June 6, 2024 • 55 mins
Join us for a special conversation with Connor Kraus, the lead pastor of Topeka Bible Church. In this episode, we delve into the strategic transition of pastoral leadership, TBC's dedication to its missions and the gospel, and Connor's vision for the church's future. Discover how he is guiding the church towards enhanced discipleship, increased local outreach, and a stronger digital media presence. We also explore the church's commitment to comprehensive biblical teaching and its mission to help congregants develop a profound and balanced understanding of scripture.
Turning our attention to community efforts, we address the pressing issue of homelessness and the crucial role faith-based organizations play in tackling it. Through understanding "They Why" and "The How," we highlight the impactful and crucial partnership between Topeka Rescue Mission and local churches. Learn how community unity and shared values are essential in addressing societal challenges, and be inspired by the incredible efforts of Topeka Bible Church and other local entities working together to make a meaningful difference.
To learn more about Topeka Bible Church, Click Here!
To learn more about TRM Ministries: Click Here!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Heavenly Father.
We thank you, lord, for thisday and this time to record this
podcast.
God, we thank you, lord, forthe work that you continue to do
in this community and in thechurch.
Lord, we pray that this episodewould glorify and honor you and
, lord, that listeners wouldhear it, would be encouraged and
blessed.
Today, in your holy name, wepray, amen.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Hello everybody.
You're listening to OurCommunity, Our Mission, a
podcast of the Topeka RescueMission here on Thursday June 6,
2024, episode number 225.
How are you doing, LaMandaBroyles?
I'm wonderful, how are you?
Good, we don't have Miriam withus today.
She's on special assignmentdoing something yeah the other
assigned duties.
The other assigned duties yeswhich is most of her job
(00:41):
description.
That's right.
Yeah, so we have a very specialguest.
We're going to get right intothis today.
That is a good friend.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
And who is a leader in our community and I think
currently is and will be a gamechanger for a lot of things in
this community, so I agree.
Yeah, so before we get to that,we have those essentials that
people actually tune into ourcommunity, our mission to learn,
and that is what's specialabout today.
So one of the things that'sspecial about this day on June
(01:10):
the 6th is National Drive-InMovie Day.
They still have those.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
That was the only movie theater when I was a kid
was a drive-in movie theater, ofcourse it was, and then they
put them inside.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
That was just a couple of days ago.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
And then they don't do them anymore at all, anywhere
, I don't think, because youcould do it at home, right?
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Yeah, they do it in Oklahoma.
Poto Oklahoma is still adrive-in movie theater.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
We were so excited, you know, just to get the
popcorn and sit there and have alittle speaker on the window
and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
And today a drive-in movie is in your garage.
I know, but I think they arecoming back.
It kind of reminds me of theFlintstones.
You know the opening of it andhe pulls in the thing and the
little thing comes on the window.
I know, you know about the.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Flintstones?
Yes, I do, I brought those backtoo.
Okay, so also on June the 6th,it's National Applesauce Cake
Day.
You're grimacing.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Yeah, I'm not sure I like that.
You don't have.
You had applesauce cake.
I have, was it good?
No, okay, okay, moving along.
That's just anotherconfirmation, barry, that I
needed to take your spot.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
So the next one and the last one before we talk to
our guest here today is one ofthese very important days,
amanda, and I think I don't knowif it's because it reminds me
of you, or it- I was going tosay something tacky about you
and you beat me Especiallyaround going to say something
tacky about you and you beat meespecially around the
cockroaches, termites.
We don't get into the details.
It's actually World Pest Day,LaManda.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Yeah, and you are the poster child for that.
You love to be a pest toeverybody, that's what
consultants do?
Speaker 3 (02:36):
is they pest people who need to?
Speaker 1 (02:38):
be pested, that's right, yes.
And you've had a lot of yearsbecause you remember the you
know National Drive-In movies.
I do.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
Good, good, good memories.
I remember one time I ate toomuch popcorn and threw up in the
car, but my parents took meback again after a while to
clean it up.
So but anyway, I mean it was agreat family activity.
We didn't have any television.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
How are we supposed to do a podcast after that
visual Well speaking of.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
World Pest Day.
We have a pastor with us andsome people call them pesters.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
That is the worst segue into a guest since we've
started.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
I used to be a youth pastor and so some people call
it pastor.
I think we, connor.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
I am really sorry, you know you're such a good
friend, we can do this.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
We have Connor Krause here with us today.
He is the lead pastor at TopekaBible Church.
Welcome to our community, ourmission, hey, thank you for
having me.
And you actually are stayingafter all that huh.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Well, if anybody heard the conversation before
the podcast started they wouldknow my endurance.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
That's right.
That's right, Connor.
Topeka Bible Church has beenaround in Topeka for a long time
85 years, 85 years.
It was Loman Methodist at thatsite before that.
Right yeah, that site.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Loman's been around longer.
Yeah, so Topeka Bible Churchmoved to the location we're at
now, off of 10th and Mulvane, in1966,.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
I think Okay, all right Very good Off of Polk.
Polk Okay, okay.
So how long?
Okay, you mentioned how many,80 some years.
Topeka Bible Church's presence,a lot of growth and expansion
over the years, yeah, where youguys have been since the 60s at
that particular location.
What's a general?
A lot of people know about TBC,some don't.
What would you kind ofgenerally describe Topeka Bible
(04:21):
Church?
We have churches in Topeka.
We have lots of differentbrands.
We have denominational churches.
This is a non-denominationalchurch, so how do you describe
it for a person who maybe isn'tquite sure?
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Yeah, so the sort of boring definition is we're
non-denominational in the sensethat we're not aligned with any
particular denomination, but Imean, the really foundation of
our church is well.
Okay, so very quick story.
This came about because and thereason I had 85 years off the
top of my head there was abinder that was uncovered
recently.
That was a scrapbook, basicallyfrom the 70s and anyhow, it had
(04:58):
a newspaper clipping on theinside of it.
And this is news that nobodywill care about but is
fascinating, which is we havehad this story within TBC of how
the church got started that hasbeen passed down from like
pastor to pastor.
Right, this is exactly what Jim.
He was the lead pastor therefor 40 years that it was part of
(05:20):
a Methodist church and this guynamed Walter Warner, he left
and sort of founded this church.
And it was he left and sort offounded this church and it was
this very like sort of innocuousbeginning.
Well, come to find out, he gotkicked out of the Methodist
church and he did so because hewas a real pastor over there.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
Right.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Exactly, and so we had no idea about this that our
church was sort of founded bythis guy who was removed, but
anyhow, it was because he washolding to some more literal
interpretations of scriptureabout the return of Christ and
the authority of the word.
And so I digress Basically from.
His beginning is kind of how wegot started, and it's been a
(05:54):
focus on missions in the Bibleever since, and so it's always
been about impacting thecommunity and global missions as
much as possible and then justreally trying to teach the word
as faithfully as we can.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
You mentioned Jim Congdon, who was a lead pastor
there for 40 years.
Yes, and so when did you guysmake the transition where you
became now currently lead pastor, and what were you doing right
before that?
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Sure, so I.
We made the transition in thefall of 21, I believe, and
Isaiah is shaking his head, thatfall of 21, I believe, and
Isaiah's shaking his head, thatmakes okay.
I'm glad to get someconfirmation and I was the
student pastor there before thatfor a couple of years.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
And you are a Topeka guy.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Yeah, born and raised , went to Shawnee Heights Great
day to be a T-bird.
And so, yeah, I went born justactually across the street from
Topeka Bible Church at StormontVale.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
You and Jim made your transition from somebody who'd
been there a long time to you, alittle before LaManda and I did
.
Actually, we were watching howyou were doing it and reading
how you were doing it.
And we gleaned some reallyimportant things out of that
very well-communicatedtransition.
And you know it's not always aneasy thing, and LaManna and I
(07:10):
have talked about this withdifferent rescue ministries
around the country.
You're having somebody that'sbeen in the leadership position
for a very, very long time andthen somebody new comes in and
there's always challenges withthat.
But you guys have really movedthrough that well and it seems
like it's moved well here.
Right, amanda?
Tell everybody it's right.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Let's go back to that national pest day, remember.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
So, yeah, you guys really thoroughly thought this
out, and sometimes this is whateven can result in church splits
and those kinds of things thathas not happened here.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
No, but to be honest with you, I have really no
credit in the transition.
It it has a lot to do with thehumility of the outgoing leader.
And Jim I could say a lot ofthings about him.
He is a mentor of mine, he's aspiritual leader of mine.
He I mean he was the leadpastor for four I think it
might've been ended up being 41years and and Jim is still
(08:06):
full-time on staff.
He's the pastor of missions andleadership development and so
he and I I mean we see eachother all the time have a great
relationship.
So that was really critical toit.
But I walked in.
When I was hired as studentpastor, there was no intention
of me becoming the lead pastor.
In fact that was kind ofexpressed, that this was not
(08:27):
something that you were cominginto, you're not a candidate,
and making a long story short.
That ended up not being thecase.
But I walked in sort of in themiddle of a process that had
already begun, with a lot ofwisdom before me, and so I kind
of rode the coattails of allthat thought and prayer and, uh,
since then it has been, it'sbeen wonderful, really enjoyed
(08:50):
it.
Um, I started going to TBC whenI was in high school and, uh,
it's where I met my wife.
Um, we were both interns there,and so a lot of affection and
love for the church.
My in-laws still go there,which that's fun.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Amanda, I hope you took a lotof notes from what he just said
about all those good compliments.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Yeah, connor and I had a deal before this and he
backed out we were supposed tobash you and Jim?
No, no, yes, won't be the firsttime, I know.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
So no, connor, that's your history with TBC coming in
.
It's unique.
Yes, yeah, especially for it tobe successful as it has been.
So TBC's had a lot of impact inthe community in many, many
different ways.
We talked about growth ofmembership or people attending
(09:44):
it's.
Actually, you have twodifferent buildings at least two
that I'm aware of for Sundaymorning services.
One's across the street fromthe other one and you pipe in
the video.
That's something.
So how many services do youhave as far as worship?
Speaker 2 (10:01):
We have two.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
we have a nine o'clock and 10.30 in both of the
locations 9 o'clock and 10.30,and those are pretty packed out
most of the time that I've beenover there.
And so, connor, there's beenthe history of impact in the
community.
Obviously, staying true tomissions and staying true to the
gospel, yeah, and having peoplethat have supported that,
(10:24):
sometimes being controversial insome of those areas.
Not everybody embraces some ofthe positions that TBC has taken
, but you haven't wavered fromyour understanding of biblical
understanding and biblicalfoundation.
And so what do you see is thevalue?
I know this is kind of a broadquestion.
What is the value in themission of TBC and Topeka?
Speaker 2 (10:45):
Yeah, that's a great question Um, two things I would
say, um, one of them is isphilosophical or biblical, and
then one of them is morepractical.
Um, so, actually going back tothat scrapbook I mentioned
earlier, um, I was going throughthey had kept pamphlets like
church service pamphlets from,you know, the forties and
(11:08):
fifties and the sixties, and Iwas just reading them and going
through and I saw our very firstannual budget from back in 1939
, which included a line item forcoal and a number of other
things.
