Celebration Sunday

Play organized. I thought they'd have at least 10 minutes before us, so. Good morning. Good morning. I'm waiting sheets, and Glad to be invited here today to sing for you guys and over here. Guitar and mandolin, we have Sam Bergen and on dobro and banjo we have Aaron when will. And then if Erica here is going to help us do some singing. And then we have Junior deals over here on guitar. So, I hope a couple days songs, you know, we just kind of threw one. I just kind of threw on them when you've only had a couple practices to go through him. So he'll still be a wonderful joyous noise, but

Yeah, that counts this morning. So we're going to start off with the Blessed Assurance this morning, and I hope you and hoping, this is a really good song and are my favorites.

Raising Cane's.

angels, d.c.

Raising my son.

Crazy. Call Luke.

Austin news.

Crazy.

This next one is a Little White Church in the Bryce already. Found it up there when I'm glad I would like to look through it because it was a totally different song. And then the little white shirts that were all familiar to. So we don't have no words for that one, but I'm sure some of you might know it. So it's a pretty simple song.

Okay.

They are going to let online.

And I know some of them.

Okay. I'll wait a while.

that one that song, There is a You know, it's it has, it can have a couple different meanings. I know for me, it brings back memories of

grown up. Unity Chapel church and going there, my whole life brings back. A lot of memories of that. And some it could also have a different me. And, you know, you can just memories of home and as a childhood and growing up or even memories of home now with your, you're family today, you know that it doesn't matter where your Little White Church is that, as long as it's in your heart and you share it with everybody, you can

I'm trying not to break up up here with the more I talk to more sentimental. I get. So I'll just

Next one, is that I saw the light is an old day. Hank Williams, Hank Williams, made this year song, famous, and the The favorite of ours, as well.

Okay.

Last time we're going to do for the first part of the services. I do. Lord. Do you remember me?

I don't have no words for that one.

Ready on this one here.

Do Lord, oh, Do Lord remember me?

I took Jesus as my savior.

I got to.

Jesus, dude, don't do Lord. Remember me?

Thank you.

If our archers could, please come forward to collect our morning offering.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for these guys and offerings that you provided for the Lord, we pray that you will take them, use them, multiply them and use them in ways beyond what we can imagine to grow your kingdom in your name. We pray. Amen.

So now is our time when we always share our Joys and concerns with each other as a church family. And we definitely want to as a joy. Sheriff, the success of some, of our Adam Central wrestlers, who went down and rest little, to Alex was runner-up and will be going on and the Blake High early also actually are only Champion that will be going on for going on from our school. It to State wrestling next week. So that is definitely an exciting thing as a church family.

Yes, and definitely keep praying for those situations and what's going on in those things any other friend request that are out there.

We will certainly keep them in our prayers as our concerns. That anyone would like to share.

But as usual, you see listed in there, some of our continuing prayer needs of those who are in or nursing care facilities that we want to continue to pray for all of them, pray for others. In our church may have had surgery recently or recovering or other illnesses or ongoing battles with cancer. Continue to keep those lifted up in your prayers. As always, our service members from our church. We keep them in our prayers. Also, please buy with me in prayer.

heavenly father as we come before you Lord and We voice these concerns today, Lord. We also know, there are a lot of unspoken concerns and prayer requests that are on our hearts. Lord, we pray that you will be in the midst of all those situations, Lord, the spoken and the unspoken. And largest give us that peace disturbance of knowing that you are walking with us in the midst of all those situations.

Lord, I pray that even in the difficult times, we would know that your will is still being done that. You are still working for our good, for the good of those that we love. Lord help us to trust you in that way and help us to continue to come to you in prayer and lift up these requests to you. And Lord as we continue in our worship service today.

I pray that you will just guide our conversations and learned that you will help each of us to hear what it is that you have for each of us today. You bring this all on your most. Holy name. Amen.

