Welcome to the For the Gospel podcast. My name is Costhy Hinn and I have the pleasure of being your host. For the Gospel is all about providing sound doctrine for everyday people. And on today's episode, I'm interviewing my friend, my brother, a contributor here at For the Gospel, and the pastor of evangelism at Central Church in Collierville, Tennessee, Greg Sucert. Thank you for being on. Welcome to the For the Gospel podcast. Man, we love you. Cassia, thanks for having me. Love you, brother. Grateful for your ministry. And I want first, if you will, tell people a little bit about yourself, your family, um, your incredible wife, and a little bit about your background and some of the ministry that you're involved with.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, thanks for asking. So I am first and foremost a slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm kind of on just cloud nine right now, as I am often every day, because I was saved nine years ago at a church in Anaheim, California, and I was lost. I was actually forced to go to that church by a girl I was dating. She said, Come to this church or I'll break up with you. And I said, Okay. And she ended up breaking up with me anyway. And I got saved. I heard the gospel. And what's crazy is now nine years later, I am at a church where the former youth pastor of that church in Anaheim, California is now the lead teaching pastor, Matt Shackelford. And I was brought on to serve alongside him as the pastor of evangelism. I get the pleasure of sharing the gospel and equipping the saints to do the same. The Lord has been very gracious to me. I've also had the privilege of serving alongside a ministry called Anchored North, where we create media that showcases humanity's greatest need, redemption through Jesus Christ. God has shown his grace on me in marriage. I've got an incredible wife, Brianna, and she just loves the Lord, loves the gospel. In fact, just recently we were doing ministry alongside each other, doing campus evangelism and outreach. And I just looked at her and said, Brianna, tell all these students here, what is the gospel? Just what is the message that we're going to take this campus over with? And she just dropped gospel bombs. And I just said, God, thank you. Thank you. I'm so thankful to be a pastor of evangelism, to have a wife who loves the gospel and to serve alongside Anchored North and getting the gospel out to as many people as possible through media.
SPEAKER_00That is one of my favorite things about you. I love you as a person. We love your wife, and we're grateful for you guys. You ooze gospel passion. I have not yet spent any time with you in which you don't infect everyone around you. That's what I said even recently when I was the pleasure of getting to come preach at your church over there. And man, even in your introduction of the sermon content and the video we did and some of the uh the training that went on, you you are I've never heard anyone preach an introduction and preach the gospel and exalt Christ like you. So keep it up. You fire me up, man. You push me and are such an encouragement to so many.
SPEAKER_01Thanks, brother. I'm excited that uh I get to serve alongside you too, and for the gospel. I mean, what what are we doing? Like, this is this is what life is about.
SPEAKER_00Amen. Amen. Local church and extending the gospel through outreach. And I'm pumped we get to use media. We're doing this through a podcast right now and have some more videos coming from you about a topic that I know is near and dear to people's hearts. They need wisdom on this. I don't know anybody better to discuss the topic than you. And so folks, I've asked Greg to talk through tips for holiday evangelism. And before we even talk about tips and how to be a light and what to do and all of that, first Greg, would you be willing to kind of dial in pastorally what are some of the ways that you see the holidays increasing, not in excitement for evangelism and people saying, yay, let me go and share the gospel with everyone, but rather even for Christians, an increase in anxiety, pressure, stress, the pace of life, hopelessness, and also relational conflict during the holiday season.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, the holiday season is always just a mournful season, I think, in people's hearts. And if I could summarize the holiday season in one word, I would say discontentment. I mean, I really think that's what the holiday season in invokes in people is just mass discontentment. This season is all about what we don't have, right? We don't have the things we want, so we make Christmas lists. We don't have the relationships we want. Sometimes we're many are dealing with loss and just feeling bittered for the things that they've lost. We don't have the job promotions that we expected to have by the end of the year. We don't have the Christmas bonus that we were hoping to have. And so I just see this season being a season of discontentment. Everyone is thinking about the gifts they don't have, but they're not really thinking about giving the greatest gift of all time. And that's the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is what we're here to talk about today.
