The City Network Podcast

Is God driving you forward? : A conversation with Isaac Tolpin

Robert Frazier — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0500

We got to sit down with ICPA church planter, Isaac Tolpin, to hear about his journey planting Rooted Bible Church in Horseshoe Bend, ID. Rooted launched this past October, and has seen incredible movement in just a few months. Listen in!

Find more from The Valley Network at thevalleynetwork.org, or follow us on Instagram @thevalleynet, and Facebook at The Valley Network.

Here are the links mentioned in the episode:

isaac@rootedbiblechurch.org
Rooted Bible Church app in the app store
rootedbiblechurch.org
Intermountain Church Planters Association

P.S. You might hear our intro say The City Network podcast- we're still in process of changing everything over! Thank you for your patience in this transition!

Turning the Page: What's next for the Valley Network with Brian Taylor

Robert Frazier — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0500

New name, same vision and values!

We have Brian Taylor, the executive director of the Valley Network, on the podcast today! We’re talking about leadership shifts, the recent merger, and the vision for the Treasure Valley in this next year around the 4 R’s: relationship, resources, residency, and reproduction.

Plus, stay tuned to hear how you can win 2 nights at the Shore Lodge in McCall!

Here are the links mentioned in the episode:

https://www.maf.org/pastors-gathering

https://www.thecitynetwork.org/survey

The Importance of Our Stories Connecting with God's Story: Launching Storyline Church with DJ Marx

Robert Frazier — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Today's episode of the City Network Podcast features church planter DJ Marx, who is launching Storyline Church on September 22nd. Listen in to hear DJ's story, from pastoring in California to Boise to church planting here in Meridian. We talk about recovering from church hurt, trusting God to provide resources, the importance of planting with network and accountability, and having people around you to cheer you on. DJ encourages church planters to stay dedicated to forward momentum (even if it's one tiny thing per day), and urges church partners to stay in the game with church planters. "It's not my church," he says. "It's our church, because we're all going after the same thing."

To support the work at Storyline, here are all the deets:

Go to their website at storylinechurch.tv for everything you might want to know about what they're up to, and sign up for their newsletter to stay in the loop
Follow them on Instagram @storylinechurchtv and Facebook at StorylineChurch.tv
Pray this Irish Blessing over them:

May the road rise to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

The rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

Find more from The City Network at thecitynetwork.org, or follow us on Instagram @thecitynetwork, and Facebook at City Network.

Mentioned in this episode:

Soul Care Summit

This year's Soul Care Prayer Summit is happening April 22-24 up at Quaker Hill in McCall. The Summit is for men and women who serve as leaders and missionaries in the Treasure Valley. This is a space created for you as a visionary leader to hear from God and care for your soul–and it's not just for pastors. It's for anyone who has a vision for kingdom transformation in their sphere of influence. We want to create a space for you and your spouse to pray over that, and to pray for our valley together as a unified church trying to reach our communities with the gospel. We're also helping with childcare this year, so let us know on the registration form if that's a need for your family. Go to www.thecitynetwork.org/soulcare to register!

Soul Care Summit

On Surprises, Dreams, and Wild Faith: Planting Rapha Church with Samuel and Marina Mendoza

Robert Frazier — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0500

"Don't argue for your limitations, and keep dreaming." We had a great conversation with Samuel and Marina Mendoza on the podcast this week! They're planting Rapha Church, officially launching on September 22nd, with the mission to bring the gospel of Jesus to all, and empower believers to disciple others. They have a passion for seeing people's souls and bodies restored, and a wild and determined faith to see what God will do in this season!

This episode is chock full of encouragement, no matter where you are in the church planting or pastoring journey. Listen in to hear their story, to learn, and to see how you can support our friends at Rapha!

If you'd like to support them, here are the deets:

Follow them on Instagram (@rapha.church) and Facebook (Rapha Church)
Go to their website at raphachurch.com
Click here for all the things!
Connect with the Mendozas
Show up to their launch date on September 22nd at the West Ada School District Office

Samuel and Marina were both born and raised in the Treasure Valley and met at a small church in Nyssa, Oregon. They married in 2016 and welcomed their first child Lucas in 2021. Samuel, a first-generation PK, served for seven years as an assistant pastor alongside his father, and earned his Bachelors in Biblical Studies in 2014. With Marina, they have served in various ministries within their local church. Throughout the years, they have faced various challenges and embarked on a journey of healing and restoration, witnessing first-hand the incredible healing power of God.

Find more from The City Network at thecitynetwork.org, or follow us on Instagram @thecitynetwork, and Facebook at City Network.

Mentioned in this episode:

Soul Care Summit

Soul Care Summit

Jonny Morrison on Recovering the Gospel

Robert Frazier — Mon, 13 May 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Do you find yourself wondering if the gospel is still good news for us today? What does recovering the gospel make you think about? Long for?

Join us for today's episode of The City Network Podcast where Robert is joined by Jonny Morrison, author, pastor, and theologian, where they talk about Jonny's most recent book, Prodigal Gospel: Getting Lost and Found Again in the Good News. They dive into the concepts of rest, sabbath, atonement, the kingship of Jesus, the problem of sin, what the gospel is, and what it means for us today.

Listen in!

A Blended Ecology of the Church: with Chris Backert

Robert Frazier — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0500

For today's episode of The City Network Podcast, Robert is live with Chris Backert, pastor, author, the senior director of Fresh Expressions NA, and leader in the Ascent movement. The two talk all things mission and evangelical witness. They discuss the decline of traditional denominationalism in the church and the emergence of new forms of church expressions, including microchurches and networks, and explore the challenges and opportunities faced by church planters, the concept of a "blended ecology of church," and the cyclical nature of church growth and decline. They end with a discussion on the importance of engaging with children and youth, the need for better theological education, and the potential of planting churches in less "desirable" areas.

Flip It On It's Head: The Church in the Shadow of Empire with Preston Sprinkle

Robert Frazier — Mon, 11 Mar 2024 00:00:00 -0500

As the next election season is quickly approaching, are you finding yourself wondering how to engage politically in the culture and with your congregation (or if you even should?)

In this episode, we chat with author, teacher, and speaker Preston Sprinkle, about his new book, Exiles: The Church in the Shadow of Empire. We delve into the theological implications of exile, the historical context of the Israelite nation and its tribal identity, and the governance and economic systems of a nation. We explore the political implications of the early Christian movement, the challenges of planting a church in this particular political era, the divisive nature of mainstream news, and how to find a way through it that is true to the kingdom of God.

Ways to find more from Preston:

Website: prestonsprinkle.com.
New Book: Exiles: the Church in the Shadow of Empire
Podcast: Theology in the Raw
Conference: Exiles in Babylon 2024

News/journalism outlets recommended in this episode:

Find more from The City Network at thecitynetwork.org, or follow us on Instagram @thecitynetwork, and Facebook at City Network.

Mentioned in this episode:

Soul Care Summit

Soul Care Summit

Simple Churches in Everyday Spaces with Brian Johnson

Robert Frazier — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Have you ever thought about doing church differently? Or felt the desire to try something different in your ministry, but didn't have the context for it? If so, today's episode is for you.

In today's episode, we talk with Brian Johnson, Reproducing Churches Champion and integrator for NewThing, and leader in the Kansas City Underground, a microchurch network in KC. Robert and Brian discuss the importance of empathy and support in dealing with tragedies and collective emotions, church expansion, spiritual practices, microchurch networks, coaching pathways, future projects, and the way of Jesus.

Just a few nuggets of wisdom in this jam-packed episode!

Listen in!

Find more from The City Network at thecitynetwork.org, or follow us on Instagram @thecitynetwork, and Facebook at City Network.

To learn more about the Kansas City Underground, click here.

To learn more about NewThing, click here.

For information on the Microchurch Conference, click here.

Mentioned in this episode:

Soul Care Summit

Soul Care Summit

What Breaks Your Heart and Lights You Up: A conversation on seasons of calling with Jessie Horney

Robert Frazier — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 00:00:00 -0500

"Seasons of calling feel hard when they don't feel like a calling at all. It's just living life." Today we are with pastor Jessie Horney! Jessie shares her journey to becoming a pastor, and realizing her calling as a storyteller and a friend. We discuss the challenges and rewards of living into your calling, the importance of intentional relationships, and challenges women face in pastoral ministry. She talks about being present for others, and pastoring wherever you go–not waiting for others to come to you. We aren't meant to do this thing alone.

To connect with Jessie, find her on instagram @jessie.horney.

Find more from The City Network at thecitynetwork.org, or follow us on Instagram @thecitynetwork, and Facebook at City Network.

NOTE: The quote I butchered by Frederich Buchner is: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.”

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Mentioned in this episode:

Soul Care Summit

Soul Care Summit

Kingdom Proclamation and Transformation with Special Guest Michael Frost, on his new book, Mission is the Shape of Water

Robert Frazier — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 06:30:00 -0500

For this special episode of the Church Planter Podcast, Robert interviews author, speaker, missiologist and agitator Mike Frost. They talk about a wide variety of topics, from church planting in specific cultural contexts, to adapting missionary methods, clarifying purpose, community-centered initiatives, and kingdom proclamation and transformation.

Michael Frost is an internationally recognised Australian missiologist and one of the leading voices in the missional church movement. His books are required reading in colleges and seminaries around the world and he is much sought after as an international conference speaker.

He's the founding director of the Tinsley Institute in Sydney Australia, an adjunct lecturer at various seminaries, and the author of 19 books. He is also well known for his protests against Australia’s treatment of refugees, some of which have resulted in his arrest by the NSW police, as well as his advocacy for racial reconciliation, foreign aid, and gender equality.

To order Mission is the Shape of Water, click here.

For more from Mike, visit his website https://mikefrost.net/.

Mentioned in this episode:

Soul Care Summit

Soul Care Summit

Residency, Relationship and Rest: with Logan Shields at Christ the King Anglican Church

Robert Frazier — Mon, 09 Oct 2023 00:00:00 -0500

Today we are joined by church planter Logan Shields, who talks with us about his background in church planting, what it's like to plant with the Anglican denomination, the importance of a residency period as a church planter, and the importance for church planters to keep focus on discipleship rather than numbers.

