Kingdom Pursuits, where you hear from ordinary people instilled with an extraordinary passion. Together we explore the stories of men and women who take what they love and let God turn their passion into kingdom pursuits.
Now, live from the Truth Booth, your host, Robbie Dilmore.
Well, guess what? I'm Jerry Mathis, Ray's Body Shop and Record Service. I'm lingering over from the first hour just a moment ago with Christian Car Guy Radio, where I am the Christian Body Shop Guy. This morning, man, I am excited because of.
Some pretty heavy topics that I want to talk about. And One of them is, you know, we just got back looking back and reflecting back about 9-11, which was 24 years ago, which is hard for me to even wrap my brain around. And I'm going to talk about some of the impacts of that and some of the things that's happened this past week. But one thing that Also, I'm just so blessed about I have Fonda Brian on the Phone, who has called in from Charlotte, and also got Philip Morgan in the studio with me. I wanna and Philip is a Philip, tell me a little bit about your role.
Well, I'm actually new to the staff at Pinedale Christian Church, which Jerry and I go to church together. That's awesome. I've been a pastor now for 12, 13 years, and I've been a teacher before that.
So the Lord's had me go through a whole lot of things. I've served in a lot of different seats, but my role specifically now, I get to be the minister of connections and engagements. My heart is really excited about seeing people connect to God and to one another. And just seeing the church, my passion is to see the church actually be the church. I'm not so interested in how we do church.
It's about the church actually engaging where God's planted us. Yeah, and I think we're going to. towards the latter part of the show, we're going to really lean into that because I think the church has a huge role moving forward. Also, I just want to mention Robbie Dilmore not here this morning. He is in Douglasville, Virginia.
I mean Douglasville, I keep wanting to say Virginia. Douglasville, Georgia. Sweetwater Baptist Church.
So, if you get an opportunity, you're in that area, you hear us, go out and visit him today. He'll be there. They're having a big car show, and he'll be preaching tomorrow morning at. Sweetwater Baptist Church, Douglasville. Georgia, I'd love for you to come out and just say hi to him.
Tell him you're a listener. Fonda is on the phone with me. Fonda Bryant is, I tell you what. Every day I just I'm just more Encouraged by her heart and her desire to. We live in a world that has a huge need.
She's a.
Well, one thing, she's at advocate for suicide prevention and mental health, She's also a trainer, and that's what we're going to talk about a little bit this morning. You know what? This, well, I'll let Fonda tell you what this month is all about, why it's really important this month to have her on the air and be able to share with us. Good morning, Fonda. Good morning, Jerry.
How are you doing today? I am doing great, and I'm glad it seems like your voice is a little better than this past couple of days when I talked to you. Wake played a week ago and we set out in the rain and so Some of us some of us didn't see it. I'm still paying for it, and because of that, I didn't come to the game Thursday night, so I gotta hopefully get better. We got a bye week.
Uh, you know, next week, so hopefully, I can get ready, and I'll be ready at the end of the month when we play Georgia Tech.
So, we'll see. Hopefully, I will be better. All right, and I want to make mention before you go into introduce yourself and what this month is. Fonda's son, which I know she's very proud, and that's why I want to mention it, Wesley Bryant. is when you turn the T V on during CW, their coverage, the sideline reporter is Wesley Bryant, which is Fonda's son, and man, I know she's proud of him.
Yes, he's down in Miami today. He'll be covering the Miami South Florida game, which is a huge game. Both teams are ranked, and that's at four o'clock today on the CW. Absolutely. And this month, what is the significance of this month of September for you?
Well, September is a special month because this month is actually National Suicide Prevention Month, and we just celebrated on September 10th. World Suicide Prevention Day. And, you know, we talked a lot about how this world is, how mean we are, how unkind we are. You know, I was born in 1960. My son was born in 1983.
And I never thought my son would see some of the stuff that he's seen with racism, with ugliness. We're just an ugly country now. And believe it or not, people need to realize that how we treat one another affects our mental health. Big time. Because I tell people all the time, just because we're smiling and laughing in your face does not mean we're not struggling.
