July 9, 2024 • 25 mins
Have you ever felt like setbacks have derailed your life's purpose? What if those very challenges are the stepping stones to your greatest growth? On this heartfelt episode of Words for Change, we blend the joy of Taco Tuesday with the profound journey of overcoming personal failures and systematic obstacles. From my own transition from pastorship to becoming a military chaplain, I share intimate reflections on the trials and triumphs faced in church planting and why community and faith are pivotal in navigating life's toughest moments. We also tackle the skepticism around spiritual leaders, especially in light of recent controversies, offering a balanced perspective on maintaining hope and integrity.
Join us as we explore the vital role resilience plays in both personal and societal transformation. Drawing inspiration from historical movements like the civil rights struggle led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we underline how enduring hardships can drive profound social change. We also discuss ongoing battles for gender equality and environmental justice, highlighting how individual growth fuels broader advancements. This episode is a call to embrace setbacks as opportunities for character development and community strength. And if you're curious about the intricate journey of church planting, don't hesitate to email—we might just dedicate an entire episode to it. Stay resilient, stay hopeful, and keep pushing forward.
Join us as we explore the vital role resilience plays in both personal and societal transformation. Drawing inspiration from historical movements like the civil rights struggle led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we underline how enduring hardships can drive profound social change. We also discuss ongoing battles for gender equality and environmental justice, highlighting how individual growth fuels broader advancements. This episode is a call to embrace setbacks as opportunities for character development and community strength. And if you're curious about the intricate journey of church planting, don't hesitate to email—we might just dedicate an entire episode to it. Stay resilient, stay hopeful, and keep pushing forward.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey everybody, this is Lionel.
Welcome to Tuesday.
Happy Tuesday.
It is podcast Tuesday, hey, andit's also Taco Tuesday, man, I
love Taco Tuesday, even though Ihad tacos last night on a
Monday, because why I'm fromTexas and tacos are good.
(00:21):
Hey, welcome back to the Wordsfor Change podcast, lionel.
Here today I'm going to diveinto a topic that resonates
deeply with many of us.
Many of us have overcomesetbacks, and finding purpose
when you're going throughstruggles like that can be a
challenge sometimes.
So, whether you're battlingpersonal failure or facing
(00:45):
systematic challenges, thisepisode is aimed to provide hope
and guidance, and I just wantto thank all of you for joining
this conversation, and I want topose a question to you.
Have you ever felt like youwere drowning in your setback,
(01:07):
or you are drowning in yourfailure?
You are questioning yourpurpose.
You're questioning your purposein life.
I know what that feels like.
I know what it can do to youwhen you you fall into doubting
yourself.
I know what it's like to wonderif you're going to make it
(01:28):
through that time, becausesometimes it's unending and
doesn't stop.
So, hey, I'm going to.
We're going to explore that.
We're going to explore thattopic and how challenges are
actually part of shaping us intothe best version of ourselves.
(01:50):
Okay, and I posted a video onYouTube about this.
But this is this is not forYouTube, this is for you, our
listener, because I know thatthere are some of us out there
who are dealing with challenges,and if you have watched the
news, like I have, you've seen alot of pastors um are under the
gun, so to speak, beencriticized because of some of
(02:13):
the the supposedly or allegedlybehaviors.
So it started out with, likekirk franklin, uh, bishop td
jakes and that whole thing withP Diddy.
Now I'm coming close to homefor me with Dr Evans because,
hey, I went to Oakley BibleFellowship and my family.
(02:35):
We love that church and thatchurch has been very
instrumental in our lives and ithas been even before I got
married In our lives, and it hasbeen even before I got married.
So post-marriage and now still,that ministry has been
tremendous.
Impact Matter of fact, whenPastor Evan's wife Lois passed
(03:03):
away, it's a huge blow to mywife and I because we see them
as distant mentors, and so theseare definitely challenging
times because people arestarting to question whether or
not you can trust spiritualleaders or pastors or churches,
and this has always been achallenge.
But whether you're facing thatkind of challenge, or the pastor
ministry or the pastoralindustry is facing that
(03:24):
challenge, or whether yourchallenge is very, very
different, every challenge youface right is molding you into
the person that you desire to be, and that's very important.
That's important because we getlost, thinking we're the only
person that are having thechallenges that we experience,
like we feel like we're the onlyone out there who's going
(03:46):
through this challenge and wedon't know what to do and we
don't know how to deal with it.
And it can.
It can let us, it can make usfeel like we're the only ones,
the only person, or we're out onthe island by yourself when
you're going through that.
So I'm going to share a personalstory of my own life.
Back in 2012, I felt called tostart a church and I've been
(04:09):
involved with church planningfor quite some time.
So, those of you who don't knowme you're new to this I was a
pastor for 20 years and then Godcalled me out of the local
church, so to speak, and into achaplain.
So I'm a military chaplain nowfor those of you who know.
For those of you who don't know.
Well, now you got some newinformation.
