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Your Future Isn't About You | The Surprising Way to Make Your Future Matter

There’s a future version of you counting on what you do today.

All of us are worried about out future: our homes, our stock options, whether or not we’ll ever get that Corvette. But Jesus invites us to set up our future in a different way: by loving others. And love isn’t just a warm feeling you get sometimes. It looks like serving. This week, Chuck shows us how loving others doesn’t just look like a nice, warm feeling. It looks like service. Start now. Future you will thank you.

Recorded live at Crossroads Church in Cincinnati, Ohio.

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    - Hey, welcome to Crossroads.
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    We are a community of people all over the world.
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    - That connect with each other, worship with God together,
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    and recharge to go change the world.
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    Hey, my name is Arturo, if we never met.
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    I'm on the Reachout team.
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    - My name is Jen. I'm a part of our Crossroads Anywhere team.
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    And today we are starting a new series called Future You.
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    Because the future you starts today
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    with what God is doing in and through you.
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    - And that happens a big deal when we serve others.
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    Chuck Mingo is going to talk about that here in a bit.
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    Why don't you join us for worship?
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    And hey, if we haven't already told you,
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    we're so glad that you're here.
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    - Well, good morning Crossroads.
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    My name is Eric and it's good to be with you today.
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    Hey, if you were here for Easter last week,
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    can you just make some noise? Come on.
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    Hey, if you're new to Crossroads today,
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    I'm glad you came and that you're here with us.
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    And what I want you to know is that we, as a church,
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    got to experience 675 baptisms that happened last week.
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    Come on. Real life change.
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    We get to continue in that journey today
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    with a new series we're calling Future You.
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    So why don't you stand to your feet?
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    We're going to start our time by singing a new song
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    as our response to God's faithfulness.
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    Let's sing together.
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    - Jesus, that's our prayer: wherever You're going,
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    you can count us in.
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    Whatever it costs us, You can count us in.
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    If it costs us our comfort, You can count us in.
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    If it costs us our pride, You can count us in.
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    If it costs us sitting comfortably inside spaces
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    where we're safe, if it costs us going outside
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    these walls and serving people in your name,
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    God counts us in. You're worth it. And we love you. Amen.
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    Amen. Amen.
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    Well, hey. Say hey to somebody around you and have a seat.
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    If you're brand new, you're listening to that song
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    and you're like, "That song is crazy. You people are nuts.
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    Whatever it costs me, count me in? You're nuts."
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    I just want to say to you, if that's where you're at,
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    if whatever you think about God,
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    whatever you think about church, man,
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    we are just glad that you are here today.
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    I think you're going to hear about a God
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    who is worth everything.
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    That's what my hope and prayer is for you.
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    If you're part of Crossroads, you received an email
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    a few days ago updating you about an investigation
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    that has been going on.
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    If you're like, "I didn't get an email,"
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    well, check your junk mail
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    and start reading our emails from now on.
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    You can also find all that information
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    at crossroads.net/update for more on that situation.
  • 00:15:29
    Please kindly welcome Kirk Perry
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    representing our Board of Spiritual Directors.
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    - Hello, Crossroads.
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    First of all, on behalf of the board,
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    I want to thank each and every one of you for the prayers
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    and the patience over this last six weeks,
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    because we have definitely needed both of those things.
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    For the community member that brought this issue forward
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    and for the countless others that have served
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    in this process for the last six weeks,
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    we're grateful and thankful for that.
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    Kyle mentioned where to find the information on the email.
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    I'm not going to drain the whole email.
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    In fact, you can read it and get as much detail as you want.
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    But I wanted to provide some perspective
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    before you hear from BT from the board's standpoint.
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    This board has been around since
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    we founded the church 30 years ago,
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    and the board members serve for you.
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    And the last six weeks, in addition to full time day jobs,
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    in addition to family obligations
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    and other obligations,
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    the board has taken on a part time role
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    in order to land this very complicated plane
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    of truth and grace -- with truth and grace, I should say.
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    And I can tell you, for me personally,
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    this has been excruciatingly difficult.
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    If you've ever heard me speak from stage before
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    and know anything about my life,
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    there is some personal and professional things
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    that have been quite challenging that I have gone through.
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    But I will tell you, this is right at the top of that list,
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    and I know it's the same for a lot of our board members.
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    But what's unique about this place
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    and what's unique about our faith is
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    Jesus has called us to be full of two things equally:
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    truth and grace, truth and grace.
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    We as a board have tried to make room
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    and have made room for the Holy Spirit
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    so we hear what He is prompting us to do.
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    And so we as a board ask for grace
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    because we are imperfect people trying to make
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    the best decision that we possibly can.
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    We all want what is best for this church,
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    for our staff, and for Brian.
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    And we love all of these equally.
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    And no matter what we decided to do,
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    no one is really happy with it.
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    I just want to share a couple samples of what we hear.
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    A lot of emails have come in to the board
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    throughout this process, and I'll share with you
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    just so you get a feel for some of the things
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    we've been navigating.
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    There is one group that I would refer to
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    as the free BT group, telling us --
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    Telling us how woke we are
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    and what a sham of a process this is.
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    And I would ask this group to think about
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    what God has called us to be in truth. In truth.
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    There's another group that I would refer to
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    as the fire BT Group.
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    And this group is waiting for us to make the decision
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    that they tell us should happen.
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    And I would respectfully ask this group
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    to love the grace that Jesus has called us to,
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    because without that grace Moses, King David,
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    Paul, many others are heroes of the Bible
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    who are all flawed people.
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    None of them would be the forefathers of our faith
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    if we didn't have both truth and grace.
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    And we have lived in this tension as a board,
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    trying to find that balance between these two things
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    for the last six weeks.
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    And we are different, different as a church.
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    We're so unique.
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    We are a place for people that have given up on church
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    but haven't given up on God.
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    We are a place that will do anything short of sin
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    to draw people nearer to God.
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    We are different and we are a church that has
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    an opportunity in a divided and divisive world
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    to show what unity looks like with truth and grace.
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    We are different. We are Crossroads.
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    We are Crossroads.
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    And while we have a long, hard way to go,
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    this is the first step.
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    Today is the first step on that.
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    God wastes nothing. God wastes nothing.
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    We will come through this better and stronger
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    than we were when we came into this. We will.
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    Martin Luther King, Jr. Once said,
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    "The ultimate measure of a man
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    is not when he stands in comfort and convenience,
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    it's where he stands in moments
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    of controversy and challenge."
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    We have the chance today to show the world
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    that while we live in it, we are not of it.
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    We are unique because we have the chance to be unified.
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    It doesn't mean we agree on everything.
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    We have the chance to be unified in both truth and grace,
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    and we can go forward in love.
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    And on that note, I'd like to welcome up Brian
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    to give us his perspective.
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    - Thank you, thank you, but please don't.
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    Thank you, but thank you, please don't.
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    Thank you, but, uh, just just not appropriate
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    for what I'm going to say right now.
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    So let me first say I am sorry for the complication
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    that I brought to you all in this church.
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    And to be clear, it was me. It was me.
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    This has created tension and confusion and all of that.
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    All of that is on me.
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    Uh, my humor, uh, has been out of bounds at times,
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    as has my intensity with some staff members at times.
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    With my humor, as you all know,
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    I like to walk right up to the edge.
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    And when you right the edge, you fall off sometimes.
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    And I've fallen off the edge.
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    The inappropriate use of a riding crop
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    is just the most obvious example, and I want to, again,
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    I want to express my sincerest apologies
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    and regrets to the community member who I offended.
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    Apart from that incident, there's jokes that I've told
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    that have been inappropriate, or at least inappropriate
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    in the setting in which they were told.
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    This is, I believe,
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    what the Bible referred to as coarse jesting.
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    Apart from those things, I've had outbursts
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    that are unbecoming of a godly leader,
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    or unbecoming especially, this is what hurts me,
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    of a spiritual father to some of his spiritual children.
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    And I really regret that and that hurts.
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    That hurts me and as I've as I've hurt some others.
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    So I am, um -- I'm asking that you forgive me.
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    I'm asking that you would extend grace to me, and I'm sorry.
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    I'm really. I'm really sorry.
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    I also ask that you extend the board
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    an unbelievable amount of grace
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    and compassion and understanding.
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    This has been a horrible, horrible six weeks for them.
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    And again, they didn't do anything
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    to bring that upon themselves.
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    It was me. It was me entirely.
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    It's not -- It's not of their doing.
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    It's entirely of my doing.
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    They've been thrust into a bad situation
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    and have done their best to be honorable
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    and do what's best for the church,
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    instead of maybe what's best for me or my feelings.
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    One of the things that I've learned about revivals
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    and awakenings, which, as you know,
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    that is a thing that I'm most excited about,
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    is that people will say, "Well, confession of sin
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    is what precedes revivals and awakenings."
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    Uh, that's actually not true.
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    Confession of sin, repentance,
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    is not what precedes an awakening and revival.
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    Confession of sin, repentance is what happens
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    inside of an awakening and revival.
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    And the reason is because when you come to encounter God,
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    you come to encounter Jesus in a fresh
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    and exhilarating way.
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    Two things simultaneously happens.
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    One, you are struck by how you fall short
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    and you are struck by your own sinfulness.
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    And two, you are struck by how good He is.
