WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.700 Hey there, welcome to the Church Digital Podcast. 00:00:01.840 --> 00:00:04.760 My name is Jeff, and we got a great episode set up for you. 00:00:04.860 --> 00:00:05.840 It's episode 22. 00:00:06.240 --> 00:00:08.200 We'll talk about who's coming up here in a little bit. 00:00:08.420 --> 00:00:11.140 It's my birthday week, and yeah, happy birthday to me. 00:00:11.480 --> 00:00:13.600 My birthday was actually August 18th, 00:00:13.600 --> 00:00:17.480 so the day yesterday from when the podcast released 00:00:17.480 --> 00:00:20.100 on Monday the 19th, and I'm excited. 00:00:20.200 --> 00:00:20.720 I'm 42. 00:00:21.360 --> 00:00:22.880 The gray in the beard's legit. 00:00:23.020 --> 00:00:24.500 I haven't had hair in 20 years. 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:29.120 So yeah, 42 is looking a lot like 41 and a lot like 40, 00:00:29.380 --> 00:00:31.960 and a lot like my 30s, actually, come to think of it. 00:00:32.280 --> 00:00:33.740 But let's get back on topic. 00:00:33.920 --> 00:00:35.940 To celebrate my birthday, here's what I'm doing, 00:00:36.020 --> 00:00:36.620 listening audience. 00:00:36.960 --> 00:00:37.920 I'm giving away Starbucks. 00:00:38.280 --> 00:00:40.420 I love Starbucks, and you love Starbucks too. 00:00:40.980 --> 00:00:42.680 So follow me on Instagram. 00:00:43.500 --> 00:00:48.320 Instagram, my account is deerfeg, D-E-E-R-F-F-E-J. 00:00:48.440 --> 00:00:50.900 So deer like the animal, and then Jeff backwards, 00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:51.840 because my name's Jeff Reed. 00:00:51.880 --> 00:00:52.420 It's all backwards. 00:00:52.960 --> 00:00:53.500 Follow me. 00:00:53.660 --> 00:00:56.520 I'm giving away Starbucks gift cards this week 00:00:56.520 --> 00:00:57.740 on my Instagram account. 00:00:57.760 --> 00:00:59.860 If you want to get notified when it's coming, 00:01:00.200 --> 00:01:02.360 turn on notifications on Instagram. 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:06.860 Take advantage of my graciousness all week of my birthday here, 00:01:06.940 --> 00:01:08.160 August 18th week. 00:01:09.080 --> 00:01:11.260 And this isn't the only way I'm celebrating my birthday, 00:01:11.400 --> 00:01:13.640 because it's my birthday, and I get to do what I want. 00:01:13.820 --> 00:01:16.200 And I can cry if I want to, which I'm not. 00:01:16.920 --> 00:01:20.000 To celebrate my birthday, I'm bringing a special guest on here 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:20.700 for this podcast. 00:01:21.080 --> 00:01:23.600 And this woman, honestly, is dear to my heart, 00:01:23.660 --> 00:01:25.440 maybe next to my wife and my daughter. 00:01:25.440 --> 00:01:27.980 I don't know that I love any woman any more than this. 00:01:28.340 --> 00:01:30.080 And before this gets any more awkward, 00:01:30.080 --> 00:01:32.860 let me tell you that we're bringing my mom on the podcast. 00:01:33.040 --> 00:01:33.660 So here's the deal. 00:01:34.040 --> 00:01:35.480 What does my mom have to do with church online? 00:01:36.040 --> 00:01:39.200 My mom's been leading multiple online small groups 00:01:39.200 --> 00:01:41.480 for almost three years now. 00:01:41.960 --> 00:01:45.080 A lot of it are people that she's recruited to join in. 00:01:45.300 --> 00:01:47.960 And my mom tells some phenomenal stories 00:01:47.960 --> 00:01:49.760 and has some phenomenal experiences 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:53.800 about what it actually means to lead a small group online. 00:01:54.420 --> 00:01:56.540 And so us as churches, as we're wrestling with 00:01:56.540 --> 00:01:58.100 whether or not we should do this, 00:01:58.120 --> 00:01:59.060 and what does it look like, 00:01:59.060 --> 00:02:01.160 and does it downplay the physical as well as the virtual, 00:02:01.360 --> 00:02:03.720 and how we're all complicating what's involved 00:02:03.720 --> 00:02:05.640 in actually doing discipleship online. 00:02:06.240 --> 00:02:08.680 People like my mother have just jumped in 00:02:08.680 --> 00:02:11.060 and have been discipling people for years. 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:12.080 And I want to explore this. 00:02:12.460 --> 00:02:13.600 I want to share some stories. 00:02:13.720 --> 00:02:17.660 I want to see what online small groups looks like, 00:02:17.660 --> 00:02:19.160 what biblical community looks like, 00:02:19.220 --> 00:02:21.140 what cell groups, whatever the language is. 00:02:21.480 --> 00:02:23.520 What does it look like to get people together 00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:25.660 and study the Bible online? 00:02:26.380 --> 00:02:30.660 And ironically, the best expert I know to dive into this 00:02:30.660 --> 00:02:35.920 is my mother, who is past retirement age, 00:02:36.060 --> 00:02:38.380 who is going to tell some phenomenal stories. 00:02:38.740 --> 00:02:40.820 And so I want to present to you, ladies and gentlemen, 00:02:41.400 --> 00:02:42.700 Rady Armis, who's not my mother, 00:02:42.960 --> 00:02:45.160 but online pastor over at Christ Fellowship Miami, 00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:47.460 myself, of course, in the Church Digital, 00:02:47.620 --> 00:02:52.400 and my mother, Linda Reed, retiree online small group leader. 00:02:52.920 --> 00:02:53.680 Here y'all go. 00:02:54.180 --> 00:02:55.460 I just want to put a disclaimer. 00:02:56.120 --> 00:02:59.200 I can't call this woman Linda for the entire length of this podcast. 00:02:59.660 --> 00:03:02.500 So listening audience, yeah, no, it's not going to happen. 00:03:02.600 --> 00:03:04.920 You're going to have to be okay with me calling her mom 00:03:04.920 --> 00:03:08.060 because mom's been mom for 42 years. 00:03:08.280 --> 00:03:10.580 And that is awesome. 00:03:11.200 --> 00:03:16.440 And so, I mean, I really just wanted to get a chance to sit down and talk with mom, 00:03:16.540 --> 00:03:19.460 who's been doing online small groups for three years. 00:03:20.400 --> 00:03:22.560 Three years ago when I was at Christ Fellowship Miami 00:03:22.560 --> 00:03:29.380 and just looking for somebody kind of crazy to buy into some concept of doing a small group online, 00:03:29.380 --> 00:03:34.220 and mom being, well, super supportive like she always is of me. 00:03:34.260 --> 00:03:38.180 Well, mom, how'd you get involved with doing an online small group? 00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:38.940 You tell the story. 00:03:39.640 --> 00:03:46.340 Okay, well, I think you called me and asked me, would I host an online Bible study? 00:03:46.500 --> 00:03:49.060 And I said, well, who's going to be in the group? 00:03:49.300 --> 00:03:51.620 Number one was one of my first questions. 00:03:52.120 --> 00:03:54.080 How do I host one? 00:03:54.620 --> 00:04:01.440 And most important, do I know enough about technology to do something online as an elderly person? 00:04:02.440 --> 00:04:04.140 I won't say old, but elderly. 00:04:04.700 --> 00:04:05.740 Nobody's saying old. 00:04:06.040 --> 00:04:07.780 Not one person has said old. 00:04:08.120 --> 00:04:09.000 Not even elderly. 