(04:31):
So I felt a strong call back in2012 to plant a church and I
have been involved in severalchurch plants up until that
point and I was super excited,really excited, about the
opportunity because I wanted totake.
You know, my vision was to takea vibrant community that was
(04:52):
rooted in the teachings of Jesus.
At that time I was goingthrough this particular time.
I think I was going through mysecond master's degree, I can't
remember, but my goal was totake a group of people who were
intimately being taught through,like exegetical teaching, the
words of Jesus and then takingthose techniques and making
(05:14):
tangible impacts in society, inthe local community, where you
could actually see for instance,jesus says feed the hungry,
where you could actually see forinstance, jesus says feed the
hungry.
Right that we would actuallyhave programs where we go out
and fed people on a regularbasis.
So that was the goal, right.
And then to have it as a afterparticipating in that tangible
(05:40):
social project.
Then reflect on that and letthat reflection reflect on it as
a community and let thatreflection reflect on it as a
community and then let that bethat time of reflecting a
platform for spiritual growthand perhaps then moving other
people out from that church intoother communities to do the
same.
So I was really really headforward, face forward, pressing
(06:05):
to this concept, this idea,because I thought this would
solve a problem Problem ofpeople just coming to church
just to be entertained and thenleaving church and having no
impact, having no input, liketaking their faith and letting
it be intertwined with theirdaily life and then letting it
(06:28):
be intertwined with theiractivity, and the result of that
intertwinement would be thatthey would begin changing their
community for the better.
So that was my goal.
So I have been preparing to dothis and this church plant was
all about that.
Um so, but as we beganpreparing our and I'll never
(06:52):
forget this moment we wereheading toward our church launch
and I was super excited and Ialways use the phrase super
excited I was.
I was happy about it.
You know you, there's a lot ofpreparation that goes.
We had a core team met togetherfor months and my home actually
started in my apartment.
We started out with our coreteam meeting, having fellowship
(07:17):
with one another, developingrelationship.
So you'd meet people randomlyand as you connected with them,
you thought you know this personwould be good, a good person
who could possibly help us withthis new venture.
So you were getting buy in fromother individuals, stakeholders
, who would say you know what?
I'm looking for?
(07:38):
Religious community.
I'm looking for a church.
I like this pastor, I like thisfamily, I like their morals, I
like his belief system.
I want to connect myself withthat.
So we begin to prepare.
So we have private meetings Idon't know, maybe three, four
months, maybe six months before,and then, as we prepared, as we
(07:58):
began preparing and if youdon't know anything about church
planning, man, as you, there'sa lot of preparation that goes
into that.
There's finances and money thathas to be put aside for that,
people that you have to bring onboard, you have to find a
facility, and that includes, ifyou're, if you talk about
property, buying real estate, ifyou're renting facilities,
(08:22):
contracts have to be signed.
I mean, there's a lot that goesinto the process.
So we were preparing for ourfirst service and some of my key
volunteers started to back out.
I mean key volunteers.
Now, these are people who hadwe had gone out and evangelized
(08:42):
and I know that's probably aweird phrase to use today, but
we had went out, man and we hadevangelized, like put flyers out
.
I don't know if you've everbeen to like a club, right, but
when you come outside your carat the end of the night and
there's a sticker hanging onyour windshield, well, we were
(09:02):
the people out there puttingflyers up.
Hey, there's a church coming up.
Here's our launch, very firstservice on this day.
And it was a technique tolaunch a brand new church on
Easter Sunday, because this iswhen people who typically don't
go to church go to church.
So we were super prepared.
(09:23):
I mean, we had signed contracts, we had people on board, we had
purchased music equipment, wehad put a music leader on our
payroll worship leader.
I mean we had a lot of piecesmoving, we had people from the
community supporting us, we hada marketing budget.
(09:45):
So I'm not going to tell youhow much was spent, but it was a
lot of money.
So right before the service, thenight, actually the night
before, some of my keyvolunteers started calling me
and saying you know what, Idon't think I want to
participate, and they didn'teven have actually let me back
(10:05):
up.
They didn't even call me.
They text me.
Think about that.
Yes, we did text during thattime.
This is back in 2012.
So they text me.
And this was difficult because Ihad to get up the next morning
and put out those banners.
Because we had a volunteer.
(10:25):
His or her main job was to putout the banners on the street,
signs on the street, arrowspointing church.
This way, we met at anelementary school, a cafeteria,
so there was banners and signsput on outside of the church, so
as people drove by, they couldsee, oh, there's a church
(10:47):
meeting and this was a vibrant,growing community surrounding
the church.
So the community wassurrounding the school, which
was ideal for church planners.
Right, if you want to start achurch, go to a school, rent out
facilities.
Why?
Because everybody has to taketheir kids to the school.
(11:11):
So it was a marketing ploy aswell.
So I had someone call me, theguy who was supposed to set up
these banners at five 30 in themorning, text me and says I'm
not going to make it, I can'tput out the banners.
And I received that textmessage and, man, it just
floored me.
I received that text messageand, man, it just floored me
because I couldn't believesomeone would do that to me, or
(11:32):
just like I would never do that.