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    You are struck by how loving He is
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    and His overwhelming grace.
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    And repenting and asking forgiveness is normal,
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    and you feel safe doing it
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    because you're so close to His presence.
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    This has been the most painful six weeks of my life,
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    and it's been one of the most beautiful six weeks of my life
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    because I've encountered God in ways I haven't before.
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    First time I preach at some point here,
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    I'll probably tell you about at least one of those.
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    But I have experienced Him very, very dearly,
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    and I will never regret that.
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    So I'll be doing some adequate repentance
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    and restoration here over over the months ahead
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    and doing some other things.
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    I'm going to come back. I'm going to come back,
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    not as not as the old BT, though God's made me who he is.
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    But I'm going to come back different
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    because God's doing a different thing in me.
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    Richard Rohr, the old Catholic priest, says of suffering,
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    he says, "Once you've suffered,
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    the old paths don't work anymore."
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    Anybody in here who suffered, you know what I'm talking about.
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    Things just - things just are a bit different for us.
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    Romans 5:3-5, we've all looked at during The Journey
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    and just remind us suffering produces perseverance.
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    Perseverance produces character,
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    and character produces hope.
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    The next verse is this:
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    And hope does not lead us to shame,
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    because God has poured out His love into our hearts
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    through the Holy Spirit who has given us.
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    That's what the beautiful relationship with Jesus is,
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    no shame, love poured out in us
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    and the Holy Spirit's pushing us forward.
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    So that's all I have for you today.
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    I'm sorry again for all the chaos. I'm sorry.
  • 00:26:31
    I'm thankful for your steadfastness
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    and your faithfulness and your friendliness.
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    And, um, I love you all very much. [applause]
  • 00:26:49
    - Would you pray with me, please.
  • 00:26:51
    God, count us in. Count us in, God.
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    We know that You love us unconditionally,
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    that You chase after us even though we're imperfect,
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    even though that You know we're going to make mistakes,
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    God, you bring us back to You.
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    As we draw near to You, You draw near to us.
  • 00:27:08
    God, we're just so thankful for today,
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    for this redemption that we're witnessing.
  • 00:27:12
    God, we're thankful that You want to restore the unity
  • 00:27:16
    of this place through Your amazing truth and grace.
  • 00:27:18
    We're just so thankful for that gift.
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    We're thankful for the love, the grace, and the mercy
  • 00:27:23
    that You pour on each one of us every day.
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    God, we love You and we thank You for loving us.
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    And it's in Your Son's name I pray. Amen.
  • 00:27:29
    - Amen.
  • 00:27:34
    - Hey buddy. - Love you.
  • 00:27:35
    - Love you too. - Good job.
  • 00:27:39
    - You know, 21 years ago, I was living 500 miles away
  • 00:27:46
    from Crossroads in the middle of the Bible Belt.
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    Lots of great churches all around me
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    preaching the message of Jesus, but not in a language
  • 00:27:54
    that I could actually understand.
  • 00:27:57
    And then my parents found Crossroads
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    and they would mail me the messages
  • 00:28:02
    on these things called CDs. They were --
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    You can find them in museums, just --
  • 00:28:09
    And I would listen to these messages that made sense to me.
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    I heard the message of Jesus in a language that made sense,
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    that I understood, and more than that,
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    I saw a church that was committed
  • 00:28:21
    to take that message outside the walls.
  • 00:28:24
    It wasn't just like talk. It was walk.
  • 00:28:27
    It wasn't just listen. It was do something about it.
  • 00:28:32
    So do you want to know where do we go from here?
  • 00:28:34
    You know what happens next?
  • 00:28:37
    Well, I'll tell you what happens next.
  • 00:28:39
    What happens next is we do what we've always done:
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    We preach the message of Jesus
  • 00:28:44
    in a language you can understand,
  • 00:28:46
    and we roll up our sleeves and we get to work.
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    That's what we're going to do.
  • 00:28:51
    And more on the roll up your sleeves part.
  • 00:28:53
    I want you to welcome back to stage,
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    back by popular demand.
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    He might make us dance today, I don't know. Chuck Mingo.
  • 00:29:04
    - Love you, man, I love you.
  • 00:29:07
    Oh, man. Hey, I just want to add a couple of things.
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    One, I am so thankful for Kyle Ranson. I am so thankful.
  • 00:29:15
    Guys, we have a faithful, prayerful,
  • 00:29:18
    spirit led leader in Kyle and God's got our church.
  • 00:29:22
    God's got our church and I have such peace about that.
  • 00:29:24
    I really, really do. And I hope you do as well.
  • 00:29:26
    And God is still moving in our church.
  • 00:29:28
    I hope you didn't miss it, 675 people got baptized
  • 00:29:32
    last weekend on Easter. Unbelievable.
  • 00:29:36
    Which by the way, we did have a party.
  • 00:29:39
    It was a party, especially this service.
  • 00:29:40
    We had a party last Easter.
  • 00:29:42
    People were like, "Hey Chuck,
  • 00:29:43
    how are you doing after the Easter service?"
  • 00:29:45
    And I said, "Tired is how I'm doing. I'm tired."
  • 00:29:47
    So I slept for two days.
  • 00:29:48
    I was trying to simulate Jesus in the tomb, you know?
  • 00:29:51
    And I came out on the third day and I'm really excited
  • 00:29:54
    to kick off this series today and talk about
  • 00:29:56
    something that's core to the DNA of our church.
  • 00:29:59
    Let's pray. God, I thank You for Your goodness.
  • 00:30:02
    I thank You that You are the perfect blend
  • 00:30:05
    of grace and truth, and I thank You that
  • 00:30:07
    You continue to work in and through Your people.
  • 00:30:11
    And God, that means us. That means us.
  • 00:30:13
    And so I pray today that we would hear the clarion call
  • 00:30:17
    of Your Holy Spirit to be and do the things
  • 00:30:20
    that we have always been and done,
  • 00:30:22
    not because we have great plans, but because
  • 00:30:25
    this is just the DNA of Your church,
  • 00:30:27
    and it's the DNA of this church.
  • 00:30:28
    So, God, I pray that you would speak to our hearts today
  • 00:30:30
    and move us to action. In Jesus's name, Amen. Amen.
  • 00:30:35
    We are in a new series. We're kicking it off today.
  • 00:30:37
    It's called Future You.
  • 00:30:38
    And the series is really asking this question:
  • 00:30:41
    what are the things that you can do today,
  • 00:30:43
    maybe hard, maybe challenging, but they're rich
  • 00:30:46
    and they're going to produce a better future you tomorrow,
  • 00:30:49
    your future you is going to be thankful for it.
  • 00:30:51
    And today we're getting at something
  • 00:30:52
    that is the heart of Crossroads, the heart of our DNA.
  • 00:30:55
    I put it to you this way. Here's the big idea.
  • 00:30:57
    We are a church that shows up.
  • 00:30:59
    Crossroads has always been, and we will always be
  • 00:31:02
    a church that shows up.
  • 00:31:03
    Because when we do, we find God and we find meaning.
  • 00:31:08
    That is who we have been and that is who we will always be.
  • 00:31:11
    I want to just ask you, have you ever asked this question:
  • 00:31:15
    Is my life adding up to something?
  • 00:31:18
    I think we all ask that question in different ways.
  • 00:31:21
    I'm not meaning is our life adding up to being busy?
  • 00:31:23
    How many people are busy?
  • 00:31:24
    Yeah, our lives add up to busy all the time, right?
  • 00:31:27
    I'm not even talking about successful,
  • 00:31:29
    although it's great to have a successful life.
  • 00:31:31
    But I think underneath success there is a hunger
  • 00:31:34
    for something deeper, a hunger for meaning.
  • 00:31:38
    Is my life meaningful?
  • 00:31:40
    Am I doing the things that make for a meaningful life?
  • 00:31:44
    Viktor Frankl wrote a book and its title is right on this.
  • 00:31:47
    It says it's man's search for meaning,
  • 00:31:49
    power of him writing that from a place of suffering
  • 00:31:52
    having dealt with the Holocaust.
  • 00:31:54
    It is a really eye opening book to read,
  • 00:31:56
    but I think he gets at the core that all of us have.
  • 00:31:59
    So every week in this series, we're going to be
  • 00:32:01
    looking at what makes for a meaningful life?
  • 00:32:03
    How do you structure relationships
  • 00:32:04
    to have meaningful relationships?
  • 00:32:06
    How do you think about your relationship to time
  • 00:32:08
    and resources in a way that creates a meaningful life?
  • 00:32:11
    What about your spiritual growth?
  • 00:32:12
    How do you approach that in a way
  • 00:32:14
    that creates a meaningful life?
  • 00:32:15
    Because by every indication, we're starving for meaning.
  • 00:32:19
    We're hungry for meaning as a people.
  • 00:32:22
    I came across an article and the first thing
  • 00:32:24
    that struck me was the title, which is:
  • 00:32:26
    Beyond Work, Scroll and Repeat. Ouch.
  • 00:32:30
    And this is what it said, this is in reference to Gen Z.
  • 00:32:32
    It said over half of young adults,
  • 00:32:34
    58% said they had experienced little
  • 00:32:37
    or no purpose or meaning in their lives, 58%.
