Jeff Norris: Rooted

Alright so if you think of a moment in your life. For even our life where you felt like I absolutely can't do this, if God that show up as one first when it comes to my mind is the first binary me. I know that I should thought that marrying you welcome to family life today where we want to help you pursue the relationships that matter most and Wilson and I'm Dave Wilson and you can find this@familylifetoday.com or on the family life. This is family life today was the first weekend to remember conference and I was 2929 and there were thousand people in this ballroom and I thought I had no business being up there. I have nothing to say. Apart from you, Jesus, and I was in the shower that morning on my stomach on my face begging God that he would use me the second thing that comes to my mind is when we came in to do radio makes me teary thinking that because it was again that feeling like Lord we we can't do this, apart from your grace apart from your Holy Spirit.

This is above our pay grade abilities and our giftedness.

And so we got on our knees in the studio and said that Lord we can we can only do this and powered by your spirit, what were you thinking to make this about us, but there's a thousand moments book that last one yeah was the first was I thought of how are we going to fill Dennis Rainey and baba P shoes ministry. They bill over three decades that God bless.

We have no right we have not. The gifts were to ruin something that's great and we got on her face right there in the dark. There's nobody there in the studio yet and we ask God for that reason I bring that up as we got Jeff nor submit in the studio with us today who Jeff Logan for their benefit life today. Having no first first love it first impression. Oh, just awesome. Everything from what else are you saying you're on here right but I mean gosh the studio hospitality is nice even friends with our president David Robbins for how many years so was the day that I go back 20 years.

I guess if you go back 20 years. Can you give us something… I know what he would know about this guy got a little that I can belittle me here at those later ever seen dance. Oh gosh I can't count how many to sell you nothing. They'll know I have sheep she missed it okay with you. When he joined the family speaker team like time of the speaker. We are restricting they have to do a skit to introduce themselves to the rest of speaker team and had to miss that little retreat and he and Meg dance and I was like she wish, you can really lay down their credible note. I mean what's the question mid-forties now settled if he has what you stab it back in the day. I mean first time ever, solid evidence is going to say this but I was a student. Still, he's a couple years older than me and I was a student in college and I went to a crew were conference and David was maybe a first or second your staff.

At that point with crew and he was the MC and to open one of the meetings he came out and danced with the group and I had a choreographed and it was just like like boy band type thing. I just remember thinking while you think he was cool rethinking what will I thought was cool also thought I could never do that and sues because like I was stunned and also impressed at the same time a little know the guy would lead us to serve on the same staff team with crew a few years later and we got to be you really close brothers in Christ, a lot like to go to Walter Lockhart things together and God commanded us that our hearts together.

During that time I watch as well. So this been special, but hopefully our listeners will get to know that side of our president and Meg actually is what we talk about that you're here to talk about a book he wrote called, rooted, which is a subtitle lifestyle of radical dependence grade book is I was reading it and you start Ridge beginning where we were talking about this moment where you are. Like I cannot do this tell us about that.

Yeah so is you guys were just talking. I mean it.

It resonated with me so much. Even again, what you are all saying just about stepping into this role. Stepping into the shoes of Dennis Rainey and Bob Lapine and feeling that so deeply in my own experience getting ready Pope is who planted a church called perimeter church in 1977 and outside lantern is just northeast of Atlanta suburb called John's Creek, Georgia a letter for 42 years, God used him. He's just incredibly humble. The church grew significantly, but he's probably the farther sling could imagine from celebrity pastor's never been about him. It's always been about the kingdom and in so many ways words really fail me to express what I think of him how much I admire him what a mentor he's been to me that is mentored you since college right so many many years and so backup six years and in he invites me to come be on the staff that perimeter church is one of the assistant pastors.I've been all staff accrue for 13 years at that point and so after Rachel, my wife and I prayed a lot. We felt like yeses with the Lord is saying yes to.

So we made the move and fall of 2019. I'm taking over as senior pastor. Following in his footsteps and what you all owe you.

What you guys open the this the show with me. I'm just reliving what I was feeling at the time and still feel all the time whom I whom I did to step into this role to lead this church we feel our insecurities so deeply the enemy of course comes at a so strongly it you can do it your you're not able. But then the Lord reminds us in in a very gracious way you you know yeah but my power is made perfect in weakness and in so I say all that to say that there there was a moment in my life. There've been many others, but that was the most poignant, the most significant. The most just overwhelming moment of Lord I have to be radically dependent upon you. That was the phrase that came to my mind have to be radically dependent upon you. If I'm to do this if you're gonna do this through me and so that's kind of the genesis of the book of what is happening is at the very first sermon series that I did as senior pastor in the fall of 2019 was was this was essentially what this book is this where I just talk about okay moving forward as a church you were going to be an even more significant and broad and that is as a people of God who are we to be that we have to be radically dependent upon Homan is not an optional thing is what is called us to. And yet it's one of the hardest things to do because we just so easily default into our our own ability your own power, our individualistic mindset. We have so you know so deeply in the West thinking this might be safe yeah hey I want to be happy and that part is like to be radically dependent on him requires like jumping out of the boat yeah and that's a scary place for us to be sell as I'm thinking about that.

Is it a necessary place for us to Beatty think is I've shared this with others in even thinking about that were radical love that word is just been you so much and in its I wrestled with do even name it that my name the series. What taught it that it's lost its meaning here is to be a euphemism. All that's radical right like what Sammy right and it's been over use and so with the lessening and the meaning of it, but I kept coming back to it. Just because I think that is the word that we need because it pushes us towards something that is so very uncomfortable, so that's how you find it, how we did find yeah will the irony of it is that what were saying is radical is actually normal in the kingdom of God in you know but that the title normal dependency just doesn't catch radical dependency right so.

