Rush Hour

From Tailgates to Transformation: Talking RushChurch events, Faith, and Finding Your Identity in Christ

• RushChurch • Season 1 • Episode 2

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We preview Rush Church’s fall calendar—from Rushsylmania and student Bible study to tailgates, the Rush Run 5K, and a reimagined fall fest—then turn to a frank talk about identity, discipleship, and what makes following Jesus worth the cost. Stories of resistance, surrender, and real peace show how the “Christian” label becomes a lived way.

www.rushchurch.com


SPEAKER_00:

Welcome back to Rush Hour. We're here today. We're gonna bring up some cool topics that Rush Church is doing. We're gonna talk about some Bible stuff, bring up some interesting topics to talk about. Welcome back. This is episode two. I'm here with Britney and Ashley once again. And so let's talk about some stuff that's coming up at Rush Church. What are some of the things that are happening? What is what are some things that you can be involved in? We have things like Russellvania tailgates at Ben Logan for the football games. We have Russell Mania starting up this fall. We have a Rush Run 5K and a fall fest coming up. And then we have a connection lunch. So uh Ashley, what do you what do you want to talk about first?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, we got Russell Mania starting. This is for ages four years through sixth grade, Wednesday nights through November 19th. And it's just kind of like a mini vacation Bible school. They get to come together and worship, uh, have a lesson. We feed them dinner, play games and a craft. Just a really fun time. It's from 6 to 7:30 on Wednesday nights this fall. So register your kids at our website and hope to see you guys out there.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, register those. You can register online. Yes. You can register at church. So yeah, those are gonna be Wednesday nights for the next eight weeks through November. So yeah, we're also gonna have a student Bible study on those nights too for seventh through twelfth grade. So if you have any of those teenagers that have nothing to do on Wednesday nights, send them to Bible study. We're gonna talk about some good stuff on Wednesday nights. So that's Russian coming up starting this fall. What else is going on over here? We have um Rush Tailgates. So tell us a little bit about Rush Tailgates, Brittany.

SPEAKER_02:

Tailgates are a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, they are.

SPEAKER_02:

They're family fun. So yes, we would love for the high school kids to come out, but all ages. We have elementary kids that are coming out, family fun. Last, we have the games, and then we usually give out a little treat.

SPEAKER_00:

We give out some prizes. We give out some game prizes, but also we give out something. Like we've done snow cones this year. We've done root beer floats, those were a hit. Root beer floats. We might have got a root beer float of the tailgate for the Ben Logan Bell Fountain game. There's tons of people there. And we just kept giving them root beer floats as they were.

SPEAKER_02:

It was really lucky that the line was so long, so then we could just force them and then we're like, you need a root before beer floating.

SPEAKER_00:

Even if they said no, we're like, oh, but you have to.

SPEAKER_02:

I was the scooper in the beginning. They're like, Do you want to trade out? I'm like, no, it's fine. Ten gallons later, I'm like, oh my goodness, I'm sweating.

SPEAKER_00:

And form of just holding a scoot for the rest of the day. But yeah, so those are kind of the things that we do at Tailgate. We set up at five, the game is at seven. And so if you want to come out before and just hang out with us, bring your chairs. We set up some tents, we give out some. It's not what are we gonna give out? Uh cotton candy. We're doing cotton candy uh for October 3rd, Friday, Friday night. So cotton candy will be given away.

SPEAKER_02:

And some prizes.

SPEAKER_00:

And some prizes. We're gonna set up some games and stuff like we always do. Uh, we have some footballs to pass out. Those are gonna be fun. We have custom-made mini footballs. We'll say Ben Logan Homecoming and also Rush Church on them. So come grab one of those. But yeah, the tailgates are a lot of fun. We're gonna have a couple more. We have two more home games after the third on the 10th and the 24th. So if you're not busy Friday nights, you want to go to Ben Logan Football Games, we'll be out there tailgating before. Like I said, bring your chair, come hang out with us. It's a lot of fun. And and that's kind of an extension of Rush 1 8, like we talked about last time. Rush 1 8 comes and we bring our trailer and just kind of give out some stuff and have fun together with the community. So those are the tailgates. What else do we have? Oh, something fun coming up at the end of October, October 25th. What do we have going on then?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, yeah. We are gonna run. We're gonna run and run and run in WrestleMania.

SPEAKER_00:

We're gonna run. Are you running? I'm not running. Are you running? No, I'm not running. I'm not running either.

SPEAKER_01:

You are welcome to come run. People are gonna watch this.

SPEAKER_00:

People will be running.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes. No, but we got the rush here. Rush run 5K. And then right after that, we have the fall festival. So the fall festival will run from 11 to 3. We'll have all of our carnival games out there, a hot dog and s'more roast. We've got our obstacle course, and new this year. So we're not doing trunk or treat, but what's gonna happen this year is families can sign up to create their own game. So there'll still be a competition. I know that our church likes to have a few friendly competitions throughout the year. And you will provide the table and you provide the game. So make of whatever game you want, decorate the table however you want. You get to man that game, and then the kids and the families will get to vote on who they thought was the had the funnest game, or also maybe who had the most creative outfit or decorations or something like that. So trunk or treat with a twist this year. What people come up with. Yes, it should be fun. My husband has an idea, but I'm not allowed to share.