  • 00:32:42
    Despite all the resources, despite all the opportunity,
  • 00:32:46
    despite all the things that are true in our world,
  • 00:32:48
    there is this hunger for meaning.
  • 00:32:51
    I think we're seeing that in the younger generation,
  • 00:32:53
    but I also don't think it's just a Gen Z thing.
  • 00:32:55
    I'm a Gen Xer. Any Gen Xers in the house?
  • 00:32:57
    Yes, that's right, that's right.
  • 00:32:59
    Gen Xers. Baby boomers in the house, right?
  • 00:33:02
    Yes, yes, I think we experienced this too.
  • 00:33:05
    You know, as a Gen Xer, I have friends
  • 00:33:07
    who are obviously baby boomers as well.
  • 00:33:09
    I've got a lot of friends that are kind of
  • 00:33:11
    like considering a second act in their life,
  • 00:33:14
    or they're actually moving into kind of
  • 00:33:16
    the key position that they've been working for.
  • 00:33:18
    Or maybe some of my older friends who are retiring.
  • 00:33:20
    And I think they're asking the same question.
  • 00:33:22
    They're like, hey, is my life meaningful?
  • 00:33:24
    I've been traveling, I've been grinding it out.
  • 00:33:27
    I've been working for these promotions
  • 00:33:28
    for the last 20 years.
  • 00:33:29
    I've been leaving my family every week
  • 00:33:31
    because this is what I'm doing to provide for them.
  • 00:33:33
    And I'm asking the question
  • 00:33:35
    is my life adding up to something?
  • 00:33:37
    I think we are all hungry for meaning.
  • 00:33:40
    Here's the thing, we don't have trouble filling our lives,
  • 00:33:45
    but it's easy to live a life that does not fill our souls.
  • 00:33:49
    And this was a distinctive of the early church.
  • 00:33:53
    They were people living incredibly meaningful lives.
  • 00:33:56
    The celebration of the resurrection was real for them.
  • 00:33:59
    And these people who were towering in a room --
  • 00:34:01
    Cowering in a room, I should say, afraid of everything.
  • 00:34:04
    Once Jesus broke the tomb and they realized
  • 00:34:07
    the resurrection was real, they became on fire.
  • 00:34:10
    These are people who were making a difference
  • 00:34:12
    in the world around them.
  • 00:34:13
    And the thing I love about the early church
  • 00:34:15
    is they didn't just believe something,
  • 00:34:16
    they became something.
  • 00:34:18
    They became a group of people who served others.
  • 00:34:21
    Look at how this plays out in Acts 2.
  • 00:34:23
    This is an early account of the church soon after Jesus left.
  • 00:34:27
    And it says: And they devoted themselves
  • 00:34:28
    to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship,
  • 00:34:31
    to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
  • 00:34:33
    And awe came upon every soul,
  • 00:34:35
    and many wonders and signs were being done
  • 00:34:37
    through the apostles.
  • 00:34:38
    Unless we think these apostles are, you know,
  • 00:34:40
    50 plus people who are kind of like seasoned,
  • 00:34:42
    you know, these are 20 to 30 year old guys.
  • 00:34:45
    John we believe was 18 when Jesus was resurrected.
  • 00:34:47
    So these are young people.
  • 00:34:49
    And what happened? It says that
  • 00:34:50
    all who believe were together
  • 00:34:51
    and had all things in common,
  • 00:34:53
    and they were selling their possessions
  • 00:34:55
    and belongings and distributing the proceeds
  • 00:34:56
    to all as any had need and day by day
  • 00:34:59
    attending the temple together
  • 00:35:00
    and breaking bread in their homes,
  • 00:35:02
    they received their food with glad and generous hearts,
  • 00:35:05
    praising God. And listen to this:
  • 00:35:06
    Having favor with all the people
  • 00:35:08
    because they weren't just blessing people
  • 00:35:10
    who were in their crew,
  • 00:35:11
    they were blessing the people around them.
  • 00:35:13
    And the Lord added to their number day by day
  • 00:35:16
    those who were being saved.
  • 00:35:17
    What was the early church known for?
  • 00:35:19
    They were rooted in Jesus and in the power of the Spirit.
  • 00:35:24
    They were relational with each other
  • 00:35:26
    in a way that the world had never seen.
  • 00:35:28
    And they were radically generous.
  • 00:35:30
    And that has always been and always will be
  • 00:35:33
    part of the DNA of people who follow Jesus.
  • 00:35:36
    Even the people who didn't like the church
  • 00:35:39
    had to give them props for the way they lived their lives.
  • 00:35:42
    Give you three examples of this.
  • 00:35:43
    One is Tertullian.
  • 00:35:45
    He himself was a North African Christian,
  • 00:35:47
    but he was talking about how people in Rome
  • 00:35:49
    talked about the early church.
  • 00:35:50
    They would say, see how they love one another
  • 00:35:53
    and how they are ready to die for each other.
  • 00:35:56
    That was not common behavior back then,
  • 00:35:58
    and yet this group of people lived differently.
  • 00:36:01
    And even the haters had to see it and recognize it.
  • 00:36:04
    Here's another hater, Lucian of Samosata.
  • 00:36:06
    He was a satirist. He mocked the church.
  • 00:36:08
    He mocked Christians. But even he said this:
  • 00:36:11
    It becomes incredible to see their enthusiasm
  • 00:36:15
    for the care of their poor and their burial of the dead.
  • 00:36:18
    What he's saying is they have a dignity
  • 00:36:22
    that they give and confer to every human being,
  • 00:36:24
    and nobody else is doing that.
  • 00:36:26
    This is unique.
  • 00:36:27
    Give you one more. Julian the Apostate.
  • 00:36:30
    Not a fan of the church, was actually trying
  • 00:36:32
    to create something that would be counter to the church.
  • 00:36:34
    But even he said the impious Galileans
  • 00:36:37
    support not only their own poor, but ours as well.
  • 00:36:42
    So early in the DNA of the church was this idea
  • 00:36:44
    that meaning is found by serving others.
  • 00:36:47
    Getting outside of ourselves is part of how we're wired
  • 00:36:50
    as people who follow Jesus.
  • 00:36:52
    This is part of the DNA of the church,
  • 00:36:54
    and it's a part of the DNA of Crossroads.
  • 00:36:56
    Let me share a couple stories with you just to help you
  • 00:36:58
    understand how this connects to our church.
  • 00:37:01
    One is, you may not know that Crossroads,
  • 00:37:04
    about 20 years ago, augmented our mission statement
  • 00:37:07
    because of this profound insight.
  • 00:37:09
    When I first started coming to Crossroads,
  • 00:37:11
    and some of you are here,
  • 00:37:12
    you've been here even longer than me.
  • 00:37:14
    You remember our mission statement was:
  • 00:37:15
    connecting seekers to a community
  • 00:37:17
    of growing Christ followers.
  • 00:37:19
    That was our mission statement
  • 00:37:21
    early in the time of Crossroads very laser focused
  • 00:37:24
    on the fact that there hadn't been a church
  • 00:37:26
    started in the Hyde Park area in Cincinnati
  • 00:37:28
    here in about 40 years, and that there were people,
  • 00:37:30
    as you heard Kirk Perry say,
  • 00:37:32
    who had given up on church
  • 00:37:33
    but may not have given up on God.
  • 00:37:35
    And so we were laser like focused in creating a place
  • 00:37:37
    where they could hear about Jesus
  • 00:37:38
    in a language they can understand
  • 00:37:40
    and grow in their faith to have an impact.
  • 00:37:42
    That's always been what we're about,
  • 00:37:44
    and we are still about that.
  • 00:37:45
    And yet, about 20 years ago, we realized that
  • 00:37:49
    when we looked at the stories of how God
  • 00:37:51
    was growing those Christ followers,
  • 00:37:53
    as we looked at the stories of how He was giving us
  • 00:37:55
    an opportunity to make a difference,
  • 00:37:57
    it was always about stepping outside of ourselves.
  • 00:38:00
    And once we realized that, we actually said,
  • 00:38:02
    "No, this is actually has to be part of our mission."
  • 00:38:04
    So we changed our mission to what it is today:
  • 00:38:07
    Connecting seekers to a community
  • 00:38:08
    of growing Christ followers, still there,
  • 00:38:10
    but who are changing the world.
  • 00:38:12
    Because this is such a part of who we are.
  • 00:38:15
    Another story early in the life of Crossroads,
  • 00:38:17
    this idea of giving outside of ourselves,
  • 00:38:20
    going beyond ourselves, making a difference
  • 00:38:23
    in our community was really something
  • 00:38:25
    that was at the heart and on the hearts
  • 00:38:26
    of the early leaders of our church.
  • 00:38:28
    Such to the point that even though we were
  • 00:38:30
    a small startup church, that really needed
  • 00:38:32
    to think about how you get your resources
  • 00:38:34
    and just make the thing go.
  • 00:38:35
    They said, we want to be generous outside of ourselves.
  • 00:38:38
    So they tasked the guy named Steve Andrew,
  • 00:38:40
    still a part of our church today and said,
  • 00:38:42
    "Steve, why don't you go and vet who are places
  • 00:38:44
    in the city that are doing great work
  • 00:38:46
    to meet the needs in our city,
  • 00:38:47
    and who might we come alongside and support?"