But that's it. It will what we say all man that is radical dependence you read the pages of Scripture to go and that's what God calls you to. That's normal dependent in his economy and his kingdom, but because of our sin nature because of our struggles because of our doubts or fears and because our sin we feel as though while that's radical, but radical would be okay.

I'm going to walk in what God has called me to walk in and in the way of self-sacrifice dying to self unit.

When Jesus said if you'll follow me must take up your cross daily, deny yourself, follow me. What is he mean by that, and does he mean what I think he means and no on one hand. So yeah, it's just that simple.a cell phone, but on the other side of the coin. It's while there's a lot to that, that I'm not sure I want to sign-up for Jesus didn't mix any words as it came to what it meant to follow him have to count the cost of discipleship.

So, being rooted in discipleship that's that's also anchored in self-sacrifice, but there's a beautiful I think I try to paint a picture of a beautiful dependence is not only vertical of a vertical dependence upon the Lord first and foremost, but a horizontal dependence upon each other that we are not going to radically depend upon the Lord and will unless we have that that body of Christ surrounding us and we're doing life deeply together, helping each other be dependent upon the Lord and leaving us each other to the cross so so many things I want to the book about all this means that we are not just thankful, but radically thankful.

Where were not just people who pray, but we we radically pray in the sense of prayer is the ultimate expression of dependency. So it is not to be a statement of condemnation will I don't pray much, so I guess I'm not dependent more of motivation of okay will if I want to be dependent, if that's what God called me to that his power is made perfect in my weakness. The weaknesses in advantage and, therefore, prayer is what what I long to be true of me more more and so I want to pray, not out of guilt but out of desire and in longing and that even pursuit of dependence and achievement. Even as I hear you say you know weakness is a almost advantage because it forces us to be dependent writers everything in my human DNA is like none I know we hate weakness. We like strength. We celebrate strength and yet you're exactly right. It's all through Scripture. The only way were going to even need to be dependent is we get 1/2 to be weak. Yeah right. Well I just even talk with you before you earlier today were get to know each other just a little bit today and Marty picking up on your story football athletics man that was my background as well and what you taught me can be weak, the way you never show weakness site right annually on the bench yet and there's so much that's that's just press deep into our DNA through not only were born into. With our self-sufficiency of who we are spiritually. We were self-sufficient were independent. I wanted a set of the fund that is being right right and so we inherit that nature from Adam and Eve wheat we have that what I call the Adamic residue in us of. I got this in I'll pursue my own glory in my own story. I see what you got for me God. But I want something better.

So we have that in this with anyway. But then there's these things culturally, where the Weatherby football, whether it be that anything in life that produces and values and you know glorifies that man I can show weakness. Now here's the interesting piece of, may not want us to get often in a on rabbit trail here, but I think it matters, I'm genetics for however many years. Over a decade I invested in millennial's now have kids who are agency have teenagers in my home. Well, what's become incredibly attractive to millennial's, and that even more to GNC vulnerability hi dear is there sweetness of talk about your weaknesses so you know, in and for me genetics. Michael Keck account get that, I'm in between her right nano boomers and what I like I are probably way more vulnerable than they want to be but point is now are dealing with younger people who say yes be vulnerable. Yes you weakness but to what end that's the question that I ask younger people as to why I love it be vulnerable, please before people. Please be weak so that what in the answer to that from a biblical kingdom mindset is so that we can fall into the strength and the power of Christ is not just notability for the sake of vulnerability such as weakness for the sake of weakness is not just hey, I can't get together some disco yeah I'm in a wallow in my in my weakness and sin, but is so that we fall into the strong arms of Christ so that he is the one who is powerful through us fishing you you know this as well as anybody as a pastor of a church. You set the vision and mission and core values right right so I'm a founding pastor 30 some years ago and when we were writing a core value around this very one and try that even though like she went in that meeting with as we were debating. How do we string out words matter and words have power. So you say this right. Unlike in this how the conversation went someplace that we got about this.

This weakness thing that you know points to the strength of Christ okay right yes we right. Here's what we wrote. We want to be a church where we recognize and reveal our weaknesses, thereby psychiatrically good because so in places you pretend and they only put up the thing so were not only are we gonna reveal it but you gotta recognize it in yourself. I am a sinner and they were to not hide that rent real build it in there like dynamite. I'm not kidding. I am not like that myself on the back. I was like a guy like we will wait. It's not done yeah that's really good.

I go just what you just said I didn't use your words, but to what I like.

That's only half the story right. Yeah why we can recognize and reveal her weakness.

So here's what it ended up being. We recognize and reveal our weakness to point to the power of God.

Yes, because it's gotta be both Ami and even Janet Z would tell you yeah I don't want just the end of the story to be. I'm weak and I can't do anything I wanted to be yeah but is there victory yeah there is victory side of me in Christ to live in the right right as I read through your book and Mike that's what rooted means that I'm rooted in radical dependence and that dependence forces me to glorify and have power that I don't have but that he has here I am try to tailor your books about relevant because it's radical dependence in who right in because his were dependent or will always Jesus him. It's his strength is his power the Holy Spirit within us. It's we can be dependent all kinds of things me.

This is get back in the classic idolatry. Talk about altering the right, but rather there's all kinds of things would be dependent on and there's all kinds of things. Our weaknesses can lead us to independence and so