Tuesday, April 11th. | Church Growth!

Welcome back, everyone. Today is Tuesday, April the 11th. I'm Ryan Hill.

I'm John Galantis. And you're listening to Clearview Today with Dr. Abaddon Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can find us online at ClearviewTodayShow.com. If you have any questions for Dr. Shah or suggestions for new topics, send us a text at 252-582-5028. You can also email us at contact at ClearviewTodayShow.com.

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Happy podcasts to you. Ryan? Yes? I know what time it is. It's 3.15 PM. That means it's time for the verse of the day. Time for the verse of the day.

The verse of the day today comes from Luke, Chapter 8, Verse 21. Also, there were some people who were driving the radio. You said it was 3.15 PM. They're like, no, it's not. Yeah, that's true.

At the time of recording, it's 3.15 PM. So Luke 18, I'm sorry, Luke, Chapter 8, Verse 21. But he answered and said to them, My mother and my brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.

Yeah. I think there's this focus on being in the family of God. I'm a child of God, right? I'm a child of the King. But Jesus kind of lays out the criteria of what it means to be recognized as part of his family.

You want to be part of Jesus' family? You obey the Father's word. You live by the Father's will. It's not enough just to say, well, God created me, so I'm a child of God. Okay, yes, in a sense, you are created by God. But to be recognized in this family, like we've been talking about baptism and communion and these family traditions of God's family, you obey the Father and you live by his will.

Well, here, let me put it to you this way. Many of you who are listening are parents or have been around kids. If your kids just suddenly decided that they wanted to have your last name but not do any family stuff, you're part of the family by virtue of your birth or by virtue of your adoption status, but you do family stuff. You listen to your parents. You obey your parents.

You listen to what they are trying to teach you. And the same is true for God's family. I mean, you listen to the Father's word.

You obey his word and you carry out his will. That's right. I've got a segment for y'all called the gripe vine. Y'all ever heard of the gripe vine?

Oh, boy. The gripe vine is the segment of the show where we come and we talk about things that we just want to gripe about. The harvest of gripes is plentiful. Things to just get up under my skin or get up under Ryan's skin, just things that really make you go, nah, I'm going to gripe about this on the radio today.

And this gripe is ripe. 100% cosplayers. 100% cosplayers. Don't like them. Why do y'all do it? Y'all are grown. And I'm sorry to be that way, but y'all are grown. Y'all are grown. Y'all are grown adults. Did you like that? Oh, man.

I knew it was coming, but your delivery just got me. Y'all are grown adults. So here's the thing. Okay.

So tell me, like explain this to me. Cause I, I'm not a cosplayer, so I don't fall into this camp, but tell me, tell me your gripe with cosplayers. If you are listening, cause this is a Christian radio talk show, so maybe you guys don't know what cosplayers are. Cosplayers are, if you go to a comic book convention or if you go to just some sort of like sort of nerdy dorky event, which I want to do, I go to Comic-Con. I went to Boston Comic-Con.

I got my comic signed by Stan Lee. I'm with you. I'm with you there. We can all go. We can have a good time. We can like our comic book nerdy stuff. But these are adults who like dress up. They dress up as cartoon characters, comic book characters, anime characters. They dress, they just, they go all out.

Functioning, morphing, transformers. Yeah. Like, like these people go all out. And I guess it's, it's not Halloween. Even on Halloween, I don't really love to dress up and play pretend, but it is what it is. Then you got like, you go to comic book conventions and it's like, okay, I'm very uncomfortable by this, but at the same time I'm coming on their turf. This is where they do that stuff.

I'm expecting, I don't like it, but I'm expecting it. So then you go out to eat, like to a Waffle House, to a GameStop. You go out, like out in the public and you see people come in and they're dressed up in like full body Spider-Man suits. They're Kingdom Hearts characters with like functioning swords and like anime hair, big black robes. Okay.