  • 00:38:49
    Steve Andrew came back and said, "Hey,
  • 00:38:51
    there's a great organization that we can help
  • 00:38:53
    called City Gospel Mission," still in existence today.
  • 00:38:56
    And if you're in the Cincinnati area,
  • 00:38:57
    you know the blessing that City Gospel is,
  • 00:38:59
    the work they do with people who are homeless
  • 00:39:01
    in our community and helping people come out of addiction,
  • 00:39:04
    some other amazing experiences and programs
  • 00:39:06
    they do for kids, all kinds of things.
  • 00:39:07
    And so Crossroads, early in its formation, said,
  • 00:39:11
    "We're going to give a significant gift
  • 00:39:13
    to City Gospel Mission, $100,000."
  • 00:39:16
    And that was at a time when we were a small startup church.
  • 00:39:19
    So it wasn't like they had this check in the bank
  • 00:39:21
    and they could just write it.
  • 00:39:22
    This was a step out in faith of saying, "God,
  • 00:39:24
    we're trusting You because this seems to be what You do.
  • 00:39:27
    You call us to go outside of ourselves."
  • 00:39:29
    So we made that commitment,
  • 00:39:31
    got a letter within a couple of weeks, I think,
  • 00:39:33
    from City Gospel saying,
  • 00:39:34
    "Because of the size of your gift,
  • 00:39:36
    you're our number one supporter."
  • 00:39:37
    Now, this small startup church, number one supporter.
  • 00:39:42
    The very next Sunday, Crossroads had service.
  • 00:39:46
    And back in the day we used to actually
  • 00:39:48
    take up an offering in service.
  • 00:39:49
    I know we don't do this anymore.
  • 00:39:51
    Do you guys remember this?
  • 00:39:52
    There were like these disc things
  • 00:39:53
    and we would pass them all through the aisles.
  • 00:39:56
    People would put paper money in it.
  • 00:39:58
    They sometimes would put these things called checks in it.
  • 00:40:01
    Do you even know what a check is?
  • 00:40:02
    I mean, I know this is like so ancient.
  • 00:40:04
    That very next Sunday in the offering,
  • 00:40:09
    someone anonymously gave a $100,000 check to Crossroads.
  • 00:40:14
    It's amazing. It's amazing.
  • 00:40:16
    And it was the symbol, really, I believe God saying,
  • 00:40:18
    "Hey, you will never out give Me.
  • 00:40:21
    If I call you to go outside yourself,
  • 00:40:23
    I am going to show up in a powerful way."
  • 00:40:25
    And God has done that.
  • 00:40:26
    Well, to celebrate that, Brian Wells,
  • 00:40:29
    who's on our board and was on the staff at the time,
  • 00:40:31
    gave everybody on staff 100 Grand bar.
  • 00:40:34
    It was kind of like this moment to mark 100 Grand bar.
  • 00:40:37
    And this is actually the picture
  • 00:40:39
    of his actual 100 grand bar from all of those years ago.
  • 00:40:42
    Now you'll notice there's no chocolate in it anymore.
  • 00:40:45
    So I said, "Brian, what happened to the chocolate bar?"
  • 00:40:47
    And he said, "Well, Chuck, I'll be honest with you,
  • 00:40:49
    there was a day when I was working,
  • 00:40:51
    I was really, really hungry and that 100 Grand bar
  • 00:40:54
    was looking really attractive.
  • 00:40:55
    So that's why there's actually no chocolate in there."
  • 00:40:58
    But just to celebrate God's faithfulness,
  • 00:41:00
    I thought I'd bring some 100 Grand bars with me today.
  • 00:41:03
    You know, this is the time where you might need
  • 00:41:05
    a little mid-service pick me up.
  • 00:41:06
    So, ma'am, I see your hand out. There's one for you.
  • 00:41:09
    Andy, my friend. I see there's one for you.
  • 00:41:11
    I see you, I'm throwing it to you, buddy. You got it.
  • 00:41:13
    Good work, good work. Would you like one?
  • 00:41:14
    There you go. I got to come on this side
  • 00:41:16
    and show some love, Imma gonna show some love over there.
  • 00:41:18
    All right. Good duck, lady. Good duck, by the way.
  • 00:41:21
    That was good. You box? Man, that was like,
  • 00:41:25
    that was a heck of a dip there.
  • 00:41:27
    And yes, enjoy those.
  • 00:41:28
    But I also want that to be a symbol for us
  • 00:41:31
    that God is faithful. He will always show up.
  • 00:41:34
    And when we step outside of ourselves,
  • 00:41:36
    we're part of the story of how God does that.
  • 00:41:38
    Guys, this is your story.
  • 00:41:40
    Do you know that over the last 20 years
  • 00:41:42
    of stepping out and serving our community,
  • 00:41:44
    this is just loving our neighbors here around
  • 00:41:46
    our cities that we're in, 88,000 of you
  • 00:41:49
    have invested 530,000 service hours
  • 00:41:52
    blessing and loving this community.
  • 00:41:54
    It's amazing. It's amazing.
  • 00:41:56
    So this is a part of who we are as a church,
  • 00:41:59
    and it always will be.
  • 00:42:01
    So those are some church stories,
  • 00:42:02
    but I want to share some of my stories
  • 00:42:04
    because I've got some stories on this
  • 00:42:06
    being a part of this community.
  • 00:42:07
    In 2007, my wife and I were a part of a mission trip
  • 00:42:11
    to a place called Mamelodi, South Africa.
  • 00:42:14
    300 people from Crossroads went over to South Africa.
  • 00:42:18
    We were in partnership with the church over there
  • 00:42:20
    called Charity and Faith, helping to build
  • 00:42:22
    a world class Aids hospice.
  • 00:42:24
    And also being able to just come alongside
  • 00:42:27
    and serve in those communities and help the church
  • 00:42:30
    kind of be Jesus to the community right around them.
  • 00:42:32
    Well, there's some profound things
  • 00:42:33
    that happened on that trip for me.
  • 00:42:35
    The first was it was my first time
  • 00:42:38
    ever setting foot on African soil.
  • 00:42:41
    And that was a really meaningful moment for me personally.
  • 00:42:44
    I know it's hard to tell sometimes with the lights
  • 00:42:46
    and the haze, but I am black, I am black.
  • 00:42:49
    And, um, and so the idea of getting to set foot
  • 00:42:52
    on the continent of Africa had huge cultural meaning for me.
  • 00:42:56
    And we had the church from South Africa come over here,
  • 00:42:59
    and they had been a part of some things,
  • 00:43:00
    so I had gotten to meet some people.
  • 00:43:02
    When I get off the plane. I remember
  • 00:43:04
    just being hit by the heat in Africa.
  • 00:43:06
    And just like, "Man, I am here, I am here."
  • 00:43:09
    And then we went down the escalator
  • 00:43:10
    and they met us with a huge celebration.
  • 00:43:13
    They had those vuvuzelas. If you've seen those?
  • 00:43:14
    The kind of African horns they had, those.
  • 00:43:16
    It was just a huge celebration.
  • 00:43:18
    And I remember one of the guys in the group
  • 00:43:19
    who I'd met here, he pulled me to the side
  • 00:43:22
    when I came down the escalator, he looked me in the eyes
  • 00:43:25
    and said, "Brother, welcome home."
  • 00:43:28
    And it was -- I didn't even know my soul needed that.
  • 00:43:32
    Here I am going to serve, right?
  • 00:43:33
    Here I am going to make a difference.
  • 00:43:35
    And yet God met me with something
  • 00:43:37
    that I needed so powerful.
  • 00:43:39
    I'll tell you another story that happened in that time.
  • 00:43:41
    My wife and I, this is a picture of my beautiful wife,
  • 00:43:44
    Maria, and actually the woman in the middle,
  • 00:43:46
    her name is also Maria.
  • 00:43:48
    We're building a home for her behind there.
  • 00:43:50
    So this is Chuck and two Maria's in this picture.
  • 00:43:53
    And my wife and I, it was 2007.
  • 00:43:56
    We had been trying to have children,
  • 00:43:57
    have been unable to conceive
  • 00:43:58
    and we're just dealing with infertility.
  • 00:44:00
    And one of the things we've learned from our partners
  • 00:44:02
    in Africa is how to pray in faith.
  • 00:44:06
    They pray with a level of faith that inspires me.
  • 00:44:09
    And so we had a chance to be prayed for
  • 00:44:11
    by one of the mothers of the church over there.
  • 00:44:13
    And we shared with her, "Hey we've been wanting to conceive
  • 00:44:16
    and that's been a challenge for us.
  • 00:44:18
    Would you pray for us?"
  • 00:44:19
    And I remember her, you know, looking at my wife
  • 00:44:21
    and saying, "Hey, would it be okay
  • 00:44:22
    if I put my hand on your belly as I pray for you?"
  • 00:44:26
    Actually, that's not what happened at all.
  • 00:44:27
    They don't do PC over there.
  • 00:44:29
    When we asked that, she went for my wife's belly right away,
  • 00:44:32
    and she started praying this prayer of faith,
  • 00:44:34
    "In the name of Jesus, this womb will be opened.
  • 00:44:37
    There will be children in this womb."
  • 00:44:38
    She went in and, guys, that next July we had a baby.
  • 00:44:43
    That next July we had a baby and our oldest son, Nathan.
