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00:00:01
        A life with God doesn't have to be boring.
       
    
      - 
        
00:00:03
        You were made for adventure.
       
    
      - 
        
00:00:05
        It can be a pulse pumping, heart pounding life of purpose.
       
    
      - 
        
00:00:08
        Join us every weekend for 30 minutes
       
    
      - 
        
00:00:10
        of challenge, hope and encouragement
       
    
      - 
        
00:00:12
        to guide you on your spiritual adventure.
       
    
      - 
        
00:00:16
        - We've all been forced to pause, reset
       
    
      - 
        
00:00:18
        and reclaim our futures in light of the chaos of 2020.
       
    
      - 
        
00:00:22
        There's always darkness and adventure
       
    
      - 
        
00:00:24
        when you're not sure where you're going.
       
    
      - 
        
00:00:25
        Join us for Crossroads Weekend Spark Talks
       
    
      - 
        
00:00:27
        and hear from people who will challenge you
       
    
      - 
        
00:00:29
        with new ideas to ignite your life.
       
    
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00:00:32
        - Welcome to Crossroads Church, everyone.
       
    
      - 
        
00:00:34
        My name is Alli Patterson,
       
    
      - 
        
00:00:35
        and we have something really special for you today.
       
    
      - 
        
00:00:38
        It's a series called Spark Talks
       
    
      - 
        
00:00:40
        and the folks you're going to hear from today
       
    
      - 
        
00:00:42
        have been inspired to live their life differently
       
    
      - 
        
00:00:44
        because of this crazy year called 2020
       
    
      - 
        
00:00:47
        that we're all living through together.
       
    
      - 
        
00:00:49
        There's an author and historian
       
    
      - 
        
00:00:51
        who has some fascinating things to say today
       
    
      - 
        
00:00:53
        about how leaders react differently in crisis if they have faith.
       
    
      - 
        
00:00:57
        I'm all ears for that one.
       
    
      - 
        
00:00:59
        And I hope you go away inspired and encouraged yourself.
       
    
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00:01:15
        - I want you to think of something you've always wanted to try
       
    
      - 
        
00:01:19
        but haven't because of fear.
       
    
      - 
        
00:01:21
        No, I'm not talking about all of you making bread during quarantine.
       
    
      - 
        
00:01:25
        And I see you.
       
    
      - 
        
00:01:26
        I'm talking about something way outside your comfort zone
       
    
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00:01:29
        that you've always postponed but continually think of.
       
    
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00:01:33
        I'm Megs Gelfgot and I teach women to skateboard.
       
    
      - 
        
00:01:37
        They find empowerment on a board with four wheels.
       
    
      - 
        
00:01:41
        But my story started before that
       
    
      - 
        
00:01:43
        and before the empowerment it was one of pushing through
       
    
      - 
        
00:01:47
        isolation, depression, overcoming tragedy and crisis.
       
    
      - 
        
00:01:53
        I was living the suburbia success story.
       
    
      - 
        
00:01:55
        I was a new mom and while I loved my role,
       
    
      - 
        
00:01:59
        I felt like I had lost some of my identity along the way.
       
    
      - 
        
00:02:03
        I wasn't was from Cincinnati,
       
    
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00:02:04
        didn't particularly fit in with the mom crowd.
       
    
      - 
        
00:02:07
        So I had this crisis of depression and isolation.
       
    
      - 
        
00:02:15
        And I knew that I needed something drastic
       
    
      - 
        
00:02:18
        to cut through the status quo of my life.
       
    
      - 
        
00:02:22
        I had just accepted that this is what it was, it was fine.
       
    
      - 
        
00:02:25
        If life was lackluster, I was the only one responsible
       
    
      - 
        
00:02:30
        for the quality of my experiences.
       
    
      - 
        
00:02:32
        Don't like something, grow from it.
       
    
      - 
        
00:02:34
        So I reached for the first regret I could think of:
       
    
      - 
        
00:02:36
        learning to skateboard.
       
    
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00:02:38
        Let me tell you the fears that held me back
       
    
      - 
        
00:02:40
        20 years ago from learning, those are amplified as an adult.
       
    
      - 
        
00:02:44
        I'm going to break just everything, all of it.
       
    
      - 
        
00:02:48
        But skateboarding would be my bridge to reconnect
       
    
      - 
        
00:02:50
        with that wildness within myself,
       
    
      - 
        
00:02:52
        lost trying to fit into a suburbia,
       
    
      - 
        
00:02:55
        tamed using somebody else's definition of success for my life.
       
    
      - 
        
00:03:00
        So my rebellion commenced in a parking lot with a skateboard.
       
    
      - 
        
00:03:05
        And while I was awful at first, no surprise,
       
    
      - 
        
00:03:10
        I laughed and it was awesome and I felt alive.
       
    
      - 
        
00:03:14
        #Live laugh love; huh?
       
    
      - 
        
00:03:16
        It was great and I felt this acute sensitivity
       
    
      - 
        
00:03:22
        that this is what God created me to be.
       
    
      - 
        
00:03:25
        Not fearless, just courageous enough to go for it.
       
    
      - 
        
00:03:30
        See when we're kids and trying something new,
       
    
      - 
        
00:03:32
        we're more concerned with getting hurt.
       
    
      - 
        
00:03:34
        As adults, stepping out means we have to deal
       
    
      - 
        
00:03:37
        with people's judgments, possibly rejection.
       
    
      - 
        
00:03:40
        My rejection came in the form of friends and family.
       
    
      - 
        
00:03:45
        "Megs, can you just cool it with this phase?
       
    
      - 
        
00:03:48
        Just take up tennis. You're going to hurt yourself."
       
    
      - 
        
00:03:51
        I felt empowered because it wasn't conventional.
       
    
      - 
        
00:03:53
        I was a mom who was skateboarding around your neighborhoods.
       
    
      - 
        
00:03:56
        What's up, Maderia? I see you.
       
    
      - 
        
00:03:59
        And it was in this moment that I would not let critics
       
    
      - 
        
00:04:03
        marginalize my growing passion
       
    
      - 
        
00:04:05
        because they didn't understand it.
       
    
      - 
        
00:04:07
        It took me eight visits to a skate park
       
    
      - 
        
00:04:10
        before I was physically brave enough to get out of the car.
       
    
      - 
        
00:04:14
        And really, what is my worst case scenario?
       