And World Suicide Prevention Day brought attention to the world. Suicide Prevention Month. Brings attention to what's going on with suicide, but suicide mental health. Are twenty-four-seven, three-sixty-five. And I also want people to know that mental health.
Self-medicating and suicide all go hand in hand. They all go hand in hand.
So for instance, Back in June, it was men's mental health month. and Men's Health Month. And so that's what we, you know, they really concentrate on men getting help and men taking care of their bodies from the top of their head to the bottom of their feet.
So there c there was a picture out on social media. of Robin Williams. And under it it said Halfway through 2025, which was June. We had already lost four hundred and forty four thousand five hundred and thirty seven people thirty six people worldwide to suicide. and added that number Eighty percent are men.
So let that sink in for a minute. Halfway through the year, and see, suicide is under-reported.
So it's a lot worse than what that stat said. in June.
So imagine what it's going to be like by the end of 2025. Yeah, find out. And also, I just want to take time to make sure I get this in because I know we needed to get you out before, because you do have something coming up at 12 o'clock, and that is your training. If you will go to Kingdom Pursuit's website, there's a link for the suicide prevention training that'll go on it. twelve o'clock, and you can speak on that a little more in detail.
And there's also a link for Wellness Action Recovery, which is your website, that has a lot of information. And I just want to say if you are interested in that training, go to it and there's also a link. And what you'll do when you go to Wellness Action Recovery, there's an events and just link on it and it'll have that information. If you are an organization And a business or a social or society group or something. Vonde Brian also does live training and you cannot replace the online is great.
But the live is Awesome, and I would encourage you to get in touch with her. There is a fee for that, but believe me, it's worth every red cent. And uh Thanks for saying that. And if anybody wants to take the training today, you still have time. All you need to do is to Click on the link.
And be on time, I don't have people signing in and things like that registering. You need to just get online by 12 o'clock. Take the entire two-hour training where you will receive a certificate after you get finished with the training. You're a certified gatekeeper that lasts for two years. You will get a QPR booklet in PDF form when I train in person.
You get the booklet in your hand. You get all kinds of helpful resources. To help you to help someone else and including yourself, because we're dealing in, we're living in critical times, hard to deal with. I've been doing news stories about stuff that's been going on here in Charlotte with mental health, and people are struggling. And my phone, people have been calling me, people have been emailing me, people have been reaching out to me on social media.
We are in a crisis, and a lot of this comes from the way we treat one another. And I'm just telling you, I'll be 65 in November, and I have never seen the stuff that's going on in this world, what we're dealing with now.
So, if you'd like to take the training, please reach out. If you can't take it today, I do one free training a month online. You're welcome to take the training. I send it to Jerry every month, and he can put it out there. But I urge everyone to become a certified gatekeeper and learn those warning signs.
of suicide or someone in crisis that can save a life. Yeah, absolutely. And like I said, if if I encourage you to take the train, and if not, if you don't have time today, Get in get in tetrafonda. Look, pull it up, like say it is own. Kingdom Pursuits, you'll see the link to it and be able to log into it.
And I encourage you to do that. And again, Fonda, man, I absolutely love you to death. And thank you for Movement because it's gonna take all of us. I don't want people to think, well, that's not my business. Nobody in my family.
Suicide is everybody's business. And the thing is, it's the most preventable death. Absolutely. Thank you, Fonda. You're listening to The Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com.
Welcome back to Kingdom Pursuits. Real quick before I go into with Philip on his ministry and And what he does at Pinedale Christian Church, and really it's more about. What we're going to talk about is not just at Pinedale Christian Church, it's the role of the church, what our responsibility is. I just want to take a moment, though, to make mention of a ministry that I'm involved with that Robbie started. Many, many moons ago, and that was Jesus' Labor of Love, where we provide transportation, either repairing cars or giving people cars that have been donated.