But all that to say, one of theinitiating ideas for TBC as a
congregation was that it wouldgive a significant portion of
(11:29):
its budget and resources towardsmissions, and so back then it
was about 50 percent, and as thescope of the church has grown
it has been difficult tomaintain a 50 percent amount,
but still we give about 20percent, or we do give 20% of
our annual budget towardsmissions and outreach, and so
(11:49):
that in and of itself has alwaysinformed our passions and
projects and pursuits, becausewe've always had a heart for
missions, and that was bothlocally and globally.
The other thing that's reallyaffected our ministry at TBC is
under Jim's leadership.
Tbc really did growsignificantly, and there came a
(12:12):
time back in like the late 90swhen we were sort of needing to
figure out what we were going todo.
Were we going to move, are wegoing to stay, are we going to
build All those things?
And TBC is.
I mean we're right next to thelibrary, we're landlocked.
This is why we have twodifferent auditoriums that are
both in the same build, butinstead we were going to really
(12:47):
just use the resources around us.
And so the Methodist churchthey're building the Loman Hill
Methodist church that you weretalking about.
They had an assisted livinghome, methodist home for the
aged is what the cornerstonesays.
Right across the street.
That was in unbelievabledisrepair but we also got it for
a total bargain and since thenwe have been filling that space
(13:09):
with ministry.
But that was kind of acommitment very early on, or I
guess I should say kind of at aninflection point, that hey, the
focus of our church is going tobe we want to impact our
immediate neighborhood, theElmhurst community, loman Hill.
We want to try and be goodneighbors and do all those
things.
So, anyhow, that affects otherthings I could talk about.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
I think that that's an important point, because a
lot of times urban churches whoget to a certain size move out
and they leave the downtownareas and oftentimes that leaves
a real void in those downtownareas.
A lot of times those buildingsare big and old and been used
and sometimes they go dormant.
(13:50):
I mean, there's been homelessindividuals who have resided in
some abandoned churches in ourdowntown area.
It's nice to build newbuildings, it feels good and
everything, until they startwearing out too.
But you have opportunitieswhere you're not landlocked and
it's easier making somedecisions.
It might be a little morecostly on the front end, but you
(14:13):
guys decided to stay put.
That would have been a bigdecision.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Yeah, I can't take.
I'm thankful for it.
I can't take any credit for it.
But yeah, it's, and I don'tthink it's to in any way, you
know, make a statement aboutother churches, in so far as
it's just.
That was a commitment that wereally wanted to keep.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
Well, you have planted some other churches of
fellowship being one and it'sit's been in two or three
different places and it's a hugeplace out off of Eurasian 10th
and they're doing great churchand and similar to TBC, I would
think, in its mission and itsassignment.
No Joe out there, joe Hishma,great, great pastor.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
I was hanging out with him earlier today, so yeah,
great guy, great people.
So, because of your before yourtime, it was decided Southwest
TBC would be another one, aswell.
Yeah, it ended just a few yearsago, but that was another
church Topeka Baptist.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
I think has that building now.
Yeah, it ended just a few yearsago but that was another church
, topeka Baptist, I think hasthat building now.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
Yeah, they do, it's their youth facility.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
I attended a funeral service at Topeka Baptist last
week and that's a beautifulfacility they have.
So new lead pastor now there'salways some new directions and
those kind of things.
What's new about TPC now thatyou've been in the driver's seat
(15:27):
?
What's the vision that iscarrying the ball forward?
That already began, but what'sdifferent?
Speaker 2 (15:36):
Sure.
So that's a great question.
I'm trying to.
I think one of the hard thingand I'm sure Lamanda could
relate to this when you um havethe privilege of leading an
organization with size, um,changes like turning a cruise
ship it uh, to do it quickly, uhwould throw people off the
(15:59):
decks, and so there, um, overthe last three years there's
probably been more subtlechanges that not everybody would
notice.
A couple things we moved a.
We're actually looking for thisposition, but with a desire to
increase our local outreach,we're trying to hire a.
(16:21):
Every church has sort of threewords.
Ours are discover, connect andserve.
That's what we would call ourdiscipleship process.
We're looking for somebody overthe serve pastor that could
really sort of increase ouralready, I would say,
significant commitment to thecommunity by developing more
relationships and things likethat.
That would be a difference.
We have become more clear aboutthat process that I just
(16:45):
mentioned discovering,connecting and serving.
We feel like people who areit's not so much a matter of
commitment, but our mission isleading people to life in Christ
, and so we've really tried tocenter all of our ministries
around this idea of sort ofthose three concepts that
somebody who is discoveringGod's word, connecting with his
people and serving in hiskingdom, somebody who is
(17:05):
discovering God's word,connecting with his people and
serving in his kingdom.
We have we were talking aboutthis before the podcast started
but trying to maybe expand ourdigital media outreach and sort
of the way that we're, I reallyfeel like not just social media
but sort of the internet andsort of the spaces that people
are in online.
(17:25):
Now it's a whole nother field ofevangelism and so us being able
to take our message and sort oftransform it and contextualize
it into a way that makes sensethat way.
But, to be honest with you,there are some things that we've
got coming that I think will bepretty big here in the near
future.
But I'm a big systems guy and Iwould say that that is maybe
(17:49):
one of the bigger differencesbetween not that TBC didn't have
systems previously, but Jim ismore of a scholar than I am.
He has forgotten more about theBible than most people will
ever learn.
He is still my authority.
I'm getting ready to preach onPsalm 2 this upcoming week, and
he laid a book on my deskearlier today from his expansive
(18:14):
library.
That was immediately helpfuland exactly what I needed Anyhow
.
So I think I've taken a bitmore joy in maybe shepherding
our staff and looking atlong-term vision and systems to
continue the good work that thechurch has done as we anticipate
(18:34):
for growth.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
So there certainly is .
That was a long answer to yourquestion.
No, no, that's good, I mean itreally is, I mean you said it
well, I think, and there is, Ithink everybody's aware of
cultural shift.
It happens in every generationhas the sense of very beginning.
There is definitely a culturalshift away from faith, away from
(18:56):
church attendance, away frombiblical, foundational, biblical
foundational.
How does a church like TBCencounter the current culture,
away from something that maybeyou know back in the sixties,
seventies was, was vastlydifferent than it is today?
Speaker 2 (19:15):
Yeah, boy, I wish I had a fantastic answer for you.
So in one sense, thecongregation of TBC is
self-selected insofar as wepreach, and I preach in such a
way that the people who normallystay and are interested are
(19:39):
those who have a desire to learndeeply about scripture.
I mean, we just spent fourmonths in the book of
Deuteronomy, so that is not foreverybody, um, and and I
recognize that and I'm okay withthat Um, I.
That is something that I thinkis important, because I think
part of our job, on top ofbringing in people who don't
(20:01):
know Christ, is educating thesaints so that they know more
about Christ and, beyond just atechnical knowledge, that they
have a deep understanding andlove for scripture, and so that
is a huge priority for us.
So that is, I think, achallenge for some churches
where they um, part of theerosion of the evangelical faith
(20:24):
and witness is that I thinkwe're kind of, on a couple
decades now of churches ingeneral maybe desiring so much
to seek new people that then,when those people get in and
have maybe spent a period oftime within a church, there is
nothing wholly different aboutthe message that is being
(20:45):
presented than what the cultureis offering, and I think that's
pretty divergent with the waythat we're pursuing ministry Now
.
The obstacle then for us isfinding on-ramps for people so
that somebody who's brand new tothe church and goes whoa, four
months in Deuteronomy and you goyeah yeah, right, yeah, let me
(21:07):
tell you this.
The very first sermon seriesthat I did, um, like full sort
of a book, was in Leviticus, sothat you really are systems guy,
I, I, I am, and I love it, andso I think that that's kind of
that's sort of our perspectiveis.
Is that not that in any way wedon't want?
(21:28):
I'm not trying to excuse me,I'm not trying to say that we're
inaccessible, or hopefully not,but our challenge is those who
are coming in.
So this is why we have reallythis would be another thing that
I've changed but we've reallytried to go a long way towards
increasing our greeting ministryand sort of our follow-up
process and our new memberclasses and all of those early
(21:51):
steps, removing as many barriersas possible, because I believe
that the word of God iscaptivating and that when
somebody latches onto it andunderstands it, they want to
draw deeper.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
But it's a big bite.
So that kind of leads into mynext question is so you spend
four months in Deuteronomy, sure, spend a lot of time in
Leviticus.
You're going deep.
What's the value of that?
Why is that important, otherthan for people who just want to
go deep into understanding whatit says?
What's the value of it?
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Yeah, boy, how much time do you have?
So I'll give you the quickanswer.
So what we do as a church, theway that we're working through
the Bible, is in the spring wego through an Old Testament book
and in the fall we go through aNew Testament book.
So the fall we've been goingthrough first and second
Corinthians, this upcoming fallwill be Galatians, um, and the
(22:46):
old Testament.
It has been, uh, jim did Exodusand then I transitioned and
it's been, uh, we're justrocking through.
It's uh, leviticus, um, uh,numbers, Deuteronomy, um, and so
, as we're working through thosethings, what that helps us
accomplish is providing abiblical theology, the narrative
(23:08):
of scripture, this idea thatscripture is not just something
that we go to like a verse ofthe day and it's there to suit
our needs.
And that's not to say I meanthere's always, there is
application, there is.
Part of my job is communicating,you know.
So last week was Psalm one.
We started going through thefirst eight Psalms.
How does the path of therighteous and the wicked apply
(23:29):
to everybody?
Why is that something that youneed to understand and know, but
also that we're supposed to gobefore scripture with a heart to
be formed and molded by itinstead of anticipating that
scripture would be formed andmolded by our needs.
And so we still do topicalmessages.
We've recently done series onburnout, or we've talked about
(23:53):
family conflicts.
We've done one recently onemotions what does it mean to
have anger in a godly way andall that kind of stuff?
Godly, have anger in a godlyway and all that kind of stuff.
But I also find that we cannormally get to a lot of the
topics that people anticipateand desire by just working
through scripture itself.
So, anyhow, it's a word inchurch history that would be
(24:16):
used, for it would be like acatechism.
It's a system of instructionthat over time, bears out a type
of learning and growth.
Well, I sound like somebody whodid four months of Deuteronomy.
Speaker 3 (24:29):
Well, it's really good because I think it's fairly
unusual, and so the reason Iasked you about the value of it.
It's one thing to do a thingbecause it's you know, there's
intellectuals who really divedeep into everything, and so
there's a value for them on that.
But, if I'm hearing what you'resaying correctly, there's a
(24:51):
value to the people who come toTBC in order that they can be
more informed and embrace moreof the kingdom by going deeper.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
And, in fact, if somebody has come just because
they are wanting to dive deeperinto the word, then I haven't
done my job right, because whatI'm trying to do is grow and
continue to shepherd a churchthat desires to serve God's
kingdom and give to God'skingdom and connect with other
people within his kingdom, andso if it is just coming to
(25:21):
listen to something, then I havefailed.
If it is just coming to listento something, then I have failed
, and I have also failed toconnect scripture to the daily
life, which is why people come.
I mean, and I've messed up inthat for sure, yeah, that's
other stories.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
But you know, I recognize those things.
We have perfect intentions, butnot always perfect delivery.
I certainly know that onemyself Intentions, but not
always perfect delivery.
I certainly know that onemyself.
Lamanda as a leader of aministry and Topeka Rescue
Mission.
Many people just look at it asa service to the homeless, but
it is a ministry.