    
      - 
        
00:04:17
        Some kid named Spencer tackles me for being a beginner.
       
    
      - 
        
00:04:20
        I birthed a child, I can handle Spencer.
       
    
      - 
        
00:04:23
        And the day that I smacked my face open
       
    
      - 
        
00:04:25
        I remember thinking, "OK, this is -- this is done.
       
    
      - 
        
00:04:28
        We're finished with this now."
       
    
      - 
        
00:04:29
        There were real consequences.
       
    
      - 
        
00:04:32
        But I had a moment
to see what I was made of
       
    
      - 
        
00:04:36
        cutely, right?
       
    
      - 
        
00:04:39
        And bravery was going back out on that ledge,
       
    
      - 
        
00:04:42
        complete with a bleeding face
       
    
      - 
        
00:04:44
        and a heckling audience of teenage boys.
       
    
      - 
        
00:04:46
        I happened to be wearing a shirt that said pray on it.
       
    
      - 
        
00:04:49
        And I dropped in on my first bowl that day.
       
    
      - 
        
00:04:51
        Of you don't know what it is, Google it later. Check it out.
       
    
      - 
        
00:04:55
        Skateboarding had me showing up better in all aspects of my life
       
    
      - 
        
00:04:58
        because of the confidence I was building.
       
    
      - 
        
00:05:01
        I had grit, I had capacity.
       
    
      - 
        
00:05:03
        I was uncovering strength within myself
       
    
      - 
        
00:05:06
        that was tied directly to pushing through the struggle
       
    
      - 
        
00:05:09
        and sometimes there's some pain.
       
    
      - 
        
00:05:11
        My relationship with God found a new level of intimacy.
       
    
      - 
        
00:05:15
        I grew up in church.
       
    
      - 
        
00:05:17
        God is good.
       
    
      - 
        
00:05:18
        I thought of Him as being buttoned up, wearing khakis,
       
    
      - 
        
00:05:21
        probably liked smooth jazz.
       
    
      - 
        
00:05:22
        Relax, I go hard on some Careless Whisper,
       
    
      - 
        
00:05:26
        but I was experiencing a God
       
    
      - 
        
00:05:28
        who was meeting the desires of my heart
       
    
      - 
        
00:05:30
        I didn't even know that I had.
       
    
      - 
        
00:05:32
        He was bringing opportunities, community,
       
    
      - 
        
00:05:35
        and adventure squarely in my path.
       
    
      - 
        
00:05:39
        And the price of admission was I needed to level up.
       
    
      - 
        
00:05:42
        I had to demand more for myself, from my relationships,
       
    
      - 
        
00:05:45
        for my attitude, for my work ethic.
       
    
      - 
        
00:05:47
        I had progress and momentum.
       
    
      - 
        
00:05:49
        I was feeling pretty good, so I did what everybody does:
       
    
      - 
        
00:05:52
        start an Instagram account.
       
    
      - 
        
00:05:55
        And a funny thing happened, this, you know,
       
    
      - 
        
00:05:57
        crazy Amazon ginger from the suburbs,
       
    
      - 
        
00:05:59
        my story resonated with people.
       
    
      - 
        
00:06:02
        I was getting messages from all over the world
       
    
      - 
        
00:06:04
        of people who wanted to escape
       
    
      - 
        
00:06:06
        but were never brave enough to take a first step.
       
    
      - 
        
00:06:09
        So I began to believe in the larger vision
       
    
      - 
        
00:06:11
        of using skateboarding to empower
       
    
      - 
        
00:06:13
        as this makeshift community grew.
       
    
      - 
        
00:06:17
        Now, things were great, they were going well.
       
    
      - 
        
00:06:21
        But life is never all green lights for us.
       
    
      - 
        
00:06:25
        It's a Saturday morning passed out at home.
       
    
      - 
        
00:06:29
        I'm rushed to the hospital.
       
    
      - 
        
00:06:31
        From the time that I walked through the doors to Christ Hospital
       
    
      - 
        
00:06:36
        to when they had me on a table putting straps on my heart,
       
    
      - 
        
00:06:39
        getting ready to shock it, about 10 minutes.
       
    
      - 
        
00:06:42
        They found that day that I had a heart condition,
       
    
      - 
        
00:06:45
        Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome
       
    
      - 
        
00:06:46
        and I would undergo heart surgery later that week.
       
    
      - 
        
00:06:51
        So as I'm grappling with the implications of this diagnosis
       
    
      - 
        
00:06:56
        and thinking about how it would limit my life,
       
    
      - 
        
00:06:58
        one of my older sister, Susanna in Arizona,
       
    
      - 
        
00:07:02
        she was in a minor car accident on a Friday.
       
    
      - 
        
00:07:08
        Sunday they had to call an ambulance,
       
    
      - 
        
00:07:11
        take her to the hospital, she was unconscious.
       
    
      - 
        
00:07:14
        She would die in the hospital three days later,
       
    
      - 
        
00:07:16
        never regaining consciousness.
       
    
      - 
        
00:07:18
        Complications from a car accident.
       
    
      - 
        
00:07:23
        She would leave behind a four year old daughter
       
    
      - 
        
00:07:25
        and a family that was just devastated by her loss.
       
    
      - 
        
00:07:30
        I was faced with the fragility of life.
       
    
      - 
        
00:07:34
        I was in survival mode.
       
    
      - 
        
00:07:36
        You don't have big dreams for yourself when you're just surviving.
       
    
      - 
        
00:07:41
        There was a renewed urgency of the now.
       
    
      - 
        
00:07:44
        What are you doing now?
       
    
      - 
        
00:07:46
        I was not promised tomorrow.
       
    
      - 
        
00:07:48
        What are you doing that matters now?
       
    
      - 
        
00:07:51
        Fear told me that I was not equipped to lead anything,
       
    
      - 
        
00:07:55
        let alone something that had to do with skateboarding.
       
    
      - 
        
00:07:57
        But God didn't need me to be the expert in skateboarding
       
    
      - 
        
00:08:01
        in order to use me.
       
    
      - 
        
00:08:04
        No, He needed my courage to get up in spite of difficulty.
       
    
      - 
        
00:08:08
        And I wouldn't let fear make me passive
       
    
      - 
        
00:08:11
        because I was not the likely candidate to lead.
       
