The Jesus Tactics

In this episode, Gabe and Phil debrief their interviews with Brandi and Kelly plus they talk about how the Gospel has changed for them. In reality, the Gospel hasn't changed, but our understanding of it has changed, but how? As we grow closer to God and Jesus our understanding of who He is should grow and change as well. He doesn't change, but we do. How has the Gospel changed for you?

The journey from an ordered faith through disorder (deconstruction) can feel like a very dark and difficult journey. But it is a journey that is Spirit-led. It is a time of questioning, doubting, and re-discovering a more beautiful God. In this episode, Kelly Baldwin shares her journey as well as advice on how to parent adult children through this journey. We also explore the question of whether we should prioritize the great commandment over the great commission. If these podcasts have been beneficial to you, please rate the podcast and leave a comment.

Stories are powerful. They can bring us hope and inspire us to keep going. On this episode, Brandi shares her story from moving from an ordered faith through disorder (deconstruction) and how she is reorienting her life in a new way. Brandi's story is raw and real, plus she shares great wisdom for those who are going through disorder. Brandi also shares what was important and not important in her journey. Finally, if you know someone who is going through a faith crisis, Brandi shares how to help you walk with someone through these difficult times.

Do you feel as though you are going through a crisis of belief? You don't know that you believe what you were taught growing up in the church? You may feel scared, confused, uncertain based on what you are going through? You are not alone. In season two, we will be talking to people who have gone through a crisis of belief and have deconstructed their faith, and found hope through the process. It is a process driven by the Holy Spirit, who is pulling you to a much deeper, richer, fuller life with Jesus, even if you are not sure you believe in Him anymore. This crisis of faith, this deconstruction, is labor pains so that you can be born again and see Jesus and God, the loving Father, for who He really is.

It's not a mistake that people are leaving the church in droves, never to come back. Most are leaving the church, but they aren't leaving Jesus. We need to rediscover what church looks like. Maybe the church is no longer in the four walls of a church building, but what would it look like? Take a listen and see what might be possible.

Have we raised the bar on what it means to be the church, but lowered the bar on what it means to be a Christian? If so, we need to flip this paradigm. In this episode, we begin discussing other valid ways we can be the church that God intended, where we can love God, love others, and make disciples without all of the weight and expectation of church as we know it. There is no doubt that many people, especially millennials are leaving the church, never to return because the church is not satisfying a deeper need many of them feel. They are not looking for better worship, better communicators, they are looking for a safe, real, authentic community where they can be seen, known, and ask the harder questions of faith and life. So how do we love God, love others, and make disciples if it is not in the square of a building? Maybe it's found in a triangle. Join our conversation in part 1 of "Rediscovering Church"

Our fear of death and what happens after death can impact many aspects of our lives, especially parenting. When we fear death and even hell, our parenting style or even our relationships with others who we believe might be going to hell can change our demeanor towards our own kids and others. If we are gripped by this fear of death and hell, do we really believe that Jesus has conquered death? Do we really believe that Jesus has won the victory? Or do we still believe that death, not Jesus has the final word? In this episode, we talk specifically about how our fear of death and hell impacts our parenting and how we can parent in a way that is not fear-based but joy-based.

What happened on the cross and the resurrection of Jesus? Did the cross reveal God's wrath or his self-giving, radically forgiving co-suffering love? There are many theories about what the cross and resurrection mean and on this podcast, we discuss our thoughts on what we believe happened on the event of Easter. It really is good news for today, not just when we die. Scripture Resources: https://4ef9f3ec-906f-468c-aa3b-94fc976f5210.filesusr.com/ugd/b8f63b_f0e103f06fb64260ae4b03475486d5d7.pdf

Jesus has called us to give to our enemies. But let's be honest; giving, in general, is a challenge. Maybe giving is challenging because we live out of the belief of scarcity. We look at our resources and think there isn't enough to give to our friends, let alone our enemies! We believe that there isn't enough. But we are reminded by Jesus that there is always enough in the Kingdom of God, even for our enemies. What if we were to see life through the lens of the Kingdom of God? What if we lived in abundance? Everyone has something to give because Jesus will provide the needed resources. We live in a world where we only care for those who are like us, believe like us, and act like us. Isn't this part of why our world struggle so much? It is also how our "enemies" act as well. But what happens if we cross enemy lines and give to our enemies, those on the other side of the political aisle. Or those who believe differently than us? If we give to those who are our enemies, we can heal this world! Live in courage instead of fear. Abundance not scarcity Be ready for God to interrupt our day like an improv, asking us to engage with the people who come into our path. *We apologize for the construction noise in the background of this podcast. #improv #give #Enemies #Jesus

How can we be praying for our enemy? Here are two prayer exercises.