00:04:09.200 --> 00:04:10.740 You're young for your age. 00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:12.100 Okay, thank you. 00:04:12.180 --> 00:04:12.520 Thank you. 00:04:12.580 --> 00:04:13.000 Thank you. 00:04:13.120 --> 00:04:17.020 Linda, you're proving that a lot of this is really even just a state of mind thing, 00:04:17.060 --> 00:04:18.860 even just by taking this jump, 00:04:18.860 --> 00:04:24.180 because those questions right off the bat are what most people would approach us with. 00:04:24.380 --> 00:04:28.060 So keep telling your story, because I think it's going to help lead a lot of people in that direction. 00:04:28.560 --> 00:04:31.180 It's been easy, and it's been wonderful. 00:04:31.900 --> 00:04:36.000 And a lot has happened, and God has been in it. 00:04:36.080 --> 00:04:38.000 You can see things that have happened, 00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:42.340 because I started with one small group on Sunday night at 8 o'clock. 00:04:42.440 --> 00:04:44.020 Now I have two small groups. 00:04:44.320 --> 00:04:47.380 I have one on Sunday night and one on Monday night at 8 o'clock. 00:04:47.540 --> 00:04:49.360 And as a leader, it's wonderful. 00:04:49.520 --> 00:04:53.040 I only have to study one, you know, prepare. 00:04:53.220 --> 00:04:54.460 It's like a teacher in school. 00:04:54.600 --> 00:05:01.620 I only have to prepare one lesson, but I get the time and I get the privilege of sharing it twice. 00:05:01.860 --> 00:05:05.160 So tell me about your particular study. 00:05:05.320 --> 00:05:06.940 So you got some great questions. 00:05:07.560 --> 00:05:08.740 Who's going to join the group? 00:05:08.820 --> 00:05:10.540 That was your question three years ago. 00:05:11.340 --> 00:05:12.460 Who joined your group? 00:05:12.620 --> 00:05:15.560 Tell us some of what your online small groups look like. 00:05:15.560 --> 00:05:16.000 Okay. 00:05:16.900 --> 00:05:24.740 On my Sunday night small group, I have the first person that actually joined my group is still with me three years later. 00:05:25.380 --> 00:05:31.680 And she started out living in, she actually, her family lives and went to West Kendall. 00:05:31.940 --> 00:05:35.500 But she went away to law school in Washington, D.C. 00:05:35.500 --> 00:05:42.160 And she joined, was my first person to join in my class out of Washington, D.C. 00:05:42.160 --> 00:05:46.680 She was a college graduate and she was just entered law school. 00:05:47.460 --> 00:05:51.140 And so she was there until just this last year. 00:05:51.160 --> 00:05:53.500 She now moved to San Antonio. 00:05:53.500 --> 00:05:55.800 And what's so great, it's been seamless. 00:05:56.040 --> 00:05:59.560 She's now in San Antonio, but she joins us every Sunday night. 00:06:00.140 --> 00:06:02.740 And we've just had a grand time. 00:06:03.320 --> 00:06:10.560 One of the other ladies in our Sunday night small group, she and I went to Washington, D.C. to visit Melissa. 00:06:10.880 --> 00:06:15.360 And we had a grand two days with her, went to the Bible Museum there. 00:06:15.360 --> 00:06:25.080 And we really got close as friends, even though really our relationship is centered online. 00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:34.320 And to me, one of the most important things about being online, it's the same as being face-to-face in a physical room. 00:06:35.120 --> 00:06:45.300 And it just opens up so much access to anybody who wants to be in a small group. 00:06:45.300 --> 00:06:47.860 And so for me, it's been wonderful. 00:06:48.180 --> 00:06:52.400 And we've had all kinds of experiences in our small group. 00:06:53.060 --> 00:07:01.200 I have one lady who has actually joined in on small group from the grocery store, believe it or not, on her cell phone, because she didn't want to miss. 00:07:02.120 --> 00:07:03.200 That was interesting. 00:07:03.800 --> 00:07:05.480 But we've done that. 00:07:05.800 --> 00:07:11.440 We had pajama night one night, because, you know, we're all in light. 00:07:11.520 --> 00:07:12.140 We're all women. 00:07:12.240 --> 00:07:13.260 We all wore pajamas. 00:07:13.600 --> 00:07:16.220 We got up and showed our pajamas to each other. 00:07:17.140 --> 00:07:19.760 So, you know, we try to make it fun. 00:07:20.420 --> 00:07:24.240 And so this past year, we've been doing the study. 00:07:24.420 --> 00:07:26.000 We've been going through the book of Matthew. 00:07:26.740 --> 00:07:35.120 And when Jesus was going to have the Lord's Supper, we were going to do, we were going to have communion on, you know, like you do online at church. 00:07:35.540 --> 00:07:42.380 But I couldn't bring myself to do it because I didn't feel like I should be leading in communion as a small group leader. 00:07:42.700 --> 00:07:43.980 But we talked about it. 00:07:44.120 --> 00:07:46.800 So anyway, we've had fun with that. 00:07:48.800 --> 00:07:49.800 We laugh. 00:07:49.920 --> 00:07:51.240 We cry together. 00:07:51.780 --> 00:07:54.820 It doesn't matter if you're in the same room or if you're online. 00:07:55.120 --> 00:08:01.400 You can have all those same feelings of connection and community and emotion together. 00:08:01.800 --> 00:08:03.780 We text each other during the week. 00:08:03.900 --> 00:08:05.460 We text each other recipes. 00:08:06.220 --> 00:08:08.560 You know, we stay connected during the week. 00:08:08.720 --> 00:08:10.280 We celebrate birthdays. 00:08:10.920 --> 00:08:15.460 You know, we do everything that you do in person you could do online. 00:08:15.780 --> 00:08:16.440 It's wonderful. 00:08:17.980 --> 00:08:21.800 So you're a something, something year old person. 00:08:21.960 --> 00:08:31.300 You're on the older side, retired, you know, grandkid, loving, doting grandmother on my kids, which is awesome. 00:08:32.700 --> 00:08:34.220 Melissa's not. 00:08:34.400 --> 00:08:36.600 You mentioned she's on the younger side. 00:08:37.660 --> 00:08:38.700 Melissa's 26. 00:08:38.980 --> 00:08:41.120 She's been an attorney now for two years. 00:08:41.280 --> 00:08:41.560 Right. 00:08:41.640 --> 00:08:42.660 So you connected with her. 00:08:42.820 --> 00:08:46.380 She was graduate level work when we first connected. 00:08:46.380 --> 00:09:08.040 And I can just, I remember that early conversation that I had where as online pastor, like as we were getting the connection cards and utilizing people that came in through the online campus, Melissa was one of those that reached out saying that she was looking for some form of biblical community, looking for a small group, looking to get connected. 00:09:08.700 --> 00:09:16.060 And just transparently, Melissa was coming from like a law professional level. 00:09:16.560 --> 00:09:22.780 My mom had, has, you know, former business and professional level on that side. 00:09:22.900 --> 00:09:25.800 And so it's like, Hey, maybe I should put the two of these together. 00:09:25.800 --> 00:09:26.200 Maybe. 00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:32.840 And as I recall, like there were even others early on that I was like, let me try to help my mom start this, this small group. 00:09:32.840 --> 00:09:40.780 That's maybe this young professional group that, that she could like mentor and develop and grow with. 00:09:40.980 --> 00:09:43.160 And we've had some common go. 00:09:43.500 --> 00:09:44.580 Melissa has stayed. 00:09:45.920 --> 00:09:53.540 One of the challenges, you know, I think I'll jump ahead here a little bit because of what you just said about the small, you know, the age difference. 