How to Find Your Place in Church and Start Serving

Episode Transcript
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Ti’heasha Beasley (00:00):
Foreign.

Pastor Brent McQuay (00:09):
Everybody. Welcome to another episode of Between
Sermons. If you're new around here, don't
know who I am. My name is
Brent, and I am the lead pastor
at Disciples Church. And this whole podcast,
it. It's really designed to just kind
of turn that monologue from Sunday's sermon
in into a dialogue, into an actual
conversation where we can get a little
bit into some deeper understanding and application

(00:32):
of what we're talking about. And so
since this is a conversation, though, I
am needing some help. I need somebody
to talk to. And so, as always,
I'm joined by two people. The wonderful
Taisha Beasley, our co host of Between
Sermons. And. How you doing today?

I'm good. I'm feeling better. And it's
my birthday week, so I'm already lit.

Yeah. We. We discovered that you and
our dog have the same birthday. And
so it's just really, you know.

The way he said it. The way
he said it.

Pastor Sol McQuay (01:04):
But it's true. It's Duffy's birthday.

It is.

It's Duffy's.

Duffy. We have a growing. You tolerate
Duffy.

On Friday, I'll be like, duffy, happy
birthday. Thursday. Not Friday, it's. It's Friday
the 4th. Yeah, man.

Yeah.

Time flies.

It does.

Thursday, I'm gonna be like, duffy, happy
birthday. And, oh, yeah, Taisha, too.

Okay. So how you doing, sister?

I am doing great. I'm gonna be
calling you at. Thank you midnight.

Thank you.

12.00.

Before you tell Duffy.

Yes.

Thank you.

Before he licks my face.

That happens.

Before he licks my face. I'm gonna
say happy birthday.

Thank you. Sure.

Probably I will just leave, but right
away.

No, it's a good week, but. And
it's always good when I have my
sister here joining me. Pastor Soul. Hey.
How you feeling? You look good in
this pink, girl. Thank you. I love
it.

Thank you. I like bright colors.

Yes.

I went for the funeral vibe, apparently.

I like all of the highlighters. Like,
if you see a highlighter, you're like,
yeah, she will wear that color.

Yes. I love it. You got the
matching shoes. I wish you would have
text me, though, so we. I would
have wore pink with you.

Oh, just pink is always the right
color to wear. Like, it's always the
answer.

I'm still in fall. You're in winter.
No, you're in. You're in the DC
merch.

I wore what you gave me.

Yeah, the DC merch.

Yes.

Yes. So we. You're swagged out. Okay.
But no, we are so excited. This
was the last Sunday that we talked
about Getting the game. How are you
feeling? Because I know getting the game
is kind of like your baby. Tell
us how excited you were for yesterday.

I was very excited. I was very
nervous because I feel like I had
a big task, right. Like, trying to
help people understand that serving and that
really putting your gifts to work, it's
important. And also to have that, that
charge and that responsibility of today. We're

(03:07):
going to be doing something so everybody
is invited to participate. So if you
don't do a good job, then nobody
participates and everything bombs. But praise God,
it went well. No, I very excited.
I was very happy. I think that
it is important for all of us
as disciples church, and I think that
church in general, like the whole body

(03:28):
of Christ to get in the game,
to start actually serving, to do something,
to, to make a difference. And that's
what we want to see.

Yeah, you did a great job. I
loved how you pulled out your props
yesterday. It was a top tier experience.

Well, I just have to say props
to Reuben for being so awesome. Like,
he was the mvp. I was like,
ruben, I have like a million. I
need somebody to bring him. And he's
like, I'll do that. And he did
it flawlessly. So thank you so much,
Reuben.

Yeah, it was good.

Yeah. I was looking at it. I'm
like, is it too much? Am I
being too much? People are gonna be
like, okay, she's just trying too hard
over here. But I don't know.

What was your feedback?

Well, we'll see when David sends it
into pastors with props. We'll see. We'll
see what Instagram has to say about
you and your sleepers in your rocking
chair. No, I think, I think it
was, I think it was a great
illustration of what it was like a,
A silly way of drawing attention to
how a lot of people behave with
church, where church becomes this thing that

(04:30):
I, I watch, I spectate and I
just want to be comfortable in that.
And so I want to go to
a church that makes me feel comfortable.
I want to go to a. A
service where I can just sit and,
and be comfortable and enjoy. And really,
like, when you read the Bible, like,
that's not what church was supposed to
be about. Like, it. The. I think

(04:51):
the. One of the things that you
kind of alluded to that man, one
day we're going to do like a
whole series on this. But there's like
60 times in the New Testament where
we're instructed to do something for one
another. Like, it's like, serve one another,
love one another. Care for another one
another, bear one another's burdens. Like, there's
all of these one another instructions, but
you can't do that in isolation. Like,

(05:13):
the only way you can actually fulfill
these 60 commands in the New Testament
is to get around other people. And
I think there's a lot of people
at churches all over the world that
they neglect the one another because they're
just coming to take from church.

And I think that I was gonna
say something, and I don't even know
now if I want to go there,
but do it, do it.

We do it on this show. We
go there.

