Theological Status: COMPROMISED (Worldly/Sloppy)
Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Pergamum
❓ What do these grades mean?
🔍 Biblical Discernment: The 7 Church Parallels
The Cold Orthodox Parallel
Ephesus
Teaching that upholds doctrinal precision yet parallels the loss of the "first love"—the vital, motivating power of the Gospel (Rev 2:4).
The Compromised Parallel
Pergamum
Teaching that parallels churches tolerating the "doctrine of Balaam" through cultural accommodation (Rev 2:14), characterized by weak boundaries, sloppy theology, and worldly compromise.
Why strictly "Mark & Avoid"?
We do not issue this rating to attack the speaker, but to protect the listener. This ministry's overall teaching trend consistently deviates from sound doctrine. As per Romans 16:17, we identify these patterns so believers can guard their hearts.
We do not issue this rating to attack the speaker, but to protect the listener. This ministry's overall teaching trend consistently deviates from sound doctrine. As per Romans 16:17, we identify these patterns so believers can guard their hearts.
🧐 Overview
Theological Verdict & Summary
Sermon Summary: Do you feel unqualified for the tasks God has placed before you? This message explores how God doesn't call the equipped, but equips the called, turning our inadequacy into opportunities for His glory.
Pastoral Analysis: The sermon offers a warm, encouraging message centered on personal calling and service, supported by relatable personal testimonies. However, it fundamentally compromises the Gospel by presenting a thematic, moralistic appeal to human willingness rather than anchoring the call to serve in the redemptive work of Christ. While the pastoral tone is commendable, the theological framework lacks the power of the Gospel, relying instead on human effort and openness.
Biblical Parallel (Archetype): Pergamum — The sermon exhibits a compromised theological structure by relying on moralistic exhortations and personal anecdotes rather than the redemptive power of the Gospel. This reflects a tolerance for thematic preaching that substitutes the core message of Christ's atonement with a call to human willingness and service, characteristic of the Pergamum archetype where doctrinal boundaries are blurred by cultural accommodation.
Big Idea: God does not call the equipped; rather, God equips the called, demonstrating His nature through the growth and competence He provides in response to our willingness to serve. [00:37:10 ▶️ 📄]
📖 How they Handle Scripture & Jesus
- Primary Text: 2 Corinthians 3:4-6
- Usage Classification: Thematic
- Text-to-Talk Ratio: Low
- Pulpit Decorum: ✅ PASS - No coarse language or pejoratives detected.
✝️ Christological Focus: Moralistic/Imitative
"Christ is presented as an example of calling or the source of equipping, but not as the central redemptive figure whose work enables the call. The focus is on human imitation of willingness and service."
Scripture Saturation: Verses Read: 3 | Referenced: 3 | Alluded: 1
📖 View 1 Passages Read Aloud
-
2 Corinthians 3:4-6
[00:31:01 ▶️ 📄]
"Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the spirit. For the letter kills, but the spirit gives life."
Key References: Isaiah 61:1-2, Exodus 3, Matthew 4:18-22
🎙️ Sermon Content & Delivery
Word Count: 3,567 words
📌 View 8 Key Topics Addressed
-
Divine Calling and Competence
[00:37:47 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor debunks the lie that God only calls the fully equipped, citing 2 Corinthians to assert that competence comes from God, not resumes or perfection. -
Personal Vocation and Transformation
[00:38:36 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor shares her personal journey from aspiring CPA to religious studies and ministry, illustrating how God interrupts human plans to grow courage and gifts. -
Growth and Patience in Faith
[00:40:49 ▶️ 📄]
> Using the analogy of a rainforest, the pastor explains that God's work in us is often slow, quiet, and underground before it becomes visible. -
Divine Equipping vs. Human Competence
[00:45:12 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor argues that competence is a result of calling, not a prerequisite, citing her own experience and biblical figures like Moses and Paul. -
Overcoming Fear and Imposter Syndrome
[00:53:34 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor addresses the fear of being 'not enough' and reframes it as a voice not from God, encouraging listeners to say 'yes' before feeling ready. -
Spiritual Growth and Maturity
[00:50:12 ▶️ 📄]
> Using the metaphor of seeds and rainforests, the pastor explains that spiritual gifts and capabilities unfold over time through service and willingness. -
Divine Calling and Equipping
[00:56:33 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor contrasts human feelings of inadequacy ('I'm not good at that') with God's promise to equip those He calls, using the legacy of Mr. Dewey as a starting point. -
Legacy and Mentorship
[00:56:06 ▶️ 📄]
> Reflecting on Mr. Dewey's impact on young people as an example of saying 'yes' to God's call.
🖼️ View 9 Illustrations & Stories
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Sermon Illustration
[00:38:36 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor recounts her college plan to become a CPA and millionaire before 30, only to have God interrupt this plan by drawing her to religious studies classes, leading to a major change. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:41:30 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor describes her early ministry experience in Camden, SC, where she was 'green,' had no roadmap or mentor, and 'fumbled her way through' the job with the help of patient church members. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:42:18 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor shares a story about Pastor Duke Eisen persistently nudging her toward ordination, eventually giving her a book titled 'The Deacon, Ministry Through Words of Faith and Acts of Love' which resonated with her. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:43:39 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor describes her interview process for her current role at Williamson's Chapel, where she felt unqualified and texted her husband from the parking lot that she shouldn't even be there, yet proceeded and felt a sense of knowing. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:43:39 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor shares her personal journey of being invited to apply for a job at Williamson's Chapel despite feeling unqualified, and how she felt the Holy Spirit's confirmation during the interview. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:47:21 ▶️ 📄]
> The story of Christy, an introverted woman who was persuaded to teach Sunday school, used Legos to teach the Holy Week story to rambunctious boys, and grew into her role creatively. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:50:25 ▶️ 📄]
> The story of Dewey Ward, a quiet custodian who revealed hidden gifts by teaching preschool, leading VBS, and building spectacular sets, illustrating how God grows gifts in us over time. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:56:06 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor shares a personal anecdote about looking through pictures of Mr. Dewey, describing him as an amazing human being whose legacy lives on in the students he taught. He uses this to illustrate the concept of God tapping someone on the shoulder. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:56:58 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor shares his own personal testimony of being 'green' (inexperienced) many times in his journey and call, emphasizing that God equipped him along the way and continues to do so for scary new things.
🚀 View 4 Calls to Action
-
Pastoral Charge
[00:21:04 ▶️ 📄]
> Reflect on personal divine calling -
Pastoral Charge
[00:21:24 ▶️ 📄]
> Engage with young people regarding National Six-Seven Day -
Pastoral Charge
[00:56:33 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor urges the congregation to identify specific areas where they have been resisting God's call due to feelings of inadequacy and to respond with willingness. -
Pastoral Charge
[00:57:10 ▶️ 📄]
> To be open to the Holy Spirit's work in their lives.
