September 22, 2025 • 24 mins
Living as a missionary is more about being than doing. Too often, we think of missionaries only as people who pack up and move overseas. But the truth is, if you are a Christian, you already are a missionary—it’s part of your identity in Christ.
In this episode of the Everyday Disciple Podcast, I share what it looks like to live every day as a missionary right where God has placed you. We’ll talk about how to embrace this calling in your neighborhood, cross the street before you cross the globe, and take simple steps to live as God’s sent ones together.
Get started here... From this episode: “I have to be honest with you here. After living this way for close to two decades now–like a localized missionary–I don’t think there is a huge difference between being a missionary here in America compared to living this way in a foreign country. People are people. The biggest difference here is that I constantly feel two things pulling at me; my past experience of “going to church” instead of being the church, and my lack of faith that the gospel is truly good news for everyone and everything.”Each week the Big 3 will give you immediate action steps to get you started.
In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
- Who the Bible calls “missionaries” or “sent ones” in everyday life.
- How your missionary identity flows straight from God’s own heart.
- Why “Go and make disciples” is not optional—it’s Jesus’ command.
- How to start living as a missionary right where you live today.
Get started here... From this episode: “I have to be honest with you here. After living this way for close to two decades now–like a localized missionary–I don’t think there is a huge difference between being a missionary here in America compared to living this way in a foreign country. People are people. The biggest difference here is that I constantly feel two things pulling at me; my past experience of “going to church” instead of being the church, and my lack of faith that the gospel is truly good news for everyone and everything.”
Each week the Big 3 will give you immediate action steps to get you started.
Download today’s BIG 3 right now. Read and think over them again later. You might even want to share them with others…
Thanks for Listening!
Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Join us on Facebook and take part in the discussion! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of this page or right below. Also, please leave an honest review for The Everyday Disciple Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: The Gospel In Everyday Life Workshop Register Now FREE Coaching and Mentorship in Missional Living by Caesar and his wife TinaMark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Caesar Kalinowski (00:01):
So imagine if you and your family, maybe with a few close friends were sent and fully funded to go to another country and establish the gospel to start church or a ministry of some sort, and see people come to faith in Jesus.
What would you immediately begin to do when you got on the ground?
What would your life consist of?
Like how would you be with and among the people there?
(00:22):
And I've asked this question to many people over the years, and their answers are pretty similar actually.
They're remarkably similar.
They say things like, well, we would start by getting, know the language of the local people and we'd eat what they eat and we'd start to dress maybe a little bit more like them and adopt some of their customs.
We would shop at the same places, like over and over to get to know people and you know, at the shops and you know, the people who own 'em and work there and.
(00:46):
And restaurant owners, and we'd look for ways to be a blessing to them serve them.
I think they'd be a pretty good start here, right in our own neighborhoods as well.
Heath Hollensbe (01:06):
Welcome to the Everyday Disciple Podcast where you'll learn how to live with.
Greater intentionality and an integrated faith that naturally fits into every area of life.
In other words, discipleship as a lifestyle.
This is the stuff your parents, pastors and seminary professors probably forgot to tell you.
And now here's your host, Caesar Kalinowski.
Hey, Heath, what's going on my friend?
(01:27):
Hey, we're doing a, uh, we're doing a new location for, for this week's podcast.
You're actually at my house tonight.
We're under the beautiful, uh, Turkish lamp that I got.
I'm gonna put a picture of that on Facebook because it's stunning coverage.
Why don't you
Caesar Kalinowski (01:36):
throw on Instagram with the other like 400 fall color photos you've been posting?
Heath Hollensbe (01:41):
I was driving today and I was like, man, the oranges and the rear heads and the yellows and the, it's stunning.
Here, I'm follow you on,
Caesar Kalinowski (01:46):
on, on Instagram.
It's like nature show, bro.
You are all, we should have a TV show like you.
You posted something kind of pithy and theologically minded or something.
I dunno.
Anyway, alright,
Heath Hollensbe (01:56):
before we jump in, uh, you've got something coming up here.
Caesar Kalinowski (01:59):
Yeah.
I haven't done this in a while, but, um, I'm gonna be doing it again here.
I wanna let folks know if they want to get in on some free training.
An online workshop I'm doing on gospel fluency.
We talk a lot about it and this thing doesn't really matter what it's called, but it's called the gospel in everyday life.
Here's just a few of the things I'm gonna cover in that, like what gospel fluency is.
And how we can grow and then master this new language.
(02:21):
Oh, cool.
Shouldn't, shouldn't be new, right?
But, um, we're also gonna look at how the gospel speaks into our marriage and parenting and like hard feelings and hurt feelings and awkwardness.
Any, any sin issues that need to be addressed.
We're gonna talk about how what you do, in other words, your actions in life don't equal who you are or your.
That, that alone is worth like just coming to the training for, uh, we're gonna look at how the gospel speaks into your identity and self-imageand how to experience transformation and freedom from sin and past hurts and, and why the gospel is really never just about our afterlife.
(02:53):
And we can learn to speak the good news to others, not just about their after life, but like for everything now.
So anyway, if people want to grab a seat, just go to everyday Disciple dot com slash webinar.
It is really more of a workshop, but that's what it is.
Go to everyday Disciple dot com slash webinar and you can register for free right now.
Heath Hollensbe (03:12):
So, and why would you not want to dig that sweet man?
Hey, today we're gonna talk about an idea that that I think is probably pretty normal, but it might hit a lot closer to home than should be normal.
Yeah, it should be, but it doesn't always.
So for a long time, many of us have had this idea that missionaries are these kind of special Christians that go and do ministry work overseas.
In fact.
(03:32):
I've had some really zany experiences over my 36 now years with missionaries growing up in the church, but it always felt like, you know, they were.
They were old and they wore like floral blouses and wore corduroy, and they spoke monotone and we always like heard about what they're doing with a slideshow.
Potlucks, Hey, what's wrong with corduroy by the way, it's coming back.
I don't know.
Any idea?
(03:53):
No, I used to.
I used to too.
I brown.
Of course.
Yeah, mine too.
But, uh.
What was that kind of your experience as well?
Like that's missionaries a certain called people that go do that, not us.
Caesar Kalinowski (04:03):
Yeah,
Heath Hollensbe (04:03):
exactly.
Caesar Kalinowski (04:04):
It was this special class of people and I didn't want to hang out with any of 'em, you know?
Yeah, me either.
And I've told the story before, there was a map on the wall at our church and it had, you know, pins in all the continents and there were different colors and they lined up with pictures.
Oh, that's right.
They were flanking the map.
Yeah.
And just like you described, they were always just like kind of really sad.
Like really dressed, outdated.
You're like, how old are these pitchers?
(04:24):
Well, they were current, but you know, when you're a missionary you just get what you get.
Like you're a
Heath Hollensbe (04:27):
missionary in China 'cause you can't make friends here.
I don't know.
Yeah.
It was
Caesar Kalinowski (04:30):
horrible.
And they were always really, really sad.
And um, you know, every few months one of 'em would show up from the field was always, they came from the field.
Yep.
Which I thought meant like out where I lost balls and frisbees, you know, out in the field.
Sure.
And they would show us lots and lots of slides that were of kids with bugs in their eyes and all that.
Yeah.