Listen, you know I love you, okay?
But I think that a lot of
times the biggest voices for criticism and
the biggest voices for the nitpicking and
everything that happens in a ministry or
in a church are those who are
doing nothing. Are the people that are
sitting down just looking and saying, well,

(06:02):
the worship wasn't good, or the lights
weren't working, or they didn't have enough
people in the parking lot. I had
to park my own car. And it's
like, okay, but what are you doing?
How are you using your gift to
help? You know? So I think that
sometimes we are very good at noticing
needs, but not very good at putting
our hands to work. And I think
that that's something that we need to

(06:23):
shake off, you know, because if we're
gonna be serving one another, then that
means that we are here to make
things better together. It is not about.
You do it like there was trash
out there. Well, why nobody else is
picking it up, right? Like, why does
it have to be just one person's
job when we are all supposed to
be working in this together? And I

(06:44):
think that that's the danger when you
fall into this comfortable space, that you
just want to sit here and look
at everybody else and what everybody else
is doing or not doing what you
prefer or not prefer. And that's when
criticism can start and takes root. And
then you're just getting to be the

(07:05):
one that points the finger instead of
being the one that is rolling up
the sleeves and saying, let's. Let's do
this. You know, like, if I see
a need instead of just complaining about
it, let's. Let's see how we can
make it better. You know, maybe I
have something that can help. And I
think that it is just that change
in our mindset and in our heart.
Like, I am not here to evaluate.
I am here to serve.

Yeah, no, that is so good. I
think this morning we were talking in
staff meeting and one of the people
on the team said it was a
very convicting message, just praise God in
a good way. And I mean, you
kind of just. Your opening now is
I could just see your passion behind
just wanting to see people move and

(07:46):
get connected. Do you feel that when
it's time to step up and serve,
should someone step up and serve in
a department they feel like needs that
needs their service, or should they follow,
like, a talent or a passion that
they have?

I think they're both.

Okay.

I think that everything depends. I mean,
you don't want to be in the
children's ministry if you really are not
tolerant of little kids, of little kids
with boogers and deers and all of
that stuff. Right. Like, so I think
that in a way, yeah, you have
to follow your giftings. Absolutely. But I
think that there's something said about just

(08:25):
being able to just serve wherever is
needed. So here at Disciples Church, we
try to make it super easy and.
And try to make the person who
is serving to really be in control.
Right. Like, you are behind the wheel
of your own serving experience. By that,
I mean, if you can only serve
once a month, that's cool. Like, we

(08:46):
are not gonna force you. No, no,
you have to serve 50 times, you
know, this year. Like, no, like, we
understand that also, people have things. So.
So if you say, I can only
serve once a month, or I can
only serve one Sunday, or I can
only do this much, or at this
times, we try to be very accommodating.
And I think that as far as
your giftings, I think that every single

(09:08):
department can benefit from all of the
gifts. You know, you cannot say, well,
because it's worship. They don't need an
admin. No, they do. You know, like,
not. Just because you hear the word
worship department doesn't mean that you only
need singers. You also need somebody who
can care for the people on the
worship team. So if you have the
gift of hospitality, being somebody that is
just welcoming them, making sure that they

(09:30):
are well taken care of, all of
that is needed. Somebody that is an
administrative, you know, to have everything in
order to have be able to help
get all of the microphones in order
and all of the things in order.
Like, you need that. So sometimes you
hear the ministry and you just equate
it to one thing. When all of

(09:51):
our gifts are necessary. You know, you
hear children's ministry and you say, well,
maybe they won't need me because I
am more of an admin. Again, you
know, you could say an admin like,
no, you need somebody that will be
able to help at the reception desk,
making sure that all of the tags
are ready and making sure that all
of the computer, you know, like you
say. Okay, I like tech.

Tech.

Well, the. The children's ministry uses, you
know, proper center as well. And so.
So it doesn't matter what your gifting
is. You can use your gifting by
following your passion at the same time.
So I think that you cannot just
put your gift or the ministries in
a box and think that they are
isolated things. I think that every ministry
can use any gift that you have.

Yeah, I think what's. What's kind of
fun about this whole process is, like,
there are places where I had served
because there was a need, not because
I had a love or a passion
or desire to serve in that area.
But what I notice over time is,
like, when you're serving in that place,
you begin to develop a love and
a passion for what you're doing. And

(10:54):
so, like, there's been a few times
in my life, children's ministry. One of
them, I was like, I'm not the
right fit for children's ministry. I don't
even know how much I like kids.
You know, that's just. I don't know
if this is the right spot. And
there was a need in children's ministry,
so I filled the need. And over
time, it was like, no, actually, this
is kind of awesome. I kind of
love this. When we were in Lyle

(11:15):
working at a thrift store, I was
like, what do I know about thrift
stores and. And food pantry primarily for
a homeless community in that area. I
was like, I'm not good with homeless
people. Like, I just. I'm. That's just
not my gifting. That's not where. Where
I'm. I'm best suited. Man. Over the
course of a year, all of a
sudden, it was like, man, I love
these guys and being able to. To
talk with them every day, like, this

(11:35):
is awesome. I. So it's like, sometimes
the need drives the conversation, and sometimes
your passions will drive the conversation. I.
I don't think there's a wrong answer
to that.

Yeah.

But I do think that, like, what
you're getting at is when you find
the place where you want to be
or where you're needed, then you need
to serve within your giftings. Yeah, Right.
So, like, there was a season we.
We had somebody on the worship team
years ago that could not sing and
could not play an instrument. It's like,
the worship team is probably the wrong
place for Them. It was the perfect

(12:07):
place for them. They were extremely administrative.
They ran all kinds of stuff behind
the scenes. They were sending out the
emails, getting the. The volunteers to. To
be able to know their parts and
get in on things. And it was
like that person was such a blessing
to the worship pastor at the time
because they were able to fill a
need that he had. And so it's
one of those things where it's like,

(12:27):
okay, would you have chosen somebody that
doesn't sing and doesn't play an instrument
and say worship team, that's where you
belong? Like, no. Now they were serving
within their giftings. That means they were
never holding a microphone on the stage.
Right. Because that would have not been
serving within their. Their skill set and
their giftings. And so I think that's.
Yeah, it's. It's kind of a fun

(12:48):
process of figuring out how God has
wired you and, and where you fit
best and how you can meet a
need using what God has given you.