Now, now to be fair, you probably should expect it at GameStop. I don't like cosplayers. Not that I don't like you as people, but I don't like this activity. It puts me very on edge and I don't know why. It's because it's so, it's like taking nerdiness to another level. I don't think you need to be ashamed of your nerdiness, but it's like, I'm going to like, you're going to acknowledge me with my pink hair. It's like spiked in every direction. I've got like a full key blade, like strapped to my back.

I've got like the elf ears. It's too much. It's way too much. And you're out in public.

You're in a food line and doing this at 30 years old. Come on. Come on.

So let me, let me spin this for you a little bit. The other day, I mean, it's been a couple weeks now, but St. Patrick's day, I was a leprechaun. Was that in the similar vein of making you uncomfortable? No, I mean, it made me uncomfortable that you loved it so much. You, you, yeah, you, it was my idea.

And I, it was my idea. I was like, Oh, you could dress up as a leprechaun, but you were like, I'm into this. Uh, yeah, I'm going to do the accent. Um, this is like, this is who I am now for these, for these few minutes. One thing about me, if you give me a role, that's your role. That's my, that, no, no, that's my life.

Oh, oh, let me, let me just pull back to the curtain a little bit for you. Um, maybe you're familiar with the story of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Right. Mr. Tumnus is a character in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. He's a faun, half goat, half, half human. Okay. Horns, ears, the whole thing. Um, he is a relatively minor character in the story.

Has it, has it like a pivotal part, but then after that doesn't really play a large part in the grand scheme of the story. Right. Um, a few years ago we did Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe here at Clearview as a production. And I was Mr. Tumnus. I remember you did great.

Thank you. Um, with that, I not only memorize my lines, not only figured out how to walk like Mr. Tumnus, but I had an entire backstory for Mr. Tumnus that is not canon. It's not in the books, it's not in the lore, but it was true for me.

And you worked out your legs for like four months to get, to get in shape because he's like half goat. Right. So imagine now that you go in full costume, you go grocery shopping and pretend to be Mr. Tumnus in Walmart.

I did. What? No, I'm just kidding. That's what I don't like. I don't like cosplayers who are like, alright, now I'm going to go to this event. Like you're on a stage, you're putting a performance on. Fine.

However, however, after productions, cause I did like theater in high school and college, after productions, we would often go out to eat as a cast in like the stage makeup. I'm going to draw the line. I'm going to say that's too far. That's not for you. No, people are trying to sit there and eat their moon over my hammy.

And now I'm looking at the entire cast of Cats in the back room. It is what it is. Okay. That's my gripe. It's cosplayers. It's a little too much. I feel like cosplay in theater is a little different though. I agree.

It's a little bit different. I agree. Not the ones any less nerdy, but. Maybe some cosplayers should write in and maybe see if you can defend yourself or see if there's some aspect of it that I'm not getting. Ooh, send us your cosplay pictures. Uh, yeah. Send us pictures of your, of your cosplay. Well, now you're going to get some dudes like, like dressed up like princess Leia or something. Don't do that.

Don't do that. Maybe not. Yeah. Um, I don't really know how to transition out of that.

Yeah, no, it's, I didn't set you up for success there. Yeah. Uh, so send those in, send those questions in, uh, to Dr. Shaw for new episodes, new topics, two five two five eight two five zero two eight.

We're going to get them in just a minute. I wonder what his feeling is on people dressing up and just being silly characters. I think Dr. Shaw is actually pretty, pretty cool about stuff like that. Yeah. I think he, I don't know how many, uh, I think he would be okay with it. Yeah. He'd be as many, as many productions as we've done here at the church. Yeah.

He's got, he's got more of a heart for like theater and stuff like that than I do. We're going to ask him. Yeah. Stay tuned to the end of the episode and you can get that question answered. All right. Uh, but we've got a great episode planned for you guys today. Uh, you can send those questions in two five two five eight two five zero two eight or visit us online at clearviewtodayshow.com.

We'll be right back. Hey everyone, my name's Elli and I'm David. We want to take a minute and let you know how we can actually serve you as you're listening to Clearview today. The Bible paints an extraordinary picture of who we are as a church body. The mission of Clearview church is to lead all people into a life changing ever-growing relationship with Jesus Christ. A huge part of leading people is praying for them. A big reason that Christians have unanswered prayers in their life is because they're not afraid.