This ministry, every car that comes through the ministry, every dollar that comes through is 100% directly into the ministry. No one has a salary. Another important thing that we do is Scott and Robbie pray with everybody that applies. You can go to Kingdom of Suit, there's a link, or Christian Car Guy, and there's a link to Jesus Labor of Love with an application if you need help. Also, if you would like to donate, and I will say it again, I always do, and sort of everybody gets tired of me saying it, probably.
It's a great opportunity to donate and to know that every penny goes to a ministry, but also never take away from your local church to do that. I mean, I think that's important that we support our local churches.
So, make us above and beyond. If you have a car sitting in the driveway, that is, you know, it may be something that we just turn into cash by picking up and. Or maybe something that we refurbish and get on the road. The lives that have been changed by cars being given to some of these widows and these mothers of and it seems like we have a lot of Mothers who have special needs kids, either medical or physical needs, and they're without transportation. They're trying to get to doctors' appointments, trying to work, all through the bus system.
And that's a tough pill to swallow sometimes in the society we're in.
So, Jesus, Labor of Love, great ministry. Philip, what I'm going to talk about is this past week, we remembered. 9-11. Just think about it. 24 years ago, that's hard for me to even realize.
But then again, one of the saddest days. When you think about 9-11, but then I look at 9-12, it's probably one of the most uplifting days because all of a sudden, The few days after 9-11, you couldn't go in the store and buy an American flag. Because they were all gone, because they were all hanging outside of people's homes. We saw a country that rallied around our country, but also they rallied around their faith. Churches started filling up.
People that hadn't been to church for years were going through those doors because all of a sudden, when When so much heartache is at your doorstep and you and so much uncertainty, Thank goodness people realize what they need is Jesus Christ. And they were going to churches and. I was so encouraged by that. But Okay. I'm going to give you a but to that is.
It didn't last forever. All of a sudden it was we forgot about it. And now we're living in a world that we just, I mean, with Charlie Kirk shooting and stuff. And one thing I will say. about that.
I mean, I the first thing I started, this this happened on nine TN on nine eleven I was wondering whether I was going to see protests and stuff, but what I didn't see was. protests in the streets. Uh storefronts being windows being knocked out of and looting going on. Fights and attacking the police.
So they should have done this or should have done that. What I saw was people in prayer. And that's what that's what that's man, that that was encouraging. You chose the word um and that's not a rebuke at all, but you chose the word that um you know, nine eleven was a sad day, nine-12 was an uplifting day. I would maybe change that to a unifying.
Because it certainly, you know, there's so much that continues to linger just as a result of 9-11, and many. Many terrible events in our country, even since then. But what you pointed to, which is is really a central part of what we're talking about today. In that moment, because of that. God unified Uh our country.
And used men and women to do that. And then he began to use his church as he intended it to be, which is really. to unify and to be unified. Yep. And real quick, this is a call-in show, 866-348-7884.
I think I forgot to even mention that. I got wanted to get Fonda on the air. But again, 866-4, I mean, 348-7884. Today's church, I mean We are living in a world that certainly needs Jesus Christ. And the church has a role.
And, Philip, you, you know, you're. You've got a background in ministry. You're new at Pinedale Christian Church. And I tell you what, I'm going to stand here and say I feel very fortunate to have you part of our staff and part of the church family at Pinedale. But That being said, I think a lot of times The church has missed the mark.
I think sometimes and this is where I I know that Philip is going to understand what I'm saying here. At least I hope he does, because I don't want to be negative, but sometimes we have. marred down in tradition and not realize how to minister. in a changing world. And we never, and I would hope that no church would ever change the gospel and the message.
That's right. But Sometimes we have to the presentation and bring people where they feel welcome and stuff and feel like they're being, instead of coming through the door and feel like they're being judged or feel uncomfortable, they come through the door and feel like they're welcomed and also they're encouraged. That can be tricky sometimes with churches because of history and longevity and just tradition. You know, I always, an example I use is: everybody knows about the Weedies. You know, one thing, every time you turn around, that box changes.