And that's what a missionary was.
Yep.
And um, I remember thinking like, if I ever really, really, you know, I was a C Christian as a kid, but I remember thinking, if I really give my life to Jesus, like really go all in.
(04:59):
I know he's gonna call me to Africa.
Yeah.
I'm gonna be the Shorthaired guy crying all the time and just jump ahead a few years later.
That was me, you know, just heartbroken over all lost people, you know?
And I was in Africa for years and years and years and off and on, you know, so,
Heath Hollensbe (05:13):
but the crazy thing is that the Bible actually teaches something totally different.
It teaches us that.
All Christians are actually missionaries.
This isn't just reserved for a select few people.
Caesar Kalinowski (05:21):
For sure.
And I think everybody knows that, right?
Everybody listening goes, I know that we're a missionary, we're all a missionary.
Yeah, right?
Um, but here's the thing that everybody doesn't all necessarily know.
It's an identity thing.
Hmm.
Our identity as Christians flows right from God himself and.
We, this is a Trinitarian God, right?
Father, son, and Holy Spirit.
(05:42):
And the Spirit was the sending agent of Jesus and is the sending agent in the church.
And our God is a missionary God and we are his offspring.
Hmm.
So really, a.
Christians we're all missionaries, like at a core identity level.
It's not like, you know, like when I was a kid in Sunday school, they'd go like, well, Caesar, you know, you are a missionary too.
(06:05):
Just like those pictures down the wall, you know?
Yep.
Well, you're a missionary too, but on the playground.
Huh.
So make sure you invite everybody to church on Sunday, right?
You know, ha here, hand these out.
And literally, because I, I was trying to be like this little missionary kid.
I would, I would, I would take all the Sunday school papers, you know, those little, you know, half folds, you know, like, yep.
Oh, I remember this full color little Bible story.
And a few questions at the end.
(06:26):
A little warning, if you don't do this, you know, like some sort of morality clause moving in there.
I would, I would scoop up all the extras.
There was always like at least a dozen extra.
And I would go up and down my, the blocks in my neighborhood, I would knock on doors and I'd go, hi.
I just thought maybe, you know, if you didn't make it to church today, you'd like this.
Heath Hollensbe (06:42):
Oh.
Caesar Kalinowski (06:43):
And I'd hand 'em out.
I mean, no way.
Yeah, because I was the little neighborhood missionary.
Right.
Wow.
Yeah.
But no, but you know what I mean, so I kinda had this curse we understanding of it.
No one ever said, no, no, no, no.
Wait a minute.
If you're a Christian and you believe your Trinitarian identity, your identity flows from father, son and spirit.
Yep.
That your.
A missionary that's, we have a missionary God we're created in his image and it's an off stream.
(07:06):
So yeah, we're all missionaries.
If you're, if you're a
Heath Hollensbe (07:08):
Christian, that's who you
Caesar Kalinowski (07:09):
are.
Heath Hollensbe (07:09):
And what's crazy is that it doesn't seem like this is a new concept when you look at actually where the first missionary kind of experience happened, it's way earlier in the story than we typically would think.
It goes all the way back to Genesis three.
Yep.
Right.
God being the perfect example.
Yep.
Back in the garden.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Pursuing people exactly.
Caesar Kalinowski (07:27):
Immediately after God's beloved image, bearers your first two.
Adam and Eve chose a life of self rule one where they thought they could manage the knowledge of good and evil and right and wrong for themselves.
God goes on a rescue mission.
We, we see him, he goes looking for them.
It says, that's his heart, right?
He goes, where are you?
And he goes, he goes, looking for them.
Where are you?
And then, you know, in the ultimate missionary journey flowing out of his identity, just like his father.
(07:52):
Jesus comes here to this earth and he takes on the the form of us humans so that he can come and rescue us and restore us back to the way we were originally created to live.
Hmm, close to God.
Bearing his image, showing the world what he's like.
So if you're a Christian, then you're a missionary too.
Father son us, created the same image.
We're missionaries and it's, it's not what we do that makes us missionaries.
(08:16):
It's who we are.
Yeah.
Just like Jesus and his father.
And in some ways you could say that being a missionary is our family business.
Hmm.
And I think, I think why people don't really embrace it, even though everybody listening goes, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I know.
We're all missionaries.
We don't break, we don't believe it's part of our identity.
Yeah.
It's part of our birthright.
We don't If you view it with something we go do.
Right.
We think if you go overseas and do this Yeah.
Or move somewhere maybe.
(08:37):
Okay.
Listen, I know there's missionaries in the states too, so go move to Compton or go move to some inner city thing.
Sure.
Then you live like a missionary and you have to be poor and wear corduroy and all, you know?
Yeah.
Like, so what you do equals who you are.
And that's back to that do to be distortion.
Yep.
And until we lose that, until we believe, no, no, no.
We are creating the image of this missionary God who not only goes, but he sends.
Yeah.
(08:57):
And we've been sent once.
Jesus says, as I was sent, sent here, right on a missionary journey.
So I send you, he says to his disciples, and he breathes his breath into them giving him life.
Well, what's that remind us of?
Back to Genesis.
Yep.
When God forms Adam and Eve from the dust of the ground by his hands and he breathes his own breath, the word is ruach spirit into them, giving them life and then says, go be fruitful and multiply.
(09:20):
Like, go make more copies of my image, you know?
Yeah.
So, yeah, we're
Heath Hollensbe (09:24):
missionaries.
And one thing I appreciate that you just mentioned is that, um, that the, the Disciple or the command of Jesus is to go and make,not to come and see, like, don't come and see this beautiful building and get people to this thing, uh, go and making disciples.
It wasn't just a suggestion, right?
No, it was a command.
Yeah.
Uh, and it was a command to come and walk in the normalcy of life.
(09:46):
It wasn't.
You know, come sit with me for an hour a week and let me try to crack as your cranium as hard as I can with a building in a building in rows
Caesar Kalinowski (09:53):
and Right.
No.
Right.
Jesus came to show the world what God his father is truly like, and he came as a missionary and that's why we go, okay, so you're right.
Jesus.
Command, not suggestion was to go and make disciples.
And he didn't say, Hey, ask people to come and see what they think.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
Yeah.
And listen to a bunch of stuff year after year after year.
(10:14):
Um, he always intended just as he lived that we would incarnate.
That word means to take on flesh, right?
Yep.
Incarnate his mission out there in the world, out in our neighborhoods, off at the office, you know, wherever you work in a gym at thepark, you go to showing the world what he's like, what the father's like, and sharing the gospel with others by both our life's display.
(10:36):
Our words.
Hmm.
And so regardless of how God decides to route our paychecks, right?
Yep.
Some people get their paychecks routed through the business they work for, and some people get 'em routed through a church.
Some get 'em, you know, routed through a missionary agency.
Regardless, however, we are all full-time paid missionaries.
Yeah.
I mean, just stop and think about that an honor.
(10:56):
Like, well, I'm not a full-time missionary, you know, I don't work for ywam, or, you know, whatever.
Or, or this church, wait a minute.
Your identity is that of a missionary.
And if you slept sheltered last night and ate some food in the last 24 hours, you know, you've got clothing you own, then God's, god's kept his end of the bargain.
He's met your needs.
Yeah.