Logan grew up in northern Utah, becoming a believer at 15. Soon after he felt a call for the mission field and was given a heart for those who don’t yet know Jesus. After bible college at Moody Bible Institute, he and his wife Abbey left for Nashville to help plant a multi-ethnic church. Three years later, God had put together a team to send to Porto Portugal to plant a church. After 7 years, they turned over the leadership to local leadership and moved to Meridian Idaho and lead an evangelical Anglican church plant. They now have two beautiful girls, Ariella 6 and Lillian 4, who are fun, rambunctious and very creative like their mom! Logan and Abbey love to host and feast with friends, read books, especially geeky theological ones, craft beer and be outdoors. Their vision for Christ the King Anglican is “to see Christ glorified, families strengthened, lives changed and the city transformed by proclaiming the good news of Jesus as king!”

To find out more about Christ the King Anglican, go to www.meridiananglican.com or find them on instagram @meridiananglican. You can also give them a call at 208-982-6638.

Find more from The City Network at thecitynetwork.org, or follow us on Instagram @thecitynetwork, and Facebook at City Network.

Mentioned in this episode:

Soul Care Summit

Soul Care Summit

The Death Spiral of Hustle Culture with Scott Billings: A Conversation on Rest and Church Planting

Robert Frazier — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 00:00:00 -0500

For this episode of The City Network podcast, Alyssa and Scott talk all about rest and Sabbath. There are all sorts of good wisdom nuggets: busy seasons vs. busy habits, entertainment vs. spiritual refreshment, and guarding margin vs. burnout. They get hyper practical on how to begin if a practice of rest is something you're considering, how rhythms of rest actually help your productivity and health as a church leader, and what they've learned to help fight the temptation of hustle culture.

Scott has served actively in ministry at Calvary Chapel of Tucson since 2002, volunteering as youth leaders and mentoring youth worship teams. In 2014, both Scott and his wife Jackie, left professional careers in engineering and law to become a youth pastor/media director and stay-at-home mom. In 2020, we became aware of the spiritual need in Boise and connected with several churches in the valley.

God stirred us up to start something new.

With the blessing of our church, Calvary Tucson, we stepped out in faith and committed to plant a non denominational church in Boise, Idaho.

God launched Boise Church (www.boise.church) on Easter Sunday of 2022. We like to keep things simple, love God and love people. We’re excited for what God is doing and look forward in faith to our Lord changing hearts and multiplying churches in the Treasure Valley.

Find more from Scott at @scott.billings1 on instagram.

Find more from The City Network at thecitynetwork.org, or follow us on Instagram @thecitynetwork, and Facebook at City Network.

Mentioned in this episode:

Soul Care Summit

Soul Care Summit

The Importance of Relationship in Church Planting: with JB Van Hoogen at Boise Gospel Church

Robert Frazier — Mon, 21 Aug 2023 00:00:00 -0500

"Keep the majors the majors and the minors the minors." This week's episode is with our friend J.B. VanHoogen from Boise Gospel Church. It's all about relationships: how seasons of stress lead us to deeper relationships with each other and other churches in our valley, and the way we can discern God's voice through the affirmation of people we trust.

JB is the lead church planter of Boise Gospel Church in his hometown of Boise, Idaho. JB received his bachelor’s degree from Boise State University and has a M.A. in Biblical & Theological Studies from Western Seminary. He's been married to Jessie for 14 years, and together they are parents to four boys—Bear, Hank, Gus, and Lou.

Find more about Boise Gospel church at https://www.boisegospel.org/.

Find more from The City Network at thecitynetwork.org, or follow us on Instagram @thecitynetwork, and Facebook at City Network.

Mentioned in this episode:

Soul Care Summit

Soul Care Summit

No Such Thing as Failure: with T.J. Hankey at Refresh Church

Robert Frazier — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 00:00:00 -0500

"There's no such thing as failure when planting a church." This week's episode is all about church planting with T.J. Hankey. We talk about planting a second church, loneliness, combating burnout, the importance of community, and stepping into the church plant God puts in front of you, not the one you have in your head. T.J. offers tons of wisdom in this episode, so listen in!

In the summer of 2020, T.J. and Leah felt a clear call from God to plant a church in the Treasure Valley of Idaho. Refresh Church launched in September of 2021 and has built an incredible team to see people refreshed by the presence of God and discover their purpose in Him.

Pastor T.J. is a gifted teacher and communicator. He has a passion for making God’s word relatable and practical, and he has a heart for reaching people right where they are and introducing them to the refreshing message of Jesus. In their free time, T.J. and Leah like spending time outdoors with their four children Mckenna, Addison, Cecelia, and Layton.

To check out what Refresh Church is up to, go to refresh.church.

Find more from The City Network at thecitynetwork.org, or follow us on Instagram @thecitynetwork, and Facebook at City Network.

Mentioned in this episode:

Soul Care Summit

Soul Care Summit

Actually Engaging the Next Generation: with Josh Branham at Hill City Boise

Robert Frazier — Mon, 10 Jul 2023 00:00:00 -0500

Today Robert is joined with Josh Branham, sometimes co-host of the podcast but today a guest! They talk about reaching and equipping the next generation, and not just how to reach the next generation but how to actually engage the next generation in the mission. They walk through with these ideas brought up in Josh's new book; it's a really important conversation for anybody in or out of church-specific ministry.

Josh is the Lead Pastor of Hill City Church in Boise, Idaho. He moved to Boise from Fairbanks, Alaska to study preaching at Boise Bible College in 2009. He went on to get his Master of Arts in Christian Ministry from Grand Canyon University. Josh and his wife Shaina have three daughters. When Josh isn’t working, he enjoys running, biking, skiing, and playing with his two dogs.

As a pastor, speaker, & writer, Josh delivers consistent content to help you grow in your discipleship to Jesus.

Josh is a writer for Vantage Stories, contributor at Renew.org, and podcast host for the City Network.

Find more from The City Network at thecitynetwork.org, or follow us on Instagram @thecitynetwork, and Facebook at City Network.

Mentioned in this episode:

Soul Care Summit

Soul Care Summit

Letting Jesus Define Your Success: with April Kolman and Josh Cramer at RCB

Robert Frazier — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 00:00:00 -0500

"Let Jesus define your success and let it be about Him." For the start of our summer series, we're joined by April Kolman and Josh Cramer from Resurrection Covenant Boise, the church they planted in 2021. We hear a bit about their story and their struggles with feeling inadequate and well suited to the task, and relational tension. We also get to hear about some bright spots in their church planting journey as they've watched people from the community come around them and support them, stepped into seasons of bravery and newness, and seen God truly do a new thing like God does in Isaiah. They're incredible guests so full of wisdom and fresh perspective. Listen in!

Josh Cramer is lead pastor of Resurrection Covenant Boise, planted in 2021 with an amazing team. He is fascinated by the justice, revolutionary spirit, and grace of Jesus. Learning to follow our Lord through the joys and wounds of life, he has watched God’s faithfulness and developed a deep reliance on the presence and movement of the Spirit. Josh is a pastor for wounded people and outcasts, a student of God’s Word, and a lover of the full and wild good news of Jesus.

April joined the Leadership Team at Resurrection Covenant Boise in 2021 and quickly answered a call into pastoral ministry. She loves learning about how we can grow our spiritual imaginations to better and more fully experience the Kingdom and all the ways God seeks to restore our relationships to God, ourselves, the world, and each other. A former public school teacher and professor at Boise State University, April lives a full life with her husband, Ryan, their two kids, Mason and Claire, and their dog Sirius and cat Harry. She is an avid reader and loves book matchmaking, so don’t hesitate to ask if you’re looking for your next read.

Find more from The City Network at thecitynetwork.org, or follow us on Instagram @thecitynetwork, and Facebook at City Network.

Mentioned in this episode:

Soul Care Summit

Soul Care Summit

Escaping the Paradigm: The 4 R's of Church Planting with Dave Ferguson

The City Network — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 07:00:00 -0500

"What would you do in your church if they told you they wouldn’t pay you? I think it would make you think differently about your call, your programs, your strategy, and your tactics." In today's episode of The City Network Podcast, Dave Ferguson talks with Robert on escaping the paradigms of large scale church planting, in order to live into Jesus' "radical genius." They talk about what it looks like to revamp evangelism, Dave's work with Exponential and New Thing Network, and the 4 R's of church planting: relationship, reproducing, residency and resources. The conversation covers church planting in the context of reaching the next generation, church health, and warning signs to pay attention to when planting a church.

Dave Ferguson is the lead pastor of Community Christian Church, a multi-expression missional community that is passionate about “helping people find their way back to God.” Community has grown from a few college friends to reaching thousands of people in Chicagoland and around the world. Dave also provides visionary leadership for the international church-planting movement NewThing and is the CEO of the Exponential conference. He is an award-winning author of books that include The Big Idea, Exponential, On The Verge, Finding Your Way Back To God, Starting Over, Hero Maker and most recently B.L.E.S.S. 5 Everyday Ways to Love Your Neighbor and Change the World. Dave and his best friend Sue have three terrific adult kids - Amy, Josh and Caleb. Feel free to email him with questions, ideas, feedback or introductions at daveferguson@exponential.org Find more from Dave on his website: daveferguson.org, or on twitter: @daveferguson and instagram: @fergusondave.

Find more from The City Network at thecitynetwork.org, or follow us on Instagram @thecitynetwork, and Facebook at City Network.

Here are some resources and references mentioned in the episode:

On the Verge, Alan Hirsch and Dave Ferguson

New Thing Network

The Movement System

A Non-Anxious Presence, Mark Sayers

Mentioned in this episode:

Soul Care Summit

Soul Care Summit

Doubt, Wonder, and Curiosity: Allowing Gen Z to Contribute to the Church with Hannah Gronowski

The City Network — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 07:53:00 -0500

"I am so excited about the kind of church Gen Z will lead us into if we let them," says Hannah in her conversation with Josh and Robert. They chat about Hannah's journey to starting the nonprofit Generation Distinct, pouring into the next generation through multiplication in the way of Jesus, discipleship, and the future of the Church. Hannah emphasizes the importance of asking Gen Z questions, leaving them room to doubt, inviting them into rooms where their leadership is necessary and welcomed, and cultivating a spirit of curiosity by engaging with them in the conversations they are already having.