🧭 Biblical Alignment Dashboard
Overall Verdict: Compromised / Weak
| Category | Status | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Gospel Presentation | ❌ FAIL | The Gospel Engine is not intact. The sermon failed the Safe Harbor check by utilizing the biblical text merely as a springboard for a thematic message on personal calling and service. It relies on moralistic exhortations to human willingness and openness rather than expositing the redemptive framework of the Gospel. |
| Soteriology | ⚠️ WEAK | Salvation and service are framed through human willingness and moral effort rather than divine grace and faith in Christ's atonement. |
| Bibliology | ✅ PASS | No specific errors detected regarding the nature or authority of Scripture in the audit reports. |
| Hermeneutic | ⚠️ WEAK | The sermon uses the text as a springboard for a thematic message rather than expositing the redemptive framework, leading to a moralistic application. |
| Theology Proper | ✅ PASS | No specific errors detected regarding the nature of God in the audit reports. |
| Sacramentology | ✅ PASS | No sacramental errors detected. |
| Confessional Depth | ❌ SHALLOW | The sermon lacks depth in explaining the theological necessity of the Gospel, focusing instead on practical application and personal experience. |
⚙️ The Core Gospel Framework
What is this? This section checks if the sermon contains the essential building blocks of the Gospel. We look for explicit, substantive mentions of God's holy standard, human inability, and Christ's finished work on the cross.
Why it matters for the final verdict: A complete Gospel framework protects a sermon from becoming man-centered. If a preacher gives commands for good behavior but leaves out the grace and atonement of the Gospel, it often results in a 🔴 Critical or 🟠 Major error for Moralism (teaching human self-improvement rather than reliance on Christ). However, if these Gospel elements are missing simply because the pastor is preaching a highly focused, practical message to mature believers (e.g., instructions on biblical marriage), our system applies a "Safe Harbor" pardon, graciously reducing the omission to a 🟡 Minor error.
Why it matters for the final verdict: A complete Gospel framework protects a sermon from becoming man-centered. If a preacher gives commands for good behavior but leaves out the grace and atonement of the Gospel, it often results in a 🔴 Critical or 🟠 Major error for Moralism (teaching human self-improvement rather than reliance on Christ). However, if these Gospel elements are missing simply because the pastor is preaching a highly focused, practical message to mature believers (e.g., instructions on biblical marriage), our system applies a "Safe Harbor" pardon, graciously reducing the omission to a 🟡 Minor error.
❌ The Law And Wrath: Not observed in the sermon.
❌ Total Depravity And Inability: Not observed in the sermon.
❌ Active Obedience Of Christ: Not observed in the sermon.
❌ The Cross And Atonement: Not observed in the sermon.
⚠️ Theological Concerns
🟠 Major Assumed Gospel (Thematic/Moralistic)
Root Cause: Moralism
The Belief/Behavior: The message relies on moralistic exhortations to human willingness and openness to the Holy Spirit, rather than expositing the redemptive framework of the Gospel.
Why It's Dangerous: This diminishes the power of the Gospel, leading the congregation to rely on their own moral effort and willingness rather than the saving work of Christ.
Biblical Correction: For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16)
✅ Commendations
Pastoral Warmth | Relatable Personal Testimonies
The speaker effectively uses personal stories of inadequacy and growth (e.g., college plans, early ministry in Camden) to connect with the congregation's feelings of unpreparedness.
Encouragement | Accessible Application
The message provides clear, practical encouragement for believers to step out in faith despite their fears, using concrete examples like Christy and Dewey Ward.
📜 Full Sermon Transcript (Audit)
Use the 📄 icons next to quotes above to automatically jump to their location in this raw transcript.
[00:09:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:09:40] Let's have a fun Sunday. This is the kickoff to our Vacation Bible School week, so if you're a first-time visitor, this is not what our sanctuary usually looks like. If you are a first-time visitor, we're so happy to have you here, and we invite you, as you leave the sanctuary today, to go say hi to Nancy and Harry here, who will be manning our welcome booth outside.
[00:10:10] you for being here and any information you might want to know, you can find out more about our church. For those of you that are online, we're so happy that you're with us this morning celebrating
[00:10:23] this exciting jungle day. We also have a barcode here that you can scan on your phone
[00:10:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:10:30] if you want to know more. For just a moment, my name is Carrie Wright. I am the worship leader
[00:17:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:17:59] here and so glad that you are in this space ready to worship in our jungle of worship time this morning. I want to share with you a little bit about our series that we have been, we started
[00:18:12] last week and we're moving through. If I say, did you get the call? You're going to think, what call is she talking about? In our house, if I said that to Clay, it would mean, did the school
[00:18:24] call you? Are you supposed to go pick up somebody? Oh, wait, did I forget to get somebody from somewhere? Or is school canceled? That happens a lot for us. So the call, we're talking about a
[00:18:36] call from God. And now you're thinking, I don't know about that. How does the call from God come to you? So all throughout scripture, we see the different people in the stories who hear from God
[00:18:50] in many different ways. Sometimes in a still, small voice. Sometimes in a big occurrence.
[00:18:57] Sometimes they run into Jesus in just the most unusual places. Jesus himself sees and hears the call when he is baptized. That is the beginning for us, too, as Christians. When Jesus is baptized by John, the Spirit descends upon him and says, this is my son in whom I am well pleased. And then
[00:19:21] he has the chance to tell his entire community what he is called to do. He says, as he reads from an Old Testament scroll, the Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim
[00:19:35] good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. So what is your
[00:19:50] calling? What is God calling you to do? You may be wondering, maybe I'm supposed to change jobs, or maybe I need to do this. Maybe I need to marry this person, or maybe I need to go to this school.
[00:20:04] But I'm suggesting that as God continues to call us, you'll see through our pastors and preaching that God often calls in ways that are not particular to vocation. Sometimes it is.
[00:20:18] And you'll see, we share our calling each week, each of your pastors will, but all Christians, all of us are called by God to lead and to guide and to move in different ways. So what is your
[00:20:35] calling. All throughout scripture, we'll find different characters, different people in the Bible who discover their calling in ways they never imagined. And sometimes it's hard. Sometimes it fits right into the way God has gifted you. Sometimes it's so far from what you imagine,
[00:20:55] but God gives you the ability to do it. So today, be reflecting on what your calling is as we continue to worship. We sang the joy. We're singing bless God. One of our callings collectively is to
[00:21:11] give praise and honor to the God who has redeemed us. And today is National Six-Seven Day and the girls back here would like you to know that. Everybody in here that is over 20 years old
[00:21:24] or not a teacher has no idea what you're talking about. Ask a young person. That'll come around at the end of the service when I tell you about something you can do with young people. Let's
[00:21:32] Stand and participate together.
[00:21:34] Bless God.
[00:21:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:21:35] To him who plays their hope and confidence in Jesus.
[00:22:04] He won't forsake.
[00:22:08] Bless those who seek his face.