Right.
And we had a lot of wants, but you know, he's met our needs.
(11:17):
And so if you, if you are eating and sheltered and own clothing and all, then you're a full-time funded full, fully funded missionary already, right?
Yeah.
So, you know.
Wanna find the missionary in your neighborhood?
Look in the mirror If you're a Christian.
Yeah, you're right.
Seriously.
And take that seriously.
Are you, are you living outta that identity?
Yeah, absolutely.
(11:38):
Like, can we get to, well, you know, or are we blowing that off?
Thinking, well, I don't know, maybe there'll be another
Heath Hollensbe (11:42):
Yeah,
Caesar Kalinowski (11:43):
right.
You know, are you the one, or should we wait for another, you
Heath Hollensbe (11:46):
know?
Well, and I'm wondering too, like, for people who are listening that are going like, ah, I have not thought about it like this.
Or feeling convicted by what you're saying.
Um.
That wanna start living like missionaries living in their true identity as Christians, right where they are.
H how would you, how would you recommend they get started in this?
Caesar Kalinowski (12:03):
Well, first listen to lots more Life School podcast.
Yeah.
That's all we talk about, right?
Yeah.
I mean really we, we, today we're talking about like particularly the identity of missionaries, but um.
Yeah, but that, I mean, this, this is really what it's all about is living out of identity.
Yeah.
But, but maybe this'll help.
Okay.
Imagine if you will, imagine if you and your family, maybe along with a few close friends, were sent and fully funded to goto another country and establish the gospel to start a church or a ministry where you'd see people come to faith in Jesus.
(12:38):
You know, what would you immediately begin to do when you got on the ground?
Remember, you're going for this reason, you're fully funded, you know, you're all there.
You sold your stuff, or you packed it up, it came with you, whatever, you and your family, maybe a few friends, you're there.
What would you immediately begin to do?
What would your life consist of?
What would your focus be?
Heath Hollensbe (12:54):
Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski (12:54):
You know, how would you be with and among the people there?
Would you just like do it sort of nine to five, you know?
Or would you do it like two hours on Sunday and go like, well, we're here, but you know, we're, we're inviting everybody kind.
We run into like this one thing.
Um, they don't understand this 'cause they've never seen a church, but that's what we're doing.
But the rest of the week, you know, I gotta live my life man.
I need margin.
You know, it's, margins are important, right?
(13:16):
Boundaries.
And I've asked this question a lot of people, like people who don't even barely know what I'm talking about.
I'll go like, Hey, if you move to another country and you're gonna try to start like a Gospel work, see people come to faith, Disciple people to maturity, um, what would you start doing?
Yeah.
You know, what would you be about?
And you know what people say?
Their answers are really similar.
They're remarkably similar.
In fact, they say stuff like, well, we start by getting to know the language of the local people.
(13:39):
Yep.
Now you think, well, like if I'm an issue in my neighborhood, I already know English.
Mm. You know what I mean?
There's a difference.
Yeah.
How, how do people communicate What's funny to them?
What are they about?
What do they pay attention to?
Shows they watch all that.
Right.
Um, they say things like, well, we'd eat what and where the locals ate.
So instead of just holding up in our house, we'd, we'd want to eat what they ate and go where they eating.
(14:02):
Right.
And we'd wanna start to dress more like them and adopt some of their customs when we first moved to the Pacific Northwest, you know, I'm a Lifetime Bears fan, you know, um, I'm now a Seahawks fan.
'cause guess what?
You bear, you know, you rejoice with those who rejoice and you, you know, mourn with those, you mourn, right?
That's right.
So I had a, you know, you take on the customs, right?
Yeah.
People say to me things like, well, um, I think when we got there, we would start to shop at the same places over and over to get to know those shop owners and restaurant owners.
(14:31):
And we'd wanna get to know the staff and tip well and look for ways to be a blessing to them and listen well, so we could see if there's ways we could serve 'em and, you know, get, get more involved in their lives and invite them into ours.
We'd start to build relationships and friendships with people.
Yeah, that'd be key.
And I think, you know what, that's a pretty good start right here, where we live in our neighborhoods too.
Yeah.
You know what's funny is I, I had to say, wouldn't that be great?
(14:52):
It'd be amazing.
I mean, just think about if every Christian had that mindset because they believed their identity.
Heath Hollensbe (14:58):
Yeah.
It'd be pretty different, you know?
Well, it reminds me a conversation I had recently with a, well, not recently, about a year ago with my ex-boss and, and we were having this discussion over getting involved in the Pacific Northwest 'cause his boss wasn't from here.
And I said, well, this is what we do here.
And that person said, well, I don't, I don't like that.
I don't do that.
I'm like, well stop being a terrible missionary.
Like, yeah, if you moved here, you gotta engage here.
(15:19):
I mean, you more tattoos, you gotta get some heavy
Caesar Kalinowski (15:21):
boots and some flannels.
Grow a goatee.
I mean, that's just for women.
I mean, that's just for the women.
Yeah.
Right.
Drink some IPAs.
You, I, I have to be honest with you here, Heath and, and everybody listening after living this way, like, as a missionary, believe inmy identity and living, you know, on the ground trying to live like one, uh, with others in the community for close to two decades now.
(15:42):
Like a localized ministry.
I don't think there's a huge difference between being a missionary here in America or you know, in the, in the, let's just say in Western culture, home, basically wherever home is compared to living this way in a foreign country.
People are people.
That's the thing I've come to learn is we've traveled all over the world and trained people in discipleship and spent in some cases, quite a bit of time with people.
(16:04):
Um, we all have many of the same needs and fears and the gospel speaks into all of them.
Yep.
I think, I think the biggest, and there are cultural differences, but the thing behind the thing and people's hearts, not that differe.
Yeah, it just isn't, I agree, the things are important to people, not that different, but I think the biggest difference that I see, um, and constantly feel is there's two things pulling at me.
(16:26):
It's my past experience of just going to church instead of being the church.
Yep.
Okay.
That kind of mucks things up for us and my lack of faith that the gospel is truly good news for everyone and everything.
Hmm.
I mean, please hear this if you're listening today.
Yeah.
I think those are the two biggest things.
Keeping people from living as missionaries.
Right now, wherever they're at, they, they still think it's about going to church.
(16:50):
Yeah.
Instead of being the church.
That's an identity thing.
And they don't really think the gospel's that good in news.
They're not that fluent to say like, oh, whatever's going on in your life.
Well, Jesus life, death and resurrection speaks into that and speaks into your identity and God loves you.
See, our tendency to revert back to making everything about an, uh, an event or a weekly meeting or a teaching time.
(17:10):
Hmm.
It's as if, if we believe that, if, if people were just here one more good sermon.
Oh my God.
Yeah.
Or they just did one more Bible study with us.
That would be the flip.
Yeah.
They would really get that.
That would, it's not that park.
No, it's not.
Because if that was truly the case, then why didn't Jesus just broadcast some, some good news really loudly from heaven, you know?
Yeah.
So that he could, in a planet, could hear it.
He could have, think about it.
(17:31):
Yeah.
If all we needed is one really solid, one more solid sermon, Jesus would've delivered it long ago.
Really loud, global listening, you know?
And you know why I didn't.
Here's why.