How important is it to you tohave connections with churches
(25:59):
like Topeka Bible Church thatare gospel-focused and really
attempting every way theypossibly can to equip people to
be able to share the good news?
Speaker 1 (26:09):
You know, I think it's crucial.
The Topeka Rescue Mission isnot a church, but we are a part
of the church and we want tohelp assist, we want to help
educate, we want to help learnfrom our area churches, because
it's almost like the churchshould be the why and the rescue
(26:30):
mission should be the how, andso what I love is just the
opportunity that I get to visitother area churches and hear the
different sermons, thedifferent discussions.
Sometimes it's evencontroversial.
You know there arecongregations that are
struggling with what do we dowith homelessness?
Is it unsafe?
Should we be helping?
Are we enabling?
(26:51):
And I love all of thosequestions because you've got to
know that even when Jesus walkedthe earth, he was doing things
that people questioned, like whyis he doing this and should he
be doing this for these people?
Speaker 3 (27:04):
And so the weekend you're not supposed to heal.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
And so to me, I don't think churches can really teach
people how to serve if thenthere's not places to serve
outside church buildings.
And then our part is we don'twant to get caught up in all the
different rhetorics andtraditions and things like that
Like we have people every day,um, that spend another day not
(27:34):
knowing who the Lord is, um, andso there's gotta be other
options than a Saturday, aSunday or a Wednesday, and
that's where places like theTopeka rescue mission come in.
And so I love the partnerships,I love the heart behind it.
I will tell you that some ofthe most encouraging things
outside of people themselvesexperiencing homelessness that
(27:56):
has encouraged me in this jobhas been some of the amazing
people from churches.
I just got a beautiful card froma volunteer from a church two
weeks ago that said I justwatched you on KSNT, I'm so
sorry that you have toconstantly be talking about hard
(28:16):
things, but you're the one thatneeds to lead the discussion on
hard things.
And I got that card when Iliterally was sitting in my
office where nobody sees, nobodyknows, and I'm sitting here
going what am I doing?
This person says I'm not forbusinesses or I'm not for a
thriving community, and thenthis group saying I'm being not
(28:36):
compassionate enough at all thisstuff.
And then I got that cardthinking thank you, lord.
So on a personal level, as Ilead, but also when we look at
the systems of what TRM andfaith-based should be, I just
think it's crucial to have thepartnerships and the
understanding, because reallyit's the why and the how.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
Because those whys line up so much easily?
Because just a couple of weeksago, when we were in Deuteronomy
, I preached a sermon that wasabout God's heart for the
vulnerable and needy in ancientIsrael and I think that this is
a great opportunity thatchurches have but also gives
reason why we do four months inDeuteronomy or that kind of
(29:22):
thing as that's becoming is.
It gives us the opportunity toshow people things like I mean
heavens, it's certainly, youknow, jesus is the example for
all of us but also we're talkingabout the character and
qualities of God, which do notchange.
And so if somebody is coming tous and we're able to connect the
(29:43):
heart and we talked about thehomeless in the city, we talked
about the um, the encampmentsthat were at that time were on
the news, as you know, sort ofbig equipments moving through Um
we talked about sort of what isgoing on at the heart level
when we see those things,because from eternity past into
the future, when Christ returnsand all things are redeemed,
(30:05):
until that time we have aresponsibility to support and to
love the vulnerable and theneedy, just like God does and
just like he did in Israel inthe book of Deuteronomy.
And so I think that that's anopportunity that we have.
Is, if you say, what specificrole does maybe TBC play within
the landscape of Topeka andchurches is?
(30:28):
I think one of the things thatI'm happy to be able to say is
you can find the answers tothese things in God's word, and
as we do that, like Lamanda said, then the opportunity becomes.
What are you going to then doabout it?
How are you going to thenimpact the community?
Because God's word isn't justsupposed to stop at the heart
but it really extends to thehands, and so being able to
(30:51):
partner with organizations likeTRM, where the fruit and the
work of this organization fordecades evidence itself, we're
able to point to these thingsand say, hey, this is what
gospel impact looks like in areally tangible way.
Speaker 3 (31:07):
There's a number of things that are polarizing
culturally in the United Statesright now Life, abortion, sexual
orientation, the list goes onand on.
Homelessness has arisen to thatthat polarization politically
neighborhoods.
It's become maybe one of theprimary table talks right now
(31:29):
because of a gospel ministrylike Topeka Rescue Mission, to
know that the body of Christ,the real body of Christ, is not
(31:49):
just joining in with all of thecontroversy but are trying to
dive into the why and theimportance of carrying the heart
of God to the vulnerable.
And, amanda, I assume you canprobably say that even better
right now because of the lasttwo years.
Speaker 1 (32:11):
You know, I just get so excited and humbled to be
able to just be truly a smallpart of kingdom work.
And then the other side of me,it's almost like any time you
ask me to talk about this or askme a question I just feel like
(32:32):
my heart breaks all over again,because we are, we don't know
what to do with homelessness.
Let's be real as a, as asociety, nationwide, locally, um
, and so thus has birthed fear,anger, bitterness, some blaming,
(32:56):
and that's really been kind ofthe louder message, um, but what
I get to see and what our teamgets to see is just this
softness and also thistenderness and this redemption
in people's lives every day.
(33:17):
And but it's not shouted, it'snot the main stories, um, for
two reasons.
One, things are confidential.
You know, barry, I would loveto be able to get on here just
today, one of our buildings, andI can't say what.
Someone showed up really hungry,and the team got this person
(33:41):
something, talked with theperson a little bit and then
walked inside, then saw oncameras this person just slump
over, and so our team rushed outwith Narcan and, you know,
calling 911 and all of thisstuff.
And I just thought, if theTopeka rescue mission wasn't
(34:05):
here, where would he haveslumped over?
Who would have been prepared tohave Narcan?
Who would look at this personand not be like, well, he did it
to himself or he's an addict,or like our team looks at this
not for where they're at rightthen, but the cross happened for
(34:28):
them, just like the crosshappened for us.
And to go, how can we get himfrom slumped over and having to
be taken to the hospital tosomebody sharing the testimony
of how he was healed Right?
And so it's just so importantto me this, this work and what
we do and the partnerships thatwe have, and it means so much
(34:51):
that we have people invested inreally looking at what is the
problem and what can we do aboutit.
And that doesn't mean it'salways rainbows and agreements
and fluffy stuff.
There's crucial conversations,there's disagreements, there are
different opinions, but, man,if we can just go back to the
(35:15):
narrative publicly and if someof the people who are truly
doing some of this work inchurches and out of churches can
start talking about why this isimportant and why is it
fruitful, and start talkingabout the people in a different
way, I think it's going to shiftthis animosity and this
(35:35):
ugliness and this blaming andthe bulldozing, and so I don't
know.
I've been questioning evenmyself of how do we change that
ship back and how do we respectthe differing opinions and the
controversy that's out there,but also don't let the squeaky
wheels be the one getting theoil, and that's just part of my
(35:59):
role and to bring more of thatawareness.
Speaker 3 (36:02):
I could ask the question even more than I used
to.
What's the solution?
Yeah, I'm more into the systemslevel of this issue of
homelessness now and all therelated things around it.
Sure, and I will say withoutany hesitation the body of
Christ is the answer.
And why can I say that?
(36:22):
Well, we've been 60 years nowin a war on poverty.
We spent trillions of dollarsum, housing's important, um
services are important, feedingpeople is important, but those
things are tools to help peoplestay alive.
Yeah, it doesn't really changetheir life.
Sometimes what we'll do isspend more money for bigger
(36:43):
band-aids.
So why is the body of Christ theanswer?
It's because the message of thegospel and what Christ told us
is really, really important inthis whole thing.
And culturally, we are notreally following what Jesus said
to love God, to love yourneighbors yourself.
We, culturally are looking outfor ourselves and oftentimes
(37:06):
just fighting each other in theprocess of that.
And what I think's valuableabout churches like Topeka Bible
Church and I really haveappreciated getting to know you
since you've come on board,thank you Is that there is an
intentionality here tounderstand what.
Jesus meant and go, do whatJesus told us to do.
(37:28):
And I believe in that is thatwe will have.
Maybe not changing the world,maybe not even changing America,
but I believe that we will seechanges in people's lives and we
see that here at Topeka RescueMission.
And when a church sends staffhere, they're equipped.
When they send volunteers, here, they're equipped.
When they send volunteers here,they're equipped.
Then we, when I say equipped,equipped with the first thing
(37:51):
and that is to have theunderstanding of a heart for the
Lord and then being able tounderstand how to apply that.
And we can train them.
We can train them how to dooutreach and train them how to
feed people and train them howto do shelters and mobile access
partnership and how to helppeople with showers and those
kind of things and get them tothe emergency room and all those
kind of things.
We can train them.
But if they don't have theheart, it's like everything else
(38:15):
.
Speaker 2 (38:15):
So quick comment and then question so he's flipping
this around.
Speaker 3 (38:21):
I know Such a pastor.
Speaker 1 (38:24):
Such a pastor, such a pastor.
Speaker 2 (38:24):
I mean, I think you know it's LaManda when you were
talking.
You know, one thing that comesto mind for me is as a part of
the body of Christ.
One thing that makes TRM sointeresting first of all is the
commitment to faith that theorganization has, which isn't
true for everybody who's tryingto work on the homelessness
situation.
Um everybody who's trying towork on the homelessness
(38:45):
situation.
My comment to your statement,barry, is I agree with
everything you said.
The only thing I would add isthat um trying to solve a human
problem by human means is um iskind of a fool's errand to a
degree.
I mean, it's not that we don'tsee progress and it, or that
many of those things that youmentioned aren't worthy
endeavors, but when you'reworking with something that is
(39:06):
powered by the spirit and thatcan change lives, that is more
powerful than whatever it isthat somebody has going on it's.
It is as simple as that, thoughthe particulars are necessarily
so to the particulars, the otherpart about being all in the
body of Christ.
You talk about the heart.
It's not just.
(39:28):
If only it were as simple asTRM got to decide what to do,
TBC got to you know, helpfurther, a vision or whatever.
But there are a lot of playersin all of this.
And you know, when I preached acouple of weeks ago about the
vulnerable, I I, you knowdallied into some of these
waters, but ultimately I'm noexpert when it comes to
(39:52):
execution.
So here's my question, and it'sreally just one out of
ignorance because I'm interestedin knowing.
But I know that as a city wehave been talking about, we've
had some experts come in andsort of give recommendations and
then that's gone to the counciland I guess I'm unaware of kind
of where we're at with all ofthat, and I know that the
(40:14):
recommendations were given.
I'm ready.
Listeners want to know.
What do you guys think aboutsort of some of the things that
have been said?
Speaker 3 (40:23):
We have no opinion.
Is that right?
Okay, all right, plead thefifth.
That's right.
No lament, I'll let you gofirst.
Speaker 1 (40:30):
Okay, you know, I think that we have a lot
accomplished and I think we havea long way to go.
So, in regards to the processwith the consultant and kind of
coach, brianna did an amazingjob and I think that it was
worth it.
We had a core team of about adozen and we have an auxiliary
(40:54):
team is I don't know probably 12to 18 people, and what was
incredible about that is all ofus started with our own opinions
and that's really what theywere Even myself, myself
included and through this, wediscovered, really, what
homelessness looks like inTopeka and in Shawnee County,
(41:14):
and then that created dialogueand questions.
