October 19, 2025 • 21 mins
What if faith isn’t a test to ace but a path to walk when life gets heavy? We explore the parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge, drawing out a countercultural message: persistent prayer isn’t about bargaining with God, it’s about forming a steady heart that keeps showing up for what is right. Along the way we challenge the prosperity gospel and name what many of us already feel—good people face hard things, and the math of “believe and you’ll prosper” breaks down where real life begins.
From that foundation we get specific about our community’s crossroads. COVID reshaped giving patterns and expectations, and we’re still working to right-size our budget without shrinking our calling. Music has long been our heartbeat, shaping belonging, memory, and worship, and we share a vision to renew that strength while investing in a digital presence that acts as today’s front door. Ministry now often starts online: clear storytelling, short-form video, and timely updates help new people take a first step toward safety, hope, and relationship.
The through-line is persistence. Like the widow who kept knocking until justice was done, we commit to practices that outlast the headwinds—steady prayer, courageous generosity, and choices that keep our message intact. Everyone is going through something, and that truth pushes us beyond our walls to meet neighbors in their need with music, hospitality, and a wiser use of technology. If you’ve ever wondered how faith holds when budgets are tight and Mondays arrive too soon, this conversation offers grit, grace, and a way forward. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs courage today, and leave a review to help others find the hope you found here.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Well, we've been working with this theme, People
Get Ready.
Again, it was a song that uhback from the 50s and 60s, I
think, but Rod Stewart kind ofgave it a little bit of fame.
And so that's probably if youknow the song, what you remember
it from.
But People Get Ready.
We're talking about us, peoplegetting ready for what God has
(00:25):
in store for us.
These people, the UnitedMethodist Church of Westlake
Village.
Are we getting ready?
Because today we're talkingabout being ready to dig in, to
dig in a little bit.
Anybody catch the humor in thescripture today?
(00:45):
Did you see it just a littlebit?
I don't know.
Steve and I were, okay, maybewe're on the same page.
We found the same humor.
I just found it kind of funny,right?
When I we it's coming through,and Jesus says, there's this
unjust judge who doesn't fearGod or respect people.
And then the judge shows up andhe says, Though I have no fear
(01:06):
of God and no respect foranyone, it just seems so on the
nose.
Did it not for anybody else?
Like the evil shows up.
Here's this guy, he doesn't fearGod and doesn't respect people.
And then he shows up and says, Idon't fear God and I don't
respect people.
And then he twirled his mustachebecause that's what evil people
(01:29):
do.
I don't know.
That just gave me a littlechuckle hearing somebody say
that uh out loud, right?
We don't uh we don't generallyuh well let's admit it, people,
even folks who are doing notgood things, have probably
worked through some way tojustify it.
(01:50):
It makes sense to them, andthere's some greater good that's
coming.
That's just kind of who we areas humans.
But in this case, I think ourunjust judge, say that three
times fast, he is kind of moreof a caricature of sorts.
Jesus needs this role filled inorder to tell his tale, and he's
(02:14):
trying to compare this unjustjudge, somebody who has no heart
for God, no heart for people,and the widow is able to make
him change his mind.
The judge is supposed to becompared to God.
You know, here's the the judge,he had no heart for people, and
he changed his mind with thepersistence of the widow.
(02:36):
Imagine what God would do.
A God who loves you.
I think that's the point of thisjudge, even though he's kind of
a caricature.
That's the role he's sort ofliving out for this story,
because our focus really is kindof on the widow, I would say.
Or maybe even more specifically,the focus might be on the
(02:58):
disciples, the people whom he'stelling the story to, which when
he's teaching disciples, he'steaching us, even here, 2,000
years later.
And he's talking about thechallenge of faith.
(03:19):
Did you hear when Jesus said,pray always and not lose heart?
You really good at that?
How's everybody doing on thatscale?
Pray always and not lose heart.
I should probably clarify what Ithink uh Luke is meaning in
(03:40):
these words from Jesus aboutpraying.
I don't think he wants usunderstanding that we're just
constantly in prayer, we'reliving through our lives, we're
walking through the office ofour building where we work or
wherever else we are, and we'repraying.
Hi Dave, how's it going?
Sally, you need to get me thosepapers.
(04:00):
Uh no, I don't, that's notnecessarily what uh Jesus is
talking about here.
They're just talking about beingmindful, just having God on your
heart, in your mind as you goabout your life, as you go about
your days.
But then there's that other keypart here: to not lose heart.