You know, first John five 15 says, and if we know that he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of him. If you're listening to the Clearview Today show, we want to know how we can pray for you as well. There's a number of ways that you can get in touch with us at Clearview and share your prayer requests, but the best way is by texting us at two five two five eight two five zero two eight. You can also send us an email at prayer at Clearviewbc.org or you can download the Clearview app at that app on iTunes or Google play. You know, on that app, there's a dedicated prayer wall that helps us to get to know what's going on in your life, how we can pray for you and how we can take any necessary steps to get you moving in the right direction. Thanks for listening.

Now let's get back to the show. Welcome back to Clearview today with Dr. Abbadan Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can visit us online at Clearviewtodayshow.com. If you have any questions or suggestions for new topics, send us a text at 252-582-5028. That's right. If you're joining us for the very first time today, we want to welcome you to the show, let you know who's talking to you. Dr. Abbadan Shah is a PhD in New Testament textual criticism, professor at Carolina University, author, full-time pastor, and the host of today's show. You can find all of his work at his website. That's abbadanshah.com.

That's right. Dr. Shah, how are you today? I'm doing very well. Hope you are.

Doing very well. I have kind of a trivia tidbit for you guys today. Okay. You ever seen one of those, like, on this day in history type things? Well, on this day in history, April the 11th, in 1506, construction began on St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Okay. Kind of, you know, big name construction project. I think I've been thinking about construction that's happening very close to us, sort of like right in our backyard. So I thought maybe we could talk about that on the episode today.

That's right. Very different kinds of building, motivations, and purposes behind it. And the outcomes were different, too.

But yeah, I can see the similarities in some ways. Building projects. And more than just the physical structure, what is the foundation for Clearview? What do we stand on?

What are the values and the, you know, the driving vision behind where we're headed as a church? You know, it helps me to remember way back, way beyond 1500, going back to the time of Ezra. So that would be like almost 500 or so BC, right?

Maybe 400 BC, when the builders laid the foundation of the temple. This is in Ezra chapter three, verse 10. And the priest stood in their apparel with trumpets and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with symbols to praise the Lord, according to the ordinance of David, the king of Israel. And they sang responsibly, praising God, praising and giving thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his mercy endures forever toward Israel. Then all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. It's such a, it's such a cause for celebration. Like when that foundation goes down, it's such a pivotal moment where it's like, okay, this is it.

Now it's real. Now there's something to build upon. Right.

Right. We've been there before because back in 2016, it was, I believe, when we laid the foundation of our, our sanctuary now. And I remember that morning we were supposed to film and whatever, but those guys beat us to it.

So they were like, yeah, we had this thing where it's like, Hey, we're coming tomorrow to pour the concrete for the foundation. It was like, cool, let's get there at nine. We'll film it. We'll set up, we'll just do a time lapse. We get there at like 8 30 just to be early and they're, Oh, we're done.

It was done. It was at like four o'clock in the morning. They had big lights out there that they were pouring the concrete. Because they want to get there before the sun comes out. So it's nice and, you know, not cool, but, but, you know, it was not hot enough for the foundation to set.

So they get out there like four o'clock in the morning. We still ended up filming on the foundation, but like it was already like hardened and cool. Like there was this really cool, maybe we'll put it in the video right here, but there was this really cool drone shot where we, the three of us like laid down and the drone just kind of goes up. And that was, that was really cool. But it was not at the same time though.

Because it was too wet at that point. Yeah. No, we didn't lay down and do like concrete angels. Because they had that big machine that was like, the guy was like the spinning around all over, like this polishes, you know that?

Yeah. I remember that. That was the weirdest thing. It was like part of a Zamboni. If you've ever seen one of those in like a hockey rink, but he's just like spinning around on the foundation. But I'm glad we made such a big deal out of that though, because the pouring of the foundation was symbolic of, Hey, this is a new beginning.