  • 00:44:47
    And I'm just telling you, I'm just telling you
  • 00:44:49
    there is something that happens when you
  • 00:44:50
    step outside of yourself, you meet God,
  • 00:44:54
    you learn, you grow, and you get to be
  • 00:44:57
    a part of the way that we serve and meet needs.
  • 00:45:00
    It's an incredible thing and we are all a part of it.
  • 00:45:04
    And as powerful as it's been,
  • 00:45:07
    when I've had a chance to go to Africa,
  • 00:45:08
    I've gone to India with our church.
  • 00:45:10
    I've gone to Haiti with our church,
  • 00:45:11
    I've gone to Puerto Rico with our church.
  • 00:45:13
    As powerful as those experiences have been,
  • 00:45:16
    some of the most powerful serving opportunities
  • 00:45:18
    I've been a part of have been far more local.
  • 00:45:21
    One happened 20 minutes from where we are right now
  • 00:45:24
    in Winton Terrace.
  • 00:45:25
    And if you're not in the Cincinnati area,
  • 00:45:26
    you may not know Winton Terrace.
  • 00:45:28
    It is a neighborhood public housing.
  • 00:45:30
    Some of the challenges that come with that
  • 00:45:32
    have been a part of the story of Winton Terrace.
  • 00:45:34
    And one of my friends in my dude group,
  • 00:45:37
    his name was Cameron, really felt called to that community.
  • 00:45:40
    He had been doing some work building relationships
  • 00:45:42
    in that community and so we do this thing called Go Day.
  • 00:45:45
    We're doing it again.
  • 00:45:46
    I'm going to invite you into that in just a few minutes.
  • 00:45:48
    We were doing this thing called Go Day in 2018,
  • 00:45:50
    and Cameron was like, "Hey, I'm doing a project
  • 00:45:52
    in Winton Terrace," and he asked the dudes
  • 00:45:53
    in the dude group, "Hey, let's do this together."
  • 00:45:55
    And it was so amazing to have the opportunity
  • 00:45:58
    to serve alongside my friends, my brothers in Christ,
  • 00:46:01
    with my two sons.
  • 00:46:03
    There is something powerful when as a father
  • 00:46:05
    you get to expose your boys to powerful men of God
  • 00:46:09
    who love Jesus, who served Jesus, and who are fun.
  • 00:46:13
    My boys had a blast that day with our friends.
  • 00:46:15
    We have this picture here.
  • 00:46:16
    It's my friend Austin helping Nathan
  • 00:46:18
    hammer something in, a stake in.
  • 00:46:20
    And you can look at Nathan's focus on his face.
  • 00:46:22
    You see how tense he was? He was like, locked in.
  • 00:46:24
    It's my friend Elliot helping him finish that job.
  • 00:46:27
    And Cameron's holding that bench for him.
  • 00:46:29
    So it's just amazing to get to be a part of that
  • 00:46:31
    with my boys.
  • 00:46:32
    It's the kind of thing that is so profound
  • 00:46:37
    when you step outside of yourself,
  • 00:46:39
    and it's something we all need.
  • 00:46:41
    I came across a quote from a guy, Gary Barkalow
  • 00:46:43
    wrote a book on calling. He said this:
  • 00:46:45
    The tragedy in life is not death;
  • 00:46:48
    it's what we allow to die within us while we still live.
  • 00:46:52
    There is something God put in you that's meant for the world.
  • 00:46:56
    There's something God has wired into you
  • 00:46:59
    that is meant for your literal neighbor.
  • 00:47:01
    There is a way that only you can serve.
  • 00:47:05
    And when you show up, you meet God and you find meaning
  • 00:47:08
    and you are a part of that story.
  • 00:47:10
    We need you to show up.
  • 00:47:12
    So three things kind of applications for all of this.
  • 00:47:15
    The first is stop running away from the need
  • 00:47:19
    and move toward a need.
  • 00:47:23
    I think it's easy for us to live drive by lives.
  • 00:47:26
    We drive by problems. We drive by challenges.
  • 00:47:29
    Our heart gets pinged for a couple seconds
  • 00:47:31
    when we read a story,
  • 00:47:32
    we know we have something to contribute,
  • 00:47:33
    but so quickly we get busy and we just drive by it.
  • 00:47:36
    We forget it.
  • 00:47:37
    And I think we are missing out because of our drive by mindset.
  • 00:47:41
    It's time to move toward a need.
  • 00:47:44
    In fact, this is a life changing thing for all of us.
  • 00:47:48
    One writer said that the average American
  • 00:47:52
    doesn't even say hello to neighbors they don't know well,
  • 00:47:56
    other than a few days, a few times a year.
  • 00:47:59
    And because of that, we have a isolation
  • 00:48:02
    and loneliness epidemic.
  • 00:48:04
    The physical effects are such that
  • 00:48:06
    it's like smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
  • 00:48:09
    So because we aren't loving our neighbor,
  • 00:48:12
    it is literally killing us and it is killing our neighbor.
  • 00:48:16
    And so it's time to move toward the need,
  • 00:48:18
    not away from the need. That's the first thing.
  • 00:48:20
    Second thing is this: stop going solo and go with the team.
  • 00:48:23
    The great thing about Go Day is
  • 00:48:24
    you don't have to show up on your own.
  • 00:48:26
    You don't have to figure out how
  • 00:48:27
    to make a difference on your own.
  • 00:48:29
    As a church, we get to rally the force that we are together.
  • 00:48:33
    That was the power of the early church.
  • 00:48:35
    It was their togetherness.
  • 00:48:36
    Did you notice in Acts 2 it says
  • 00:48:38
    they had everything in common.
  • 00:48:39
    They were sharing their possessions
  • 00:48:40
    and giving to those in need.
  • 00:48:42
    It's the power of together that makes the church
  • 00:48:46
    an amazing force for good.
  • 00:48:47
    So don't go with the team -- I'm sorry.
  • 00:48:50
    Don't go solo. Go with the team.
  • 00:48:52
    Third and final: Stop talking about it and go do it.
  • 00:48:56
    Hey, there are some messages that I give you and I say,
  • 00:48:58
    "Hey, I want to give you a minute to really pray
  • 00:49:00
    and ask God how this applies to your life."
  • 00:49:03
    This is not one of those messages.
  • 00:49:05
    This is one where it's like, hey, this applies to you.
  • 00:49:08
    If you're a part of this church, let's go, let's go.
  • 00:49:11
    Let's do this together.
  • 00:49:13
    Because when we show up, it makes a difference.
  • 00:49:16
    You know, I think one of the things that
  • 00:49:18
    we're talking about in this series is what are you doing
  • 00:49:20
    today that your future you will be thankful for?
  • 00:49:22
    I think there's a future me that's thankful
  • 00:49:24
    every time I step out and serve.
  • 00:49:25
    But here's what I also know.
  • 00:49:27
    I believe 30 years from now, my kids have
  • 00:49:31
    a higher likelihood of being part of
  • 00:49:32
    a community of followers of Jesus
  • 00:49:34
    who go outside themselves
  • 00:49:36
    because they experienced it as kids.
  • 00:49:39
    That my sons and my daughter have the opportunity
  • 00:49:42
    to be a part of this thing called the church,
  • 00:49:44
    because they've gotten to be a part of it
  • 00:49:46
    in their childhood.
  • 00:49:47
    I believe 30 years from now, there's going to be a church.
  • 00:49:51
    30 years from now, there's going to be a church of Jesus
  • 00:49:53
    that are impacting the world, unless Jesus comes back.
  • 00:49:55
    And that's a whole other message,
  • 00:49:57
    and I'm happy to give that message another time.
  • 00:49:59
    But if Jesus doesn't come back, 30 years from now
  • 00:50:01
    there's going to be another church.
  • 00:50:02
    But I think 30 years from now,
  • 00:50:04
    that church is going to be asking some questions of us.
  • 00:50:06
    They're going to say, "30 years ago,
  • 00:50:07
    was there a group of people who showed up?
  • 00:50:09
    Was there a group of people who loved when it was hard?
  • 00:50:11
    Was there a group of people who didn't have
  • 00:50:13
    a drive by mindset in the problems
  • 00:50:15
    that faced their society, but literally
  • 00:50:17
    rolled up their sleeves and loved their neighbors?"
  • 00:50:19
    And I don't know about you, actually I do.
  • 00:50:21
    I think we want to be a church that shows up, am I right?
  • 00:50:24
    I think we want to be that church.
  • 00:50:29
    You know why? Because Jesus shows up.
  • 00:50:32
    Jesus showed up.
  • 00:50:33
    In John it says that the Word, Jesus, became flesh
  • 00:50:37
    and dwelt among us.
  • 00:50:38
    I love how one person paraphrased that.
  • 00:50:41
    They said the word became flesh
  • 00:50:43
    and moved into the neighborhood.
  • 00:50:45
    Jesus moves into your neighborhood.
  • 00:50:47
    He moves into your situation.
  • 00:50:49
    Jesus is not a drive by God.
  • 00:50:51
    He's a God that comes up close and personal,
  • 00:50:54
    rolls up His sleeves and says, "I am here to serve you."
  • 00:50:58
    Jesus serves. And guess what? So do His people. We serve.