(04:26):
That can be the tough part,right?
Don't lose heart.
I don't want to be too negativehere.
Life for us in in Caneho Valley,Westlake Village is generally
pretty good.
We live in a pretty blessed partof the world.
We have a certain amount ofcomforts in the way we get to
(04:50):
live here, right?
And uh we have a churchcommunity that is blessing us
repeatedly, continually.
Look around a little bit and seesome of the faces that are
around here, people that many ofwhom you have walked with, you
(05:11):
have journeyed with, the joysthat you have shared, the life
circumstances.
You know, that that's uhimportant for us to remember how
we how we bless each other as wewalk this journey.
Yes, life for us is generally ablessing.
(05:32):
Even something more unique, likeyesterday, all the protests we
had in our nation.
Many people are reallydisappointed with the way things
are going, but at least we livein a place where it's possible
to disagree.
It's possible to raise up aconcern and do it in a
meaningful way.
(05:52):
We are a blessed people.
So again, not being too negativehere, but I think this passage
probably is talking a little bitmore about tough times than good
times.
Because we all have those toughtimes, right?
(06:15):
You heard the expression,everybody's going through
something.
Have you heard that before?
Right?
Everybody's going throughsomething.
So I've been here a little overa year now.
I've getting to know everybodyand uh getting uh close with a
lot of you as well.
(06:37):
I will tell you as that personthe statement is true.
Everybody's going throughsomething.
Do it again.
Look around the room.
Some of you are newer, so you'relooking at newer faces.
(07:00):
These are faces, every one ofthem, going through something.
Something in their lives,something in their heart,
something weighing them down.
Many of you have been here many,many years, and that something
you know about.
(07:20):
As you're looking around theroom, you know what that
something is.
Maybe even you met eyes going,yeah.
We walked through that, wesurvived that, you survive that.
So here we are, a group ofpeople with generally good
lives, but we're all goingthrough something.
(07:47):
This is what I think God istalking about.
This is how God is speaking tous in this passage.
So, what is God saying in themidst of that?
I'm not a big fan of thetheology that's implied here
from Luke as he's describingJesus.
Now, theology, that's our wordwe use for how we perceive God.
(08:12):
I might even include how weunderstand what God does or how
God works, although there'sother words for that too.
In this particular story, I feellike the perception of God, the
relationship with God is maybe alittle too economic.
It's kind of an exchange.
(08:32):
We offer faith to God, and thenGod in turn offers us
prosperity.
The widow offers persistenceabout her issue, the justice
that she understands needs tohappen.
And then the judge listens.
The exchange, right?
(08:55):
This is there's a word for thiskind of theology too.
They call it the prosperitygospel.
Maybe you've heard of theprosperity gospel.
I think it comes from a mindsetof trying to enhance or get
people to understand moreclearly the importance and the
value of having faith.
(09:17):
You should have faith.
It matters, it will change yourlife to be a person of faith.
We live in that good place, butthe problem is there's this
slippery slope that you canencounter, about this exchange
that you can fall into thismindset of, oh, I understand.
(09:38):
I give faith to God, and thenGod makes sure that I prosper.
My problem is I haven't reallyfelt that in life.
It sounds like a lot of youagree with me on that one.
I've seen some really good,good, deep moral people go
(10:00):
through really tough stuff.
On the other hand, too, I'veseen some people who don't seem
to have too much of a faithidentity and maybe not even
connected to much morality, andthey've done quite good in life.
So, this prosperity gospel, thisway of understanding God, I
(10:22):
haven't really found that workfor me.
The math doesn't always compute,at least in my brain.
I'm getting reminders.
There's a town hall at churchtoday at 1115.
That's what happens when youbring your iPad up here.
(10:42):
And the Rams are winning 21-0.
Oh, but but you know, that wholeprosperity thing, uh, it just it
it doesn't work, right?
It doesn't really compute,especially, right, this idea of
(11:02):
um how it ends where the passagewhere Jesus says, will God find
faith on earth?
Those are heavy words, right?
It makes it feel like a like atest.
We're talking about faith, andthen Jesus says, Will God find
faith in this world?
(11:23):
Right?
You got that perception we allremember from school, the test
that came on Friday.
You got yourself ready all week,you were studied up, you brought
two number two pencils, you wereready to go, you took the darn
test, and then you just hopedand hoped and hoped, and then
Monday morning came and theteacher was ready to pass the
(11:46):
tests back out.
You remember that moment?