I would never do that to ayoung pastor who was just now
starting out.
I would at least said hey, youknow, I am going to do this now,
I'll help you get started, but90 days after that I'm out of
here.
You know, just something out ofpure like concern, care and
(11:55):
professionalism Because, by theway, I thought we were friends
right, particularly if you thinkthese people are friends.
So I felt betrayed and I felt indespair and I remember Jeremiah
29, 11, kept coming to mind.
I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to
prosper you, to not harm you,plans to give you hope in the
(12:16):
future.
So I don't know about you, butif you've ever had that kind of
experience or something verysimilar to that, it can unearth
you what I mean byarthing.
It can make you feel like youstepped over the edge of the
Grand Canyon and there's nothingunder your feet.
You're suspended in midair andyou're falling and there's
(12:37):
nothing there to catch you.
So it's a very, very traumaticexperience that I went through
and I had many other experiences.
I mean I could do a wholeseries went through and I had
many other experiences.
I mean I could do a wholeseries.
Matter of fact, if you, ifyou're interested in this and
this makes sense to you, justsend me an email.
You can actually send an email.
Actually, if you look listeningto this through the Buzzsprout
(13:03):
podcast app or podcast page Idon't know if they call it app
or page Then there's a fan maillink where you can click it and
then send an email if you have aquestion, or, yeah, it makes
sense, or I've had thatexperience.
So please send a message ifthis connects you.
If you want to know more aboutthis whole experience I got a
lot of stories about churchplanting Then I would love to
(13:26):
share that with you and have youtalk back to me.
So back to Jeremiah 29 and 11,you know God's plans.
What I learned from thatexperience was this very, very
important fact that God's planscan often include failure and
trial, and I know that's easiersaid than done, but God's plans
(13:48):
can often include trials, canoften include failure, can often
include difficult moments, andsomehow these moments are not
meant to harm us.
According to.
If you take Jeremiah 29 and 11,you exegete that scripture say
OK, bailey, what does that haveto do with me?
(14:10):
Well, jeremiah 29 and 11 saysthat, even as I was going
through that experience.
That experience wasn't meant toharm me, but grow me, got that
harm.
It wasn't meant to harm you,but grow me.
Jesus used the example too, andthis is very interesting.
But grow me.
Jesus used the example too, andthis is very interesting.
(14:30):
In the gospel Jesus told.
In Matthew, jesus gave anexample.
He said unless a seed fallsinto the ground and dies, it
can't bear fruit.
Now that's a powerful statementto me, because what that tells
me is that sometimes, in orderfor us to grow, things need to
die in our lives.
In order for us to grow, thingsneed to die in our life.
(14:50):
And this process of death iskind of a rebirth.
It's a painful one, but it's arebirth because it does mature
you.
And I'm going to tell yousomething at the end.
I'll just say it now because itmakes sense, it fits along with
the story.
So I was sitting in church theother day and I don't know about
you, but when you sit, when youwork with churches and you've
(15:13):
done everything, you know aboutall the dog and pony show, or,
if you know how things workwhere I sit at in church, you
see the stage, but then you cansee everything that happens
backstage before people come on.
And every time I see that I'mreminded.
I know exactly what's, I knowwhat the next song is going to
be, I know that someone's goingto come out and announce it and
(15:34):
there's going to be a prayer andsomeone's going to say the
right words.
I mean, I can.
I know exactly what's going tohappen in a church service
before it happens.
And then the spirit said to medo you think you could ever do
that again?
Do you think you could everpastor again with all the wisdom
and knowledge you have now,when you, if there were you
(15:55):
coming on to the stage backstage, about to come on front stage
and make, whether that's,announcements, or lead the
congregation in prayer orwhatever the case may be, could
you do that now, with theexperience?
How much more substance wouldyou have in your life if you did
that?
And that was a powerful, I meanman.
(16:18):
It really, really, really.
It really spoke to me.
And so, reflecting upon thatprocess of death, death brings
regrowth.
It can make you a painfulexperience, as it was.
It can help you to grow andbecome a better person.
So, as I reflected on this, Irealized that hardship is a, it
(16:40):
does one, it builds resiliency.
That, as we go throughstruggles, it teaches us to
trust God and not people, totrust God's plan, not our plan.
The fact that that, as as you,so as you think about that
experience, think about whateveryou're going through, how can
it make you a better person, howcan it make you a person of
(17:03):
more depth that has more depthin your character?
You a person of more depth thathas more depth in your
character, right?
So y'all know that here's a partof our episode is a social
change moment, or words forchange moment.
Here's the words for changemoment.
So, during the civil rightsmovement, right, that movement
was born out of resiliency.
So if you take that story Ijust gave you about my personal
(17:27):
experience, that's a micro level.
But if I take that to a macrolevel, in other words, how do I
now take that experience?
And if I'm interested inhelping the community, which is
what we are interested in withWords for Change, that's what
change is all about.
Podcast, we're about how ourfaith impacts community.