Well, if we could start this morning B, The District staff to come up here. If they want to Bob Petty is here in Marshall Monex as they come up here. I won't make their wives come up also, but we did something a little different set up here as leadership made all the elders set up here this week. We do that today. We want to invite you into this conversation. As we talked about the district's role in The Alliance. And some things you may not know from the Christmas tree Alliance, but then also just as we celebrate as a church over this last year with that.

To start out. We'll go from there.

Is it turned on?

Let me stand actually, I injured my back this week and Mary Kay and I spend a lot of time in a lot of different churches in a lot of different context. And a guy playing spoons, is not typically where we find ourselves, which was super, super fun, preciate you and the team haven't sang. I Hank Williams, Senior song in a church, in a few days either, which was fun. Where can I ended up watching a Ken Burns, special on country music, where Hank Williams, the story was kind of laid out, which is actually a pretty, pretty tragic story. And yet the words of that particular song, hold him deep, meaning America. And I've been married for 39 years. We've got three kids and they're all married. Have nine grandchildren spread out between Colorado, and Pennsylvania, and just north of here. So they keep us busy. And that's lots of fun. Saw the Eternal Flame of this morning and I were married at the United Methodist, Campground in Des Plaines. And the groomsmen and I as we were getting the room prepared, I felt like that particular item would be a distraction for the service. Not being Methodist's ourselves, which for those of you who have been around for a while that that's probably not a really good idea. And so it was fun to be able to recollect. I got myself into a world of hurt with a whole bunch of folks on my wedding day when they walked in and the flame had been extinguished or at least set to the side and down on the floor. And so hopefully this morning, I don't create the same sort of faux pas with you folks as we step in and are introduced. It is a delight to be here. It's a delight to see your faces, you know, as I reflect on on the important things of life, one of the significantly important things in life is relationship. It's Way Beyond title. It's, it's Way Beyond station. It's, it's that personal connection. All kinds of those connections. They come in different forms, are friends, whether their Partners, those are really meaningful and, and they bring life and they helped us move forward in life. But there's something really, really special Beyond a friend, and a partner, and that's a family member. Or something really really beautiful and Powerful about being in a family. I know in my own Journey a growing up in a more independent church background stepping into the Christian Missionary Alliance Family a while back was just an incredibly meaningful experience to know that that I had a relationship with folks. That was a far more than just a friendship far more than even a partnership that might get some things done. But a group of people that I could walk out life and Ministry, within it in a deeper way, in this morning. We're here to celebrate in some really, a beautiful sense. What it means for us to move from friend and partner to being family members. And so, again, it's a delight to be able to stand here to be introduced to you. Not, not it with a title. But rather as a family member, let me talk a little bit. I'm going to give, I'm going to hang out a few thoughts on here. And then I certainly want my colleagues and my friends and my my companions in Ministry to have an opportunity to share and then would love to even be able to open it up for some questions for you. Because that's what, that's what family gatherings are about. Typically there's food and a table and robust in and question and answer and a chance for us to build intimate relationship. Not just some sort of corporate reality. And so we want to be able to create an invitation for some of that as well as we get to know each other more deeply. Three things that come to my mind that I want to frame a couple of thoughts around those three more like questions. Who are we what do we do? And where are we going? Certainly as an alliance family that but as I bring some leading to this particular aspect of the family, I thought it would be important for you to hear a couple of things from me related to that. We are a family of 65 or so churches. Who have come together to live out life in Ministry together? So a district is really meaningless. If we don't first frame it in the fact that we are a family of churches that are committed to life and Ministry together and that Jesus says invited us into a life with him and he's invited us into a life of ministry with him. And so those 65 churches seek to be able to work in some sense of Union and concert to further the development of our life together in Jesus and also to further his mission, which is to make sure that every man and woman and boy, and girl have a repeated opportunity to hear the good news of Jesus and to respond and that those who would respond would have an opportunity, an invitation to be disciple. But there are millions of folks in Illinois and Indiana that the 65 churches find themselves in your sister churches. Spilled Out All Over, Illinois, Indiana. We have some sense of responsibility for the heart of the father for the Los Lunas of Illinois and Indiana. The millions of men and women in boys and girls who do not know Jesus who have not been invited into a life with him, a new life with him or to join him out on mission where their identity, and their sense of belonging are set not in their circumstance, but in the truth of who God says they are, That is a heart beat for us as part of your family that we want to see you flourish in growing in your life with Jesus. And in Sharing in his mission to see This Town and County and counties, all around you, reach men and women and boys and girls with this incredible message. Jesus have him crucified buried resurrected about a life in him and a life with him and then joining him on Mission, do 65 churches. Have pulled some resource in order to have some centralized leading called the district office. There's nothing really all that magical about it. It's a handful of us who have a sense of call to that level of leadership who because of the churches, all sharing resources into that centralized Place. Give some of us an opportunity to be able to serve the 60, excuse me, the churches in Pastor or other pastors who are working in the singularity of their particular Church aren't able to do.