God is doing something really cool. And once the building's up, we'll never be able to get these shots again. That's it.

So let's film, even if it's just us talking, you know, pointing to stuff, Oh, Hey, wow, look at that. Or just getting us on the foundation. The foundation has been laid. And so these core values of Clearview, these core values that make us who we are, are sort of represented in that, that slab of concrete. That's right. And I mean, you know, we, we when we build the fellowship hall of our building, you know, we didn't have anything past the cafe and the cafe was really the fellowship hall.

Yeah. But when we started laying the foundation there and then they brought the steel structure and all that, we went around and wrote all over the place. You know, I remember that we wrote Bible verses on the wooden suds.

They're still there. So behind what you see there, there are scriptures there. And when we made some changes, we saw, we saw one of the scripture verses. I saw one of them. I can't remember which one it was.

Yeah. We were changing some things around, but we, I remember that was a really cool, fun thing that we did was we just like went around, like you said, wrote scriptures on the wooden, but it was like the, when you thought of one, a new one would come to you and it's like, I want to write this one too. And I remember the first one I did was revelation 21 five. I behold, I make all things new. And then we just kept writing. And before long, every stud, it was like covered, like it was covered in scriptures. It was really, really fun.

That's amazing. Yeah. But it's, it's, it's very important to have the right foundation and, you know, God's people in 400 some BC were laying down the foundation. It was, as you know, the story, just, just a quick recap. Nehemiah came in 587, 586, not Nehemiah. Can I restart that?

Sure. Nebuchadnezzar had come against Jerusalem, you know, 587, 586 BC, destroyed everything, took the people 700 miles away to exile. And then in 539 BC, which is 50 years after they went to exile, Cyrus came and he you know, rescued the people and he let them go back home. And at first some did, but then later on, you know, many didn't want to go back home first, about 50,000 came.

And then, then after that thing sort of changed. But in, in Ezra chapter three, verse one, it says, and when the seventh month had come and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem. Then Jeshua, the son of Joseph and his brethren, the priest and Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel and his brethren arose and built the altar of the God of Israel to offer, burn offerings on it as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God. So finally they were able to lay down the foundation and build it.

And they, and fear, it says the fear came upon them because of the people of those countries. They set the altar on its basis and they offered burn offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening offerings. And then verse seven tells us they also gave money to the masons and the carpenters and food, drink and oil to the people of Sedona and Tyre to bring cedar logs from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, I've been to Joppa, that's Tel Aviv, according to the permission, which they had from Cyrus, the king of Persia. And then in the second month, this is verse eight in the, now in the second month of the second year of their coming to the house of God of Jerusalem, Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, Jeshua, the son of Joseph and the rest of their brethren, the priests and the Levites and all those who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem began work and appointed the Levites from 20 years old and above to oversee the works, work of the house of the Lord.

So anyways, the whole point is this, they laid down the foundation and they appointed the right people in the right places. And then verse 11, then all the people shouted with a great shout when they praise the Lord because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. I mean, imagine that shout. I mean, just, just the completion to seeing something come to fruition when you, when you pour your heart and soul into something, especially like a project, I mean, this, this far exceeds a project, but when you do pour your heart and soul into something like a book or an album or a radio show and you see it come to fruition, there's a satisfaction there where like only a shout really will do, you know, it's, it's a cause for celebration. And there's also, there are also tears because it says in verse 12, but many of the priests and Levites and heads of the father's houses, old men who had seen the first temple wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes.

Wow. Get many shouted aloud for joy so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people for the people shouted with a loud shout and the sound was heard afar off. What was the, what was the reason for their tears? Were they upset that it was different? In a sense, it was a little bit of nostalgia, but also, you know, they never thought the temple would ever be rebuilt.

Okay. So yeah, tears of like, I'm remembering how things were, but also like, I can't believe this is actually happening in my lifetime. Yeah.

It's built back. We never thought it would happen again. Maybe like this almost like a sadness of like, it's, I can't believe this had to even happen. Like bittersweet almost. Yeah.