Hannah Gronowski Barnett, Founder and CEO of Generation Distinct, has always been wired to abolish cultural complacency, unleash lasting justice, and equip others to discover the wrong they were born to make right. A sought after speaker at leadership conferences, churches, college campuses and youth events around the globe, Hannah is also a content and communication coach through The Women’s Speaker Collective, host of The Generation

Distinct Podcast and Next Generation Director for Leadership Network. Since founding Generation Distinct in 2017, Hannah has scaled the organization to reach leaders around the globe through her vision to use conversations around passion, purpose & justice to bring the next generation into conversations around Jesus, the Gospel & the Great Commission. Under Hannah’s leadership, Generation Distinct has scaled to reach Young adults in 7 different countries. This 6-month Virtual Program helps leaders take their vision for a better world and

turn it into a step-by-step reality, empowering them to create lasting change in their

communities. Hannah’s latest book is Generation Distinct: Discover the Wrong You Were Born to Make Right.

You can find more from Hannah at hannah@generationdistinct.com, @hannahgbarnett on instagram, or at hannahgronowski.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

Soul Care Summit

Soul Care Summit

Future Church: Hannah Gronowski Barnett

The City Network — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 08:07:00 -0500

BONUS EPISODE: Future Church, a gathering for young people in the church, with Hannah Gronowksi Barnett

As Founder and CEO of Generation Distinct, Speaker and Author, Hannah has always been wired to abolish cultural complacency, unleash lasting justice, and join the wild adventure Jesus invites us all to live.

Find more from Hannah at hannahgronowski.com or on instagram @hannah.g.barnett

This content is from our first City Network Conference in 2022. Join us in just a few months for the second annual conference, which will be taking place on February 6-7, 2023 in Boise, Idaho. Find out more information here!

TCN Conference: Robert Frazier

The City Network — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 08:03:00 -0500

BONUS EPISODE: The Next Generation Is Looking For Hope with Robert Frazier

A speaker, church planter, and entrepenuer, Robert serves as lead pastor of Redemption Hill in Boise, Idaho and co-founder of The City Network.

Find more from Robert on instagram @bobbycfrazier.

This content is from our first City Network Conference in 2022. Join us in just a few months for the second annual conference, which will be taking place on February 6-7, 2023 in Boise, Idaho. Find out more information here!

Room to Fail: Engaging Gen Z with Christian Philips

The City Network — Mon, 09 Jan 2023 07:05:00 -0500

"A Gen Z in the wild," Christian and Josh talk about the heart behind the question: why did he stick around Jesus when so many of his Gen Z friends did not, and why does he continue to do so? Christian talks about the pivotal role intentional discipleship played in his life, as well as his experience with mission (to this day!), the life changing opportunities to practice and learn what it means to live out his faith.

Christian is a mobilization coach in the Treasure Valley with a vision to send Workers to the plentiful Harvest. He has a heart for the 3.35 billion unreached people in the world who will never have a chance to hear the Good News. It is from this conviction that Christian invites the Church to ask the question: What must be done to bring the Gospel to the Lost?

To connect to with Christian, please reach out to admin@thecitynetwork.org, or find Christian on instagram @amateurnomad.

TCN Conference: Michelle Harvey

The City Network — Thu, 05 Jan 2023 08:59:00 -0500

BONUS EPISODE: The Next Generation Is Looking For Hope with Michelle Harvey

Michelle is the Area Director for West Ada Young Life, a para church organization with a mission to introduce adolescents to Jesus Christ and help them grow in their faith.

Find more from Michelle on instagram @mharvey2.

This content is from our first City Network Conference in 2022. Join us in just a few months for the second annual conference, which will be taking place on February 6-7, 2023 in Boise, Idaho. Find out more information here!

TCN Conference: Andrew Branham

The City Network — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 08:49:00 -0500

BONUS EPISODE: The Next Generation Is Won With Missionaries Not Programs with Andrew Branham

Currently serving as the Family Pastor at Hill City Church, Andrew has over a decade of expereince in leading the next generation in successful discipleship.

This content is from our first City Network Conference in 2022. Join us in just a few months for the second annual conference, which will be taking place on February 6-7, 2023 in Boise, Idaho. Find out more information here!

TCN Conference: Ron Price

The City Network — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 08:40:00 -0500

BONUS EPISODE: The Next Generation Is Won With Missionaries Not Programs with Ron Price

A well known business man, Ron Price serves as President and CEO of Price Associates and President of TTI Success Insights.

Find more from Ron at price-associates.com.

This content is from our first City Network Conference in 2022. Join us in just a few months for the second annual conference, which will be taking place on February 6-7, 2023 in Boise, Idaho. Find out more information here!

TCN Conference: Josh Branham

The City Network — Tue, 20 Dec 2022 08:21:00 -0500

BONUS EPISODE: The Next Generation Needs Clarity Not Confusion with Josh Branham

Serving as Lead Pastor at Hill City Church in downtown Boise, Josh has a passion for church revitlization and a decade of expereince working with the next generation.

Find more from Josh on instagram @joshuadbranham or at joshuabranham.com.

This content is from our first City Network Conference in 2022. Join us in just a few months for the second annual conference, which will be taking place on February 6-7, 2023 in Boise, Idaho. Find out more information here!

Coming Back to Grace: Building a Better Discipleship Culture, with Alice Matagora

The City Network — Mon, 19 Dec 2022 07:47:00 -0500

Josh talks with Alice Matagora about the transformational effect of discipleship on her story, her work with the Navigators, and the difference between accidental and intentional discipleship in ministry and relational contexts. She also provides suggestions and encouragements for church leaders looking to cultivate a culture of discipleship in their communities.

Alice lives in Southern California with her husband RJ, her children Regi and Clementine, and her Daisy dog. She has worked with The Navigators in various ministry contexts for nearly twenty years, including collegiate ministry, cultural competency training, and her current role within The Navigators in leader development. Combining her professional experience, both in ministry and as a licensed marriage and family therapist, and her passion for disciple making, Alice's first book, How to Save the World: Disciplemaking Made Simple seeks to equip and empower everyday people to make disciples of Jesus wherever they live, work, and play. You can find her book wherever you buy your books!

Find more from Alice on instagram @alicematagora, or at alicematagora.com

TCN Conference: Tim Ghali

The City Network — Thu, 15 Dec 2022 07:13:00 -0500

BONUS EPISODE: The Next Generation Needs Clarity Not Confusion, with Tim Ghali

Pastor of Discipleship at Grace Chapel in Lexington MA, he’s studying and consulting on transitions of leadership from Boomers to Gen X and Millenials. Dmin Candidate at Fuller, Seminary. MDiv from Missio Seminary.

Find more from Tim at timghali.com.

This content is from our first City Network Conference in 2022. Join us in just a few months for the second annual conference, which will be taking place on February 6-7, 2023 in Boise, Idaho. Find out more information here!

TCN Conference: Jamie Taylor

The City Network — Tue, 13 Dec 2022 08:07:00 -0500

BONUS EPISODE: The Next Generation Needs Challenge and Invitation

Jamie Taylor is a woman who loves to help individuals find freedom to live as the people God created them to be. She is a writer, speaker and Mom of four, who serves with her husband Brian at E3 Church in Kuna, ID.

Find more from Jamie at jamietayloronline.org or on instagram @jamietayloronline.

This content is from our first City Network Conference in 2022. Join us in just a few months for the second annual conference, which will be taking place on February 6-7, 2023 in Boise, Idaho. Find out more information here!

Derek Murphy: Cultivating Ministers of Reconciliation and Mission Through Prayer

The City Network — Mon, 12 Dec 2022 07:29:00 -0500

"There is a need for training and disciplemaking when it comes to raising the next generation of leaders."

Josh Branham interviews Derek Murphy on cultivating church health, trends in the church planting world, the importance of discipleship to the next generation of leaders, and how church leaders can build a culture of prayer in their community and their cities.

Based in Salt Lake City, Derek Murphy is the executive director of the Intermountain Church Planters Association. Derek is a graduate of Boise Bible College and Emmanuel Christian Seminary. Previously he served with Real Life on the Palouse, and K2 Church, and now is planting a church planting church in Salt Lake, with a focus on disciple-making.

He is married to his wife Bri, and they have three kids, Myles, Hazel and Jameson.

Learn more at intermountainchurchplanters.com, or reach out to Derek directly at dmurphy@intermountainchurchplanters.com.

To join their movement of prayer, visit peoplearetheprize.org.

Find more from The City Network at thecitynetwork.org, or follow us on Instagram @thecitynetwork, and Facebook at City Network.

TCN Conference: Hannah Gronowksi Barnett

The City Network — Thu, 08 Dec 2022 08:52:00 -0500

BONUS EPISODE: The Next Generation Needs Challenge and Invitation, with Hannah Gronowski Barnett

As Founder and CEO of Generation Distinct, Speaker and Author, Hannah has always been wired to abolish cultural complacency, unleash lasting justice, and join the wild adventure Jesus invites us all to live.

Find more from Hannah at hannahgronowski.com or on instagram @hannah.g.barnett

This content is from our first City Network Conference in 2022. Join us in just a few months for the second annual conference, which will be taking place on February 6-7, 2023 in Boise, Idaho. Find out more information here!

TCN Conference: Jessie Horney

The City Network — Tue, 06 Dec 2022 08:58:00 -0500

BONUS EPISODE: Spoken Word with Jessie Horney

Writer, Artist, Activist started Wonder School to give low-income kids access to high quality play based preschool. She’s a pastor at Redemption Hill in Boise, Idaho, is studying theology at Fuller Seminary and is passionate about discipleship and the written word.