[00:22:11] Who bend their knee and fix their gaze on Jesus.
[00:22:17] They won't be shaken.
[00:22:21] Come on and pray.
[00:23:00] They'll see.
[00:23:01] With ourselves and with God, we are all seeking something.
[00:26:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:26:39] Some of us long for a place to belong.
[00:26:42] Others seek to know who we are made to be.
[00:26:46] Some of us are hungry for connection, hungry for justice, or hungry for a glimpse of the divine.
[00:26:53] No matter what it is your soul longs for, there is good news to be found here.
[00:27:00] Friends, this is Christ's table.
[00:27:02] We are the guests.
[00:27:04] He is the host.
[00:27:05] there is a seat here with your name on it thanks be to god for a love like that the act of confessing our sin is not simply a recitation of our faults and wrongs but also an opportunity to receive
[00:27:21] god's mercy and share in that abundant grace confident of god's love for us let us offer our prayers first in silence gracious and loving God open our hearts so that we are able to admit to
[00:27:57] you the fullness of our lives that which is beautiful and good and that which is hurtful and hateful we confess that we do not follow Jesus in all that we do we love with condition
[00:28:11] we judge and condemn we cast the first stone and keep the logs in our own eyes we do not turn to you as the source of our healing forgive us we pray forgive our sin and empower us
[00:28:28] to be imitators of Christ in love and service amen friends in Christ know this the mercy of God is from everlasting to everlasting and I remind you of this surpassing grace. In Jesus Christ we
[00:28:47] are forgiven. Alleluia. Amen. As we move to our moment for our call for the offering I just want to thank you for your presence today, for your prayers that you give, for this amazing introduction
[00:29:04] to VBS that we get to offer over a hundred children this week who will come in from the community and fellowship and worship God together. And that is all made possible through your gifts and your offerings that you give. And I ask you to not only give with your gifts of money, but also
[00:29:23] give with your gifts of prayer. Pray for this VBS this week. For those of you that are going to be present and volunteering. Thank you for that as well. I want to remind you that we have these
[00:29:35] cards in the pews. So if you do give online or by mail, you can place this. Oh, I guess we don't do this in the service, do we? We do. Okay. Yeah. You can place this in the offering when it comes by
[00:29:48] and it's an invitation to be grateful for something and also to be in prayer for someone or something. Let us worship God with our gifts.
[00:31:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:31:01] Today's scripture comes from 2 Corinthians 3, 4 through 6. Such confidence we have through Christ
[00:35:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:35:10] before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the spirit. For the letter kills, but the spirit gives life.
[00:35:34] The word of God for all people. Thanks be to God.
[00:35:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:35:45] Good morning. For those of you who may not know me, oh, hold on. There we go. I'm Monica Humpel.
[00:35:52] I'm the Associate Pastor of Engagement, and I'm one of the pastors who will be sharing out my call story along with, you heard Whitney last week, and then you heard Pastor Wes. You'll get to hear Pastors TR and Pastor Carrie coming soon, but today you get to hear from me. For those of
[00:36:14] you, I'm sorry, I was about to start over my sermon again. So when I chose this date, I was absolutely thrilled to realize that was the Vacation Bible School Sunday. And this is why.
[00:36:26] I mean, how many of us get to preach with such a fabulous background before us? Before I started working here at Williamson's Chapel, I was a director of children's ministries. So this is super, super close to my heart to be standing here today. Because tomorrow, this room is going to be
[00:36:45] transformed into a rainforest for kiddos around our community as they explore the nature of God.
[00:36:54] And the more I thought about that phrase as I wrote my sermon, the nature of God, the more I realized something. God's calling on our lives may be one of the clearest parts of God's nature.
[00:37:10] Not just God's calling on our lives, but God's calling on our often unequipped and unsure lives. Because throughout scripture and throughout history, and honestly throughout my own life, God has always been in the business of growing things. God grows courage. God grows gifts. God
[00:37:32] grows people. And God grows people into kingdom people. And that's important because one of the biggest lies we sometimes tell ourselves is this, God only calls people who feel fully equipped.
[00:37:47] But scripture says something very different. Listen again to these words from Paul in 2nd Corinthians. Such confidence we have through Christ before God, not that we're competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. Our competence
[00:38:06] comes from God. Not from ourselves, not from our resumes, not from our confidence, not from our perfection, good gracious, but from God. And honestly, I'm really grateful for that because if God only called people who already had everything figured out, I most certainly would not
[00:38:26] be standing here in front of you today. I mean, not even close. When I was in college, I was absolutely sure I was convinced what my future was going to look like. And here's, let me paint
[00:38:36] a picture. I was going to be a CPA. Anyone who knows me, seriously. Yes. I was going to sit behind a desk and crunch numbers. Me. That's what I wanted to do. I was going to go to business school and
[00:38:49] get that CPA. I was going to work for my father's business. I was going to manage the finances of my father's business. I was going to make a, okay, this is the good part. I was going to make a lot
[00:38:59] of money and I was going to be a millionaire before I was 30. Anybody who's a CPA in this room, you didn't know you made that much money, did you? Well, that was the plan anyway. Somewhere
[00:39:10] along the way, God interrupted my plan. My junior year of college, I was, I found myself very drawn to these extra classes I was taking in religious studies. I absolutely loved them. I could have
[00:39:30] like spent all day in these classes. I really couldn't explain it at the time. All I knew is I I needed to be able to talk theology and be a part of these classes and so I changed my major
[00:39:45] my junior year from business administration to religious studies you know I actually had no idea at that point what I was going to do with this degree and to be completely transparent with you I grew up in small United Methodist churches we there were there was no staff there was a pastor
[00:40:05] there was maybe a part-time secretary and maybe a part-time choir director organist or whatnot I didn't know what I was going to do with this degree at all matter of fact I had never met
[00:40:16] nor seen nor heard preach a female pastor I didn't even know that was a thing and I know that sounds crazy but I grew up in a small town so you need to give me a little little bit of grace I had no
[00:40:27] idea what I was going to do with this but all I knew was this I could feel God pulling me somewhere I didn't understand it. I couldn't explain it, but I knew I needed to follow it. And looking back
[00:40:40] now, I realized something. God was planting seeds in me long before I understood what was growing.
[00:40:49] And that is part of the nature of God too. You see, a rainforest does not appear overnight.
[00:40:56] Growth happens slowly, quietly underneath the surface before anyone can see the full beauty of it. And that's how calling often works. God starts growing something in us before we're able to actually name it. Well, eventually I went to seminary because, I mean, honestly, what in the
[00:41:14] world am I going to do with an undergraduate degree in religious studies? And no, I did not think that through, but I went to seminary. And before I even graduated seminary, believe it or not, I had two job offers. Now I want to, again, be very transparent. Did I know what I was doing?