I think joy was still the bottom line. Okay. That's awesome. And so when we are laying the foundation, because many may not know, but to our listeners and our viewers, we're building another sanctuary to accommodate our growing needs. And it's all through God and for God and for his glory and for the gospel of Jesus Christ. We were not taking credit for that because we know where it's coming from.

We're working hard, we're working smart, but ultimately it's God because we could have done all that and nothing would have happened. But we just today, you know made some big strides and the building project the pad is already laid down. The landscaping work has been done now begins the process of laying the foundation.

Yeah. It's beautiful because people get so excited, you know, people really get hype when they see a building going up because it's a sign of life, you know, it's a sign of progress and it's a sign of growth, but, and you know, and you know, people, they want to share that excitement. They're like, Oh, I can't wait for the new building. Like I can see it coming up. Y'all are laying the foundation, you're putting up the girders and yet there's more to it.

I think then just the, the steel or the, the stone or whatever. It's it's also, like we said, it's symbolic of how God is growing us as people, how he's growing you as a pastor and us as a congregation. It's, he's, he's growing us as people.

And so the church grows I guess as a consequence of that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. God has given us a vision to reach not just our area, our neighborhood, but reach the world.

And I know it sounds ambitious, but I'll go and tell you it's not in us. It's in the power of God. And so God has given us a platform. He's given us convictions that the Bible is the only inerrant word of God, that Jesus Christ is the only way truth in life. And that the Trinity father, son, Holy spirit three, and yet one is the only living true God.

Right. And there's a real heaven, real hell. And without Jesus Christ, people are lost forever. And it's only by grace through faith in Christ alone that, that we can be saved. I mean, this, these are the foundational principles of who we are.

There's more, but, but those are the core doctrines of where we stand. And, and so we know that God is doing something and we're just so grateful, so excited to be part of something like this. So, so exciting to see, just like you said, John, those signs of life and, and really, I mean, that's, that's thanks to you, Dr. Shah, for, for leading us for, I mean, cause you've been here, you, we've talked about this on the show, but you've been here for decades and invested your life and your family and poured yourself into this community and this congregation.

And God has blessed your ministry and, and your time at Clearview in tremendous ways. Well, you know, when we came here, I didn't fit the profile of this place. I didn't grow up in America.

I didn't really definitely didn't grow up in Henderson. So it was kinda like, um, I don't know what's going to happen here. I'm going in as if this is the place. And then in time, God began to, you know, work in my heart, Nicole's heart, that if you would plant yourself here, I'll help you reach the world from this little corner. And at first it was like, I don't know.

I don't, I don't think, I don't know if it can happen, but now looking back, it's like, oh, definitely. Well, you've built up a trust. And I think when people have seen over the last 20 years, people have seen marriages healed under your preaching. I think people have seen families strengthened and united under your preaching. You know, young people are coming to know the Lord. They're coming and they're, they're, they're being involved in church. They're sitting under, you know, your catalyst and our worship and our community is being strengthened. So when people see that, I think it's only natural that they want to pour back into it and say, you know, listen, you guys, you guys need more space.

I want to, I want to help make that happen. And the community coming together and seeing that you're preaching specifically you're preaching, I think is worth expanding this because the platform needs to expand. And I think people see that and, and because of the trust that you've built up, I mean, God works in it. And thank you for saying that by the way, Jon, but, but I also believe it's a group effort, right?

It's God who is superintending everything. It's for him, through him, by him, in him, and by him, you know, but he's using a team. So I know, I appreciate the kind words, but I look at it as if it wasn't for this team coming together, you know, it wouldn't be happening.

And so God has his hand on all of us and the whole team that we have of our staff. They're doing an excellent job. You're doing a great job with worship and media and so many other things that you do with the big projects at Clearview, whether it's running an album or helping with the book projects or filming. I mean, it's tremendous what you do. And Ryan, you know, and even through all that, you guys find time to come and film these shows and record these radio shows.