That that feeling of that thattest, right?
By the way, not all of usbelieve in the second coming of
Jesus, that kind of thing.
But if Jesus is coming back, ifhe comes back on a Monday,
that's gonna be rough.
(12:07):
Right?
Because he's gonna show up andsay, I want to bring you life
and I want you to have itabundantly.
And we're gonna go, oh, that'sgreat.
Coffee first.
Are we right?
I'll take all your lifeabundance, but after I get a
little Java, you know.
Monday mornings, right?
(12:29):
Can you imagine that idea ofthat test and getting that
result?
Can you imagine that perceptionon your life?
I haven't found that to be very,very helpful.
I haven't found that perceptionof God to be something that
invigorated me or invigorated myfaith.
(12:52):
For me, life has always felt, orfaith has always felt more like
a pathway than a test.
It's a way of living life thathelps me to give a loving
context to my life, especiallywhen my life gets difficult.
(13:13):
A person of faith amidstdifficulty is more likely to
look for the hope.
That person is more likely tosee the ways that God is working
around him or around her.
That person is more likely tosee God's love despite or maybe
(13:34):
even within the difficulty thatthey're going through.
Faith usually is going to affectour actions as well.
Amidst sinful situations, andyou know the situations I'm
talking about, times when peoplearen't necessarily choosing the
good or the godly options.
(13:57):
They're cutting this corner,they're cutting that corner.
The person of faith is usuallymore likely to choose the good.
Not because it's a test, butbecause they see the value in
living that way.
(14:18):
It's because they see how beinga godly person can bring hope to
the world around them, thecommunity around them, their
family around them.
People of faith live in thatfaith often because they can see
how it shapes them, how itstrengthens them, how it guides
(14:39):
them, how it gives them hope.
See, to me, this is where thatwidow comes back into play.
She's persistent.
She won't leave that unjustjudge alone until there is
justice.
There's a godly right that needsto take place, and so she pushes
(15:05):
for that godly right, for thatgodly presence to be made real.
I wonder, and here's the bigquestion, how persistent the
United Methodist Church ofWestlake Village is and will be.
(16:42):
And we're seeing some new faces,including, by the way, a
confirmation class that'shappening this year.
So we're seeing good things thatare happening here.
God is truly here, butfinancially, we're still not
(17:04):
quite right-sized yet.
We haven't really beenright-sized probably since
COVID.
I don't know.
Hopefully, that doesn't surprisetoo many people, but COVID was a
big hit for a lot of the churchworld, and we've managed to work
our way staying uh movingforward through some government
(17:25):
help, through uh the deep, deepgiving and generosity of Miss
Marion Ward, through the work ofpeople who have made sure we cut
all the corners that need to becut, but still today we spend
more than we bring in.
(17:46):
And the problem is we're set ata place and we've in which we
feel like anything less wouldcheapen the message, the calling
that we've been given to sharewith the world.
We're feeling like we're at our,we've cut back what we can cut
back without actually losing oursense of ourselves and what we
(18:13):
offer and what God's given us toshare.
So, really, at this time, inmany ways, we're looking at
ourselves.
And it becomes a bit of aquestion: are we ready to be
persistent?
Are we ready to dig in so thatour message, our calling, God's
(18:37):
presence can continue to beshared outside of this building,
outside of this property?
Does God find faith here?
The kind in which lives arebeing given meaning?
Our people are being challengedto stretch and to grow in their
(18:59):
faith, hearts are being touched,and not just the ones that are
already here, by the way.
We are touching hearts outsideof our community.
Remember, we realized earlierthat everyone is going through
something.
Does everyone know they don'twalk it alone?
(19:25):
Because that's part of ourmessage.
We want to get right-sized.
I mean, that would be obvious.
We want to start even lookingahead into our future.
Music has been such an integralpart of this place for however
many years.
I every story I ask somewayconnects to the music program.
(19:47):
We want to get back to that.
We want to get a children'schoir and a performance, uh,
something to grow from the CampPizzazz from the summer.
We want to move on to those nextthings.
Uh the world itself keepsevolving.
Paul back there, despite being adepressed St.
Louis Cardinal fan, he's doinghis best to keep us ahead of the
(20:15):
ways the world is changing,especially technologically.
And we've talked about thedifferent ways that he is doing
that.
You know what we really need,though, is somebody who has
dedicated time to be able towork on that internet presence.
Because you know what?
A lot of ministry is gettingdone online now.
(20:36):
A lot of ministry is gettingdone online.