(17:48):
So, if we take that example ofhow, through hardship and
difficulties, things can birthnew birth, new things, new ideas
, new dreams, new dreams, newvisions are born out of this
kind of resiliency.
Take civil rights movement, forinstance.
Leaders like martin king andothers face a lot of setbacks,
(18:13):
but their faith was unwaveringand their resiliency transformed
society.
How can your resiliencytransform your home, your
relationship right?
And People have been marriedfor many years.
I've always, always like totell individuals that I counsel
with in my, in my, my work andthat if you see a couple that's
(18:37):
been married for 15, 20, 30, 40years, there's a lot of pain and
resiliency that happens.
What you're seeing now doesn'tmean that you know the happiness
that you see or the affectionthat you see in a couple who's
been together for a very longtime.
It hasn't always been that way.
There's a lot of resiliencyrequired to get them to that
(18:58):
point.
So there's a quote that saysjustice anywhere is a threat to
justice everywhere.
Dr King said that.
So that quote was a verypowerful motivator for why you
do what you do.
So if you're going throughhardship on a micro level, right
(19:19):
Resiliency can be used on amacro level.
Wherever there's pushback,there's a level of resiliency
that is required in order foryou to transform society.
But you have to have amotivator for that, and for Dr
King, it was justice.
Justice was a motivator, makingthe world A just place for
(19:39):
everyone.
So this quote highlights theinterconnectedness of struggling
your struggle, my struggle.
All the same, it talks aboutthe fight against injustice.
We're not just advocating forourselves, but we're advocating
for a better world.
I would argue that theChristian gospel is all about
that kind of advocation, notjust for ourselves but for the
(20:00):
entire world.
Consider the fight for genderequality.
Women have faced systematicoppression for centuries, yet
their resiliency changes society.
Right, securing Voting RightsAct, the 1963, I think, 63, 64
Voting Rights Act came throughstruggle, breaking the glass
(20:22):
ceiling Right and in so manydifferent ways.
Once again, resiliency can helpbirth or bring something
forward that is more beautiful.
But our work is deeper thanthat right.
It includes the world, itincludes a global society.
(20:43):
It includes, you know, get ridof, you know, racial
inequalities and includesgetting rid of financial
inequalities.
It includes all of these things.
This is the change moment.
This is this is what Words toChange podcast is about.
It's about the individual,personal growth that then leads
(21:04):
to social growth or communitygrowth, and then state, nation,
world.
It just continues to grow.
So that's our change moment forthe Words to Change podcast.
I want you to think about howresiliency can help birth
something new.
So, whatever you're goingthrough now, it's not the end.
(21:25):
Now let's talk about resiliencyin a different context.
You could talk about the fightfor, if you're an environmental
justice person low income,housing, environmental let's
think about.
Remember the I don't know ifyou remember the situation in
Flint, michigan, with the watercrisis and the disproportionate
impact it had on people'sphysical health that people were
(21:47):
drinking water with lead in it.
Hey, christians have somethingto say about that.
The gospel has something to sayabout that, right?
So that's really, reallyimportant how our struggles on
an individual level.
We learn that resiliency.
We have to struggle.
There's some death, there'ssome pushback that comes when we
try to do the right thing.
(22:08):
Paul, the apostle, saidwhenever I want to do good, evil
is always present with me.
This is an individual.
I'm talking about how individualmorality struggles or
individual resiliency.
You can take that, as youbecome more resilient, now you
(22:28):
can go out into your communityand start advocating as well, or
in your neighborhood or in yourfriend group, right?
All of these things are superimportant, ok, so all of these
are examples, but one thing isclear Resiliency is key.
It's about facing setbacks,learning from them, continuing
(22:51):
to push forward.
It's not just an individualtrait, but it can become
resiliency can also become acollective trait, shaping
communities, societies andworlds.
This is very, very, veryimportant.
So I want to encourage you that, if you have your own story,
just click the fan mail buttonor send me a message.
(23:12):
Lloyd Lloyd at Lloyd TalksMedia dot com.
Lloyd at Lloyd Talks Media dotcom.
Or you can click the link andmy email should be included in
the show notes.
I would love to hear about yourstory of resiliency.
Ok, I would love to hear aboutyour story of resiliency.
Ok, I would love to hear aboutyou.
(23:33):
So, if you're feelingoverwhelmed, if your personal
setbacks are getting the best ofyou, remember this your
challenges are shaping you intoa greater person.
So, therefore, embrace whatyou're going through.
Trust the process.
Know that you're not alone.
Family, you're going through.
Trust the process.
Know that you're not alone.
Family, you're not alone, okay.
(23:54):
Whether you're fighting apersonal battle or standing in
the gap for social justice, orhowever, you determine that
whatever makes sense to you,resiliency can make the
difference in the world.
Dr King said the arc of themoral universe is long, but it
bends toward justice.
That means right willultimately win.
(24:15):
Okay, so, hey, on Taco Tuesday.
This is July 9th, so good tohear and speak with you today.
And hey, that's it for thisepisode.