00:09:53.680 --> 00:10:03.220 Some of the challenges have been some folks coming up for me as a, as a leader, they'll come on, they'll, you know, you're, you're trying to connect. 00:10:03.220 --> 00:10:04.700 You're trying to build that relationship. 00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:17.480 Then after a month or two, they drop off and you reach out to them because you're, you want to find out, are they okay? 00:10:17.600 --> 00:10:18.260 What's happened? 00:10:18.620 --> 00:10:28.760 You know, just like you would, if you were doing a in-home or at church, you know, small group want to know what's happened and you don't want people to fall through the cracks. 00:10:28.760 --> 00:10:36.100 And one of the challenges has been getting them to respond back and, and share with you why they've moved on. 00:10:36.160 --> 00:10:36.740 It's okay. 00:10:36.880 --> 00:10:38.300 You know, it's not for you. 00:10:38.400 --> 00:10:44.720 I understand that, but that's been the toughest thing for me is to let some people go. 00:10:45.140 --> 00:10:47.420 And I'll give you an example. 00:10:47.420 --> 00:10:51.480 We had a young girl who was studying nursing at FIU. 00:10:51.920 --> 00:10:54.220 This is going back now three years ago. 00:10:54.220 --> 00:11:00.540 And, um, she, um, wanted to come on. 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:02.080 She signed up to come on. 00:11:02.640 --> 00:11:04.880 She texts me back and forth. 00:11:04.880 --> 00:11:05.620 I'm coming on. 00:11:05.660 --> 00:11:06.200 I'm coming on. 00:11:06.300 --> 00:11:08.780 I never could get her to come on. 00:11:09.040 --> 00:11:10.800 I sent her a book. 00:11:10.880 --> 00:11:15.260 I, I, I mailed, you know, cards of encouragement to her and so forth. 00:11:15.260 --> 00:11:21.600 And then one day I got a text from her, a very long text that she was in a, um, situation where 00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:29.100 she had an unplanned pregnancy and she, um, she evidently was raised in a Christian family. 00:11:29.260 --> 00:11:31.140 She knew what had happened was wrong. 00:11:31.260 --> 00:11:32.600 She was devastated. 00:11:32.940 --> 00:11:39.700 And I just kept trying to encourage her, encourage her and encourage her, uh, you know, that, 00:11:39.920 --> 00:11:46.240 um, in every way I could, I, I, I just loved on her every way I could through the, through 00:11:46.240 --> 00:11:51.000 the texting and through sending cards and books and stuff like that to her. 00:11:51.460 --> 00:11:57.700 And anyway, make a long story short, I didn't hear from her for about a year and a half and 00:11:57.700 --> 00:11:58.520 a year and a half. 00:11:58.700 --> 00:12:05.260 And then just about five months ago, six months ago, she friended me on Facebook out of nowhere. 00:12:05.260 --> 00:12:06.680 I was shocked. 00:12:07.520 --> 00:12:10.640 And we started up a relationship again. 00:12:10.800 --> 00:12:13.320 She had been in a abusive relationship. 00:12:13.320 --> 00:12:14.420 She had the baby. 00:12:14.540 --> 00:12:15.240 She's beautiful. 00:12:15.620 --> 00:12:17.480 I see I'm real good friends with her on Facebook. 00:12:17.480 --> 00:12:18.640 Now we friend all night. 00:12:18.760 --> 00:12:26.020 She's never come back onto the group, but she keeps promising me she wants to, and I keep 00:12:26.020 --> 00:12:26.880 reaching out to her. 00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:28.240 She keeps reaching out to me. 00:12:28.880 --> 00:12:31.920 And so I just found out that she now lives in Kendall. 00:12:32.840 --> 00:12:35.840 So I'm going to try to get together with her. 00:12:36.160 --> 00:12:43.380 So, you know, I've tried over the last two and a half years to, to minister to her and be 00:12:43.380 --> 00:12:47.640 there for her, even though she never actually showed up on a small group. 00:12:47.900 --> 00:12:48.020 Yeah. 00:12:48.340 --> 00:12:55.760 And she's a young girl, you know, I know, and in, in, in a need of a, of a, of a mentor 00:12:55.760 --> 00:12:57.740 or somebody to help her along the way. 00:12:58.120 --> 00:12:59.820 So that's been one experience. 00:12:59.820 --> 00:13:05.920 And then I have on my Monday night group, I actually reached out to a mother and daughter 00:13:05.920 --> 00:13:13.060 and my mother and daughter is now Barbara Orr, who goes to Christ Fellowship Miami and 00:13:13.060 --> 00:13:18.860 Chesley Orr, who lives in, um, somewhere in Texas, some small town in Texas. 00:13:18.860 --> 00:13:19.980 She's now a dentist. 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:22.900 And she, she's young, she's young like Melissa. 00:13:22.900 --> 00:13:30.780 And so it's been really great seeing a daughter and a mother that is in a Bible study together. 00:13:31.080 --> 00:13:32.200 And I've really enjoyed that. 00:13:32.200 --> 00:13:38.100 And I know that they have, because they both have reached out to me and told me that they're 00:13:38.100 --> 00:13:43.060 very excited to be in a Bible study with their mother or with their daughter. 00:13:43.780 --> 00:13:46.240 That's encouraging because that's pretty rare, isn't it? 00:13:46.300 --> 00:13:50.220 As far as getting that dynamic, a lot of folks feel uncomfortable, like, hey, opening up with 00:13:50.220 --> 00:13:52.140 mom there or, or with their daughter there. 00:13:52.220 --> 00:13:56.960 And I think it's easier for a mother and daughter to do it online and in person. 00:13:59.140 --> 00:14:03.260 Let's, let's, let's unpack that because I mean, what, with the two examples, with the 00:14:03.260 --> 00:14:09.400 two studies, I mean, you're, you're old and you've got, uh, Melissa who's younger. 00:14:09.640 --> 00:14:14.560 And so even like getting the two of you in, in a physical space, there's challenges if 00:14:14.560 --> 00:14:15.460 you were to do that physically. 00:14:15.460 --> 00:14:21.660 And so you've got two different examples of a mom and a daughter, uh, and, and, and older 00:14:21.660 --> 00:14:28.560 retired versus a young professional that, that are building relationships virtually, um, utilizing 00:14:28.560 --> 00:14:29.080 online tools. 00:14:29.180 --> 00:14:30.120 Why do you think that is? 00:14:31.280 --> 00:14:40.100 Um, I think that it's, it's just a more comfortable situation because you are, even though you're 00:14:40.100 --> 00:14:47.960 face-to-face and, um, but you're not in the same room and it allows you to be who you are 00:14:47.960 --> 00:14:51.380 without the intimidation of mothers sitting right by you. 00:14:51.600 --> 00:14:52.880 You should understand that, Jeff. 00:14:53.680 --> 00:14:55.800 I'm asking questions here. 00:14:56.860 --> 00:14:57.760 So wait. 00:14:57.880 --> 00:15:05.180 So, but in my Sunday night group where I have a 26 year old Melissa, I have, uh, a beautiful 00:15:05.180 --> 00:15:08.860 person, young, not young, but she, I don't think she's old. 00:15:08.860 --> 00:15:12.680 I haven't really asked her how old she is, but I'm going to guess she's somewhere between 00:15:12.680 --> 00:15:15.360 40 and 50 younger than me. 00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:19.700 And she's a nurse in, uh, Orangeville, Ontario, Canada. 