Yeah, I think that's really encouraging. I
even think it from the perspective of
a leader of a team, like, not
just looking for people with the talent
set of like, what you feel like
is obvious. Like, for example, I do.
I'm over the social media team. I'm
thinking like, you, you got to know
content, you got to know strategy, you
got to know how to get the

(13:16):
angles. I never thought about think, you
know, like, if someone was interested and
they had administrative giftings, like, how can
I use them?

They can be the ones making your
calendar, you know, like, you have to
record by this time, by this time,
like they are keeping everybody else on
task.

Yeah. So I think it's an encouragement
both ways, even from the leader perspective
on how to utilize everyone. So that's
good.

I've seen teams where there was a
member of the team that their gifting
was. They're just really good with people
and making like a warm atmosphere. And
so like, that was their job on
the team. Like, their, their entire job
on the team was to welcome other
people onto the team and to be
that face of the ministry. And it
was like. But like all the ministry
tasks and stuff, they just weren't suited

(14:01):
for. And that was fine. There was
other people on the team for that.
And so I think if you figure
out what God has placed inside you,
the way you're wired, the. The way
you operate, and we go through all
that in, in growth track, especially in
step two. You know, we talk about
how you. Your. Your design reveals your
destiny, like how, how God has wired
you actually shows you what you should

(14:22):
be doing. And we, we took from
Rick Warren. He uses this acronym, shaped
or shape, spiritual gifts, heart, ability, passion
and experiences. Those five things are woven
together to kind of really show who
you are as a person. And so
you take those five things and you
look at our ministry list and you
go, okay, I, I think this works.

Yeah, that's awesome. I loved how you
shared the story of Kelsey, your daughter,
and just tell us a little, because
I want to kind of use that
to segue into another question. She came
to you after the message yesterday and
she asked your question.

Yeah. So we were in bed and
just kind of just lounging, right? And
she comes and she's like, so how,
how do I know which one is
my gift? She's like, because like you
were saying, you know, that we all
have to work on our gift. But
how do I know which one is
my gift? Because I am kind and
I am caring and I am good

(15:18):
with people. So how do I know
which one is my gift? So I
know where to serve. And apparently when
new kids come to D.C. kids in
the elementary age class, and they are
kind of nervous about, you know, it's
the first time, they don't know what
to do, they don't know where to
go. Apparently they bring the girls to
Kelsey. So she's like, I am like,

(15:40):
they always bring them to me. Like,
I am good at helping them, you
know, see the room and feel comfortable.
She's like, so, so how do I
know which one is my gift to
use it?

Yeah.

So I was telling her, well, that
means that you are actually using your
gift, you know, because you already said
that you're kind and you're friendly and
all of these things, like you are
using all of it. But something that
I told her that is very important
is that you don't only have one
thing that you can do. There might
be so many things that, that you
have that God has gifted you with
and different type of personality that you

(16:09):
have. So in all of that, you
can mix and match at different times.
Right. Because she also serves sometimes with
the babies and she helps care for
the babies. So it's, it's. It's. I
think that it is a, a good
thing for you to understand that it
is not just you have one thing
and one thing only that you can
do. So if you don't find it,
you will never be fulfilling your purpose.

(16:31):
No. There's a lot of things inside
of us that we can use to,
to advance the kingdom, to be able
to put our gifts to work. But
I think that a lot of people
get stuck in the. Yeah, I'm supposed
to have one thing. Which one is
my one thing? No, you probably have
a lot of little things that. That
combined can make something beautiful. So I

(16:51):
think that it's. It is important. But.
Yeah, it was just so cute. She's
like, I wanna. I wanna. I wanna
use my gift, but I don't know
which one is my gift. Which one?
Like, all of them.

Yeah. I so thought that was cute.
But even, like, at the, you know,
we had a DC Teams fair, I
saw that. That same thing with some
of our adults. Like. Like, I want.
I'm gonna talk to you, and then
I'm gonna talk to that team over
here. So how should we encourage members
to maneuver those spaces? Should they serve
on more than one team? What would

(17:21):
you encourage them to do?

Yeah, so I. I use a line
in our growth track that ministries are
like shoes. You gotta. You gotta find
the pair that fits. Okay, right? Like,
the. The pair you like, the pair
that fits. That works well. And that
may mean trying on a pair, walking
around for a little bit and going,
you know what? It's kind of pinches
my toes. Not really sure this is
the right fit for me. Awesome. Trying

(17:44):
a different pair. Yeah, the. The only
thing we want is nobody walking around
barefoot at Disciples Church.

Did you just come up with that?

No, no, that's. That's literally what we
teach a long time. A long time.
I. I actually stole it from the
people that created. I was in a
breakout session with one of the guys,
and he's like, yeah, we just don't
want people being barefoot. And I'm like,
got it.

That's good.

It makes sense now.

Yeah.

So. Yeah, so. So if somebody's like,
look, I got, like, two or three
different options. I don't really know where
I fit best. Yeah, try them all
out. It doesn't mean you have to
continue serving in all. All those teams,
Although we do have members of our
teams that are like, yeah, I serve
in D.C. kids a couple times a
month. I'll serve as a greeter a
couple times a month. And I love
being able to do both. It's like,
cool. All right. You know, we want

(18:27):
to make sure you don't get burned
out.

Yeah.

We want to make sure that you
stay healthy in serving. Because, you know,
somebody did ask, I think it was
online. They're like, you know, she's talking
all about how we're supposed to serve,
and it's not about Our comfort. But,
like, is there a space where we
do need to, like, rest? And, like,
the answer to that is absolutely, like,
100. What we need, though, is a
rhythm of rest. Because I think what

(18:50):
ends up happening is people get into
unhealthy cycles where there's no rest woven
in, and that's when they burn out.
And so you go six months with
no rest, and then you need six
months to recover.