I mean, today it'll have. I mean, whoever the the athlete. Of the day is on that cover, and why is that? Because people are going to pull it off the shelf. Guess what?
It doesn't change. Cereal's the same. Cereal is still the same.
Okay, I think the church needs to make sure we're what's inside the box, it's God's word. That's that's good, Jerry. I tell you, because the message, our God never changes. Right? But this world is ever-changing.
And so the message should and cannot ever change. God's Word is right and true, and the authority that it has in our life and in the world never changes. But the methods in which we reach God reaches through us. Think about it. It's very different.
For example, if you go up, I grew up in the Asheville area, Black Mountain, Suwanoa, and There may be a little country church on the corner out there that is reaching the people that God's drawing to the church there. And they're doing it a little differently than we may here in the center of Winston-Salem or in the urban area of New York City or wherever it may be. The church and the purpose, the mission of the church and the purpose of the church doesn't change, right? But engaging with the people that God's drawing to his church and to himself in the area in which that church is planted is so important for us to be sensitive to. Church is not so that so often this people think it's a generational thing because when they grew up, church looked like this, it felt like this, it smelled like this.
These are the songs we sang, this is how we sang those songs, this is the way the church building looks.
Sometimes you hear those referenced as maybe sacred cows. And I don't in any way mean that to be a derogatory comment, but things that we hold on to so tightly as representatives of the gospel message when they're really just things, right? The church is not the building, the church is not the pews, it's not the stuff. The Holy Spirit doesn't need those things. Right?
We are so blessed at Pinedale that God's given us so many things to use for worship, right? And the buildings, the resources, microphones, and lights, and things like that. But the Holy Spirit doesn't need that stuff. The power goes out, guess what? Right, the power doesn't go out.
I mean, the Holy Spirit is still there, and worship still happens, and God's Word is still God's Word. For those who've ever been on a mission trip, you know this to be true. where uh people uh will will I I was on a mission trip in in in uh the church building was simply just an awning over a dirt floor. And there were people who would would ride makeshift canoes two hours down a muddy river to come worship. in this building.
There were no microphones, there were no there wasn't even anything to sit on. Right? But the Holy Spirit was there. And worship was had, and God's word was rightly divided. And that's w in America, we sometimes miss the main thing.
Um you know, I we we um at uh at Pinedale. We are a Christian church, and I have served by God's grace have been able to serve in different denominations. along my career. as a vocational pastor. And and uh I've also in growing up attended As a matter of fact, I make a joke sometimes that when people say, well, you know what denomination are you?
I always say, I'm Babdimethecostal. Because, you know, my family has worshipped over the years in many different kinds of denominations. And this is not in any way, again, a rebuke of denominations. I think God uses denominations for his glory and for our good. But at the same time, I think they break God's heart at times.
Because so often God's word gets. Deluded. in ways in which we as humans um Want to twist it. And we're not here to talk about that, but throughout multiple denominations, you see it happening. Factions of this going this way, and really, when all that matters is God's Word.
God's Word is the authority. Yeah, and I think too many times we have And too many churches have taken the approach of, you know what, I don't want to offend anybody. Right. And we don't need, you know, we're called to be the salt, but sometimes I do agree the salt can be, you can also put too much salt on it. That's right.
That's right. you know what? The thing is, we need to make sure we stay true to God. And anybody listening, man, make sure the church you go to is scripturally sound. Because There's a lot out there who will.
You know what? Tickle the ears. It's got to be first. Yeah, it's got to be first. Absolutely.
We'll be back in just a moment again. 866-348-7884. You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. Welcome back to Kingdom Pursuits. This morning got Philip.
Morgan in with me, who is a minister at Pinedale Christian Church here on Winston-Salem on Peters Creek Parkway. Tell you what, love to see you tomorrow morning to come and visit us, man. One thing about Philip, he's fairly new on staff, and did I already ask you this on air? I know.