Because the good news, the gospel, it's not a set of historical facts or a bunch of programs or meetings.
The gospel is a person.
Hmm.
The gospel's a person.
Yeah.
(17:51):
Jesus is the Gospel.
And his spirit now sends and empowers us as missionaries on the same incarnation gospel mission.
Heath Hollensbe (18:01):
We gotta believe that.
And isn't it amazing?
Uh, and you, you're two decades plus at this right now.
Uh, I'm probably a decade.
I haven't counted recently, but it is, it is such a fun journey too, when you actually are not trying to get people to a building like a ra, wrestling a cow, like, and you actually can live in life or mark em.
I gotta get him to say this prayer.
I gotta get him to say this prayer.
Yeah, yeah.
No, but you just love them and you serve them and you hang out with them.
(18:23):
Treat 'em like family from the get go.
It's the most fun and natural way of living out there.
Caesar Kalinowski (18:28):
Oh, it is, it is, it is the thrill.
I, I tell people, this is the life you are created to live.
Yeah.
And if you let God and the Gospel wash away all your fears and past insecurities, learnings from, you know, weird church teachings that aren't even found in scripture anywhere.
Yeah.
Um, this is the most exciting life you could ever live.
And it's free.
People say, yeah.
It's just, it just sounds so bad.
(18:49):
I'm just way too busy for, I'm like.
No, you're not.
You filled your life up with lesser things.
Yeah.
And you're not believing your identity.
Absolutely.
Really.
Trust me.
You won't know it until you trust God.
And, and get into it, but I'm gonna loan you some faith.
Uncle Frank here is gonna loan you some faith.
This is the thrill lie.
I mean, this is the thrill ride that we were created to live.
It's amazing.
Believe your identity as a missionary.
(19:10):
You're the missionary in your neighborhood, so get after it.
Heath Hollensbe (19:13):
So like if, if this is true and each and every one of are Christians are missionaries mm-hmm.
Call to our neighborhoods and our workplaces and everywhere, pretty much there are people.
What do you think would change if the church, if all Christians.
I actually really not only believed this, but lived it out, lived out of this true God-given identity as missionaries.
Caesar Kalinowski (19:32):
Oh man.
What a great question.
I can't even think.
I mean, if every Christian believed their identity as a missionary and started just like seeking out who else is God waiting to bring to the table, which is everybody.
Yeah.
And treated everybody like a family.
We would see not only a reversal of how.
Sort of the church has been marginalized by culture.
Sure.
'cause we're just weird and we're separatists and we're kind of about bad news and we're not seen as people who wanna celebrate or party or hang out much.
(19:59):
And unless, unless everybody does everything on our terms in our building, you know, all that stuff.
Yeah.
If, if all of a sudden we were like to take this command to go and make disciples and we lived as missionaries, we would see such a wave of people going.
I knew it.
I knew it had be better.
Yeah.
Stepping into that.
Yeah.
This is beautiful.
God is not who I thought he was.
I'm seen in your life.
Heath Hollensbe (20:21):
Yep.
Caesar Kalinowski (20:22):
Something very, very different.
And you're saying that your life is his life and that we're an image bearer.
In fact, I don't even know if I believe it, but you're telling me I was creating that same image.
Man, I wanna know more about that.
I don't even know how to begin, bro.
I get, I get a little clamped, I get a little choked up.
If the church actually believed.
What God says is true of us, and we lived as missionaries.
Oh man, it
Heath Hollensbe (20:41):
would be beautiful.
Caesar Kalinowski (20:42):
We'd see the world start to change.
And you know what?
And it's happening and God is doing it.
And I believe that God, uh, is, is faithful and he's not a liar.
And he, and he says in, you know, in Revelation, he said that there's a day coming when every knee is gonna bend and every tongue confess that Jesus is in fact Lord and God himself is gonna come back and dwell amongst us here.
Yeah.
Physically, bodily on earth.
(21:04):
So cool.
And there'll be no more tears and no more separation and fear and lies and murder and death and sickness and all of it.
Well, we get to be a part of that restoration right now.
Oh my gosh, it's beautiful.
How, how, how can we shoot so low of a mark to like, well, you know, the American dream, you know, or.
Or the Norwegian dream or whatever.
(21:24):
Yeah.
You know, European dream life where I, I need more of that and I need a bigger one of those, and I need a fatter one of those, and a faster one of those and like, oh my gosh, shoot so much higher.
Shoot for eternity.
Yeah.
Oh, we get to
Heath Hollensbe (21:35):
absolutely.
Oh, count me in, ma'am.
I know, brother.
Hey, let's get to the big three.
Uh.
Which are the big three takeaways.
If nothing else, we want you to walk away with from this episode and you get 'em as a printable PDF as a download by going to everyday Disciple dot com slash big three.
Again, that's everyday Disciple dot com slash big three.
Caesar big three for this week.
Okay.
Caesar Kalinowski (21:55):
Again, if nothing else, don't miss these.
Real quick, sweet, simple.
If you're a Christian, you're a missionary.
Let that sink in.
You are whatcha gonna do with it.
Right.
It is part of your identity and your birthright.
Missionaries aren't a special subset of the church and missions, quote unquote, is not something that only happens overseas.
Yeah.
There are opportunities to be a living representation of what God's like and a physical rep representation of the gospel all around us.
Heath Hollensbe (22:22):
Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski (22:23):
Do this together with other missionaries in your family, your church and Missional Community.
'cause you get to Right.
Believe it.
Get to, yeah.
Own it.
Number two.
Loving God and others with all our hearts and minds and strength fulfills the law and the great commission.
Okay.
What I mean by that is when we truly grasp how much God loves us Yep.
(22:44):
And desires a relationship with us and everyone, others, then we'll wanna go and invite others to walk with us as we walk with Jesus.
That's what discipleship is.
Yeah.
Walk with us as we walk with Jesus.
He's transforming us.
Our lives are an extension of God's glory.
And love as we live as everyday missionaries, right?
Where he's placed us today.
Heath Hollensbe (23:04):
And once you truly see the good news for what it is, it's impossible to stay silent.
I mean, everyone has to hear it.
Caesar Kalinowski (23:08):
Oh yeah,
Heath Hollensbe (23:09):
please.
Caesar Kalinowski (23:10):
Yeah.
Heath Hollensbe (23:10):
Number three in every
Caesar Kalinowski (23:11):
area of life, right?
Yeah.
Not just good news about our aftermath.
Yeah.
Third thing is, um, cross your yard or, and cross the fence.
And cross the street before you worry about crossing the globe.
Oh, that's good.
You know, I was a missions pastor for years.
I, I, and we used to just, you know, like tons of people, tons of money and go off and then do you know, quote unquote short-term mission trips.
(23:32):
Mostly people had never made a Disciple in their life, never shared their faith, didn't live as a missionary locally, like get to the, know the names of at least five of your neighbors.
This.
Heath Hollensbe (23:42):
Easy task, right?
Yeah.
Like most
Caesar Kalinowski (23:44):
people don't.
Yeah.
But you get to invite one other person or couple over to join you for a simple meal.
You're already eating 21 meals this week.
Yeah.
But invite someone over this week for a meal.
Pray and ask God who he would have you bless with either your words or a small gift or an act of service this week, and then ask what's next, Lord?
