Welcome to the Mariners Church Life Group Leader podcast. This weekly conversation is designed to equip and resource you to build a healthy life group community that studies God's word, practices spiritual rhythms, and changes the world together. Welcome back, life group leaders. I'm Dallas.
I am hosting the podcast today. We're launching a brand new series in here with me is my good friend and our women's pastor, Esther. Hi guys. Welcome to the podcast.
Welcome to the podcast. Awesome. We are talking with some of our favorite leaders in Mariners Church, our life group. That's right.
You all, we love you all because when things are happening in your groups, the people in your groups are looking to you, life group leaders for shepherding and for care, and we could not do this without you. That's right. So we're super, super thankful for you. And hopefully when you finish listening to this episode, you feel a little bit more empowered, equipped and loved for what you do for our church.
That's right. So we're launching the brand new series, Overwhelmed. I really believe it's going to be a great series for the life of our church and even just in culture. Yeah.
I mean, how many people do we encounter every week that are overwhelmed? You're looking at one. I was like, I'm a parent. For sure.
I think it's going to create great discussions in life groups. So great opportunities to be vulnerable, transparent and to be able to pray for each other and lean in. Yeah. Overwhelmed.
When decisions are overwhelming, like as a parent, what do I feed my kid today? What brand do we trust? My goodness. The decisions.
Are they sleepy? Are they hungry? Are they uncomfortable? Yeah.
I'll have my kid down early today. Yeah. Yeah. Decisions.
Overwhelmed by decisions. But before we really jump into this, I would love to give a little shout out for life group leaders. I know we're talking about how great this series is, but there's also another really great thing specifically for our ladies groups. That's right.
What's happening? September 11th on Wednesday, we are starting a course called How to Study the Bible. And it's six weeks with K Geiger. And so we're so excited.
We already have 562 people signed up and we were like eight days out. And we know a lot of people do sign up last minute so we know that number is going to go up. But it's specific to women. So women life groups, if you guys are kind of needing space to gather together outside of your normal rhythms and show up on campus in the worship center at Irvine and you're really wanting to dig into knowing God's word, understanding context, understanding like cross referencing, having your own study Bible.
Instead of always leaning on sermons, be able to read and hear from God himself through his word. It's such a precious eternal gift. And so ladies, if you feel like your life group is ready for that and maybe even if it's like a married group, they can split and the wives could do how to study the Bibles for six weeks and it could be, man, it's monumental when somebody's in God's word. So yeah, I love that guys go off.
Do another study. It's not just like go bowling. So guys go do a study. But just for even some of the groups that maybe you took a break, going up a break for summer and you don't have a start time.
This is a really great time to say, hey, we're starting on this date. This is what we're doing as leaders. You have that relationship with the people in your group to just say, this is what we're doing. We're starting at this point.
We'd love for you guys to join us for this. It's going to be great. On Thursday night, Kay got to announce it to our Thursday night community. It was so fun because on Thursday nights, we see life group leaders and life groups sitting together.
And there was a group that sat right in the front row and they started cheering when Kay was talking about how to study the Bible because they all went together as a group and how much they loved it and enjoyed it. My wife got to do it last year and I've heard really great things about how to study the Bible. So ladies, you're not going to want to miss it. Sign up for how to study the Bible.
It sounds like spots are flying at this point. So make sure you get in. It'd be really great for your groups. Guys, if you're like, I don't even know where to start, send us an email.
I've got a lot of places where you could start if the guys just want to get away. But a really great option as you head into this fall season and just understanding God's words such a gift for everyone. But now we'll jump into overwhelmed. Another great option, ladies.
So you got to decide. But I really believe how to study the Bible is amazing for you. But overwhelmed, what do I do when decisions are overwhelming? We have a very popular passage, Proverbs 35 and 6.
I remember singing this verse as a kid. Oh, wow. Did you ever song? Why do you practice it?
Right now? Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Oh, lean on your own understanding. Yeah, that was that was what we did.
So I want to sing the rest of the song, but you all could imagine how it goes. So you will walk through those that popular passage and there's some some 37 for, but we have this lean in and it's a it's an interesting one. What is a what is a difficult decision you have had to make in life and what made it so difficult? Wow.
Oh my gosh. That's a that's a deep one. Yeah. Yeah.
That's what it was. What's a difficult decision? I think life group leaders, you could probably like come in pretty quick with this one and make it really lighthearted of like, oh man, do I go to Chick-fil-A or in and out right here? Like I'm thinking, can you see like help people think about that?
Yeah. And you might have some people be like, oh, do I go to this college? Do I go to that college? I remember thinking at that point in time.
So life group leaders, this might be a really great time for you to come in and make it more playful. Does that help answer the question when you make it a little bit more playful? Yeah, totally. It's like, which one's more holy in and out or AAA?