White house does not exist to serve the district office.

The district office exists to serve lighthouse. That's a big distinction. And while there is a financial a connection, and while there is some leadership responsibilities that I represent. And my brothers represent here this morning exist to see you flourish. We exist to make sure that you have resources available to you, that you have leadership available to you that impediments to your life and Ministry. In this place that we would have opportunity to share in those be able to relieve those so that you can flourish. And so I do not come here today with title. I don't come here today as some sort of a king that is demanding Allegiance and your obedience. Rather. I come to you as a brother in Jesus, who have been called invested with a responsibility in this season to care for you, to make sure that my team and I are available to you to Resource you and to counsel you, in to bring you leadership. When you need in order to walk out in obedience, what Jesus is called Lighthouse to be and what lighthouses to do? And so the district office is a handful of men and women who are focused significantly on caring for and bringing leading and oversight to those 65 or so churches scattered across, Illinois and Indiana. What do we do? Well, as a family, we're really, really unique. And you folks know this because you've been deeply invested in the Christian Missionary Alliance for a long time. The Meijer drag you into that, or maybe you drank the Meijer into it, but there's this really, really beautiful relationship with with, with Christian Missionary Alliance Mission all over the world, and I'm not going to spend a lot of time there cuz I want Marshall to do that. He bring some bleeding and so he's going to be someone that you're going to find to be an important relationship in the days ahead. But not only do we have a couple of thousand churches in America, but we have far more outside of America. In many International workers some that you have sent from this place. Who bring on some amazing stories of God using them and therefore extension using you all over the planet that you folks have a heart for the Nations which is so beautiful. And so what we do is, we we are responsible to certainly pursue the gospel all across America and more specifically in Illinois and Indiana, but also to, the nation's was just a really, really incredible invitation that Jesus has given us. Not only, are we doing those kinds of things, but the office is also there to be able as I described to troubleshoot and to be able to come and bring wise counsel to you, to be able to come alongside and help, Shore up things as you're walking out life. So Timeline is while we stand here before you today. And yes, we have a leadership, responsibilities are deep. Desire is to always lead every conversation with you in this way. How can we help? How can we help? Not. How can you help and serve us? But how can we help and serve you? And certainly there's an implication of if we're in a family then we're going to do it together. When you do, bring some things that are going to be really beautiful for the rest of the family. But I wanted you to know heart of a deep desire to serve it to be a servant and our team as well. And so we represent 65 sister churches. Spilled Out All Over Illinois and Indiana and by implication a much larger group of folks that are scattered all over the world, which martial will talk to you about in a few minutes. So where we going? Well, let me, let me give you a few things that are on our heart as it relates to our future together. I'm fairly new. Actually. The team is fairly new to this role. We've only been in this space, a little less than 2 years, still trying to find our way a bit as we seek to establish our own sense of vision and calling. But one of the things that is important to us across Illinois and Indiana, truly our family. That we are so much better together than we are alone. And I want you to know today that you are seeing. And that you matter. And that you're important to us. Not just for what you can do, but just for who you are and that we are so much better together as a family with lighthouse in the Mist then we are apart and there's so much more that we can do better together. Then we can do a part. And so I'm excited about that. Sense of how do we be a family tie? Some of that is by spending time together. And certainly we have a rich relationship with Pastor Dave, and a growing relationship with your leadership team. And we would hope to continue to expand that over the coming weeks, and months and years as a guide with. So give us opportunity. But how do we connect you to other of the sister churches that are all around rgr, share geography. And so one of the things we want to do is figure out ways in which we can connect you to other churches and other leadership teams. That again, we're so much better together than we are alone and looking for those ways in which we can kind of cross-pollinate and and create more family reunions sorts of connection with one another. We are really passionate about the emerging leaders, discovering men, and women who have a sense of calling. Some of that might be the occasional calling. But how do we see them developed more holistically, whether that is in a more formal way? Or whether