Well what is your title? But the really cool thing about Church. That title really doesn't mean too much because the hats you have to wear, you have to have a suitcase to carry all the hats around. Very true, very true. You did ask me again.
My title is: I'm the Minister of Connections and Engagement. My heart is to see people connect to God and to one another. And really, my passion is to see God's church be the church in the community in which He's planted. As we were just talking about during the break, I mean, there's a lot of ways to do church. And a lot of different looking buildings and different kinds of services and the way We Honestly, incorrectly use the word worship.
So often we say worship, we're talking about the singing, the time of singing. Worship is so much more than that. God's Word teaches us that, right? But so there are many different ways to worship. I'm not fond of the words like traditional service or contemporary service or blended or so on.
I mean, it's worship, right? We want to be unified in that. And that really is what we talked most during the break. We kind of left before the break talking about God's word being rightly divided and how important that is. And I know that's kind of a churchy thing to say, God's Word being rightly divided, but that has to be the centerpiece of your local church.
And you also, I love you referenced it before, is thank the Lord for things like radio and TV and the internet. And man, the disciples would have loved to have jet airplanes and the internet. You know what I'm saying? But in no way should those things separate you or keep you from your covenant commitment to your local church body. Wherever you are, you need to find a local church and get plugged in.
And I mean, not just going, but like. But being a part of the church in the community, making a difference by God's grace, a kingdom impact. One of my pastors over the years talked about how eternity hangs in the balance. And it's not because of what we do. But God uses us.
To change the world. And we just don't know, right? We don't know what hangs in the balance. That conversation we have at the grocery store, that conversation we have at the gas station, we just don't know the impact that God's going to have through our life. And that's what the church really is supposed to be.
And that begins with wherever your local commitment is, just locking arms with people in that area and just digging into the community in which God has planted you. Uh I I just think that's so important. You know the uh I would put it this way. If you're looking for a church or you are plugged into a local church, Maybe do a quick assessment. And first, is God's Word rightly divided?
The teaching and preaching, is it Is it right and true? And God's Word can be tested. I love for people to, I try to teach my daughter this: ask questions, dig in. God wants us to do that. But at the same time, God's Word, This ancient Jewish meditation literature is not meant to just be read or put on a t-shirt.
It's meant to be meditated on and talked about for a lifetime. We're not supposed to do this life alone, right?
So, what we're doing today, and what I hope families are doing all over the world, is digging into God's Word together, right? That's the, I call it a pillar, but that really has to be first for your local church, right? And then the second thing I would say is worship itself. And again, I'm not talking about the singing. I think that is an important part because God wants us to pray together.
He wants us to hear God's word together. He wants us to sing together. The key word in all this is. Together. We're meant to do this together.
Well, I'm going to stop you one second because we're talking about. The singing part and the music part, man, that has divided so many churches. Oh my gosh, and it's not. I mean It saddens me to see that it breaks branches. But you know, i if if that's not if if that affects your worship, And being in God's word.
I mean, I've seen people walk out and say, I will never go back to church again because they don't. It's not I didn't hear Old Rugged Across this morning, and they sang something that was on the radio that I don't ever want to hear again. It's so interesting. I had a dear friend and pastor who taught me many years ago. I'm a musician.
I was a worship leader for a long time. And people would come up after a service and they would say, boy, Philip, you sounded good. Or, boy, those drums sounded good. I'm a drummer by trade, right? Or man, the song selection was really good.
And he taught me, and it stuck with me for the rest of my life, is that the only reasonable response when someone says that is to say, praise the Lord. Because none of that is mine. the ability to sing, play, the songs themselves, you know. How good it sounds, that's that's all a gift, right? And it doesn't belong to me, and so when someone acknowledges that, it just deflect right back and say, Praise the Lord.
What I began to notice over the years is that um People's preferences. And we all have them, right? You know, I was a band director for 21 years, so I taught big symphonies and orchestras and choirs, and I love big ensemble. Right? And you don't see that as much in American church.