Find more from Jessie on instagram @jessie.horney.

This content is from our first City Network Conference in 2022. Join us in just a few months for the second annual conference, which will be taking place on February 6-7, 2023 in Boise, Idaho. Find out more information here!

TCN Conference: Keith Harrington

The City Network — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 08:24:00 -0500

BONUS EPISODE: The Future of The Church Looks A Lot Like The 1st Century: Spirit Filled, Decentralized, Nimble Movement of Jesus Followers, with Keith Harrington

Serving as the lead pastor at Rockharbor Church in Meridian, Idaho, Keith is also a co-founder of The City Network.

This content is from our first City Network Conference in 2022. Join us in just a few months for the second annual conference, which will be taking place on February 6-7, 2023 in Boise, Idaho. Find out more information here!

TCN Conference: Dave Ferguson

The City Network — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 08:20:00 -0500

BONUS EPISODE: The Future of The Church Looks A Lot Like The 1st Century: Spirit Filled, Decentralized, Nimble Movement of Jesus Followers, with Dave Ferguson

Dave joins us again for another session, this time on the future of the church. Find more from Dave at daveferguson.org or on instagram @fergusondave.

This content is from our first City Network Conference in 2022. Join us in just a few months for the second annual conference, which will be taking place on February 6-7, 2023 in Boise, Idaho. Find out more information here!

TCN Conference: Alan Hirsch

The City Network — Thu, 24 Nov 2022 08:39:00 -0500

BONUS EPISODE: The Future of The Church Looks A Lot Like The 1st Century: Spirit Filled, Decentralized, Nimble Movement of Jesus Followers, with Alan Hirsch

Alan is founder of 5Q Collective and resident coach and consultant with the team.

Find more from Alan at alanhirsch.org.

This content is from our first City Network Conference in 2022. Join us in just a few months for the second annual conference, which will be taking place on February 6-7, 2023 in Boise, Idaho. Find out more information here!

TCN Conference: Dave Ferguson

The City Network — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 08:10:00 -0500

BONUS EPISODE: The Next Generation Needs Leaders That Are For Them, with Dave Ferguson

An award-winning author, Dave is president of the Exponential Conference as well as the Visionary Apostolic Leader The for the NewThing church planting movement.

Find more from Dave here.

This content is from our first City Network Conference in 2022. Join us in just a few months for the second annual conference, which will be taking place on February 6-7, 2023 in Boise, Idaho. Find out more information here!

TCN Conference: Matt Ritchey

The City Network — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 07:14:00 -0500

The Next Generation Needs Leaders That Are For Them

Serving as the Next Generation Pastor at Grace Bible Church in Nampa, Idaho, Matt works with young adults in our community every day.

This content is from our first City Network Conference in 2022. Join us in just a few months for the second annual conference, which will be taking place on February 6-7, 2023 in Boise, Idaho. Find out more information here!

TCN Conference: Preston Sprinkle

The City Network — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 07:06:00 -0500

Rebuilding The Church Starts with Changing Our Hearts as Leaders (Part 2/2)

A well known scholar, speaker, podcaster, a New York Times bestselling author, Preston is the co-founder and president of The Center for Faith, Sexuality & Gender.

This content is from our first City Network Conference in 2022. Join us in just a few months for the second annual conference, which will be taking place on February 6-7, 2023 in Boise, Idaho. Find out more information here!

TCN Conference 2022: David Holsten

The City Network — Thu, 10 Nov 2022 07:49:00 -0500

Rebuilding The Church Starts with Changing Our Hearts as Leaders (Part 1/2)

David Holstein serves as CEO of one of the largest mission organizations in the world, Mission Aviation Fellowship. Learn more about David and the work that MAF is doing here.

This content is from our first City Network Conference in 2022. Join us in just a few months for the second annual conference, which will be taking place on February 6-7, 2023 in Boise, Idaho. Find out more information here!

Andrew Branham: Pioneering Through Youth Ministry

The City Network — Tue, 08 Nov 2022 13:00:00 -0500

“If you’re wanting to have an updated mission and vision, you need to be pioneering through your youth ministry right now.”

In the first episode of Season 3 of The City Network Podcast, Robert interviews Andrew Branham on his experience in youth ministry as he's learned what works and what doesn't in terms of long term vision casting, empowering and equipping students to explore their calling pre-college, and cultivating a healthy and sustainable leadership culture among staff.

Andrew and Robert mention our Young Leaders Cohort, which will begin in 2023. For more information on how to sign-up for that, as well as register for The City Network Conference, visit thecitynetwork.org.

Find more from The City Networkl at thecitynetwork.org, or follow us on Instagram @thecitynetwork, and Facebook at City Network.

Renewal: A Church Merger Story

The City Network — Tue, 25 Oct 2022 18:41:00 -0500

In this episode, we ask "what does it looks like to see health and vitality renew a church?"

The story of the merger between Boise churches Hill City and Capital City Christian Church. This is conversation between our co-host Robert Frazier, the pastor of Hill City Josh Branham, and former pastor of Capital City David Davolt.

Thanks for listening!

A Conversation with Steve Bragg

The City Network — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 16:04:00 -0500

a conversation with Pastor Steve Bragg, missionary in the Philippines

Russel Clum and Jack Nagy

The City Network — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 18:43:00 -0500

A conversation with Russel Club and Jake Naggy, Portlanders with deep connections to the Treasure Valley

Healthy Church Growth with Mac Mayer of Life Church Boise

The City Network — Thu, 04 Aug 2022 15:13:00 -0500

Mac Mayer shares church growth principals that will be trained at Church Growth Collaboration conference at Life Church Boise August 16-18 https://www.lcboise.com/church-growth-collaboration

Taking the Gospel to the innermost part of the heart: An interview with Tim Rule of Innerlife Ministries

The City Network — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 14:00:00 -0500

Tim Rule jumps into what it looks like to bring the gospel to the deepest parts of the heart and how it can bring healing to a broken life.
https://www.innerlifeministries.com/

Kirk Crager and Todd Morr, Disciple-Making in Large and existing churches

The City Network — Wed, 04 May 2022 19:37:00 -0500

Todd Morr is a missionary and leads Missional Made Simple with his wife Hannah from San Diego, CA. Learn more at missionalmadesimple.com Today we're joined with him and Kirk Crager, Discipleship Pastor at Calvary Boise and host of the Cultivate Community Conference May 13-14.

Transcript:

[00:00:00] : you're listening to the City Network podcast. Our mission is to grow and multiply healthy churches in the Treasure Valley and beyond. Head to the city network dot org for more info on our initiatives to catalyze church transformation and church planting. Here's today's podcast. All right, Welcome to the City Network podcast. My name is robert Frazier and I get the privilege to be a part of the team that leads same network and host the podcast with my friend josh Brandon. He's not here today, but today we have a couple of special guests. Um First off, I want to introduce to you uh Kirk Kreager who's a dear friend of mine, I think we know each other like 21 22 years, something like that. He's an old man, that's how, that's how, you know, you've known somebody for 22 years, they have gray in their hair. Yeah. And then Kirk Kirk, you've been overseas for about what, 15 of those years and then moved back just a few years ago and been part of um calvary Boise is the groups and community pastor, Welcome to the podcast. Hey, thanks robert Yeah, 17 years in Italy for three years and in England for 14 years. So crazy journey in that sense, like learning different cultures and experiencing just what God was doing in those places and then yeah, back here calvary Boise, Communities and mission aled discipleship pastor, that's kind of my role and what I'm supposed to be doing trying Yeah, I'm trying that's I think what we're all doing, trying Yeah, you and Kirk, you've invited uh my new friend Todd more to come join us. You have known Todd from your time in europe. But he's gonna be here in a couple of weeks and we wanted to introduce him to folks and his organization. Mission made simple. So would you just tell us a little bit about Todd before we jump in? Yeah, Todd and I first met in Manchester England. He came over, he was with some at the time and I think he came over through a friend of mine, James Deering down in Birmingham. We got connected, came up and met with a few of us pastors in Stockport was part of Manchester over there and just kind of connected and and really helped coach us through a little bit on the concepts of mission of community and what it looked like to live out the mission of God and community. And then I went down to Birmingham the next day and we had a little conference and we took some of our leaders and that was kind of transformative for our church in a lot of ways. Like it really helped to kind of coalesce a lot of the leadership lessons we were trying to kind of get across and learn ourselves at the time. So that's where I met Todd and then we just had a couple of connection points since then, I can't remember Todd, were you in the Czech Republic one time when I was there, I can't I know you're you're over there a lot but I think we might have met in Prague one time too. Yeah. So yeah, I lived in check for seven years and I helped organize that. It's probably the gathering we did when timothy came and uh we pulled in leaders for about 10 different countries. Yeah. Yeah. So that was great. Todd tell us a little bit about yourself, Tell us your your story, your journey really. You know the one minute version of what you've been doing and why? Why you're here? One minute version. Um Yeah, I grew up in Illinois midwesterner but God led me after I finished bible school and moody bible institute to eastern europe back in 1994. Um So it was just after the revolutions and we started planting youth ministries and then planting churches in some of the least churched, you know, countries in the world Less than 1%. So that's a big part of the story. What we're talking about here is um living a mission of life. How do we help, how do we help churches living that way back in Eastern Europe, we had no other choice, 99%. Unchurched not interested in church. Far from the church. So we had we have to figure out how to help organize what little Groups of Christians there were around these countries begin to admission only if anything was going to change. And so I've been doing that for the last 27 years, I help churches in about 25 countries currently. So I can give you stories literally from all over the place, all over eastern western europe, Australia, Japan, south africa, south America chile Colombia. Um and I don't know, 10 or 15 states in the US, so lots of different contexts, but the big theme, the big idea is the same. How do we, so we make disciples train the average christian to live a mission of life. What what what what what you're talking about is this, it seems so normal to a lot of us who have been thinking about like the mission will journey for the last 20 years, but like what we're talking about is a tectonic shift in the life of the church, like post reformation. That was very clergy centric. It was built around Individuals who had teaching gifts, building communities who were formed around the word but didn't see themselves as missionaries. They saw themselves as church people. They saw themselves as congregations. And then uh it's interesting as we sit around here because you know, Kirk, you were a missionary for 17 years Todd, you're a missionary for many years overseas. I was a missionary to teenagers and high schoolers for 25 years or for sorry, 17 years and all of us then as we approached pastoral ministry and as we approached like the work of reaching our cities here in the US all took a missionary approach to it and like that's obviously old. You look at like the missionary, the missionary movement was really built on Leslie, new begins teaching and he had been a missionary overseas with the Reform Church had come back to England in the middle of the 20th century and said Holy moly this place went from a christian nation, pre World War Two to a post christian nation that had that was itself emission field. But the church itself didn't have any idea it was in the mission field that thought that it was in a christianized nation. And so I think that obviously europe is 30 years ahead but America is living in that reality as as the last 10 years has rapidly moved us into a post christian reality across the country. We're in the right spot, I think, Todd, I love that you're coming and I'd love to hear more about what drove you to start mission. All made simple and what do you do when you jump in with the church who's saying, I want to make a shift away from a congregational model or prevailing model into a mission model. Yeah, great few few different questions there. Um I mean part part of my journey again, I've been connected to a lot of churches, big churches, small churches um overseas as well as in the US. And so I think, you know, you're you're hearkening back to the reformation and the priesthood of all believers and some of those realities and the reformation and the priesthood of believers never quite, never quite got there. It said it and they never did it. It was like I believe in the priesthood of all believers and you should sit there and learn for the rest of your life and not do anything that would be great. Yes and never defined it in terms of mission, which that should have been front and center to be a faithful disciple of Jesus. I don't see how we read the new testament in any other way. The average disciple is meant to be a missionary meant to be a fisher of men Luke five jesus said, hey guys, why don't you follow me? Let's be clear about the goal fish for men. It's to go on mission together to make disciples to be witnesses, Jerusalem judea samaria against the earth so that throughout the new testament is just sent central foundational. But why have we not defined a mature disciple in that way? Mm hmm. That's been part of my conviction for these years is to say we've got to redefine disciple, mature disciple and then we got to define the process of discipleship largely. So here that not completely but largely in terms of mission, that's great. Um I'm just gonna shut my door because my kids are about to get home from school. I love you, I love you talk a little bit about um what what drove you to start mission made simple, like as, as you've been, you've been back in the States for a little while now, but you're in san Diego and what's what's driving the engagement with the local church and here here in the valley as you come up to Boise good. So yeah, Michelle made simple. The platform that I'm currently leading, developing actually came from all these different contexts that I described Eastern europe, south America, south africa talking with these churches and hearing them consistently say, man, we love what you're talking about. How do we train our people to get it? How do we train our people to actually live this way? Because we tried some things and it's been too complicated, it's been too cumbersome and I realized it doesn't need to be mission. Living on mission, living as a community on mission is not that complicated. So our training does not need to be that complicated. Our coaching does not need to be that complicated how we organize our churches does not need to be that complicated. It can be simple. Yeah, when when we planted our congregation five years ago, someone recommended a group that helps with project management for church planters and they gave me no joke, this was a checklist of 400 items That I needed to do for the starting of a church congregation, 400 items of a to do list, some of them were extensive and none of them not a single one had to do with discipleship or evangelism. all of them were about the formation of the organization and I think that that is the primary lens through which people think about mission is I start an organization and then that organization somehow magically makes an impact, but doesn't include that evangelism and discipleship is the center of it. And so I think you're right, like how do we do that? So when you think about simplifying church planting, when you think of simplifying mission, like what, what are the things that need to go away for us to simplify again a lot of our systems and programs and Leadership structures are very, very complex or very just too too complicated. So we've got to say if we're going to make disciples of all nations or a place like Boise, we'll just say 90% under churched or unchurched, we'll say 90% we need an army of people engaged in that, where's that army gonna come from? Just the highly trained ones, it's not gonna happen, it's not going to happen if the average christian and Boise does not see themselves as part of the team, part of the solution, part of the family that is working together to influence the city of Boise and the area around Boise for the kingdom. So it's gotta be simple enough, clear enough for the average christian to be able to get excited about it, get motivated to live their everyday life with this kind of purpose. Gotta be simple enough. It's gotta be clear enough, you're gonna hear me say that a lot. So what are some of those things? I think again, how we define mission? So it's not a big complicated program. It's literally everyday life, It's part of the cool design that God has in all of this. Our everyday lives, our mission field school, our kids activities, our workplaces where we shop, where we go for a coffee, it's all mission field because it's full of lost people. So then we need to ask the question, how do we steward this for the kingdom? How do we organize our lives in such a way that we can actually influence these lost people at work at school, at the park when we walk the dog? Why don't we go get coffee all the time? But I believe that's possible. I believe it's in God's design. So it's everyday life which God has already built around us. It doesn't require a lot of money to do. It doesn't require a big program to do. It simply requires relational intentionality at work at school in the neighborhood, at youth soccer coaching a little league, getting coffee at our favorite coffee shop, all those places, relational intentionality. What what are you gonna do if we don't have programs to run a business here. There's there's still some work for some pastors to do. It's a different kind of work though, which is like, that's really what you're getting after is what's the kind of work that pastors then do if, if the people are the priests all of a sudden our role then is organizing and coaching. Yeah, absolutely, So that's, that's the Ephesians four model, you're talking about where the apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers are given to the church for the building up of the saints for the work of ministry, That's the flow, I love that. So where um what do you think the average christian, the average follower of jesus needs to become a missionary, Like what's, what are the mindset shifts, where do most of them need that level of training? Okay, I might step on some toes here, sorry about that, there's no toes here, we, there's no one watching, it's a very small audience, just say whatever you want todd Okay, the Western Church, again, I'm going to do some broad sweeping, but I feel like I can, because again, I work in dozens of countries and hundreds of churches, so I've got a pretty good case study here to prove my point, but the church for the last 50 7500 years has structured itself in such a way and set expectations that were largely about church going, not disciple making, that's part of the mind shift. The average christian needs to see that they're calling and their identity is not to attend a church meeting church program though, Those things are okay to support the mission, They're just not the mission. Well, like in the 90s, a church would say, here's what you're supposed to do, you're supposed to attend, you're supposed to give, you're supposed to serve and you're supposed to invite and all four of those things happen on Sundays at church. That was, that was everything. And so like let's put those upside down, what's that look like an additional like what, what's the ask for somebody? Okay, again, it's the antithesis of that. Yeah, it's not, it's not come to a centralized location. It's going your everyday life and decentralized the mission because the mission is already built into your daily life, it's your neighbors, that your neighborhood, it's teachers from your kid's school where their sports teams is your coworkers that you spend eight or nine hours with every day. The mission is already there. It's not bring them into a centralized location. It's go to them because let's be honest, even back in the heyday of mega church, you know, stuff, there was still a large majority of people not coming. There was a select group of people that liked to come to centralized meetings and programs and events. So they did, that still was not a large majority of the population. So now today a portion of those, others are no longer coming to the big thing. So if the church does not reset itself reform itself to be goers, that's why we keep saying missionary and mission, that's just what it is, it's going, it's pursuing, but we need to be about that organizing ourselves to do that every day and not to do it alone as solo missionaries. So that's been part of the problem. Why a lot of ultra christian who can do it on their own? Yeah, yeah, I had a big church, there's a mega church here in southern California that they like what I do or what we do, but they, he used this language, he said you guys are like ninja christians and it was actually very sad to hear that. Yeah, because because he didn't see that it was available to everybody. Exactly, yeah, yeah. It should not be seen as maybe seals or ninja or super christian, it's just normal, jesus stuff. But part of the problem has been many christians think they're supposed to do it alone. We're not, we're supposed to do it together in communities. That's why you're going to hear me use the term mission elite community and I don't even care what namely views doesn't matter. It's just a community of people to be a small group called small group, a small group of people that believe they're supposed to go together, support each other together, encourage each other together on mission in everyday life, that's all we're talking about. So if you're a big church with small groups, I'm gonna challenge you don't, don't blow up your structure, just revitalize it, reform it so that each one of those small groups becomes a mission group. So let's say you had like a groups pastor of a large church of a couple of 1000 okay. And he was sitting right here and, and he was trying to take his small group ministry and turn it into additional, you know, direction. Like someone like Kirk, I guess I'm what, like, what's, what's the, how do you make? Because that's a seismic shift for a church that and, you know, most large churches are large because they've been good at attracting people and I would say evangelistic lee, I think large churches do a great job at the beginning of people's journeys because they can, they can belong and they can listen and they can, they can get their feet wet before they jump in. I think that there's a place for that, but then like for Kirk to say, okay, how do, how are we making disciples and how we create disciple making communities like what, what do you, what do you want him to do in a place like that? I'm really, I'm really interested now, so I gotta hear this that I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't lose your job here though, Kirk, Okay, Yeah, we'll try not to, but that's okay either way, but it's all good again, I work with a lot of big churches, so I'm very aware of what you're talking about here, robert. Okay. I was actually in one of the largest churches in America. Okay. For a time popularized small groups. Was that a good thing? Yes. Because actually pre small group phenomena, churches didn't even have, that actually wasn't a bad thing. I say it like this. It was a limited thing. Not a bad thing. Just a limited thing because it was primarily designed for education and a bit of fellowship. Fellowship, not bad things. Just limited things. Okay, what are the other things I'm just gonna name to? I'm going to keep it simple. I already told you that. I believe it's not that complicated. Okay. Do we need small groups for bible study and education. Absolutely. But not only only a percentage of the time of the life of a small group should be engaged in that. What else do they need? I'm gonna say to other priorities. Family and missions. That's how I describe them. What do I mean, my family, it's much, much deeper than fellowship. It's a commitment to go deep into each other's lives, support each other, sacrifice for each other, encourage each other, Speak the gospel to each other like a family because you can't do that with a couple of 1000 even this, our churches like, you know, 100 and 50 to 200. We can't, we can't live as a family. We can live as, as an extended family, but not as a family, it's only in that unit of 15 to 30 where that can happen? Yeah, no, I think that that's that's that's just relational dynamics, it's gotta be smaller, okay, it's gotta be smaller for people to go deeper for people to be consistent in those relationships gotta be and I'll be talking about more, I'll be talking more about that when I come to Boise. Okay, so family, one of those priorities, so education, I'm okay with that bible, Good thing, I'm a bible guy, bible school with graduate school, I'm a bible guy, so bible one priority, family, second priority mission, third priority. Much of what a disciple needs to become a fully formed disciple of jesus, his mission,...