And do that next week.
(24:05):
You are.
The missionary in your neighborhood.
So get started believing and live in this truth today.
We get to Yeah, absolutely.
We get to, it's so glorious.
Heath Hollensbe (24:13):
That's the challenge.
Five people's names and one person at least over for dinner this week.
Yeah.
Everyone can do that.
Caesar Kalinowski (24:19):
And then look, look to bless somebody and ask God.
Well, okay, then what's next?
Yeah, and by the way too, I just wanna remind you if you, if you want to grow in your gospel fluency so that.
In all these actions, the gospel's just flowing into everyday life.
Go to everyday Disciple dot com slash webinar and you can sign up.
It's free and uh, it's packed.
It's a packed training.
So yeah, please join me for that.
Heath Hollensbe (24:38):
Awesome.
Thanks for joining us today.
For more information on this show and to get loads of free discipleship resources, visit everyday Disciple dot com and remember, you really can live with a spiritual freedom and relational peace that Jesus promised every day.
So imagine if you and your family, maybe with a few close friends were sent and fully funded to go to another country and establish the gospel to start church or a ministry of some sort, and see people come to faith in Jesus.
What would you immediately begin to do when you got on the ground?
What would your life consist of?
Like how would you be with and among the people there?
(00:22):
And I've asked this question to many people over the years, and their answers are pretty similar actually.
They're remarkably similar.
They say things like, well, we would start by getting, know the language of the local people and we'd eat what they eat and we'd start to dress maybe a little bit more like them and adopt some of their customs.
We would shop at the same places, like over and over to get to know people and you know, at the shops and you know, the people who own 'em and work there and.
(00:46):
And restaurant owners, and we'd look for ways to be a blessing to them serve them.
I think they'd be a pretty good start here, right in our own neighborhoods as well.
Heath Hollensbe (01:06):
Welcome to the Everyday Disciple Podcast where you'll learn how to live with.
Greater intentionality and an integrated faith that naturally fits into every area of life.
In other words, discipleship as a lifestyle.
This is the stuff your parents, pastors and seminary professors probably forgot to tell you.
And now here's your host, Caesar Kalinowski.
Hey, Heath, what's going on my friend?
(01:27):
Hey, we're doing a, uh, we're doing a new location for, for this week's podcast.
You're actually at my house tonight.
We're under the beautiful, uh, Turkish lamp that I got.
I'm gonna put a picture of that on Facebook because it's stunning coverage.
Why don't you
Caesar Kalinowski (01:36):
throw on Instagram with the other like 400 fall color photos you've been posting?
Heath Hollensbe (01:41):
I was driving today and I was like, man, the oranges and the rear heads and the yellows and the, it's stunning.
Here, I'm follow you on,
Caesar Kalinowski (01:46):
on, on Instagram.
It's like nature show, bro.
You are all, we should have a TV show like you.
You posted something kind of pithy and theologically minded or something.
I dunno.
Anyway, alright,
Heath Hollensbe (01:56):
before we jump in, uh, you've got something coming up here.
Caesar Kalinowski (01:59):
Yeah.
I haven't done this in a while, but, um, I'm gonna be doing it again here.
I wanna let folks know if they want to get in on some free training.
An online workshop I'm doing on gospel fluency.
We talk a lot about it and this thing doesn't really matter what it's called, but it's called the gospel in everyday life.
Here's just a few of the things I'm gonna cover in that, like what gospel fluency is.
And how we can grow and then master this new language.
(02:21):
Oh, cool.
Shouldn't, shouldn't be new, right?
But, um, we're also gonna look at how the gospel speaks into our marriage and parenting and like hard feelings and hurt feelings and awkwardness.
Any, any sin issues that need to be addressed.
We're gonna talk about how what you do, in other words, your actions in life don't equal who you are or your.
That, that alone is worth like just coming to the training for, uh, we're gonna look at how the gospel speaks into your identity and self-imageand how to experience transformation and freedom from sin and past hurts and, and why the gospel is really never just about our afterlife.
(02:53):
And we can learn to speak the good news to others, not just about their after life, but like for everything now.
So anyway, if people want to grab a seat, just go to everyday Disciple dot com slash webinar.
It is really more of a workshop, but that's what it is.
Go to everyday Disciple dot com slash webinar and you can register for free right now.
Heath Hollensbe (03:12):
So, and why would you not want to dig that sweet man?
Hey, today we're gonna talk about an idea that that I think is probably pretty normal, but it might hit a lot closer to home than should be normal.
Yeah, it should be, but it doesn't always.
So for a long time, many of us have had this idea that missionaries are these kind of special Christians that go and do ministry work overseas.
In fact.
(03:32):
I've had some really zany experiences over my 36 now years with missionaries growing up in the church, but it always felt like, you know, they were.
They were old and they wore like floral blouses and wore corduroy, and they spoke monotone and we always like heard about what they're doing with a slideshow.
Potlucks, Hey, what's wrong with corduroy by the way, it's coming back.
I don't know.
Any idea?
(03:53):
No, I used to.
I used to too.
I brown.
Of course.
Yeah, mine too.
But, uh.
What was that kind of your experience as well?
Like that's missionaries a certain called people that go do that, not us.
Caesar Kalinowski (04:03):
Yeah,
Heath Hollensbe (04:03):
exactly.
Caesar Kalinowski (04:04):
It was this special class of people and I didn't want to hang out with any of 'em, you know?
Yeah, me either.
And I've told the story before, there was a map on the wall at our church and it had, you know, pins in all the continents and there were different colors and they lined up with pictures.
Oh, that's right.
They were flanking the map.
Yeah.
And just like you described, they were always just like kind of really sad.
Like really dressed, outdated.
You're like, how old are these pitchers?
(04:24):
Well, they were current, but you know, when you're a missionary you just get what you get.
Like you're a
Heath Hollensbe (04:27):
missionary in China 'cause you can't make friends here.
I don't know.
Yeah.
It was
Caesar Kalinowski (04:30):
horrible.
And they were always really, really sad.
And um, you know, every few months one of 'em would show up from the field was always, they came from the field.
Yep.
Which I thought meant like out where I lost balls and frisbees, you know, out in the field.
Sure.
And they would show us lots and lots of slides that were of kids with bugs in their eyes and all that.
Yeah.
And that's what a missionary was.
Yep.
And um, I remember thinking like, if I ever really, really, you know, I was a C Christian as a kid, but I remember thinking, if I really give my life to Jesus, like really go all in.
(04:59):
I know he's gonna call me to Africa.
Yeah.
I'm gonna be the Shorthaired guy crying all the time and just jump ahead a few years later.
That was me, you know, just heartbroken over all lost people, you know?
And I was in Africa for years and years and years and off and on, you know, so,
Heath Hollensbe (05:13):
but the crazy thing is that the Bible actually teaches something totally different.
It teaches us that.
All Christians are actually missionaries.
This isn't just reserved for a select few people.
Caesar Kalinowski (05:21):
For sure.
And I think everybody knows that, right?
Everybody listening goes, I know that we're a missionary, we're all a missionary.
Yeah, right?
Um, but here's the thing that everybody doesn't all necessarily know.
It's an identity thing.
Hmm.
Our identity as Christians flows right from God himself and.