There you go. That's hard. I pick it. Yeah.
Yeah. It's a great way for you to make it easy to make it, because we want everybody to be able to all play. And then life group leaders, for some of you, you might have new people joining, which is great from our group finder. Awesome.
Give this some space. We really want everybody to be able to answer these questions. So weighted out, encourage people. Hey, what about you?
Billie in the corner. What about you? So that's it. Lean in.
Awesome. Then we look down. Make sure you read the verse on 37-4, Proverbs 3-5 and 6. But let's do it.
Proverbs 3-6, because I kind of like saying the verse a little bit, just in the load of all your heart lean on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct he will make your path straight. So engaging with scripture, Esther, I'm sure I'm sure you have engaged with that scripture before, right? Yeah. Yeah.
What is something that stands out in that scripture for you? Yeah. I mean, Eric mentions it in his servant too, but like trusting God with all of your heart isn't does not mean some of your heart or part of your heart, but all of it. And I think there are times where my trust has been tested.
You know, maybe God, I'll give you this, but not this or this to this extent. But but also I've seen time and time again, he has made my path straight. He's gone before me. So yeah, have held on to this passage so much.
I think so many people have such a simple and easy prayer. Yeah. Yeah. How are you?
Yeah, when you said that, it's going to be like out of left field. I immediately thought of Batman, like with Christian Bale. Okay. So the one with Christian Bale and he's in the pit, his back is broken and banging his taking over.
Yeah. And everybody was trying to get out of the pit, but they always tied the rope on. Mm hmm. And every time you had the rope on, you're like, kind of, I know if I fail, I have a fall back.
Yeah. Yeah. And what does it mean to be all in? And took the rope off?
Yeah. I'm going all in on this. And he made the jump. Yeah.
So it's like that you brought back back and sometimes it's just like that that trust of yeah, I'm fully relying on you. I'm all in. Yeah. All in.
There is no backup plan. Yeah. That's good. It's just just trusting.
So like that was the word picture that came to my head. Wow. As you were breaking that down. That's awesome.
Yeah. I'm all in no backup plan. No backup plan. That's risky.
That is pretty risky. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. But I guess that's what it's like a trust fall. You know, you don't know if somebody's gonna actually catch you, but I mean, but the promises that he will. Yeah.
Yeah. And we're introducing a new song, the series because only reason I know that is because we sang it in staff meeting last week. And it's about trusting God. I trust in God.
I think it's on 34, I saw the Lord he heard and he answered and he saved me from my fear. And we're singing a song for this series that aligns with that. So you're not gonna want to miss weekend services. It's great.
Great song. So we've leaned in. Everybody has answered a question. We look down.
We have looked at scripture. Now we're gonna look out. We are gonna compare and we're gonna contrast. We're gonna see how this plays out in culture.
In Life Your Bleeder, this is a really important time to make sure people are focusing on the outward. They are not looking inward yet. I know sometimes it can be really, really challenging. People just want to get to their own stuff, help them look out.
So why does it often seem like our hearts, desires, and God's desires for us or our conflict? What does it practically look like for someone to know God as Proverbs 3, 6 asks of us? That's a great question. How would you understand or define to know God even?
How have you seen people in your own life? Who's someone that you look at? Like, wow, they know God. Oh my gosh.
Well, we have somebody at our church named Susan Lim. And she is one of our, you know, she used to be a professor and author and mom, wife and her husband's a direction author. But she knows the Lord knows the voice of the Lord. And a big part of that is she spends time reading God's word and some time praying.
And it kind of makes sense. I mean, we're coming out of a series on prayer. But yeah, I feel like she's she's somebody that I'm like, well, she knows God. She trusts God and she positions herself to always live in obedience.
How about you Dallas? Who comes to mind? There are a couple of people that come to mind and for like very similar reasons. People who pray and read God's word religiously.
Just you can tell like, wow, your source of knowledge comes straight from the Lord. It's when I spend time with Ken, his ability to just understand and no scripture and break it down in the most simplest way. It's just beautiful in the way he can be like, hey, this is Dallas, this is what you need for leadership in a moment where it's kind of fuzzy to me. And then if you've been around long enough, left your leaders, you may know Shelly.
She's one who hired me. And just the way that she knows God, she would know what to say to me. As a Holy Spirit, it's kind of leading me, guiding me. I don't understand what this means.
And she would just have like, she had the Holy Spirit on speed dial sometimes. Those people. Yes. That is Shelly.
It still is her. So when I think of, hey, someone who knows God, who trusts in God, I think of Shelly every single time I'm inspired to want to pray and read my Bible more when I spend time with her. Wow. Wow.
That's so awesome. That's cool. Because if you think about it, some people, you spend time with them. You're like, I want to manage my wealth better, which is great.