SPEAKER_00:

He always has an idea. You guys dressing up costume-wise?

SPEAKER_02:

I'm not. You're not? No. I don't think so. Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

That's fine. I'm dressing up. Yeah. Um, well, my son Timmy wants to be a Ben Logan football player, so he's got pads and a helmet and a jersey, and he told me I have to be his coach. So I'm gonna walk around with a clipboard and draw up plays for him to go get me some candy.

SPEAKER_02:

Or a whistle.

unknown:

Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I get a whistle too. Oh, I can have a whistle at the fall fest.

SPEAKER_02:

Just every time he does something that you don't like.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, or anybody's blow my whistle at people that are doing things I don't think they should. You're having too much fun. Too much candy. Put that candy back. So yeah, that's the fall fest. It's gonna be really fun. The 5K is before that in the morning. People will come and run. Uh some people do enjoy that kind of thing. So we we we do the 5k to raise money for student ministry. All the money that we raise, all the donations, the sponsors, and all the money that comes in goes straight back to student ministry at Rush Church, and we use it for retreats, camps to help pay for things like paintball camp, TCTC, mission trips, things that we do in the student ministry. So all that will be really appreciative, and we we we love the support that we always get from this 5k that we always do. And there's all kinds if you didn't like to run, you can come walk it. Uh there's a costume contest, and we give out prizes for the best costume. Uh also you can collect pumpkins along the racetrack while you're out. So many little tiny pumpkins. Last year, the winner collected 33 mini pumpkins. That was uh Elias Henry, I think. He carried 33 pumpkins back, he had it in his shirt and his pants in his pocket, you know, and he just kind of, you know, I don't think he did well on the race part, but he won the pumpkin part. So that's always a fun day. We've had the race for a long time, and the fall fest is relatively new, but always a good time for families. And so yeah, that's a lot of stuff that we're doing at Rush Church. We always have things going on. One more thing we wanted to bring up was a connection lunch. When is that? What's the day?

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, the connection lunch is October 12th, right after church. This is for people who are in our congregation who've been recently coming to our church within like the last year. Uh, we're gonna provide lunch right after second service, and it's just a time for you to get to get to know our pastors, our staff, our elders and deacons, and just people in the church who are in leadership positions, ask any questions that you might have, or just get to know, get to know us, and we get to know you guys also.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, that'll be a good time. So designed for new people to kind of learn about Rush Church, basically, uh who we are, who's leading the things and what we're all about. And good time to ask questions. I love questions. Um questions are encouraged if you have anything you want to know.

SPEAKER_01:

And you do need to sign up for this. Yeah, so this event is sign sign up. So please, if you are not in coming up on Sunday morning, uh just call the office or go on our website and you can email the office and just let us know that you're coming. Yeah. Uh that way we have enough food for you.

SPEAKER_00:

Office at Retchurch.com is the email to talk to our uh admin person, Katrina. So she's really good. She'll tell you where to go and where you need to be and and where to sign up for all this stuff. So those are all kind of things that are coming up in the month of October. Some things that we're gonna be doing that are really fun. And so, yeah, let's talk a little bit about uh a topic that we wanted to discuss with each other a little bit uh for today. The idea of, you know, what is a Christian? What does it look like to be a Christian? We use the word Christian a lot, talk a little bit about what that word entails in our culture today, uh, and just kind of the difference between labeling yourself a Christian and calling yourself one and actually being a follower of Christ and what does that look like? And so sometimes you'll get a question, yeah, you ever meet somebody new or somebody introduces you and be like, Well, this is this is Britney, and you're like, Well, who are you, Britney? Tell us a little bit about who you are, and then you gotta what what are some things that you would say if someone asked, Who are you?

SPEAKER_02:

Well, a mom.

SPEAKER_00:

A mom, yeah, a wife, a wife.

SPEAKER_02:

I would start with the basics probably of who I am. I live in Russellania. I don't know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Where you're from, where I'm from your family, my family. Maybe what you do for a living.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Massage therapist. Yep. You would say that. Ashley, what would you say if somebody asked, Who are you?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, a wife, a the children's minister. Yeah, all those things that I do.

SPEAKER_00:

I would I kind of gravitate towards, you know, somebody says, Who are you or what are you all about? I usually go to family first, talk about how I'm a dad, talk about Erica and Timmy and Eden. And then usually I'll go to, well, I also I'm a youth pastor at this church, and I I I uh deal with teenagers all the time and stuff like that. And then I'll kind of think about, well, who else am I? Be like, well, I'm a fan of the Cubs. I like sports like Kentucky, I like all these different things that I like to do. And then you realize I haven't even mentioned anything about being a Christian or mentioned about myself of all I'm a follower of Christ. Well, for me, it's a little bit different because I'm a pastor. And I say youth pastor, it's assumed that you know I'm a Christian and I'm part of that community and stuff like that. But for I don't know, regular people that are listening to this that are just, you know, have everyday jobs and they aren't involved in the church like us three are as much as we are. Yeah, you kind of ask somebody what they do and they go through a list of things, and it takes a little while to maybe they even forget all about mentioning that, you know, well, I'm a Christian and I follow Jesus, and what does that mean in everyday life? So have a conversation about that, instead of just being labeled a Christian, actually living our lives like Christ's followers. What do you think about that?