  • 00:51:03
    You know, I think we had a really profound moment
  • 00:51:07
    that was a shared opportunity for us
  • 00:51:08
    to just get some perspective this week.
  • 00:51:10
    Am I the only one that really enjoyed
  • 00:51:12
    all the Artemis II footage and the experience
  • 00:51:14
    that those astronauts were having?
  • 00:51:16
    It was really, really awesome.
  • 00:51:18
    And I don't know if you heard this or not, but on Easter,
  • 00:51:21
    we got a message from four humans
  • 00:51:23
    that were 250,000 miles away from earth.
  • 00:51:27
    And it was a powerful point of perspective
  • 00:51:29
    that I want to share with you. Take a look.
  • 00:51:32
    - I think these observances are important,
  • 00:51:34
    and as we are so far from earth and looking back at,
  • 00:51:38
    you know, the beauty of creation,
  • 00:51:40
    I think that for me, one of the really important
  • 00:51:42
    personal perspectives that I have up here
  • 00:51:45
    is I can really see earth as one thing.
  • 00:51:48
    And, you know, when I read the Bible
  • 00:51:49
    and I look at all of the amazing things
  • 00:51:51
    that were done for us who were created.
  • 00:51:54
    It's you have this amazing place, this spaceship.
  • 00:51:58
    You guys are talking to us because we're in a spaceship
  • 00:52:00
    really far from earth.
  • 00:52:01
    But you're on a spaceship called earth
  • 00:52:04
    that was created to give us a place to live
  • 00:52:06
    in the universe and the cosmos.
  • 00:52:08
    I think maybe the distance we are from you
  • 00:52:11
    makes you think what we're doing is special.
  • 00:52:13
    But we're the same distance from you.
  • 00:52:14
    And I'm trying to tell you, just trust me, you are special.
  • 00:52:17
    In all of this emptiness,
  • 00:52:19
    this is a whole bunch of nothing,
  • 00:52:20
    this thing we call the universe.
  • 00:52:22
    You have this oasis, this beautiful place
  • 00:52:24
    that we get to exist together.
  • 00:52:27
    I think as we go into Easter Sunday, thinking about,
  • 00:52:30
    you know, all the cultures all around the world,
  • 00:52:32
    whether you celebrate it or not,
  • 00:52:33
    whether you believe in God or not,
  • 00:52:35
    this is an opportunity for us to remember where we are,
  • 00:52:39
    who we are, and that we are the same thing,
  • 00:52:41
    and that we got to get through this together.
  • 00:52:45
    - Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. [applause]
  • 00:52:51
    What a perspective.
  • 00:52:52
    What a perspective that from 250,000 miles away
  • 00:52:56
    what is abundantly clear and true
  • 00:52:59
    is that we are the same. We are one.
  • 00:53:03
    There's an African concept called Ubuntu.
  • 00:53:06
    And what it means is I am because we are.
  • 00:53:09
    And you know what? That's true for the church.
  • 00:53:12
    What Jesus came to shape and form is a family.
  • 00:53:16
    He came to reconcile all of the people
  • 00:53:18
    who are different into one family,
  • 00:53:20
    not just so that the family would enjoy
  • 00:53:23
    their own experience together,
  • 00:53:25
    but that they would be radically generous
  • 00:53:26
    and invite people everywhere to say,
  • 00:53:28
    "There is a place for you with the family of God."
  • 00:53:30
    And one of the ways we do that practically
  • 00:53:32
    is when we show up and we serve our neighbors.
  • 00:53:35
    So I have a call to action for you today because
  • 00:53:38
    I believe May 16th is a moment for us to show up as a church.
  • 00:53:42
    So I want you to take out your phone right now,
  • 00:53:44
    and I want to talk to you about Go Day.
  • 00:53:46
    Go Day is coming up on May 16th.
  • 00:53:47
    This is an opportunity that we have as a church,
  • 00:53:50
    literally thousands of us, to do a day long service project.
  • 00:53:54
    It just communicates to our neighbors
  • 00:53:55
    that the people of God are still here.
  • 00:53:58
    We're unified, we love you, and we want to serve you.
  • 00:54:01
    So here's what I'm going to ask you to do.
  • 00:54:03
    I want you to go to your calendar app,
  • 00:54:04
    whatever that is for you on your phone.
  • 00:54:06
    And I want you to look at May 16th, look at May 16th.
  • 00:54:10
    And if you're May 16th is like mine,
  • 00:54:12
    there's already something there, right?
  • 00:54:15
    I know you guys are busy people,
  • 00:54:16
    but here's what I'm going to ask you to do.
  • 00:54:18
    I'm going to ask you to make a new appointment
  • 00:54:21
    from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 16th.
  • 00:54:23
    I want you to make an appointment and call it Go Day.
  • 00:54:27
    Go Day, because here's what I'm inviting you to,
  • 00:54:29
    here's what I'm challenging you to.
  • 00:54:30
    Unless you're getting married that day
  • 00:54:34
    or you're at a wedding that day,
  • 00:54:37
    I think that lots of us have the flexibility to say,
  • 00:54:40
    "You know what? I can move some things around and show up."
  • 00:54:44
    And man, what would it mean to our communities
  • 00:54:46
    in Cincinnati and Lexington and Dayton
  • 00:54:48
    and Columbus all over if we show up in force
  • 00:54:52
    and say, "Hey, the church of Jesus is here,
  • 00:54:54
    we love you and we're for you"?
  • 00:54:55
    So I'm inviting you to do that.
  • 00:54:57
    I'm inviting you to do that. Clear your calendar.
  • 00:54:59
    I had to change some stuff. I had to adjust some things.
  • 00:55:02
    But I'm doing that because I want to show up with all of you.
  • 00:55:05
    So here's what I want you to do, stay in your seats.
  • 00:55:07
    Because in a moment, you're going to get to hear from
  • 00:55:10
    one of the many partners that we partner with on Go Day.
  • 00:55:12
    I think it's going to inspire you and encourage you.
  • 00:55:14
    Wherever you are, it's your local context
  • 00:55:16
    and your local site, in a moment,
  • 00:55:17
    you're going to hear from a partner
  • 00:55:19
    that's doing great work to change the world
  • 00:55:22
    and love your neighbors.
  • 00:55:23
    And I can't wait for you to hear that.
  • 00:55:24
    Before we do that, we're going to watch a video
  • 00:55:27
    and I want to give you one more scripture.
  • 00:55:29
    It's Matthew 10:8 where Jesus simply says:
  • 00:55:32
    Freely you have received, freely give.
  • 00:55:35
    That's what this is all about.
  • 00:55:37
    It's an opportunity for us to realize
  • 00:55:38
    that we have received, and because of that,
  • 00:55:42
    we get to give it away.
  • 00:55:43
    You're going to watch a video, and as you watch it,
  • 00:55:45
    I want you to ask yourself, how might you be like
  • 00:55:48
    the kid in this video who is showing up to serve on May 16th?
  • 00:55:52
    Or is there someone in your life, a widow,
  • 00:55:56
    or someone who is struggling that you might be able
  • 00:55:58
    to show up for on May 16th?
  • 00:56:00
    Because when we do, when we show up,
  • 00:56:03
    we find God and we find meaning.
  • 00:56:26
    [music: Fleetwood Mac, Landslide]
  • 00:58:51
    - Yes. What can happen when we show up?
  • 00:58:54
    Apparently, Fleetwood Mac will play
  • 00:58:56
    and strangers will become familys
  • 00:58:58
    and neighbors will become friends. It's a beautiful thing.
  • 00:59:01
    Hey, my name is Andy Reider.
  • 00:59:02
    I'm the community pastor for Crossroads Anywhere.
  • 00:59:05
    So that's the part of our church
  • 00:59:07
    who doesn't live near a physical site or,
  • 00:59:09
    hey all of you, when your kids are sick.
  • 00:59:11
    So it's great to be with you in person.
  • 00:59:13
    I want to talk a little bit about Go Day
  • 00:59:16
    and about what you just saw in that video.
  • 00:59:19
    You know, the song we just heard,
  • 00:59:20
    the song we just heard came out 50 years ago
  • 00:59:23
    and is somehow back on the top 100 list.
  • 00:59:25
    Have you guys heard this? It's crazy. It's crazy.
  • 00:59:27
    I am somehow too old and too young
  • 00:59:30
    for Fleetwood Mac at the same time.
  • 00:59:32
    Now, while I'm not a huge, huge Fleetwood Mac fan,
  • 00:59:35
    I am a huge fan of Go Day because I remember,
  • 00:59:39
    I remember being new at Crossroads,
  • 00:59:41
    sort of walking in and being overwhelmed
  • 00:59:43
    and then hearing about all of the different ways
  • 00:59:45
    this church takes a step towards people to serve them
  • 00:59:48
    and to bless them wherever they are,
  • 00:59:50
    whether that's work in prisons,
  • 00:59:51
    whether that's simple serve projects,
  • 00:59:53
    whether that's Go projects or Go trips around the world
  • 00:59:56
    and countless others.
  • 00:59:57
    Man, this is a community that goes towards people
  • 01:00:01
    and runs towards a need.
  • 01:00:03
    This isn't a new thing. It's who we've always been.
  • 01:00:05
    And some of that work for Go Day on May 16th
  • 01:00:08
    is going to happen in your neighborhoods.