Or you spend time with them like, I want to work out more. Then there are those specific people who are like, man, when I leave my conversation with them, I want to love them more. I want to trust God more. Because I'm an experienced faithfulness.
I'm like, they have, you know, that's wild. That'd be the highest praise. People said that about us. Yes.
So again, what way do we need to live our lives in order to get that? Yeah. Well, that's so good. Your group can spend a whole lot of time there.
Heroes of the faith. Yes. You could look back into Hebrews or you could even right now in your own circles and then reach out to those people, connect with them, ask them questions. I have just learned and getting close to Shelly, getting close to Khetton, that the worst thing they could tell me is no.
It's already got that out of my system. Okay. The worst thing I can say is no. So I always ask.
Wow. And I always gain something by spending time with both of them. Yeah. There's so many other leaders too.
That's awesome. But that's just why I learned. Then we get to the last part. And this is where the moment everybody's been waiting for you to look in what makes you delight in the Lord in your life today.
And what ways may you be relying too much on your own understanding and not trusting the Lord enough in your everyday life? Oh, geez. And I feel like, yeah, yeah. Kind of feel exposed even as I'm reading the questions.
Yeah. Tell us how about you. What makes you delight in the Lord lately? Delighting in the Lord.
I had a moment because I do Thursday nights and it's so special. Like what the Lord is doing. There was a moment last Thursday where we were just worshiping. It was beautiful.
We were singing because of Christ. Oh, wow. I'm like singing twice. Yeah, it's not a podcast.
It's a spot of fun. Welcome. Welcome. My other books are, but there's just this moment I wasn't on stage.
There was nothing I was the most present I could possibly be. And I was delighting in the Lord of this is answered prayer right here. Delighting in. We've had 150 people say I believe and I was delighting in there were hands raised all over the room and like watching people sing praises to him.
I was like, I was delighted that a generation is praising Jesus that way. And I had tears in my eyes singing. And it was the most beautiful thing of, wow, I get to do this. I get to be in this room.
I get all the places I could be of all the times I'm right here right now for this purpose. And I just my heart was overflowing with gratitude that I get to do this right here and right now. So I just delighting in the Lord of lives being changed and what he's doing in a generation. Wow.
I love that. I love that. Like it's actually not hard to delight in God if you intentionally allow yourself to be present wherever you are. Yeah.
You know, that doesn't mean we don't go through suffering. But sometimes we could just sit and bask in the present that we're breathing that we're you know, that we're given the work that we are or we have the people that we do have in our family, even at a dinner table, we just take the moment to breathe and like become more conscious of the present, which is well, because we do live in the past. We're thinking about what happened at work, where we can kind of live in the present, a future where like, what do I need to do? But I think when we really are aware of God's, you know, I think Brother Lawrence, he talks about practicing the presence.
So when we practice the presence of God in the present, he actually showed so much to the light in the Lord. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome.
It reminds me of John Witten, famous basketball coach, the 24 hour rule. Was it like they'd have a big victory instead of, all right, how do we prepare for the next one? Like, no, we take 24 hours and we're going to celebrate this. I love that.
Yeah. I've helped. I don't know if I've done quite that because it's a little different, but like, when people are coming, like, oh, I mean, it wasn't so great. Like next week that in there, I start going.
It's like for me, Fridays, for me Mondays, like celebrating big victories at church, or wherever we're seeing it is like, I'm just going to spend extra time like sitting in the present of thanking God. I can't believe this happened. I'm trying to get into a pattern of journaling and then dating those days on the parking. Then in my journal, like, hey, this was a moment for me and what the Lord did that I got to experience and highlighting those.
Yeah. So delighting, but sitting in the presence is beautiful. I love that. That's at least 24 hours.
24 hours. I just celebrate this for 24, like, our brains are so especially here in Southern California. Oh, what's next? Yeah.
What's next? This is a cool thing. Let's go to the next thing. And we'll just sit and celebrate what God has done.
Like, can we just sit in this for a moment? Yeah. Let's clap for 24 hours. Like, I have a standing ovation for 24 hours just waiting and sitting and blessing and excitement and thankfulness before we go to prep mode.
Wow. I love that. I'm challenged. Yeah.
Well, I like to hope you guys are. This is a really great conversation for your group. I hope it is just God honoring. I hope that people leave a little bit changed.
They were relying on God trusting in God more because we live in an overwhelming world. And just for you all to continually remind the people in your group that we serve a God who has overcome this overwhelming world, the people in your group, they're overwhelmed, but may you remind them of that truth that we serve a God who has overcome this overwhelming world. And you might be the only one who continually reminds them of that through the week. So maybe send them a text and make sure to think of that.
Great. Well, thanks for listening. I swear. Thank you for joining us on the podcast.
Take care. I like your players.