00:15:20.340 --> 00:15:27.760 And she has just been a delight, always has a smile on her face, always has something to 00:15:27.760 --> 00:15:33.020 add and truly has been a real inspiration to our group. 00:15:33.820 --> 00:15:42.120 And, uh, so, so the age range on that Sunday night group really goes from 26 to 72, you 00:15:42.120 --> 00:15:48.080 know, and our Monday night group goes the same realm, 26 to 72. 00:15:49.160 --> 00:15:51.000 And so it's been fun. 00:15:51.060 --> 00:15:53.640 And, and believe me, we all share that. 00:15:53.900 --> 00:15:59.440 That was one thing I wanted to share with you guys that I think works so well is I dedicate 00:15:59.440 --> 00:16:03.720 an hour and the first 15 minutes we fellowship. 00:16:04.020 --> 00:16:05.820 I mean, we really fellowship. 00:16:06.180 --> 00:16:07.980 We share our lives. 00:16:08.140 --> 00:16:10.500 We share what's going on that last week. 00:16:10.820 --> 00:16:17.420 Uh, what, what we're expecting to do this week, you know, what's going on, um, the good, 00:16:17.520 --> 00:16:20.160 the bad, anything we just open up and share. 00:16:20.260 --> 00:16:21.940 That's our first 15 minutes. 00:16:21.940 --> 00:16:26.960 Then we have an opening prayer and then we do Bible study for 30 minutes. 00:16:27.560 --> 00:16:33.820 And then we close in 15 minutes of, we share a prayer request and then we pray. 00:16:33.980 --> 00:16:39.100 We all pray, uh, or one will, you know, depends on what, you know, what's going on and how many 00:16:39.100 --> 00:16:42.820 prayer requests we have that I either assign some to pray. 00:16:42.960 --> 00:16:46.660 And some other, I have one lady that's in my Sunday night group. 00:16:46.660 --> 00:16:51.200 That's from Puerto Rico and she's fairly new Christian. 00:16:51.200 --> 00:16:53.700 I believe I haven't had a chance to really talk with her yet. 00:16:53.800 --> 00:16:54.940 She's new to our group. 00:16:55.700 --> 00:17:03.520 And I asked her to pray, which may have been a mistake, but in retrospect, it worked out 00:17:03.520 --> 00:17:03.880 great. 00:17:04.040 --> 00:17:12.140 God was in it because she said to me in our little group, she says, I will pray, but I don't 00:17:12.140 --> 00:17:12.920 know how to pray. 00:17:13.500 --> 00:17:16.420 And I said, you know, Erica, you know how to talk. 00:17:17.460 --> 00:17:22.320 I said, that's all you have to do is talk to God and telling what we've been talking about. 00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:25.460 And she prayed and it was beautiful. 00:17:25.460 --> 00:17:27.020 And it was from the heart. 00:17:27.380 --> 00:17:30.320 And afterwards she said, Oh, I can pray. 00:17:30.440 --> 00:17:31.040 I can pray. 00:17:31.440 --> 00:17:40.020 She was so excited, you know, but as silly as that sounds, that was a really aha moment in 00:17:40.020 --> 00:17:45.020 a small group online where we were being real. 00:17:45.980 --> 00:17:47.480 And it was wonderful. 00:17:47.660 --> 00:17:48.640 It was really wonderful. 00:17:48.840 --> 00:17:55.500 And now John and I, my husband, we're going to Puerto Rico on October 22nd and I'm going 00:17:55.500 --> 00:17:57.560 to get to have dinner with her and her husband. 00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:00.120 So I'm going to get to actually meet her. 00:18:00.220 --> 00:18:01.640 So I'm excited about that. 00:18:02.100 --> 00:18:03.920 So wait, she's in, I'm sorry. 00:18:04.060 --> 00:18:05.280 She's not from Puerto Rico. 00:18:05.420 --> 00:18:06.620 She's in Puerto Rico. 00:18:06.680 --> 00:18:07.560 She's in Puerto Rico. 00:18:07.920 --> 00:18:11.500 She came to our group through CF, through Agatha. 00:18:12.680 --> 00:18:13.560 Who's in New York. 00:18:13.700 --> 00:18:14.540 Who was in New York. 00:18:15.780 --> 00:18:16.120 Okay. 00:18:16.780 --> 00:18:22.740 And Agatha, because she was in, in Agatha's group going back two, three years ago. 00:18:23.080 --> 00:18:23.300 Yeah. 00:18:23.300 --> 00:18:27.000 And Agatha reached out to her and invited us. 00:18:27.100 --> 00:18:29.280 And Agatha has since left our group. 00:18:29.800 --> 00:18:31.420 She's had, her father died. 00:18:31.580 --> 00:18:34.060 She's had some traumatic things happen in her life. 00:18:34.920 --> 00:18:39.260 And, but I keep her on my every Friday email. 00:18:40.020 --> 00:18:45.500 I will never let Agatha go from me until she tells me to stop sending her emails. 00:18:45.840 --> 00:18:48.420 I send her the lessons every Friday. 00:18:49.440 --> 00:18:52.940 So if you're keeping score at home, we've got Texas. 00:18:53.560 --> 00:18:59.440 We've got, she's later in Miami, currently North Carolina with the podcast, but normally Miami. 00:19:00.080 --> 00:19:01.200 We've got Texas. 00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:05.460 We've got Ontario, Canada, and we've got Puerto Rico. 00:19:05.840 --> 00:19:06.160 Right. 00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:09.180 Like there is multiple countries, multiple time zones. 00:19:09.480 --> 00:19:10.900 And two cities in Texas. 00:19:11.100 --> 00:19:11.360 Right. 00:19:11.620 --> 00:19:17.020 Because, because even though we meet at eight o'clock on Sunday night for Port, for Puerto 00:19:17.020 --> 00:19:23.680 Rica, that's, it's a different time zone in Puerto Rico, but I forget what it is. 00:19:23.840 --> 00:19:30.840 I think it's, I think it's an hour later, but then in Texas, in San Antonio, it for, for 00:19:30.840 --> 00:19:36.320 Chesley and for Melissa, it's seven o'clock, even though it's eight o'clock. 00:19:36.740 --> 00:19:37.500 It's an hour later. 00:19:38.120 --> 00:19:38.260 So. 00:19:39.060 --> 00:19:41.420 I mean, where did you find these people? 00:19:41.500 --> 00:19:45.440 It's, it's, it's just kind of like networks, Agatha, and somebody. 00:19:45.940 --> 00:19:46.280 Yes. 00:19:46.280 --> 00:19:55.260 And on Monday night, I have Lori, who is my niece, who is a fairly new Christian, who lives 00:19:55.260 --> 00:19:56.760 in Charlotte, North Carolina. 00:19:56.900 --> 00:20:02.500 And she's in my Monday night group and loving it with Janice, who is in your Tuesday night 00:20:02.500 --> 00:20:02.960 class. 00:20:03.280 --> 00:20:03.520 Yes. 00:20:03.880 --> 00:20:04.320 Awesome. 00:20:04.800 --> 00:20:07.180 It's all just kind of coming together. 00:20:07.360 --> 00:20:11.960 So when you approach people and you ask like, Hey, I want you to join my online small group. 00:20:12.240 --> 00:20:13.760 Like, what's their response? 00:20:14.120 --> 00:20:17.320 Like, you know, and some of these people, you know, you're seeing them in face-to-face, 00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:18.720 Janice, Lori. 00:20:19.020 --> 00:20:19.880 Right, right, right. 00:20:20.120 --> 00:20:24.600 Well, the first thing older people ask me, well, I know how to do it. 00:20:25.720 --> 00:20:27.720 You know, that's their first concern. 00:20:28.360 --> 00:20:34.820 And for younger folks, it's how much time do I have to put into it? 00:20:35.100 --> 00:20:41.840 You know, because time is, you know, king, I guess you could say, in the realm of the 00:20:41.840 --> 00:20:43.360 worldly sense. 