[00:41:30] Oh, absolutely not. I mean, not even a little bit. I accepted a position at a United Methodist church in Camden, South Carolina as their director of Christian education. I was so green. I cannot tell you how I was more green than what you see behind me right now. I had no roadmap. I had no
[00:41:49] mentor. I had no experience and I had no clue. I fumbled my way through that job. And thank goodness for very patient church members who loved me through it and gave me room to grow, quite honestly.
[00:42:04] But I remember being terrified because that's the thing about calling.
[00:42:08] Sometimes you say yes with your knees shaking.
[00:42:12] And over time, God continued nudging me through other people.
[00:42:18] When I served at Huntersville United Methodist, I had a pastor named Duke Eisen, who absolutely would not leave me alone about ordination.
[00:42:26] I mean, every day it was, well, have you thought about ordination?
[00:42:30] Monica, have you heard about the deacon program?
[00:42:32] I want you to do this.
[00:42:33] And I would say, Duke, I'm doing the job.
[00:42:37] Why do I need to be ordained to do what I do?
[00:42:39] I feel like I'm doing okay.
[00:42:40] He's like, well, you're doing a great job, but have you thought about it?
[00:42:43] I just see something in you.
[00:42:45] Finally, he just said, listen, I just want you to read a book.
[00:42:48] And believe it or not, I dug this book up.
[00:42:50] I still have it.
[00:42:52] Here's the book.
[00:42:53] It's called The Deacon, Ministry Through Words of Faith and Acts of Love. And Carrie, did you have to read this?
[00:43:00] Not that one? Okay. So I think I'm showing my age here. So he had me read this and I read it and went, oh my gosh, this is me. This is me. So I followed that nudge after reading this book and
[00:43:19] hearing Duke into ordained ministry. Years later, a colleague, Andrea Smith, and some of you may remember Andrea because she served right here at Williamson's Chapel. She called me about a position here and she emailed me the job description and I read it and I called her back
[00:43:39] and I went, um, I'm not qualified for this. I mean, supervising staff, leadership responsibilities, administrative oversight. I thought, why bother? Andrea, there's no way they're even going to want to interview me. And she said, you know what? Just submit your resume. It doesn't hurt to be
[00:43:58] interviewed. You never know what God has in store for you. And I'll never forget that phone conversation with her. So they did invite me for an interview to my surprise. And I came and I remember sitting in the car. I actually remember exactly the parking spot I was in.
[00:44:12] And I texted my husband and I said, uh, Steve, they, they're not going to hire me. Why am I even hear. And he just texted me back and said, just go in, just go in. And so I did. Somewhere
[00:44:26] during that interview, I just knew. I walked out and I got back in my car and I texted Steve and I said, oh my gosh, this is where I'm supposed to be. Later, after working here for a little while,
[00:44:40] I found out that as I left that interview room, the people on that interview team looked at each other, grabbed each other's hands, and prayed because they felt it too. That was the Holy Spirit
[00:44:55] at work. Now, was I fully equipped for this role? Oh, not even remotely. I had to supervise six people. I had to learn boundaries, leadership, administration, even delegation, and I had to grow.
[00:45:12] I had to allow myself to be stretched and challenged, but because God called me here, God equipped me here. And that's exactly what Paul is talking about. Our competence comes from God. Now, here's the thing. Calling doesn't come after competence. Competence grows through
[00:45:33] our calling. If you don't believe me, let's take a look at some of the most influential leaders of our faith. Now, Moses, was he equipped when he saw that burning bush and God was telling him to go
[00:45:48] free his people from being slaves in Egypt? Well, he certainly didn't think he was because he spent a good amount of time arguing with said bush, okay? But along the way, God equipped Moses by putting
[00:46:01] the right people with him to help him accomplish what he was called to do. Gave him this really cool staff that could demonstrate the mighty power of God and even gave him the Ten Commandments.
[00:46:14] And then there are the disciples. Now, if you consider the background of the twelve, none of them were necessarily scholars. They were regular people just like you and me.
[00:46:22] They were fishermen. They were tax collectors, physicians. Jesus equipped them every step of the way. All they had to do was say, yes. Then there was the author of today's scripture, Paul.
[00:46:36] Now he was indeed actually a Jewish scholar, but he had spent his life persecuting the very people God was calling him to lead. You want to talk about ill-equipped, but God uses even the enemy
[00:46:50] of the Christian people to build the very church we worship in today. Paul was equipped along the way and through today's passage is telling the people of Corinth that God will equip them as well. That is the nature of God. God provides competence that we need to fulfill his call
[00:47:09] on our lives. And honestly, I have seen this happen over and over again, even in the laity of the church. I think about a woman named Christy at one of my previous churches, and she was
[00:47:21] extraordinarily introverted, but very artistic. And one day I watched children just gravitate to her as she was painting something in the church. And I walked over because I was a children's director at the time. And I said, hey, have you considered children's ministry? The panic on her
[00:47:37] face was palpable. And she went, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I don't know the Bible well enough to teach anybody about anything. You could just tell she was very anxious. But eventually I wore
[00:47:47] her down because I'm good at that. And she agreed. She agreed to teach one Sunday. Okay, fine. I'll do it one Sunday. Afterwards, she came to me and she went, oh my gosh, this was the best day of my
[00:48:00] life, sign me up. She actually became the third grade Sunday school teacher. She taught all year and the kids, including at the time my son Gavin, could not wait to be in Miss Christie's class and
[00:48:14] I want to show you why. She was so incredibly creative, especially with my son's class who happened to be mostly boys and very rambunctious boys at that she wanted to find a really interesting way to engage them in scripture so she brought in a bunch of legos and she had the kids create
[00:48:31] the holy week story with legos and i have pictures do you guys have this picture oh okay so i want you stay on this picture so on the right is the garden of gethsemane with lions and tigers and
[00:48:46] some snakes and we got so the kids were very creative in creating that okay go to the next slide oh wait that's a close-up you didn't know there were elephants but there were um according
[00:48:57] to the children there were okay you can go to the next slide okay so you did not know they did parkour on the top of the temple did you okay my son so if you can just imagine my eight-year-old
[00:49:09] son and he's explaining all of this to me and of course you know I had to ask well what's up with well mom that's parkour do you not know what parkour it's a parkour on the temple okay what's
[00:49:19] the next picture okay so this is the last supper and I said sweetie what what are the yellow what are the yellow dots on the table for he goes of course looking at me like I have mom goes that's
[00:49:31] lemonade they got they gotta have something to drink with their bread I mean ew and so So, Christy's creativity and her ability to connect with these kids on their level helped them understand a story that, quite frankly, for an eight-year-old is not super easy to understand.
[00:49:52] The kids loved Miss Christy, and my son talked about Miss Christy for a very long time.
[00:50:00] Now, was she perfect at it immediately? No, I imagine she was not.
[00:50:04] My guess is that she kind of figured all this out over time as to how to engage these children.
[00:50:10] She had to grow into it.