You still see it, but not as it used to be. Seeing big choirs and things like that is currently not something that you see as much. I kind of miss that a little bit. I love big choir. But here's what happens: when the ensemble changes.
You know? There are people who if you I'm a drummer. And if I went and played drums in their church, they would they would think that's sinful. Right? Or that it's worldly.
And so we can't have guitars, we can't have drums, we can't have lights, we can't have. And they're missing the point. Worship where it comes from, who it's for, who it's about. There's there's a great book called The Worshiping Artist by Rory Nolan that's that's really impacted me that speaks about authentic worship. And that's kind of a church buzzword to authentic, but but it being real.
Right? And the best way I know how to say that is: when you see God rightly. And you see his character and his goodness and who he actually is. And we get that through his word. the only reasonable response.
is worship. And worship can be manifested in singing, and silence, and prayer, and clapping, and dancing, and playing of instruments, and all these things are things that scripture teaches us are reasonable responses in worship. But we get caught up in our preferences so often in the local church. We want things to look a certain way. If we take the pews out and put chairs in, people get upset.
Set. If we change the color of the carpet, or if we move the baptistry, or if we put color on the lights instead of just white lights, or you know, and all that, I pray that God's church can get past that. That's just things, it's just stuff. And praise the Lord for the stuff He's given us because. He intends for us to, like, it's like the parable of the talents, steward that well.
Whatever God's given you. And listen, if God's given you a piano and an organ and that's it, hallelujah. Use that for God's glory to the very best of your ability. Steward that will. If God's given you a band and microphones and lights and a sound system.
Praise the Lord. Use that for God's glory. Excellence does matter, right? Jesus was excellent at everything that He did. But I tell the teams at Pinedale all the time, we pray, plan, and prepare.
As if it depends on us.
So we work really hard to try to make sure everything looks good, sounds good, happens on time, and so on. But the rest of that is, We pray, plain, and prepare as if it depends on us, but we know that nothing does.
So, we don't get upset. You know, like, what was it? Uh, last Sunday, we had our big screen. There was a hole in the middle of the screen, right? One of the monitors didn't work.
Um, and you know what? But praise the Lord, man. Worship was had, and God's word was rightly divided. And so, because it doesn't depend on stuff, is what I'm trying to say. And another thing I encourage people: you know what, if you feel If if the style of Of the music is something you don't like, or you don't like going.
I like going in where it's the pews that I grew up. Yeah. You know what? Find that church. The only thing I tell people to make sure that they don't deviate from.
Is the gospel. Make sure God's word is true, and that's what's being taught and preached. The other stuff is just window dressing. It is just where you feel comfortable. But make sure it's a church that has.
But it's based on God's word, not comfortable because you like the stuff better. Absolutely. Back in just a moment. You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. Welcome back to Kingdom Pursuits.
We're on our last segment and I want to give Philip, I know he had a lot of things he wanted to. To touch on, so I'm going to basically give him the, I'm going to step off the field and Let them touch base on a few of the things that's important. And again, I'll say this when I close out tomorrow morning, be in church somewhere. Amen. Amen.
Philip? Today's world, today's church, what are we looking at?
Well, again, we were talking during the break. I think we've been very clear, and it should be. I mean, God's Word rightly divided. God's Word is the authority that is for our local church. A key point.
We do. We love God in worship, right?
So that's important. We talked about that and how worship is more than just singing. But, you know, someone that I'm very passionate about, and part of it's the teacher in me. But, you know, we use the word discipleship. But, you know, we grow best when we grow together, really.
In small groups.
Now, I say small groups, and I know that also is, we could probably do a whole show on that. But what I'm talking about is Sunday school. I'm talking about some churches call them life groups, some call them e-groups, or Bible fellowships, or community groups. And those things are nuanced with different things, but ultimately they are versions of discipleship and small group. And that's really where we grow best together.
Sunday morning, and for everyone who's listening, when you find that local church that God's word is being rightly divided, and it may not match your preferences, we were just talking about that. It may not, you know, you may really like pews, but they've got chairs.
