Forge Communities

This is Rodney from the Masculine Journey Podcast, where we explored manhood within Jesus Christ. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few seconds.

Sit back, enjoy it, share it. But most of all, thank you for listening and choosing the Truth Podcast Network. This is the Truth Network. 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, I hope you're ready to march forth today on Kingdom Pursuits. I know I am.

I know I am. And so we are going to get an opportunity to do that in so many different ways today. So first off, our first guest is Shannon Cook. And Shannon is the author of a really cool, amazing children's book called I Made the Earth. That has to do with Earth Day.

That's coming up actually in April. So welcome, Shannon. And you're in Columbus, Ohio today. It's so wonderful to have you on with us. I'm so glad to be here today. And so, you know, one of the things I always just am delighted to hear is, you know, you're sitting there one day and like, man, God says, Shannon, I want you to write a kid's book.

How did that happen? Oh, well, I was actually just looking for this book, and I couldn't find one. My family loves to read seasonally. We actually have a little corner in our basement where I put out books for each season, a lot of different holidays. And I was looking for an Earth Day book.

And I was looking specifically for a Christian Earth Day book, and I couldn't find anything like that. So I thought to myself, well, someone should probably write that book. And then I woke up the next morning with just a burden to write this book. And I haven't had that.

Yeah. I had been writing for a number of years, and I always felt God blessed my writing, my blog, and different things. But I hadn't had that kind of a burden before to write something. And I did what a lot of us do. I ignored it. Unfortunately, for a couple of mornings, I said, nope, sorry, I'm not equipped. There wasn't a large fish involved in this, was there? No, no, no. God just said, it doesn't matter. I am. I'm equipped.

Let's do this. And over time, I sat down and I wrote the book. And here's how I just know that his hand was in every aspect of this. The first person that I showed it to actually is the person who published it, Michelle Medlock-Adams. She's an author, and I asked her, hey, would you mind reading this book and taking a look at it? She said, well, you even have the right number of spreads for a picture book, which I didn't know anything about.

And so I thought, well, obviously, God would know how to format one. Isn't that awesome? Oh, well, it's so wonderful.

Unbelievable. Yeah, believe me, Shannon, we're going to get to all kinds of stuff about your book. But again, we want to tell you that her book is at kingdompersuits.com.

So many cool things about it. The children's book about Earth Day, which we're going to talk about Earth Day here in a minute. Next up, we have Eric Shipton. And Eric came to me by way of Dave Compton, who you may know works for another one of the Truth Network stations.

You guys are going to help me. Is it WPET? Yes, WPET. Right.

And just a very, very gifted friend. And so he brought – well, Eric could have told me where – I should ask him. But Eric is starting a church called Forge? Forge Church, yeah. Forge Church. And he's got some amazing nonprofits that go with that, the Forge community. So welcome, Eric.

Good morning. And so how cool that – you know, and I happen to know, for those of you who are familiar, that live in Winston-Salem, and I know we've got people in Ohio, we've got people in Raleigh and all that. But for people in Winston-Salem, this new church plant, which is going on in Greensboro, is coming out of the group that was Rinaldo Presbyterian and then River Oaks Presbyterian. You guys have another church you planted, right, in South Winston? Yeah, it's called Restoration Community Church, and it's also coming out of Memorial Pres.

in Greensboro as well. So a lot of churches coming together to help us launch this. Right. And so how cool is that? And boy, are you going to be excited to hear what all this nonprofit is going to do. And then just to show you that we are totally ready to march forth today, we also have with us Dick Joyce, who is with a concerned bunch of Moravians, which is very exciting to me because you guys are, you know, grabbing hold of God and trying to, you know, get the church closer back where it's supposed to be.

Four years, seven months, and we, you know, still march forward. That's good to hear. And we've got an exciting event coming up.

And with Eric McTaxus, right? Yes. And so, yeah, Dick's here to share with that. So, you know, Shannon, in honor of you, speaking of Earth Day, right? I've got it. All right, guys, you're going to love this one. I know you are. So I'm waiting for my joke music. There it is.