[00:50:12] And friends, that's a perfect example of how God equips us through our calling.
[00:50:17] God plants and nourishes seeds along the way, which brings me to Dewey.
[00:50:25] And friends, that's a, I'm sorry, and some of you already know where I'm going with this because you may have known and loved Dewey as well.
[00:50:33] Dewey Ward was one of the quietest people on this campus.
[00:50:37] You'd see him walking around, fixing things here and there, and on Wednesday evenings, he would be here emptying the trash, cleaning off tables, basically doing anything that needed to be done.
[00:50:48] Always humble and always behind the scenes.
[00:50:52] When I first started working here, Holly told me that he was teaching a preschool class and he led a group in Vacation Bible School.
[00:51:00] And I want to show you some pictures.
[00:51:02] so this is Dewey if you didn't meet him one of the nicest people you you'll ever meet go to the next slide look at look at that little look at go to the next one I mean the children adored Mr. Dewey
[00:51:18] go to the next one he would even dance with the kids I love that you can go to the next one oh that's my favorite look at that look at now I had the most fun digging these pictures up
[00:51:32] but I absolutely love these I was really fascinated because honestly he had barely said two words to me the whole time I had worked here but I watched him with those children and his entire personality changed you can go to the next one now I want you I want to stop here
[00:51:50] because there's another person that you may not know can cut a rug and have a lot of fun with kids and that's Mr. George Irvin if you look like right there and and I think everybody today needs
[00:52:00] George sits behind the usher desk you need to go and say George you got moves look there he is but that's Dewey on the left and that's Mr. George on the right two beloved Vacation Bible School leaders
[00:52:12] one year Dewey offered to help build sets for VBS and I want to show you these beautiful now ignore the people in front but behind that's one set he built can you go to the next slide
[00:52:25] and look at that beautiful set suddenly we discover gifts that no one knew Dewey even had the sets he built were just spectacular what an incredibly gifted man sadly we lost Dewey back in 2018 but his willingness to answer God's call is still producing fruit today and every one
[00:52:47] of those children that absolutely adored him see a rainforest is fascinating because so much life is hidden at first things are growing underneath the surface that you may not even notice yet that was Dewey. God had planted gifts in him that slowly unfolded over time because he was willing
[00:53:09] to say yes. One yes led to another yes. Teaching led to building. Building led to deeper connection.
[00:53:19] Service led to purpose. And the entire church was blessed because one quiet man was willing to let God grow something in him that is the nature of God fear often tells us if you're not
[00:53:34] fully developed yet don't begin but creation itself teaches us otherwise why do we expect ourselves to already be fully grown before saying yes to God seeds don't become rainforests overnight growth takes time and some of you right now are standing at the edge of something
[00:53:54] You feel that nudge. Maybe somebody has invited you to serve, to lead, to teach, to mentor, to step into something new, and immediately your mind starts listing reasons why you're just not the right person. I'm not equipped. I don't know enough. I'm not spiritual enough. Somebody else
[00:54:15] would do a much better job than me. But dear friends, that voice is not from God. It's not a voice that we need to listen to. Our competence comes from God. That is what we need to listen to.
[00:54:33] And maybe today the invitation is simply this. Stop waiting to feel fully ready before saying yes to God, because if you do, you probably never will. God is not waiting for you to become perfect
[00:54:47] before using you. God is waiting for your willingness. And this week, our children are going to walk into a rainforest and learn about the nature of God. And maybe one of the things we adults need to remember too is this. Our God is a God who grows things. God grows courage. God grows
[00:55:07] servants. God grows leaders. And God grows our faith. And maybe that nudge that we keep kind of brushing aside, maybe that's not just some random thought. Maybe that is the Holy Spirit. Maybe God has already been planting seeds in us for years. Maybe we are the ones being called in the name of
[00:55:30] the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. I have. Thank you so much for being part of our worship experience today and joining us as I shared a message with us about how God doesn't
[00:55:47] call the equipped, God equips the called. I hope this message resonated with you and I have to be honest, as I was putting this message together for today, remembering Mr. Dewey just warmed my heart. As I was looking through picture after picture, I was thinking to myself,
[00:56:06] wow, what an incredible example of what it means when God taps you on the shoulder and you say yes to something maybe you've never done before. We all miss him around here. He's an amazing human
[00:56:19] being, but his legacy exists in the young people today who had Mr. Dewey as a teacher, who knew Mr. Dewey and loved him dearly. So how is God tapping you on the shoulder today?
[00:56:33] What have you been going, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You don't want me. I don't know how to do that. I'm not good at that. What is it that you have been hedging around because you just
[00:56:44] don't feel equipped, that maybe God is saying, yeah, but I can equip you for it. Because I promise you this, in my journey, in my call, I was green so many times, I can't even begin to
[00:56:58] tell you, God equipped me along the way. And I'm so grateful he did. God is continuing to equip me to do brand new things that are so scary, but that I'm leaning into in such a way that God is
[00:57:10] blessing and blessings are coming to me and to others through it. I invite you to be open. I invite you to be open to what the Holy Spirit is doing with your life and around you. Be listening
[00:57:25] for that nudge and don't be scared to take the jump. All right. So Vacation Bible School starts tomorrow. And as I encouraged us last week, I encourage us still now, especially now, each night this week, tonight, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
[00:09:40] Let's have a fun Sunday. This is the kickoff to our Vacation Bible School week, so if you're a first-time visitor, this is not what our sanctuary usually looks like. If you are a first-time visitor, we're so happy to have you here, and we invite you, as you leave the sanctuary today, to go say hi to Nancy and Harry here, who will be manning our welcome booth outside.
[00:10:10] you for being here and any information you might want to know, you can find out more about our church. For those of you that are online, we're so happy that you're with us this morning celebrating
[00:10:23] this exciting jungle day. We also have a barcode here that you can scan on your phone
[00:10:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:10:30] if you want to know more. For just a moment, my name is Carrie Wright. I am the worship leader
[00:17:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:17:59] here and so glad that you are in this space ready to worship in our jungle of worship time this morning. I want to share with you a little bit about our series that we have been, we started
[00:18:12] last week and we're moving through. If I say, did you get the call? You're going to think, what call is she talking about? In our house, if I said that to Clay, it would mean, did the school
[00:18:24] call you? Are you supposed to go pick up somebody? Oh, wait, did I forget to get somebody from somewhere? Or is school canceled? That happens a lot for us. So the call, we're talking about a
[00:18:36] call from God. And now you're thinking, I don't know about that. How does the call from God come to you? So all throughout scripture, we see the different people in the stories who hear from God
[00:18:50] in many different ways. Sometimes in a still, small voice. Sometimes in a big occurrence.