Yeah.

And it's like, okay. And then we
also run into the issue where I've
talked to so many people are like,
I told myself I was going to
take three months to just relax. And
they're like. And I'll be honest, that
was three years ago. And it's like,
yep, because you got comfortable, you got
comfortable, and you had gotten burned out.
And so I think that what we
really need is a rhythm of rest,

(19:22):
which is what the Bible illustrates. Jesus
rested. God rested on the. The seventh
day. Like, there was a. There was
a rhythm of rest woven into society
and the way that they. They operated.
And I think that American culture has
hit the grind and, and push and
strive and make things happen. And so
we're. I think we're more prone to

(19:42):
burnout than others are.

And I think that even, Even, even
further than that, I think that a
lot of people were born out as
a badge, you know, like, look at
all of the things I'm doing. I.
That means that I am so important.
I am doing so much. I am
amazing. And. And that's. That's not right.
That's so good, you know, so you
have. You have to be able to
rest. You have to be able to
regain strength. And that's what I was

(20:05):
saying yesterday. Like, it is not about
not resting. It is not about not
having time to breathe or to regain
energy. The problem comes when you make
that your lifestyle.

Yeah.

And now I am just gonna. I'm
just gonna get comfortable because I actually
realized that having people do everything.

For me, it's really nice.

It's quite.

So.

I think that that is when the
problem comes. It is not about resting.
We all need it. It is important
for our health. It is important for
mental health. It is important just to
be able to actually do things well.
Like, when you're tired, you are not
performing at your best.

Yeah.

And when you're tired, I don't know
about you people, but I get cranky.
So even in my serving is like,
okay, here you go. Right. Like. Like
you're not being as, as, as friendly
and as kind as you could be
as if you were rested. So I
think that it is important for everything
to, yes, be rested. Have your energy,
have that time where you can just

(21:02):
decompress and regain. Feel the battery again,
you know, but don't make that your
habit. Don't make that your. Well, I'm
just resting, you know. And then somebody
has asked you to serve and you're
like, I'm still resting. Like, this is
just my season of rest. That can
be a problem.

I was gonna say, I've heard people
say, like, I just. God isn't telling
me to do anything. Or, this is
my season of rest. Like, I mean,
how. Where is the line between, like,
okay, this is you, and okay, maybe
God may be calling you to rest
for a little bit. But like, where
is that, that line? I don't know.

(21:44):
I don't know how I'm trying to
communicate this, but I've heard it so
much when people say God told me.
It's like, you almost have to shut
your mouth. Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah. I am not going against
whatever God told you. Yes.

I told you so. Right?

Yeah. We call that pulling the God
card. And I learned that from my
dad years ago. He's like, it's when
somebody pulls the God card, don't argue,
don't fight. Like, it's because in their
mind, it was God.

Yeah.

And it may have been, it may
not have been. It probably wasn't in
a lot of these cases. This is
the way he puts it.

But if it was God, I am
not going against God. Right, Right.

If it is God, then who are
you to object? And if they are
fully convinced it's God, you're just a
man. Like, how are you going to
convince them that they didn't hear from
God? So, like, pulling that God card.
But man, as soon as you said
that whole piece of. People are like,
you know, God just hasn't told me
what to do. So I'm just going
to take this as a rest. I
call cap on that one. Like, that's

(22:35):
just like the Bible is filled with
instructions for what you should be doing.
And so you don't actually need God
in this moment. Say, join the DC
Kids team. Like, you are equipped, you
are built, you are created for work.

Yeah.

Like in the garden, the very first
thing that. That Adam was supposed to
do was was work to take dominion
over the land. Right. In Ephesians, it
talks about the work that was created
in advance for you to do. Like,
there is no such thing as. Well,
God just doesn't have anything for me
to Do. No, he's got work for
you to do. You just don't want

(23:12):
to do it.

I was gonna say there was so
many scriptures you used yesterday that called
us to be, like, serve. To serve
one another. So it almost seems, like,
weird when people say, like, you know,
I don't feel like God is telling
me, God is not telling you to
serve anybody. Like, you know, consider your
brother your sister. And I think if
we just look at it from that
heart posture of, like, it's not work,

(23:37):
it's serving. And, you know, maybe people
don't understand the difference between, like, work,
like, making this feel like a job
and serving. Like, how could you encourage
them to see it more as serving
when they are serving in different community
or spaces?

I would say seek God. I think
that the. The closer that you are
to God, the closer that you. The
more that you are even praying about
this. Like, help me have a heart
to serve. Because, yeah, like, serving can
look a lot like work. And if
you go at it with a mindset
of, I just finished my 9 to

(24:12):
5, and now I'm gonna have to
go to church to work some more,
it can be intimidating. It can be
just like another task. Like, I don't
want to do it right. But when
you start praying and asking God to
give you a heart to serve, I
give you a heart to use your
gifts to bless other people. When you
start seeing that what you do, it

(24:34):
is not just another task, but it
is enabling others who might never know
of Jesus otherwise, who might be coming
for the very first time, and they
are sick or they are in bondage
to sin, and because of what you
are doing, you are allowing them to
get closer to the one who can

(24:55):
set them free. When you see purpose
in what you are doing and not
just see it as a task or
I'm just here to push a button.
I'm just here to open the door,
you know, like, no, no, no. When
you understand that what you do has
eternal implications, your heart changes, right? You
understand that it is not a meaningful
task. It is something that you are

(25:16):
doing for the kingdom, and that is
going to help somebody to be set
free to. To find Jesus, to. Maybe
they are. They. Maybe they already know
Jesus, but they have had a really
bad week. They have had so many
issues. Just don't have hope at the
moment. And because you were there smiling

(25:37):
at them, because you were there to
receive their kids so that they can
go to service and be able to
actually lift their hands and let it
all at the altar, you are Helping
that person regain hope and rekindle their
faith. Like, understanding that what you do
is no more work. It's kingdom work.
It's different. And I think that you

(25:59):
just need to get closer to Jesus.
You need to just pray and ask
God to give you a heart that
wants to serve him and serve his
people. That He. That he will help
you see the people as he sees
them, as somebody that they are. They
are worth so much.