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:49.780 And, you know, I think when I tell them, Hey, it's one hour a week and you don't even 00:20:49.780 --> 00:20:54.560 have to leave your house, you know, or your apartment or your home, wherever you are, if 00:20:54.560 --> 00:20:57.860 you've got the internet, you can join us online for one hour. 00:20:57.860 --> 00:21:02.740 You know, no travel time, no anything, you know, it's, it's easy. 00:21:03.300 --> 00:21:07.900 And so, you know, a lot of people, you know, are willing to give it a shot. 00:21:08.980 --> 00:21:15.120 I have to tell you, if I had more time, I'd do a third class, you know, but, you know, 00:21:15.160 --> 00:21:16.820 I've only got so much time too. 00:21:17.300 --> 00:21:18.860 And, but it's easy. 00:21:18.860 --> 00:21:21.380 And we could take each of our groups. 00:21:21.700 --> 00:21:27.120 If everybody shows, it's just like two regular physical groups, whether you meet at a home 00:21:27.120 --> 00:21:32.320 or in a church, sometimes people show up, sometimes there's conflict, they can't, you 00:21:32.320 --> 00:21:33.700 know, so forth, so on. 00:21:33.820 --> 00:21:40.460 So, you know, some nights on Sunday night, we'll have seven, sometimes we'll have five, 00:21:40.800 --> 00:21:47.420 you know, a Monday night, it's a smaller group, you know, could I take another couple of folks 00:21:47.420 --> 00:21:50.260 in on Monday night? 00:21:50.780 --> 00:21:51.320 Yes. 00:21:52.680 --> 00:21:55.760 But, you know, finding them and getting them connected. 00:21:56.060 --> 00:21:59.340 I'm not sure exactly how all that goes down today. 00:21:59.340 --> 00:22:06.880 But I have to tell you, I truly believe people that are attending church that are not involved 00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:07.800 in a small group. 00:22:08.040 --> 00:22:14.800 If they really were introduced to online small groups, I think there could be a huge number 00:22:14.800 --> 00:22:18.220 of folks that could do it and enjoy it. 00:22:18.680 --> 00:22:25.540 When you look at, because you've done both, you've led online, you've led physical, you've 00:22:25.540 --> 00:22:28.700 been involved in online, you've been involved in physical groups. 00:22:28.980 --> 00:22:35.840 So like, and you're of the generation that it has less credibility in context of online. 00:22:36.260 --> 00:22:42.680 So when you're doing this, like, what are the obstacles, and just completely transparent, 00:22:42.800 --> 00:22:48.000 honest here, what are the obstacles in context of online that you're like, man, online is 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:49.660 suffering because of this. 00:22:49.700 --> 00:22:52.280 It's harder online because of this. 00:22:52.460 --> 00:22:57.940 Like, what are the challenges that you've had to overcome that maybe you don't have in 00:22:57.940 --> 00:22:58.240 physical? 00:22:58.380 --> 00:22:59.100 And then vice versa. 00:22:59.100 --> 00:23:02.000 What are the challenges of physical that are solved in online? 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:06.160 I think the obstacles are the same for a leader. 00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:14.340 And that is your dedication to study, okay, and content for, you know, how do you get the 00:23:14.340 --> 00:23:16.840 best use of your 30 minutes Bible study? 00:23:17.240 --> 00:23:20.020 I used to do some books earlier on. 00:23:20.140 --> 00:23:21.700 We used to do a topic study. 00:23:21.860 --> 00:23:25.800 I mean, we did this, we did the topic study of the Ten Commandments. 00:23:25.900 --> 00:23:28.060 We did a topic study of the Lord's Prayer. 00:23:28.060 --> 00:23:33.900 Now we're in to just doing books of the Bible. 00:23:34.280 --> 00:23:35.820 We'd like, we just finished Matthew. 00:23:36.020 --> 00:23:40.600 We started Matthew, believe it or not, in February, and we just finished it. 00:23:40.920 --> 00:23:42.220 You know, there's 28 chapters. 00:23:42.420 --> 00:23:44.860 I try to do a chapter a week. 00:23:45.220 --> 00:23:50.520 Some chapters in my little 30 minute have to go into two weeks because of the length of the 00:23:50.520 --> 00:23:50.900 chapter. 00:23:52.200 --> 00:24:00.020 But we have all decided, I took a survey of both my groups, did they want to go back to 00:24:00.020 --> 00:24:05.720 a book or a topic, or did they want to go on to another chapter, another book of the Bible? 00:24:05.920 --> 00:24:09.120 And they all said, let's do another book of the Bible. 00:24:09.540 --> 00:24:14.560 And we've decided that September 8th and 9th, we're going to start the book of John. 00:24:15.060 --> 00:24:23.260 And that's what they all wanted to do because they said that for all these ladies, except 00:24:23.260 --> 00:24:23.920 for Janice. 00:24:24.020 --> 00:24:30.840 Janice has, as you know, is very learned and been in Bible studies for years and years and 00:24:30.840 --> 00:24:31.080 years. 00:24:32.840 --> 00:24:40.240 It's been a real eye-opener to them to study the whole book of Matthew verse by verse, 00:24:40.480 --> 00:24:42.400 you know, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. 00:24:43.140 --> 00:24:51.740 And it's, for me, the challenge is getting, I do an outline that goes to them every Friday 00:24:51.740 --> 00:24:57.940 with an email, you know, giving them whatever news I can come up with for the week of what's 00:24:57.940 --> 00:25:04.200 been going on and all that and anything I've heard about anybody that's in our group, sick, 00:25:04.400 --> 00:25:09.600 well, new babies, like, you know, Janice is a great grandmother five times over or something. 00:25:09.980 --> 00:25:15.100 So anyway, you know, we share all that news on, you know, that we can through either texts 00:25:15.100 --> 00:25:23.120 or emails, but then I give them an outline and giving them an outline that proposes certain 00:25:23.120 --> 00:25:30.260 verses with questions for them to think about and key verses that are in that section, those 00:25:30.260 --> 00:25:35.240 individual sections in those chapters, you know, it takes a lot of work and takes a lot 00:25:35.240 --> 00:25:36.520 of, you know, studying. 00:25:36.700 --> 00:25:41.220 And I've read more commentaries now on Matthew than I ever read in my life. 00:25:41.580 --> 00:25:49.160 So for me, it's been just, you know, a real eye-opener into the book of Matthew that, 00:25:49.160 --> 00:25:55.720 you know, it's been, even though I've been in church all my life, I'm learning things I'd 00:25:55.720 --> 00:26:00.720 never, or I'm remembering things, or maybe things are being able, easier for me to recall 00:26:00.720 --> 00:26:02.840 because I'm studying them at a deeper level. 00:26:03.400 --> 00:26:06.260 That's challenge number one for the leader. 00:26:07.180 --> 00:26:12.580 Challenge number two for the leader would be to really know that they have an accountability 00:26:12.720 --> 00:26:19.660 and a responsibility to love these ladies online, even though I'm not physically in the same 00:26:19.660 --> 00:26:27.460 room with them, and truly get to know them and love them as though I could put my arms around 00:26:27.460 --> 00:26:27.600 them. 00:26:27.940 --> 00:26:29.540 I mean, we have a lot of fun. 00:26:30.040 --> 00:26:38.740 And as much as one night, Chesley was eating some cereal, or she was eating something while 00:26:38.740 --> 00:26:42.520 we, you know, she'd just gotten home from work, and she was having dinner while we were having 00:26:42.520 --> 00:26:43.000 class. 