[00:18:57] Sometimes they run into Jesus in just the most unusual places. Jesus himself sees and hears the call when he is baptized. That is the beginning for us, too, as Christians. When Jesus is baptized by John, the Spirit descends upon him and says, this is my son in whom I am well pleased. And then
[00:19:21] he has the chance to tell his entire community what he is called to do. He says, as he reads from an Old Testament scroll, the Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim
[00:19:35] good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. So what is your
[00:19:50] calling? What is God calling you to do? You may be wondering, maybe I'm supposed to change jobs, or maybe I need to do this. Maybe I need to marry this person, or maybe I need to go to this school.
[00:20:04] But I'm suggesting that as God continues to call us, you'll see through our pastors and preaching that God often calls in ways that are not particular to vocation. Sometimes it is.
[00:20:18] And you'll see, we share our calling each week, each of your pastors will, but all Christians, all of us are called by God to lead and to guide and to move in different ways. So what is your
[00:20:35] calling. All throughout scripture, we'll find different characters, different people in the Bible who discover their calling in ways they never imagined. And sometimes it's hard. Sometimes it fits right into the way God has gifted you. Sometimes it's so far from what you imagine,
[00:20:55] but God gives you the ability to do it. So today, be reflecting on what your calling is as we continue to worship. We sang the joy. We're singing bless God. One of our callings collectively is to
[00:21:11] give praise and honor to the God who has redeemed us. And today is National Six-Seven Day and the girls back here would like you to know that. Everybody in here that is over 20 years old
[00:21:24] or not a teacher has no idea what you're talking about. Ask a young person. That'll come around at the end of the service when I tell you about something you can do with young people. Let's
[00:21:32] Stand and participate together.
[00:21:34] Bless God.
[00:21:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:21:35] To him who plays their hope and confidence in Jesus.
[00:22:04] He won't forsake.
[00:22:08] Bless those who seek his face.
[00:22:11] Who bend their knee and fix their gaze on Jesus.
[00:22:17] They won't be shaken.
[00:22:21] Come on and pray.
[00:23:00] They'll see.
[00:23:01] With ourselves and with God, we are all seeking something.
[00:26:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:26:39] Some of us long for a place to belong.
[00:26:42] Others seek to know who we are made to be.
[00:26:46] Some of us are hungry for connection, hungry for justice, or hungry for a glimpse of the divine.
[00:26:53] No matter what it is your soul longs for, there is good news to be found here.
[00:27:00] Friends, this is Christ's table.
[00:27:02] We are the guests.
[00:27:04] He is the host.
[00:27:05] there is a seat here with your name on it thanks be to god for a love like that the act of confessing our sin is not simply a recitation of our faults and wrongs but also an opportunity to receive
[00:27:21] god's mercy and share in that abundant grace confident of god's love for us let us offer our prayers first in silence gracious and loving God open our hearts so that we are able to admit to
[00:27:57] you the fullness of our lives that which is beautiful and good and that which is hurtful and hateful we confess that we do not follow Jesus in all that we do we love with condition
[00:28:11] we judge and condemn we cast the first stone and keep the logs in our own eyes we do not turn to you as the source of our healing forgive us we pray forgive our sin and empower us
[00:28:28] to be imitators of Christ in love and service amen friends in Christ know this the mercy of God is from everlasting to everlasting and I remind you of this surpassing grace. In Jesus Christ we
[00:28:47] are forgiven. Alleluia. Amen. As we move to our moment for our call for the offering I just want to thank you for your presence today, for your prayers that you give, for this amazing introduction
[00:29:04] to VBS that we get to offer over a hundred children this week who will come in from the community and fellowship and worship God together. And that is all made possible through your gifts and your offerings that you give. And I ask you to not only give with your gifts of money, but also
[00:29:23] give with your gifts of prayer. Pray for this VBS this week. For those of you that are going to be present and volunteering. Thank you for that as well. I want to remind you that we have these
[00:29:35] cards in the pews. So if you do give online or by mail, you can place this. Oh, I guess we don't do this in the service, do we? We do. Okay. Yeah. You can place this in the offering when it comes by
[00:29:48] and it's an invitation to be grateful for something and also to be in prayer for someone or something. Let us worship God with our gifts.
[00:31:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:31:01] Today's scripture comes from 2 Corinthians 3, 4 through 6. Such confidence we have through Christ
[00:35:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:35:10] before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the spirit. For the letter kills, but the spirit gives life.
[00:35:34] The word of God for all people. Thanks be to God.
[00:35:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:35:45] Good morning. For those of you who may not know me, oh, hold on. There we go. I'm Monica Humpel.
[00:35:52] I'm the Associate Pastor of Engagement, and I'm one of the pastors who will be sharing out my call story along with, you heard Whitney last week, and then you heard Pastor Wes. You'll get to hear Pastors TR and Pastor Carrie coming soon, but today you get to hear from me. For those of
[00:36:14] you, I'm sorry, I was about to start over my sermon again. So when I chose this date, I was absolutely thrilled to realize that was the Vacation Bible School Sunday. And this is why.
[00:36:26] I mean, how many of us get to preach with such a fabulous background before us? Before I started working here at Williamson's Chapel, I was a director of children's ministries. So this is super, super close to my heart to be standing here today. Because tomorrow, this room is going to be
[00:36:45] transformed into a rainforest for kiddos around our community as they explore the nature of God.
[00:36:54] And the more I thought about that phrase as I wrote my sermon, the nature of God, the more I realized something. God's calling on our lives may be one of the clearest parts of God's nature.
[00:37:10] Not just God's calling on our lives, but God's calling on our often unequipped and unsure lives. Because throughout scripture and throughout history, and honestly throughout my own life, God has always been in the business of growing things. God grows courage. God grows gifts. God
[00:37:32] grows people. And God grows people into kingdom people. And that's important because one of the biggest lies we sometimes tell ourselves is this, God only calls people who feel fully equipped.
[00:37:47] But scripture says something very different. Listen again to these words from Paul in 2nd Corinthians. Such confidence we have through Christ before God, not that we're competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. Our competence
[00:38:06] comes from God. Not from ourselves, not from our resumes, not from our confidence, not from our perfection, good gracious, but from God. And honestly, I'm really grateful for that because if God only called people who already had everything figured out, I most certainly would not
[00:38:26] be standing here in front of you today. I mean, not even close. When I was in college, I was absolutely sure I was convinced what my future was going to look like. And here's, let me paint
[00:38:36] a picture. I was going to be a CPA. Anyone who knows me, seriously. Yes. I was going to sit behind a desk and crunch numbers. Me. That's what I wanted to do. I was going to go to business school and
[00:38:49] get that CPA. I was going to work for my father's business. I was going to manage the finances of my father's business. I was going to make a, okay, this is the good part. I was going to make a lot
[00:38:59] of money and I was going to be a millionaire before I was 30. Anybody who's a CPA in this room, you didn't know you made that much money, did you? Well, that was the plan anyway. Somewhere
[00:39:10] along the way, God interrupted my plan. My junior year of college, I was, I found myself very drawn to these extra classes I was taking in religious studies. I absolutely loved them. I could have
[00:39:30] like spent all day in these classes. I really couldn't explain it at the time. All I knew is I I needed to be able to talk theology and be a part of these classes and so I changed my major
[00:39:45] my junior year from business administration to religious studies you know I actually had no idea at that point what I was going to do with this degree and to be completely transparent with you I grew up in small United Methodist churches we there were there was no staff there was a pastor
[00:40:05] there was maybe a part-time secretary and maybe a part-time choir director organist or whatnot I didn't know what I was going to do with this degree at all matter of fact I had never met
[00:40:16] nor seen nor heard preach a female pastor I didn't even know that was a thing and I know that sounds crazy but I grew up in a small town so you need to give me a little little bit of grace I had no
[00:40:27] idea what I was going to do with this but all I knew was this I could feel God pulling me somewhere I didn't understand it. I couldn't explain it, but I knew I needed to follow it. And looking back
[00:40:40] now, I realized something. God was planting seeds in me long before I understood what was growing.