Let's face it, most of us are not happy with our prayer life. Even praying for our enemy is even harder. Yet, Jesus has asked us to pray for our enemy. So how can we pray for our enemy? Not sure what to pray for when it comes to your enemy? Prayer can be the very practice that can help us join God in redeeming and healing this world. Prayer brings both us and our enemies before God, seeking forgiveness, healing, and reconciliation. And what do Jesus, MLK Jr., and Gandhi all have in common?

Blessing others can seem very "churchy" or "spiritual." But what does Jesus mean when he says, "Bless those who curse you?" Blessing is speaking life into someone. It is naming the good we see in someone else, even our enemies, those we don't like, even those who have hurt us. Too often, we speak words of death, a curse. These words are meant to kill, but God has asked us to speak life. Words that can raise the dead in others. What would happen if, instead of reacting with curses towards our enemies, we responded with blessings? We would join God in raising the dead and healing our world. God keeps no records of our wrongs, but we wonder, does he cherish and keep the good things we do? Join us!

Is your cup empty and your soul thirsty? Take some time in the presence of a loving and good God who wants to fill your empty cup and quench your thirst.

On the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks about two roads, the broad road and the narrow road. It doesn't take much to realize that we are on the broad road to destruction in our country. There is a movement that no matter what tribe you are in, you hope for the demise and destruction of the other tribe. We believe that more violence (verbal or physical) and winning arguments will bring peace to this world. We believe, either implicitly or explicitly, that by returning “violence” with “violence,” our side will “win.” We believe that if the other tribe doesn't exist, life would be better. But guess what, it isn't working, and this is the broad road to destruction. Good news! There is another way, a narrow way, that will bring healing to our world. The narrow way is the way of suffering and the way of Jesus. The narrow way is when someone attacks us with hate, violence, and injustice, we absorb it and respond with love, forgiveness, and kindness to that person. The narrow way is engaging in relationships with those we might even disagree with, to be curious about who they are as a human. THIS is the narrow way. This is the way that will heal our world! But it is called the narrow way because so few people have chosen to live this way. Will you join us in the way of Jesus and “Do good” to our enemies?

How wide, long, deep, and high really is God's love? Is there any place or any time that God's love cannot reach? #prayer #Love #Godslove

How do we love our enemy without liking them? The Jesus Tactics are things we do to become more like Jesus, which will heal the world. The first Jesus Tactic is to Love our enemies. There is so much hate, violence, and division in our world today. Battle lines have been drawn. People are choosing sides and dehumanizing the other side. We label people out of fear, insecurity, self-righteousness. When we label someone, it gives us an excuse to not enter into a relationship with them. When we label people, we dehumanize them. Jesus never dehumanized anyone, and He has called us to radically love like He loved and enter into a relationship with those we see as our enemies. Love is not a feeling! We don't have to like someone to love them. Yet, Jesus has called us to love our enemies. What keeps us from loving our enemies? How can we love our enemies even though we don't like them? #loveyourenemies #division #healing #Jesus #tactics www.thejesustactics.com

This is part 2 of the prayer exercise. #prayer

Here is the prayer exercise Gabe spoke of from Episode 2. #prayer #Heaven

God is love. Period! Yet how often do we say, “God is love, but…” Is God really angry, pissed, and keeping score? We see God's love most clearly in the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Christ. Why? Because Jesus is the face of God. God is just like Jesus. God has always been like Jesus. We see in Jesus what is true of God; self-giving, radically forgiving, co-suffering love. If we could all love like Jesus the way he loved, we could heal the world. This is what the world needs! To heal our world, we must understand God's love for all of His creation. God is drawn not to where we have life altogether or where we feel like life is good. God is drawn to our brokenness, our sin, the places I have screwed up, not to punish us, but to heal us, to make us whole again. He has called us to love others the way Jesus loves us. We cannot dehumanize someone and love them at the same time. If we can follow Jesus in this kind of love, we can heal this world! What if God really is self-giving, radically forgiving, co-suffering love. How would that change you? #Godislove

The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most important teachings of Jesus. Yet, how often do we take it seriously and actually live it out? Is it possible that if we were to practically live the Sermon on the Mount we would be joining God in healing our world? We have identified five tactics Jesus taught through the Sermon on the Mount. But with each tactic, there is something deep and profound that we often miss and don't realize about God, ourselves, and this world. Are we willing to dig deeper, explore the depths of God's mystery, and be ok with the uncertainty of God to heal our world? Is it possible that we are addicted to being right and being certain that we miss the awe and wonder of a God who is love? I think we would all agree that our world doesn't need changing, it needs healing; this is what Jesus came to do and to reveal to us how to live. But it will take a lot of courage, discipline, and adventure to live this out. Curious? Join us on this journey as we embrace the mystery and uncertainty of God while living out the Jesus tactics.