SPEAKER_00So helpful. I hear a lot of that as well from people. There's pain, there's loss. I know the holiday season can be a time of depression for some, or even mourning as they uh maybe this is the first Christmas, you're listening to this and you're without your loved one, or uh, this is your first Christmas without family or friends that you've looked to for many years for encouragement. Um, Greg, we are supposed to be the light of the world, the city on a hill, the salt of the earth. We're we're supposed to be on mission. And how would you encourage a Christian going through a difficult season who says, you know, I'm not really in evangelism mode here, Greg. No offense to you or Cosity or anyone. I'm in survival mode. How would you encourage and bring that person along, regardless of what they're going through?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I would just lovingly encourage that really if survival mode includes not being centered on the worship of Christ and the proclamation of Christ, are you really in survival mode? You know what I mean? Like if you don't have Christ as the center of your life and of your affections and your devotion, and he's the one who you want to live in, walk in, and proclaim, I would say you're not in survival mode, you're in decaying mode. Like you're you're dying on the inside because our created purpose is to worship Christ, to proclaim Christ. And so I would say if you want to be truly in a mode where you are surviving and I would even add thriving, like Christ has to be the center of that. Like to be a Christian is to be on mission, right? Like to be a Christian is to be on mission. When we come to Christ, we're not just a new person, but we have a new purpose. And if you don't have your purpose or catch wind of scripture's purpose for you to proclaim Christ, you're not on, you're not in survival mode, you're in decaying mode. And I would encourage you, let's get into mission mode and share the gospel so that you're truly surviving. And I would add, even thriving in the season that God would have for you.
SPEAKER_00So helpful. I, you know, look to Christ and trust Christ and find your solace and your comfort and your motivation in Christ. What a good and helpful word. There are some helpful things, practical tips for holiday evangelism, even if we're going through different things. I think of the Apostle Paul, who at any given time was in bodily illness, sickness, trial, persecution, personal assault, being slandered against, uh, in prison, and time and time and time again, living on gospel mission, even though he was, you know, broken down and beaten up, he knew where his strength would come from. As we set our hearts and minds to spread the gospel, uh, what are some tips for holiday evangelism? We got friends and family coming over. You know, do we go Billy Graham crusade on everyone in the living room? Uh do we stand up and say, you know, no more turkey until you all turn to Christ? Do we just love on them saying, you know, I I think we should avoid conflict this season. Let's just love on them and then send them out the door full. Um, or do we use the holidays maybe to initiate follow-up fellowship with certain individuals and see where some of the conversations went? Is it all of the above? Take us through that and more. Uh bless us with your wisdom, my evangelistic friend.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, I love, I love what you asked. And I would definitely say all of the above. I love the the no turd, no turkey, you know, or uh no Hosanna, no ham. I think uh I think a lot of people um kind of overcomplicate it and and stress out, you know, and uh we don't have to do weird things like you know, hold the gravy and say, you know, this is gravy. It just reminds us all about the grave that Jesus was in for three days. You know, we don't have to, we don't have to get weird like that, but I'd love to just spend the next few minutes just giving very practical tips on how we can get the gospel out during the season. Yeah, I think, I think one of the most unengaged parts of the Christians' faculties is their imagination and their creative efforts and energy towards getting the gospel out. And friends, Jesus is worthy. Like, he's worthy of all of our creative efforts. This is worth thinking through, and not just for the holiday season. Like, it's not like, oh, holiday season's coming around. Like, how do we be creative and sharing the gospel? Friends, this is how we should be thinking every day. This is why we exist. We are we are made to worship Christ through the proclamation of his name, the praise of his name in our families and our neighborhoods and among the nations. So uh let me just start with commending just a couple resources I think that will frame this conversation in a really important way. Um, of course, before we think about getting the gospel out creatively, we have to get the gospel right. And for the gospel has a couple really good resources on the blog. I really like Brett Skinner's article, The Four Pillars of the Gospel. And then I also contributed something called How to Share Your Testimony. And in that, I have the four C's of the gospel that I use in training people to share the gospel. And when I do witnessing out and about and here in Tennessee, and those are resources you're gonna really want to study as you go out to share the gospel and as you want to engage your friends and family with the gospel over the holidays, because this is not the message that you want to mess up. You know, don't make a mess of the message. Uh, we've got to deliver the message that delivers. And Christmas season, the holiday season is not about making people feeling warm and fuzzy, right? Um, evangelism during the Christmas season is not about making people feel warm and fuzzy. It's not about making people feel like it's the most wonderful time of the year. It's about pointing them to our wonderful Savior, which means we need to tell people about their accountability to God. We need to tell them about their creator. We need to tell them about their sinfulness before a holy God. We need to tell them about their deserving judgment, God's wrath, everlasting hell. And only when we communicate these truths do we truly see that the greatest gift was wrapped in burial cloths and opened on the