As we wrap it up, I want toencourage you to reflect on the
challenges that are shaping yourlife and how those experiences
can create more positive change.
(24:36):
Right, if you found thismessage helpful, hey, stay tuned
for our next episode.
This is a special episode.
I hadn't planned on putting itout, but I just felt it was the
right thing to do.
But I just felt it was theright thing to do.
Okay, we're going to continueto dive deeper into how
suffering can help develop yourcharacter.
We're going to do that.
(24:57):
And if you want to hear moreabout that church planting story
, just send me an email andwe'll have another episode, and
I will even dedicate thatepisode to you.
Okay, so until next time,remember that every setback is
set up for a comeback.
Stay resilient, stay hopeful,keep the faith, keep fighting,
Keep pushing forward.
This is Lionel signing off.
Salute and I'm out.
Hey everybody, this is Lionel.
Welcome to Tuesday.
Happy Tuesday.
It is podcast Tuesday, hey, andit's also Taco Tuesday, man, I
love Taco Tuesday, even though Ihad tacos last night on a
Monday, because why I'm fromTexas and tacos are good.
(00:21):
Hey, welcome back to the Wordsfor Change podcast, lionel.
Here today I'm going to diveinto a topic that resonates
deeply with many of us.
Many of us have overcomesetbacks, and finding purpose
when you're going throughstruggles like that can be a
challenge sometimes.
So, whether you're battlingpersonal failure or facing
(00:45):
systematic challenges, thisepisode is aimed to provide hope
and guidance, and I just wantto thank all of you for joining
this conversation, and I want topose a question to you.
Have you ever felt like youwere drowning in your setback,
(01:07):
or you are drowning in yourfailure?
You are questioning yourpurpose.
You're questioning your purposein life.
I know what that feels like.
I know what it can do to youwhen you you fall into doubting
yourself.
I know what it's like to wonderif you're going to make it
(01:28):
through that time, becausesometimes it's unending and
doesn't stop.
So, hey, I'm going to.
We're going to explore that.
We're going to explore thattopic and how challenges are
actually part of shaping us intothe best version of ourselves.
(01:50):
Okay, and I posted a video onYouTube about this.
But this is this is not forYouTube, this is for you, our
listener, because I know thatthere are some of us out there
who are dealing with challenges,and if you have watched the
news, like I have, you've seen alot of pastors um are under the
gun, so to speak, beencriticized because of some of
(02:13):
the the supposedly or allegedlybehaviors.
So it started out with, likekirk franklin, uh, bishop td
jakes and that whole thing withP Diddy.
Now I'm coming close to homefor me with Dr Evans because,
hey, I went to Oakley BibleFellowship and my family.
(02:35):
We love that church and thatchurch has been very
instrumental in our lives and ithas been even before I got
married In our lives, and it hasbeen even before I got married.
So post-marriage and now still,that ministry has been
tremendous.
Impact Matter of fact, whenPastor Evan's wife Lois passed
(03:03):
away, it's a huge blow to mywife and I because we see them
as distant mentors, and so theseare definitely challenging
times because people arestarting to question whether or
not you can trust spiritualleaders or pastors or churches,
and this has always been achallenge.
But whether you're facing thatkind of challenge, or the pastor
ministry or the pastoralindustry is facing that
(03:24):
challenge, or whether yourchallenge is very, very
different, every challenge youface right is molding you into
the person that you desire to be, and that's very important.
That's important because we getlost, thinking we're the only
person that are having thechallenges that we experience,
like we feel like we're the onlyone out there who's going
(03:46):
through this challenge and wedon't know what to do and we
don't know how to deal with it.
And it can.
It can let us, it can make usfeel like we're the only ones,
the only person, or we're out onthe island by yourself when
you're going through that.
So I'm going to share a personalstory of my own life.
Back in 2012, I felt called tostart a church and I've been
(04:09):
involved with church planningfor quite some time.
So, those of you who don't knowme you're new to this I was a
pastor for 20 years and then Godcalled me out of the local
church, so to speak, and into achaplain.
So I'm a military chaplain nowfor those of you who know.
For those of you who don't know.
Well, now you got some newinformation.
(04:31):
So I felt a strong call back in2012 to plant a church and I
have been involved in severalchurch plants up until that
point and I was super excited,really excited, about the
opportunity because I wanted totake.
You know, my vision was to takea vibrant community that was
(04:52):
rooted in the teachings of Jesus.
At that time I was goingthrough this particular time.
I think I was going through mysecond master's degree, I can't
remember, but my goal was totake a group of people who were
intimately being taught through,like exegetical teaching, the
words of Jesus and then takingthose techniques and making
(05:14):
tangible impacts in society, inthe local community, where you
could actually see for instance,jesus says feed the hungry,
where you could actually see forinstance, jesus says feed the
hungry.
Right that we would actuallyhave programs where we go out
and fed people on a regularbasis.
So that was the goal, right.
And then to have it as a afterparticipating in that tangible
(05:40):
social project.
