.
[00:13:42] [SPEAKER_02]: And what's at stake is our republic.
[00:13:44] [SPEAKER_02]: Because once we start – stop helping each other, once we stop caring for one another,
[00:13:48] [SPEAKER_02]: then our republic will fall apart because of that.
[00:13:51] [SPEAKER_02]: And we've seen that before.
[00:13:53] [SPEAKER_04]: Well, let's see if we can get into the practices.
[00:13:55] [SPEAKER_04]: And you might want a number of one to eight.
[00:13:58] [SPEAKER_04]: But, of course, I really encourage you to get a copy of the book.
[00:14:00] [SPEAKER_04]: We do have a link to New Life Church.
[00:14:02] [SPEAKER_04]: And, of course, I know you've been teaching on that as well.
[00:14:05] [SPEAKER_04]: So if people want to use that teaching when they want to maybe use the book in a small group, that is available.
[00:14:10] [SPEAKER_04]: We'll talk about that more in a minute.
[00:14:12] [SPEAKER_04]: But the first one is on devotion.
[00:14:14] [SPEAKER_04]: And you start with a quote that fits very well with what you just said.
[00:14:18] [SPEAKER_04]: Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master.
[00:14:22] [SPEAKER_04]: And it does seem to me that what we need to do is come back and make sure that God is speaking into our lives
[00:14:30] [SPEAKER_04]: rather than the culture and some of the problems you just talked about speaking into our lives.
[00:14:37] [SPEAKER_04]: But tell us more, if you might.
[00:14:39] [SPEAKER_02]: Well, I'm talking about in this chapter about having ears to hear.
[00:14:43] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, Jesus said that his sheep would know his voice.
[00:14:46] [SPEAKER_01]: Right.
[00:14:46] [SPEAKER_02]: And I really believe that.
[00:14:48] [SPEAKER_02]: I think I, you know, not to get into a theological argument with the listeners,
[00:14:53] [SPEAKER_02]: but I do believe we have the ability to be led by the Lord through scriptures, through prayer, through God speaking to us.
[00:15:00] [SPEAKER_02]: And I think if we're paying attention, if we have ears to hear, then we can be led by something more divine than our flesh.
[00:15:08] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's what I'm talking about in devotion, that we've got to get back to being hungry for the Lord.
[00:15:13] [SPEAKER_02]: We've got to get back to being devoted to his voice, making his voice the primary voice in our lives.
[00:15:19] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's really what that chapter is talking about.
[00:15:21] [SPEAKER_02]: God is speaking.
[00:15:22] [SPEAKER_02]: God is speaking to you.
[00:15:23] [SPEAKER_02]: And what happens when we hear him?
[00:15:25] [SPEAKER_02]: What happens when we do hear the voice of the Lord?
[00:15:28] [SPEAKER_02]: What causes us to obey?
[00:15:30] [SPEAKER_02]: And it pushes us into better places than we're living right now.
[00:15:33] [SPEAKER_04]: Again, one of the things that I appreciate about your book is in addition to the great discussion,
[00:15:38] [SPEAKER_04]: at the end you have the practice, and I'll just mention this one, devote yourself to God.
[00:15:43] [SPEAKER_04]: And you have four kind of bullet points with series of questions and some suggestions on how to, again, listen to God.
[00:15:53] [SPEAKER_04]: And then, of course, the next page, very practical about keep your phone in a different room, log your prayers, check your screen time,
[00:16:00] [SPEAKER_04]: some of those things that are actually interruptions.
[00:16:03] [SPEAKER_04]: And so as you go through this, you can go through it individually, but I would also recommend this might be a perfect study for that small group
[00:16:12] [SPEAKER_04]: or that church group that maybe needs to hear a little bit more about the unity that Paul talks about in Ephesians 4.
[00:16:21] [SPEAKER_04]: Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
[00:16:25] [SPEAKER_04]: So the first is, of course, this idea of devotion.
[00:16:29] [SPEAKER_04]: The second one is curiosity.
[00:16:32] [SPEAKER_04]: And that, I think, is something that we aren't necessarily always thinking about here.
[00:16:37] [SPEAKER_04]: But you're really saying, okay, am I the problem here?
[00:16:41] [SPEAKER_04]: And maybe the problem with bias and maybe a little bit of, if you will, introspection.
[00:16:49] [SPEAKER_04]: Can you explain some of that?
[00:16:50] [SPEAKER_04]: Because it does seem to me that that practice is, again, to plan to ask and then ask
[00:16:57] [SPEAKER_04]: and to really begin to ask some very important questions and really to begin to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
[00:17:06] [SPEAKER_02]: Well, what I talk about in this chapter is being judged.
[00:17:10] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, we had a shooting in Colorado Springs at a gay nightclub a few years ago.
[00:17:17] [SPEAKER_02]: Several people were killed, a horrific act of violence.
[00:17:21] [SPEAKER_02]: And I went on Twitter the next day.
[00:17:24] [SPEAKER_02]: I woke up on a Sunday morning.
[00:17:26] [SPEAKER_02]: I woke up.
[00:17:26] [SPEAKER_02]: I saw the news.
[00:17:28] [SPEAKER_02]: I read the story.
[00:17:29] [SPEAKER_02]: I was heartbroken that a group of young people, regardless of their affiliation,
[00:17:33] [SPEAKER_02]: they had been gunned down inside a nightclub.
[00:17:37] [SPEAKER_02]: And I said, as Christ followers, we have no tolerance for violence against any group of people.
[00:17:45] [SPEAKER_02]: And I mean, I got attacked by a lot of people who were accusing me of being a hater.
[00:17:52] [SPEAKER_02]: And I thought, they're judging me because I'm a white male megachurch pastor, but they don't know me.
[00:17:59] [SPEAKER_02]: And I realized I'm probably doing the same thing to groups of people that I don't know.
[00:18:04] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm judging them.
[00:18:05] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm making assumptions about them, but I've not really met them.
[00:18:09] [SPEAKER_02]: I don't talk to them.
[00:18:10] [SPEAKER_02]: I haven't asked them any questions.