In fact, most people would sayministry starts online,
especially for a new person.
Where they're engaging, they'relearning, they're watching a
60-second clip of a reallyhandsome pastor say things.
(20:56):
It starts.
I bet you I didn't like thatone.
But friends, the the committeethe community's ready.
Caneho Valley is ready.
Everybody's going throughsomething.
(21:16):
And we bring the heart, we bringthe message, we bring the hope,
we bring the faith.
The vision is there for where weknow we need to keep growing.
The need is there in thiscommunity.
Do we have the faith in thischurch to keep on going?
(21:42):
People get ready.
Because we gotta dig insometimes.
Amen.
Well, we've been working with this theme, People
Get Ready.
Again, it was a song that uhback from the 50s and 60s, I
think, but Rod Stewart kind ofgave it a little bit of fame.
And so that's probably if youknow the song, what you remember
it from.
But People Get Ready.
We're talking about us, peoplegetting ready for what God has
(00:25):
in store for us.
These people, the UnitedMethodist Church of Westlake
Village.
Are we getting ready?
Because today we're talkingabout being ready to dig in, to
dig in a little bit.
Anybody catch the humor in thescripture today?
(00:45):
Did you see it just a littlebit?
I don't know.
Steve and I were, okay, maybewe're on the same page.
We found the same humor.
I just found it kind of funny,right?
When I we it's coming through,and Jesus says, there's this
unjust judge who doesn't fearGod or respect people.
And then the judge shows up andhe says, Though I have no fear
(01:06):
of God and no respect foranyone, it just seems so on the
nose.
Did it not for anybody else?
Like the evil shows up.
Here's this guy, he doesn't fearGod and doesn't respect people.
And then he shows up and says, Idon't fear God and I don't
respect people.
And then he twirled his mustachebecause that's what evil people
(01:29):
do.
I don't know.
That just gave me a littlechuckle hearing somebody say
that uh out loud, right?
We don't uh we don't generallyuh well let's admit it, people,
even folks who are doing notgood things, have probably
worked through some way tojustify it.
(01:50):
It makes sense to them, andthere's some greater good that's
coming.
That's just kind of who we areas humans.
But in this case, I think ourunjust judge, say that three
times fast, he is kind of moreof a caricature of sorts.
Jesus needs this role filled inorder to tell his tale, and he's
(02:14):
trying to compare this unjustjudge, somebody who has no heart
for God, no heart for people,and the widow is able to make
him change his mind.
The judge is supposed to becompared to God.
You know, here's the the judge,he had no heart for people, and
he changed his mind with thepersistence of the widow.
(02:36):
Imagine what God would do.
A God who loves you.
I think that's the point of thisjudge, even though he's kind of
a caricature.
That's the role he's sort ofliving out for this story,
because our focus really is kindof on the widow, I would say.
Or maybe even more specifically,the focus might be on the
(02:58):
disciples, the people whom he'stelling the story to, which when
he's teaching disciples, he'steaching us, even here, 2,000
years later.
And he's talking about thechallenge of faith.
(03:19):
Did you hear when Jesus said,pray always and not lose heart?
You really good at that?
How's everybody doing on thatscale?
Pray always and not lose heart.
I should probably clarify what Ithink uh Luke is meaning in
(03:40):
these words from Jesus aboutpraying.
I don't think he wants usunderstanding that we're just
constantly in prayer, we'reliving through our lives, we're
walking through the office ofour building where we work or
wherever else we are, and we'repraying.
Hi Dave, how's it going?
Sally, you need to get me thosepapers.
(04:00):
Uh no, I don't, that's notnecessarily what uh Jesus is
talking about here.
They're just talking about beingmindful, just having God on your
heart, in your mind as you goabout your life, as you go about
your days.
But then there's that other keypart here: to not lose heart.
(04:26):
That can be the tough part,right?
Don't lose heart.
I don't want to be too negativehere.
Life for us in in Caneho Valley,Westlake Village is generally
pretty good.
We live in a pretty blessed partof the world.
We have a certain amount ofcomforts in the way we get to
(04:50):
live here, right?
And uh we have a churchcommunity that is blessing us
repeatedly, continually.
Look around a little bit and seesome of the faces that are
around here, people that many ofwhom you have walked with, you
(05:11):
have journeyed with, the joysthat you have shared, the life
circumstances.
You know, that that's uhimportant for us to remember how
we how we bless each other as wewalk this journey.