    
      - 
        
00:08:15
        I didn't intend to start a movement,
       
    
      - 
        
00:08:17
        but I was willing to see where it went
       
    
      - 
        
00:08:19
        because I wasn't in it alone.
       
    
      - 
        
00:08:21
        So when we founded Keep Her Wild here in Cincinnati,
       
    
      - 
        
00:08:24
        I expected two women to sign up for our Meetup group.
       
    
      - 
        
00:08:28
        50 women signed up in the first two days
       
    
      - 
        
00:08:30
        with an average age of 35.
       
    
      - 
        
00:08:33
        Yeah, the very women I previously felt out of place with,
       
    
      - 
        
00:08:36
        it turns out they're pretty awesome.
       
    
      - 
        
00:08:39
        Now Keep Her Wild has communities in seven countries
       
    
      - 
        
00:08:42
        with retreats designed to get women living
       
    
      - 
        
00:08:45
        outside of their comfort zone,
       
    
      - 
        
00:08:47
        and more importantly, connected in community.
       
    
      - 
        
00:08:50
        It was taking us to places we never could have imagined.
       
    
      - 
        
00:08:54
        Things like losing 100 and climbing a mountain,
       
    
      - 
        
00:08:57
        skateboarding despite having MS,
       
    
      - 
        
00:09:00
        going back to school at 65 years old
       
    
      - 
        
00:09:02
        because you want to see what you can do.
       
    
      - 
        
00:09:04
        You've still got time.
       
    
      - 
        
00:09:06
        Skateboarding was not a phase. It was a lifeline.
       
    
      - 
        
00:09:11
        It was the spark that set my life on fire
       
    
      - 
        
00:09:14
        and it was having that transformative effect within our community.
       
    
      - 
        
00:09:18
        What a way and what a journey from that empty parking lot
       
    
      - 
        
00:09:22
        to filming a TED Talk to recording a docu-series on strong women.
       
    
      - 
        
00:09:26
        Because if I could learn to kickflip,
       
    
      - 
        
00:09:28
        certainly I could handle a couple of people telling me no.
       
    
      - 
        
00:09:31
        What? I just need to knock on a few other doors
       
    
      - 
        
00:09:34
        and not get bloody in my face? Perfect. I'm on my way.
       
    
      - 
        
00:09:38
        What is your skateboard? Because we all need one.
       
    
      - 
        
00:09:42
        Hard times are coming. What is your skateboard?
       
    
      - 
        
00:09:47
        What have you always wanted to do, but postponed?
       
    
      - 
        
00:09:51
        Do it later, do it tomorrow, do it when I lose weight.
       
    
      - 
        
00:09:55
        You know what? You're too old, you're not fit enough.
       
    
      - 
        
00:09:59
        What would your friends say? Eww.
       
    
      - 
        
00:10:03
        So we keep it tucked away,
       
    
      - 
        
00:10:04
        a legacy of regret allowing life to manage you.
       
    
      - 
        
00:10:10
        Or two, become immune to the fear of someone laughing at you,
       
    
      - 
        
00:10:16
        tune out the self-doubt that paralyzes
       
    
      - 
        
00:10:19
        and believe completely that you have reservoirs of strength
       
    
      - 
        
00:10:24
        to weather any crisis that crosses your door
       
    
      - 
        
00:10:27
        and thrive and grow in it because God is going to be with you
       
    
      - 
        
00:10:32
        and moving you through the process.
       
    
      - 
        
00:10:34
        We don't have to burn in the fires of crisis.
       
    
      - 
        
00:10:38
        We can be forged and refined
       
    
      - 
        
00:10:40
        and God never abandons us to the flames
       
    
      - 
        
00:10:43
        if we're willing to step out of our comfort zone.
       
    
      - 
        
00:10:47
        So, your skateboard is out there,
       
    
      - 
        
00:10:52
        but it's up to you to find it and go for it.
       
    
      - 
        
00:10:56
        You might just find a life transformed
       
    
      - 
        
00:10:59
        and a community to call home.
       
    
      - 
        
00:11:02
        So be brave, stay wild, and live rad. Thank you.
       
    
      - 
        
00:11:08
        Ephesians 2:8 tells us:
       
    
      - 
        
00:11:14
        In the middle of a stressful time it can be easy
       
    
      - 
        
00:11:16
        to forget these words and instead live like
       
    
      - 
        
00:11:19
        maybe we just need to do some work to save ourselves.
       
    
      - 
        
00:11:22
        Let's worship today as a reminder
       
    
      - 
        
00:11:25
        that God's grace for us is unending.
       
    
      - 
        
00:15:39
        - Hi, my name is Stephen Mansfield,
       
    
      - 
        
00:15:41
        and I want to talk to you about faith
       
    
      - 
        
00:15:43
        and leading in times of crisis.
       
    
      - 
        
00:15:46
        There are roles in this world
       
    
      - 
        
00:15:48
        that aren't that affected directly by faith.
       
    
      - 
        
00:15:52
        A computer programmer might be a better person
       
    
      - 
        
00:15:54
        of character, a more patient person if they have faith.
       
    
      - 
        
00:15:57
        But how they program a computer
       
    
      - 
        
00:15:59
        is not directly affected by their faith.
       
    
      - 
        
00:16:01
        However, leadership is not in that category.
       
    
      - 
        
00:16:04
        Let me give you a definition of leadership
       
    
      - 
        
00:16:07
        and then we can talk about what exactly faith does
       
    
      - 
        
00:16:11
        to that role of leadership.
       
    
      - 
        
00:16:12
        Leadership is elevating people.
       
    
      - 
        
00:16:16
        Leadership is in some form elevating people,
       
    
      - 
        
00:16:21
        lifting them out of their circumstances,
       
    
      - 
        
00:16:23
        inspiring them to accomplish more.
       
    
      - 
        
00:16:25
        And every aspect of that is transformed by faith.
       
    
      - 
        
00:16:30
        I'm certainly not saying that
       
    
      - 
        
00:16:31
        a person who doesn't have faith can't lead,
       
    
      - 
        
00:16:34
        but there's no question that the main characteristics,
       
    
      - 
        
00:16:38
        the main traits that lead to leadership greatness
       
    
      - 
        
00:16:41
        are faith inspired.
       
    
      - 
        
00:16:44
        And this is even more the case during times of crisis
       
    
      - 
        
00:16:48
        when most great leadership is measured.
       