  • 01:00:10
    If you're a part of our Anywhere Community,
  • 01:00:12
    you'll be hosting projects where you are
  • 01:00:14
    from Orlando to Bolivia and great stuff.
  • 01:00:17
    Hey, shout out to Dita and Nilla in La Paz.
  • 01:00:20
    Great to have you guys,
  • 01:00:22
    so excited for your projects coming up.
  • 01:00:23
    But for the rest of us, if your work is happening
  • 01:00:26
    at a physical site, most of them will be happening
  • 01:00:28
    through incredible partner organizations
  • 01:00:30
    that we work with year round.
  • 01:00:32
    So if you would, I actually want to introduce you
  • 01:00:34
    to one of those amazing partners right now.
  • 01:00:37
    Please help me welcome up, JohnMark Oudersluys
  • 01:00:39
    from the Citylink Center. What's up, brother?
  • 01:00:45
    - Thanks, Andy.
  • 01:00:46
    - Hey, JohnMark, you are the CEO of the Citylink Center,
  • 01:00:50
    but we might have new folks or people
  • 01:00:52
    who've heard about Citylink but don't know what it is
  • 01:00:54
    and what work you guys do.
  • 01:00:55
    Will you just fill us in on what you guys do?
  • 01:00:58
    - Great. So a lot of times we reflect on what does --
  • 01:01:03
    What breaks God's heart and then what are we called to do?
  • 01:01:06
    And so years ago, this church and a group of partners
  • 01:01:09
    were looking at our city and realizing that
  • 01:01:12
    a third of adults and almost half of our kids
  • 01:01:14
    in our community are born into poverty,
  • 01:01:17
    and that comes with tremendous hardship.
  • 01:01:19
    And we believe that talent is universal,
  • 01:01:22
    but opportunity is not.
  • 01:01:24
    So we had to ask the question of what could we do
  • 01:01:27
    and what could we do as a church in a big way
  • 01:01:29
    to address this issue.
  • 01:01:30
    And so the group of people started and started a movement,
  • 01:01:34
    and it grew and it grew and came to the realization
  • 01:01:37
    that we could create a center that was actually built
  • 01:01:40
    for people where they could walk through one set of doors,
  • 01:01:44
    get surrounded by incredible groups of partners,
  • 01:01:46
    all focused on helping them achieve their goals
  • 01:01:49
    and move their lives forward.
  • 01:01:50
    So what that looks like is a huge building
  • 01:01:53
    that was created where our neighbors,
  • 01:01:55
    hundreds a year now walk through.
  • 01:01:58
    They do the hard work, but they're met by volunteers
  • 01:02:00
    filled with love and compassion.
  • 01:02:02
    They get matched with a service coordinator
  • 01:02:04
    who's their guide, who hears where they are,
  • 01:02:07
    hears what their aspirations are,
  • 01:02:09
    and then matches them with incredible partners
  • 01:02:11
    as they pursue life change in our own city.
  • 01:02:15
    - That's so good.
  • 01:02:16
    You know, practically what this looks like i
  • 01:02:18
    s there are incredible organizations,
  • 01:02:19
    incredible services all over the city
  • 01:02:22
    and all over the map, literally.
  • 01:02:24
    But you know who has the hardest time
  • 01:02:25
    getting from place to place to place to place,
  • 01:02:28
    to navigate all of these services?
  • 01:02:30
    People struggling with poverty,
  • 01:02:31
    people struggling with basic transportation,
  • 01:02:33
    getting their basic needs met.
  • 01:02:35
    Citylink takes all of those things
  • 01:02:37
    and puts them under one roof, and then pairs that
  • 01:02:39
    with relationship with people that can advocate
  • 01:02:42
    and connect and walk with people through a process.
  • 01:02:44
    It is so good. Okay, so that's 10,000 feet. That's high level.
  • 01:02:48
    Tell us what, like, give us some stories.
  • 01:02:50
    Tell us like what it looks like at the ground level
  • 01:02:52
    for the people that are experiencing this?
  • 01:02:54
    - Yeah. We are incredibly honored that
  • 01:02:58
    hundreds of our neighbors,
  • 01:02:59
    many people who are a part of our community
  • 01:03:01
    choose to walk through our doors to transform their lives.
  • 01:03:04
    And that looks like individuals who are
  • 01:03:07
    seeking new opportunities, new careers.
  • 01:03:09
    I'm thinking about a veteran who recently
  • 01:03:10
    walked through our doors, and when he came in,
  • 01:03:13
    he said, "I'm just tired of being told no."
  • 01:03:16
    And so he entered Habitat's construction training program,
  • 01:03:19
    worked with smart money in order to get
  • 01:03:21
    a control of his finances,
  • 01:03:22
    bought a car through Changing Gears, secured housing.
  • 01:03:26
    So he entered as somebody who had all the potential
  • 01:03:28
    and was willing to do the hard work
  • 01:03:30
    and just needed a little support along the way
  • 01:03:32
    and left with somebody who has a new career,
  • 01:03:35
    has transportation, has his budget,
  • 01:03:37
    and has a place to live.
  • 01:03:39
    And so we get to work with people like that every day.
  • 01:03:42
    Another program that is new to us
  • 01:03:45
    and Crossroads helped bring it here.
  • 01:03:48
    It deals with foster care.
  • 01:03:49
    We know that foster care
  • 01:03:50
    is a massive challenge in our community.
  • 01:03:52
    Something that I was completely unaware of
  • 01:03:54
    and ignorant of was the fact that 70%
  • 01:03:57
    of family separations that occur are due to preventable causes.
  • 01:04:00
    What that means is it's moms who are just struggling
  • 01:04:03
    to meet the needs of their children.
  • 01:04:05
    So a program in Fort Lauderdale, Florida identified that,
  • 01:04:08
    hey, if you match that mom with a service coordinator
  • 01:04:11
    with some resources and with a volunteer
  • 01:04:13
    for social emotional support, they saw
  • 01:04:16
    over an 80% family preservation rate.
  • 01:04:18
    So we brought that program to Cincinnati.
  • 01:04:22
    So what that program looks like is moms
  • 01:04:25
    who are at risk of losing their kids to foster care,
  • 01:04:28
    walk through our doors and they find
  • 01:04:29
    a place of hope and stability
  • 01:04:31
    and volunteers from our community say,
  • 01:04:34
    "Hey, count me in for ten weeks to walk alongside
  • 01:04:38
    somebody while a service coordinator
  • 01:04:39
    is doing the professional social work."
  • 01:04:41
    And with that, we're seeing life transformation
  • 01:04:43
    that is generational.
  • 01:04:45
    - That is so good. Yeah. It's amazing.
  • 01:04:48
    This is not like abstract stuff.
  • 01:04:50
    This is changing lives, changing families.
  • 01:04:53
    And man, it's these types of things that
  • 01:04:55
    we're going to have the opportunity to serve
  • 01:04:56
    these organizations and serve alongside them for Go Day
  • 01:04:59
    and beyond as JohnMark mentioned.
  • 01:05:02
    Now we were chatting a little bit back in the green room
  • 01:05:05
    like this is not just a job for you.
  • 01:05:07
    This is not even what you intended to be your career path.
  • 01:05:10
    This has been something that you care deeply about,
  • 01:05:13
    that you're deeply passionate about,
  • 01:05:14
    and that God has sort of walked you into.
  • 01:05:16
    Like, what do you most want us to hear
  • 01:05:19
    and what would you most like to say to us around that?
  • 01:05:21
    - Yeah. So, I am a member of this community.
  • 01:05:24
    I am usually sitting back there.
  • 01:05:26
    So, sir, next week I will want my seat back.
  • 01:05:29
    And, but I am proud to be a part of a church
  • 01:05:35
    that isn't about good entertainment on the weekend,
  • 01:05:38
    that is not about just me passing some time singing words,
  • 01:05:43
    but not having those words transform my life.
  • 01:05:46
    And so I was immensely challenged by this place to say
  • 01:05:50
    church isn't a thing that I do,
  • 01:05:52
    but it's a part of who I am that draws me closer to God,
  • 01:05:55
    that shows me God's love,
  • 01:05:56
    and then calls me to pour that back out, right?
  • 01:05:59
    So if we're here and we're serious
  • 01:06:01
    about the words that you sang earlier,
  • 01:06:04
    and you're serious about following God's call
  • 01:06:06
    to serve others and love others,
  • 01:06:08
    we have to find those outlets to do that.
  • 01:06:10
    And so for me, that looked like starting serving,
  • 01:06:12
    taking steps, like doing Go Cincinnati,
  • 01:06:14
    Thanksgiving Food Drive.
  • 01:06:16
    It led a group of us to see that what broke our heart
  • 01:06:18
    was Hurricane Katrina and what happened to New Orleans.
  • 01:06:21
    So a group of us got together
  • 01:06:22
    and worked with Crossroads in order to start a trip.
  • 01:06:24
    And this church became the largest source of volunteers
  • 01:06:28
    rebuilding New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
  • 01:06:31
    And so what this church has, and when I say this church,
  • 01:06:34
    I mean every one of you, you have the power
  • 01:06:38
    to show God's love to our neighbors
  • 01:06:40
    in real and tangible ways.
  • 01:06:42
    And so that looks like people coming down
  • 01:06:44
    and doing mock interviews,
  • 01:06:46
    people helping teach financial education,
  • 01:06:48
    people walking alongside moms.