Then reflect on that and letthat reflection reflect on it as
a community and let thatreflection reflect on it as a
community and then let that bethat time of reflecting a
platform for spiritual growthand perhaps then moving other
people out from that church intoother communities to do the
same.
So I was really really headforward, face forward, pressing
(06:05):
to this concept, this idea,because I thought this would
solve a problem Problem ofpeople just coming to church
just to be entertained and thenleaving church and having no
impact, having no input, liketaking their faith and letting
it be intertwined with theirdaily life and then letting it
(06:28):
be intertwined with theiractivity, and the result of that
intertwinement would be thatthey would begin changing their
community for the better.
So that was my goal.
So I have been preparing to dothis and this church plant was
all about that.
Um so, but as we beganpreparing our and I'll never
(06:52):
forget this moment we wereheading toward our church launch
and I was super excited and Ialways use the phrase super
excited I was.
I was happy about it.
You know you, there's a lot ofpreparation that goes.
We had a core team met togetherfor months and my home actually
started in my apartment.
We started out with our coreteam meeting, having fellowship
(07:17):
with one another, developingrelationship.
So you'd meet people randomlyand as you connected with them,
you thought you know this personwould be good, a good person
who could possibly help us withthis new venture.
So you were getting buy in fromother individuals, stakeholders
, who would say you know what?
I'm looking for?
(07:38):
Religious community.
I'm looking for a church.
I like this pastor, I like thisfamily, I like their morals, I
like his belief system.
I want to connect myself withthat.
So we begin to prepare.
So we have private meetings Idon't know, maybe three, four
months, maybe six months before,and then, as we prepared, as we
(07:58):
began preparing and if youdon't know anything about church
planning, man, as you, there'sa lot of preparation that goes
into that.
There's finances and money thathas to be put aside for that,
people that you have to bring onboard, you have to find a
facility, and that includes, ifyou're, if you talk about
property, buying real estate, ifyou're renting facilities,
(08:22):
contracts have to be signed.
I mean, there's a lot that goesinto the process.
So we were preparing for ourfirst service and some of my key
volunteers started to back out.
I mean key volunteers.
Now, these are people who hadwe had gone out and evangelized
(08:42):
and I know that's probably aweird phrase to use today, but
we had went out, man and we hadevangelized, like put flyers out
.
I don't know if you've everbeen to like a club, right, but
when you come outside your carat the end of the night and
there's a sticker hanging onyour windshield, well, we were
(09:02):
the people out there puttingflyers up.
Hey, there's a church coming up.
Here's our launch, very firstservice on this day.
And it was a technique tolaunch a brand new church on
Easter Sunday, because this iswhen people who typically don't
go to church go to church.
So we were super prepared.
(09:23):
I mean, we had signed contracts, we had people on board, we had
purchased music equipment, wehad put a music leader on our
payroll worship leader.
I mean we had a lot of piecesmoving, we had people from the
community supporting us, we hada marketing budget.
(09:45):
So I'm not going to tell youhow much was spent, but it was a
lot of money.
So right before the service, thenight, actually the night
before, some of my keyvolunteers started calling me
and saying you know what, Idon't think I want to
participate, and they didn'teven have actually let me back
(10:05):
up.
They didn't even call me.
They text me.
Think about that.
Yes, we did text during thattime.
This is back in 2012.
So they text me.
And this was difficult because Ihad to get up the next morning
and put out those banners.
Because we had a volunteer.
(10:25):
His or her main job was to putout the banners on the street,
signs on the street, arrowspointing church.
This way, we met at anelementary school, a cafeteria,
so there was banners and signsput on outside of the church, so
as people drove by, they couldsee, oh, there's a church
(10:47):
meeting and this was a vibrant,growing community surrounding
the church.
So the community wassurrounding the school, which
was ideal for church planners.
Right, if you want to start achurch, go to a school, rent out
facilities.
Why?
Because everybody has to taketheir kids to the school.
(11:11):
So it was a marketing ploy aswell.
So I had someone call me, theguy who was supposed to set up
these banners at five 30 in themorning, text me and says I'm
not going to make it, I can'tput out the banners.
And I received that textmessage and, man, it just
floored me.
I received that text messageand, man, it just floored me
because I couldn't believesomeone would do that to me, or
(11:32):
just like I would never do that.
I would never do that to ayoung pastor who was just now
starting out.
I would at least said hey, youknow, I am going to do this now,
I'll help you get started, but90 days after that I'm out of
here.
You know, just something out ofpure like concern, care and
(11:55):
professionalism Because, by theway, I thought we were friends
right, particularly if you thinkthese people are friends.
So I felt betrayed and I felt indespair and I remember Jeremiah
29, 11, kept coming to mind.
I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to
prosper you, to not harm you,plans to give you hope in the
(12:16):
future.
So I don't know about you, butif you've ever had that kind of
experience or something verysimilar to that, it can unearth
you what I mean byarthing.
It can make you feel like youstepped over the edge of the
Grand Canyon and there's nothingunder your feet.