We, this is a Trinitarian God, right?
Father, son, and Holy Spirit.
(05:42):
And the Spirit was the sending agent of Jesus and is the sending agent in the church.
And our God is a missionary God and we are his offspring.
Hmm.
So really, a.
Christians we're all missionaries, like at a core identity level.
It's not like, you know, like when I was a kid in Sunday school, they'd go like, well, Caesar, you know, you are a missionary too.
(06:05):
Just like those pictures down the wall, you know?
Yep.
Well, you're a missionary too, but on the playground.
Huh.
So make sure you invite everybody to church on Sunday, right?
You know, ha here, hand these out.
And literally, because I, I was trying to be like this little missionary kid.
I would, I would, I would take all the Sunday school papers, you know, those little, you know, half folds, you know, like, yep.
Oh, I remember this full color little Bible story.
And a few questions at the end.
(06:26):
A little warning, if you don't do this, you know, like some sort of morality clause moving in there.
I would, I would scoop up all the extras.
There was always like at least a dozen extra.
And I would go up and down my, the blocks in my neighborhood, I would knock on doors and I'd go, hi.
I just thought maybe, you know, if you didn't make it to church today, you'd like this.
Heath Hollensbe (06:42):
Oh.
Caesar Kalinowski (06:43):
And I'd hand 'em out.
I mean, no way.
Yeah, because I was the little neighborhood missionary.
Right.
Wow.
Yeah.
But no, but you know what I mean, so I kinda had this curse we understanding of it.
No one ever said, no, no, no, no.
Wait a minute.
If you're a Christian and you believe your Trinitarian identity, your identity flows from father, son and spirit.
Yep.
That your.
A missionary that's, we have a missionary God we're created in his image and it's an off stream.
(07:06):
So yeah, we're all missionaries.
If you're, if you're a
Heath Hollensbe (07:08):
Christian, that's who you
Caesar Kalinowski (07:09):
are.
Heath Hollensbe (07:09):
And what's crazy is that it doesn't seem like this is a new concept when you look at actually where the first missionary kind of experience happened, it's way earlier in the story than we typically would think.
It goes all the way back to Genesis three.
Yep.
Right.
God being the perfect example.
Yep.
Back in the garden.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Pursuing people exactly.
Caesar Kalinowski (07:27):
Immediately after God's beloved image, bearers your first two.
Adam and Eve chose a life of self rule one where they thought they could manage the knowledge of good and evil and right and wrong for themselves.
God goes on a rescue mission.
We, we see him, he goes looking for them.
It says, that's his heart, right?
He goes, where are you?
And he goes, he goes, looking for them.
Where are you?
And then, you know, in the ultimate missionary journey flowing out of his identity, just like his father.
(07:52):
Jesus comes here to this earth and he takes on the the form of us humans so that he can come and rescue us and restore us back to the way we were originally created to live.
Hmm, close to God.
Bearing his image, showing the world what he's like.
So if you're a Christian, then you're a missionary too.
Father son us, created the same image.
We're missionaries and it's, it's not what we do that makes us missionaries.
(08:16):
It's who we are.
Yeah.
Just like Jesus and his father.
And in some ways you could say that being a missionary is our family business.
Hmm.
And I think, I think why people don't really embrace it, even though everybody listening goes, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I know.
We're all missionaries.
We don't break, we don't believe it's part of our identity.
Yeah.
It's part of our birthright.
We don't If you view it with something we go do.
Right.
We think if you go overseas and do this Yeah.
Or move somewhere maybe.
(08:37):
Okay.
Listen, I know there's missionaries in the states too, so go move to Compton or go move to some inner city thing.
Sure.
Then you live like a missionary and you have to be poor and wear corduroy and all, you know?
Yeah.
Like, so what you do equals who you are.
And that's back to that do to be distortion.
Yep.
And until we lose that, until we believe, no, no, no.
We are creating the image of this missionary God who not only goes, but he sends.
Yeah.
(08:57):
And we've been sent once.
Jesus says, as I was sent, sent here, right on a missionary journey.
So I send you, he says to his disciples, and he breathes his breath into them giving him life.
Well, what's that remind us of?
Back to Genesis.
Yep.
When God forms Adam and Eve from the dust of the ground by his hands and he breathes his own breath, the word is ruach spirit into them, giving them life and then says, go be fruitful and multiply.
(09:20):
Like, go make more copies of my image, you know?
Yeah.
So, yeah, we're
Heath Hollensbe (09:24):
missionaries.
And one thing I appreciate that you just mentioned is that, um, that the, the Disciple or the command of Jesus is to go and make,not to come and see, like, don't come and see this beautiful building and get people to this thing, uh, go and making disciples.
It wasn't just a suggestion, right?
No, it was a command.
Yeah.
Uh, and it was a command to come and walk in the normalcy of life.
(09:46):
It wasn't.
You know, come sit with me for an hour a week and let me try to crack as your cranium as hard as I can with a building in a building in rows
Caesar Kalinowski (09:53):
and Right.
No.
Right.
Jesus came to show the world what God his father is truly like, and he came as a missionary and that's why we go, okay, so you're right.
Jesus.
Command, not suggestion was to go and make disciples.
And he didn't say, Hey, ask people to come and see what they think.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
Yeah.
And listen to a bunch of stuff year after year after year.
(10:14):
Um, he always intended just as he lived that we would incarnate.
That word means to take on flesh, right?
Yep.
Incarnate his mission out there in the world, out in our neighborhoods, off at the office, you know, wherever you work in a gym at thepark, you go to showing the world what he's like, what the father's like, and sharing the gospel with others by both our life's display.
(10:36):
Our words.
Hmm.
And so regardless of how God decides to route our paychecks, right?
Yep.
Some people get their paychecks routed through the business they work for, and some people get 'em routed through a church.
Some get 'em, you know, routed through a missionary agency.
Regardless, however, we are all full-time paid missionaries.
Yeah.
I mean, just stop and think about that an honor.
(10:56):
Like, well, I'm not a full-time missionary, you know, I don't work for ywam, or, you know, whatever.
Or, or this church, wait a minute.
Your identity is that of a missionary.
And if you slept sheltered last night and ate some food in the last 24 hours, you know, you've got clothing you own, then God's, god's kept his end of the bargain.
He's met your needs.
Yeah.
Right.
And we had a lot of wants, but you know, he's met our needs.
(11:17):
And so if you, if you are eating and sheltered and own clothing and all, then you're a full-time funded full, fully funded missionary already, right?
Yeah.
So, you know.
Wanna find the missionary in your neighborhood?
Look in the mirror If you're a Christian.
Yeah, you're right.
Seriously.
And take that seriously.
Are you, are you living outta that identity?
Yeah, absolutely.
(11:38):
Like, can we get to, well, you know, or are we blowing that off?
Thinking, well, I don't know, maybe there'll be another
Heath Hollensbe (11:42):
Yeah,
Caesar Kalinowski (11:43):
right.
You know, are you the one, or should we wait for another, you
Heath Hollensbe (11:46):
know?
Well, and I'm wondering too, like, for people who are listening that are going like, ah, I have not thought about it like this.
Or feeling convicted by what you're saying.
Um.
That wanna start living like missionaries living in their true identity as Christians, right where they are.