Yeah.

I think that. I think that if
you. If your heart is. Is. Is
right, and if your heart is true,
that that's what you want to see.
I think that God will. Will turn
your heart in a way that you
didn't expect.

That's great.

Yeah. I just want to jump in
with that. The. That creating this distinction
is a little bit. I don't know.
Serving is work. Like, there's a. There's
a labor element to it. So it
is work. It's not just work, though.
And I think that's what. What you're
getting at there is that, like, there.
There is an eternal impact. There's. There's

(26:50):
something beyond just the task. Right. There
is a task. Right. Which means it
is work. Work. Right. But, like, when
you're working your 9 to 5 for
the paycheck, like, at the end of
the day, it's like, as long as
I did the job, like, that's all
that really matters because I'm just doing
it to get paid. Like, when you're
doing work of the ministry, which is
what scripture calls this, like, there's an

(27:12):
eternal impact happening. You're not doing it
for the paycheck. You're not doing it
even for yourself. You're doing it for
God. Like, it's work unto the Lord.

Yeah.

Right. And so, like, I think to.
To say, well, serving isn't work. Well,
I mean, it is. There's a work
element to this. There's a task to
be done, but it's so much more
than just work.

Yeah.

And the other thing I want to
jump in with is this is actually
what becomes really tricky and complicated for
us in paid ministry. Right. Because, like,
there is a paycheck attached to our
work. Right. And so that's the thing
that we've always tried to instill in
our staff, and it's the thing that
I try and lead by example with,

(27:55):
is that there are some things that
I do because I'm paid to do
them. There's other things that I do
as acts of service.

Yeah.

That there. There are things that I'm
doing as A volunteer, not because I'm
getting a paycheck. And so like, like
I run a discipleship group not because
I get paid by the church to
do that. I do that because this
is. If I'm asking our people to
do something.

Yeah.

At the end of their nine to
five, like I, I would feel guilty
of saying, well, you know, I've got
my discipleship group tonight at seven, so
I'm going to come into work late.
It's like, well, they don't get that
option. Like they don't get to go
to work late because they're going to
go to a church thing in the
evening. So like, I, I want to
make sure that I, I don't blur
these lines of now all of a

(28:39):
sudden, every time I'm at church it's
because I'm getting a paycheck for it.
Sometimes I should be at church because
I'm a member of the church.

Yeah.

And I'm a volunteer in areas just
like everybody else. And so like, that's,
that's the, it's the hard, like, balance
that we're always trying to find as,
as staff members of a church. And
I think it's funny because some people
have this mindset of like, oh, if
I could just work for the church,
it'd be like, there's no more work.
And it's just, you know, it's praising
God all day and it's like, no,
there's, there's work. Like there's a lot

(29:07):
of work to be done. But yeah,
so that's the, that's the challenge that
we have to have.

Like, this is the next step to
heaven. We're just sitting in the sanctuary.

Like, it's really funny.

Don't I wish. Don't I wish.

Kind of sad. I probably shouldn't admit
this, but I had a conversation, we
had a conversation with a friend the
other day that used to work here
and, and she was like, you know,
I actually, I think I pray at
work more since not working at the
church than I did working at the
church. I'm like, girl, we pray at
like every meeting. Like, she's like, I,
I, yeah, but it was like, no,
now.

And I'm like, whatever it is, it
is difficult.

It's different.

It's different to find that balance. But
I do think you guys do a
great job at leading in that way
by examp. So, I mean, there's no
excuses for us. I just look at
you before I complain. Like, wait, what
Pastor? So do that. Okay, now she
won't Complain. So let me do it.
So no, I love you.

I freak out internally.

You do?

And then lines at home and then.

And then I'm like, it's no big
deal. I am still trying to learn
how to freak out internally. No, I
think these are really good. I think
I want to spend the, a little
bit of time on Yesterday we had
this amazing DC Fair. And for those
who are watching that are part of
Disciples Church, you're probably thinking like, okay,

(30:31):
I got in the game. Pastor Soul
and Pastor Brent, I signed that card.
What is next for me? So what
can our members expect this next upcoming
weeks as they've signed this card? Get
in the game.

Yeah. So they're, you should be getting
contacted by whatever team leader you for
the teams you signed up for over
the next 24 hours or so. You'll
get an email from me, I think
around Wednesday. I'll be sending that out
to everybody that signed up. And between
those two communications, we'll give you some
next steps. So some of the next
steps is going to be very dependent

(31:05):
on what team you, you signed up
for. So you signed up for the
worship team. There's an audition process and
all this. You signed up for something
that's dealing with next gen kids or
youth. You're gonna have to do a
background check. And so like there's, there's
added elements and then there's added training.
Right. Like, so sometimes we talk about
like, hey, if you want to be
a greeter, you could probably start greeting

(31:27):
this Sunday. You'll, you'll get like a
crash course. You'll learn a few things
as you're going, but like you're ready
to, maybe you're shadowing somebody for the
day but like you're, you're basically ready
to go. I think I've talked to
our children's department before and I think
the process for them is it's like
a month long process of getting in
worship department. Like sometimes that's three months,
six months before you're actually like in

(31:49):
there and serving on a regular basis.
And so it really depends on the,
the area. However, the starting point for
everybody. If you haven't yet, you have
to go to growth track. Okay, so
growth track we talked about a little
bit earlier in the show. It's our
membership process, but it's more than that.
So it's four steps, four classes. Happens

(32:11):
during the nine o' clock service. Is
that when we do it?