[00:18:12] [SPEAKER_02]: And so when I was the recipient of it, it was awful.
[00:18:16] [SPEAKER_02]: I thought, first of all, that wasn't virtue signaling.
[00:18:20] [SPEAKER_02]: I was certainly concerned about an act of violence right here in my city.
[00:18:25] [SPEAKER_02]: And, you know, Colorado Springs has had a number of violent outbreaks here in my city, including at my church in 2007.
[00:18:33] [SPEAKER_02]: So I have a very tender, compassionate spot in my heart for any act of violence against a group of people.
[00:18:39] [SPEAKER_02]: And I felt like I got judged unfairly.
[00:18:44] [SPEAKER_02]: And then I began to realize I'm doing the same thing.
[00:18:47] [SPEAKER_02]: And I want to make sure that I give people the benefit of the doubt, that I'm curious about their story, that I'm willing to ask them questions before I make final judgment on anyone's heart or their mind, their motives.
[00:19:00] [SPEAKER_02]: And I think that's what's happening right now.
[00:19:02] [SPEAKER_02]: We're making snap judgments.
[00:19:03] [SPEAKER_02]: We're quick to cancel each other.
[00:19:05] [SPEAKER_02]: The cancel culture is a real thing right now.
[00:19:08] [SPEAKER_02]: And I think we need to back off that.
[00:19:11] [SPEAKER_02]: Jesus didn't come to cancel people.
[00:19:13] [SPEAKER_02]: Jesus came to win people.
[00:19:14] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, he came to save the world, not cancel the world.
[00:19:17] [SPEAKER_02]: And I think as Christ followers, we can do better.
[00:19:21] [SPEAKER_04]: I think so.
[00:19:21] [SPEAKER_04]: And the sad reality is, is that it was not fair to you.
[00:19:25] [SPEAKER_04]: And while I think it is true that we all bring our bias to the conversation right now, it is almost difficult for an honest Christian to make some honest comments.
[00:19:36] [SPEAKER_04]: Because, of course, you live in Colorado where it may be even more difficult than in some parts of the country.
[00:19:42] [SPEAKER_04]: Although I suspect people listening right now in places like New York and Illinois, California, and others recognize that any time an evangelical pastor writes anything, it is immediately dismissed.
[00:19:54] [SPEAKER_04]: And, again, you don't have any idea about the hurt that is there.
[00:19:58] [SPEAKER_04]: So I think it's an important aspect of learning to at least check our own bias.
[00:20:03] [SPEAKER_04]: We can't do anything about the way people react to us, but we need to be careful about how we communicate.
[00:20:09] [SPEAKER_04]: So let's take a break.
[00:20:10] [SPEAKER_04]: When we come back, we've been talking about devotion and curiosity.
[00:20:14] [SPEAKER_04]: We'll come back and talk about discernment and peace and service and forgiveness, awe and grace.
[00:20:22] [SPEAKER_04]: Eight of these practices.
[00:20:23] [SPEAKER_04]: We'll see if we can cover most of them.
[00:20:25] [SPEAKER_04]: And it's all part of this book, which I think you will really appreciate.
[00:20:28] [SPEAKER_04]: Eight Life Minded, Eight Practices for Belonging to God and Each Other.
[00:20:34] [SPEAKER_04]: The book is just out.
[00:20:35] [SPEAKER_04]: So, again, if you can't find it in your local bookstore, we have information about it in the website.
[00:20:41] [SPEAKER_04]: And then we also have a link to the New Life Church.
[00:20:44] [SPEAKER_04]: As you go there, you'll see that actually one of the most recent messages and sermons was on Life Minded Part 1.
[00:20:51] [SPEAKER_04]: So it does give you an opportunity to take advantage of that.
[00:20:56] [SPEAKER_04]: There's, of course, the Life Minded book.
[00:20:58] [SPEAKER_04]: There's also the Life Minded Bible study.
[00:21:01] [SPEAKER_04]: And all of that information is available at our website at pointofview.net.
[00:21:06] [SPEAKER_04]: We are privileged to have with us Pastor Brady Boyd.
[00:21:09] [SPEAKER_04]: And, of course, we've heard, as he just mentioned, about some of the things that have happened at New Life Church in the past.
[00:21:14] [SPEAKER_04]: But also you're getting an inside story of some of the other things that were never covered by the national media.
[00:21:21] [SPEAKER_04]: And certainly really action items for what we need to do in the future if we're going to be the body of Jesus Christ.
[00:21:29] [SPEAKER_04]: We'll be right back.
[00:21:31] [SPEAKER_01]: At Point of View, we believe there is power in prayer.
[00:21:35] [SPEAKER_01]: And that is why we have relaunched our Pray for America campaign, a series of weekly emails to unite Americans in prayer for our nation.
[00:21:47] [SPEAKER_01]: Imagine if hundreds of thousands of Americans started praying intentionally together on a weekly basis.
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[00:22:37] [SPEAKER_01]: That's pointofview.net.
[00:22:41] [SPEAKER_01]: Let's pray together for God to make a difference in our land.
[00:22:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Point of View will continue after this.
[00:22:57] [SPEAKER_01]: You are listening to Point of View.
[00:23:02] [SPEAKER_01]: The opinions expressed on Point of View do not necessarily reflect the views of the management or staff of this station.
[00:23:10] [SPEAKER_01]: And now, here again, is Kirby Anderson.
[00:23:14] [SPEAKER_04]: Continue your conversation today with Pastor Brady Boyd.
[00:23:16] [SPEAKER_04]: The book is entitled, Life-Minded, Eight Practices for Belonging to God and Each Other.
[00:23:21] [SPEAKER_04]: And that brings us to a chapter on discernment.
[00:23:25] [SPEAKER_04]: And certainly we think of when David was dead and Solomon was asking God for what he might be able to receive.
[00:23:34] [SPEAKER_04]: We think of the fact that he asked for wisdom or, more accurately, to give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and distinguish between right and wrong.
[00:23:46] [SPEAKER_04]: So one of the other of the eight practices certainly is the issue of discernment.