that is in the disciple, emerging leaders, that you folks are engaged in a more directly. And specifically, here to this church. We want to be able to lend a hand in that and I to be able to learn from you on the things that you're doing, as you are developing leaders for the future. So leadership development is a big deal. Churches is a big deal that there is greater gospel presents that people don't have to go so far, in order to encounter a Jesus follower to be able to hear the good news of Jesus, to be able to respond to his message, to be able to be discipled into the Life of Christ and into the life of the church and ofttimes church, plants are in a beautiful way to be able to do that. And so we're committed to continue to give urgency and resource attention and Leadership into those spaces of developing emerging leaders in developing and emerging churches. And I'm coming alongside our established churches, and making sure that you have the resources in front of you, not to be able to step into some of the vision that God has for you and to share that Vision with others. So that together, we might grow more effectively and do all that. Jesus has for us. So, we are delighted to be here. We're delighted to be able to be introduced to you to celebrate this momentous decision and more formally into the Christian Missionary Alliance family. Again, a family that's quite familiar to you. And yet, it's the next step of not just a partner in relationship, which has been your history with the alliance, but stepping into family, stepping into the deeper relationship of life together. And I want you to know, as long as I have this role of a superintendent in the midwest District that you have my heart, you have my ear. I have a deep desire to know you but deep desire to walk out life with you and to be a blessing and a support to you. And so welcome. We are glad to have you in the family and I know in the days ahead My Hope Is that you'll be able to say it was good and right Us in the Holy Spirit to join the alliance. And that there is this reciprocity of of deep relationship in meaningful connection by one to another I get to work with an amazing team. And God in his sovereignty. Gave me an opportunity to hand-pick, most of the folks, actually, all of the folks that are on my team which isn't unusual moment for most leaders. And so I guess on some sense, it rises and falls on some of my decision-making, but I love the team that we have, and we are committed to building spiritual Community together to not lead out of office or title. But rather, to lead out of a deep relationship with each other, a deep relationship with our King who ultimately is our leader. And so instead of bringing all 12 of those Folks up onto the platform and giving you a blast of all of that. I've asked a couple of our team, two guys that I am deeply connected with historically connected with For many, many years. And so we have a unique level of trust of love a relationship together with a deep desire not to just run in our individual Lanes, but the live more interdependently to lead more interdependently and to share the responsibility of caring for and supporting all these many, many churches and so has hear Marshall mullinex this year. I'm going to ask Marcia to come and introduce Babs. But before I do that mirror key, would you mind just introduced you early? This is my wife. Mary Kay. Yep. She's the deal most folks in is who voted for me. Actually voted for me in order to get to Mary Kay, which has become a fairly a comfortable posture for me. Mary Kay's, serves on our team. She brings leadership in the areas of personal and spiritual formation. She does a lot with teams and individuals. She said, she's an incredible partner with me and Ministry and it's an amazing gift to be able to not just be married, and raise family, and all of that. But to be able to have a shared call of ministry and to be able to minister together jochen, a really, really beautiful way. And so I'll have these brothers introduce their wives and describe an interesting Lee enough. All three of the couple's, actually serve on our district team. So we have found the beauty of not just that marriage, but minister, Partnering together which has been super fun. But Marshall is in lockstep with me, couldn't do this role without him. I certainly it the same as said for Kurt, but would love for you to hear a bit of where Marshall is what kind of leaving. He brings what you could look to him for, as it relates to Resource as well as a bit of his own biography. And certainly introducing is way better half bats as well. So she wants to take a few minutes. So I'm more familiar. Next, as Bob said, I've been in this role and I give leadership to two areas. One area is missions. Mobilization come to that honestly of deep history with the alliance with missions. We serve two terms overseas, my wife, my wife and our son Russell and I were in Israel and Palestinian territories from 2008 till 2017. So we've lived it in hard places. We've walked a bit through there. We've had the pleasure of knowing that you love for a long time. I answer it's always a pleasure when I get to stand in front of a church. And I don't have to be explained the importance of missions cuz you know them, you know who they are, you know, the mission that Jesus is inviting us to