Nine o'?

Clock?

Right, nine o' clock service every Sunday,
like clockwork. So it's like First Sunday
of the month is step one. Second
Sunday of the month, step two, third
Sunday of the month, step three, and
so on and so on. So this
coming Sunday would be step one. So
if you haven't done growth track, get
here at 9 o' clock upstairs in
our growth track room. Take that, that
class. It'll be a little bit of

(32:36):
video teaching from me and then a
group discussion led by Marks and their
team. And so in step one, you're
learning about church membership, what it means
to be a part of Disciples Church,
what do we believe, how do we
operate, some of the financial stuff, all
the really what I would determine as
the boring stuff. But it's the stuff
that like obviously people care about, right?

(32:58):
They want to know how does this
church run and what happens with the
money. Yeah, like it's kind of important
stuff, but we also get into like
our values and different things. And so
it's a, it's a good class. But
step two, that's the class that I
love because step two is where it's
less about us and now it's more
about you. And really all four steps
are about you because it really is

(33:20):
helping you discover your purpose and your
calling and your giftings. But step two
is where it just really gets into
the weeds needs. So we talk about
that shape that I talked about before.
So your spiritual gifts, your heart, which
is like the thing that you love,
your abilities, what are you good at?
Your experiences. Good and bad. Oh, I
missed the, the p. Your personality, how

(33:41):
God has like wired you as a
person. And so most people can answer
three of those five things just off
the bat. You know what you've experienced
in life. You know where you went
to school, you know your trainings, you
know the trauma moment that you had.
Like, you know, your experiences, you pretty
much already know your, your heart. Like,
it's like, man, I just, I love
this thing or I hate this thing

(34:02):
because sometimes like our heart is really.
It's the thing that just when I.

You don't want to do ever again.

No, it's, it's, it's the, like you
watch in the news and you see
something about sex trafficking and you're like,
ah, yeah, this needs to end. Like,
okay, you have a passion there, right?
Or you see a child being abused
or so like it's, it's both positive
and negative again. But your, where your
passions lie. The things that like. And
for some people, man, I'm a nerd.

(34:27):
So like my passion stuff, like I
can sit with tech guys and we
can just talk like infrastructure on tech
for a while. Like it's. I can
nerd out with the best.

No thanks.

Yeah, no thanks.

And it's so much fun. But like
I've got passion for technology. So like
you, you kind of, you already know
where your passions are. You also know.
So what do we cover? Heart abilities
and experiences. So. So yeah, so you,
you know those three, your abilities. That's
the other thing that you know. I
don't think I really illustrated that. So
you know what you're good at? Like,

(34:58):
I know I'm not a good singer.
Like, so that's not somewhere that I'm.

Still waiting to hear from. Last week
you drop a tune.

What happened last week?

I was supposed to singing. Were you
singing?

No, he brought up that he didn't
like singing. I said I want to
hear to make sure he never sung.

Oh yeah, yeah, no, that's not gonna
happen.

And it's for your own good.

So.

Okay.

We want people to want to listen
to the podcast ever again. And so.
Yeah, but. But you know what you're
good at for the most part. Like,
I mean we all watched American Idol
back in the day and like somebody
came up to the audition thinking that
they could sing and clearly they were
wrong. So like, but for the most
part, we know what we're good at,
what we're not good at.

That.

I had a great conversation with somebody
yesterday that's like, I was a math
teacher for 40 years. I love tutoring
kids. Is there an opportunity for me
to be able to tutor kids in
math? Because I really feel like. And
she just went into detail of like,
how the Chicago public school system is
failing kids in math.

Oh my God.

Like, I was like, man, I don't
know any of this stuff. You clearly
have passion for this and you clearly
have ability in this. And so it
was like, well, let's me connect you
with Pastor Harry and let's figure out
how you can be using your God
given gifts and abilities for that. So
most people know what they're good at.
They know what they love and they
know what they've experienced. Where sometimes people
are like, well, I don't know what

(36:21):
my spiritual gifts are. Like, I don't
know. I don't even know what a
spiritual gift is or other people. And
this may be not as true because
personality profiles have become so popular.

Yeah.

But a lot of people are like,
well, I don't really know what my
personality type is, is or what that
even means or how that works. And
so step two of the growth track.
We give you a personality profile, we
use the disc test, which is one
of my favorites. And then we do
a spiritual gifts assessment. And so you
take those two tests, they're not foolproof.
I mean you're, you're answering based on,

(36:53):
you know, your feelings at the moment
and so you know they're not. And,
and we use shorter versions like the,
I think the full disc test is
like 200 something questions. We do like
a 25 question version. So like we
try and get you to be able
to get to the broad answer as
quickly as possible. But through those two
tests, you're going to learn a lot

(37:13):
more about you and how you function,
how you operate. One thing that I
will caution people is a lot of
times they step into this class and
they go, okay, at the end of
this class I'm going to know what
ministry I'm supposed to serve in. That's
not the point. Because the reality is
every personality profile, every spiritual gifts assessment
can be used and needed in every

(37:35):
area of ministry. So like, what it's
not showing you is what ministry to
serve in. What it is showing you
is how you should be serving in
that ministry. Right? So if you've got
your spiritual gift is administration and your
personality profile is you've got a high
C and a high S. So you
are very thought driven, contemplative, you're a

(37:57):
steady relator, you're great with relationship, but
it's not like you're driving for people.
It's just like, hey, I can be
the balance in this situation, man. For
me, I look at that result administrative
high C, high S. You are a
behind the scenes kind of person. You're
organizing things, you're structuring things, you're helping
out. Can that be utilized in Children's
Ministry? 100%. Like we've got a whole

(38:17):
supply room that needs to be reorganized
like on a daily basis. We've got
lesson plans that are being created week
by week. Like you could be the
one that comes in during the week
to help make sure that the every
classroom has the supplies that it needs
for the lesson that this week, and
we used.