[00:23:53] [SPEAKER_04]: And right after that, you tell an interesting, actually somewhat humorous story of squelching the spirit of jerk.
[00:24:00] [SPEAKER_04]: Because we can all, at one time or another, if we aren't jerks, certainly can remember times when people, and you use the example in an airline terminal, people just end up being jerks.
[00:24:13] [SPEAKER_04]: And so right discernment is going to be really key if we're going to really, once again, try to make every effort to keep the unity of spirit through the bond of peace.
[00:24:25] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I was in the Houston airport, and it was just storming outside, and all the flights were, you know, grounded.
[00:24:31] [SPEAKER_02]: And this guy in front of me was just giving it to the gate agent.
[00:24:33] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, as if she had control over thunder and lightning.
[00:24:37] [SPEAKER_02]: And so it was my turn.
[00:24:38] [SPEAKER_02]: He walked away in a huff, and I could tell she was very upset.
[00:24:42] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, because the guy was really a jerk to her.
[00:24:44] [SPEAKER_02]: So I walked up, and I said, hey, I've been waiting to meet you my entire life.
[00:24:48] [SPEAKER_02]: And she looked at me, and she goes, what are you talking about?
[00:24:50] [SPEAKER_02]: I said, well, you obviously are the one that controls the weather, and I've never met someone that has control over the weather.
[00:24:56] [SPEAKER_02]: And so it just kind of took the air out of the tension in the moment.
[00:25:00] [SPEAKER_02]: And she booked me and upgraded me to first class.
[00:25:03] [SPEAKER_02]: So I tell people all the time, you know, you can be kind or you can be a jerk.
[00:25:08] [SPEAKER_02]: But in those moments, listen, what I was doing in that moment actually was de-escalating a situation.
[00:25:15] [SPEAKER_02]: The guy in front of me was, you know, escalating it.
[00:25:17] [SPEAKER_02]: He was creating unnecessary drama, unnecessary anger over something that this woman had no control over.
[00:25:25] [SPEAKER_02]: And I think as Christians, we're called to be peacemakers, right?
[00:25:29] [SPEAKER_02]: Not peacekeepers, but peacemakers.
[00:25:31] [SPEAKER_02]: So when we find ourselves in those places of chaos, those places of anger, where a fight's about to break out,
[00:25:38] [SPEAKER_02]: we're the ones that should step in and say, hey, there's a better way of handling this.
[00:25:41] [SPEAKER_02]: There's a better way of talking to one another.
[00:25:44] [SPEAKER_02]: Let's choose peace here and not choose violence.
[00:25:47] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's why we're real.
[00:25:49] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah.
[00:25:49] [SPEAKER_04]: And that's the next chapter about peace.
[00:25:51] [SPEAKER_04]: First of all, let me just say that a lot of this is about words.
[00:25:54] [SPEAKER_04]: And, you know, I don't know whoever made up, you know, sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.
[00:26:00] [SPEAKER_04]: They've never been around an individual that was devastated by words.
[00:26:05] [SPEAKER_04]: And so watching what we say, I'm, again, preaching the book of James, I guess,
[00:26:10] [SPEAKER_04]: but certainly being careful what we say is going to be helpful for that.
[00:26:14] [SPEAKER_04]: But the next chapter, of course, is peace.
[00:26:16] [SPEAKER_04]: And I was going to call it de-escalation because you start out by reminding us of the time when there was a protest about the killing,
[00:26:26] [SPEAKER_04]: the accidental killing of Breonna Taylor.
[00:26:29] [SPEAKER_04]: And in the midst of that, you had this one African-American woman trying to,
[00:26:35] [SPEAKER_04]: and I think successfully de-escalating the circumstances.
[00:26:39] [SPEAKER_04]: And it seems to me that so often we are to be peacemakers.
[00:26:44] [SPEAKER_04]: And yet there are probably more and more occasions for where we really need to practice those techniques of de-escalation
[00:26:55] [SPEAKER_04]: and practice more being those who would seek peace not only within the church but even outside the church.
[00:27:04] [SPEAKER_02]: No doubt.
[00:27:05] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, think about this.
[00:27:06] [SPEAKER_02]: We follow Jesus who was called the Prince of Peace.
[00:27:10] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, that should mark us.
[00:27:13] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, that should mark our behavior.
[00:27:16] [SPEAKER_02]: It should mark our words.
[00:27:17] [SPEAKER_02]: The one who saved us, the one who died for us, the one who resurrected on our behalf is called the Prince of Peace.
[00:27:25] [SPEAKER_02]: And right now the world needs peacemakers.
[00:27:28] [SPEAKER_02]: We need people.
[00:27:29] [SPEAKER_02]: And I'm not talking about ignoring stuff.
[00:27:31] [SPEAKER_02]: I've had people say, hey, does this mean we're just supposed to ignore all the problems?
[00:27:35] [SPEAKER_02]: No, we have a responsibility as Christ followers to confront evil people who are doing evil things to innocent people.
[00:27:43] [SPEAKER_02]: That absolutely, 2,000 years of church history teaches that when the church is silent about evil things,
[00:27:50] [SPEAKER_02]: that the world's not a better place.
[00:27:51] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm talking about how we do it.
[00:27:53] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm talking about the motivation.
[00:27:55] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm talking about the methodology.
[00:27:57] [SPEAKER_02]: And I'm talking about our heart issue.
[00:27:59] [SPEAKER_02]: And so I think we can do this in a way that honors Jesus.
[00:28:03] [SPEAKER_02]: I think we can do all those things.
[00:28:04] [SPEAKER_02]: We can protest.
[00:28:06] [SPEAKER_02]: We can disagree.
[00:28:07] [SPEAKER_02]: We can share a different point of view.
[00:28:10] [SPEAKER_02]: We can stand for righteousness and justice.
[00:28:14] [SPEAKER_02]: But we do it with a clean heart.
[00:28:16] [SPEAKER_02]: We do it as peacemakers.
[00:28:18] [SPEAKER_02]: We don't use violence.
