#414 Your Jesus is Too American: Calling the Church to Reclaim Kingdom Values with Steve Bezner

My guest today is my dear friend, Dr. Steve Bezner. Steve is the senior pastor of Houston Northwest Church, in Houston Texas. His passion is to see Houston and the world become more like heaven as people become more like Jesus. He's a preacher, teacher, writer, and speaker and has such a gift for making the Bible easy to understand. Steve's new book is releasing this October, called Your Jesus is Too American: Calling the Church to Reclaim Kingdom Values over the American Dream, which I'm so excited to talk about today. In this book, Steve challenges the overpowering influences of money, politics, and status that often overshadow Jesus' teachings. With over a decade of pastoral experience, Steve encourages readers to rediscover important kingdom values like humble service, reconciliation, generosity, and a grounded political witness in our communities. This is such an incredible book, and I strongly believe it's a must-read as we head into this election season.  So, without further ado, let's get into it! 5:44 – Steve 101 Pastor of Houston Northwest Church Growing up in north Texas Being called to ministry Two adult sons 7:36 – The Genesis Of The Book The inspiration behind Your Jesus Is Too American The book's foundation in the Sermon on the Mount Embodying the kingdom of God in the middle of community 15:29 – Living Out Kingdom Values  Being disciples of Jesus first Focusing on issues rather than candidates Turning to scripture and working towards the vision of Jesus locally Jesus' command to love your enemy 34:33 – Faith In Action Embodying Jesus in our daily lives Recognizing ingrained beliefs that conflict with Jesus' words Stepping into the lived experience of the kingdom Pre-ordering your copy of Your Jesus Is Too American FEATURED QUOTES "The purpose of a church is to provide faithful witness for Jesus in the midst of a community that often wants to ignore Jesus and ignore His way." "The first and most important identity needs to be your identity in Christ and joining into His story." "When you die to the American dream and you embrace the way of Jesus, you actually end up having a far better experience of being human than you could ever imagine."   Learn more about Steve: https://www.stevebezner.com/ Get your copy of Your Jesus Is Too American https://www.amazon.com/Your-Jesus-Too-American-Calling/dp/1587436310 Houston NW Church https://www.hnw.org/ Steve on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sbezner/ Steve on X https://x.com/bezner Steve on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sbezner/?hl=en   Connect with me:   http://www.stillbeingmolly.com http://instagram.com/stillbeingmolly http://instagram.com/canilaughpod http://twitter.com/stillbeingmolly http://facebook.com/stillbeingmolly http://facebook.com/canilaughpod http://tiktok.com/@stillbeingmolly     GET YOUR COPY of 'IF I DON'T LAUGH, I'LL CRY" TODAY: Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/IIDLICbn Amazon: https://amzn.to/48VYFkG ChristianBook: https://bit.ly/IIDLICcb Target: https://bit.ly/3Shh3Q2 Walmart: https://bit.ly/3MmGVpJ Indie Bound: https://bit.ly/IIDLICib Audible: https://amzn.to/3ITcdm8 Kindle: https://amzn.to/3ITaSvv     About Can I Laugh On Your Shoulder?   Can I Laugh On Your Shoulder? Podcast is a weekly podcast where we have honest conversations about faith, business, life, and everything in between. Hosted by speaker and author, Molly Stillman, her mission is to make you laugh, cry, and laugh till you cry. She wants to create a community of people who are unafraid to be themselves and have honest conversations about the things that matter most. Her vision is to create a safe space for people to explore their faith and share their stories and gifts with the world.