And then we did all of theseinterviews that created dialogue
and questions, and then we didall of these interviews, and so
the process, to me, wasincredible because it really
moved us from what all wethought to no, here's what it
looks like and here's what it isand here's where we need to be
going.
Another thing that I love aboutthat is when you had so many
(41:36):
different people involved, youreally got a picture of what is
stellar in our community, andbeing able to say, hey, we've
got to keep these organizationsor these nonprofits or what
these churches do are incredible.
The other side of it, it showedgaps, and what was neat about
the core team is we saw gaps inTRM.
We saw gaps from Topeka HousingAuthority.
(41:58):
We saw, and all of us wereinvolved and we're all like, oh
yeah, that needs to be thedirection we go.
This is what we can do.
But we saw bigger gaps,particularly with government.
And what does that look like?
And what should government bedoing?
What should government not bedoing?
And so I think that's kind ofwhere we're at now.
I feel like my role as theexecutive director is how do we
(42:19):
bridge partners where faithisn't going Well, I'm not
working with government and howcan we encourage government to
not have their hands off offaith?
Right, and then, how do we dothis where we know who should be
doing what and why?
And if we don't start workingtogether, we are going to
(42:40):
continue to deserve ourcommunity.
As far as so the process andall of that.
Those are my thoughts.
You know the council.
I was a bit surprised at some ofthe comments.
You know my role here is torespect authority and I try to
do that the best I can.
Um, but I was a bit shockedwith, um, some of the comments
(43:03):
and and, uh, you know, therewere a couple that said that
they hadn't been able to readthrough the stuff.
And so you're sitting out thereand the whole council room is
full of people that, just on theedge of our seats, because
we're doing this every day andthen to have some of the people
in power, well, I haven't readthrough it, I'm not ready Right.
And so I mean I'm just beinghonest I was disappointed
(43:26):
because I think we as leadersare held to a different
accountability.
County commissioners I thoughtthey had excellent questions.
I felt like they were reallytrying to listen, but I also
felt like their brains and Barrymight disagree, I don't know
it's almost like their brainswere also trying to problem
solve as we, as this was beingpresented, and so the questions
(43:49):
that came up were great.
I also was shocked at theyopened it up to the floor and
was like anybody else in herehave comments.
And so there was probably whatsix or seven of us that were
able to go up to the podium andshare thoughts.
There were different groupsthere that the commissioners
acknowledged, and so do I thinkthe county knows exactly what to
(44:11):
do.
No, this is all new for us, butI would say that it seemed to
be a bit different in how it wasreceived and the processing,
and it felt different to be inthat audience than it did at
council.
So really, I know it soundscliche, but the biggest thing
that has brought me peace isknowing the Lord is in control.
(44:32):
And you know we don't feel likeat the Topeka Resch Commission.
Everybody has to believe theway we do, but we believe we
serve because of the way webelieve in Christ.
And so at the end of the day,I'm going to do my very best
humanly to support these effortsand to put work ethic in and
all of that.
But I also rest in my faith toknow it really doesn't matter
(44:55):
what good or bad the city orcounty tries to do, that the
Lord's will will be done and I'msupposed to be a vessel for
that.
Speaker 3 (45:04):
Yeah, yeah, I think that's that's.
I agree with everything yousaid.
I I would just add on to it.
There's a human tendency towant a king to solve our
problems.
Israel ran into this and itdidn't go so well for them.
So we want government.
Speaker 2 (45:21):
Which, by the way, perry, that passage is brought
up in Deuteronomy, where thatconcept is introduced for the
first time.
I'm going to throw it back toyou, but keep rolling, keep
rolling.
Speaker 1 (45:30):
Did you spend three weeks on that, Connor?
Speaker 2 (45:32):
No no.
Speaker 3 (45:32):
I think I got that the first time, but anyway, it's
always good to be reminded fourweeks in a row or four months,
sorry, it's always good to bereminded four weeks in a row or
four months.
But no, you know, we want asavior, and oftentimes what we
look at is anything but thesavior.
And when we look at the savior,then he says this is what I
(45:56):
want you to do.
And so these recommendationsthat came out of a months-long
study were presented to the citycouncil that was where they
paid for the consultant Withthese recommendations, four
things to actually look at.
But yet the question was willyou support this, but support it
how?
And so there is no answer tothat yet.
(46:19):
The media has kind ofinterpreted that as they have to
approve it in order for it togo forward, and that was
actually this week in a reportthat the city council has yet to
approve the recommendations.
And so if we stay in that vein,that government is going to be
in charge of solving thisproblem the king.
(46:39):
It won't work.
So government going forward isa part of this, but it is a
community concern.
There has been some duediligence now to uncover the
problems, the gaps, as LaMandasaid.
And so then, what do we do withthat?
And we don't see willy-nilly inDeuteronomy.
(47:00):
We see systematic approaches todoing things, and so the
question is who's going to graba hold of this now and become,
in a modern term, the backboneof bringing everybody together
to move forward?
And we do have some things inprocess with that that we're not
ready to announce yet, but itwill either be embraced or it
(47:21):
will be rejected.
Regardless, it does not getsolved by saying to the
government, take it, nor church,you take it.
I think the life transformationcomes with the body of Christ.
I think most people of faithwould say that Not all churches
are going to be in that realm.
So I think that the community,hopefully, is hungry for what
(47:42):
does this mean?
now and when the design for theark has been revealed, that they
will say we want to be a partof that.
Speaker 2 (47:51):
Yeah, I'm reminded of .
I just read a book aboutCharles Spurgeon and his church.
It was called the MetropolitanTabernacle back in London in the
1800s and the MetropolitanTabernacle had 66 different
benevolent ministries and asignificant aspect of those a
(48:13):
significant number, excuse mewere the schools that the church
started, because at that timein London there were, there was
no government system ofeducation for the children who
were.
I mean, this is industrialrevolution.
The kids are in the factories,so he's drawing them out and
he's doing all of these things.
And what was interesting to meabout that is there was many of
(48:34):
the benevolent ministries thatthat church pursued with a
desire to I mean his.
He has this beautiful theologythat Christ and coming to Christ
is more important than socialrevitalization or something of
that sort because, only Christsaves, but yet to be a Christian
that does not support andpursue helping the vulnerable
(48:55):
and the needy is to abdicate theChristian faith Anyhow, but
that one of the ways that he wasgoing around is saying okay,
well, where are the gaps, whereis the need present?
And there are a lot of thethings that they pursued that
are no longer needed todaybecause we have these things.
He had an alms house for widowsand things like that, but what
(49:16):
does it look like for the church, what does it look like for
nonprofits to step into the gapswhere things are not currently
being carried?
The water isn't being carried,and it's not even a message of
criticism, as one is of reality.
Right, there are gaps, thereare unique challenges to serving
the homeless and unhoused.
(49:36):
In Topeka, the problem, thesituation is growing and it's
bigger than it has been before.
And so I think a lot of thequestions that are even being
asked now are the approach hasnot always had to be
multifaceted.
There were not all thedifferent sectors that needed to
be involved, and now that allof them are coming together it's
(49:59):
a bit of a chicken fight.
Speaker 3 (50:01):
Yeah, you know, I wondered when I first started
doing what I'm doing, because Icame out of church ministry and
I came into this realm and therejust seemed to be such a
dichotomy of going to church anddoing youth groups and doing
everything church does and this,but yet they're still under the
umbrella of Christ.
And there was a real strugglefor me to say, okay, what's the
(50:24):
value of the church to this?
And over the years I've learnedthe value.
It's multifaceted as well, andI even had this conversation
with Jim a number of years agoand I thanked him.
Thank you for preparing peopleto come, do this work Year after
year in that pulpit, helpingpeople to understand the heart
of God, helping them tounderstand maybe four months of
(50:46):
Deuteronomy, helping them to gothe deep dive into equipping
them when, if and when thatperson comes through that kind
of prep school, so to speak,onto the field of ministry, like
a rescue mission here or aforeign field, somewhere, that
they are fortified spiritually,they're grounded and they're not
(51:09):
having to start spirituallyfrom scratch.
And so I think, connor, whatyou're doing and you'll see this
as time goes along furtherthere's going to be some
all-stars that are coming out ofthe Peacock Bible, like they're
all-stars coming out of othersand have been forever, who are
going to be those individualswho God calls.
Not everybody got God didn'tcall everybody to this, but
(51:31):
they're going to be frontlinepeople on this and there's going
to be the team, the TBC team,the fellowship team, the First
Southern Baptist team and Ileave everybody out out here,
but those are the teamssupporting the people on the
front lines.
And now the next opportunity iswhat do we do corporately
together, even though we may seethings a little bit differently
(51:53):
, maybe we approach things alittle bit differently in
regards to our churches.
How do we then go and serve thecommunity together to be able
to have that corporate impact?
It's a good word Got one Jesusall over the world.
Same one, doesn't matter ifhe's in Mozambique or if he's in
Topeka Kansas.
Same Jesus all over the world,same spirit all over the world
who has a direction for all ofus.
(52:15):
Yeah, I just want to say thankyou for accepting the assignment
at TBC.
Wasn't what you planned on whenyou came in.
Got a chance before the podcastto see how you're still a youth
pastor at heart, which isawesome.
Really is awesome.
And so anything else you wouldlike to share.
Speaker 2 (52:36):
I mean thank you, thanks for having me on, thank
you for the ministry and work ofTRM, thank you for both of you
being so faithful.
Um you know, it's, uh, it's ablessing to be able to um, uh, I
mean, I have a very uh, what doI say?
External role, um, and that I Iam, um, hoping to lead people
(53:00):
to life in Christ and then,through that life in Christ,
that they would be impacted toand be led by God to try and
solve these problems, as we allare.
But being able to walk with youguys and other leaders in our
community, as I'm kind ofgetting to know more of them, I
mean it's obvious that, justlike TBC, I've walked into a
situation where God has blessedso many people with so many
(53:22):
gifts.
And it's just a privilege to behere, so thanks.
Speaker 3 (53:25):
Thank you, amanda.
Anything else?
Speaker 1 (53:27):
You know, I'm just thankful for Connor.
I'm thankful for TBC for somany different reasons.
They are prayer warriors for us.
We've got volunteers from TBC,We've gotten financial support
from TBC.
I mean they, they just walk thewalk and talk the talk and I
appreciate that.
You know, as a new leader, Iappreciate my friendship with
(53:49):
Connor just because, especiallyto be doing this within six
months of each other, to both befollowing up people with three
or four decades and we were bothhearing at the same time you've
got big shoes to fill or man,this is a tough job and just to
be able to have someone elseknowing like God has called him
(54:10):
God called Jim to to move into adifferent role, God called you
to move into a different role,God called Connor to be in that
role, me in this role, and to beable to kind of do that sum
together has been fun and it'salso just another level of
support and I think we I know Ican speak for Connor and I both
(54:31):
that we also want to honor, likethe work that you and Jim have
done and continue to do.
Speaker 3 (54:37):
You know it's it's hard to keep a good thing good
like you say, and I actually gotthat from another guy named
Clark Johnson.
Speaker 1 (54:43):
Yes, and so anyways, I just think it's neat that we
have such similar stories in oursame community to be able to do
that.
And I appreciate Connor and whohe is, just his character and
his heart and what he wants todo, and I just appreciate TBC
Amen to that.
Speaker 3 (55:00):
Well, thank you for joining us today on Our
Community, Our Mission.