It's unbelievable what's happening. Well, thank you. Thank you for saying that. And thank you for you know, just leading us and inspiring us to, to continue to reach for that excellence. You know, when you see the way that God is moving and the ways that God has, has continued to bless Clearview and our reach and even this radio show, the response that we're seeing from this, I mean, it is evident that God's hand is here and it makes you just want to work out of a sense of gratitude. Like, God, I'm just, I'm thankful for this opportunity. I'm thankful for the opportunity to raise my family here. I'm thankful for the ways that my kids are growing and the way they're understanding the gospel. Just, I guess just gratitude is the biggest word.

Yeah. And it's also evident that beyond just us, every person in the congregation has a part to play in the expansion of God's King. Even you listening to this episode, you have a part to play in the growth of God's kingdom. You know, and, and when you see what your role is in light of what God is doing, it makes you want to contribute. It makes you want to give back. There's nothing in the world I think worse than somebody in the church or in any organization who wants somebody else's role.

You know what I mean? Like, I want to be doing that. When you see, God has put me here doing this specifically and it works in tandem under a pastor, a lead pastor, alongside other ministry leaders.

Man. And when things start moving and you start to see, that's the thing that I love. Number one, Dr. Shaw, I love that you have the core values in the lobby for everybody to see. Number two, I love that we have the construction plainly for everybody to see.

Cause when you see it and you, I look at those, it's real. You, when you see the construction and then I go in the lobby every day and I see those core values, it clicks together and it's like all I want to do is keep this going. I want to keep this going as hard as I can.

Absolutely. And, you know, Jon, I appreciate that you mentioned that you listeners and viewers have a part to play because this isn't just something we're telling you that's happening here at our church. No, through, through this radio show, you are part of what God is doing.

You're part of the impact that we are seeing through Clearview today. And we're grateful for you. We're grateful for that partnership.

That's right. And if God lays on your heart to help, Hey, please let us know how we can help you in that. Maybe by giving, maybe by praying, maybe by spreading the word that about the show, you know, there are various ways you can do that.

So please let us know because we want, we want to partner with you. And if not here, maybe your own church, maybe your own church family, you're doing something there great. Help them, help them get to where God wants them to be. You know, we need more. We need more people in the fields. We need more people, more churches sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Amen. That's right. And why not you?

Yeah. You know, why not you? Why not you? Why not us as, as partners? I love the way you said that Dr. Shah, we've really viewed you as our partners in this. If you're local, if you're in the area and you're looking for a church home, we'd love to have you come visit Clearview. We'd love to give you some more information. You can reach out to us by texting that number at two five two five eight two five zero two eight.

Or again, send those emails to contact at Clearview today's show dot com. You can partner with us financially on that same website. We really do see it as a partnership.

Pray about how God would have you give to what he's doing through this ministry and be part of reaching the nations with the gospel. Amen. I've got a quote. Excuse me. It's a meaningful quote. He got choked up. Excuse me. I got choked up on that. Oh, I love this quote so much.

No, I think I had like a Pringle or something in my throat. This is a quote from, I don't know if you guys have ever heard of this guy. It's like C what is that? C.S. Lewis. Okay.

You know, I mean, he might've wrote into the show. Oh yeah. Clive Lloyd. Christianity.

Christianity, if false, is of no importance and if true of infinite importance, the only thing it cannot be is moderately important. Wow. Yeah.

That's C.S. Lewis guy. He has a way.

He's got a way with the word. Man, I love that. I love that quote. What a great reminder for us. It can't be moderately important, right?

Yeah. And I think, you know, what we're doing here at Clearview, we're trying to live that exemplify that, that, that this is not moderately important. Christianity is life. It is our very being. And it's not just a religion is of course it is a religion, but it's, it's a relationship with the living true God. I think that's one thing that I've, it's one of the biggest ways I've grown in my time here is that I've been that where we're like, it's important, but I'll get to it. But I think your heart is, if it's, if you're doing it for God, it is of the utmost priority. Yeah. Feelings are no feelings. That's right. This is, this is real. That's right. Absolutely. We love you guys. We'll see you next time on Clearview Today.