SPEAKER_02:

Well, I think that when I was younger when I was younger and I first had I had grown up an athlete. So I think that my identity, like I was always a Christian. I I knew I was a Christian. I mean, I had an altar call at like 13 or 14.

SPEAKER_00:

So it was like grew up in a new Christian environment type thing, went to church.

SPEAKER_02:

But if they asked me where my identity lied, it would be sports because that's all I did. I mean, that was number one on the list.

SPEAKER_00:

Yep.

SPEAKER_02:

So that really doesn't turn out well when you grow up and that you don't play sports anymore. When you don't play sports for a living, when you're not in the MBA or you're not in the WBA or I mean I played a year in college and that kind of helped me with that transition of from high school every day to not, but then kind of fell apart. But then I mean, it wasn't that long until I became a wife and a mother. So I was like, oh now this is my identity, and kind of went that route.

SPEAKER_00:

The identity part of being a Christian. I think the identity part is something that you struggle with a lot as a teenager. That's why I do what I do because I think finding out who you are, tying your identity to all these different things. But then it's the same for when you grow up. You tie your identity to something else. You you say, Who are you? Well, I'm a parent, I'm a spouse, I do this for a living, I do these things. And so we tie our identity to these these things that aren't necessarily bad, right? You wouldn't say these are bad, would you?

SPEAKER_01:

No, no, not at all.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

I think some of them God's even called us to be. God's called us to be a wife, you know. God has called me to be a mother, you know. It's not the same for everybody, but no, I don't think there's anything wrong with those.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. But how do they end up? Can they be turn into something negative? Can they be can they be bad?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. If I start to put my family first before God, then it's gonna become a problem. You know, I I always always remember John's teaching that's always God is at that top of that pyramid first, and then it's family, and then school and work, and you know, and so on. So without God being on the top, my family would never function well. We'd be in dis, you know, dismay all the time.

SPEAKER_00:

Without God at the top, the family would be in disarray. And sometimes we find ourselves that way when we when we kind of lose sight of God being at the top of the priority list. And so, like sports, like Brittany was talking about, is our identity. Sports aren't bad. They're not they're not a negative thing, but they can be when you tie your identity to those things, because anything we tie our identity to in this world, like sports or a relationship with another person, they can all be gone pretty quickly, I think. And so when you put your identity in, say, a sport, like I am a basketball player, I am a sports baller person, whatever you do, whatever sports you play, you know, and then you get an injury, or you know, eventually you aren't good enough to play professionally and you can't play sports anymore, and then you know, who are you then? Who are you now? But if we kind of put our identity in Christ as Christians and we know that he should be at the center of all these different aspects of our life, even when something goes wrong in one of them, we still have Christ to fall back on because he's always going to be there. So, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

When he's not at the top, which I did spend a lot of years where Christ was not at the top. Yeah. Through being a mother, through being a wife. And let me tell you, it can get pretty lonely. It can get pretty I mean depressing almost. It's where you're like, is this it? Is this the max of what I'm living for? It's very it's a it's a rocky road. So once you change over and he's at the top, which I chose a little later in life.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, yeah, that's true. We all have different paths that we go on in our faith. I kind of talk about a little bit of our personal faith journeys today, too. Like Brittany, you said that you were in a Christian environment most of your life. Kind of knew about Jesus, called yourself a Christian, even. Yeah. Do you think you really called yourself a Christian, but do you think you were a Christian?

SPEAKER_02:

Oh. Great question.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I think that a lot of people call themselves a Christian. Well, they say, I go to church, or yeah, I know who Jesus is, but what's the difference between calling yourself a Christian and being a Christian, I think, is what the topic of today's conversation is going to be about.

SPEAKER_02:

I definitely think that I could say Christian. I mean, I would I would say Christian if someone asked, and I thought, well, I'm never denying it. Yeah. And that's the most important thing. I'm just, I'm not denying it, so I am.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, that's a good, that's a good take. I never like I'm not denying a Christian. I'm not denying Jesus, so I must be a Christian. I must be home. And if I'm not denying him, then then that's good enough.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, it was it really was. And then later, I mean, like I kind of said before, things got a little like there was just something missing that was so I just felt very empty. Like my my spouse was great, my kids were great, my job wasn't disarray or anything. It was just something was really wrong. I was always searching for something else.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

And even though being a Christian it wasn't clicking that, hey, you're not actually doing what you're supposed to be doing.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, you could kind of talk about being like labeled myself a Christian, but didn't really do the things that really bring you closer to God, I guess, and know who he is and what he wanted for you.

SPEAKER_02:

I think it's really easy too when you're I'm using quotations, good. Like I was a good person, I think. I mean, I wasn't lying to people, I wasn't stealing from people. I wasn't always great to people because I didn't have a Christ mindset in all situations. But that made it that made it easy to not follow, to not become a follower and to not study more or to get to know Jesus on an intimate level.