I always feel better when I hear that. So why are people always tired on Earth Day, Christian? You got any idea on this one? I don't have any idea. Because they had a long march. You know, it's April.

They're always tired on Earth Day. So another one of my personal favorites, and I bet you know this one, Eric. How do you cut a wave in half, Eric? It's a little Earth Day joke. How do you cut a wave in half?

You use a see-saw. All right, there you go. What's the difference between weather and climate? You got any ideas, Greg? Weather and climate. No, what is it? Ah, you can't weather a tree, but you can climb it.

All right, Richard, for you, we've got a whole bunch of contestants today. What is the biggest moth in the world? What is the biggest moth in the world? It's an Earth Day joke. What's the biggest moth in the world? Goodness, I have no idea. It would be a mammoth. They're woolly, from what I understand. There you go.

So, you know, don't think we're going to leave you out, Dick. So why is grass so dangerous? You know, you could ask Nebuchadnezzar.

He would tell you. Just generally speaking, in your front yard, why is grass so dangerous? It cuts. It doesn't.

It's full of blades. Oh, wow. He got it. He actually got it. That's great.

All right, we're going to have to go back to you with this one, Christian. Why are recycle bins...this is a perfect Earth Day joke. Why are recycle bins so optimistic? Because they go green? Similar. They're full of cans.

I really like this one. You're going to like it, Greg. Why do very few aliens visit the Earth? I know you've wondered about that. Why do very few aliens visit the Earth? Because they're green?

That's part of it, too, but the real problem is we only have a one-star rating. All right, and you knew at the end of those shenanigans we actually would have a riddle today that you can call in and win, and so we actually have Shannon's book, so you can call in and win. The book is called I Made the Earth. So here's the riddle. I don't know if you knew this, but the Earth is 80% water, none of which or very little of it is carbonated, okay? And essentially the Earth is flat, I'm just telling you.

You liked that, didn't you, Christian? Yeah, so essentially the Earth is flat. Yeah, so biblically, what's the water for? So biblically speaking, all that water, 80% of the Earth is water. What's all that water for?

If you know the answer to that, oh, you can win the Earth Day book and so many more prizes. All you have to do is call us at 866-348-7884, and Christian, once again, tell them what they'll win. They're going to win the book by Sharon Cook herself, I Made the Earth. And Shannon. Shannon, Sharon. I am so sorry.

Shannon, not Sharon, I apologize. That's all right. I've done it many times.

That's happened to me my whole life, so you know, people always do that. The ends do look like ours when you first look at them, so you know, there you go. So what, biblically speaking, and I love the answer to this, and don't hesitate to call, because again, in the history of kingdom pursuits, nobody has ever been wrong.

Okay, and this is a very open-ended question, so I'm thinking you got the answer. If you want the book, 866-348-7884, and boy, would I love to hear from you. When we come back, we're going to be marching forth with I Made the Earth, forging all people in all communities, and of course, the Reformation of the Moravian Church. How fun, all in one show, all marching forth.

We'll be right back. Welcome back to Kingdom Pursuits, where we, oh man, I love the title of my show. Like, how fun is it to pursue the kingdom in so many different ways that God gives people passions, and we get a chance to look into how God did that every week, and I hope people know the passion for this show is, you know, God put something on your heart like he did Shannon, right? And then, oh, the adventure he takes you on when you don't take the Jonah adventure, and you go on and obey, then oh my goodness, where he is going to take you, when, you know, you start doing something that he's called you to do, you can feel his pleasure, and you get this amazing insight into what he's trying to show you about himself as you're obedient to him, and you walk with him in that adventure. And so, there was the idea behind Kingdom Pursuits, and so today we have Shannon Cook who wrote I Made the Earth, and we have Eric Shipton, who is with Church Plant, which is awesome, called Forge, and they have this church that's going to start in Greensboro, North Carolina, Northeast Greensboro, North Carolina, and then we have Dick Joyce, who is with Concerned Moravians, and so, Dick, we're going to go with you first, since we went, you know, last first, and first will be last here, so, or however that goes.