[00:28:20] [SPEAKER_02]: We don't use vitriol.
[00:28:21] [SPEAKER_02]: We don't use hateful words to get our way.
[00:28:23] [SPEAKER_02]: And I think a lot of times Christians are using the ways of the world to get their way instead of the ways of Jesus.
[00:28:32] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's all I'm advocating for is let's not look up one day and we've won the argument, but we've lost our witness.
[00:28:39] [SPEAKER_04]: Yes.
[00:28:40] [SPEAKER_04]: Well said.
[00:28:41] [SPEAKER_04]: I thought I'd get to another one, and that is the idea of service.
[00:28:44] [SPEAKER_04]: And that's where I learned a little bit more about your circumstances, where you were actually interviewing to become the senior pastor at New Life.
[00:28:52] [SPEAKER_04]: And you really felt leading from the Lord to read, of course, the book of Nehemiah.
[00:28:57] [SPEAKER_04]: And in some respects, that's important because we certainly need to, as you say, becoming like the one we serve.
[00:29:04] [SPEAKER_04]: You run into individuals that want to tell you that doing things like your dream center and everything else is the wrong approach.
[00:29:12] [SPEAKER_04]: So you're going to have to obviously be a peacemaker, but you're also going to have to understand that if you're really going to be successful, oftentimes the way you gain hearing, I think, is by serving another.
[00:29:27] [SPEAKER_04]: And I think, if anything, the church should spend more time thinking about ways to serve the community.
[00:29:34] [SPEAKER_04]: And then the community is going to say, what is it about you people?
[00:29:38] [SPEAKER_04]: There's no advantage that your church or you as a Christian is going to get by serving these people.
[00:29:44] [SPEAKER_04]: So what is it that makes you people so different?
[00:29:48] [SPEAKER_04]: And what an opportunity for evangelism.
[00:29:50] [SPEAKER_02]: It is.
[00:29:51] [SPEAKER_02]: And listen, I still believe that the Great Commission is our assignment.
[00:29:55] [SPEAKER_02]: But we'll never fulfill the Great Commission if we're not people that first believe in the Great Commandment.
[00:30:01] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's the love the Lord your God with our heart, soul, and mind.
[00:30:04] [SPEAKER_02]: And love your neighbor as yourself.
[00:30:07] [SPEAKER_02]: Which then allows us to go do the Great Commission.
[00:30:10] [SPEAKER_02]: Go into all the world.
[00:30:11] [SPEAKER_02]: Preach the gospel.
[00:30:12] [SPEAKER_02]: Teach them everything I've taught you.
[00:30:14] [SPEAKER_02]: Baptize them.
[00:30:15] [SPEAKER_02]: But I think the reason we've given up on the Great Commission is we don't love our neighbor.
[00:30:19] [SPEAKER_02]: We're afraid of our neighbor.
[00:30:21] [SPEAKER_02]: We're scared of the person with the rainbow flag on their porch.
[00:30:24] [SPEAKER_02]: Or we're afraid of the person with the MAGA stickers on their car.
[00:30:28] [SPEAKER_02]: And what I'm saying is that we have to love our neighbor as ourselves.
[00:30:34] [SPEAKER_02]: The last two things that Jesus told us to do was the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.
[00:30:40] [SPEAKER_02]: And I still believe in that.
[00:30:42] [SPEAKER_02]: And I still trust that that's enough.
[00:30:44] [SPEAKER_02]: And that we can see radical changes in the world.
[00:30:47] [SPEAKER_02]: Listen, we're all going to stand before the Lord.
[00:30:50] [SPEAKER_02]: And what we hope to hear God say to us on that last and great judgment is,
[00:30:55] [SPEAKER_02]: Well done, my good and faithful servants.
[00:30:58] [SPEAKER_02]: That's what he's going to say to us.
[00:31:00] [SPEAKER_02]: For those of us who have been faithful to follow him and to believe in him and trust him.
[00:31:04] [SPEAKER_02]: But he calls us servants at the end.
[00:31:06] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's all he's ever wanted from us.
[00:31:08] [SPEAKER_02]: He wanted us to be servants.
[00:31:10] [SPEAKER_02]: The way he served is the way we serve.
[00:31:13] [SPEAKER_02]: And he laid down his life for the sins of the world.
[00:31:16] [SPEAKER_02]: And the world has never been the same since.
[00:31:18] [SPEAKER_02]: And I think we still have that ability in us if we'll get back to just being,
[00:31:22] [SPEAKER_02]: you know, just blocking and tackling elementary following Jesus.
[00:31:25] [SPEAKER_02]: That's what I'm about right now.
[00:31:28] [SPEAKER_04]: One more before I take a break.
[00:31:29] [SPEAKER_04]: And that is the idea of forgiveness.
[00:31:32] [SPEAKER_04]: Because I love your line there.
[00:31:33] [SPEAKER_04]: Dogs bark, cats meow, sinners sin.
[00:31:36] [SPEAKER_04]: Sin.
[00:31:36] [SPEAKER_04]: So you're always going to have sinful people.
[00:31:39] [SPEAKER_04]: And the church is full of sinful people.
[00:31:41] [SPEAKER_04]: And I've had people in the past say,
[00:31:43] [SPEAKER_04]: Well, I'm looking for the perfect church.
[00:31:44] [SPEAKER_04]: And I said, Look, don't join the perfect church.
[00:31:46] [SPEAKER_04]: Because you'll just ruin it.
[00:31:47] [SPEAKER_04]: Because you bring your sin in there.
[00:31:49] [SPEAKER_04]: And, of course, that's supposed to be a joke.
[00:31:50] [SPEAKER_04]: But, unfortunately, it's true.
[00:31:52] [SPEAKER_04]: And I think we are certainly,
[00:31:54] [SPEAKER_04]: if we're going to have unity in the body of Christ,
[00:31:56] [SPEAKER_04]: we have to be forgiving people, don't we?
[00:31:59] [SPEAKER_02]: Well, just go to the cross.
[00:32:00] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, the cross tells you all you need to know,
[00:32:02] [SPEAKER_02]: Father, forgive them.