It's a worldwide Redemptive story. That invites us into, Jesus didn't die for a few of us. But he died. That might not might be drawn near. And that means, every tongue, every tribe, Every Nation, every people, but you already know that. I don't have to explain that more to you, but it's my pleasure to be able to help bridge gaps Bridge, the distance between where people are, where there is no gospel access. And people who have been raised with, God has been raised with the opportunity to know Jesus and know the story. And so that's half of my job. And that's a half of my job that my wife helped me a great deal with a. My wife is given name. If you would stand up. Is Barbara, but almost nobody knows that?

Pretty much everyone calls her bath. She also served with our district team. Not only if she might write half when we go into missions. Mobilization stuff in both connecting churches and developing workers that we're going to send, but she also does communication. She's our director for communications. If you interact with her much at all, you'll find out that is really easy for her to communicate with people me not so much. I've got a lot going on in here. Not as much comes out here. She frequently reminds me Marshall. You need to use your outside voice so I can hear what you're thinking.

But she helps all of us to step into that and be able to do that and it connect as much as we can with the churches that are around and with the workers that are overseas. And right now, one of the exciting pieces that I can tell you, from this mission's, mobilization things that we've got a new couple that is going out this year. Lord, willin, they're waiting for an appointment but they've already been recommended. So by this year will be in a new ministry, in a new place coming alongside developing the church and that's what you thrust of Alliance missions. Is we plant local churches who help them mature and when they Embrace their identity as who God's calling them to be, we don't need to lead them anymore. We need to walk with him. And that very Siri is the reason why right now the US Cinema is actually our fifth largest National Church there for churches that were planted by people from the US and Canada under the alliance. Baptist Church that have outpaced us in terms of growth in the amount of people that have come to saving knowledge of Jesus and disciples. When we when we served overseas, got the opportunity to work with five other sending Nations that were all connected to the alliance. And so the reality of the mission is that it doesn't start here. It's not live here. It is Started With Jesus and we get to step into a story and we can invite others to step into a store with us. And to teach people what we know so that God can be glorified even further. And so that's the half of my job that's actually kind of easy to explain to some extent, the other half of my job, which can be more difficult to explain is called Church advance. Search Advanced is the reality that there are times in the life of a church that they Don't have something figured out that there's something that's not right in what they're doing. Whether it's their gospel presents is shrinking or they've been distracted by things going wrong or people are stepping into places and are more worried about fighting the other people in the church than they are about reaching. The people that God has placed in our lives. These are all pieces. Were I have the opportunity to step in. And to call them and invite them back to the reality that God has a worldwide Redemptive plan. You're either in and part of it where you're standing against it. So where you going to go? Is there we have tools that we bring it when people are in deep conflict. We have peace making tools to a Biblical conflict. Resolution thing. We can step in alongside churches churches or just uncertain about where they are and what their gospel impact is and what their identity is I get to come alongside and help them understand and ask the right questions to get back to what Jesus is inviting them into. We run into churches that have had a great history, but have reached the point where they actually have no new members and no new elders, and no new leaders coming out. Get this stuff in there and start having discussions about how is it that we can answer this? Because if we're interested in a worldwide Redemptive plan, it's going to take every last man woman in. To reach every last man woman and child. So when we churches are in tough spots, I get to come alongside them, I get to still with her leadership and we get to talk about. Where God might be inviting them to what is the unique gospel in opportunity that God has put in front of them. The question. A lot of times is, God has assembled this group of people you think it was by accident? He's built you with an identity with shrinks with abilities, with opportunities and doors in front of you and nobody else can walk into.