We've been talking with ConnorKrause, who's lead pastor at
Topeka Bible Church, about a lotof things here today about the
church and about our conditionsthat we're in in our community
as well as across the nation andbeyond, and what the value of
going the deep dive is with thegospel, and it does not
(55:21):
disappoint.
So thank you for listening tous.
If you'd like more informationabout the Topeka Rescue Mission,
you can go to the website attrmonlineorg that's trmonlineorg
and join us again next week forOur Community, Our Mission.
Heavenly Father.
We thank you, lord, for thisday and this time to record this
podcast.
God, we thank you, lord, forthe work that you continue to do
in this community and in thechurch.
Lord, we pray that this episodewould glorify and honor you and
, lord, that listeners wouldhear it, would be encouraged and
blessed.
Today, in your holy name, wepray, amen.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Hello everybody.
You're listening to OurCommunity, Our Mission, a
podcast of the Topeka RescueMission here on Thursday June 6,
2024, episode number 225.
How are you doing, LaMandaBroyles?
I'm wonderful, how are you?
Good, we don't have Miriam withus today.
She's on special assignmentdoing something yeah the other
assigned duties.
The other assigned duties yeswhich is most of her job
(00:41):
description.
That's right.
Yeah, so we have a very specialguest.
We're going to get right intothis today.
That is a good friend.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
And who is a leader in our community and I think
currently is and will be a gamechanger for a lot of things in
this community, so I agree.
Yeah, so before we get to that,we have those essentials that
people actually tune into ourcommunity, our mission to learn,
and that is what's specialabout today.
So one of the things that'sspecial about this day on June
(01:10):
the 6th is National Drive-InMovie Day.
They still have those.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
That was the only movie theater when I was a kid
was a drive-in movie theater, ofcourse it was, and then they
put them inside.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
That was just a couple of days ago.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
And then they don't do them anymore at all, anywhere
, I don't think, because youcould do it at home, right?
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Yeah, they do it in Oklahoma.
Poto Oklahoma is still adrive-in movie theater.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
We were so excited, you know, just to get the
popcorn and sit there and have alittle speaker on the window
and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
And today a drive-in movie is in your garage.
I know, but I think they arecoming back.
It kind of reminds me of theFlintstones.
You know the opening of it andhe pulls in the thing and the
little thing comes on the window.
I know, you know about the.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Flintstones?
Yes, I do, I brought those backtoo.
Okay, so also on June the 6th,it's National Applesauce Cake
Day.
You're grimacing.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Yeah, I'm not sure I like that.
You don't have.
You had applesauce cake.
I have, was it good?
No, okay, okay, moving along.
That's just anotherconfirmation, barry, that I
needed to take your spot.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
So the next one and the last one before we talk to
our guest here today is one ofthese very important days,
amanda, and I think I don't knowif it's because it reminds me
of you, or it- I was going tosay something tacky about you
and you beat me Especiallyaround going to say something
tacky about you and you beat meespecially around the
cockroaches, termites.
We don't get into the details.
It's actually World Pest Day,LaManda.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Yeah, and you are the poster child for that.
You love to be a pest toeverybody, that's what
consultants do?
Speaker 3 (02:36):
is they pest people who need to?
Speaker 1 (02:38):
be pested, that's right, yes.
And you've had a lot of yearsbecause you remember the you
know National Drive-In movies.
I do.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
Good, good, good memories.
I remember one time I ate toomuch popcorn and threw up in the
car, but my parents took meback again after a while to
clean it up.
So but anyway, I mean it was agreat family activity.
We didn't have any television.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
How are we supposed to do a podcast after that
visual Well speaking of.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
World Pest Day.
We have a pastor with us andsome people call them pesters.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
That is the worst segue into a guest since we've
started.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
I used to be a youth pastor and so some people call
it pastor.
I think we, connor.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
I am really sorry, you know you're such a good
friend, we can do this.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
We have Connor Krause here with us today.
He is the lead pastor at TopekaBible Church.
Welcome to our community, ourmission, hey, thank you for
having me.
And you actually are stayingafter all that huh.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Well, if anybody heard the conversation before
the podcast started they wouldknow my endurance.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
That's right.
That's right, Connor.
Topeka Bible Church has beenaround in Topeka for a long time
85 years, 85 years.
It was Loman Methodist at thatsite before that.
Right yeah, that site.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Loman's been around longer.
Yeah, so Topeka Bible Churchmoved to the location we're at
now, off of 10th and Mulvane, in1966,.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
I think Okay, all right Very good Off of Polk.
Polk Okay, okay.
So how long?
Okay, you mentioned how many,80 some years.
Topeka Bible Church's presence,a lot of growth and expansion
over the years, yeah, where youguys have been since the 60s at
that particular location.
What's a general?
A lot of people know about TBC,some don't.
What would you kind ofgenerally describe Topeka Bible
(04:21):
Church?
We have churches in Topeka.
We have lots of differentbrands.
We have denominational churches.
This is a non-denominationalchurch, so how do you describe
it for a person who maybe isn'tquite sure?
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Yeah, so the sort of boring definition is we're
non-denominational in the sensethat we're not aligned with any
particular denomination, but Imean, the really foundation of
our church is well.
Okay, so very quick story.
This came about because and thereason I had 85 years off the
top of my head there was abinder that was uncovered
recently.
That was a scrapbook, basicallyfrom the 70s and anyhow, it had
(04:58):
a newspaper clipping on theinside of it.
And this is news that nobodywill care about but is
fascinating, which is we havehad this story within TBC of how
the church got started that hasbeen passed down from like
pastor to pastor.
Right, this is exactly what Jim.
He was the lead pastor therefor 40 years that it was part of
(05:20):
a Methodist church and this guynamed Walter Warner, he left
and sort of founded this church.
And it was he left and sort offounded this church and it was
this very like sort of innocuousbeginning.
Well, come to find out, he gotkicked out of the Methodist
church and he did so because hewas a real pastor over there.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
Right.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Exactly, and so we had no idea about this that our
church was sort of founded bythis guy who was removed, but
anyhow, it was because he washolding to some more literal
interpretations of scriptureabout the return of Christ and
the authority of the word.
And so I digress Basically from.
His beginning is kind of how wegot started, and it's been a
(05:54):
focus on missions in the Bibleever since, and so it's always
been about impacting thecommunity and global missions as
much as possible and then justreally trying to teach the word
as faithfully as we can.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
You mentioned Jim Congdon, who was a lead pastor
there for 40 years.
Yes, and so when did you guysmake the transition where you
became now currently lead pastor, and what were you doing right
before that?
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Sure, so I.
We made the transition in thefall of 21, I believe, and
Isaiah is shaking his head, thatfall of 21, I believe, and
Isaiah's shaking his head, thatmakes okay.
I'm glad to get someconfirmation and I was the
student pastor there before thatfor a couple of years.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
And you are a Topeka guy.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Yeah, born and raised , went to Shawnee Heights Great
day to be a T-bird.
And so, yeah, I went born justactually across the street from
Topeka Bible Church at StormontVale.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
You and Jim made your transition from somebody who'd
been there a long time to you, alittle before LaManda and I did
.
Actually, we were watching howyou were doing it and reading
how you were doing it.
And we gleaned some reallyimportant things out of that
very well-communicatedtransition.
And you know it's not always aneasy thing, and LaManna and I
(07:10):
have talked about this withdifferent rescue ministries
around the country.
You're having somebody that'sbeen in the leadership position
for a very, very long time andthen somebody new comes in and
there's always challenges withthat.
But you guys have really movedthrough that well and it seems
like it's moved well here.
Right, amanda?
Tell everybody it's right.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Let's go back to that national pest day, remember.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
So, yeah, you guys really thoroughly thought this
out, and sometimes this is whateven can result in church splits
and those kinds of things thathas not happened here.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
No, but to be honest with you, I have really no
credit in the transition.
It it has a lot to do with thehumility of the outgoing leader.
And Jim I could say a lot ofthings about him.
He is a mentor of mine, he's aspiritual leader of mine.
He I mean he was the leadpastor for four I think it
might've been ended up being 41years and and Jim is still
(08:06):
full-time on staff.
He's the pastor of missions andleadership development and so
he and I I mean we see eachother all the time have a great
relationship.
So that was really critical toit.
But I walked in.
When I was hired as studentpastor, there was no intention
of me becoming the lead pastor.
In fact that was kind ofexpressed, that this was not
(08:27):
something that you were cominginto, you're not a candidate,
and making a long story short.
That ended up not being thecase.
But I walked in sort of in themiddle of a process that had
already begun, with a lot ofwisdom before me, and so I kind
of rode the coattails of allthat thought and prayer and, uh,
since then it has been, it'sbeen wonderful, really enjoyed
(08:50):
it.
Um, I started going to TBC whenI was in high school and, uh,
it's where I met my wife.
Um, we were both interns there,and so a lot of affection and
love for the church.
My in-laws still go there,which that's fun.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Amanda, I hope you took a lotof notes from what he just said
about all those good compliments.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Yeah, connor and I had a deal before this and he
backed out we were supposed tobash you and Jim?
No, no, yes, won't be the firsttime, I know.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
So no, connor, that's your history with TBC coming in
.
It's unique.
Yes, yeah, especially for it tobe successful as it has been.
So TBC's had a lot of impact inthe community in many, many
different ways.
We talked about growth ofmembership or people attending
(09:44):
it's.
Actually, you have twodifferent buildings at least two
that I'm aware of for Sundaymorning services.
One's across the street fromthe other one and you pipe in
the video.
That's something.
So how many services do youhave as far as worship?
Speaker 2 (10:01):
We have two.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
we have a nine o'clock and 10.30 in both of the
locations 9 o'clock and 10.30,and those are pretty packed out
most of the time that I've beenover there.
And so, connor, there's beenthe history of impact in the
community.
Obviously, staying true tomissions and staying true to the
gospel, yeah, and having peoplethat have supported that,
(10:24):
sometimes being controversial insome of those areas.
Not everybody embraces some ofthe positions that TBC has taken
, but you haven't wavered fromyour understanding of biblical
understanding and biblicalfoundation.
And so what do you see is thevalue?
I know this is kind of a broadquestion.
What is the value in themission of TBC and Topeka?
Speaker 2 (10:45):
Yeah, that's a great question Um, two things I would
say, um, one of them is isphilosophical or biblical, and
then one of them is morepractical.
Um, so, actually going back tothat scrapbook I mentioned
earlier, um, I was going throughthey had kept pamphlets like
church service pamphlets from,you know, the forties and
(11:08):
fifties and the sixties, and Iwas just reading them and going
through and I saw our very firstannual budget from back in 1939
, which included a line item forcoal and a number of other
things.
But all that to say, one of theinitiating ideas for TBC as a
congregation was that it wouldgive a significant portion of
(11:29):
its budget and resources towardsmissions, and so back then it
was about 50 percent, and as thescope of the church has grown
it has been difficult tomaintain a 50 percent amount,
but still we give about 20percent, or we do give 20% of
our annual budget towardsmissions and outreach, and so
(11:49):
that in and of itself has alwaysinformed our passions and
projects and pursuits, becausewe've always had a heart for
missions, and that was bothlocally and globally.
The other thing that's reallyaffected our ministry at TBC is
under Jim's leadership.
Tbc really did growsignificantly, and there came a
(12:12):
time back in like the late 90swhen we were sort of needing to
figure out what we were going todo.