  • 01:06:51
    The stories that I told earlier
  • 01:06:53
    are really, really important part of that
  • 01:06:54
    is our mission is to show God's love to those in need.
  • 01:06:58
    The way that we do that is through volunteers.
  • 01:07:01
    So you are woven into all of those stories
  • 01:07:04
    by taking a simple step and showing God's love.
  • 01:07:08
    And so what I would just encourage you to do,
  • 01:07:11
    along the way, I was woefully inadequate
  • 01:07:15
    and unable to do things like help Citylink
  • 01:07:18
    come to fruition.
  • 01:07:19
    And so by taking that step in overcoming fear
  • 01:07:22
    and doing that, it grew me in my relationship with God.
  • 01:07:25
    It stretched me. It pushed me.
  • 01:07:27
    I get to meet incredible neighbors who have
  • 01:07:30
    such a deeper faith in so much more resilience than I do,
  • 01:07:33
    because I'm willing to step forward
  • 01:07:35
    and meet them where they're at.
  • 01:07:36
    And so what I would encourage all of you to do
  • 01:07:39
    is take the next step.
  • 01:07:41
    Go Cincinnati last year helped us rehab an apartment
  • 01:07:44
    that is now housing women
  • 01:07:46
    who are returning from incarceration.
  • 01:07:48
    Go Cincinnati this year will help us rehab
  • 01:07:50
    a warehouse that will house new vocational training programs.
  • 01:07:54
    What you do by taking a Saturday
  • 01:07:57
    or taking a day out of your week transforms lives.
  • 01:08:00
    And that's the church I want to be a part of,
  • 01:08:02
    not a church that just gets together on the weekend,
  • 01:08:05
    but a church that shows our community
  • 01:08:07
    what God's love really looks like.
  • 01:08:10
    - Let's Go! JohnMark, thank you so much, brother.
  • 01:08:12
    - Thank you, thank you.
  • 01:08:16
    - Man, I love that picture of a church
  • 01:08:18
    that doesn't just sing
  • 01:08:19
    about being the hands and feet of Jesus,
  • 01:08:21
    but actually lives it out and gets its hands dirty.
  • 01:08:24
    That's who we're going to be May 16th.
  • 01:08:26
    So we just encourage you, you can scan the QR code
  • 01:08:29
    on the back of your seat or tap that little sticker.
  • 01:08:31
    Or if you're watching online,
  • 01:08:33
    go to Crossroads.net/GoDay to select a project.
  • 01:08:37
    And you can bring your family, bring your kids.
  • 01:08:39
    Most of these are kid friendly.
  • 01:08:40
    Bring your neighbors,
  • 01:08:42
    bring the people from Fleetwood Mac videos.
  • 01:08:43
    Whatever it is, make this happen.
  • 01:08:46
    Get it on your calendar
  • 01:08:47
    and let's find a way to be the church.
  • 01:08:48
    Now there is a quote that I love.
  • 01:08:50
    It's from Mother Teresa that I think
  • 01:08:52
    speaks really well to this idea.
  • 01:08:53
    It says: Not all of us can do great things,
  • 01:08:57
    but we can all do small things with great love.
  • 01:09:01
    And small things done with great love
  • 01:09:02
    can and will change the world.
  • 01:09:05
    That's who we want to be,
  • 01:09:06
    and that's who we will always be as a church.
  • 01:09:08
    We hope to see you guys May 16th for Go Day.
  • 01:09:10
    Have a fantastic rest of your week.
  • 01:09:12
    You can ask people questions outside
  • 01:09:14
    if you want to talk with somebody about Go Day.
  • 01:09:16
    Have a great one.
  • 01:09:19
    - Hey, just like Andy said, we're going to talk
  • 01:09:21
    to two groups of people right now.
  • 01:09:22
    We've got our people who are streaming online,
  • 01:09:25
    but you often go into a site or you live near a local site.
  • 01:09:28
    And we're going to talk to the people
  • 01:09:29
    who you're watching online and you watch
  • 01:09:31
    from all over the world and what Go Day means to you.
  • 01:09:34
    So talk to us, Arturo, about if I live near a site,
  • 01:09:38
    how can I sign up?
  • 01:09:39
    - Well, you simply go, like Andy said,
  • 01:09:42
    to Crossroads.net/GoDay.
  • 01:09:44
    You only got to scroll just a little bit
  • 01:09:46
    to see a drop down menu of all of our physical sites.
  • 01:09:49
    And we want to encourage you to pick any
  • 01:09:51
    that are near enough for you to go to a project.
  • 01:09:55
    We've even got a kick off that morning,
  • 01:09:57
    so it's worth the time and worth the investment
  • 01:09:59
    to block off that morning on Saturday, May 16th.
  • 01:10:03
    And all the options are there with really awesome filters
  • 01:10:06
    to help you identify what part of town,
  • 01:10:08
    what kind of work, all ages, some ages, men, women.
  • 01:10:12
    We've got all that there on there.
  • 01:10:13
    - And I know too, I'm like some people,
  • 01:10:15
    you love to mulch and do yard work.
  • 01:10:16
    Some of you hate the smell of mulch.
  • 01:10:18
    So I actually want to rattle off a couple of things for example.
  • 01:10:21
    So you're like, well, what are they doing?
  • 01:10:22
    Mason is creating a massive mural at a local school
  • 01:10:26
    and building a Gaga pit for the playground.
  • 01:10:28
    Oakley is going to do over 30 outdoor cleanup projects
  • 01:10:32
    for the Cincinnati Public Schools.
  • 01:10:34
    That's probably one of their 60 projects coming out of Oakley.
  • 01:10:38
    Columbus, and they did this in the past.
  • 01:10:40
    They're packing mailboxes for families in need in Columbus.
  • 01:10:44
    I know Lexington, they're building beds
  • 01:10:46
    for kids who don't have beds.
  • 01:10:47
    So it's everything from like getting your hands dirty outside
  • 01:10:51
    to maybe writing a letter to someone who's in prison.
  • 01:10:54
    There's so many options. Go on our website, click.
  • 01:10:57
    You're totally fine.
  • 01:10:58
    Click the drop down to your site
  • 01:11:01
    and you'll be able to see those options.
  • 01:11:02
    Now that's you guys. Now if you are on the other side,
  • 01:11:06
    maybe you are somewhere else in the country
  • 01:11:09
    or the world and you happen to drive by something
  • 01:11:11
    on a regular basis, whether it's a neighbor's house
  • 01:11:14
    or an old church.
  • 01:11:15
    It's like someone should do something about that.
  • 01:11:17
    Maybe that someone is you.
  • 01:11:19
    So what do they do if they have a project they want to start?
  • 01:11:22
    - Same thing. Crossroads.net/GoDay.
  • 01:11:24
    And when you go to that drop down menu,
  • 01:11:26
    you're going to see, I think at the top "Anywhere".
  • 01:11:28
    And the reason we want you to not just go and meet that need,
  • 01:11:31
    but click on Anywhere, fill out that form
  • 01:11:34
    is because we have resources we want to give you
  • 01:11:38
    to be able to do that.
  • 01:11:39
    So you're not alone in that endeavor.
  • 01:11:41
    Whether you are near people in your Anywhere group
  • 01:11:44
    or community, you can certainly get support from Crossroads.
  • 01:11:48
    And we want you to, we want to give that to you.
  • 01:11:50
    - If you listen to us a lot, you hear us say,
  • 01:11:52
    like, the generosity of people in our community
  • 01:11:54
    is what allows us to do these things.
  • 01:11:56
    We have set aside resources for our community,
  • 01:12:00
    no matter where you live we can help get
  • 01:12:02
    the supplies or the tools, or help figure out
  • 01:12:04
    how you can get the volunteers for your project.
  • 01:12:06
    So let us help you.
  • 01:12:08
    Go to the website. You'll fill out under Anywhere.
  • 01:12:10
    And Kelly will actually be back with you.
  • 01:12:12
    And you have until the end of this month
  • 01:12:14
    to put in a request and we will make it happen with you.
  • 01:12:18
    So what's the date again? What do we need on our calendar?
  • 01:12:21
    - May 16th. Block up that calendar if you haven't already.
  • 01:12:23
    This is the millionth and one time you heard it today,
  • 01:12:26
    May 16th. Block off that morning
  • 01:12:28
    and crossroads.net/GoDay.
  • 01:12:30
    Those are the immediate to do's right now,
  • 01:12:32
    if you haven't done so.
  • 01:12:33
    We want to thank you in advance
  • 01:12:34
    for being part of this world change.
  • 01:12:36
    And I want to encourage you,
  • 01:12:37
    understanding that that world change
  • 01:12:39
    will not just be for those in your community,
  • 01:12:41
    but for those that participate. - That's right.
  • 01:12:43
    - So that's you and there is something
  • 01:12:45
    waiting for you in and out of Go Day, May 16th.
  • 01:12:48
    - Do you see why he's on our Reach Out team?
  • 01:12:50
    Because of that passion. Alright,
  • 01:12:52
    thank you guys so much
  • 01:12:53
    and have a great day and let's Go together.
  • 01:12:56
    - See you out there. - See ya.

Apr 12, 2026 • 1 hr 12 mins 53 sec

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