I'm really curious, like, how did God put this on your heart? Dick Joyce As a leader in my local church, I was tapped to head up the committee to find delegates for Senate. Darrell Bock Senate for the Moravians, all the Moravians? Dick Joyce For the Moravian church, representatives from our congregation, and as a result of that, and the pastor came to me and asked me to head the committee up, I resisted because of the dialogue that had been occurring for 20 years on the Senate floor, and I'd heard congregants that had returned from Senate and had just beaten by the rhetoric of progressive movements being crammed down their throats, and every delegate that came back said, I'll never go to another one.

So, I told the pastor, I said, you know, I've got a lot going on. I'm involved in a lot of community activities, so I resisted committing to heading this thing up, and I explained to him the rationale of it. I said, you know, there's a particular topic that isn't very popular, and it's going to be impossible to put together a group willing to go to Senate. And he confirmed to me, he said, listen, Dick, the Unity Senate, which is the worldwide Moravian church leaders, have sent an edict that the topic of same-sex marriage within the church isn't to be discussed.

It will not be part of that Senate. So, I said, well, you know, if that's the case, I can probably put together a slate. I and my committee asked eight people. All of them said they weren't interested because of the topic, and when we confirmed to them that it was not going to be discussed, all eight of them agreed to be part of the slate.

And so, you know, I was comfortable. As it turns out, this Senate 2018, which I later labeled sin nod 2018, the Moravian church said yes to sin, when those delegates came back from that conference, they were beaten. They were in tears. They had witnessed this precious Moravian church being destroyed by implementing all this progressive thought. The Moravian church has always been a loving church. You know, they were the first missionaries that went out into the foreign world.

They founded Salem, obviously, which is a big part of Winston-Salem. So, we're going to leave this story here for now because we can see that it's a whopper. And, wow. So, we're going to come back around and hear more from Dick on what we're doing now because God, He isn't sitting still while all that's going on.

He's still there. And so, let's go back to Eric for a minute. And, Eric, so you're going to start this, but I'm really curious, within your website is a nonprofit that offers all sorts of cool things for kids and all those things that always seem to be very central to, you know, River Oaks and Reynolda and all those things.

Eric Bischoff Yeah, absolutely. So, the nonprofit's called Forge Communities and Forge Sports, and it's an upward sports model. But, we have decided that our families and our communities will be stronger if we're together. And so, we want to be a place for all people to explore and exercise faith in Jesus Christ.

And so, part of that exercise can be true exercise. And so, all of the kids that play in Forge Sports will play on scholarship through donations from Memorial Presbyterian Church and River Oaks Church and companies that are supporting us, who you'll see on our jerseys. So, kids, whether they play soccer, basketball, or cheerleading, will play for free. In Greensboro, we have basketball and cheerleading registering right now for the next week and a half or so. We have some slots left in there for the scholarships, and in Winston, we're playing soccer on Palmer Lane with our partner City Lights Ministry, and we have some spots left for scholarship there as well. Darrell Bock Which, by the way, all that is at kingdomresuits.com, right? You can see the link to the Forge communities, which is a beautiful...

I love your website. I mean, it's just, you guys did a great job of... You wouldn't think this is a church plant based on what you see. When you look at that, like, oh my goodness, I mean, this is full grown and something that obviously people are going to want to be involved in because I remember when River Oaks started that it was a church plant coming out of Renalda.

And my good friend, Joe Volz, which we haven't shared, you know, was my partner at Westside Christ of Dodge Jeep to give you a little history of how far we kind of go back together. And oh my goodness, the families, because you guys had this family ministry that... And because the kids, I think it was called Kids Rock, am I right? That's right. Because all the kids were coming to Kids Rock, the kids brought the parents. That's right. That's right. And the church grew phenomenally because what?