Were we going to move, are wegoing to stay, are we going to
build All those things?
And TBC is.
I mean we're right next to thelibrary, we're landlocked.
This is why we have twodifferent auditoriums that are
both in the same build, butinstead we were going to really
(12:47):
just use the resources around us.
And so the Methodist churchthey're building the Loman Hill
Methodist church that you weretalking about.
They had an assisted livinghome, methodist home for the
aged is what the cornerstonesays.
Right across the street.
That was in unbelievabledisrepair but we also got it for
a total bargain and since thenwe have been filling that space
(13:09):
with ministry.
But that was kind of acommitment very early on, or I
guess I should say kind of at aninflection point, that hey, the
focus of our church is going tobe we want to impact our
immediate neighborhood, theElmhurst community, loman Hill.
We want to try and be goodneighbors and do all those
things.
So, anyhow, that affects otherthings I could talk about.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
I think that that's an important point, because a
lot of times urban churches whoget to a certain size move out
and they leave the downtownareas and oftentimes that leaves
a real void in those downtownareas.
A lot of times those buildingsare big and old and been used
and sometimes they go dormant.
(13:50):
I mean, there's been homelessindividuals who have resided in
some abandoned churches in ourdowntown area.
It's nice to build newbuildings, it feels good and
everything, until they startwearing out too.
But you have opportunitieswhere you're not landlocked and
it's easier making somedecisions.
It might be a little morecostly on the front end, but you
(14:13):
guys decided to stay put.
That would have been a bigdecision.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Yeah, I can't take.
I'm thankful for it.
I can't take any credit for it.
But yeah, it's, and I don'tthink it's to in any way, you
know, make a statement aboutother churches, in so far as
it's just.
That was a commitment that wereally wanted to keep.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
Well, you have planted some other churches of
fellowship being one and it'sit's been in two or three
different places and it's a hugeplace out off of Eurasian 10th
and they're doing great churchand and similar to TBC, I would
think, in its mission and itsassignment.
No Joe out there, joe Hishma,great, great pastor.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
I was hanging out with him earlier today, so yeah,
great guy, great people.
So, because of your before yourtime, it was decided Southwest
TBC would be another one, aswell.
Yeah, it ended just a few yearsago, but that was another
church Topeka Baptist.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
I think has that building now.
Yeah, it ended just a few yearsago but that was another church
, topeka Baptist, I think hasthat building now.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
Yeah, they do, it's their youth facility.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
I attended a funeral service at Topeka Baptist last
week and that's a beautifulfacility they have.
So new lead pastor now there'salways some new directions and
those kind of things.
What's new about TPC now thatyou've been in the driver's seat
(15:27):
?
What's the vision that iscarrying the ball forward?
That already began, but what'sdifferent?
Speaker 2 (15:36):
Sure.
So that's a great question.
I'm trying to.
I think one of the hard thingand I'm sure Lamanda could
relate to this when you um havethe privilege of leading an
organization with size, um,changes like turning a cruise
ship it uh, to do it quickly, uhwould throw people off the
(15:59):
decks, and so there, um, overthe last three years there's
probably been more subtlechanges that not everybody would
notice.
A couple things we moved a.
We're actually looking for thisposition, but with a desire to
increase our local outreach,we're trying to hire a.
(16:21):
Every church has sort of threewords.
Ours are discover, connect andserve.
That's what we would call ourdiscipleship process.
We're looking for somebody overthe serve pastor that could
really sort of increase ouralready, I would say,
significant commitment to thecommunity by developing more
relationships and things likethat.
That would be a difference.
We have become more clear aboutthat process that I just
(16:45):
mentioned discovering,connecting and serving.
We feel like people who areit's not so much a matter of
commitment, but our mission isleading people to life in Christ
, and so we've really tried tocenter all of our ministries
around this idea of sort ofthose three concepts that
somebody who is discoveringGod's word, connecting with his
people and serving in hiskingdom, somebody who is
(17:05):
discovering God's word,connecting with his people and
serving in his kingdom.
We have we were talking aboutthis before the podcast started
but trying to maybe expand ourdigital media outreach and sort
of the way that we're, I reallyfeel like not just social media
but sort of the internet andsort of the spaces that people
are in online.
(17:25):
Now it's a whole nother field ofevangelism and so us being able
to take our message and sort oftransform it and contextualize
it into a way that makes sensethat way.
But, to be honest with you,there are some things that we've
got coming that I think will bepretty big here in the near
future.
But I'm a big systems guy and Iwould say that that is maybe
(17:49):
one of the bigger differencesbetween not that TBC didn't have
systems previously, but Jim ismore of a scholar than I am.
He has forgotten more about theBible than most people will
ever learn.
He is still my authority.
I'm getting ready to preach onPsalm 2 this upcoming week, and
he laid a book on my deskearlier today from his expansive
(18:14):
library.
That was immediately helpfuland exactly what I needed Anyhow
.
So I think I've taken a bitmore joy in maybe shepherding
our staff and looking atlong-term vision and systems to
continue the good work that thechurch has done as we anticipate
(18:34):
for growth.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
So there certainly is .
That was a long answer to yourquestion.
No, no, that's good, I mean itreally is, I mean you said it
well, I think, and there is, Ithink everybody's aware of
cultural shift.
It happens in every generationhas the sense of very beginning.
There is definitely a culturalshift away from faith, away from
(18:56):
church attendance, away frombiblical, foundational, biblical
foundational.
How does a church like TBCencounter the current culture,
away from something that maybeyou know back in the sixties,
seventies was, was vastlydifferent than it is today?
Speaker 2 (19:15):
Yeah, boy, I wish I had a fantastic answer for you.
So in one sense, thecongregation of TBC is
self-selected insofar as wepreach, and I preach in such a
way that the people who normallystay and are interested are
(19:39):
those who have a desire to learndeeply about scripture.
I mean, we just spent fourmonths in the book of
Deuteronomy, so that is not foreverybody, um, and and I
recognize that and I'm okay withthat Um, I.
That is something that I thinkis important, because I think
part of our job, on top ofbringing in people who don't
(20:01):
know Christ, is educating thesaints so that they know more
about Christ and, beyond just atechnical knowledge, that they
have a deep understanding andlove for scripture, and so that
is a huge priority for us.
So that is, I think, achallenge for some churches
where they um, part of theerosion of the evangelical faith
(20:24):
and witness is that I thinkwe're kind of, on a couple
decades now of churches ingeneral maybe desiring so much
to seek new people that then,when those people get in and
have maybe spent a period oftime within a church, there is
nothing wholly different aboutthe message that is being
(20:45):
presented than what the cultureis offering, and I think that's
pretty divergent with the waythat we're pursuing ministry Now
.
The obstacle then for us isfinding on-ramps for people so
that somebody who's brand new tothe church and goes whoa, four
months in Deuteronomy and you goyeah yeah, right, yeah, let me
(21:07):
tell you this.
The very first sermon seriesthat I did, um, like full sort
of a book, was in Leviticus, sothat you really are systems guy,
I, I, I am, and I love it, andso I think that that's kind of
that's sort of our perspectiveis.
Is that not that in any way wedon't want?
(21:28):
I'm not trying to excuse me,I'm not trying to say that we're
inaccessible, or hopefully not,but our challenge is those who
are coming in.
So this is why we have reallythis would be another thing that
I've changed but we've reallytried to go a long way towards
increasing our greeting ministryand sort of our follow-up
process and our new memberclasses and all of those early
(21:51):
steps, removing as many barriersas possible, because I believe
that the word of God iscaptivating and that when
somebody latches onto it andunderstands it, they want to
draw deeper.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
But it's a big bite.
So that kind of leads into mynext question is so you spend
four months in Deuteronomy, sure, spend a lot of time in
Leviticus.
You're going deep.
What's the value of that?
Why is that important, otherthan for people who just want to
go deep into understanding whatit says?
What's the value of it?
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Yeah, boy, how much time do you have?
So I'll give you the quickanswer.
So what we do as a church, theway that we're working through
the Bible, is in the spring wego through an Old Testament book
and in the fall we go through aNew Testament book.
So the fall we've been goingthrough first and second
Corinthians, this upcoming fallwill be Galatians, um, and the
(22:46):
old Testament.
It has been, uh, jim did Exodusand then I transitioned and
it's been, uh, we're justrocking through.
It's uh, leviticus, um, uh,numbers, Deuteronomy, um, and so
, as we're working through thosethings, what that helps us
accomplish is providing abiblical theology, the narrative
(23:08):
of scripture, this idea thatscripture is not just something
that we go to like a verse ofthe day and it's there to suit
our needs.
And that's not to say I meanthere's always, there is
application, there is.
Part of my job is communicating,you know.
So last week was Psalm one.
We started going through thefirst eight Psalms.
How does the path of therighteous and the wicked apply
(23:29):
to everybody?
Why is that something that youneed to understand and know, but
also that we're supposed to gobefore scripture with a heart to
be formed and molded by itinstead of anticipating that
scripture would be formed andmolded by our needs.
And so we still do topicalmessages.
We've recently done series onburnout, or we've talked about
(23:53):
family conflicts.
We've done one recently onemotions what does it mean to
have anger in a godly way andall that kind of stuff?
Godly, have anger in a godlyway and all that kind of stuff.
But I also find that we cannormally get to a lot of the
topics that people anticipateand desire by just working
through scripture itself.
So, anyhow, it's a word inchurch history that would be
(24:16):
used, for it would be like acatechism.
It's a system of instructionthat over time, bears out a type
of learning and growth.
Well, I sound like somebody whodid four months of Deuteronomy.
Speaker 3 (24:29):
Well, it's really good because I think it's fairly
unusual, and so the reason Iasked you about the value of it.
It's one thing to do a thingbecause it's you know, there's
intellectuals who really divedeep into everything, and so
there's a value for them on that.
But, if I'm hearing what you'resaying correctly, there's a
(24:51):
value to the people who come toTBC in order that they can be
more informed and embrace moreof the kingdom by going deeper.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
And, in fact, if somebody has come just because
they are wanting to dive deeperinto the word, then I haven't
done my job right, because whatI'm trying to do is grow and
continue to shepherd a churchthat desires to serve God's
kingdom and give to God'skingdom and connect with other
people within his kingdom, andso if it is just coming to
(25:21):
listen to something, then I havefailed.
If it is just coming to listento something, then I have failed
, and I have also failed toconnect scripture to the daily
life, which is why people come.
I mean, and I've messed up inthat for sure, yeah, that's
other stories.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
But you know, I recognize those things.
We have perfect intentions, butnot always perfect delivery.
I certainly know that onemyself Intentions, but not
always perfect delivery.
I certainly know that onemyself.
Lamanda as a leader of aministry and Topeka Rescue
Mission.
Many people just look at it asa service to the homeless, but
it is a ministry.
How important is it to you tohave connections with churches
(25:59):
like Topeka Bible Church thatare gospel-focused and really
attempting every way theypossibly can to equip people to
be able to share the good news?
Speaker 1 (26:09):
You know, I think it's crucial.
The Topeka Rescue Mission isnot a church, but we are a part
of the church and we want tohelp assist, we want to help
educate, we want to help learnfrom our area churches, because
it's almost like the churchshould be the why and the rescue
(26:30):
mission should be the how, andso what I love is just the
opportunity that I get to visitother area churches and hear the
different sermons, thedifferent discussions.