00:26:43.600 --> 00:26:51.260 And Lori says to Chesley, Chesley, I can just smell those strawberries in that cereal. 00:26:51.600 --> 00:27:01.600 And we all just bursted out laughing because, you know, Lori was trying to make it seem like 00:27:01.600 --> 00:27:05.540 we were in the same room, you know, together smelling these strawberries, even though it was 00:27:05.540 --> 00:27:05.960 online. 00:27:06.180 --> 00:27:06.860 It was fun. 00:27:07.160 --> 00:27:12.260 You know, we really had a good time that night with a lot of different ways that we try to 00:27:12.260 --> 00:27:15.240 interact, even while we're studying God's word. 00:27:16.180 --> 00:27:19.840 And anyway, that's... 00:27:19.840 --> 00:27:20.560 That's beautiful. 00:27:20.560 --> 00:27:26.160 You know, loving people from a distance, how else has that been challenging in a way? 00:27:26.340 --> 00:27:30.320 That's where a lot of folks get that kind of mixed up as far as, you know, community in 00:27:30.320 --> 00:27:30.820 terms of online. 00:27:31.440 --> 00:27:36.860 You know, I think you could do a Bible study online where everybody was in the same city. 00:27:36.980 --> 00:27:39.780 They just don't have time to get to a small group location. 00:27:40.580 --> 00:27:46.840 You know, I think they could be from all over the world and, you know, be in that same online 00:27:46.840 --> 00:27:47.280 group. 00:27:47.780 --> 00:27:53.120 Obviously, if you had an online group that was meeting online every week, if I had a group 00:27:53.120 --> 00:28:03.760 that was just in Miami or down near Palm Meadow Bay where I live, I would probably try to once 00:28:03.760 --> 00:28:08.460 a quarter meet at a restaurant or meet in my home to see each other. 00:28:08.460 --> 00:28:11.740 You know, that would seem to like be, okay, that would make sense. 00:28:12.300 --> 00:28:18.580 But when you are doing it where you have people all over, then you have to be creative, you 00:28:18.580 --> 00:28:20.460 know, in learning how to... 00:28:21.460 --> 00:28:28.240 We have a group text that we're all in and we send out happy birthdays. 00:28:28.540 --> 00:28:34.140 We send out, you know, good luck on this or, you know, something they know somebody's going 00:28:34.140 --> 00:28:34.580 to do. 00:28:34.740 --> 00:28:37.120 And we all respond back and forth to it. 00:28:37.660 --> 00:28:38.060 And... 00:28:38.060 --> 00:28:42.540 Those are the kind of things that even with physical, quote unquote, physical groups that 00:28:42.540 --> 00:28:47.040 take place, like in person, like you really start to know that you're really getting into 00:28:47.040 --> 00:28:51.880 community when jokes and when community is happening outside of the context of group, 00:28:51.960 --> 00:28:52.180 right? 00:28:52.540 --> 00:28:52.820 Right. 00:28:52.820 --> 00:28:56.040 When you don't, quote unquote, have to be in communication with one another. 00:28:56.220 --> 00:28:58.560 That's when the real friendship and stuff is bonding. 00:28:58.720 --> 00:29:00.220 That's what everybody wants for their smokers. 00:29:00.980 --> 00:29:04.620 I feel very connected to these ladies that I've never met. 00:29:05.140 --> 00:29:09.240 I feel as connected to them as I do the ladies that I've met. 00:29:09.900 --> 00:29:10.500 That's good. 00:29:10.920 --> 00:29:14.340 I care about them and think about them and pray for them. 00:29:14.700 --> 00:29:15.680 Just the same. 00:29:16.840 --> 00:29:19.120 Talk a lot more about their spiritual growth. 00:29:19.240 --> 00:29:22.280 I loved how you challenged one of them to pray. 00:29:22.560 --> 00:29:28.440 And that right there for some folks is amazing, you know, because a lot of people would be, 00:29:28.540 --> 00:29:32.480 even a lot of small group leaders I've talked to in physical groups are afraid to call people 00:29:32.480 --> 00:29:35.440 out for any kind of spiritual step in their context. 00:29:35.600 --> 00:29:37.180 And so what are some more examples of that? 00:29:37.380 --> 00:29:45.140 Well, we have been, I have been working on getting them to think about starting their own 00:29:45.140 --> 00:29:48.900 online small group, even though they can stay in mine. 00:29:49.360 --> 00:29:49.960 Right. 00:29:50.440 --> 00:29:57.280 I'm trying to get them to think about coming up with a list of just two people, because I think 00:29:57.280 --> 00:30:00.640 three people can be the beginning of a small group. 00:30:00.760 --> 00:30:01.300 No problem. 00:30:02.260 --> 00:30:08.320 And, and, and the reason why I believe that is some, there's been a couple of Sunday nights 00:30:08.320 --> 00:30:10.460 that there are only three of us that showed up. 00:30:10.500 --> 00:30:13.680 I think just like, you know, the others all had conflict. 00:30:14.340 --> 00:30:19.820 And when you have just three or four people online together, it's a much more intimate 00:30:19.820 --> 00:30:24.540 gathering, just as if you were in the home with this three or four people. 00:30:24.540 --> 00:30:33.000 Because the larger a group gets, the more disconnected it gets from community of knowing people. 00:30:33.580 --> 00:30:39.000 And a lot of people aren't willing to speak up as much in a bigger group, where in a smaller 00:30:39.000 --> 00:30:41.960 group, they'll share at a better, at a deeper level. 00:30:42.420 --> 00:30:50.380 So I have my, my groups now are being challenged for beginning in September to come, not to, 00:30:50.460 --> 00:30:54.860 not to actually have started the group, but they're each to bring two people's name that 00:30:54.860 --> 00:30:59.880 we're going to start praying for those folks before they even ask them to form a group. 00:30:59.880 --> 00:31:05.160 So I don't know if it's going to go anywhere, but I'm going to, I'm challenging them to do that. 00:31:05.780 --> 00:31:13.720 I think that this past year in Matthew, I think the idea that they all wanted to do another book 00:31:13.720 --> 00:31:21.060 of the Bible verse by verse versus some book, you know, from the bookstore. 00:31:22.960 --> 00:31:24.560 Bookstores don't exist anymore. 00:31:24.560 --> 00:31:32.560 I know, I know, but it's an indication that they, they're spiritually, I believe they're, 00:31:32.560 --> 00:31:42.020 they're, they're growing because I think that it's a lot harder to sit down and, and, and 00:31:42.020 --> 00:31:48.200 get into the Bible because there's so much of it, even after I study it and read three commentaries, 00:31:48.200 --> 00:31:57.860 there's some stuff just still over my head as an, as a lay person of, of God's word. 00:31:58.760 --> 00:32:03.400 And there's many times I have to say to them, they'll ask me a question and I have to say, 00:32:03.480 --> 00:32:04.060 I don't know. 00:32:04.140 --> 00:32:09.060 I said, you know, I could venture a guess, but far be it for me to lead you the wrong way. 00:32:09.200 --> 00:32:13.020 I won't answer it unless I'm certain of my answer. 00:32:14.520 --> 00:32:14.960 Wow. 00:32:15.860 --> 00:32:21.820 I love this idea of, of duplicating, of challenging the groups to create other groups. 00:32:21.820 --> 00:32:27.620 And, and Ray and I, we talk a lot on the podcast and I'm, mom, I've had the conversations with 00:32:27.620 --> 00:32:30.700 you as well about this, this, this theory of church online. 