H how would you, how would you recommend they get started in this?
Caesar Kalinowski (12:03):
Well, first listen to lots more Life School podcast.
Yeah.
That's all we talk about, right?
Yeah.
I mean really we, we, today we're talking about like particularly the identity of missionaries, but um.
Yeah, but that, I mean, this, this is really what it's all about is living out of identity.
Yeah.
But, but maybe this'll help.
Okay.
Imagine if you will, imagine if you and your family, maybe along with a few close friends, were sent and fully funded to goto another country and establish the gospel to start a church or a ministry where you'd see people come to faith in Jesus.
(12:38):
You know, what would you immediately begin to do when you got on the ground?
Remember, you're going for this reason, you're fully funded, you know, you're all there.
You sold your stuff, or you packed it up, it came with you, whatever, you and your family, maybe a few friends, you're there.
What would you immediately begin to do?
What would your life consist of?
What would your focus be?
Heath Hollensbe (12:54):
Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski (12:54):
You know, how would you be with and among the people there?
Would you just like do it sort of nine to five, you know?
Or would you do it like two hours on Sunday and go like, well, we're here, but you know, we're, we're inviting everybody kind.
We run into like this one thing.
Um, they don't understand this 'cause they've never seen a church, but that's what we're doing.
But the rest of the week, you know, I gotta live my life man.
I need margin.
You know, it's, margins are important, right?
(13:16):
Boundaries.
And I've asked this question a lot of people, like people who don't even barely know what I'm talking about.
I'll go like, Hey, if you move to another country and you're gonna try to start like a Gospel work, see people come to faith, Disciple people to maturity, um, what would you start doing?
Yeah.
You know, what would you be about?
And you know what people say?
Their answers are really similar.
They're remarkably similar.
In fact, they say stuff like, well, we start by getting to know the language of the local people.
(13:39):
Yep.
Now you think, well, like if I'm an issue in my neighborhood, I already know English.
Mm. You know what I mean?
There's a difference.
Yeah.
How, how do people communicate What's funny to them?
What are they about?
What do they pay attention to?
Shows they watch all that.
Right.
Um, they say things like, well, we'd eat what and where the locals ate.
So instead of just holding up in our house, we'd, we'd want to eat what they ate and go where they eating.
(14:02):
Right.
And we'd wanna start to dress more like them and adopt some of their customs when we first moved to the Pacific Northwest, you know, I'm a Lifetime Bears fan, you know, um, I'm now a Seahawks fan.
'cause guess what?
You bear, you know, you rejoice with those who rejoice and you, you know, mourn with those, you mourn, right?
That's right.
So I had a, you know, you take on the customs, right?
Yeah.
People say to me things like, well, um, I think when we got there, we would start to shop at the same places over and over to get to know those shop owners and restaurant owners.
(14:31):
And we'd wanna get to know the staff and tip well and look for ways to be a blessing to them and listen well, so we could see if there's ways we could serve 'em and, you know, get, get more involved in their lives and invite them into ours.
We'd start to build relationships and friendships with people.
Yeah, that'd be key.
And I think, you know what, that's a pretty good start right here, where we live in our neighborhoods too.
Yeah.
You know what's funny is I, I had to say, wouldn't that be great?
(14:52):
It'd be amazing.
I mean, just think about if every Christian had that mindset because they believed their identity.
Heath Hollensbe (14:58):
Yeah.
It'd be pretty different, you know?
Well, it reminds me a conversation I had recently with a, well, not recently, about a year ago with my ex-boss and, and we were having this discussion over getting involved in the Pacific Northwest 'cause his boss wasn't from here.
And I said, well, this is what we do here.
And that person said, well, I don't, I don't like that.
I don't do that.
I'm like, well stop being a terrible missionary.
Like, yeah, if you moved here, you gotta engage here.
(15:19):
I mean, you more tattoos, you gotta get some heavy
Caesar Kalinowski (15:21):
boots and some flannels.
Grow a goatee.
I mean, that's just for women.
I mean, that's just for the women.
Yeah.
Right.
Drink some IPAs.
You, I, I have to be honest with you here, Heath and, and everybody listening after living this way, like, as a missionary, believe inmy identity and living, you know, on the ground trying to live like one, uh, with others in the community for close to two decades now.
(15:42):
Like a localized ministry.
I don't think there's a huge difference between being a missionary here in America or you know, in the, in the, let's just say in Western culture, home, basically wherever home is compared to living this way in a foreign country.
People are people.
That's the thing I've come to learn is we've traveled all over the world and trained people in discipleship and spent in some cases, quite a bit of time with people.
(16:04):
Um, we all have many of the same needs and fears and the gospel speaks into all of them.
Yep.
I think, I think the biggest, and there are cultural differences, but the thing behind the thing and people's hearts, not that differe.
Yeah, it just isn't, I agree, the things are important to people, not that different, but I think the biggest difference that I see, um, and constantly feel is there's two things pulling at me.
(16:26):
It's my past experience of just going to church instead of being the church.
Yep.
Okay.
That kind of mucks things up for us and my lack of faith that the gospel is truly good news for everyone and everything.
Hmm.
I mean, please hear this if you're listening today.
Yeah.
I think those are the two biggest things.
Keeping people from living as missionaries.
Right now, wherever they're at, they, they still think it's about going to church.
(16:50):
Yeah.
Instead of being the church.
That's an identity thing.
And they don't really think the gospel's that good in news.
They're not that fluent to say like, oh, whatever's going on in your life.
Well, Jesus life, death and resurrection speaks into that and speaks into your identity and God loves you.
See, our tendency to revert back to making everything about an, uh, an event or a weekly meeting or a teaching time.
(17:10):
Hmm.
It's as if, if we believe that, if, if people were just here one more good sermon.
Oh my God.
Yeah.
Or they just did one more Bible study with us.
That would be the flip.
Yeah.
They would really get that.
That would, it's not that park.
No, it's not.
Because if that was truly the case, then why didn't Jesus just broadcast some, some good news really loudly from heaven, you know?
Yeah.
So that he could, in a planet, could hear it.
He could have, think about it.
(17:31):
Yeah.
If all we needed is one really solid, one more solid sermon, Jesus would've delivered it long ago.
Really loud, global listening, you know?
And you know why I didn't.
Here's why.
Because the good news, the gospel, it's not a set of historical facts or a bunch of programs or meetings.
The gospel is a person.
Hmm.
The gospel's a person.
Yeah.
(17:51):
Jesus is the Gospel.
And his spirit now sends and empowers us as missionaries on the same incarnation gospel mission.
Heath Hollensbe (18:01):
We gotta believe that.
And isn't it amazing?
Uh, and you, you're two decades plus at this right now.
Uh, I'm probably a decade.
I haven't counted recently, but it is, it is such a fun journey too, when you actually are not trying to get people to a building like a ra, wrestling a cow, like, and you actually can live in life or mark em.
I gotta get him to say this prayer.
I gotta get him to say this prayer.
Yeah, yeah.
No, but you just love them and you serve them and you hang out with them.
(18:23):
Treat 'em like family from the get go.
It's the most fun and natural way of living out there.
Caesar Kalinowski (18:28):
Oh, it is, it is, it is the thrill.
I, I tell people, this is the life you are created to live.
Yeah.