    
      - 
        
00:16:51
        So let's talk about seven factors, seven features
       
    
      - 
        
00:16:55
        of a kind of a faith-based leadership in a time of crisis.
       
    
      - 
        
00:16:59
        And I going to tell you right now that
       
    
      - 
        
00:17:01
        I'm going to invoke Winston Churchill a great deal.
       
    
      - 
        
00:17:03
        He's a hero of mine.
       
    
      - 
        
00:17:05
        He tops almost every list of great leaders from the last century.
       
    
      - 
        
00:17:08
        And he's a great person to use as a model.
       
    
      - 
        
00:17:10
        So what's one of the things, let's say the first thing
       
    
      - 
        
00:17:14
        that faith allows us to do in times of crisis?
       
    
      - 
        
00:17:18
        Well, the first thing it does is allow us to invoke destiny.
       
    
      - 
        
00:17:22
        I'm reminded that when Winston Churchill was appointed
       
    
      - 
        
00:17:26
        as the prime minister right before World War II,
       
    
      - 
        
00:17:28
        he later wrote, he said, "I felt like I was walking with destiny
       
    
      - 
        
00:17:33
        and that all my prior trials
       
    
      - 
        
00:17:36
        had been but preparation for this moment."
       
    
      - 
        
00:17:38
        That's how we have to think as believers,
       
    
      - 
        
00:17:41
        as Christians, as people connected to God,
       
    
      - 
        
00:17:44
        because God is a God who sets destinies.
       
    
      - 
        
00:17:47
        So a person who is a person of faith in this case
       
    
      - 
        
00:17:51
        can do something that a person who's not of faith can't do,
       
    
      - 
        
00:17:55
        unfortunately, and that's invoke destiny.
       
    
      - 
        
00:17:57
        Most great leaders invoked destiny,
       
    
      - 
        
00:18:01
        not only in their own lives, their own souls,
       
    
      - 
        
00:18:04
        but also invoke destiny before the people.
       
    
      - 
        
00:18:06
        Winston Churchill would stand up before the British people
       
    
      - 
        
00:18:09
        during World War II and he would say,
       
    
      - 
        
00:18:11
        "We are destined for this fight."
       
    
      - 
        
00:18:13
        He believe the British people were destined to fight that
       
    
      - 
        
00:18:15
        and he called that out of them.
       
    
      - 
        
00:18:17
        So it's not just a technique,
       
    
      - 
        
00:18:18
        it's not just a political technique.
       
    
      - 
        
00:18:19
        But when you're a person of faith
       
    
      - 
        
00:18:21
        leading through a time of crisis, whether it's Coronavirus
       
    
      - 
        
00:18:24
        or season of racial upheaval or whatever
       
    
      - 
        
00:18:25
        we're dealing with in our generation at a given moment,
       
    
      - 
        
00:18:28
        you believe that if you're going through it,
       
    
      - 
        
00:18:31
        you're destined for it.
       
    
      - 
        
00:18:32
        There's another one and that -- and this is something
       
    
      - 
        
00:18:35
        that many leaders don't do.
       
    
      - 
        
00:18:36
        I strongly urge you to do it, and that is define victory.
       
    
      - 
        
00:18:40
        People battle, people improve for a vision.
       
    
      - 
        
00:18:43
        We overcome a pandemic out of vision.
       
    
      - 
        
00:18:46
        We do great things.
       
    
      - 
        
00:18:48
        We sacrifice great things because somebody
       
    
      - 
        
00:18:50
        has painted a vision of victory.
       
    
      - 
        
00:18:53
        Winston Churchill used to say to the British people,
       
    
      - 
        
00:18:57
        "They will say, this was our finest hour.
       
    
      - 
        
00:18:59
        A thousand years from now, they will say
       
    
      - 
        
00:19:01
        this was our finest hour
       
    
      - 
        
00:19:02
        because this is what victory looks like.
       
    
      - 
        
00:19:04
        Victory looks like a free people,
       
    
      - 
        
00:19:05
        victory looks like children free to choose their own path.
       
    
      - 
        
00:19:08
        Victory looks like this."
       
    
      - 
        
00:19:10
        He constantly painted in brilliant verbal colors
       
    
      - 
        
00:19:13
        what the future looks like.
       
    
      - 
        
00:19:15
        I remember even in my own life when I had a health crisis
       
    
      - 
        
00:19:18
        early in my life and someone said,
       
    
      - 
        
00:19:20
        "You know, if you overcome this,
       
    
      - 
        
00:19:22
        if you'll fight to overcome this,
       
    
      - 
        
00:19:23
        you will be so much better off down the road."
       
    
      - 
        
00:19:26
        And I stopped giving myself to self-pity
       
    
      - 
        
00:19:29
        and rose up against it, believing that the future was great.
       
    
      - 
        
00:19:32
        Why? Because someone defined victory.
       
    
      - 
        
00:19:35
        The next thing is a leader has to redefine hardship.
       
    
      - 
        
00:19:40
        Many people believe that what's hard is evil.
       
    
      - 
        
00:19:44
        If it's difficult, it's bad.
       
    
      - 
        
00:19:47
        If it's difficult, it's automatically evil
       
    
      - 
        
00:19:50
        and should somehow be avoided.
       
    
      - 
        
00:19:52
        But that's not the way life works.
       
    
      - 
        
00:19:54
        What a great leader's got to do,
       
    
      - 
        
00:19:56
        you have to redefine what hardship is.
       
    
      - 
        
00:19:59
        You've got to change that sense of suffering.
       
    
      - 
        
00:20:01
        It's what every football coach does.
       
    
      - 
        
00:20:02
        It's what every trainer does in every sport,
       
    
      - 
        
00:20:04
        rather than you thinking, "Oh, if it gets painful
       
    
      - 
        
00:20:07
        or hard when I'm lifting weights, I should stop immediately."
       
    
      - 
        
00:20:10
        No, what do coaches say?
       
    
      - 
        
00:20:11
        "It's the pain that creates the gain."
       
    
      - 
        
00:20:14
        The hardship we're going through is the price we pay
       
    
      - 
        
00:20:16
        for the victory we're going to have.
       
    
      - 
        
00:20:19
        That's nothing more than what is said
       
    
      - 
        
00:20:21
        constantly throughout Scripture:
       
    
      - 
        
00:20:22
        though all who live godly in Christ Jesus
       
    
      - 
        
00:20:25
        shall suffer persecution and hardship.
       