The next generation. You know, I love in the 119th Psalm, it says, I have faithfulness unto all generations. Thou established, and this is good news for the Moravians too, thou established the earth and it abideth. These continue these day because of his ordinances. All, all are his servants. Sometimes the evil servants, you know, what they think they're doing for evil, they're actually doing it for good. They really, really are. And such is the case with Earth Day in its own way, right?

Sharon, because, you know, I love what you've done is you've taken Earth Day and shown what a beautiful thing God really did do with the earth. Yes. And you're right about the kids bringing the parents. And I've seen that in my own church. And also, that's how we started recycling in my house years ago. And my husband had worked in green energy for 20 years at this point, but my daughter came home from school and said, why don't we recycle? And it was like, you're right, because we're lazy.

And so we started recycling because of our first grader, who kind of, you know, she's the one who noticed that that was something that we weren't doing. And so, you know, the more I think about that verse, that his faithfulness is unto all generations, the more important I see books like yours, right? Because here's an opportunity for kids naturally love outside.

I mean, they just do. And to connect that back to God is a critically important issue rather than, you know, not have a book out there on Earth Day that has to do with God. And so I love, love, love your book for that very reason, that children, you know, they're the next generation.

And so let's give them something to where they can see where this really did come from. And so as you began to write that, how did God download stuff to you? Jennifer It was, it was a really incredible experience because I didn't feel like I was toiling when I was writing.

It really did feel like he was blessing every line. And I thought about the things that I love about creation. I love taking a hike, and I love fresh fruit, and I love all the things to look at, waterfalls, and all those things were just coming to mind. And I thought, you know, it's a rhyming book. And those are the books that my kids love the most. And so it was really more effortless as far as my writing goes than anything I'd ever written before. Darrell Oh, that's cool.

That's cool. And again, it's always easier to write about things we love, right? It's kind of God made us that way, you know, to talk about those very things. And then, like you had said, you wrote the book, and then your publisher, or the lady that you just had given it to read says, oh, well, this is made perfect. And this book is so beautifully illustrated. And I noticed that apparently, that lady is connected to your illustrator, because I mean that, part of any children's book is how it was illustrated, right?

Julie Absolutely. And there's always a little fear, I think, with authors before they see the illustrations. Because, you know, are they going to see it the way I saw it? And to be honest, Richard Watson saw it in the most beautiful way better than I expected. I was just floored. I literally cried when I saw the illustration, because, you know, they can really make or break a picture book.

And it was, they're stunning, they're absolutely beautiful. And the kids in the book are so fun. I just, I love it. Tom Yeah, the pictures draw you into the story, right?

Julie They really do. Tom And kids are so visual that, you know, they, the beauty of it is that not only do they draw you into the story, but they draw you into God in the story, right? It's just, it's an amazing book.

Again, it's called I Made the Earth. And you can find it there at Kingdom Pursuits as well as Forge and their communities to get hooked up with that soccer and basketball and all that. And oh, I bet you're like me, you're wondering, what are we going to do with these Moravians? Well, God has big plans, I can assure you.

He really does. So when we come back, we've got so much more for you today on Kingdom Pursuits. You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.com. Welcome back to Kingdom Pursuits, where we hear how God takes your passion and uses it to build the Kingdom. And today we're so blessed to have with us Shannon Cook, and her name is Shannon. Now Shannon, I know you're aware of this, but you're going to get a new name when you get in heaven, and both Christian and I have decided it's Sharon. I've known a lot of nice Jerrins in my life, and I'm okay with that, I guess. All right.

But it's okay. Her name is Shannon with two Ns, which those are nuns, which are great faith, and I love that. Your name is filled with that. That's beautiful. Shannon Cook, and she wrote the book I Made the Earth, as well as Eric Shipton with the Forge Church.