It's a church Advanced is helping us remember respond and step into that and see where God may be leaving in the next. And so, those are kind of the pieces that I bring. So, Working on Elder training partner with Kirk to identify young emerging leaders. When I find a young emerging emerging leader, most of the time. My next call is to Kirk because he gives a great deal leadership to that when he finds people who are called overseas his call this to me and we get to go and sit with him and talk about what it looks like. How do we prepare you to get where God is calling you to be? And so these are the pieces and I believe we'll have time to ask questions later, but I'll go ahead and let Curt take over. So my wife grew up in south Georgia, and the service has been a blessing for her in many ways. She has been able to hear some things today that it would hurt in a while. And I was told her way up here and grateful to be with you. It is exciting to see a gospel, a lighthouse and this community. So I grew up in a home. My father was one of the first Believers in this family. He had an alcoholic abusive dad who lived in a small town and had a rough, go growing up. Start date. My mom, my grandmother then told him. You have to come to church if you're going to date my daughter. It's so my dad went to a small little Alliance Church. Jesus Christ. Got a hold of him. Change the entire trajectory of his life. And I now have two brothers who are also they're actually in the exact same role. I'm in in different districts across the Midwest and a little sister who is a missionary south of Tijuana in Mexico. Jesus. Got a hold of my Dad's life and change an entire family. Now. Here's the part that I never get this year, cuz nobody understand it. My dad grew up in a little tiny place called craigville. Which is right here or right there?

It is a blessing to be with you all. Some of you. Have folks in your family. I'm sure who cross paths with folks in my family that I never knew. And of a small Alliance Church in a small town in dunfee, Indiana. If you have any idea where that is, it's it's Fort Wayne. Jesus. Got a hold of his life and changed and tire trajectory of a little family that comes out of craigville, Indiana. So we go to the, Bluffton Street Fair every year. Add my dad is not a social guy, until he gets to the Bluffton street fair. And they all said we're stopping everywhere to talk to everybody and it's been, it's been cool to. I'll just live. This new Journey as a family with Jesus and see what Jesus has done to transform some pretty significant stuff. So I get to serve in a multiplication and emerging leader role which sort of comes down to all the things that are like new and growing and being birth. I get to be a part of which makes it a lot of fun. As Marshall said, I work with emerging leaders Bryce, has helped us it in the midst of that. As we all looked at develop some ways to raise up new leaders, what it looks like the mentor them what it looks like to walk with him through some credentialing process, we have and then into their place in Jesus's church, I get to walk with all those folks. I also Churches that are looking to plant new churches and believe me. There's a list of excuses for why you would never think about planting a church. I probably heard almost all of them. I'm not sure the Jesus likes any of them. I think Jesus would tell us, don't make this more complicated than it needs to be there opportunities, to plant seeds. The gospel in new places all the time, and it doesn't take a lot of people and it doesn't take a lot of money and you don't have to go find a bunch of somehow trained professionals to pull it off. You listen to Jesus. And what he has new place that needs a church that needs an expression of the Gospel. So that people like my dad and a small little girl Place could hear about. Jesus, invites you to go. I want to be the phone call and we want to talk. And so I get to look at the X and then folks who are looking to jump in the church planting. We do a whole thing with assessing them, training them. We've got tools bill to help walk them through it. And then I show up with this big Manuel and say here's how we're going to walk this thing out, which also means that I get to help places that are developing, some of the initial stuff that gets developed in the life of a church, which interesting enough for you. Folks. Some of those things are coming back around because we're switching a few things around and get to walk with your leadership through some of that. That would be a joy to get to know. A few of you as we walk through that beautiful process.