    
      - 
        
00:20:27
        You must go through many hardships to enter the Kingdom.
       
    
      - 
        
00:20:29
        It's a core principle of life.
       
    
      - 
        
00:20:31
        There's a fourth thing that is absolutely essential,
       
    
      - 
        
00:20:35
        and that is to determine reality.
       
    
      - 
        
00:20:37
        I do a lot of advising of leaders.
       
    
      - 
        
00:20:38
        I do a lot of advising of companies.
       
    
      - 
        
00:20:41
        One of the hardest things is
       
    
      - 
        
00:20:42
        to get people to arrive at situational reality.
       
    
      - 
        
00:20:47
        What's the truth? What are the facts?
       
    
      - 
        
00:20:50
        I'll go in and consult with a leader or a company
       
    
      - 
        
00:20:52
        or a cause, and I'll just ask simple questions.
       
    
      - 
        
00:20:55
        Give me the big fat crayon number of how much money you have.
       
    
      - 
        
00:21:00
        "Oh, we got plenty of money. No problem. No sweat."
       
    
      - 
        
00:21:02
        When you actually get down to it, you find out
       
    
      - 
        
00:21:04
        they're in financial crisis and nobody has faced it.
       
    
      - 
        
00:21:07
        For a Christian or for a person who's connected to God
       
    
      - 
        
00:21:10
        in leadership, all truth is God's truth.
       
    
      - 
        
00:21:14
        Sometimes people think that if you're a person of faith,
       
    
      - 
        
00:21:16
        well, then you smear over reality
       
    
      - 
        
00:21:18
        with kind of a smear of faith.
       
    
      - 
        
00:21:19
        No. A person of faith who is connected to God,
       
    
      - 
        
00:21:22
        the God who created the world, the God of facts,
       
    
      - 
        
00:21:24
        the God of reality says, "No, this is reality.
       
    
      - 
        
00:21:28
        And we're going to know it and we're going to proceed from here."
       
    
      - 
        
00:21:31
        Whatever the situation is, tell me what it is
       
    
      - 
        
00:21:33
        so that we with God can begin there.
       
    
      - 
        
00:21:37
        So always attempt to determine situational reality.
       
    
      - 
        
00:21:40
        It's absolutely critical.
       
    
      - 
        
00:21:43
        One of my favorite is the use of humor.
       
    
      - 
        
00:21:46
        Now, I'm fully aware that people without faith can use humor
       
    
      - 
        
00:21:49
        and some of them use it very, very well.
       
    
      - 
        
00:21:51
        But a great student of humor, a scholar of humor
       
    
      - 
        
00:21:54
        once said that humor explores the gap between
       
    
      - 
        
00:21:58
        what is and what ought to be.
       
    
      - 
        
00:22:00
        And the reason a person of faith can use humor in a great way
       
    
      - 
        
00:22:03
        is that they are connected to what ought to be.
       
    
      - 
        
00:22:06
        And as I've just said about situational reality,
       
    
      - 
        
00:22:08
        they have a strong connection to where things actually are.
       
    
      - 
        
00:22:11
        So they live in that gap between the way things are,
       
    
      - 
        
00:22:14
        but the way things they ought to be.
       
    
      - 
        
00:22:15
        And they know that they're meant to lead people that way.
       
    
      - 
        
00:22:18
        Quick story from Winston Churchill.
       
    
      - 
        
00:22:20
        Winston Churchill, beginning of World War II,
       
    
      - 
        
00:22:22
        is visiting the White House.
       
    
      - 
        
00:22:24
        He's been accused by a lot of people in Congress
       
    
      - 
        
00:22:27
        of inflating what he needed from the United States:
       
    
      - 
        
00:22:29
        material, ships, supplies and so on.
       
    
      - 
        
00:22:32
        So he's been accused of hiding things.
       
    
      - 
        
00:22:34
        President Roosevelt is his advocate,
       
    
      - 
        
00:22:36
        but he's being besieged by Congress who doesn't quite trust him.
       
    
      - 
        
00:22:40
        Churchill used to take baths in the middle of the day.
       
    
      - 
        
00:22:43
        So one day he's emerging from the bath.
       
    
      - 
        
00:22:46
        You have to picture Churchill, pink and bulbous,
       
    
      - 
        
00:22:49
        and with a towel wrapped around him, still dripping wet.
       
    
      - 
        
00:22:52
        And Roosevelt is asked to be wheeled in to meet with him.
       
    
      - 
        
00:22:55
        Roosevelt comes into his room,
       
    
      - 
        
00:22:57
        sees that he's emerging from the bath.
       
    
      - 
        
00:22:59
        Roosevelt is kind of an aristocratic New Englander.
       
    
      - 
        
00:23:01
        He said, "Oh, gosh, wheel me out, wheel me out."
       
    
      - 
        
00:23:03
        Churchill goes, "Mr. President," and he pulls the towel away.
       
    
      - 
        
00:23:09
        He says, "I have nothing to hide
       
    
      - 
        
00:23:11
        from the president of the United States."
       
    
      - 
        
00:23:13
        Churchill knew that that would get repeated.
       
    
      - 
        
00:23:14
        He knew that Roosevelt himself would tell that story.
       
    
      - 
        
00:23:18
        He knew that would circulate all through Congress
       
    
      - 
        
00:23:21
        and make the point he was trying to make.
       
    
      - 
        
00:23:24
        And those who are humorless often don't have
       
    
      - 
        
00:23:27
        the impact they could have because
       
    
      - 
        
00:23:29
        they're not helping a people with a smile
       
    
      - 
        
00:23:31
        explore the difference between what is and what ought to be.
       
    
      - 
        
00:23:35
        The sixth one in my in my little list of seven
       
    
      - 
        
00:23:38
        is embody the change.
       
    
      - 
        
00:23:40
        Because faith-based leadership in a time of crisis
       
    
      - 
        
00:23:46
        is not a matter of urging others
       
    
      - 
        
00:23:48
        to do what the leader won't do.
       
    
      - 
        
00:23:50
        The leader ought to be the greatest example of those things.
       
    
      - 
        
00:23:54
        So if we're asking people at a given time of crisis
       
    
      - 
        
00:23:57
        to sacrifice, the leader is the one who has to embody the change.
       