[00:32:03] [SPEAKER_02]: For they know not what they do.
[00:32:05] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, Jesus himself, he is violently murdered.
[00:32:08] [SPEAKER_02]: He is falsely accused.
[00:32:10] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, there's nothing worse that can happen to a human being
[00:32:13] [SPEAKER_02]: than to be falsely accused and then violently murdered.
[00:32:16] [SPEAKER_02]: And in that moment, when the worst possible thing is happening to Jesus,
[00:32:21] [SPEAKER_02]: he lifts up his chest, fills his lungs with air, and says,
[00:32:24] [SPEAKER_02]: Father, forgive them.
[00:32:26] [SPEAKER_02]: And, listen, I just can't walk around with any unforgiveness or bitterness
[00:32:29] [SPEAKER_02]: or resentment after reading that.
[00:32:31] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, if Jesus can forgive all of us for his death, his burial,
[00:32:37] [SPEAKER_02]: then I need to forgive the person who cut me off in traffic.
[00:32:40] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, the things that we're holding resentment over seem pretty silly in light of the cross.
[00:32:45] [SPEAKER_04]: Yes.
[00:32:46] [SPEAKER_04]: Well, let's take a break, and we'll come back.
[00:32:48] [SPEAKER_04]: We'll cover two more of the eight practices for belonging to God and each other.
[00:32:53] [SPEAKER_04]: If you find yourself saying, well, I'd like to know more about the book,
[00:32:56] [SPEAKER_04]: certainly you can find it in your local bookstore,
[00:32:58] [SPEAKER_04]: but we also have a link there so that you can find it as well.
[00:33:02] [SPEAKER_04]: I think you'll appreciate the fact that it's in hardcover and Kindle,
[00:33:05] [SPEAKER_04]: and you can grab either one of those.
[00:33:06] [SPEAKER_04]: We also, of course, have a link that would help you understand a little bit more about New Life Church,
[00:33:12] [SPEAKER_04]: and so all of those links are available at the website pointofview.net.
[00:33:16] [SPEAKER_04]: We're talking, of course, about the importance of really developing unity,
[00:33:21] [SPEAKER_04]: not only in the bond of Christ, but also as we reach out to the world.
[00:33:26] [SPEAKER_04]: So we'll come back with two more of those practices for belonging to God and belonging to each other.
[00:33:32] [SPEAKER_04]: We've been talking with Pastor Brady Boyd.
[00:33:34] [SPEAKER_04]: We'll continue with him right after these important messages.
[00:33:56] [SPEAKER_00]: You're listening to Point of View, your listener-supported source for truth.
[00:34:01] [SPEAKER_04]: Back for a few more minutes, we're talking with Pastor Brady Boyd about his book,
[00:34:04] [SPEAKER_04]: Life-Minded, Eight Practices for Belonging to God and Each Other.
[00:34:09] [SPEAKER_04]: It's published by our good friends at Daily Bread, Our Daily Bread,
[00:34:12] [SPEAKER_04]: and you can find out more about that on our website.
[00:34:14] [SPEAKER_04]: Last two, one about the issue of awe,
[00:34:18] [SPEAKER_04]: and that certainly should be significant in terms of if we really understand who God is,
[00:34:25] [SPEAKER_04]: that helps us.
[00:34:26] [SPEAKER_04]: But also, I love the comment you have about beauty,
[00:34:29] [SPEAKER_04]: the difference between beauty seekers versus beauty stealers,
[00:34:35] [SPEAKER_04]: and the need for us to really have a biblical view of God.
[00:34:39] [SPEAKER_04]: You would think we would,
[00:34:40] [SPEAKER_04]: but I think in some respects we get so caught up in the day-to-day world that we don't.
[00:34:46] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
[00:34:47] [SPEAKER_02]: I listed,
[00:34:47] [SPEAKER_02]: listen to this group of people.
[00:34:49] [SPEAKER_02]: I list this group of people.
[00:34:50] [SPEAKER_02]: I said,
[00:34:50] [SPEAKER_02]: there's a group of beauty stealers such as Hitler,
[00:34:54] [SPEAKER_02]: Mussolini,
[00:34:55] [SPEAKER_02]: Mal Zung,
[00:34:56] [SPEAKER_02]: Joseph Stalin,
[00:34:57] [SPEAKER_02]: Idi Amin,
[00:34:58] [SPEAKER_02]: Pol Pot,
[00:34:58] [SPEAKER_02]: John Wayne Gacy,
[00:34:59] [SPEAKER_02]: Jim Jones.
[00:35:00] [SPEAKER_02]: I can read,
[00:35:01] [SPEAKER_02]: I can keep going on and on,
[00:35:02] [SPEAKER_02]: but that's a notorious group of people,
[00:35:05] [SPEAKER_02]: people that brought ugliness and death and violence into the world.
[00:35:08] [SPEAKER_02]: But then I list a group of people that I believe brought beauty into the world.
[00:35:13] [SPEAKER_02]: Bach,
[00:35:13] [SPEAKER_02]: Beethoven,
[00:35:14] [SPEAKER_02]: Shakespeare,
[00:35:15] [SPEAKER_02]: Michelangelo,
[00:35:16] [SPEAKER_02]: Billy Graham,
[00:35:17] [SPEAKER_02]: Helen Keller.
[00:35:19] [SPEAKER_02]: And I think there's,
[00:35:21] [SPEAKER_02]: when you look at those two groups of people,
[00:35:23] [SPEAKER_02]: what do you see that is vividly different between those two groups?
[00:35:28] [SPEAKER_02]: One group brought beautiful things into the world,
[00:35:31] [SPEAKER_02]: and another group stole beauty from the world.
[00:35:33] [SPEAKER_02]: And I'm advocating in this chapter,
[00:35:36] [SPEAKER_02]: number one,
[00:35:37] [SPEAKER_02]: can you see the beautiful things that are all around you?
[00:35:40] [SPEAKER_02]: Do you see beautiful things in your world?