You're suspended in midair andyou're falling and there's
(12:37):
nothing there to catch you.
So it's a very, very traumaticexperience that I went through
and I had many other experiences.
I mean I could do a wholeseries went through and I had
many other experiences.
I mean I could do a wholeseries.
Matter of fact, if you, ifyou're interested in this and
this makes sense to you, justsend me an email.
You can actually send an email.
Actually, if you look listeningto this through the Buzzsprout
(13:03):
podcast app or podcast page Idon't know if they call it app
or page Then there's a fan maillink where you can click it and
then send an email if you have aquestion, or, yeah, it makes
sense, or I've had thatexperience.
So please send a message ifthis connects you.
If you want to know more aboutthis whole experience I got a
lot of stories about churchplanting Then I would love to
(13:26):
share that with you and have youtalk back to me.
So back to Jeremiah 29 and 11,you know God's plans.
What I learned from thatexperience was this very, very
important fact that God's planscan often include failure and
trial, and I know that's easiersaid than done, but God's plans
(13:48):
can often include trials, canoften include failure, can often
include difficult moments, andsomehow these moments are not
meant to harm us.
According to.
If you take Jeremiah 29 and 11,you exegete that scripture say
OK, bailey, what does that haveto do with me?
(14:10):
Well, jeremiah 29 and 11 saysthat, even as I was going
through that experience.
That experience wasn't meant toharm me, but grow me, got that
harm.
It wasn't meant to harm you,but grow me.
Jesus used the example too, andthis is very interesting.
But grow me.
Jesus used the example too, andthis is very interesting.
(14:30):
In the gospel Jesus told.
In Matthew, jesus gave anexample.
He said unless a seed fallsinto the ground and dies, it
can't bear fruit.
Now that's a powerful statementto me, because what that tells
me is that sometimes, in orderfor us to grow, things need to
die in our lives.
In order for us to grow, thingsneed to die in our life.
(14:50):
And this process of death iskind of a rebirth.
It's a painful one, but it's arebirth because it does mature
you.
And I'm going to tell yousomething at the end.
I'll just say it now because itmakes sense, it fits along with
the story.
So I was sitting in church theother day and I don't know about
you, but when you sit, when youwork with churches and you've
(15:13):
done everything, you know aboutall the dog and pony show, or,
if you know how things workwhere I sit at in church, you
see the stage, but then you cansee everything that happens
backstage before people come on.
And every time I see that I'mreminded.
I know exactly what's, I knowwhat the next song is going to
be, I know that someone's goingto come out and announce it and
(15:34):
there's going to be a prayer andsomeone's going to say the
right words.
I mean, I can.
I know exactly what's going tohappen in a church service
before it happens.
And then the spirit said to medo you think you could ever do
that again?
Do you think you could everpastor again with all the wisdom
and knowledge you have now,when you, if there were you
(15:55):
coming on to the stage backstage, about to come on front stage
and make, whether that's,announcements, or lead the
congregation in prayer orwhatever the case may be, could
you do that now, with theexperience?
How much more substance wouldyou have in your life if you did
that?
And that was a powerful, I meanman.
(16:18):
It really, really, really.
It really spoke to me.
And so, reflecting upon thatprocess of death, death brings
regrowth.
It can make you a painfulexperience, as it was.
It can help you to grow andbecome a better person.
So, as I reflected on this, Irealized that hardship is a, it
(16:40):
does one, it builds resiliency.
That, as we go throughstruggles, it teaches us to
trust God and not people, totrust God's plan, not our plan.
The fact that that, as as you,so as you think about that
experience, think about whateveryou're going through, how can
it make you a better person, howcan it make you a person of
(17:03):
more depth that has more depthin your character?
You a person of more depth thathas more depth in your
character, right?
So y'all know that here's a partof our episode is a social
change moment, or words forchange moment.
Here's the words for changemoment.
So, during the civil rightsmovement, right, that movement
was born out of resiliency.
So if you take that story Ijust gave you about my personal
(17:27):
experience, that's a micro level.
But if I take that to a macrolevel, in other words, how do I
now take that experience?
And if I'm interested inhelping the community, which is
what we are interested in withWords for Change, that's what
change is all about.
Podcast, we're about how ourfaith impacts community.
(17:48):
So, if we take that example ofhow, through hardship and
difficulties, things can birthnew birth, new things, new ideas
, new dreams, new dreams, newvisions are born out of this
kind of resiliency.
Take civil rights movement, forinstance.
Leaders like martin king andothers face a lot of setbacks,
(18:13):
but their faith was unwaveringand their resiliency transformed
society.
How can your resiliencytransform your home, your
relationship right?
And People have been marriedfor many years.
I've always, always like totell individuals that I counsel
with in my, in my, my work andthat if you see a couple that's
(18:37):
been married for 15, 20, 30, 40years, there's a lot of pain and
resiliency that happens.
What you're seeing now doesn'tmean that you know the happiness
that you see or the affectionthat you see in a couple who's
been together for a very longtime.
It hasn't always been that way.