Wait until you hear how that's forging ahead. And again, Dick Joyce with the Reformation of Concerned Moravians, and wow, I know you're excited to hear more about that, but we're going to go first this time to Eric. And we were talking during the break, and I find it just cool how when God starts to put something together, it seems like, no, they're not going to do that, but they did do it, right? That the current church there in Greensboro has really just embraced your vision and really just joined arms with you in a huge way, that they're literally giving you their space and becoming part of the deal.

Yeah, absolutely. So within about an hour of presenting our vision, we got a phone call and said, what if there was a gym and a church that wanted to join this mission? And I was like, yeah, but where is that? And it was like, well, it's Memorial Pres on McKnight Mill Road, and they identify with your vision. They want to be a place for all people to explore and exercise faith in Jesus Christ. They want to glorify God by surrendering all that they have to move forward in that community. And not only did they want to, they did. It's amazing, amazing how they've given everything. And they've kind of forged, you know?

Yeah, yeah. And so, you know, for people that are in Greensboro that want, you know, they've got kids, and believe me, the one thing I will tell you, if you live in Greensboro and you want your kids to get excited about coming to church, these guys are really, really, really good at that. I've seen it in all their church plants. And so how do you get to McKnight?

Is that what it's called? McKnight Church? It's McKnight Mill Road, yeah. Mill. But soon to be McKnight Church.

No, I'm just kidding. McKnight Mill Road, and it's by Cone Boulevard, where exactly, how do you get there? It's right off East Cone Boulevard on one side and right off High Cone on the other. And so we're right in the middle between High Cone and East Cone there on McKnight Mill Road.

Yeah, so you can get the whole ice cream cone. Just come to Ford's Church right there on McKnight, right? McKnight Mill Road, yeah.

McKnight Mill Road. That's so cool. And I, it's really neat to see churches, you know, lock arms like that, because that seems like there's no way, you know, somebody's got to be, you know, but I'll become, you know, lesser as God becomes greater, and really to die to ourselves is really the picture of what it is is what God's doing, not what I'm doing, right?

Yeah, absolutely. It has been an amazing journey to see people give of themselves to a vision they've just heard of, and to identify with that. And John 15, 13, I think it is, is no greater love, and correct me on that if I'm wrong, but and that's what they've done. They've laid down their life, they surrendered, they've taken up this new vision by laying it down. And what love have they shown in that? It's an amazing way that God works in that. Because we think we're going to plant, we're going to be going to schools, we're going to be in other places that we have gyms and things like that. And God says, well, wait a minute, I've got property.

What about using that in Greensboro? And we're so excited to see how God is moving in that and how He continues to bless. Because our primary purpose is to glorify Him. And as we glorify Him, we get blessed in the process. And so I'm so thankful for the people Memorial Press joining us in this, and for all that has come along in this. And so for truth listeners, you know, which are obviously key to us, we're so grateful for each and every one of you. But you're going to be really familiar with this denomination.

I'll tell you why. Because Alan Wright, who you guys all know, are on every single day of the week, just a phenomenal pastor. He's a pastor at Ronaldo, which was the church plant that began, you know, River Oaks that began this.

It's all come through to this. And then James Banks, who does Encouraging Prayer, really one of my best friends in all the world. It'd be on, you know, at the end of this show doing Encouraging Prayer. Well, he too is with that group, the EPC denomination of the Presbyterian Church, which is just, you know, it's really cool to see how God has taken that really vision that the Moravians had. I'm just going to share that really, if it hadn't been for the Moravians, right, they're over there in Moravia, wherever that is, and they're praying like crazy, right, that God would come, you know, to new worlds. And they prayed and prayed and prayed for centuries, and that they had the prayer meetings for hours and hours and hours before they sent these people over here to Salem, right?

And so we're all in a way that we're here at The Truth Network. We're standing on the shoulders of those prayers of these wonderful Christian people that did this, you know, centuries ago, right? Exactly. Matter of fact, that unity prayer continues to exist today, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

There's a Moravian praying in the world. Yeah. And so it's so beautiful that I know that that's the place where you really come from, Dick, right? You don't come from a place of conflict.