To have that when we were over
kids ministry. We had a group of
ladies that will come during the week.
They will grab all of the paper,
all of the copies and all of
the things for the crafts and everything.
They will cut every single piece of
paper, they will put everything in like
with like the binder clips, putting them
in the bins, making sure that every.

Single teacher could come in and Just
take one thing out and do it.

And like it's, everything is ready. But,
but those for those ladies were like,
do not put me in the classroom.
I don't want to teach the children.

Yeah, you know, somebody knows I'm running.

But they were a part of our,
of our children's ministry team because they
were there every single week making sure
that all of the crafts, that all
of the snacks, that all of the
things were ready but they never set
a foot on a classroom. So.

Wow, you need those people.

Yeah, you need those people.

We have Gen Z and Millennials now.
We need to train.

Yeah. And so then conversely, like if
somebody has a personality profile where they're
a high I, where that's just, it's
very relational driven. You walk in the
room and all you can see is
the people in the room and you
just want to talk to the people.
That's me. There's no agendas. Like it's
just, it's just straight. Like I want
to be about the people. And then
they also have like a high gift

(39:52):
of helps. It's like, okay, so within
the greeters ministry, like your personality is
going to shine your, your spiritual gift
of helping others. Like we're going to
give you a task that's helps based.
Right. And so like having that personality
profile and that spiritual gift testing really
does help you understand how you should
be serving in an area. Because that

(40:12):
same person with the high I and
the, the high helps gift gift in,
in the greeter team. Sure. That makes
a lot of sense. Put them on
the children's ministry team. Makes a lot
of sense. Right? High personality, they're great
with people. You could put them at
the reception desk. Now they're helping people
get the check in process going. They're
high I. So every time a new
family comes in it's like, hey, how

(40:33):
you doing? It's so good to see
you. Like you don't want me as
the main greeter. Like that's not my
personality profile. Like that's not where I
fit best the way how hard you
shook your head. Sometimes you just gotta
be like, no, just hide them.

Just hide him.

So yeah. And look. And could you
use that kind of person in the
media department? Absolutely. Now is that going
to be the most traditional role in
the, the media department? Probably not. But
having that high personality, man, they're going
to be great mobilizing the team. You
can have them lead your team meeting
at the beginning of the day. Like
so you've got, you've got places where
all of these giftings can be utilized.

(41:16):
And so we just want to make
sure that you're using what God has
given you. So that's all. Step two,
step three. Then we get into some,
some more details of like, what does
it mean to be a leader at
Disciples Church? What is like our, our
values? How, how are we supposed to
handle like character, conduct and, and things
like that? Because as a volunteer, as,

(41:36):
as somebody serving on a team, like
you are now representing the church and
so we need to represent the church
well. Right? And so we go through
some of that and then step four
is, it's the shortest of the, the
lessons, I guess. Kind of just kind
of puts a bow on everything, wraps
it all up. But then the main
emphasis of that step four is we
do a one on one interview with

(41:57):
you. And just a leader of the
church could be an elder, could be
a ministry leader, just kind of whoever's
on hand. But that interview is, is
about you and it's figuring out, okay,
tell me about yourself. Walk me through.
Do you have questions about that personality
profile or is there something from these
last four weeks that maybe isn't super
clear for you? And, and tell me

(42:17):
more about your story and tell me
about, you know, your salvation moment. Tell
me about your baptism moment and kind
of helping learn more about you to
help give you next next steps. Because
like, I've done those interviews before where
I'm talking with somebody and it's like,
man, like the, they're just giving me
like, I had this trauma moment and
then I had this trauma moment, then
I had this trauma moment and I'm

(42:38):
like, wow, like you've gone through so
much. Have, have you talked with our
counseling department at all? Because there's some
counseling programs that we have that I
think would be a great next step
for you that could really help you
find some healing in all of this.
And so being able to hear somebody's
story helps helps you give them more
customized next steps. And so I think
that's the benefit of that fourth step

(42:59):
in the growth track. So that was
the long story of what happens next.

I mean, you answered, right?

That was your question, what happens next?
So what happens next is you're gonna
get contacted by somebody on the team.
If you have not done growth track
yet, we're going to tell you to
go to growth track. And while you're
going through growth track, we've, we've already
given this like green light to our
teams to get you in the process
of joining the team. You will not

(43:26):
be allowed to Officially join a team
until you have officially completed Growth Track.
But like for children's department and stuff,
they'll start your orientation, they'll start your
shadowing process so that, so that you're
not having to wait the four weeks
to finish growth track and then another
four weeks. Like they're going to expedite
things a little bit.

Yeah, yeah.

And when you've already gone through growth
track, it's a little bit quicker.

And what you can expect too, I
think that is the, the excitement of
being a part of a team. If
you have never been on a team,
if you have never served here at
the church, I think that you will
realize that it is a great place
for community. It is a great place
to, to use your gifts. A lot
of people have all of these desires

(44:10):
and they want to do something and
they just, just never have found a
space where they can actually do it.
And this, this is, this is the
perfect place for it. And also you
will be able to find that when
you serve and when you put your
gifts at work, when you actually use
them well, like the Bible says to.
And then give glory to God, you

(44:31):
will find such a joy in plenitude
that, that you probably were missing if
you have not done it. So it's,
it's going to be good. Good.

Yeah.