[00:35:43] [SPEAKER_02]: Are you,
[00:35:43] [SPEAKER_02]: are you someone that brings beauty,
[00:35:45] [SPEAKER_02]: brings awe,
[00:35:46] [SPEAKER_02]: a sense of worship,
[00:35:47] [SPEAKER_02]: a sense of joy into every environment that you come into?
[00:35:51] [SPEAKER_02]: And,
[00:35:52] [SPEAKER_02]: you know,
[00:35:52] [SPEAKER_02]: we,
[00:35:52] [SPEAKER_02]: we have the Imago Dei,
[00:35:54] [SPEAKER_02]: the image of God imprinted on,
[00:35:56] [SPEAKER_02]: on our souls and in our minds and our hearts.
[00:35:59] [SPEAKER_02]: Everywhere we go,
[00:36:00] [SPEAKER_02]: we should bring God with us.
[00:36:01] [SPEAKER_02]: And if we are bringing God into every situation,
[00:36:05] [SPEAKER_02]: then we're bringing beauty into every situation.
[00:36:08] [SPEAKER_02]: Because God is the source of beauty.
[00:36:10] [SPEAKER_02]: And I,
[00:36:10] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm convinced of that.
[00:36:11] [SPEAKER_02]: And I want to be more like that.
[00:36:13] [SPEAKER_04]: Well,
[00:36:14] [SPEAKER_04]: and that chapter and the next one on grace,
[00:36:16] [SPEAKER_04]: um,
[00:36:17] [SPEAKER_04]: are another word,
[00:36:18] [SPEAKER_04]: not that I'm telling you how to write your book and make it nine principles,
[00:36:21] [SPEAKER_04]: but this idea of gratitude,
[00:36:22] [SPEAKER_04]: you know,
[00:36:23] [SPEAKER_04]: it's really hard to be grumpy.
[00:36:24] [SPEAKER_04]: It's hard to be a jerk.
[00:36:26] [SPEAKER_04]: If you are always appreciating what God has already given to you.
[00:36:31] [SPEAKER_04]: And so in some respects,
[00:36:32] [SPEAKER_04]: both the chapter dealing with this idea of all,
[00:36:35] [SPEAKER_04]: and then the last of the eight practices on grace are very important as well,
[00:36:41] [SPEAKER_04]: because in some respects we recognize that we are here because of God's grace.
[00:36:47] [SPEAKER_04]: And once you realize that we are not here as arrogant people trying to tell everybody else how to live,
[00:36:55] [SPEAKER_04]: we're people that have been saved and we want to save other individuals.
[00:37:00] [SPEAKER_04]: It does seem to me that that changes kind of the attitude we have towards others and even towards other people within the church.
[00:37:09] [SPEAKER_02]: No doubt about it.
[00:37:10] [SPEAKER_02]: I tell the story.
[00:37:10] [SPEAKER_02]: I was out in the Gulf of Mexico on a summer vacation one time.
[00:37:14] [SPEAKER_02]: And,
[00:37:14] [SPEAKER_02]: and it was one of those rare times I was out there by myself.
[00:37:16] [SPEAKER_02]: There was really no one around me.
[00:37:18] [SPEAKER_02]: And so I just kind of turned around and looked out toward the ocean,
[00:37:21] [SPEAKER_02]: toward the horizon.
[00:37:22] [SPEAKER_02]: And as far as I could see,
[00:37:23] [SPEAKER_02]: there was nothing but water.
[00:37:25] [SPEAKER_02]: And in that particular part of the Gulf of Mexico,
[00:37:27] [SPEAKER_02]: the water is like this vivid green color.
[00:37:29] [SPEAKER_02]: It's just beautiful.
[00:37:30] [SPEAKER_02]: Clear.
[00:37:30] [SPEAKER_02]: It's green.
[00:37:32] [SPEAKER_02]: And the Lord said something to me.
[00:37:33] [SPEAKER_02]: He said,
[00:37:33] [SPEAKER_02]: this is the,
[00:37:34] [SPEAKER_02]: this is the grace that you're swimming in.
[00:37:36] [SPEAKER_02]: This is how much grace I've poured out in my life.
[00:37:39] [SPEAKER_03]: Now,
[00:37:40] [SPEAKER_02]: when you have a chance to give someone else a cup of grace,
[00:37:42] [SPEAKER_02]: it shouldn't be stingy.
[00:37:44] [SPEAKER_02]: Pour grace out upon other people the way I've poured it out on you.
[00:37:47] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's,
[00:37:47] [SPEAKER_02]: that's,
[00:37:48] [SPEAKER_02]: I've never forgotten that.
[00:37:49] [SPEAKER_02]: And I,
[00:37:50] [SPEAKER_02]: I want to be quick to be gracious.
[00:37:51] [SPEAKER_02]: I want to give grace and give forgiveness when,
[00:37:55] [SPEAKER_02]: when I,
[00:37:55] [SPEAKER_02]: when I can.
[00:37:56] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's every single day.
[00:37:57] [SPEAKER_04]: Well,
[00:37:58] [SPEAKER_04]: again,
[00:37:58] [SPEAKER_04]: you have given the eight,
[00:38:00] [SPEAKER_04]: but there are some other points you make,
[00:38:02] [SPEAKER_04]: and that is the legacy.
[00:38:03] [SPEAKER_04]: And one of those is to stay surrendered.
[00:38:06] [SPEAKER_04]: We'll get to stay steady and stay strong in just a minute,
[00:38:09] [SPEAKER_04]: but stay surrendered.
[00:38:10] [SPEAKER_04]: It does seem to me that that again,
[00:38:12] [SPEAKER_04]: gets back to this issue of humility and the idea that we certainly should be willing to listen to others because they may be right.
[00:38:23] [SPEAKER_04]: And we may be wrong,
[00:38:24] [SPEAKER_04]: but even if they are wrong to understand them more so that we can begin to share the gospel with them.
[00:38:30] [SPEAKER_04]: And so this idea of being surrendered is really an important aspect of unity and really a very significant part of the Christian life.
[00:38:39] [SPEAKER_02]: Exactly.