    
      - 
        
00:24:02
        Again, Winston Churchill, my favorite illustration,
       
    
      - 
        
00:24:04
        he was an exemplar.
       
    
      - 
        
00:24:06
        He sacrificed food.
       
    
      - 
        
00:24:07
        He taught, he made he made humorous comments and speeches
       
    
      - 
        
00:24:10
        about, "I sure will be glad when this war is over,
       
    
      - 
        
00:24:12
        I can get back to smoking the good cigars,"
       
    
      - 
        
00:24:14
        or whatever kind of castoff comments.
       
    
      - 
        
00:24:16
        And everybody was dealing with it.
       
    
      - 
        
00:24:18
        Everybody was dealing with a lesser beer,
       
    
      - 
        
00:24:19
        lesser quality of food, you know, no rubber, no other things,
       
    
      - 
        
00:24:22
        you know, things that we had to go to the war effort.
       
    
      - 
        
00:24:25
        But Churchill had fun with that, but he showed the people,
       
    
      - 
        
00:24:28
        he allow the people to see that
       
    
      - 
        
00:24:29
        he was going through the same deprivation that they were.
       
    
      - 
        
00:24:32
        So you embody the change. You live out the values.
       
    
      - 
        
00:24:36
        And then finally, for a faith-based leader going through crisis,
       
    
      - 
        
00:24:40
        there's this very important principle
       
    
      - 
        
00:24:42
        that I call remember the poetry.
       
    
      - 
        
00:24:44
        People are spirits. People are alive.
       
    
      - 
        
00:24:48
        People need to be inspired.
       
    
      - 
        
00:24:51
        People need to have poetry living in their souls.
       
    
      - 
        
00:24:55
        So a faith leader, a leader of faith going through time of crisis
       
    
      - 
        
00:25:00
        understands that people are living off of inner resources
       
    
      - 
        
00:25:05
        as they go through the crisis.
       
    
      - 
        
00:25:07
        They need to be inspired. They need to be encouraged.
       
    
      - 
        
00:25:10
        They need to be shown the higher vision.
       
    
      - 
        
00:25:14
        They need to be reminded of who they are and be able
       
    
      - 
        
00:25:17
        to live out powerfully certain visions and certain values.
       
    
      - 
        
00:25:21
        When we no longer are feeling the poetry, the life,
       
    
      - 
        
00:25:25
        the sacrifice, the devotion.
       
    
      - 
        
00:25:28
        If we're disconnected from the poetry of it,
       
    
      - 
        
00:25:30
        then we're not going to be inspirational leaders.
       
    
      - 
        
00:25:32
        And so we have to remember the poetry.
       
    
      - 
        
00:25:35
        You are going to be living through crisis.
       
    
      - 
        
00:25:37
        It comes to every generation.
       
    
      - 
        
00:25:39
        We're in it now, we'll be in it again.
       
    
      - 
        
00:25:42
        Our generation is crying out for this kind of leadership:
       
    
      - 
        
00:25:46
        people of faith who aren't narrow,
       
    
      - 
        
00:25:49
        but who are passionate and alive and aware,
       
    
      - 
        
00:25:52
        one hand on God and the other devoted to elevating people.
       
    
      - 
        
00:25:56
        So be an elevating leader in a time of crisis
       
    
      - 
        
00:26:02
        and fulfill what you're made to fulfill.
       
    
      - 
        
00:26:06
        - I hope something in you is sparked today
       
    
      - 
        
00:26:09
        and God start something new in your life.
       
    
      - 
        
00:26:11
        I know for me one new thing that I started a long time ago
       
    
      - 
        
00:26:15
        was giving my money as a way to honor God.
       
    
      - 
        
00:26:18
        These Spark Talks and everything else we do at Crossroads
       
    
      - 
        
00:26:21
        is really only made possible because normal people
       
    
      - 
        
00:26:23
        like you and I choose to give our money here
       
    
      - 
        
00:26:25
        to what we see God doing in and through this community.
       
    
      - 
        
00:26:28
        I feel great about that.
       
    
      - 
        
00:26:29
        And if you're with me, well done.
       
    
      - 
        
00:26:32
        If you want to join our team of givers,
       
    
      - 
        
00:26:35
        all you have to do is visit Crossroads.net/give
       
    
      - 
        
00:26:38
        or pick up the phone that I know is right beside you
       
    
      - 
        
00:26:41
        and text the word Crossroads to 313131.
       
    
      - 
        
00:26:45
        And another place that God might just spark something new
       
    
      - 
        
00:26:49
        is our podcast.
       
    
      - 
        
00:26:50
        We don't just do weekends. We do podcasts, too.
       
    
      - 
        
00:26:52
        I actually co-host one with a friend of mine named Latasha
       
    
      - 
        
00:26:55
        and it's all for women.
       
    
      - 
        
00:26:57
        So check out the podcast called IKR
       
    
      - 
        
00:26:59
        and the other great ones that we do too.
       
    
      - 
        
00:27:03
        - Life is crazier than ever these days.
       
    
      - 
        
00:27:05
        You could use some hope, some encouragement, fresh ideas,
       
    
      - 
        
00:27:08
        faith driven perspective and maybe even a little bit of laughter.
       
    
      - 
        
00:27:12
        We've got you covered.
       
    
      - 
        
00:27:14
        Parents, you are not alone.
       
    
      - 
        
00:27:16
        Ladies, it's time for some real talk.
       
    
      - 
        
00:27:18
        No matter who you are, stop settling.
       
    
      - 
        
00:27:21
        No matter what stage of life you're in,
       
    
      - 
        
00:27:23
        Crossroads podcasts have something to offer you.
       
    
      - 
        
00:27:26
        Find them today on all major podcast platforms.
       
    
      - 
        
00:27:43
        - Did you know that snakes could fly?
       
    
      - 
        
00:27:46
        Apparently they can and well, they glide more than they fly,
       
    
      - 
        
00:27:51
        but what's the difference? They're in the air now.
       
    
      - 
        
00:27:54
        You would think this news would surprise me, but it's 2020, right?
       
    
      - 
        
00:27:57
        Hi, my name is Jessica Brown and I'm a morning news anchor.
       
    
      - 
        
00:28:01
        I tell stories.
       