"Exiles in Babylon, Preston Sprinkle and reaching Gen Z through authentic conversations around Faith, Sexuality and Gender.

The City Network — Sat, 16 Apr 2022 20:37:00 -0500

City Network Podcast Season 2 Episode 1 Preston Sprinkle, Exiles in Babylon.

Take a look at prestonsprinkle.com

get a link to Theology in the Raw Conference.

Get tickets for the City Network Conference to hear from Preston in person at citynetworkconference.org

[00:00:00] : You're listening to the city network podcast. Our mission is to grow and multiply healthy churches in the Treasure Valley and beyond? Head to the city network dot org for more info on our initiatives to catalyze church transformation and church planting. Here's today's podcast. Hey, welcome everyone to the City Network podcast. My name is josh brand. Um I'm here with co host robert Frazier. It's up. Did you just freeze josh here and today Sprinkle. Did I on your end, your friends like right after you said my name. Yeah, my back now. Yeah, you're back. Well, welcome once again to the city work podcast and we're here with press to Sprinkle and we're super Excite it. Mhm. He's four for, for joining us. I think we're getting like every other word josh is are you getting every other word. Preston from him? Yeah. All right. I'll join, join in on my phone. I'm at the building. You never know with construction stuff like building. Alright. Yeah, well, my name is robert preacher. I'm one of the co host of the podcast and part of the city network. And we are excited to have our guest today press and Sprinkle, who is internationally renowned author and somewhat expert leader on the Center for Faith and sexuality. Right. Is that the name of it? They get right? Center for faith, sexuality and gender. It's sexuality and gender. Got to get all three. All right. And president also here locally in Boise and I'm stoked about your conference coming up in March? The theology and the rock conference? You guys have an amazing lineup. How did you do that? Do you have like dirt on these guys or what was the, I've had, I would say at least actually all of them except for David Platt. I've had them all in my podcast at some point or another and have gotten to know some more than others through the years, you know? Um, yeah, it's a, it's a small world. But yeah, I'm super. Even though I know them though, I mean they're all pretty, most of them are pretty big names. So even just because I might have some kind of relational connection doesn't mean they can, they would say yes. But they, I mean, yeah, that 90% of people I asked said they can, they want to be a part of it. So I'm still in Boise and March. It's an easy sell. Right? Yeah. Right. Okay. Well, uh, suppressed when we asked you beyond today, probably just just want to hang out. We had, we had a great lunch last week. Really enjoyed connecting with you. You know, we're both, It's funny like you're one of those people that I've known about and like we've kind of swirled around each other but haven't hung out. And it was like all of a sudden, it was like, I got to actually meet with this guy. So I was just watching your daughter that we did that christmas art thing a couple years ago and she did such a great job with that? Uh so yeah, let's, let's dive in. Tell us just a little bit about yourself, where you came from and why you started the center. Yeah, so born and raised in California um 45 in a christian since I was about 19 fell in love with kind of the academic side of Christianity um which is weird because I hated, hated to read, read at all our study like that wasn't anything that I was into. But then when I met jesus almost overnight, God gave me a hunger to just dive deep into his word and spent the next 10, 12 years and christian education. Um it was a bible for a christian college professor for a number of years and that was just a dream job waking up every day and teaching college students bible is just amazing. Um did that for a number of years in a few different places and then I got to Boise in 2014 because the bible college, I was teaching that we wanted to plant an extension campus here. Some of, you might remember that eternity bible college, which man we, we, I did everything I could to get that thing off the ground, but it just, it just wasn't wasn't happening and it was a lot of people are really excited about the bible college and I think still still are and would be, but to translate that excitement to pay tuition butts in the seats to make it financially viable, you know, it wasn't my gifting to transfer that kind of excitement to um actually launch into college. So we did run for about a year um with a small handful of students. Um, but ended up just kind of closing it down because it just wasn't, you know, we just have the money to kind of sustained, kind of five years of slow growth, we needed it to kind of grow quickly, otherwise the bible college just couldn't fund it. So right after that, that was 2000 and 16 when we closed down the campus. Um, and almost immediately I went into, helped create the Center for face sexuality and gender. I had already been doing a lot of like pastoral training for several, well, a few years before that speaking at churches and stuff. And so, um, that was kind of like my part time side gig, so to speak. You know, helping leaders think through LGBTQ related questions in particular. But the demands were just growing, growing, growing. So when the bible college goes down, um, a buddy of mine, while buddy, he's 72 years old, but he helped me start the nonprofit, which launched in january 2017. So that's what I do now full full time is helping christian leaders think through questions about face sexual, face exploding gender with art, if I can say my mission statement with theological faithfulness. That's obviously a huge value and courageous love. How do we love people? Well, while staying true to what the bible says about sex, sexuality and gender. So yeah, it's been fun that that conversation has shifted so much in the last 10 years. I I remember as a kid watching tv shows that were 30 years old in the from the fifties and sixties and like, you know, spousal abuse was like a joke in the fifties, you know, like, and like some sexuality pieces, but um a lot of race stuff that was out of place now you watch like an office episode that's 10 years old and you can't imagine that being made and put on a major streaming service today because like, the conversation around sexuality is shifted so radically right? Which, you know, over a 10 year period, I think a lot of people are feeling just a lot of whiplash over like, you know, okay, what where are the lines, what am I supposed to be thinking? How am I supposed to be engaging generously as a follower of jesus? Um, and then, you know, for I think most of us within the city network, we hold to the traditional view of marriage and sexuality and at the same time want to be radically hospitable to the world around us and helping them discover, like, so I'd love to hear from you. Like what, where along the journey have you been surprised in in in what you've experienced in the conversations you've had and where have you? Yeah, let's just start there like where have you been surprised the last 10 years? It's hard. Yeah, there's so many layers to that. It's hard to give one answer maybe um maybe one surprise more recently is that and if you paid close attention to the conversation, you know that it's kind of shifted from focusing on the L. B. You know sexuality and now it's really focused hardcore on on the T. Or even the que the queer non binary trans gender identity piece. Um I don't know if that was a surprise. Well once the Supreme Court made the decision in 2015 to legalize same sex marriage, a lot of especially older gay and lesbian people were like all right, we're good. Um You know it's it's. Yeah. Yeah and and you know, depending on where you live, I guess it does depend on where you live to some extent. But for the most part society has become very accepting um sometimes almost too overly maybe celebratory of of same sex sexuality, you know um You know and that's it. Certain yeah, there might be certain towns whatever we saw two dudes holding hands, you might people might kind of freak out, you might get you know called names or whatever and that still does exist. But I would say overwhelmingly people or it's just kind of like not not a huge deal anymore. Um But that's created space for this trans conversation. That wasn't so surprising where it where it is a little surprising is that some of the loudest voices in the trans conversation. Now I'll say you know some of the loud trans activists are promoting a viewpoint that is only held by a small percentage of very radical progressive people that their greatest pushback are coming from traditional liberals. So like in the same sex marriage debates, you had pretty neatly divided like the conservatives versus liberals. Like if you're against same sex marriage, you can predict who that person voted for if you're for it. Same thing. Like it was so neat and tidy. We're here. It's like some of the loudest critique, some of the most hostile conversations are among people who hate republicans and donald trump, you know like or christians or whatever like it's so it's kind of an in house kind of fight. We saw this with J. K. Rowling and rolling or how is their name and others, a lot of debates between feminists renaming Quidditch because they don't want to be associated with jake. Yeah, stuff like that. It's like here here's you know somebody who's a pretty boy out and proud feminist. Um not your token. Yeah. Yeah. So that I would say to answer a question. Um but that's been the most interesting thing is that no longer can you kind of hide behind I'm of this tribe. Therefore we all believe this about this thing. Like now you actually have to engage the specific issues at hand. You can't Just yeah, hide behind your tribal kind of viewpoint with the gender conversation in particular. Well, and I think you're also looking in the last 10 years, so you have a 25 year old who came of age in like as gay marriage was being legalized and they are like, even in Boise bible college where I've done some like preaching down there, there's a lot of students who do not hold the traditional view of marriage and sexuality because they've been so shaped by a culture that said this is there's there's nothing to worry about here. And so like they're reshaping Christianity from the youngest age is forward and we're, and we're having to like, you know, as we're hiring people, okay, what does it look like for us to have those conversations in the hiring process about what do you believe about this and where you at, how soft or hard are you in those positions? And have you seen a shift in the way that young christians are thinking about this? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. I think society in particular, white people have done a really great job wrongly so, but great job correlating debates about sexuality with like civil rights. Um, I wish my white brothers and sisters would talk to some people of color about that correlation and see how they feel. But um, yeah, I mean there's not a single gen z person who wants to be on the wrong side of like racism, right? Um the civil rights by standing up for the oppressed. Um so once you convince people that debates about marriage and sexuality are basically the same thing, there's just gonna be an assumption from younger people and you have made a great point that people are coming of age in a world where where same sex marriage is not even a thing and it's like just a given. Yeah, I mean, in that age, 25 2025 older gen Z's young millennials, you know, um and I, I'm, we can go here, I mean, I think the silence of the church is devastating and we can talk about that more, I mean, when the church doesn't spend a lot of time and energy, disciple in gen z and questions about faith, sexuality and gender, somebody's disciple in them very well, the question is, what voice does the church have in that discipleship process, but silence isn't like, well, if we just don't talk about it, they will naturally have a christian view of sex and sexuality, like, no, they're bathed in an alternative viewpoint, it's very compelling, very loud, seems beautiful, seems loving, and if we're not helping to present a more compelling christian viewpoint than not, only will we leave, it's like, okay, well, they'll, you know, gen z will be more affirming they're not gonna want to have, they're not going to want to even associate with the church. That's not that, So this is just about faith, it's not just about sexual and gender, it's about faith, sexuality and gender in the future of our future leaders. Really. One of the things I uh, yeah, one of the things I really appreciate about you, Preston, and both the books you put out, and also even video curriculum is not just offering kind of like a church curriculum, you know, across the demographic, but specifically, here's resources for teens, here's resources for the next generation. I'm curious why do you think churches don't do that already? Why do you think there's that silence? And then, like, what would you, what would be like the first steps? I mean, I'll just promote your stuff and say it's great, like you use the stuff that that center for uh, faith, sexuality and gender puts out as a great starting point. But other than that, what would be steps for, like, let's say there's a church leader listening who says, man, we have been silent and we need we need to disciple the next generation holistically. How do we do that? Yeah, that's a great question and please here, I know shame if if you're a leader, like, yeah, I know I need to address this. I haven't done. So, look, as you to know, and I do know from past experience pastoral ministry is crazy, right? I mean, there's so many things you're so many issues, you need to be an expert on and now we need to be expert epidemiologists and you know, people ask you about the vaccines and pandemics is like, I didn't study like cosmology, like so the stress that pastors have to go through to be able to speak intelligently on so many things and then now add this too. So I please like lots of grace towards people who are in the trenches of ministry. But yeah, I mean, having said that, I mean questions about face sexual and gender have become some of those pressing ethical and discipleship questions facing the church today, Like at least the top two or three silence is not an option, it's just it's just it's not. Um and so what does that look like? I mean, first of all, I would encourage pastors to whatever leadership team you have begin their like your leadership team needs needs training. Like I know I'm not saying like, oh, just go out and preach a sermon on homosexuality next week. Like we, you need to get the leaders on the same page having open honest conversations, where are your leaders at what questions they have? How can we embody both the grace and truth of jesus because if you, if it's all one side or the other. I mean you're it's like flying an airplane with one wing if all you do is preach against same sex relationships and not talk about, okay, how do we walk with people who are experiencing same sex sexuality. Um, so Grace and truth. Yeah, leadership training. Um, and then, yeah, we, we have to start disciple are people that could look many different ways depending on the size of your church. It's, it can include preaching, but I think it can't be limited to just your once a year sermon on homosexuality. Like it's got to go beyond that josh. You asked about the fear, you know, in my experience, I think there are several layers to why leaders are hesitant to address it. Um, typically churches where it hasn't hit home. I always get the call when like the pastor's kid comes out as non binary or gay or something. Um, that's what usually it's like, oh, we need to talk about this. Well now we have too many people. Yeah, exactly. So usually it's like, well, I'll hear people say, well, we're really glad you're addressing this issue, press and we don't have this issue at our church, but we're glad you're helping those that dude, I'm like, statistically you do. Um, 83% of LGBT people are raising the church. Um, 30% of gen z, christians identify as LGBT q 30% christians, 39% of gen Z just as a whole identifies as LGBTQ according to the recent barna study. Um, so that, I mean this percentage wise, A lot of LGBT people raising a church, Typically they are scared. They kind of slip out the back door usually without telling anybody what they're wrestling with. Um, so I'm sorry, I'm kind of over the place, but yeah, real quick. So yeah, some of the fears, I mean, it's like, well, it's not that relevant or already know where we're at and I just assume all my people know where we're at or there's a fear like, man, I know my churches all divided and if I preach the truth of what God says, people are gonna leave, if I preach grace, other people are gonna leave and man, if I even talk about loving LGBT people, our biggest donor is gonna leave and how do we, you know, so I think there's some of that to which, which is true. If you address, if you model the grace and truth of jesus, and how you address this conversation, somebody's gonna leave, somebody is not gonna like that. I mean, just look at the life of jesus. I mean, he made people mad all over the place. Yeah, definitely. One of the, one of the things that I've noticed with the conversation in general with gen z, with emerging, with emerging generations is, um, I think, did we, did we lose robert here? We lost robert? Do I need uh, record on this? Yeah, I just started recording. I don't know if that I can send you guys a file of, Okay. Okay. Sounds great. Maybe a lot back in, sorry about all the technical issues today. Oh no, no, no, usually it's me. That's right. I would say, I would say this is uncharacteristic, but we've had, you know, stuff a few times like this. Uh, but what one of the questions I was curious to ask you about just engaging beyond specifically this conversation. Um, but just the gospel and reaching the emerging generations from the gospel. I've heard tim Keller talking in recent years about, you know, the gospel hasn't changed, but the major life questions that younger younger people are asking have changed, and so that means how we contextualized and, and really speak into a way that's compelling and making jesus known and all of that. So, just curious, I mean, as a father with teenagers caring about your kids, what would you say about how to, how to speak the gospel to these emerging generations? Yeah, that's good. And here's where my, I want to be careful cause I'm I'm, I'm not in the trenches of youth ministry, I'm not an expert on youth culture. I do have four gen Z kids, I guess that helps to some extent. And, you know, I dabble um in, in the kind of the youth, what's going on, but I wouldn't want anything I say about this, I would want youth leaders to kind of cross check what I'm saying. Um, you know, I guess what the big thing for me is the big difference between youth ministry, like 20 years ago in youth ministry now, our youth culture, let's say, say the difference would be like millennials and gen z...