Yes, life for us is generally ablessing.
(05:32):
Even something more unique, likeyesterday, all the protests we
had in our nation.
Many people are reallydisappointed with the way things
are going, but at least we livein a place where it's possible
to disagree.
It's possible to raise up aconcern and do it in a
meaningful way.
(05:52):
We are a blessed people.
So again, not being too negativehere, but I think this passage
probably is talking a little bitmore about tough times than good
times.
Because we all have those toughtimes, right?
(06:15):
You heard the expression,everybody's going through
something.
Have you heard that before?
Right?
Everybody's going throughsomething.
So I've been here a little overa year now.
I've getting to know everybodyand uh getting uh close with a
lot of you as well.
(06:37):
I will tell you as that personthe statement is true.
Everybody's going throughsomething.
Do it again.
Look around the room.
Some of you are newer, so you'relooking at newer faces.
(07:00):
These are faces, every one ofthem, going through something.
Something in their lives,something in their heart,
something weighing them down.
Many of you have been here many,many years, and that something
you know about.
(07:20):
As you're looking around theroom, you know what that
something is.
Maybe even you met eyes going,yeah.
We walked through that, wesurvived that, you survive that.
So here we are, a group ofpeople with generally good
lives, but we're all goingthrough something.
(07:47):
This is what I think God istalking about.
This is how God is speaking tous in this passage.
So, what is God saying in themidst of that?
I'm not a big fan of thetheology that's implied here
from Luke as he's describingJesus.
Now, theology, that's our wordwe use for how we perceive God.
(08:12):
I might even include how weunderstand what God does or how
God works, although there'sother words for that too.
In this particular story, I feellike the perception of God, the
relationship with God is maybe alittle too economic.
It's kind of an exchange.
(08:32):
We offer faith to God, and thenGod in turn offers us
prosperity.
The widow offers persistenceabout her issue, the justice
that she understands needs tohappen.
And then the judge listens.
The exchange, right?
(08:55):
This is there's a word for thiskind of theology too.
They call it the prosperitygospel.
Maybe you've heard of theprosperity gospel.
I think it comes from a mindsetof trying to enhance or get
people to understand moreclearly the importance and the
value of having faith.
(09:17):
You should have faith.
It matters, it will change yourlife to be a person of faith.
We live in that good place, butthe problem is there's this
slippery slope that you canencounter, about this exchange
that you can fall into thismindset of, oh, I understand.
(09:38):
I give faith to God, and thenGod makes sure that I prosper.
My problem is I haven't reallyfelt that in life.
It sounds like a lot of youagree with me on that one.
I've seen some really good,good, deep moral people go
(10:00):
through really tough stuff.
On the other hand, too, I'veseen some people who don't seem
to have too much of a faithidentity and maybe not even
connected to much morality, andthey've done quite good in life.
So, this prosperity gospel, thisway of understanding God, I
(10:22):
haven't really found that workfor me.
The math doesn't always compute,at least in my brain.
I'm getting reminders.
There's a town hall at churchtoday at 1115.
That's what happens when youbring your iPad up here.
(10:42):
And the Rams are winning 21-0.
Oh, but but you know, that wholeprosperity thing, uh, it just it
it doesn't work, right?
It doesn't really compute,especially, right, this idea of
(11:02):
um how it ends where the passagewhere Jesus says, will God find
faith on earth?
Those are heavy words, right?
It makes it feel like a like atest.
We're talking about faith, andthen Jesus says, Will God find
faith in this world?
(11:23):
Right?
You got that perception we allremember from school, the test
that came on Friday.
You got yourself ready all week,you were studied up, you brought
two number two pencils, you wereready to go, you took the darn
test, and then you just hopedand hoped and hoped, and then
Monday morning came and theteacher was ready to pass the
(11:46):
tests back out.
You remember that moment?
That that feeling of that thattest, right?
By the way, not all of usbelieve in the second coming of
Jesus, that kind of thing.
But if Jesus is coming back, ifhe comes back on a Monday,
that's gonna be rough.
(12:07):
Right?
Because he's gonna show up andsay, I want to bring you life
and I want you to have itabundantly.
And we're gonna go, oh, that'sgreat.
Coffee first.
Are we right?
I'll take all your lifeabundance, but after I get a
little Java, you know.
Monday mornings, right?
(12:29):
Can you imagine that idea ofthat test and getting that
result?
Can you imagine that perceptionon your life?
I haven't found that to be very,very helpful.