SPEAKER_00:

The idea of it's good enough where it is. My relationship with God is good enough. Yeah, I I mean I'm going to church, so it should be good, right? You know? So yeah, what that's a little bit I think what Ashley, what about you? What about your faith walk? Like how did you get to where you are now with with Jesus, do you think?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so I think uh most of my faith journey was in my teens where I finally made the change. I think I wore that would have been easier. I was big on I was big on the label of Christian. I mean, I called myself a Christian, but as soon as I walked out of youth group or as soon as I walked out of church, you know, at school on the weekends, I was not, I did not wear that label well. I kind of I kind of ripped off the name tag. So I at that at that point I was just I was the girl who could do this or the girl who could do that without many details. I just didn't I chose to walk away from God in the mindset of I knew he was still there. I could go back on church on Sunday. Like I know I'm gonna I'm gonna party, I'm gonna have fun now, and I'll go back to church on Wednesday night and again on Sunday, it'll all be okay. He's a forgiving God. Yeah, he's a forgiving God. Like this is this is just how I how I lived most of my teen years. And I think it wasn't until I mean I had hit rock bottom. And I remember that Sunday morning, and it was I was back at church again. But this time, when you hit rock bottom, this time it was like there was nowhere else to go except up at that point. And I remember during the altar call, I was like, okay, God, I have messed up on my own so much. I was controlling, I wanted to do it my way. And then once I decided to say enough is enough, I think I was able to actually, because I wanted to be a Christian. I mean, I wanted to be a Christ follower, I wanted that label to to stand out. I wanted to to be real. And so I think at that moment, I I was I was 17 years old, and I finally decided to live out what it meant to be a Christian, not just inside the church, but outside the church as well.

SPEAKER_00:

I think that's the I think that's a lot of people's story. I think that's a lot of people. You have the label, you kind of know Jesus, you know what Christian is all about, you think you have an idea and you can put the label on for certain times in your life, and then other places you're like, I'm gonna cover up that label with something else. Like I'm gonna be a different person with this group of people. I'm gonna live a different kind of life during the week, but I know I have my my church self and I'll go do that thing on Sundays or Wednesdays or whatever it was. And so for me, kind of I grew up always going to church my whole life. Started when I was like three, I think, and we went to church and I got baptized when I was 11. I went to youth groups, I went to camps, I participated in all the all the church things. There was something for the youth group. I was there in high school. I went to multiple youth groups. I went to my own church group, and I would go to a youth group with friends throughout the week at their churches, and so I very much put my identity in being a Christian, but I didn't let it take over my entire life. I had my Christian areas, I think, of I'm going to be this Christian person over here. And I don't think I ever really fully understood what it meant to follow Jesus. I knew he loved, I knew he had grace, I knew he had forgiveness, I knew about the cross, and I believed it. But I think I and kind of the idea, I took it for granted a lot of the time. I think I could do whatever I wanted to because God loved me and he already forgave me. So, you know, I grew up and I graduated high school, and you know, I had this calling to go into youth ministry. God said, I want you to go into youth ministry. I got that when I was a senior in high school, and I ignored it for four years. And so I was like, I'm not good enough to do that. I can't do that, and I don't want to, because you know, I don't think it pays enough money. I I don't want to be involved in the church that much, you know. I'm a Christian, yeah, I love Jesus, but that's a whole nother whole nother level to be called to. And so I ignored it and I went about my life and tried different things: community college, public university, and so I tried all these different things. Tried to do education, I tried to do medical field stuff, and everything I did uh it was unfulfilling. It was just empty, kind of like I don't really want to do this for the rest of my life.

SPEAKER_03:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

And and so I got really frustrated, and I I kind of fell away from church altogether, and I would pray and it would wouldn't feel like God was answering me all along. He was telling me what to do. I just didn't want to hear what he had to say. And so I ended up coming to this really dark place in my life when I was like 21, and I was a far away from God. I was doing things I shouldn't have been doing, going to places I shouldn't have been going to. And eventually, one time, God just showed up in one of those places and kind of felt like he hit me upside the head and was like, you know what you're supposed to do.

SPEAKER_03:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

And I was like, All right, nothing else is working, and so I'm gonna do the things you want me to do. So I went to Kentucky Christian University. Uh I stepped foot on campus that first day, and it was like I belonged there. It was like this is where I was supposed to be the whole time. And so I treated Christianity as just a piece of who I was, not the whole. And now I see that when you want to follow Jesus, he has to be everything. He's got to be at the center of your life. And all those other things that we talked about, like sports and family and friendships and and hobbies and things that we like to do, those are all good things, but they're not good when you elevate them above a relationship with Jesus. And so you have to do those things with him at the center of all of it. That's kind of how I I feel like Christianity should be. And what how do you think nor like people view Christianity? Like they hear the word Christian, what do they think of?

SPEAKER_01:

Weird people?

SPEAKER_00:

Christianity or gone to church, or they don't know a lot about the Bible, and they hear the word Christian, they're like, those are some weirdos for sure.