That's some of the the work that I get to do. My wife Kimberly. We are coming up on 24 years of marriage. We spent the first twenty one of those as of pastoral couple and we got to serve in a place called Danville, Illinois. We got to be on staff at a church there and Alliance church. And then we planted in Alliance Church. That then planted a few other things out of that. My wife taught Elementary School, almost the entire time. We have two, lovely young girls. One is 16, the other is going to turn 12 shortly and she loves to pick on Bob Petty, this to give it right back to her. So it's fun to watch those two have their interactions. My wife just recently came on the District staff, and as she serves in a whole variety of capacities related to helping us do a lot of the things that we do in-house, we bring teams in, we do things to train. Are we actually have a beautiful home? That is part of a property that we are using for Retreats and for all sorts of things that as a district family, we get to bring folks and and and do together. My wife helps to give some oversight to those kinds of things. And I just got to say this, selfishly. It has been awesome to be able to everyone. So I'll drive with my wife to work and sit down and eat lunch together. And Jesus has chosen to wrap our lives up in a new way that I would never been able to experience before. So it's pretty fun to have her on the team and walking alongside. So is that unless you have a better transition We would love to have you ask us questions and they can be about us. They can be about our background. They can be about what Pastor or they can be about life with the within the alliance. And some of the things that are brought her family is engaged in or even some of your specific questions about life here. Pastor right now, but don't mind the man over here. give me questions for anyone if if You want address to one particular person or we'll just pass the mic around as we sort of know where each other lands. And what roles?

Bryce, are you supposed to ask the first question, just to start this.

Prices beard.

Yes, sir.

Post my daughter's youth group tonight and we've heard like 25 young, people are showing up to watch. I have a feeling I'm not going to watch much of the game. I would feel like I'm going to be taking out the trash and check in the bathroom and that kind of stuff. But if I had to pick my daughters, will go for The Bangles just cuz that's the first game. None of the three of us really care. I don't think

since the Cowboys lost.

Exactly.

The Colts is the only officially Alliance sanctions, so She's not talk about the Colts. I know you're not but I we've heard it a lot.

Yes, sir.

And we think it takes tremendous courage to leave worship. And so Jesus has seen fit to put us all where he wants us to be to do our parts and it's beautiful to get to do this together.

Anyone else have any other questions? He had one.

I'm glad you clarified that last part because significant can run in a couple different directions and there were many of both. I think one of the for me I'll try not to get long-winded on the story, but One of the one of the times when God just showed up the last several years that I was there. I was called with the field director. So I was though I was leading the leadership team of our ministry in our particular expression in Israel where the actually the only denomination or group that works with both Palestinians and Israeli Jewish people, most other denominations pick the sign and that's where they stay, and it's a lot easier to do that because with the complexities of the political situation and travel and everything else and happens. It can be. It's just a lot easier if you don't do that, but the reality is that, as I said before the heart, if there are people, they need to hear the gospel. And I need to be invited to know the king. And so the way that flushes out in that context is we got a cost Indian branch of ministry. We have a Jewish branch of ministry. And then we also had a Chinese or an international friendship Ministry for Chinese. Mainland Chinese that we're living in the country and working. And so, there's some that in and of itself is kind of a little crazy, a little while. Takes a lot of God to make that work at all, but we both Israeli and Palestine is really Jewish people. And Palestinians are some of the least reach most resistant, people your you may have about 1% of Palestinians as Believers in Jesus. You have about 0.18% of Jewish people that are believers in Jesus name Israel. So very resistant, very tall. There are forces that work against you. There people that want you kicked out of the country all the time. There's hostility. There are things there Wars. There are all the things that you see happening.