    
      - 
        
00:28:02
        Stories that might surprise you,
       
    
      - 
        
00:28:04
        stories that might inspire you, stories that might
       
    
      - 
        
00:28:07
        just give you resources that you need to know
       
    
      - 
        
00:28:09
        and stories that you may not even want to hear.
       
    
      - 
        
00:28:12
        It's a job that I really love
       
    
      - 
        
00:28:13
        and it really is a responsibility that I take seriously.
       
    
      - 
        
00:28:17
        I work mornings, so if you're wondering what that means for me,
       
    
      - 
        
00:28:21
        I'm up while you're probably in your second dream,
       
    
      - 
        
00:28:23
        2:30 in the morning, I'm awake.
       
    
      - 
        
00:28:27
        I'm up getting ready for work and I'm on air at 4:30
       
    
      - 
        
00:28:30
        for six and a half hours of nonstop news.
       
    
      - 
        
00:28:34
        It's a long day. It's a lot to take in.
       
    
      - 
        
00:28:38
        But the mornings are fun because you get to have a little fun.
       
    
      - 
        
00:28:41
        That's why I like those hours.
       
    
      - 
        
00:28:43
        You get to have some interaction,
       
    
      - 
        
00:28:45
        you get to hang out with your coworkers,
       
    
      - 
        
00:28:47
        and you get to have some moments to smile.
       
    
      - 
        
00:28:51
        Lately, though, there hasn't been a lot of fun happening.
       
    
      - 
        
00:28:55
        There's been nothing but, it seems like, doom and gloom.
       
    
      - 
        
00:29:00
        It feels like the world's ending; doesn't it?
       
    
      - 
        
00:29:02
        You've got the pandemic.
       
    
      - 
        
00:29:04
        You've got crisis after crisis, it feels.
       
    
      - 
        
00:29:07
        And we're in the middle of an election time.
       
    
      - 
        
00:29:09
        It's a lot to take. I get it.
       
    
      - 
        
00:29:11
        And I'm someone who likes order.
       
    
      - 
        
00:29:12
        And I'm not talking about order like
       
    
      - 
        
00:29:14
        organized shoes in your closet order or color coded order.
       
    
      - 
        
00:29:18
        I'm talking methodical order.
       
    
      - 
        
00:29:20
        2020 has been the opposite. It's been messy.
       
    
      - 
        
00:29:24
        Just when we're starting to kind of navigate this,
       
    
      - 
        
00:29:27
        trying to figure things out.
       
    
      - 
        
00:29:29
        We're kind of getting an idea of how
       
    
      - 
        
00:29:31
        things are going to look with this pandemic,
       
    
      - 
        
00:29:34
        boom, George Floyd happens.
       
    
      - 
        
00:29:38
        That one hit me in the gut.
       
    
      - 
        
00:29:39
        That one was heavy for me in an already heavy time.
       
    
      - 
        
00:29:44
        The weekend of the protests,
       
    
      - 
        
00:29:46
        the first round of protests that happened in the city,
       
    
      - 
        
00:29:48
        I remember being at home and being emotionally depleted.
       
    
      - 
        
00:29:58
        It was the worst.
       
    
      - 
        
00:29:59
        I made up my mind right then and there.
       
    
      - 
        
00:30:00
        I said, "You know what? I got to turn it off.
       
    
      - 
        
00:30:02
        I need a break, too.
       
    
      - 
        
00:30:05
        I'm not going to work on Monday.
       
    
      - 
        
00:30:06
        No one's going to make me feel bad about it.
       
    
      - 
        
00:30:08
        I'm not going into work on Monday.
       
    
      - 
        
00:30:10
        I can't go into work on Monday."
       
    
      - 
        
00:30:12
        I felt just so spent Sunday night.
       
    
      - 
        
00:30:16
        I was on the verge of calling my boss to be like,
       
    
      - 
        
00:30:19
        "I'm not coming in."
       
    
      - 
        
00:30:20
        And I felt this nudge that I needed to show up.
       
    
      - 
        
00:30:26
        I just felt like I needed to make sure I was there.
       
    
      - 
        
00:30:29
        I'm the only black person on air
       
    
      - 
        
00:30:32
        in the mornings on my show, my small team.
       
    
      - 
        
00:30:35
        I needed to be there.
       
    
      - 
        
00:30:37
        I needed to be there to ask questions.
       
    
      - 
        
00:30:40
        I needed to be there to give context.
       
    
      - 
        
00:30:41
        I needed to be there to give, you know, background
       
    
      - 
        
00:30:44
        that maybe might have been missed. Don't know.
       
    
      - 
        
00:30:46
        But I know for me, I felt like I needed to show up.
       
    
      - 
        
00:30:51
        So I walked into work on that Monday
       
    
      - 
        
00:30:52
        and I'm not going to lie, I didn't have a great day.
       
    
      - 
        
00:30:54
        I sometimes couldn't even get the words out
       
    
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00:30:58
        because how many times can I see
       
    
      - 
        
00:31:00
        that video of that officer's knee in George Floyds' neck?
       
    
      - 
        
00:31:04
        How many times am I going to see that video
       
    
      - 
        
00:31:05
        for six and a half hours?
       
    
      - 
        
00:31:07
        It was difficult, but I'm, to be honest,
       
    
      - 
        
00:31:12
        I'm super grateful I was there.
       
    
      - 
        
00:31:14
        There were so many moments where I had to give context,
       
    
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00:31:18
        that I gave context and I gave history.
       
    
      - 
        
00:31:21
        And I've gotten even some responses from so many viewers
       
    
      - 
        
00:31:23
        that were grateful to hear that point of view
       
    
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00:31:26
        that they never heard before.
       
    
      - 
        
00:31:27
        I was grateful to be there, even though I don't want to be there.
       
    
      - 
        
00:31:32
        I needed to be a voice in that room and I'm glad I was.
       
    
      - 
        
00:31:35
        Did I take Tuesday off?
       
    
      - 
        
00:31:36
        "Jess, did you take Tuesday off? You must have."
       
    
      - 
        
00:31:38
        No, Tuesday I went to work. Wednesday I went to work.
       
    
      - 
        
00:31:40
        Thursday I went to work. Friday. I went to work.
       
    
      - 
        
00:31:43
        I felt like I needed to be there.
       
    
      - 
        
00:31:44
        One thing I will say I did on Friday,
       
    
      - 
        
00:31:46
        I started to unplug social media.
       