[00:38:40] [SPEAKER_02]: And I use the 23rd Psalm to demonstrate this about,
[00:38:43] [SPEAKER_02]: you know,
[00:38:43] [SPEAKER_02]: the idea that the Lord is our shepherd.
[00:38:45] [SPEAKER_02]: I shall not want.
[00:38:46] [SPEAKER_02]: He makes me lie down in green pastures.
[00:38:48] [SPEAKER_02]: He leads me beside still waters.
[00:38:50] [SPEAKER_02]: But that,
[00:38:50] [SPEAKER_02]: that iconic Psalm starts off with the Lord is our shepherd.
[00:38:54] [SPEAKER_02]: And I,
[00:38:55] [SPEAKER_02]: I believe that's enough.
[00:38:56] [SPEAKER_02]: I believe,
[00:38:57] [SPEAKER_02]: listen,
[00:38:57] [SPEAKER_02]: Jesus is the shepherd of my soul.
[00:38:59] [SPEAKER_02]: He,
[00:38:59] [SPEAKER_02]: I am in the palm of his hand.
[00:39:01] [SPEAKER_02]: My feet are planted on the rock who is Christ Jesus.
[00:39:04] [SPEAKER_02]: That's what I mean by staying surrendered,
[00:39:06] [SPEAKER_02]: staying planted,
[00:39:07] [SPEAKER_02]: keeping our eyes fixed on the author and the perfecter of our faith,
[00:39:11] [SPEAKER_02]: the person who is Jesus.
[00:39:13] [SPEAKER_04]: And then also the idea of staying steady,
[00:39:16] [SPEAKER_04]: because that is certainly in a very significant aspect is all at a time when it seems like we're in the midst of a polarized world,
[00:39:25] [SPEAKER_04]: maybe even a civil war that will unfold.
[00:39:28] [SPEAKER_04]: Again,
[00:39:28] [SPEAKER_04]: you believe that that is really a key aspect of our Christian life as well.
[00:39:34] [SPEAKER_02]: Absolutely.
[00:39:34] [SPEAKER_02]: Stay steady every single day.
[00:39:36] [SPEAKER_02]: I tell the story of a group of men here in my town who are,
[00:39:40] [SPEAKER_02]: you know,
[00:39:40] [SPEAKER_02]: they're,
[00:39:40] [SPEAKER_02]: they're,
[00:39:41] [SPEAKER_02]: they're armed and ready for some kind of insurrection that may happen in our city or whatever.
[00:39:46] [SPEAKER_02]: And,
[00:39:46] [SPEAKER_02]: and that's happening in communities all across America.
[00:39:48] [SPEAKER_02]: But I'm,
[00:39:49] [SPEAKER_02]: my,
[00:39:49] [SPEAKER_02]: my plea to people who are listening to this is stay,
[00:39:53] [SPEAKER_02]: stay steady.
[00:39:54] [SPEAKER_02]: Don't,
[00:39:54] [SPEAKER_02]: don't let your heart be troubled.
[00:39:56] [SPEAKER_02]: Don't,
[00:39:56] [SPEAKER_02]: don't give in to the paralyzing fear.
[00:40:00] [SPEAKER_02]: Don't give in to the paralyzing paranoia that's out there in the culture.
[00:40:04] [SPEAKER_02]: We're better than that.
[00:40:04] [SPEAKER_02]: We can rise above that.
[00:40:06] [SPEAKER_02]: And we can show the world how to be steadfast,
[00:40:10] [SPEAKER_02]: how to be steady in a world that's shaking.
[00:40:12] [SPEAKER_02]: And the world is shaking right now.
[00:40:14] [SPEAKER_02]: The world is unsteady right now.
[00:40:16] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's why I think it's important for us to remain steady.
[00:40:20] [SPEAKER_04]: And finally,
[00:40:21] [SPEAKER_04]: to stay strong and also just to look ahead because you remind us that in Revelation 21,
[00:40:27] [SPEAKER_04]: hear this vision that John is given while he's in the Isle of Patmos,
[00:40:32] [SPEAKER_04]: a new heaven and a new earth.
[00:40:34] [SPEAKER_04]: Uh,
[00:40:34] [SPEAKER_04]: even if we will still suffer here or struggle here,
[00:40:39] [SPEAKER_04]: there will be a time when God will wipe away every tear from our eyes,
[00:40:43] [SPEAKER_04]: ensure that we don't suffer death and see to us that nothing,
[00:40:47] [SPEAKER_04]: there is nothing left to grieve over,
[00:40:49] [SPEAKER_04]: to mourn.
[00:40:50] [SPEAKER_04]: There's no more pain.
[00:40:51] [SPEAKER_04]: And ultimately that gives us hope for the world that we live in right now.
[00:40:57] [SPEAKER_02]: Exactly.
[00:40:57] [SPEAKER_02]: Listen,
[00:40:58] [SPEAKER_02]: this is a,
[00:40:58] [SPEAKER_02]: we're passing through.
[00:40:59] [SPEAKER_02]: We are sojourners here and there is a new heaven and a new earth that we've been
[00:41:03] [SPEAKER_02]: guaranteed.
[00:41:05] [SPEAKER_02]: And,
[00:41:05] [SPEAKER_02]: you know,
[00:41:05] [SPEAKER_02]: every time at our church on Sunday,
[00:41:07] [SPEAKER_02]: we come to the Lord's table almost every Sunday.
[00:41:10] [SPEAKER_02]: And when we take that bread,
[00:41:11] [SPEAKER_02]: we break it in half.
[00:41:12] [SPEAKER_02]: And we do that to remember the broken body of Jesus.
[00:41:15] [SPEAKER_02]: But we're also declaring that everything that's broken right now will one day be
[00:41:19] [SPEAKER_02]: repaired.
[00:41:20] [SPEAKER_02]: All sickness and death and dying will go away.
[00:41:23] [SPEAKER_02]: And when Christ returns in glory to judge the living and the dead,
[00:41:27] [SPEAKER_02]: his kingdom will have no end.