SPEAKER_01:

Or even people who might say, like, they're holy. Like I'll never forget, I was at a softball game, this was years ago, and a parent who I knew was sitting next to me, and she's just started cussing at the ref. And she looks over at me and she's like, I guess I shouldn't cuss around you. And at first I was like, well, because she said you're you're holy. And at first I was like a little offended. I don't know why, but I was like, Well, first of all, I'm not judging you, but second of all, I'm not holy. I'm I'm right standing with God. You know, God is holy. I I live to try to be to be holy. I mean, he makes me holy, but it was just in that moment, like, I guess I am different. I I do portray myself as a kind person, a person who you don't really want to cuss around, and not because I'm gonna judge you or hurt you or anything like that, but my lifestyle actually was living out what I had been wanting to live out my whole life.

SPEAKER_00:

And I I think that's common. Like I I've been around people. I mean, like, we're having a conversation. I'll go play disc golf with people that I don't know, and then we have to talk in and they'll be like, Well, what do you do for a living? I'll be like, Oh, I'm a youth minister, and they're like, What? They've been like going on about these stories and all the things they've been talking about, and they're like, Oh, and it's kind of awkward, but I'm like, no, it's fine. I don't expect non-Christians to act like Christians, right? Because I just can't put that expectation on them. They don't, they don't understand, they don't know, and so they haven't they haven't learned about it. But yeah, uh, the example of holy, like, people have a idea of what holy means too. Holy to some people's like, oh, they're better than me, or they put them on a higher pedestal and that person's holy. They're they're they're really good. Holy just means set apart. So really, you were being holy because you set yourself apart from and they realized that. They were like, Huh, you don't usually say these kind of things, and they were like, I guess I shouldn't do that. But that's not a that's not a bad thing.

SPEAKER_01:

No, no.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, and that's but that's just an example, a good example of how people view Christianity. They have to watch what they say, they gotta watch what they do, and they view it as well, that person follows all these rules, all these things that they have to do. What do you what do you think, Brittany?

SPEAKER_02:

I mean, I am a little different from Ashley and Cody, like I said before, because I spent a lot of my life doing whatever I wanted. So I wasn't baptized until I was 32. There was a lot of life lived there. But kind of like on what you're saying is that I was on the end of, okay, I'm gonna get I'm gonna get right, I'm gonna do right. And the people around me were going, why aren't you doing what you used to do? You know, why are you why are you not doing that? Why are you not saying that? Why are you not angry in that way anymore or whatever it might be?

SPEAKER_00:

You haven't reacted like you usually do.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Usually you would have said this or done this, and now you're being weird.

SPEAKER_02:

Right. Now you're just quiet. Because I'll tell you, there's a point where if you're like me and you're trying to do that, there's like a silence that goes over you for a long time because you don't know what's right, but you know what you were doing was wrong. So you're just quiet. You're just not communicating in the way that you normally are.

SPEAKER_00:

You mean like as you're growing in the world? As you're growing, yes. You understand I'm supposed to be set apart, I'm supposed to be different, I'm supposed to be something, but I don't understand fully what that means. And so there's some times when you're like, I don't know what to do here. And and so that's that's that's okay. That's normal, I think, when you're growing in your relationship with Christ and you're learning about what this really means to be a follower of Jesus. And so there will be times when it's like, I don't know that part yet. I haven't gotten to that point in my walk yet.

SPEAKER_02:

And I needed a lot of correction. I needed a lot of things. I did notice what we are talking about. Like, I think a lot of people think too that once you decide, okay, I'm gonna take my leap of faith, I'm gonna become a Christian and I'm gonna follow Christ, that everything gets really easy. Like, oh, that sounds very nice and peaceful. It's not that easy. And in my life, God kind of was I kind of had a conversation in my prayer and was like, okay, I want only what you want in my life. He's like, Are you sure? Be careful what you pray for. Are you sure? I'm like, Yeah, I'm I'm totally sure. Let's do this. He's like, Okay, this has gotta go. This has got to go. This can stay, but it needs to completely change.

SPEAKER_00:

It can stay, but I gotta be at the center of it.

SPEAKER_02:

But I gotta be at the center of it. This thing that you're hiding, that's gotta come out. This thing that your family might have issues with, that's gotta come out. It was very painful. I mean, it was very like you gotta hang on. You just gotta have a good grip.

SPEAKER_00:

It's and I think it's one of the things that people think of being a Christian. They think, oh, their life's supposed to be perfect. Think they have to do all these things and everything's gonna be really easy for them.

SPEAKER_02:

And I actually had people around me that were like, I mean, you're not making this look very fun. And I'm like, it's so hard to explain, but it is actually so joyful. I know what it looks like from the outside, but it's the peace is worth it.

SPEAKER_01:

So yeah, the peace of knowing what's to come after all of this. Like that's I wouldn't give this lifestyle up for anything after just feeling that that love, that forgiveness, that the grace that he offers. I mean, and knowing what's to come. Yeah, I'll live it out every day.