00:32:30.700 --> 00:32:37.620 It's called online, the offline, the, the gospel that we learn about in our, in our online relationships 00:32:37.620 --> 00:32:43.920 affects our, our offline world and using it to say, okay, I'm not just going to stay in this one group. 00:32:43.920 --> 00:32:51.340 I'm going to actually use it to, to go out and start to talk with people, with friends that I know, 00:32:51.540 --> 00:32:57.780 start to pray about inviting them into the group, into a, a relationship to, to get them to 00:32:57.780 --> 00:33:01.400 understand more of God, to understand more of the gospel through it. 00:33:01.400 --> 00:33:05.540 And, and you doing the studies that you're doing, diving into the scriptures is, is such a 00:33:05.540 --> 00:33:07.460 awesome, rich way. 00:33:07.560 --> 00:33:13.460 Even the book of John, just that, as that, that, that first study to get people to understand 00:33:13.460 --> 00:33:19.920 the heart of the gospel and getting them to invite others in and enabling them. 00:33:19.940 --> 00:33:20.160 Okay. 00:33:20.160 --> 00:33:24.800 We've just gone through John, you know, maybe Matthew, we just finished Matthew, but you're 00:33:24.800 --> 00:33:30.700 starting John. So as we're starting John, maybe this is your opportunity to do John for the next 00:33:30.700 --> 00:33:35.620 group. So the people that you're going through it, Hey, as we're doing John, you do John as well 00:33:35.620 --> 00:33:40.720 with your group. Cause that's, that's a great book for some new people to start off. I love, 00:33:40.780 --> 00:33:47.960 and this is kind of what I wanted to ask just here. Like you've got people who have, who have 00:33:47.960 --> 00:33:54.260 joined your study, Melissa, as an example, who have been like through Christ fellowship, the church, 00:33:54.460 --> 00:34:00.240 somebody catches an online broadcast, fills out a connection card. Um, and we get them connected 00:34:00.240 --> 00:34:07.880 into a group, but the majority of your group isn't like crowdsourced through a church service. 00:34:08.240 --> 00:34:15.420 It's more, these are people that you know, like, uh, Barbara Chesley, Lori, right, right, right. And 00:34:15.420 --> 00:34:23.380 Lori, my, my niece, I knew that she has struggled in church and not really there. And I called her up 00:34:23.380 --> 00:34:28.820 and I invited her to give this a try. And she said, Oh, I would love to. And she loves it. I mean, 00:34:28.820 --> 00:34:35.720 really, really loves it. And then I have Mary, you might know her, Ray. She was a member of Christ 00:34:35.720 --> 00:34:42.180 fellowship and she just moved to Naples. Um, but they're moving back. It didn't work out for them 00:34:42.180 --> 00:34:50.880 to stay in. Brenda found us who's in Ontario, Canada. She found us. I don't even totally understand 00:34:50.880 --> 00:34:58.980 how she found us because I think she was listening to Christ fellowship Palm beach. 00:35:00.980 --> 00:35:11.760 Okay. And somehow or another, she called the church Christ fellowship, Palmado Bay and got connected 00:35:11.760 --> 00:35:20.860 to my group through that way. Um, because the first time I, we, cause we always, we all, 00:35:20.860 --> 00:35:25.920 always discussed, you know, church. Cause I, my, my biggest encouragement to them is that 00:35:25.920 --> 00:35:32.120 they go to church, you know, and so that we talk about what church we went to, what, what 00:35:32.120 --> 00:35:37.480 message we heard, you know, that's some of the way we fellowship and Brenda says, and we were 00:35:37.480 --> 00:35:47.180 talking about, you know, Rick Blackwood and she goes, who's Rick Blackwood. And, and I said, 00:35:47.180 --> 00:35:50.840 well, you know, through Christ fellowship, she goes, no. And she said, 00:35:50.840 --> 00:35:56.860 some other name who I don't remember what she said of Christ fellowship up there. So that, 00:35:56.860 --> 00:36:01.940 and then I remembered that there was another church Christ fellowship up North. 00:36:02.620 --> 00:36:07.980 Yeah. We've probably benefited a little too unfairly from that cross branding, at least 00:36:07.980 --> 00:36:08.680 online. Yeah. 00:36:09.960 --> 00:36:17.620 So anyway, that's how we found her. But obviously Debbie Brown is in my Sunday night class and I've 00:36:17.620 --> 00:36:23.820 known her for many, many years and she's, she's wonderful. And she's, you know, she's got a lot 00:36:23.820 --> 00:36:31.880 of knowledge and a lot of, you know, um, background in, in Bible, um, through BSF. So I encourage her to 00:36:31.880 --> 00:36:39.560 share her thinking on different verses and subjects and it's just been really, really wonderful. I don't 00:36:39.560 --> 00:36:46.740 know how to explain it. I just say the, I get the biggest blessing out of it. I just love it. 00:36:49.220 --> 00:36:58.140 I love this idea of you taking ownership of inviting people in, uh, and, and part of in what Ray and I 00:36:58.140 --> 00:37:04.960 have talked about is there's, there's this personal mission of, of, we know people who need Jesus. We 00:37:04.960 --> 00:37:10.080 know people who are struggling in their faith. We know people who need that, that community. 00:37:10.780 --> 00:37:16.640 And, and, and I love that, that you've reached out to the people that you have to make this group 00:37:16.640 --> 00:37:22.000 and that you're, that, that Christ Fellowship through Church Online is really empowering you at, 00:37:22.040 --> 00:37:28.080 at the personal mission to develop, um, discipleship relationships with this people, these people, 00:37:28.700 --> 00:37:34.500 take them through, uh, the scripture and, and to, to dive in. So like, this is, 00:37:34.720 --> 00:37:41.600 this is awesome. I love what's happening here with this. Uh, so keep going with that. Here's, 00:37:41.600 --> 00:37:46.760 here's the question and we'll, we'll land a plane on this. Somebody wants to start a group. 00:37:47.560 --> 00:37:53.360 Somebody's not sure if they want to start a group. How can you advise them? What advice can you give 00:37:53.360 --> 00:38:04.480 them to start an online small group? Um, that they just pray about it first and then allow God to 00:38:04.480 --> 00:38:11.860 put two people into their mind, maybe a family member or a friend and start that way. 00:38:13.360 --> 00:38:17.360 And, and you know, it's as simple as, it's as simple as that. 00:38:20.240 --> 00:38:20.740 That's so good. 00:38:21.740 --> 00:38:26.340 That's, I mean, that's, that's what, you know, um, if you have anybody that's thinking about it, 00:38:26.400 --> 00:38:30.280 have them call me. They will definitely want to do it after they talk to me. 00:38:31.240 --> 00:38:38.620 Okay. So I'm not going to give my mom's, uh, cell phone number on the, on the show notes. So I kind 00:38:38.620 --> 00:38:43.080 of want you to now and now so that we can start more Christ fellowship online small group. So, 00:38:43.080 --> 00:38:48.320 uh, go ahead and call 305-238-1818. Ask for Radiarmus and, uh, I'll get you with, 00:38:48.400 --> 00:38:49.940 in with Linda Reed and we'll work this out. 00:38:49.940 --> 00:38:51.460 Get them in touch with me. That's fine. 00:38:51.820 --> 00:38:59.380 There you go. I like that so much better than the other option. So well done. Um, man, Ray, 00:38:59.500 --> 00:39:01.240 thoughts as we're landing the plane here. 00:39:01.740 --> 00:39:06.620 I mean, Linda nailed every part of it and, and, you know, she loves the people in her group and 00:39:06.620 --> 00:39:10.800 she loves Jesus and all this kind of works together to help lead them in the right steps 00:39:10.800 --> 00:39:15.700 of discipleship, which is what it's all about. The medium doesn't matter as much as the fact 00:39:15.700 --> 00:39:19.500 that she's living out the mission and that's, what's most important. So great job, Linda. 