[00:41:29] [SPEAKER_02]: We believe that.
[00:41:30] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's what I mean by staying strong,
[00:41:32] [SPEAKER_02]: keeping our eyes fixed on what's coming,
[00:41:34] [SPEAKER_02]: what's ahead of us,
[00:41:35] [SPEAKER_02]: where,
[00:41:36] [SPEAKER_02]: where we're going to spend all of eternity is a new heaven and a new earth.
[00:41:40] [SPEAKER_02]: And that keeps me steady,
[00:41:41] [SPEAKER_02]: keeps my soul clean during the day,
[00:41:43] [SPEAKER_02]: keeps my words,
[00:41:44] [SPEAKER_02]: hopefully more gentle.
[00:41:46] [SPEAKER_02]: And I believe this will help.
[00:41:48] [SPEAKER_02]: I hope people really can take the book seriously.
[00:41:51] [SPEAKER_02]: I spent a year and a half writing it.
[00:41:52] [SPEAKER_02]: It's the hardest thing I've ever done,
[00:41:54] [SPEAKER_02]: but I do believe it'll be a blessing to people if they'll invest in it.
[00:41:58] [SPEAKER_04]: Again,
[00:41:58] [SPEAKER_04]: the book is entitled Life Minded.
[00:42:00] [SPEAKER_04]: Let me just mention,
[00:42:01] [SPEAKER_04]: there's also a life minded Bible study.
[00:42:03] [SPEAKER_04]: So we have all the links necessary for that.
[00:42:05] [SPEAKER_04]: If you would want to teach that in your own Sunday school class or a life group or
[00:42:10] [SPEAKER_04]: something of that nature.
[00:42:11] [SPEAKER_04]: So first of all,
[00:42:12] [SPEAKER_04]: Brady Boyd,
[00:42:13] [SPEAKER_04]: thank you for joining us today here on point of view.
[00:42:16] [SPEAKER_02]: Oh,
[00:42:16] [SPEAKER_02]: Kirby.
[00:42:16] [SPEAKER_02]: It's all,
[00:42:17] [SPEAKER_02]: it's a joy.
[00:42:17] [SPEAKER_02]: It's always a joy to be with you.
[00:42:19] [SPEAKER_02]: And I appreciate what you do.
[00:42:20] [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you for your heart,
[00:42:21] [SPEAKER_02]: for the church,
[00:42:23] [SPEAKER_02]: for the truth,
[00:42:23] [SPEAKER_02]: for the kingdom.
[00:42:24] [SPEAKER_02]: I,
[00:42:24] [SPEAKER_02]: I,
[00:42:25] [SPEAKER_02]: I admire you and appreciate you.
[00:42:26] [SPEAKER_04]: Well,
[00:42:27] [SPEAKER_04]: thank you so very much.
[00:42:27] [SPEAKER_04]: We are going to certainly encourage everybody listening right now to go to,
[00:42:32] [SPEAKER_04]: first of all,
[00:42:33] [SPEAKER_04]: the website,
[00:42:34] [SPEAKER_04]: pointofview.net.
[00:42:35] [SPEAKER_04]: We have a link to a new life church.
[00:42:38] [SPEAKER_04]: And certainly that is something you might want to do.
[00:42:40] [SPEAKER_04]: You probably will be able to find the book in your bookstore.
[00:42:43] [SPEAKER_04]: But if you don't click on that button there,
[00:42:46] [SPEAKER_04]: because it is now out and it is on hardcover and Kindle.
[00:42:50] [SPEAKER_04]: And it's a resource that I think you will certainly appreciate.
[00:42:53] [SPEAKER_04]: We need to certainly make every effort to keep the unity of spirit through the bond of peace.
[00:43:00] [SPEAKER_04]: And that's why we've been talking about that today in this book,
[00:43:02] [SPEAKER_04]: life minded right here on point of view.
[00:43:05] [SPEAKER_01]: It almost seems like we live in a different world from many people in positions of authority.
[00:43:17] [SPEAKER_01]: They say men can be women and women,
[00:43:19] [SPEAKER_01]: men.
[00:43:20] [SPEAKER_01]: People are prosecuted differently or not at all,
[00:43:23] [SPEAKER_01]: depending on their politics.
[00:43:25] [SPEAKER_01]: Criminals are more valued and rewarded than law abiding citizens.
[00:43:30] [SPEAKER_01]: It's so overwhelming,
[00:43:32] [SPEAKER_01]: so demoralizing.
[00:43:33] [SPEAKER_01]: You feel like giving up,
[00:43:35] [SPEAKER_01]: but we can't,
[00:43:36] [SPEAKER_01]: we shouldn't,
[00:43:37] [SPEAKER_01]: we must not.
[00:43:38] [SPEAKER_01]: As Winston Churchill said to Britain in the darkest days of World War II,
[00:43:43] [SPEAKER_01]: never give in,
[00:43:44] [SPEAKER_01]: never give in,
[00:43:45] [SPEAKER_01]: never,
[00:43:46] [SPEAKER_01]: never,
[00:43:46] [SPEAKER_01]: never,
[00:43:47] [SPEAKER_01]: never yield to force,
[00:43:49] [SPEAKER_01]: never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.
[00:43:53] [SPEAKER_01]: And that's what we say to you today.
[00:43:55] [SPEAKER_01]: This is not a time to give in,
[00:43:58] [SPEAKER_01]: but to step up and join point of view in providing clarity in the chaos.
[00:44:03] [SPEAKER_01]: We can't do it alone,
[00:44:05] [SPEAKER_01]: but together,
[00:44:06] [SPEAKER_01]: with God's help,
[00:44:07] [SPEAKER_01]: we will overcome the darkness.
[00:44:10] [SPEAKER_01]: Invest in biblical clarity today at pointofview.net
[00:44:14] [SPEAKER_01]: or call 1-800-347-5151.
[00:44:19] [SPEAKER_01]: pointofview.net
[00:44:20] [SPEAKER_01]: and 800-347-5151.
[00:44:27] [SPEAKER_00]: Point of View is produced by Point of View Ministries.