There's a lot of resiliencyrequired to get them to that
(18:58):
point.
So there's a quote that saysjustice anywhere is a threat to
justice everywhere.
Dr King said that.
So that quote was a verypowerful motivator for why you
do what you do.
So if you're going throughhardship on a micro level, right
(19:19):
Resiliency can be used on amacro level.
Wherever there's pushback,there's a level of resiliency
that is required in order foryou to transform society.
But you have to have amotivator for that, and for Dr
King, it was justice.
Justice was a motivator, makingthe world A just place for
(19:39):
everyone.
So this quote highlights theinterconnectedness of struggling
your struggle, my struggle.
All the same, it talks aboutthe fight against injustice.
We're not just advocating forourselves, but we're advocating
for a better world.
I would argue that theChristian gospel is all about
that kind of advocation, notjust for ourselves but for the
(20:00):
entire world.
Consider the fight for genderequality.
Women have faced systematicoppression for centuries, yet
their resiliency changes society.
Right, securing Voting RightsAct, the 1963, I think, 63, 64
Voting Rights Act came throughstruggle, breaking the glass
(20:22):
ceiling Right and in so manydifferent ways.
Once again, resiliency can helpbirth or bring something
forward that is more beautiful.
But our work is deeper thanthat right.
It includes the world, itincludes a global society.
(20:43):
It includes, you know, get ridof, you know, racial
inequalities and includesgetting rid of financial
inequalities.
It includes all of these things.
This is the change moment.
This is this is what Words toChange podcast is about.
It's about the individual,personal growth that then leads
(21:04):
to social growth or communitygrowth, and then state, nation,
world.
It just continues to grow.
So that's our change moment forthe Words to Change podcast.
I want you to think about howresiliency can help birth
something new.
So, whatever you're goingthrough now, it's not the end.
(21:25):
Now let's talk about resiliencyin a different context.
You could talk about the fightfor, if you're an environmental
justice person low income,housing, environmental let's
think about.
Remember the I don't know ifyou remember the situation in
Flint, michigan, with the watercrisis and the disproportionate
impact it had on people'sphysical health that people were
(21:47):
drinking water with lead in it.
Hey, christians have somethingto say about that.
The gospel has something to sayabout that, right?
So that's really, reallyimportant how our struggles on
an individual level.
We learn that resiliency.
We have to struggle.
There's some death, there'ssome pushback that comes when we
try to do the right thing.
(22:08):
Paul, the apostle, saidwhenever I want to do good, evil
is always present with me.
This is an individual.
I'm talking about how individualmorality struggles or
individual resiliency.
You can take that, as youbecome more resilient, now you
(22:28):
can go out into your communityand start advocating as well, or
in your neighborhood or in yourfriend group, right?
All of these things are superimportant, ok, so all of these
are examples, but one thing isclear Resiliency is key.
It's about facing setbacks,learning from them, continuing
(22:51):
to push forward.
It's not just an individualtrait, but it can become
resiliency can also become acollective trait, shaping
communities, societies andworlds.
This is very, very, veryimportant.
So I want to encourage you that, if you have your own story,
just click the fan mail buttonor send me a message.
(23:12):
Lloyd Lloyd at Lloyd TalksMedia dot com.
Lloyd at Lloyd Talks Media dotcom.
Or you can click the link andmy email should be included in
the show notes.
I would love to hear about yourstory of resiliency.
Ok, I would love to hear aboutyour story of resiliency.
Ok, I would love to hear aboutyou.
(23:33):
So, if you're feelingoverwhelmed, if your personal
setbacks are getting the best ofyou, remember this your
challenges are shaping you intoa greater person.
So, therefore, embrace whatyou're going through.
Trust the process.
Know that you're not alone.
Family, you're going through.
Trust the process.
Know that you're not alone.
Family, you're not alone, okay.
(23:54):
Whether you're fighting apersonal battle or standing in
the gap for social justice, orhowever, you determine that
whatever makes sense to you,resiliency can make the
difference in the world.
Dr King said the arc of themoral universe is long, but it
bends toward justice.
That means right willultimately win.
(24:15):
Okay, so, hey, on Taco Tuesday.
This is July 9th, so good tohear and speak with you today.
And hey, that's it for thisepisode.
As we wrap it up, I want toencourage you to reflect on the
challenges that are shaping yourlife and how those experiences
can create more positive change.
(24:36):
Right, if you found thismessage helpful, hey, stay tuned
for our next episode.
This is a special episode.
I hadn't planned on putting itout, but I just felt it was the
right thing to do.
But I just felt it was theright thing to do.
Okay, we're going to continueto dive deeper into how
suffering can help develop yourcharacter.
We're going to do that.
(24:57):
And if you want to hear moreabout that church planting story
, just send me an email andwe'll have another episode, and
I will even dedicate thatepisode to you.
Okay, so until next time,remember that every setback is
set up for a comeback.
Stay resilient, stay hopeful,keep the faith, keep fighting,
Keep pushing forward.
This is Lionel signing off.
Salute and I'm out.
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