And if you let God and the Gospel wash away all your fears and past insecurities, learnings from, you know, weird church teachings that aren't even found in scripture anywhere.
Yeah.
Um, this is the most exciting life you could ever live.
And it's free.
People say, yeah.
It's just, it just sounds so bad.
(18:49):
I'm just way too busy for, I'm like.
No, you're not.
You filled your life up with lesser things.
Yeah.
And you're not believing your identity.
Absolutely.
Really.
Trust me.
You won't know it until you trust God.
And, and get into it, but I'm gonna loan you some faith.
Uncle Frank here is gonna loan you some faith.
This is the thrill lie.
I mean, this is the thrill ride that we were created to live.
It's amazing.
Believe your identity as a missionary.
(19:10):
You're the missionary in your neighborhood, so get after it.
Heath Hollensbe (19:13):
So like if, if this is true and each and every one of are Christians are missionaries mm-hmm.
Call to our neighborhoods and our workplaces and everywhere, pretty much there are people.
What do you think would change if the church, if all Christians.
I actually really not only believed this, but lived it out, lived out of this true God-given identity as missionaries.
Caesar Kalinowski (19:32):
Oh man.
What a great question.
I can't even think.
I mean, if every Christian believed their identity as a missionary and started just like seeking out who else is God waiting to bring to the table, which is everybody.
Yeah.
And treated everybody like a family.
We would see not only a reversal of how.
Sort of the church has been marginalized by culture.
Sure.
'cause we're just weird and we're separatists and we're kind of about bad news and we're not seen as people who wanna celebrate or party or hang out much.
(19:59):
And unless, unless everybody does everything on our terms in our building, you know, all that stuff.
Yeah.
If, if all of a sudden we were like to take this command to go and make disciples and we lived as missionaries, we would see such a wave of people going.
I knew it.
I knew it had be better.
Yeah.
Stepping into that.
Yeah.
This is beautiful.
God is not who I thought he was.
I'm seen in your life.
Heath Hollensbe (20:21):
Yep.
Caesar Kalinowski (20:22):
Something very, very different.
And you're saying that your life is his life and that we're an image bearer.
In fact, I don't even know if I believe it, but you're telling me I was creating that same image.
Man, I wanna know more about that.
I don't even know how to begin, bro.
I get, I get a little clamped, I get a little choked up.
If the church actually believed.
What God says is true of us, and we lived as missionaries.
Oh man, it
Heath Hollensbe (20:41):
would be beautiful.
Caesar Kalinowski (20:42):
We'd see the world start to change.
And you know what?
And it's happening and God is doing it.
And I believe that God, uh, is, is faithful and he's not a liar.
And he, and he says in, you know, in Revelation, he said that there's a day coming when every knee is gonna bend and every tongue confess that Jesus is in fact Lord and God himself is gonna come back and dwell amongst us here.
Yeah.
Physically, bodily on earth.
(21:04):
So cool.
And there'll be no more tears and no more separation and fear and lies and murder and death and sickness and all of it.
Well, we get to be a part of that restoration right now.
Oh my gosh, it's beautiful.
How, how, how can we shoot so low of a mark to like, well, you know, the American dream, you know, or.
Or the Norwegian dream or whatever.
(21:24):
Yeah.
You know, European dream life where I, I need more of that and I need a bigger one of those, and I need a fatter one of those, and a faster one of those and like, oh my gosh, shoot so much higher.
Shoot for eternity.
Yeah.
Oh, we get to
Heath Hollensbe (21:35):
absolutely.
Oh, count me in, ma'am.
I know, brother.
Hey, let's get to the big three.
Uh.
Which are the big three takeaways.
If nothing else, we want you to walk away with from this episode and you get 'em as a printable PDF as a download by going to everyday Disciple dot com slash big three.
Again, that's everyday Disciple dot com slash big three.
Caesar big three for this week.
Okay.
Caesar Kalinowski (21:55):
Again, if nothing else, don't miss these.
Real quick, sweet, simple.
If you're a Christian, you're a missionary.
Let that sink in.
You are whatcha gonna do with it.
Right.
It is part of your identity and your birthright.
Missionaries aren't a special subset of the church and missions, quote unquote, is not something that only happens overseas.
Yeah.
There are opportunities to be a living representation of what God's like and a physical rep representation of the gospel all around us.
Heath Hollensbe (22:22):
Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski (22:23):
Do this together with other missionaries in your family, your church and Missional Community.
'cause you get to Right.
Believe it.
Get to, yeah.
Own it.
Number two.
Loving God and others with all our hearts and minds and strength fulfills the law and the great commission.
Okay.
What I mean by that is when we truly grasp how much God loves us Yep.
(22:44):
And desires a relationship with us and everyone, others, then we'll wanna go and invite others to walk with us as we walk with Jesus.
That's what discipleship is.
Yeah.
Walk with us as we walk with Jesus.
He's transforming us.
Our lives are an extension of God's glory.
And love as we live as everyday missionaries, right?
Where he's placed us today.
Heath Hollensbe (23:04):
And once you truly see the good news for what it is, it's impossible to stay silent.
I mean, everyone has to hear it.
Caesar Kalinowski (23:08):
Oh yeah,
Heath Hollensbe (23:09):
please.
Caesar Kalinowski (23:10):
Yeah.
Heath Hollensbe (23:10):
Number three in every
Caesar Kalinowski (23:11):
area of life, right?
Yeah.
Not just good news about our aftermath.
Yeah.
Third thing is, um, cross your yard or, and cross the fence.
And cross the street before you worry about crossing the globe.
Oh, that's good.
You know, I was a missions pastor for years.
I, I, and we used to just, you know, like tons of people, tons of money and go off and then do you know, quote unquote short-term mission trips.
(23:32):
Mostly people had never made a Disciple in their life, never shared their faith, didn't live as a missionary locally, like get to the, know the names of at least five of your neighbors.
This.
Heath Hollensbe (23:42):
Easy task, right?
Yeah.
Like most
Caesar Kalinowski (23:44):
people don't.
Yeah.
But you get to invite one other person or couple over to join you for a simple meal.
You're already eating 21 meals this week.
Yeah.
But invite someone over this week for a meal.
Pray and ask God who he would have you bless with either your words or a small gift or an act of service this week, and then ask what's next, Lord?
And do that next week.
(24:05):
You are.
The missionary in your neighborhood.
So get started believing and live in this truth today.
We get to Yeah, absolutely.
We get to, it's so glorious.
Heath Hollensbe (24:13):
That's the challenge.
Five people's names and one person at least over for dinner this week.
Yeah.
Everyone can do that.
Caesar Kalinowski (24:19):
And then look, look to bless somebody and ask God.
Well, okay, then what's next?
Yeah, and by the way too, I just wanna remind you if you, if you want to grow in your gospel fluency so that.
In all these actions, the gospel's just flowing into everyday life.
Go to everyday Disciple dot com slash webinar and you can sign up.
It's free and uh, it's packed.
It's a packed training.
So yeah, please join me for that.
Heath Hollensbe (24:38):
Awesome.
Thanks for joining us today.
For more information on this show and to get loads of free discipleship resources, visit everyday Disciple dot com and remember, you really can live with a spiritual freedom and relational peace that Jesus promised every day.
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