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The City Network — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 18:57:00 -0500

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Rob Wegner, Pastor and Church Planter on Missional Movements

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Brian Taylor, Church Planting in Kuna, ID

The City Network — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 22:27:00 -0500

Brian Taylor shares his story of leaving an established church as Executive Pastor to plant E3 church in Kuna, ID

[00:00:00] : you're listening to the City network podcast, our mission is to grow and multiply healthy churches in the Treasure Valley and beyond. Head to the city network dot org for more info on our initiatives to catalyze church transformation and church planting. Here's today's podcast. All right, welcome to the City Network podcast. I'm your host, robert Frazier, I'm pastor at Redemption Hill and today I have the distinct pleasure of having a good friend that I've gotten to know the last few years brian taylor with us with E three Church. Welcome to the podcast, brian Clapper here, thank you. Good to be here, man. Yeah, we got together, I think it was a little over two years ago we sat down and uh you were the um executive Pastor Grace bible church out in Nampa Idaho and uh you know, I I've invited you here today to talk a little bit about your journey and what's happened, so just just start out by giving us a little sample of like who are you, what have you been doing and then your story over the last year. Yeah, absolutely, I well I was, I was born and raised in Idaho and there's not many of us know there's not, no, there's not, but I love what God is doing in our community and um just About 11 years ago um came on as the executive pastor at Grace and keith Wagner's lead pastor there and it was just three of us, it was matt Ritchie or youth pastor keith and myself and um just kind of started a new journey, kind of, we created our mission and our vision, Derek Grace and um honestly it's a role that I never dreamed, I would, I would actually do, I was a youth pastor in Tennessee for 3.5 years before that and keith called me uh um guy before keith I should say, called me out here and said hey come home, we need your help and um God just opened up multiple doors and through that process and then in 2011 keith came on And um it's just been a fun fun journey um to see what God's done, so came into the role, Keith came on in 2011 and um came on to the role of executive pastor that following year Okay, well tell me a little bit about the journey and grace bible and kind of what God's been doing over the last nine years since keith showed up Yeah, yeah, absolutely, um so we were, we were running about 150 people um at the time and in that um timeframe just felt like God was call us to kind of start develop our mission and vision and our core values and all that and we sat down for about seven months just working through, okay who are we going to be, what does this look like, whose grace bible church if Grace bible, church didn't exist, how would we be missed all of those kinds of questions and just started whiteboard dreams and things that God was calling us to and um it was in those, that first year really was a catalyst for um a lot of who grace bible church is now, um we wanted one of the questions that was asked of keith that first year was what do you, what do you deem a healthy church, and keith had never been a pastor before, it was his first time too, he was kind of in a new rule and and keith, one of the things he said at the very beginning that we were all passionate about is he said I want I want to be known to be ascending church and one of the things that will mark us as a healthy churches if we're sending church, and so we set out on a mission to make sure that was a reality and went through a lot of things um early in those first few years, you know, I remember when people, when I was hired people were like well what's his role, what's he gonna do, why does this person exist? I mean, he's, he does a little on Sundays, what does he do the rest of the other six days? Um yeah, and so there was a lot of unknowns, you know, the church had never really had that role before, and so we just started kind of building into that and keith, one of the things he did early on that I think was key um as a church and all of us wanted to be not only a sending church but an empowering church and early on keith just was like listen I'm putting brian in this role, this is gonna be his responsibilities and I'm fully giving him permission to lead it and I think the trust um early on was was huge um for him to really give me the keys to lead at the level that I was going to have to um but what I looking back on it now, that was so key to that is I didn't know I've never been in that role before and I grew so much through that because of his trust and his ability to to release me, that sounds like a pretty clear marker of keith is high level of trust and like he he hands things away pretty easily, yeah he does, and there was there was um you know a lot of people in the history of the church, you know trust had been kind of destroyed a little bit just to be honest and um there was there was a struggle with well you know we don't want to relinquish this from the pastor, you know that's his job and and so when keith started empowering, he had to really kind of create that safety and and help people understand that this is okay and I think through that the reason I mentioned that is it was a key part of handing the baton off to other leaders because it was in that year where we saw so much um exponential growth in our leadership because you know from volunteers to staff keith all the way down through our, I feel like in our leadership we started trusting people who were better fits than ourselves even um to lead and we watched God just um do some cool things, so having said that um that started the journey uh and that was key to know where we were headed, what we were going to be focused on and then when we start empowering that leadership we watched the church, The the church and really do what it needed to do and now um this last year we were running about 1200 people, you know we've got three different locations and we're watching God um Grace just do amazing things through that and if keith would have held on to all of that um he would have squelched that leadership and so it's been cool to see that. Yeah, so tell me a year ago your life was pretty simple, you had a great job doing ministry, you loved with friends and yeah and then God just kind of ruined all that for sure I robert honestly I saw myself in that role for the rest of my life, I loved being in that support role um my role was to just execute the vision and and make sure that um I was hearing the voice of keith and the lead pastor and the vision God was laying on our hearts, making sure we were in unity but then going and implementing that and executing that on down through the church and I loved it, I loved my team, the team, I got to work with campus pastors, um everything that I was doing, um my focus was staff development and working with him and then overseeing the administration side of things and then strategic planning, you know long term planning and I just, I was thriving, I was, I was loving all of it and about a year and a half ago I found myself just all of a sudden becoming discontent, I don't know how else to say it um and I'm like why am I why am I struggling, why am I discontent, why why am I unsettled and knowing what I know now obviously um God was preparing me for something and it was in that time of season of discontent, I just started leaning into keith and saying all right you need to know this how I'm feeling and we had some real heart to heart conversations and just again keith was very good friend of mine were still very close and and I just started opening up and saying man this is what I'm feeling, he could sense something new was coming, he could sense God was leading me into some, some church consultant work was opening up, I was doing some coaching there um with some other churches, which I love and I thought maybe God was calling me into like para church stuff and as God just continued to lead, I, I ended up getting this random free trip to Israel um and that doesn't happen. Yeah, yeah, exactly. A buddy of mine, their church was taking a trip to Israel um and they said, hey, we've got two tickets, you guys want to go and I'm like, well I'd love to, but that's a lot of money and they, they said, no, we're, we're giving them to you for half price, yours is free and then whoever else wants to go with you. Well, long story short, my wife ends up getting to go with me um uh some people raise money and said, hey, your wife's, I'm gonna go, we've raised the money for it. And then it was just, it blew us away and I get to Israel and I'm standing in the community where jesus did 75% of his ministry and I was standing on Mount Arbel where many scholars believe jesus taught the sermon on the mouth and I just prayed, asking God help us know how to change communities, the way that, and and reach communities the way that you reached communities, what does that look like, Help us to know what that looks like in the Treasure Valley, I have a heart for this for the treasure valley and I wanted to see life change happen at a greater level and you know I was praying that prayer for grace bible church and for you know having no idea what God was going to be leading me to, you gotta be more careful about what you yes, exactly, that's on you. So a month later, um I was actually at the exponential conference and it was there where um a guy, I can't remember his name, but the guy made the statement said God called us to build rivers, not manage lakes and God used that phrase for me to just literally, I I don't remember anything else that was taught in that breakout session where God said I'm calling you down to the river, I'm calling you to the river and I had this vision of the lake for me was Grace bible church and I'm like yeah, but God I love grace bible church, you know um this sounds horrible, but I was like you know that was my thing, you know, that that's what I did and it was comfortable and and it was it was good and and I found myself becoming discontent and God said there's something new coming well the next day exponential second day of the conference um I think it was Joey martin um got up and spoke on fear as a liar and yeah and honestly man, it was like he was looking into my life and one of the main things that I feared that I even pushed back on keith sometimes was getting up front and teaching and that was very insecure um long story short um had to go through some some things to experience, okay this is I'm having an insecurity issue here, this is something I've gotta, I've gotta surrender to God, but when Jobe was talking about that God took me to a place of saying I'm asking you to preach I'm calling you out and um I didn't know what that meant, what that looked like yet, but um God said stop fearing right now, I want you to let go of your job and that's all I remember here and I'm like wait a second, that doesn't make sense, there's I'm a strategic thinker, right, I've got to have a plan and and I'm and God's like I'm asking you for a job, well it was so strong and so clear um that before we even left the auditorium I pulled keith up, keith was there and I said dude you gotta I gotta talk to you and I said I this sounds crazy, doesn't make any sense but keith and I sat in the auditorium and start talking, I said I feel like God just asked me to let go of my role at Grace and I don't know if it was crazy keith, literally, he stopped looked at me and he goes yeah God told me who's going to tell you that and I'm like thanks, what's going on here? And and we just started praying, he goes keith told me he goes brian I've watched you for the last six months and I knew God was going to do something new in your life and I didn't know what it is and we still didn't know at that time, so I he said let's just let's commit together man, we're gonna pray about this where whatever it is god wants for you, I want for you um and and he just committed to praying with me um a week later I was on my back porch man and I was praying reading through the Book of Acts, I was studying through the Book of Acts with a couple of my campus pastor. Yes, exactly and uh and God just laid it open and made it so clear that brian I'm calling, you had planned a church and um I haven't questioned it since and the following week got opened up this vision of and gave me a vision for kuna Idaho to engage equip empower people of God's design for their life and we believe that if we do that every day and live that out, that we'll see change lives change communities and God brought me back to that prayer, I prayed in Israel um and so that's the vision of what we're trying to do and it's just been awesome, It's been a crazy journey? I don't have it figured out, we've I've never done this before, um I'm leaning into a lot of people who are ahead of me, people like yourself that um have done this before, but um I'm excited about it. Cool man, well we've talked a little about that story, but it's nice to hear the hear the contours of it. Um so he said last summer, probably like last May june, you kind of made the decision to plan. Um that was, that was in May and then um it was in june where we, we sold our house and um we're actually living with my parents right now, God bless them for the Gospel man and just trying to prepare and you know, be ready for when that season comes, we're launching in september and um so we're just, we're just in a season right now, just preparing and getting ready for the launch. Yeah, so let's let's dive into the nuts and bolts, you know, you've told the story, but I think there's a lot of guys who are in the process as you're thinking about planting, so this was seven months ago, you've felt the call, um we're in january, middle of january right now, what have you done? What has been the things that you're glad you've done, what are the things that um that you still need to do and then what's the next, you know season look like as you prepare for the launch in september first of all, let me say this, I want to come back to this because I think this is huge. One of the things that I have done that I am going to highly recommend in our church plant when we launch, we want to be a church that's planting churches um that's one of our passion um as well, but one of the things that I have seen and been able to experience is what a sending church should look like. Um and some things they've done really well and that is just really one financially get behind me and truly say we're either all in or we're not and um those are from there, those are actual words from them and keith is um fully put his weight behind being ascending church and and grace bible church has just said, okay we're going to do this, it doesn't have to have our name, it's not about the name, it's about the kingdom of God and um they have put total support. So the things that have been really good is seeing things having a sending church was was huge for us. I cannot tell you the support that that has helped with um another thing is I just started rallying around other other church planners in the community and just reaching out to him, sitting down with them and saying, okay man, tell me what, you know, I want to whatever I can learn and glean from you and watching the big C church churches in the valley just surround rally around me. I cannot let me say this when you when you plant a church for me this has been my experience when you go out and follow the call of God. Like this one of the things that I have experienced is a sense of loneliness. Like satan loves to isolate you in every way that he can and I say that to to give credit to God and how close God has been through his church. Um one of the things that has been so cool is my identity to be to be honest in a lot of ways was at Grace bible church and what I learned and God has been teaching me. That's good is how much my identity has become a part of just the big C church and the kingdom of God. So what does that mean to you? Yeah, I when I when I it was uncomfortable for for myself, my family and for even I think people at the church at Grace, like, okay why is brian and going and launching another church, you know, and there was a sense of loyalty that I had at Grace bible church, just to speak to a personal level of it of like man, I I want to I want to help Grace and it's like these are my people Yeah, these are my people. I love them. I want to, I want to see them win. And unfortunately the reality that jumped out immediately was all of a sudden satan started attacking me from within and one of the ways he did that was, and again, this is no fault anybody at Grace. It just was he was using people to go, why don't you create another Grace bible church and the questions and the, and hey why aren't you doing this? Why aren't you doing that? And all of a sudden I felt like I was on an island and um even though I wasn't and keith was right there, we were meeting weekly and we, he was fully behind me and the team was um there was a sense of like all of a sudden my identity, I was lost. I was kind of like, okay, what, who are my people now, right? Yeah, yeah. Like you've been, you've, you've, you've removed yourself from where you've seen your identity as a part of a tribe and all of a sudden you're like, I'm on my own disconnected, even even if you're in process and you're still at grace bible on Sundays and you're around all of a sudden you've got this new thing. You're pursuing, this is one of the hardest things for me and for a lot of church planters is you have to leave home, you've got to walk out of her and and go on this journey into the desert not knowing what's going to happen on the other side and knowing you've got to create it, which feels really that's your, your sense of identity. And you're also a sense of just community all of a sudden disintegrates. Yeah. And yeah, and a new way of living. Um one my calling, I come back to that. It was really important. Something that was really good was I had to know my wife and my kids were as called to this as I was. Um, and I, I was one of my specific prayers early on And watching God call my kids, my 13 year old, I'll never forget the day she walked up to me and said, God, God clarified with me in a specific prayer that I prayed. He answered it within 24 hours. Dad. I know God is calling us to plan a church because of this. And to hear my 13 year old and her faith grow through this and hear her say that was a faith builder for me. I needed to know that um my wife just watching God independently lead my wife to this calling as much as I am. And it was my wife that came in. I I had, I had received a call on a saturday on my back porch and I said, God, you've got to call my wife and my family just as much as I am. I hadn't said a word to my wife. And two days later my wife texts me and says, I don't know if this is of God or what, but I feel like God just told us to plant a church. And so seeing God independently talking to my family, um he confirmed so many things through that. Um whenever I shared it with the church board or church board at Grace, watching several board members say, I knew God was going to do this a long time ago and them again affirming and um that calling, but again, one of the good things was watching and then outside of Grace, whenever I kind of felt at a loss and I'm on island here watching other churches, other pastors reaching out to me and saying, I hear about your calling, I want to sit down and talk to you, them texting me out of the blue. Um they have no idea when they text me how lonely, I don't know, I'll say it robert, but um them text me and just say, hey, I'm praying for you man, keep it up. Um that God has used that in so many ways in a sense to give what I love that word, what she said tribe, to build my new tribe innocence and and watching God just surround me with other believers because I knew we...