[00:40:49] And that is part of the nature of God too. You see, a rainforest does not appear overnight.
[00:40:56] Growth happens slowly, quietly underneath the surface before anyone can see the full beauty of it. And that's how calling often works. God starts growing something in us before we're able to actually name it. Well, eventually I went to seminary because, I mean, honestly, what in the
[00:41:14] world am I going to do with an undergraduate degree in religious studies? And no, I did not think that through, but I went to seminary. And before I even graduated seminary, believe it or not, I had two job offers. Now I want to, again, be very transparent. Did I know what I was doing?
[00:41:30] Oh, absolutely not. I mean, not even a little bit. I accepted a position at a United Methodist church in Camden, South Carolina as their director of Christian education. I was so green. I cannot tell you how I was more green than what you see behind me right now. I had no roadmap. I had no
[00:41:49] mentor. I had no experience and I had no clue. I fumbled my way through that job. And thank goodness for very patient church members who loved me through it and gave me room to grow, quite honestly.
[00:42:04] But I remember being terrified because that's the thing about calling.
[00:42:08] Sometimes you say yes with your knees shaking.
[00:42:12] And over time, God continued nudging me through other people.
[00:42:18] When I served at Huntersville United Methodist, I had a pastor named Duke Eisen, who absolutely would not leave me alone about ordination.
[00:42:26] I mean, every day it was, well, have you thought about ordination?
[00:42:30] Monica, have you heard about the deacon program?
[00:42:32] I want you to do this.
[00:42:33] And I would say, Duke, I'm doing the job.
[00:42:37] Why do I need to be ordained to do what I do?
[00:42:39] I feel like I'm doing okay.
[00:42:40] He's like, well, you're doing a great job, but have you thought about it?
[00:42:43] I just see something in you.
[00:42:45] Finally, he just said, listen, I just want you to read a book.
[00:42:48] And believe it or not, I dug this book up.
[00:42:50] I still have it.
[00:42:52] Here's the book.
[00:42:53] It's called The Deacon, Ministry Through Words of Faith and Acts of Love. And Carrie, did you have to read this?
[00:43:00] Not that one? Okay. So I think I'm showing my age here. So he had me read this and I read it and went, oh my gosh, this is me. This is me. So I followed that nudge after reading this book and
[00:43:19] hearing Duke into ordained ministry. Years later, a colleague, Andrea Smith, and some of you may remember Andrea because she served right here at Williamson's Chapel. She called me about a position here and she emailed me the job description and I read it and I called her back
[00:43:39] and I went, um, I'm not qualified for this. I mean, supervising staff, leadership responsibilities, administrative oversight. I thought, why bother? Andrea, there's no way they're even going to want to interview me. And she said, you know what? Just submit your resume. It doesn't hurt to be
[00:43:58] interviewed. You never know what God has in store for you. And I'll never forget that phone conversation with her. So they did invite me for an interview to my surprise. And I came and I remember sitting in the car. I actually remember exactly the parking spot I was in.
[00:44:12] And I texted my husband and I said, uh, Steve, they, they're not going to hire me. Why am I even hear. And he just texted me back and said, just go in, just go in. And so I did. Somewhere
[00:44:26] during that interview, I just knew. I walked out and I got back in my car and I texted Steve and I said, oh my gosh, this is where I'm supposed to be. Later, after working here for a little while,
[00:44:40] I found out that as I left that interview room, the people on that interview team looked at each other, grabbed each other's hands, and prayed because they felt it too. That was the Holy Spirit
[00:44:55] at work. Now, was I fully equipped for this role? Oh, not even remotely. I had to supervise six people. I had to learn boundaries, leadership, administration, even delegation, and I had to grow.
[00:45:12] I had to allow myself to be stretched and challenged, but because God called me here, God equipped me here. And that's exactly what Paul is talking about. Our competence comes from God. Now, here's the thing. Calling doesn't come after competence. Competence grows through
[00:45:33] our calling. If you don't believe me, let's take a look at some of the most influential leaders of our faith. Now, Moses, was he equipped when he saw that burning bush and God was telling him to go
[00:45:48] free his people from being slaves in Egypt? Well, he certainly didn't think he was because he spent a good amount of time arguing with said bush, okay? But along the way, God equipped Moses by putting
[00:46:01] the right people with him to help him accomplish what he was called to do. Gave him this really cool staff that could demonstrate the mighty power of God and even gave him the Ten Commandments.
[00:46:14] And then there are the disciples. Now, if you consider the background of the twelve, none of them were necessarily scholars. They were regular people just like you and me.
[00:46:22] They were fishermen. They were tax collectors, physicians. Jesus equipped them every step of the way. All they had to do was say, yes. Then there was the author of today's scripture, Paul.