SPEAKER_00:

I just wanted to kind of talk about the idea of the the presumptions of what Christianity is, what pe how people see it who aren't Christians, because sometimes they have the wrong idea of what being a Christian is supposed to be, following a bunch of rules, don't do this, do this, don't do that, and and having to go having to go to church, you have to do all these different things. And from the outside, it does kind of look like that. They feel like they have to do all things, but then when you give it a chance and you see, and we talk to actual people that follow Jesus, you see that they don't really do it because they have to, they do it because they want to. And you follow the things that Jesus wants you to do because you love him. It's a it's an obedience out of love and out of gratitude, I think, instead of just trying to be better than other people, which is what some people think Christianity is, when really it's a better way to go about life. It's it's Jesus saying, Do these things and your life will be better. And and for Brittany, she probably didn't feel like it was better for a long time, right?

SPEAKER_02:

I mean, it was like it was pretty rough. I mean, I don't know how to else to explain it other than ripping these things away from I mean, I'm I'm so the amount of gratitude and how grateful I am that those things were taken away is really weird to look back on because that was my whole life. And the friends that you lose. I mean, you do lose friends sometimes, but when you openly pray, like I want to be Christ-minded, and I want to be surrounded by Christ-minded people, and I want everything about my life to help pursue to be a what'd you call it one time, Cody, a kingdom worker?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. You want to do the things that grow the kingdom.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Christianity is it's yeah, it's personal, but it's also like we talked about last week, becoming part of the church, becoming going out and expanding God's kingdom to different places. And so, yeah, it's hard. You will lose things, you will sacrifice things to follow Jesus. It's not just He gives everything to you and then it's all good to go. No, you're gonna you're gonna give up some stuff. It's gonna be, he tells us to if you want to be my follower, you're gonna pick up your cross daily and follow me. And the cross is an idea of not good things. It's gonna be difficult, it's gonna be a difficult journey. And I talked to my students about this a couple times recently. And like, well, if it's so hard to be a Christian, if it's so hard to follow Jesus, and it's gonna be difficult, and it's gonna be you're gonna lose friends, you're gonna lose things, you have to give up stuff in your life to follow him, then why do it at all? And Gavin Reed mill, one of my students, he was just like, because it's worth it. And I couldn't think of a better answer than that, because it is worth it, and it's hard to explain. You don't know the right words, like Brittany was trying to get the right words, you just have to experience it. Yeah, you gotta trust and and and give it all to him, and then he'll show you that idea of trust and faith.

SPEAKER_01:

And it doesn't make us perfect. Just because we decide to be a Christian or decide to be Christ's followers does not make us perfect. Like we still struggle with those sins, those the I'll never I mean I in all honesty, I've struggled for years thinking that I'm a real Christian. And it wasn't till just a couple months ago we were in Bible study with John, and he said he he used the terminology, I am a Christ follower who struggles with sin. I'm not labeled a sinner. And I was just like, it was like mind-blowing. I'm like, where where was that for years when I was constantly, you know, struggling within my prayer time or in my devotion time? You're like, God, do I even am I even really following you? But yes, we are Christ followers who struggle with sin. We're going to sin no matter what, you know.

SPEAKER_00:

Doesn't mean we have to be okay with it though. Doesn't mean we don't work on it. Correct.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I'll never live in that sin.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, it doesn't mean just like, oh, like how I thought for a long time of all Jesus has already forgiven me. He's already done it all. I don't have to really I can kind of do my own thing and still be a Christian. No, no, you can't. And that's where it got to the point in my life where it's like I can't do this anymore of claiming Christ and then not doing what he asked me to do. And it weighs on you if you're if you're struggling with that idea of being a Christian but not actually living it out. So how do we know if we're actually living it out? How do we know if we're actually By our fruit? By our fruit. That's my answer. A verse about that?

SPEAKER_01:

I do, yes. Let's see here. Matthew 7, 16. By their fruit you will recognize them. Yeah. So Jesus says the evidence of a trans transformed heart is fruit. Uh, what comes out of our life is are we having love, joy, peace, patience, kindness? You know, all those found in Galatians 5. Are we compassion? Are we generous? Do we have integrity? Do we forgive? Are we um humble? Do we obey? So all that fruit.

SPEAKER_00:

We don't have to do all those perfectly.

SPEAKER_01:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

We don't have to. Some of them were better at others. Uh patience is one of those where people struggle and you know, but people struggle with all those different fruits. But the idea that behind it is if you want to know if you're really following Jesus, do a self-evaluation on yourself. Step back and look at your life. Be like, am I producing the kinds of fruit that I should be?

SPEAKER_02:

And if you're not, then maybe you gotta I always wonder if someone will recognize me as a Christian without me saying a word.

SPEAKER_00:

That's another experiment that I came across. Somebody was mentioned, like, if you wanted to know, like, but just pretend like you were followed by somebody for a week and you had no idea you're being followed. Like a secret, like a secret Santa kind of thing, but not really. Uh but like the idea of if somebody followed you around for a week and you didn't know they were following you, would they be able to tell you were a Christian at the end of the week by the things that you did or said?

SPEAKER_03:

That's good.

SPEAKER_00:

And that's kind of a think about that. Uh for those of you listening, if you if you're kind of looking at yourself and be like, I've claimed to be a Christian. I I I I know about Jesus and I I I believe it, but does my life reflect that? And so just kind of look at the things that come out of your life, the way you react to things, the way you handle situations.