00:39:20.060 --> 00:39:21.040 Thank you. Thank you. 00:39:22.120 --> 00:39:23.860 Mom, any, any closing thoughts? 00:39:24.900 --> 00:39:31.680 Well, um, just that if somebody would have asked me before I retired three years ago, 00:39:31.680 --> 00:39:38.500 I would be doing online Bible studies, I would have said, no, not possible. But let me tell you, 00:39:38.860 --> 00:39:46.880 you just have to get in there and do it. If you've got a laptop or a computer, it's easy as can be. 00:39:47.600 --> 00:39:55.420 And the Zoom product is for me the best. We used to have another product before we went to Zoom. 00:39:55.780 --> 00:39:57.160 Do you remember what it was, Jeff? 00:39:57.520 --> 00:39:59.180 Yes. And I'm not going to say the name. 00:39:59.220 --> 00:39:59.660 Okay. 00:39:59.880 --> 00:40:01.860 That's okay. I'm hoping we get sponsored by Zoom here. 00:40:01.860 --> 00:40:02.860 Let's just get it. 00:40:02.860 --> 00:40:11.840 That's okay. Because Zoom is really easy to use. And, um, I, I think it's, you know, 00:40:12.300 --> 00:40:18.420 it's great the way it works, the way they can sign in and, you know, the way you set up the meetings, 00:40:18.420 --> 00:40:27.640 every aspect of it is great and easy, very easy because I can't even get this Bluetooth thing to 00:40:27.640 --> 00:40:32.840 work. So you can, you can take that part out, Jeff. 00:40:33.260 --> 00:40:37.360 No, I want, I want, I want Linda to get all the Zoom sponsorships to Zoom. If you're out there, 00:40:37.440 --> 00:40:39.780 right, Linda, read a check right now. 00:40:41.340 --> 00:40:48.940 That's, that was awesome. Um, I, you know, I, I can, I can remember three years ago, um, 00:40:49.000 --> 00:40:55.220 sitting in my office. Okay. Should I ask my mom to start an online small group? What's the, 00:40:55.320 --> 00:40:59.380 what's the best that can happen? What's the worst that can happen? What would this look like? How do 00:40:59.380 --> 00:41:05.360 I, I've got this need? Um, and it was all, it was all centered around that, that Melissa relationship 00:41:05.360 --> 00:41:10.140 because there were two or three of these young professionals that were starting to, to crop up. 00:41:10.140 --> 00:41:14.580 And it's like, what do I, what's the best way to do something here? And that was, you know, that 00:41:14.580 --> 00:41:21.400 initial conversation to, to help reach that, that type of person. And I got to tell you, I mean, I love 00:41:21.400 --> 00:41:27.260 the fact that I did three years later that you've developed the relationships you have, uh, with these 00:41:27.260 --> 00:41:32.680 people, um, that you've been able to, you know, and I don't mean to be rude when I say this, but you've 00:41:32.680 --> 00:41:37.440 been able to extend your ministry life where you've been able to do things in ministry through online 00:41:37.440 --> 00:41:42.660 that, you know, you may not be able to do if you were existing in the physical realm, because 00:41:42.660 --> 00:41:49.500 you travel so much and you're, you're doing so many different things that, um, physical ministry you 00:41:49.500 --> 00:41:55.560 can take with you. Yes. You know, but let me, let me write and comment on that though, because Linda, 00:41:55.560 --> 00:41:59.680 this is what I love about it and something that I've practiced, you know, with folks who 00:41:59.680 --> 00:42:03.560 are a stage of life behind and something that I've had the benefit of having folks who are 00:42:03.560 --> 00:42:08.520 a stage of life ahead. And if you're here listening and you're anywhere in life, I just want to 00:42:08.520 --> 00:42:12.680 encourage you. Number one, you don't know who you can develop that's a step behind you. 00:42:13.400 --> 00:42:17.160 And number two, you don't know the kind of development that you need from a person who's 00:42:17.160 --> 00:42:22.500 a step ahead. Because I'm telling you now from everything from parenting to marriage life, 00:42:22.500 --> 00:42:28.900 to work life, having folks in my life who are two or three steps ahead of me has been the 00:42:28.900 --> 00:42:35.460 treasure trove of my life where I've avoided a lot of pitfalls and where the Lord has allowed me to do 00:42:35.460 --> 00:42:41.380 the same for somebody who's in college or just newly married or whatever else, just a step behind. 00:42:41.380 --> 00:42:45.620 I don't have to, you know, you don't have to have everything, just be willing to give what you do. 00:42:46.020 --> 00:42:47.620 And that is so powerful in discipleship. 00:42:48.180 --> 00:42:54.580 Yes, very much so. I have one, just real quick and I'll close. I have one of the ladies I didn't 00:42:54.580 --> 00:43:01.380 mention Sunday night, Jill. She lives in Homestead. Her husband's in the military and they're getting 00:43:01.380 --> 00:43:09.380 ready to transfer to, he's taken, he actually has a PhD and he's going to work for the University of 00:43:09.380 --> 00:43:17.460 Michigan and they're moving. And she was sharing Sunday night how excited she is that she'll be able 00:43:17.460 --> 00:43:25.700 to take her small group with her to Michigan, you know, so we're all excited about hearing all about 00:43:25.700 --> 00:43:32.260 what God has in store for her in Michigan after, you know, she came to Miami from Ohio, 00:43:32.260 --> 00:43:39.140 not wanting to come, afraid to come, you know, with two small babies and her husband in military. 00:43:39.140 --> 00:43:44.180 It's been wonderful. And she and I have grown to really, you know, trust each other and love each 00:43:44.180 --> 00:43:49.860 other. And now she's going to Michigan and she's excited both to go to Michigan and take our group 00:43:49.860 --> 00:43:56.900 together, take our group together. Yeah. And then that's, that's the heart of church online and online 00:43:56.900 --> 00:44:01.540 relationships is that, you know, you've, you've got this biblical community. You've got this, 00:44:01.540 --> 00:44:07.460 this group of people and you have the opportunity to, to continue those relationships on. And this is 00:44:07.460 --> 00:44:12.820 awesome. I like, I, and man, this has been a great birthday gift and I appreciate the time of this 00:44:12.820 --> 00:44:18.020 and the wisdom. This is probably the cheapest birthday gift I ever got away with. 00:44:20.260 --> 00:44:25.140 Yeah, we'll, we'll let that fly. There, there was a lot worse you could have said in this podcast. 00:44:25.140 --> 00:44:30.260 So we're just going to, we're going to walk away. I'm going to count my blessings. Thank you for that. 00:44:30.820 --> 00:44:36.660 Right. Uh, for Ray, uh, for, for Linda, I'm, I'm Jeff with the church digital. Thanks for joining us 00:44:36.660 --> 00:44:40.180 today and, uh, we'll see you next time. Thanks for being here. Bye.