Well, remember, that's just stuff. That's not, that may be important to you, but it's not. Essential. Right? So, if God's word is being rightly divided and the worship is authentic and real, and you have an opportunity to grow together in small groups, a Sunday school or something like that, where you can really plug in and lock arms and dig into God's word with others at a deeper level.
That Sunday morning service. is not enough. Right, and if your Sunday school or e-group or Bible fellowship meets on Sunday morning and that works for you, awesome. But maybe it's Sunday night, maybe it's Tuesday night in somebody's home, maybe it's Thursday night on the campus of the church. It really doesn't matter as long as you've got that opportunity to really go deeper and grow together in a small group.
You know, the average church size in America is somewhere in the 60s, 62 to 68, I think, is the current. I may be misquoted on that, but I know I'm pretty close in the number. And I know at some churches there are Sunday school classes or even what we call small groups that are that large. And essentially, it's kind of like a small church within a church. And again, I think there's some strength in that.
Tim, who's on staff with us at Pinedale, is teaching me a really cool phrase. We talk about these larger groups and then kind of Jesus-sized groups, which are like 12 to 16. And then maybe those three or four. I mean, there's a place for all of that. But I want you to find, wherever you're going to local church, find a place to plug in that divides God's word rightly.
The worship is authentic. You've got an opportunity to grow together deeper in small groups and an opportunity to serve. That's another thing. Being a part of the church body means... I use the analogy of a baseball or a football stadium.
In the upper deck, you're just kind of a fan and you're there. But I want you to get from the upper deck all the way down onto the field and start playing, being on the team. Being a follower of Jesus isn't a spectator sport, right? He's called us to move and to action.
So you need to be able to find a local church that. Provide some opportunities for you to serve and engage in the community and with the people that God has drawn. Uh to to that point. Yeah, you know, something that I think small groups, I'm in a fairly decent sized Sunday school class, but then probably some of my best depth and connections I make. I do a I have a group of guys that meet Wednesday morning for breakfast.
Amen. And we're it's from 14 to 20 of us that are there every and it's about 24 that are in the group, but it's in and out because of work schedules and different things going on. But it's just so important because at that point you have a deeper relationship with each other. And that's the group that if I'm struggling with something, that's the group I share it with. That's the group we talk about it, we laugh about it, we have a good time and enjoy the fellowship.
But if it gets much bigger than that, what you're saying, you know, it's hard to have those intimacy, that's right, and to have transparency. And so you just said something that's so important and how God really designed his church. And I use the analogy of seven circles, and I can unpack that if we have time. But what you just said is most important, it's about. Is really being encouraged and held accountable.
That's what God's church is supposed to be. And we do that best and deepest when it's just those two or three, or maybe 10 or 12, or so on, because that's where we talk about things like 9-11. That's where we talk about things like Charlie Kirk and so on, because what's hurting you. Matters to me when we are in church together.
So I want to be able to encourage you, but also be a sounding board for you. Because here's the way God's church is supposed to work: when you fall. when you struggle with something, whatever that may be. If sin has a stronghold in your life, or you're discouraged, or you're, as Fonda was teaching us about mental health, or what if you're in a place where you are in need, and let's face it, you're human, which means you are. Right?
I need to be there to pick you up and to walk that walk with you. And you're going to need to do that for me. That's what church is about. Absolutely. And to wrap up, real quick, if you're in the Douglasville, Georgia area.
Stop by. Sweet. Water Baptist Church. See Robbie. Say hello to him, your listener.
You've got a few more moments to get signed in for Fonda's suicide prevention training. Go to the website, Christian Carga. I mean, Kingdom Pursuit, and there's a link to her wellness action recovery and hit events, and I'll send you right there. Tomorrow morning, be in church somewhere. If you're in the Winston area, Pinedale Christian Church on Peters Creek, come up and tell Philip that you heard him on the radio and found out encourage him.
God is good and sometimes the world isn't. Praise the Lord. Okay.