Sometimes it's evencontroversial.
You know there arecongregations that are
struggling with what do we dowith homelessness?
Is it unsafe?
Should we be helping?
Are we enabling?
(26:51):
And I love all of thosequestions because you've got to
know that even when Jesus walkedthe earth, he was doing things
that people questioned, like whyis he doing this and should he
be doing this for these people?
Speaker 3 (27:04):
And so the weekend you're not supposed to heal.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
And so to me, I don't think churches can really teach
people how to serve if thenthere's not places to serve
outside church buildings.
And then our part is we don'twant to get caught up in all the
different rhetorics andtraditions and things like that
Like we have people every day,um, that spend another day not
(27:34):
knowing who the Lord is, um, andso there's gotta be other
options than a Saturday, aSunday or a Wednesday, and
that's where places like theTopeka rescue mission come in.
And so I love the partnerships,I love the heart behind it.
I will tell you that some ofthe most encouraging things
outside of people themselvesexperiencing homelessness that
(27:56):
has encouraged me in this jobhas been some of the amazing
people from churches.
I just got a beautiful card froma volunteer from a church two
weeks ago that said I justwatched you on KSNT, I'm so
sorry that you have toconstantly be talking about hard
(28:16):
things, but you're the one thatneeds to lead the discussion on
hard things.
And I got that card when Iliterally was sitting in my
office where nobody sees, nobodyknows, and I'm sitting here
going what am I doing?
This person says I'm not forbusinesses or I'm not for a
thriving community, and thenthis group saying I'm being not
(28:36):
compassionate enough at all thisstuff.
And then I got that cardthinking thank you, lord.
So on a personal level, as Ilead, but also when we look at
the systems of what TRM andfaith-based should be, I just
think it's crucial to have thepartnerships and the
understanding, because reallyit's the why and the how.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
Because those whys line up so much easily?
Because just a couple of weeksago, when we were in Deuteronomy
, I preached a sermon that wasabout God's heart for the
vulnerable and needy in ancientIsrael and I think that this is
a great opportunity thatchurches have but also gives
reason why we do four months inDeuteronomy or that kind of
(29:22):
thing as that's becoming is.
It gives us the opportunity toshow people things like I mean
heavens, it's certainly, youknow, jesus is the example for
all of us but also we're talkingabout the character and
qualities of God, which do notchange.
And so if somebody is coming tous and we're able to connect the
(29:43):
heart and we talked about thehomeless in the city, we talked
about the um, the encampmentsthat were at that time were on
the news, as you know, sort ofbig equipments moving through Um
we talked about sort of what isgoing on at the heart level
when we see those things,because from eternity past into
the future, when Christ returnsand all things are redeemed,
(30:05):
until that time we have aresponsibility to support and to
love the vulnerable and theneedy, just like God does and
just like he did in Israel inthe book of Deuteronomy.
And so I think that that's anopportunity that we have.
Is, if you say, what specificrole does maybe TBC play within
the landscape of Topeka andchurches is?
(30:28):
I think one of the things thatI'm happy to be able to say is
you can find the answers tothese things in God's word, and
as we do that, like Lamanda said, then the opportunity becomes.
What are you going to then doabout it?
How are you going to thenimpact the community?
Because God's word isn't justsupposed to stop at the heart
but it really extends to thehands, and so being able to
(30:51):
partner with organizations likeTRM, where the fruit and the
work of this organization fordecades evidence itself, we're
able to point to these thingsand say, hey, this is what
gospel impact looks like in areally tangible way.
Speaker 3 (31:07):
There's a number of things that are polarizing
culturally in the United Statesright now Life, abortion, sexual
orientation, the list goes onand on.
Homelessness has arisen to thatthat polarization politically
neighborhoods.
It's become maybe one of theprimary table talks right now
(31:29):
because of a gospel ministrylike Topeka Rescue Mission, to
know that the body of Christ,the real body of Christ, is not
(31:49):
just joining in with all of thecontroversy but are trying to
dive into the why and theimportance of carrying the heart
of God to the vulnerable.
And, amanda, I assume you canprobably say that even better
right now because of the lasttwo years.
Speaker 1 (32:11):
You know, I just get so excited and humbled to be
able to just be truly a smallpart of kingdom work.
And then the other side of me,it's almost like any time you
ask me to talk about this or askme a question I just feel like
(32:32):
my heart breaks all over again,because we are, we don't know
what to do with homelessness.
Let's be real as a, as asociety, nationwide, locally, um
, and so thus has birthed fear,anger, bitterness, some blaming,
(32:56):
and that's really been kind ofthe louder message, um, but what
I get to see and what our teamgets to see is just this
softness and also thistenderness and this redemption
in people's lives every day.
(33:17):
And but it's not shouted, it'snot the main stories, um, for
two reasons.
One, things are confidential.
You know, barry, I would loveto be able to get on here just
today, one of our buildings, andI can't say what.
Someone showed up really hungry,and the team got this person
(33:41):
something, talked with theperson a little bit and then
walked inside, then saw oncameras this person just slump
over, and so our team rushed outwith Narcan and, you know,
calling 911 and all of thisstuff.
And I just thought, if theTopeka rescue mission wasn't
(34:05):
here, where would he haveslumped over?
Who would have been prepared tohave Narcan?
Who would look at this personand not be like, well, he did it
to himself or he's an addict,or like our team looks at this
not for where they're at rightthen, but the cross happened for
(34:28):
them, just like the crosshappened for us.
And to go, how can we get himfrom slumped over and having to
be taken to the hospital tosomebody sharing the testimony
of how he was healed Right?
And so it's just so importantto me this, this work and what
we do and the partnerships thatwe have, and it means so much
(34:51):
that we have people invested inreally looking at what is the
problem and what can we do aboutit.
And that doesn't mean it'salways rainbows and agreements
and fluffy stuff.
There's crucial conversations,there's disagreements, there are
different opinions, but, man,if we can just go back to the
(35:15):
narrative publicly and if someof the people who are truly
doing some of this work inchurches and out of churches can
start talking about why this isimportant and why is it
fruitful, and start talkingabout the people in a different
way, I think it's going to shiftthis animosity and this
(35:35):
ugliness and this blaming andthe bulldozing, and so I don't
know.
I've been questioning evenmyself of how do we change that
ship back and how do we respectthe differing opinions and the
controversy that's out there,but also don't let the squeaky
wheels be the one getting theoil, and that's just part of my
(35:59):
role and to bring more of thatawareness.
Speaker 3 (36:02):
I could ask the question even more than I used
to.
What's the solution?
Yeah, I'm more into the systemslevel of this issue of
homelessness now and all therelated things around it.
Sure, and I will say withoutany hesitation the body of
Christ is the answer.
And why can I say that?
(36:22):
Well, we've been 60 years nowin a war on poverty.
We spent trillions of dollarsum, housing's important, um
services are important, feedingpeople is important, but those
things are tools to help peoplestay alive.
Yeah, it doesn't really changetheir life.
Sometimes what we'll do isspend more money for bigger
(36:43):
band-aids.
So why is the body of Christ theanswer?
It's because the message of thegospel and what Christ told us
is really, really important inthis whole thing.
And culturally, we are notreally following what Jesus said
to love God, to love yourneighbors yourself.
We, culturally are looking outfor ourselves and oftentimes
(37:06):
just fighting each other in theprocess of that.
And what I think's valuableabout churches like Topeka Bible
Church and I really haveappreciated getting to know you
since you've come on board,thank you Is that there is an
intentionality here tounderstand what.
Jesus meant and go, do whatJesus told us to do.
(37:28):
And I believe in that is thatwe will have.
Maybe not changing the world,maybe not even changing America,
but I believe that we will seechanges in people's lives and we
see that here at Topeka RescueMission.
And when a church sends staffhere, they're equipped.
When they send volunteers, here, they're equipped.
When they send volunteers here,they're equipped.
Then we, when I say equipped,equipped with the first thing
(37:51):
and that is to have theunderstanding of a heart for the
Lord and then being able tounderstand how to apply that.
And we can train them.
We can train them how to dooutreach and train them how to
feed people and train them howto do shelters and mobile access
partnership and how to helppeople with showers and those
kind of things and get them tothe emergency room and all those
kind of things.
We can train them.
But if they don't have theheart, it's like everything else
(38:15):
.
Speaker 2 (38:15):
So quick comment and then question so he's flipping
this around.
Speaker 3 (38:21):
I know Such a pastor.
Speaker 1 (38:24):
Such a pastor, such a pastor.
Speaker 2 (38:24):
I mean, I think you know it's LaManda when you were
talking.
You know, one thing that comesto mind for me is as a part of
the body of Christ.
One thing that makes TRM sointeresting first of all is the
commitment to faith that theorganization has, which isn't
true for everybody who's tryingto work on the homelessness
situation.
Um everybody who's trying towork on the homelessness
(38:45):
situation.
My comment to your statement,barry, is I agree with
everything you said.
The only thing I would add isthat um trying to solve a human
problem by human means is um iskind of a fool's errand to a
degree.
I mean, it's not that we don'tsee progress and it, or that
many of those things that youmentioned aren't worthy
endeavors, but when you'reworking with something that is
(39:06):
powered by the spirit and thatcan change lives, that is more
powerful than whatever it isthat somebody has going on it's.
It is as simple as that, thoughthe particulars are necessarily
so to the particulars, the otherpart about being all in the
body of Christ.
You talk about the heart.
It's not just.
(39:28):
If only it were as simple asTRM got to decide what to do,
TBC got to you know, helpfurther, a vision or whatever.
But there are a lot of playersin all of this.
And you know, when I preached acouple of weeks ago about the
vulnerable, I I, you knowdallied into some of these
waters, but ultimately I'm noexpert when it comes to
(39:52):
execution.
So here's my question, and it'sreally just one out of
ignorance because I'm interestedin knowing.
But I know that as a city wehave been talking about, we've
had some experts come in andsort of give recommendations and
then that's gone to the counciland I guess I'm unaware of kind
of where we're at with all ofthat, and I know that the
(40:14):
recommendations were given.
I'm ready.
Listeners want to know.
What do you guys think aboutsort of some of the things that
have been said?
Speaker 3 (40:23):
We have no opinion.
Is that right?
Okay, all right, plead thefifth.
That's right.
No lament, I'll let you gofirst.
Speaker 1 (40:30):
Okay, you know, I think that we have a lot
accomplished and I think we havea long way to go.
So, in regards to the processwith the consultant and kind of
coach, brianna did an amazingjob and I think that it was
worth it.
We had a core team of about adozen and we have an auxiliary
(40:54):
team is I don't know probably 12to 18 people, and what was
incredible about that is all ofus started with our own opinions
and that's really what theywere Even myself, myself
included and through this, wediscovered, really, what
homelessness looks like inTopeka and in Shawnee County,
(41:14):
and then that created dialogueand questions.
And then we did all of theseinterviews that created dialogue
and questions, and then we didall of these interviews, and so
the process, to me, wasincredible because it really
moved us from what all wethought to no, here's what it
looks like and here's what it isand here's where we need to be
going.
Another thing that I love aboutthat is when you had so many
(41:36):
different people involved, youreally got a picture of what is
stellar in our community, andbeing able to say, hey, we've
got to keep these organizationsor these nonprofits or what
these churches do are incredible.
The other side of it, it showedgaps, and what was neat about
the core team is we saw gaps inTRM.