This isn't your natural habitat to be here in the middle of this. No, I have total disdain for conflict, but God put me in the middle of it. And so what we're interested in is what's God doing, and so what God is doing is He's got Eric McTaxus coming so you guys can have an event, right?

That's exactly right. And tell us about that event. Well, the genesis of it all, a member of Concerned Moravians gave me this book. And as he passed it to me, I saw Eric McTaxus. I know the name Eric McTaxus. He was one of the founders of New Canaan Society, a men's movement that has become nationwide. And is huge in this area, sure.

The largest chapter in the United States exists here in Winston-Salem and meets every Friday morning at River Birch Lodge, 7 o'clock. But this guy who handed me books said, you think you can get Eric to come? So I reached out, and I was running into roadblock after roadblock. I called people who had connections to him, and it just wasn't working out. And we continued to pray over it, and through some really miraculous events, Eric agreed to come. He was going to be in the area for another event anyway over in High Point. So we're able to piggyback and have him here.

And so tell when is he going to be here? He's going to be here March 16th at Bethabara Moravian Church. Oh, really, Bethabara Moravian, that's right over here?

The first Moravian church plant in the southern province. And it's a 7 o'clock event. We're going to open the doors at 615.

It is free to the public. We would encourage church leaderships, regardless of denomination, to be a part of this. Eric launched this book after having written a book that was a biography of Diedrich Bonhoeffer, which reveals all the dynamics of the Church of Germany mid-30s being destroyed.

Right. Well, speaking of books, moving back to I Made the Earth. And I'm so grateful, Shannon, that you are with us this morning and sitting there patiently with us. But of all the messages that God gave you in the book, which one is the one that, man, you can just hardly wait until some child catches this glimpse of God? I think it's probably just how great God is. The ability to create this whole earth and the heavens and just, I think about the waterfalls and the whales—and I'm actually afraid of whales, but I wrote it in the book for other people—just all of the greatness of God and how He has the ability to do all these things. So of course He has the ability to take care of us, and He can get us through any problem that we have, because He makes mountains and He makes waterfalls and He makes planets. That is such an important thing to know, right?

Is that right? It's that delight in the fear of the Lord. It's like, man, if you understand that concept, you can be comfortable.

You can feel safe, which is what children need to feel. I love that. I love that. We've got one more segment coming up with Kingdom Pursuits. Again, we would urge you to go to KingdomPursuits.com, find out more about Ford's Church, and of course order Shannon's book.

You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. Welcome back to Kingdom Pursuits, where we hear how God takes your passion and uses it to build the Kingdom again. Today, we are blessed to have with us Shannon Cook.

She's the author of I Made the Earth, a wonderful children's book, beautifully illustrated, as we pointed out, and Eric Shipton with Forge. It's a new church, a new nonprofit that's doing amazing things. Really this church is going to open up Easter Sunday, April 9th, there in northeastern Greensboro. And then of course Dick Joyce with this Reformation of the Moravian Church, which we just heard this event with Eric Metaxas is coming on March 16th at Bethabara Moravian.

How fun. And that's a beautiful church. I actually walk over there in that park almost every day. And it's just, it's really, it's a neat, like if you can't sense God there and if you're in Winston-Salem, I don't know, because that place has been baked in prayer for centuries.

And it's one of my favorite places to walk. And so I can hardly wait for Eric Metaxas and what he's going to do there. So Shannon, we just have one couple minute segment for each of you left. What did you want to say today about your book that you didn't get a chance to say? Shannon Cook I just, I can't wait until the book releases on March 14th.

The idea of seeing other people's children hold it in their hands and delight in it just makes me so, so excited. But you can find me on my website, shannoncookwright.com. And you can buy the book through your website, through, you know, where you've been staying on your station. But you can also buy it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Christian Book, and through our publisher, which is Endgame Press.