SPEAKER_02:

I think it can get really confusing in the beginning too, because we're told to come as we are. You know, God wants us as we are. And you will hear verses like I'm made in his image. So you're like, oh, well, this is me. It's fine. God made me. He understands all of the things that I go through, all the things in my mind, the things that I do. I mean, I've literally been this is embarrassing to admit, but I have literally been actively sinning and said the words, God made me this way. I mean, I've said that a lot.

SPEAKER_00:

It goes back to our human nature, I think, is to push the blame somewhere else. Like, well, it's not really me doing it, it's because, well, God, you made me this way, so you gotta understand. And we've been playing that game all the way since I'm like, how embarrassing. Adam and Eve when you know, they push the blame around. And Eve's like, well, the snake made me do it. And Adam's like, well, my wife gave me the fruit. And God's like, no, we're not pushing the blame anywhere. You knew, you know.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, and it turns out I didn't even know who I was. I had no clue at that point who I was supposed to be or who I was going to be.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. And knowing that. And that's just it's it's part of the journey. Like you can't just say I'm gonna become a Christian, and then all of a sudden you know all the things to do as a Christian. It's a process and it's a journey. And you you start somewhere, you say, I'm gonna give this Jesus thing a shot and see how it goes. And if you want to do that, you gotta go all in, and it's gonna be confusing, it's gonna be hard, it's gonna be difficult, it'll be all these different things. But once again, when we get to places where you experience the joy, you experience peace, and you experience things that like that, you'd be like, This was worth it. This was worth it. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. I think one other thing I wanted to say too was you know, sometimes when we go into the doctor's office, we go in most of the time if we're sick. Like I don't just go to the doctor just for the fun of it. I go in if I'm sick and they find out what's going on and they, you know, they help me find the cure. You don't have to be afraid to come to church if you're sick. If you're if you're struggling with something, if you've fallen away, if you've never accepted him, if you have accepted him and you're still like living your lifestyle, you don't have to wait until you fix yourself to come through those doors. Come through those doors and then let the transformation start happening.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. You have to you have to start somewhere. And sometimes going to the doctor isn't pleasant.

SPEAKER_01:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

Sometimes you go to the doctor and it it's it hurts, or they do something you don't like or it's uncomfortable. But in the long run, what? It's gonna make you better. It's gonna heal you, even though the process might hurt, the process might be uncomfortable. I think it's the same way. You know, Jesus said he came to to came for the sick, came for the ones that needed to be healed. And and if we go that way, then it's gonna be a process. It's gonna be, I don't know. Uh you can't just claim it, say I'm gonna be a Christian and think my life's gonna be perfect, because it just doesn't work that way. And all throughout the Bible, we see people having to go through the process, through the journey, through the wilderness, if you would say, to get to where God wants them to be.

SPEAKER_02:

I was gonna say we were just talking about that today.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, our Bible study this morning, we're kind of in numbers uh as a staff at the church on Tuesday mornings, and we're talking about the people in the wilderness, God's people, and how they just don't get it sometimes.

SPEAKER_02:

A lot of correction. I felt that. I felt like, oh, I can relate.

SPEAKER_00:

But it it we feel like we read those stories and we're like, God was he was not very happy with those people. And he like put his judgment out there sometimes, and it's hard to read. But then I think about my own life, and it's what I do to my kids. I love Timmy, I love Eden, and when they do things that they're not supposed to, I discipline them. I make them go through something they don't like to go through. Take away something they want, don't let them do something they want to do. Not because I don't love them, or you know, really I'm doing it for them because I love them and I want them to understand about their choices, how to make good choices. And so I think that's what God does for us too. We don't like it sometimes, it's hard. But one more thing we'll talk about and then we'll wrap this episode up. Just kind of the idea of we talked about all this stuff, and and why is it difficult for people to make that decision? Why is it difficult for people to claim Christ and then actually live it out? What are some of the obstacles do you think that people face living out their faith?

SPEAKER_02:

Comfort.

SPEAKER_00:

Comfort?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

I think comfort's a big one. Everything's going good. A lot of times things don't seem like they need fixing.

SPEAKER_00:

Maybe some people I've seen that before, where like a family, everything's going really good, their kids are healthy, they've got finances are good, they have a nice place to live, they got everything is great, and they don't go to church, they don't know God, and they think, well, why would I want to I'm I'm fine the way I am? Why would I even want to, you know, go to church? Why do I need God? Why do I need a church if everything is fine how it is? And you know, that's a obstacle for for Christianity because yeah, well, I can see the point, like from their point of view, but then eventually things aren't always perfect for everybody all the time, and you're gonna have hard things pop up, and as we talked about last week, why it's important to be part of the church, why it's important to be part of the Christian walk. So I think comfort's a big part of it.

SPEAKER_02:

Probably pride.

SPEAKER_00:

Comfort and pride are big ones.

SPEAKER_01:

I think big is fitting in. Like is I think some people think that if you become a Christian, you know, my workplace, or if you know, as a at the home, if you're the only one who's living it out, it's like you don't fit in anymore.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, you're gonna be a weirdo. Right. Like you said, to start this whole thing off weirdo.