    
      - 
        
00:31:50
        You know, if there's something that's triggering you,
       
    
      - 
        
00:31:52
        something that's making you feel panicky, edgy,
       
    
      - 
        
00:31:56
        that's something you have to turn off.
       
    
      - 
        
00:31:57
        That is the sign to unplug.
       
    
      - 
        
00:32:01
        And I know it might be weird for a news anchor
       
    
      - 
        
00:32:03
        to tell you to unplug receiving information,
       
    
      - 
        
00:32:06
        but do it if you're at your limit.
       
    
      - 
        
00:32:09
        I'm big on getting information.
       
    
      - 
        
00:32:11
        I'm big on seeking out information.
       
    
      - 
        
00:32:13
        I do not believe in living in a bubble
       
    
      - 
        
00:32:14
        that nothing's happening in this world.
       
    
      - 
        
00:32:16
        You've got to know what's going on in this world.
       
    
      - 
        
00:32:18
        But you also need to be equipped to handle
       
    
      - 
        
00:32:20
        when it's being thrown at you from 17 different directions.
       
    
      - 
        
00:32:23
        I remember when I mentioned that
       
    
      - 
        
00:32:25
        I did not want to go to work that day and went anyway.
       
    
      - 
        
00:32:29
        If it was up to me, you know, I would be --
       
    
      - 
        
00:32:31
        I'd be in bed and having my moment.
       
    
      - 
        
00:32:33
        But I felt like I needed to show up because
       
    
      - 
        
00:32:36
        I really feel like it was bigger than me
       
    
      - 
        
00:32:38
        why I was feeling that nudge to be there.
       
    
      - 
        
00:32:41
        And if you are having a day where you're like,
       
    
      - 
        
00:32:44
        I just can't go to work or I can't show up for this
       
    
      - 
        
00:32:47
        or I can't do this, and you're feeling that nudge to be there,
       
    
      - 
        
00:32:53
        there could be a bigger reason than you can imagine
       
    
      - 
        
00:32:56
        that God has for you in that moment.
       
    
      - 
        
00:32:58
        And you don't know why, you know, these things happen.
       
    
      - 
        
00:33:02
        Why do I have to be uncomfortable in this moment
       
    
      - 
        
00:33:04
        or why am I being pushed to do that?
       
    
      - 
        
00:33:06
        Sometimes you've got to fight through it
       
    
      - 
        
00:33:07
        for a bigger purpose beyond you.
       
    
      - 
        
00:33:09
        And I'm here for the purpose.
       
    
      - 
        
00:33:11
        or what impact that may have had.
       
    
      - 
        
00:33:14
        I mean, I know some.
       
    
      - 
        
00:33:15
        I've gotten some responses from some folks
       
    
      - 
        
00:33:17
        who learned some things they didn't know
       
    
      - 
        
00:33:20
        just from their own experience just because I showed up that day.
       
    
      - 
        
00:33:23
        So, I mean, I'm glad I was there.
       
    
      - 
        
00:33:26
        And maybe you'll be glad you push through too.
       
    
      - 
        
00:33:32
        - Sometimes the world just feels like
       
    
      - 
        
00:33:33
        it's spinning all around us.
       
    
      - 
        
00:33:35
        I felt that way myself a lot this year.
       
    
      - 
        
00:33:38
        That's exactly why we wrote the next song
       
    
      - 
        
00:33:40
        that we're going to sing together, to say out loud,
       
    
      - 
        
00:33:43
        to remind ourselves and to tell God,
       
    
      - 
        
00:33:45
        "We trust You to do things that we are not capable
       
    
      - 
        
00:33:48
        of doing and we know that You are able."
       
    
      - 
        
00:37:22
        I don't know about you, but I'm actually really grateful
       
    
      - 
        
00:37:24
        for some of the stories I've heard and some of the people
       
    
      - 
        
00:37:27
        that have spoken during our Spark Talks this year,
       
    
      - 
        
00:37:30
        but it doesn't have to end here.
       
    
      - 
        
00:37:32
        If you missed one or you heard one that you love
       
    
      - 
        
00:37:34
        and you want to share it with friends,
       
    
      - 
        
00:37:35
        you can go to Sparktalks.net
       
    
      - 
        
00:37:38
        and find every talk you've heard during the series.
       
    
      - 
        
00:37:41
        Share away.
       
    
      - 
        
00:37:43
        The best way to engage with Crossroads on a regular basis
       
    
      - 
        
00:37:47
        is actually to download the Crossroads app.
       
    
      - 
        
00:37:49
        I'm in there every day.
       
    
      - 
        
00:37:50
        You can read the Bible with our community.
       
    
      - 
        
00:37:52
        You can pray for one another.
       
    
      - 
        
00:37:54
        It's just a great way to have a part
       
    
      - 
        
00:37:56
        of your spiritual journey happening right in your phone,
       
    
      - 
        
00:37:59
        right in your hand all the time.
       
    
      - 
        
00:38:02
        If you want to engage with a real person in our community,
       
    
      - 
        
00:38:05
        you can go to Sparktalks.net and actually find
       
    
      - 
        
00:38:08
        a real guide to walk you into the next part of your adventure.
       
    
      - 
        
00:38:13
        And I don't know what that's going to be.
       
    
      - 
        
00:38:14
        I don't know what 2020 holds, but I feel better prepared
       
    
      - 
        
00:38:18
        as a result of the Spark Talks series.
       
    
      - 
        
00:38:20
        So join us next week for whatever is coming next.
       
    
      - 
        
00:38:26
        - Thanks for watching.
       
    
      - 
        
00:38:27
        and I want to help you go on your spiritual adventure.
       
    
      - 
        
00:38:31
        We have a community of people that gathers online
       
    
      - 
        
00:38:33
        to go on an adventure together through processing
       
    
      - 
        
00:38:36
        the weekend message and applying it week in and week out.
       
    
      - 
        
00:38:40
        We call this weekend follow up groups
       
    
      - 
        
00:38:42
        and you can join one today from anywhere you are
       
    
      - 
        
00:38:44
        by heading to Crossroads.net/onlinecommunity.
       
    
      - 
        
00:38:48
        It might just be the thing that takes you
       
    
      - 
        
00:38:49
        to the next place on your adventure with God.
       
    
      - 
        
00:38:52
        We'll see you next week.