I haven't found that perceptionof God to be something that
invigorated me or invigorated myfaith.
(12:52):
For me, life has always felt, orfaith has always felt more like
a pathway than a test.
It's a way of living life thathelps me to give a loving
context to my life, especiallywhen my life gets difficult.
(13:13):
A person of faith amidstdifficulty is more likely to
look for the hope.
That person is more likely tosee the ways that God is working
around him or around her.
That person is more likely tosee God's love despite or maybe
(13:34):
even within the difficulty thatthey're going through.
Faith usually is going to affectour actions as well.
Amidst sinful situations, andyou know the situations I'm
talking about, times when peoplearen't necessarily choosing the
good or the godly options.
(13:57):
They're cutting this corner,they're cutting that corner.
The person of faith is usuallymore likely to choose the good.
Not because it's a test, butbecause they see the value in
living that way.
(14:18):
It's because they see how beinga godly person can bring hope to
the world around them, thecommunity around them, their
family around them.
People of faith live in thatfaith often because they can see
how it shapes them, how itstrengthens them, how it guides
(14:39):
them, how it gives them hope.
See, to me, this is where thatwidow comes back into play.
She's persistent.
She won't leave that unjustjudge alone until there is
justice.
There's a godly right that needsto take place, and so she pushes
(15:05):
for that godly right, for thatgodly presence to be made real.
I wonder, and here's the bigquestion, how persistent the
United Methodist Church ofWestlake Village is and will be.
(16:42):
And we're seeing some new faces,including, by the way, a
confirmation class that'shappening this year.
So we're seeing good things thatare happening here.
God is truly here, butfinancially, we're still not
(17:04):
quite right-sized yet.
We haven't really beenright-sized probably since
COVID.
I don't know.
Hopefully, that doesn't surprisetoo many people, but COVID was a
big hit for a lot of the churchworld, and we've managed to work
our way staying uh movingforward through some government
(17:25):
help, through uh the deep, deepgiving and generosity of Miss
Marion Ward, through the work ofpeople who have made sure we cut
all the corners that need to becut, but still today we spend
more than we bring in.
(17:46):
And the problem is we're set ata place and we've in which we
feel like anything less wouldcheapen the message, the calling
that we've been given to sharewith the world.
We're feeling like we're at our,we've cut back what we can cut
back without actually losing oursense of ourselves and what we
(18:13):
offer and what God's given us toshare.
So, really, at this time, inmany ways, we're looking at
ourselves.
And it becomes a bit of aquestion: are we ready to be
persistent?
Are we ready to dig in so thatour message, our calling, God's
(18:37):
presence can continue to beshared outside of this building,
outside of this property?
Does God find faith here?
The kind in which lives arebeing given meaning?
Our people are being challengedto stretch and to grow in their
(18:59):
faith, hearts are being touched,and not just the ones that are
already here, by the way.
We are touching hearts outsideof our community.
Remember, we realized earlierthat everyone is going through
something.
Does everyone know they don'twalk it alone?
(19:25):
Because that's part of ourmessage.
We want to get right-sized.
I mean, that would be obvious.
We want to start even lookingahead into our future.
Music has been such an integralpart of this place for however
many years.
I every story I ask somewayconnects to the music program.
(19:47):
We want to get back to that.
We want to get a children'schoir and a performance, uh,
something to grow from the CampPizzazz from the summer.
We want to move on to those nextthings.
Uh the world itself keepsevolving.
Paul back there, despite being adepressed St.
Louis Cardinal fan, he's doinghis best to keep us ahead of the
(20:15):
ways the world is changing,especially technologically.
And we've talked about thedifferent ways that he is doing
that.
You know what we really need,though, is somebody who has
dedicated time to be able towork on that internet presence.
Because you know what?
A lot of ministry is gettingdone online now.
(20:36):
A lot of ministry is gettingdone online.
In fact, most people would sayministry starts online,
especially for a new person.
Where they're engaging, they'relearning, they're watching a
60-second clip of a reallyhandsome pastor say things.
(20:56):
It starts.
I bet you I didn't like thatone.
But friends, the the committeethe community's ready.
Caneho Valley is ready.
Everybody's going throughsomething.
(21:16):
And we bring the heart, we bringthe message, we bring the hope,
we bring the faith.
The vision is there for where weknow we need to keep growing.
The need is there in thiscommunity.
Do we have the faith in thischurch to keep on going?
(21:42):
People get ready.
Because we gotta dig insometimes.
Amen.
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