SPEAKER_01:

It's not weird.

SPEAKER_00:

It's but I I would think that somebody that doesn't understand Christ or if you're saying the church would look at it and be like, those people are strange, like the way they do things. Why do they do that?

SPEAKER_02:

I think that I deal with that a lot because, like we mentioned before, I do spend a lot of time at church. And even now that I'm on the other side, like most of the big correction is over. So now that I'm on the other side, people will say, Why are you doing that? That doesn't even what does that benefit you at all? Why are you doing that? I'm like, it's really hard to explain. I'm trying to be a servant. They're like, to who? Well, to everyone. For people. For people.

SPEAKER_00:

You know, think high think more highly of others than you do yourself. Something like that in Philippians, I think. And I like I go to that a lot and I'm thinking, it's so hard. Oh, it's so hard. Because people.

SPEAKER_03:

People make it difficult.

SPEAKER_00:

This would be a lot easier if it wasn't for people. But you know, that's that's why we're doing it. So people can we want people to experience the joy and the peace that we're talking about and and see that it's worth it. And we want people to be able to get to the same place that us three are at, I think. The idea of following Christ because we want to, doing the things he has to do because we we want to, and because we love him and we know that it's true. Some other things that keep people from wanting to be a Christian or or wanting to know more about it. It's just scary sometimes, unknown. They don't really know what to expect, what to ex what they're gonna experience. Desire for control, some people don't want to give up control. That's pridefulness, I guess. The idea of it's my life, I'm gonna do what I want, uh, is a big one. Even for people that are Christians, even for me. Like, still, I have things that I want to do. I'm like, I I I I wrestle with the idea of is this what God wants, or is this just me being me and wanting things that I want? So lots of different things, cultural pressure, busyness, people just making excuses of why they can't make it to church or why they're not gonna try to understand who Jesus, who this Jesus guy is, or anything like that. So I don't know.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I had a friend uh a couple years ago that we were working on just trying to share the gospel and let her understand, you know, what it was to be a Christian. And I'll never forget she kept saying, like, well, if I become a Christian, what is he gonna make me give up? Like that that was her fear. Like, what you know, what do I have to give up? And I'm like, well, you don't you don't approach it like that. God will work on your heart, God will show you, like he showed Britney, what needed to be worked on, what needed to be weighed out, you know, and whatnot. And it kind of changes your heart and gives you that desire to want to make those things different, to make them better.

SPEAKER_02:

And it is weird, weird on the other side, because now I'll look at things that I once really enjoyed and I can see it from the other side point of view, and it does not look fun, it does not look joyful, it doesn't look like anything that I even want to be a part of, and my heart kind of hurts to watch because I mean I'm this was my life for a long time. So I'm watching people that I love and care about still find joy in things that I'm like, oh, there's so much better. There's such a better way.

SPEAKER_00:

And that's that's what we're trying to do. That's what we should be trying to do as the church and as Christians, is seeing people still stuck in darkness and still stuck in things that we think don't really matter that much anymore, and see the pain and see the brokenness and see the things that people are going through, be like, there's such a better way. You could have you could have peace, you could have joy that lasts, you could have just put your identity in Jesus. And and so that's kind of the whole thing that I I like to think about with my life and and what what I'm doing. Do people trying to give people a glimpse of a better way of doing things? And and and so I when I talk to Christians who don't really or when I talk to people who aren't Christians about what I do for a living, they're like, Well, what's a youth pastor do? What's a youth minister? What's that do? You do that full-time? Is that like a full-time job you can do that? I'm like, well, yeah. Like, well, why do you do it? I was like, well, I just I care about teenagers. They go through a whole lot, they go through all these things, and it's hard, and they and they have identity, and who are they, and what's the choices they have to make. And so I want to help them succeed. I want to help them navigate through life. I want them to do the best that they can, and then I'll sell them. I'll be like, and I think that Jesus is the best way to do that to for everybody. And so that's kind of how I approach the non-Christian questions to why do I do what I do? Because I've had some people be like, Whoa, I didn't know you could do that. Like, is that a thing? Like, so just been interesting having those conversations and things. So I think this was a good conversation. I think it's a good place to end it for today talking about real Christianity, what it means, not just a label, but actually living it out and how it's how it's real. It's it's hard, it's difficult. So, yeah, thanks guys for being here. Episode number two. I'll be back again next time, whenever that may be. But yeah, if you have questions or you want something, you want to hear something on the podcast, you have a question that you want us to address or a topic that you want us to bring up, just email me at codyc at rushchurch.com and we'll we'll look at those and just title it podcast suggestions or things like that. We'll find some more ways for you guys to be involved. And like I said, we want to have some people on to just talk to, have conversations with. But that will be one way you can do that for now. Also, you can comment and Spotify comments if you're listening on there. Apple Podcast has something you could do too. Also, if you're listening on your phone, click the description and there should be a button that says text us, and you can just hit that and send us a text, and we'll get those. So, we want to make this easy for you guys to be involved as possible. So tell everybody goodbye.

SPEAKER_02:

Goodbye. Bye.

SPEAKER_00:

See you next time.