And there's. There, there are perks to
serving on the Dream Team. We have,
we have some special events throughout the
year where we do some volunteer appreciation
type stuff. Some Dream Team nights or
DC Team nights, I guess is the,
the new name for them. You also
get access to the DC Team's lounge.

Yes.

Which is probably the coolest place in
the, in the church. Every time I
lead somebody through there, they're like, what
is this place?

Yep.

And I spoil my team so. Well,
of course you do.

Of course you do.

Yes. We have really cool leaders here
though, I would say. Yeah.

We love our people.

Yes. So that's it. That is a
good perk here.

There's some, there's some swag that's exclusive
to serving on teams.

So as we conclude, let's give our
takeaway from yesterday's message alone. How can
we encourage people if they did not
sign the card yesterday to get in
the game?

It's not too late, you know, that's
what I would say. It's not too
late. It is not just one Sunday.
And if you miss that Sunday, oh,
well, wait for the next one, you
know, Wait until we are ready to
do this thing again. No, like it
is never too late. To join a
team. It is never too late for
you to. To have that aha moment

(45:59):
that God made you with a specific
thing inside that needs to be used.
You know that you do have gifts
and you have talents and that you
have skills and that you have passions.
And that we will be doing a
disservice to the purpose of God in
our lives if we just sit on
those. You know that I think that

(46:24):
when you just understand, like, oh, yeah,
I am good at this or I
am good at that, or I really
like people, but I'm just gonna sit,
that is a disservice to all of
the things that God has placed in
you. He give you all of those
things, not just so that you know
that you have something. It's for you
to use it. So don't wait. Like,

(46:44):
if the moment comes when you feel
like this is like, this is like
a tug in my heart that I'm
supposed to be doing something, don't think
twice. Don't try to wait and see
if them. If that feeling goes away,
just start serving. You were made to
work.

Yes. That's good.

Yeah. Yeah. You said, you know, it's
not over yet. I mean. Yeah. Our
emphasis for the summer.

Yeah.

Is really about getting in the game.
So, yeah, it was a series for.
For June, but July we're going into
at the movies. And every movie that
we pick picked has a team dynamic
to it intentionally so it's all sports
related movies. And so we're gonna be
talking about team. And then in August,
we're talking about calling and we're looking

(47:29):
at some character studies of different people
in the Bible that were called to
different things. And. And what that looks
like for us. And so, like, really
our emphasis for the summer is getting
in the game. And then come October,
I don't know if this is. Are
we. Are we solid? Can I spoil
this one? Is this a podcast?

Go for it. Go for it.

October 5th.

Taisha said that this is the place
to say all of the things. I
don't know.

I think we should let people know
why they're getting in the game.

Yeah, I mean, we'll talk about it.
So. Yeah, so.

Or we can save it for next
week. No, I'm just playing.

No, we'll spoil it. All right, so
here's the big news. Starting October 5th.
Is that supposed to be a drum
roll?

Yes. Yeah.

Oh, beautiful. I love it.

That's all I have.

You don't serve on the.

No, actually fun fact. I tried to
play all instruments and I was never
Good at any of. I tried with
the drums, I tried with the keyboard.
I tried with the guitar, and I
couldn't, and I could never do it.
I thought that I could sing when
I was in Mexico as a little
bit of a part of a worship
team here and there. And then I
came here and I heard people actually
sing, and I was like, oh, I
do not sing.

So I think the first set off
was like, somebody was like, well, what
part are you gonna sing? And you
were like, part?

What do you mean? I just go
for it.

I just feel the music, and I
go, no.

Anyway, Good.

All right. October 5th. This podcast is
so special. I love it. October 5th,
we will be going from two services
to three services at Disciples Church. So
the team is like, yeah, we're just

(49:08):
adding a third of the work.

Yeah.

But, yeah, so we've had capacity issues
for. For a while here, and.

Which is a wonderful problem to have.

It is. And we. We don't want
to. To make it hard for people
to come to Jesus. And so in
an effort to make that more accessible,
we wanted to launch a campus. We
had to have some staffing changes, so
we're not able to launch campus in
that window, but we are able to
add a. A third service in that
window. And so, yeah, that should open

(49:39):
up another opportunity for, you know, four
or five hundred people to. To come
and learn about Jesus every week. And
so. Yay.

Yay. Building kingdom.

Yeah. So with that, like, you gotta
gain the game. You have to start
serving, and you also have to bring
people that don't know Jesus. So we.
You have a lot of work to
do. Serve and bring people.

Yeah, I love that. We say you've
got a lot of work to do
because that's. That's biblical. Our job is
to prepare the people.

To equip the saints for the work
of the ministry. Yes.

That was so cute.

I might not know.

I might not know all of the
Bible, but I know that one.

That was so cute. I love it.

High five.

Anyway.

Violin. They like. I'm not. I need
to be on the worship team. I'm.
I'm gonna. I'm gonna find out. Let's
see what happens.

I don't know how the high five
equates to worship. So we're just one.

Like this.

Like the violin. You didn't see that.
Well, we had a great time with
getting a game. This was such a
fun podcast series. This was a fun
episode. I. You guys together make a
great team. Great. But we want to
encourage you continue to ask God where

(50:56):
you should be. If you haven't joined
a team at Disciples Church, we want
you. We want to connect with you.
We want to get to know you
and be in community with you. So
to pray about it and it's not
too late to join. Also, watch yesterday
Yesterday's episode I said episode message that
Pastor so preached. It was amazing. An

(51:17):
amazing way to conclude our get in
the game series. But we also had
two awesome messages prior. So watch the
whole sermon series if you haven't had
an opportunity to do so. And until
next week, chew on all of this
amazing information. If you have any questions
questions, let us know and we'll see
you next week. Love you.

Bye.

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