Darrell Bock Right. Well, I gave them the link to Amazon for the reason that, like, pre-sale of books is like hugely important to the author, okay, that when you pre-sell a book, then it'll show up all the books in the week that it actually opens. And so if they get a lot of pre-sales, you know, it's going to show up in the 10 best-wanted books or whatever, you know, there on Amazon, which is a huge lift for the author. And again, when you buy the book, be sure and, you know, make comments there, you know, as to how you can rate the book, you know, that kind of thing. It's so encouraging to authors as people do that. Again, we'd urge you to go to KingdomPursuits.com.

Again, it's just called I Made the Earth, but you have to put the Shannon Cook in there to find it if you just Google it without going to Kingdom Pursuits. So Eric, how about you? What did you want to make sure we got said today that we haven't said?

Eric Lander Yeah, absolutely. So I'd start off with a word of gratitude for the people of Memorial Presbyterian Church who have come along and said we want to identify with Ford Church's vision. So I'll just start with say thank you.

I won't name names because I'll leave someone out. But thank you to all who've come along with Forge Communities and Forge Sports and providing scholarships to these kids to play basketball, soccer and cheer. And there's still some spots left, they will play for free, they will get a player pack, they will get the word of the Lord to them. And then I would just invite people, we have an open house that's coming up at Forge Church on McKnight Mill Road, that'll be on March 18, the doors will open at 6pm and we'll start at 630. So we're gonna have barbecue, because that's what we do in this area, that's gonna be great. And then on April 1, that's April Fool's Day, but we're also having an Easter event where the kids can come out with bounce houses and activities and things like that. That starts at 11 at Forge Church there on McKnight Mill Road.

And then we're launching April 9, 2023 at 1030. And we're a place for all people and what our mission is, is all and if you're a person, you're included in all because we believe that every person is made in the image of God and our potential recipient of His grace. And because of that, we want to have them encounter the real and risen Savior.

That's what we're about and we invite you to join us. Darrell Bock And God is making it, is moving forward and forging, marching forth. So how about you, Dick, what did you want to get said today about Eric's event coming again to Bethabara Moravian? How beautiful. Dick Smith Well, we're excited to have Eric, he's going to talk about his latest book, Letter to the American Church, which highlights all the deficiencies that are occurring within the scope of churches within America today.

They've just, they've lost focus. And the concerned Moravians has a mission to follow Christ as our chief elder, restore unity to the worldwide Moravian church, return the southern province to full compliance with the church order, the unity of the proctorum, to uphold scripture as the sole standard of our doctrine and faith, and to love and serve all for whom Christ gave his life. Darrell Bock Yeah, well, you just answered my riddle. You get the book, because what's the water for? Okay, well, here's what the water for.

Biblically speaking, since nobody called in to win, you won. Because biblically speaking, the water is the word to somebody. So we get washed in that particular water as like Noah, you know, all that water came rising up, and then the Holy Spirit, right, came down with a branch in his mouth to say that, wow, God's wrath is now we've been washed. And the wrath is over just like when Jesus came out of the water, right?

Well, the water of the word will do that. And if we stay connected in prayer, as you guys are all doing, right, in the Moravian Church, I know so much, you're doing that, again, with Forge Church and all the folks with the EPC, which I know James has fixed to talk about prayer, right, as you stay connected with him, right, apart from me, you can do nothing. So wow, I'm so grateful for you guys all being connected to him. Shannon, thank you so much for being with us today.

And Eric and Dick. And most of all, thank you for listening because you guys make all the difference. And of course, we're so grateful at the Truth Network for each and every one of you right now. Stay tuned because you got so much truth coming at you. You got Encouraging Prayer, one of the best ones he's ever done, really. It's going to blow you away what he's got for you here. And that's followed by Masculine Journey starts here now. And then Eric and Nikita, no, Nikita, not Eric Metaxas, but Nikita Kolov, The Russian Nightmare at 1230. So much truth coming at you. This is the Truth Network.