We saw gaps from Topeka HousingAuthority.
(41:58):
We saw, and all of us wereinvolved and we're all like, oh
yeah, that needs to be thedirection we go.
This is what we can do.
But we saw bigger gaps,particularly with government.
And what does that look like?
And what should government bedoing?
What should government not bedoing?
And so I think that's kind ofwhere we're at now.
I feel like my role as theexecutive director is how do we
(42:19):
bridge partners where faithisn't going Well, I'm not
working with government and howcan we encourage government to
not have their hands off offaith?
Right, and then, how do we dothis where we know who should be
doing what and why?
And if we don't start workingtogether, we are going to
(42:40):
continue to deserve ourcommunity.
As far as so the process andall of that.
Those are my thoughts.
You know the council.
I was a bit surprised at some ofthe comments.
You know my role here is torespect authority and I try to
do that the best I can.
Um, but I was a bit shockedwith, um, some of the comments
(43:03):
and and, uh, you know, therewere a couple that said that
they hadn't been able to readthrough the stuff.
And so you're sitting out thereand the whole council room is
full of people that, just on theedge of our seats, because
we're doing this every day andthen to have some of the people
in power, well, I haven't readthrough it, I'm not ready Right.
And so I mean I'm just beinghonest I was disappointed
(43:26):
because I think we as leadersare held to a different
accountability.
County commissioners I thoughtthey had excellent questions.
I felt like they were reallytrying to listen, but I also
felt like their brains and Barrymight disagree, I don't know
it's almost like their brainswere also trying to problem
solve as we, as this was beingpresented, and so the questions
(43:49):
that came up were great.
I also was shocked at theyopened it up to the floor and
was like anybody else in herehave comments.
And so there was probably whatsix or seven of us that were
able to go up to the podium andshare thoughts.
There were different groupsthere that the commissioners
acknowledged, and so do I thinkthe county knows exactly what to
(44:11):
do.
No, this is all new for us, butI would say that it seemed to
be a bit different in how it wasreceived and the processing,
and it felt different to be inthat audience than it did at
council.
So really, I know it soundscliche, but the biggest thing
that has brought me peace isknowing the Lord is in control.
(44:32):
And you know we don't feel likeat the Topeka Resch Commission.
Everybody has to believe theway we do, but we believe we
serve because of the way webelieve in Christ.
And so at the end of the day,I'm going to do my very best
humanly to support these effortsand to put work ethic in and
all of that.
But I also rest in my faith toknow it really doesn't matter
(44:55):
what good or bad the city orcounty tries to do, that the
Lord's will will be done and I'msupposed to be a vessel for
that.
Speaker 3 (45:04):
Yeah, yeah, I think that's that's.
I agree with everything yousaid.
I I would just add on to it.
There's a human tendency towant a king to solve our
problems.
Israel ran into this and itdidn't go so well for them.
So we want government.
Speaker 2 (45:21):
Which, by the way, perry, that passage is brought
up in Deuteronomy, where thatconcept is introduced for the
first time.
I'm going to throw it back toyou, but keep rolling, keep
rolling.
Speaker 1 (45:30):
Did you spend three weeks on that, Connor?
Speaker 2 (45:32):
No no.
Speaker 3 (45:32):
I think I got that the first time, but anyway, it's
always good to be reminded fourweeks in a row or four months,
sorry, it's always good to bereminded four weeks in a row or
four months.
But no, you know, we want asavior, and oftentimes what we
look at is anything but thesavior.
And when we look at the savior,then he says this is what I
(45:56):
want you to do.
And so these recommendationsthat came out of a months-long
study were presented to the citycouncil that was where they
paid for the consultant Withthese recommendations, four
things to actually look at.
But yet the question was willyou support this, but support it
how?
And so there is no answer tothat yet.
(46:19):
The media has kind ofinterpreted that as they have to
approve it in order for it togo forward, and that was
actually this week in a reportthat the city council has yet to
approve the recommendations.
And so if we stay in that vein,that government is going to be
in charge of solving thisproblem the king.
(46:39):
It won't work.
So government going forward isa part of this, but it is a
community concern.
There has been some duediligence now to uncover the
problems, the gaps, as LaMandasaid.
And so then, what do we do withthat?
And we don't see willy-nilly inDeuteronomy.
(47:00):
We see systematic approaches todoing things, and so the
question is who's going to graba hold of this now and become,
in a modern term, the backboneof bringing everybody together
to move forward?
And we do have some things inprocess with that that we're not
ready to announce yet, but itwill either be embraced or it
(47:21):
will be rejected.
Regardless, it does not getsolved by saying to the
government, take it, nor church,you take it.
I think the life transformationcomes with the body of Christ.
I think most people of faithwould say that Not all churches
are going to be in that realm.
So I think that the community,hopefully, is hungry for what
(47:42):
does this mean?
now and when the design for theark has been revealed, that they
will say we want to be a partof that.
Speaker 2 (47:51):
Yeah, I'm reminded of .
I just read a book aboutCharles Spurgeon and his church.
It was called the MetropolitanTabernacle back in London in the
1800s and the MetropolitanTabernacle had 66 different
benevolent ministries and asignificant aspect of those a
(48:13):
significant number, excuse mewere the schools that the church
started, because at that timein London there were, there was
no government system ofeducation for the children who
were.
I mean, this is industrialrevolution.
The kids are in the factories,so he's drawing them out and
he's doing all of these things.
And what was interesting to meabout that is there was many of
(48:34):
the benevolent ministries thatthat church pursued with a
desire to I mean his.
He has this beautiful theologythat Christ and coming to Christ
is more important than socialrevitalization or something of
that sort because, only Christsaves, but yet to be a Christian
that does not support andpursue helping the vulnerable
(48:55):
and the needy is to abdicate theChristian faith Anyhow, but
that one of the ways that he wasgoing around is saying okay,
well, where are the gaps, whereis the need present?
And there are a lot of thethings that they pursued that
are no longer needed todaybecause we have these things.
He had an alms house for widowsand things like that, but what
(49:16):
does it look like for the church, what does it look like for
nonprofits to step into the gapswhere things are not currently
being carried?
The water isn't being carried,and it's not even a message of
criticism, as one is of reality.
Right, there are gaps, thereare unique challenges to serving
the homeless and unhoused.
(49:36):
In Topeka, the problem, thesituation is growing and it's
bigger than it has been before.
And so I think a lot of thequestions that are even being
asked now are the approach hasnot always had to be
multifaceted.
There were not all thedifferent sectors that needed to
be involved, and now that allof them are coming together it's
(49:59):
a bit of a chicken fight.
Speaker 3 (50:01):
Yeah, you know, I wondered when I first started
doing what I'm doing, because Icame out of church ministry and
I came into this realm and therejust seemed to be such a
dichotomy of going to church anddoing youth groups and doing
everything church does and this,but yet they're still under the
umbrella of Christ.
And there was a real strugglefor me to say, okay, what's the
(50:24):
value of the church to this?
And over the years I've learnedthe value.
It's multifaceted as well, andI even had this conversation
with Jim a number of years agoand I thanked him.
Thank you for preparing peopleto come, do this work Year after
year in that pulpit, helpingpeople to understand the heart
of God, helping them tounderstand maybe four months of
(50:46):
Deuteronomy, helping them to gothe deep dive into equipping
them when, if and when thatperson comes through that kind
of prep school, so to speak,onto the field of ministry, like
a rescue mission here or aforeign field, somewhere, that
they are fortified spiritually,they're grounded and they're not
(51:09):
having to start spirituallyfrom scratch.
And so I think, connor, whatyou're doing and you'll see this
as time goes along furtherthere's going to be some
all-stars that are coming out ofthe Peacock Bible, like they're
all-stars coming out of othersand have been forever, who are
going to be those individualswho God calls.
Not everybody got God didn'tcall everybody to this, but
(51:31):
they're going to be frontlinepeople on this and there's going
to be the team, the TBC team,the fellowship team, the First
Southern Baptist team and Ileave everybody out out here,
but those are the teamssupporting the people on the
front lines.
And now the next opportunity iswhat do we do corporately
together, even though we may seethings a little bit differently
(51:53):
, maybe we approach things alittle bit differently in
regards to our churches.
How do we then go and serve thecommunity together to be able
to have that corporate impact?
It's a good word Got one Jesusall over the world.
Same one, doesn't matter ifhe's in Mozambique or if he's in
Topeka Kansas.
Same Jesus all over the world,same spirit all over the world
who has a direction for all ofus.
(52:15):
Yeah, I just want to say thankyou for accepting the assignment
at TBC.
Wasn't what you planned on whenyou came in.
Got a chance before the podcastto see how you're still a youth
pastor at heart, which isawesome.
Really is awesome.
And so anything else you wouldlike to share.
Speaker 2 (52:36):
I mean thank you, thanks for having me on, thank
you for the ministry and work ofTRM, thank you for both of you
being so faithful.
Um you know, it's, uh, it's ablessing to be able to um, uh, I
mean, I have a very uh, what doI say?
External role, um, and that I Iam, um, hoping to lead people
(53:00):
to life in Christ and then,through that life in Christ,
that they would be impacted toand be led by God to try and
solve these problems, as we allare.
But being able to walk with youguys and other leaders in our
community, as I'm kind ofgetting to know more of them, I
mean it's obvious that, justlike TBC, I've walked into a
situation where God has blessedso many people with so many
(53:22):
gifts.
And it's just a privilege to behere, so thanks.
Speaker 3 (53:25):
Thank you, amanda.
Anything else?
Speaker 1 (53:27):
You know, I'm just thankful for Connor.
I'm thankful for TBC for somany different reasons.
They are prayer warriors for us.
We've got volunteers from TBC,We've gotten financial support
from TBC.
I mean they, they just walk thewalk and talk the talk and I
appreciate that.
You know, as a new leader, Iappreciate my friendship with
(53:49):
Connor just because, especiallyto be doing this within six
months of each other, to both befollowing up people with three
or four decades and we were bothhearing at the same time you've
got big shoes to fill or man,this is a tough job and just to
be able to have someone elseknowing like God has called him
(54:10):
God called Jim to to move into adifferent role, God called you
to move into a different role,God called Connor to be in that
role, me in this role, and to beable to kind of do that sum
together has been fun and it'salso just another level of
support and I think we I know Ican speak for Connor and I both
(54:31):
that we also want to honor, likethe work that you and Jim have
done and continue to do.
Speaker 3 (54:37):
You know it's it's hard to keep a good thing good
like you say, and I actually gotthat from another guy named
Clark Johnson.
Speaker 1 (54:43):
Yes, and so anyways, I just think it's neat that we
have such similar stories in oursame community to be able to do
that.
And I appreciate Connor and whohe is, just his character and
his heart and what he wants todo, and I just appreciate TBC
Amen to that.
Speaker 3 (55:00):
Well, thank you for joining us today on Our
Community, Our Mission.
We've been talking with ConnorKrause, who's lead pastor at
Topeka Bible Church, about a lotof things here today about the
church and about our conditionsthat we're in in our community
as well as across the nation andbeyond, and what the value of
going the deep dive is with thegospel, and it does not
(55:21):
disappoint.
So thank you for listening tous.
If you'd like more informationabout the Topeka Rescue Mission,
you can go to the website attrmonlineorg that's trmonlineorg
and join us again next week forOur Community, Our Mission.
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