but there was a day that I was serving as field director in our Center down town and Somebody started, it was Sunday. The work week on Sunday, to Friday. How you do about half a day on Friday Saturday Shabbat. There's no public transit. None of that stuff working on on Shabbat, on the Jewish. So I can do Sunday first day of the week. I'm in, and working, and I'm doing all the administrative things. Right? We've got lawyers. We got to be soon as we got building challenges. We got all of that stuff going on, and I'm just doing my normal work, and somebody starts knocking on our gate and buzzing on our gate. And so I go Okay, so, you know, how can I help you? You no answer back in Hebrew. And so I go out to talk to him, see what's going on. And then standing in front of me or to Ethiopian Jews are dark-skinned Jews. They're all airlifted out of Ethiopia at a specific time. These two guys that are from two different parts of the country in two different, you know, even two different family, group of probably got no reason to cross over. Except they both happened to be in Jerusalem that day, looking for a church or looking for work, and the one guy convince the other one that they should look at a church. And so, as we're walking out, their names, was David in slow-mo? Good Jewish names. Walked out answered and they said, hey, is there a church that meets here in the day of worship? In Israel's generally Friday through Saturday. Those are your days of worship. Generally, not Sunday. I said, well, they're seven churches that meeting are building, but none of them are meeting today. And the guy said, come on in. Let's do some Hospitality thing. I know how this should work. But sometimes you just miss it. Right. I was just doing paperwork wasn't thinking, Hospitality walk in, and as we're walking in the one guy. David hangs back a little bit nieces. Hey, are you a believer in Jesus? Yeah, I am. This guy, he's not yet. We need to explain it to him. And so we go in and I get them to you and we just start talking. And I said, okay, so, how can I help you guys and Shlomo Jesus?

That isn't that not for Jewish people? Isn't that not in? So we sat down and we're having this conversation on Hebrew and walking through. And and so we begin in Genesis and we worked through pretty much the entire Old Testament. Men would come to Matthew because we're laying the foundation of the identity of the massage and then we come to Matthew. And have you ever realized that the genealogy of Jesus is actually an Evangelical tool. Reduce person. There's a lot of identity in there. Insert a walk through that with this guy just to set the Bible in front of you, never seen the New Testament before set that in front of him and walk through that with him. And then talk about the promises and talk about the Holy Spirit. Talk about, you know, Shawn the other places in the scripture, where the gospel story is so clear. And the guy sits back at one point in this whole time, because we're always dealing with hostilities, and we're dealing with all this. I'm sitting here the whole time going. This doesn't happen in Israel. Nobody knocks on the door and says, hey, can you tell me about Jesus? It doesn't happen. This isn't normal. This isn't, I don't even hear stories about this happening, but I'm praying the whole time trying to understand is this, get cuz I'll have those conversations. Most the time. They're trying to set me up to find out some dirt to kick me out of the country and all that kind of stuff. And you get used to the chess game, but I'm praying as we're talking and the Lord keeps taking the conversation, down the road and he just looks at me, okay. I said, okay. Okay. What? Okay, I'm ready to believe this. Will you pray for me? And there are two ways to say, pray for me in Hebrew, one is in my place. And the other one is for, you know, the same thing that we can do. Can you do this for me through this in my place? Purses, can we do this for? I'm doing this for him to give it to him, just two different ways of saying it. When he first said it, he said it in my place and I said, no. No, I can't pray in your place, but I can pray with you for you. Okay?