[00:46:36] Now he was indeed actually a Jewish scholar, but he had spent his life persecuting the very people God was calling him to lead. You want to talk about ill-equipped, but God uses even the enemy
[00:46:50] of the Christian people to build the very church we worship in today. Paul was equipped along the way and through today's passage is telling the people of Corinth that God will equip them as well. That is the nature of God. God provides competence that we need to fulfill his call
[00:47:09] on our lives. And honestly, I have seen this happen over and over again, even in the laity of the church. I think about a woman named Christy at one of my previous churches, and she was
[00:47:21] extraordinarily introverted, but very artistic. And one day I watched children just gravitate to her as she was painting something in the church. And I walked over because I was a children's director at the time. And I said, hey, have you considered children's ministry? The panic on her
[00:47:37] face was palpable. And she went, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I don't know the Bible well enough to teach anybody about anything. You could just tell she was very anxious. But eventually I wore
[00:47:47] her down because I'm good at that. And she agreed. She agreed to teach one Sunday. Okay, fine. I'll do it one Sunday. Afterwards, she came to me and she went, oh my gosh, this was the best day of my
[00:48:00] life, sign me up. She actually became the third grade Sunday school teacher. She taught all year and the kids, including at the time my son Gavin, could not wait to be in Miss Christie's class and
[00:48:14] I want to show you why. She was so incredibly creative, especially with my son's class who happened to be mostly boys and very rambunctious boys at that she wanted to find a really interesting way to engage them in scripture so she brought in a bunch of legos and she had the kids create
[00:48:31] the holy week story with legos and i have pictures do you guys have this picture oh okay so i want you stay on this picture so on the right is the garden of gethsemane with lions and tigers and
[00:48:46] some snakes and we got so the kids were very creative in creating that okay go to the next slide oh wait that's a close-up you didn't know there were elephants but there were um according
[00:48:57] to the children there were okay you can go to the next slide okay so you did not know they did parkour on the top of the temple did you okay my son so if you can just imagine my eight-year-old
[00:49:09] son and he's explaining all of this to me and of course you know I had to ask well what's up with well mom that's parkour do you not know what parkour it's a parkour on the temple okay what's
[00:49:19] the next picture okay so this is the last supper and I said sweetie what what are the yellow what are the yellow dots on the table for he goes of course looking at me like I have mom goes that's
[00:49:31] lemonade they got they gotta have something to drink with their bread I mean ew and so So, Christy's creativity and her ability to connect with these kids on their level helped them understand a story that, quite frankly, for an eight-year-old is not super easy to understand.
[00:49:52] The kids loved Miss Christy, and my son talked about Miss Christy for a very long time.
[00:50:00] Now, was she perfect at it immediately? No, I imagine she was not.
[00:50:04] My guess is that she kind of figured all this out over time as to how to engage these children.
[00:50:10] She had to grow into it.
[00:50:12] And friends, that's a perfect example of how God equips us through our calling.
[00:50:17] God plants and nourishes seeds along the way, which brings me to Dewey.
[00:50:25] And friends, that's a, I'm sorry, and some of you already know where I'm going with this because you may have known and loved Dewey as well.
[00:50:33] Dewey Ward was one of the quietest people on this campus.
[00:50:37] You'd see him walking around, fixing things here and there, and on Wednesday evenings, he would be here emptying the trash, cleaning off tables, basically doing anything that needed to be done.
[00:50:48] Always humble and always behind the scenes.
[00:50:52] When I first started working here, Holly told me that he was teaching a preschool class and he led a group in Vacation Bible School.
[00:51:00] And I want to show you some pictures.
[00:51:02] so this is Dewey if you didn't meet him one of the nicest people you you'll ever meet go to the next slide look at look at that little look at go to the next one I mean the children adored Mr. Dewey
[00:51:18] go to the next one he would even dance with the kids I love that you can go to the next one oh that's my favorite look at that look at now I had the most fun digging these pictures up
[00:51:32] but I absolutely love these I was really fascinated because honestly he had barely said two words to me the whole time I had worked here but I watched him with those children and his entire personality changed you can go to the next one now I want you I want to stop here
[00:51:50] because there's another person that you may not know can cut a rug and have a lot of fun with kids and that's Mr. George Irvin if you look like right there and and I think everybody today needs
[00:52:00] George sits behind the usher desk you need to go and say George you got moves look there he is but that's Dewey on the left and that's Mr. George on the right two beloved Vacation Bible School leaders
[00:52:12] one year Dewey offered to help build sets for VBS and I want to show you these beautiful now ignore the people in front but behind that's one set he built can you go to the next slide
[00:52:25] and look at that beautiful set suddenly we discover gifts that no one knew Dewey even had the sets he built were just spectacular what an incredibly gifted man sadly we lost Dewey back in 2018 but his willingness to answer God's call is still producing fruit today and every one
[00:52:47] of those children that absolutely adored him see a rainforest is fascinating because so much life is hidden at first things are growing underneath the surface that you may not even notice yet that was Dewey. God had planted gifts in him that slowly unfolded over time because he was willing
[00:53:09] to say yes. One yes led to another yes. Teaching led to building. Building led to deeper connection.
[00:53:19] Service led to purpose. And the entire church was blessed because one quiet man was willing to let God grow something in him that is the nature of God fear often tells us if you're not
[00:53:34] fully developed yet don't begin but creation itself teaches us otherwise why do we expect ourselves to already be fully grown before saying yes to God seeds don't become rainforests overnight growth takes time and some of you right now are standing at the edge of something
[00:53:54] You feel that nudge. Maybe somebody has invited you to serve, to lead, to teach, to mentor, to step into something new, and immediately your mind starts listing reasons why you're just not the right person. I'm not equipped. I don't know enough. I'm not spiritual enough. Somebody else
[00:54:15] would do a much better job than me. But dear friends, that voice is not from God. It's not a voice that we need to listen to. Our competence comes from God. That is what we need to listen to.
[00:54:33] And maybe today the invitation is simply this. Stop waiting to feel fully ready before saying yes to God, because if you do, you probably never will. God is not waiting for you to become perfect
[00:54:47] before using you. God is waiting for your willingness. And this week, our children are going to walk into a rainforest and learn about the nature of God. And maybe one of the things we adults need to remember too is this. Our God is a God who grows things. God grows courage. God grows
[00:55:07] servants. God grows leaders. And God grows our faith. And maybe that nudge that we keep kind of brushing aside, maybe that's not just some random thought. Maybe that is the Holy Spirit. Maybe God has already been planting seeds in us for years. Maybe we are the ones being called in the name of
[00:55:30] the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. I have. Thank you so much for being part of our worship experience today and joining us as I shared a message with us about how God doesn't
[00:55:47] call the equipped, God equips the called. I hope this message resonated with you and I have to be honest, as I was putting this message together for today, remembering Mr. Dewey just warmed my heart. As I was looking through picture after picture, I was thinking to myself,
[00:56:06] wow, what an incredible example of what it means when God taps you on the shoulder and you say yes to something maybe you've never done before. We all miss him around here. He's an amazing human
[00:56:19] being, but his legacy exists in the young people today who had Mr. Dewey as a teacher, who knew Mr. Dewey and loved him dearly. So how is God tapping you on the shoulder today?
[00:56:33] What have you been going, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You don't want me. I don't know how to do that. I'm not good at that. What is it that you have been hedging around because you just
[00:56:44] don't feel equipped, that maybe God is saying, yeah, but I can equip you for it. Because I promise you this, in my journey, in my call, I was green so many times, I can't even begin to
[00:56:58] tell you, God equipped me along the way. And I'm so grateful he did. God is continuing to equip me to do brand new things that are so scary, but that I'm leaning into in such a way that God is
[00:57:10] blessing and blessings are coming to me and to others through it. I invite you to be open. I invite you to be open to what the Holy Spirit is doing with your life and around you. Be listening
[00:57:25] for that nudge and don't be scared to take the jump. All right. So Vacation Bible School starts tomorrow. And as I encouraged us last week, I encourage us still now, especially now, each night this week, tonight, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