third day, rising again. And we only see that that Jesus is the greatest gift when we see our sinfulness and that we see that salvation is a wondrous gift that was picked out by the Father, purchased by the Son, and hand delivered by the Holy Spirit. So we've got to get the gospel right. You utilize those resources. Uh, but now, if I may, let me just share a couple creative ideas that could help us get the gospel out this Christmas season. One of them I really like the most, and I do this regularly, this is beyond the Christmas season, is a little outreach I call coffee in Christ. And simply what it is is you go to a coffee shop, and when you purchase your coffee, you purchase an extra $5 gift card. In addition, you take that gift card and you approach someone else sitting in that coffee shop or sitting around it. You give them the free gift card, you approach them, and you then you tell them why you're doing this. Hey, I'm giving you this $5 gift card. I want you to have this as a gift because in this fallen world, kindness is hard to come by. But because God has been so kind to me in salvation, I want to extend his kindness to you. And here's how God has ultimately demonstrated his kindness towards us sinners. And that that just opens the doors, the floodgates for Romans 5, 8. But God shows his love for us and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And share the gospel, share the things that you learned from Brett's articles on the four pillars of the gospel, and then my article on how to share your testimony and all the other resources out there on getting the gospel right. So I think that's that's a good way to start. And you could do that truly anywhere. And it doesn't have to be a coffee shop, it could be a restaurant. It's so easy. And $5, what is $5 at the at the end of the day? You know, $5 to get the gospel out is $5 well spent. Um, another thing that I think about all the time is uh family Christmas cards. Um, you know, family Christmas cards are always really interesting because every every year, you know, we get tons of them. And they're good, right? They're good family updates, but I've noticed that a ton of them tend to be like really braggadocious. Like, look how amazing my family is. Like, Jimmy got an A in archery, like Jimmy's just the best. Yes. And I don't have any problem with including family updates. And I think that's important to keep connected with friends and family and whatnot. But while you're sharing about your family, let's not forget our priority. Let's not forget what our lives exist for. Like our lives exist for Christ. And, you know, as Paul says, let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. And so I don't think a lot of people realize that family cards, Christmas cards, can actually be personalized tracks that you mail to hundreds and hundreds of people every single year. And they expect it. Like, like they're expecting it, you know. Um, so I think that's a great opportunity. You can study some gospel tracks that are on that are online, like go on living waters, go on for the gospel, look at how the gospel is articulated, read up on it, memorize verses on the gospel, and craft a gospel presentation to declare the goodness of God and humanity's sinfulness and redemption that comes through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ alone, and send out these gospel tracts to hundreds and hundreds of people. Like, what an incredible opportunity if we would just change our mindset from boasting in our families to boasting in the Lord. Come on. Um, one thing that we're getting ready to do here uh that we do during the holiday season, this is a very simple outreach. You can do it with tons of people in your church or just a few families. But one thing that I really like is it's called laundromat evangelism. And what we did was we found like poorer areas around our city and we called the laundromat owners of those laundromats in the area and said, Hey, can we uh would would you be okay if we gave away quarters for people to you have for laundry that help your business? Would that be something that you'd be okay with? And and we share share a message of hope. And they said, Oh, uh, you're gonna be giving people money for my business? Like, I see no problem with that.
unknownLet's go.
SPEAKER_01Um, so we what we'll do is we'll put five dollars of quarters in plastic gift bags and we'll put a gospel booklet, a gospel track in it. We'll set up a table outside the laundromat. If you want to even upgrade your table, you could have hot coffee or hot cocoa outside or hot apple cider, you know, whatever you want. And you hand out the bags as people walk in and you tell them that, hey, go in and do your laundry. And and while you're in there and you're just waiting for your load to be done, like come out here and talk to us.
SPEAKER_00Let's go.
SPEAKER_01Like you're just sitting there, like, like, what are you gonna do? Uh so I'll I'll usually offer people to go, hey, set up your first load, come out. We'd love to hear from you, hear what's going on. Like, I know a lot of people are suffering during the holiday season, and sometimes it's hard to find people who will talk to you about those things. We'd love to talk to you about those things, we'd love to pray with you. And so we let them put in their laundry, they come out, we share the gospel with them, and and we pray with them. And it's really incredible because I've had people tell us uh every time we do this that I've I've just never experienced someone ask me, like, how am I really doing and mean it. And this is a great opportunity to do that. And you know, you can make all sorts of great connections between even laundromat and the gospel. You know, I think about like Isaiah 118. Though your skin, your or though your sins are like scarlet, they shall become as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool. So I, you know, I tell people, hey, as you get your dirt washed away on your clothes, learn to have your sins washed away by the blood of Jesus and his life, death, and resurrection. Let's go. That's just a great opportunity to serve your city, to point people to Christ, to articulate the gospel. And it's not much, you know, again, five, five dollars and quarters with a gospel tract and a clear plastic bag and wrapped with one of those shiny wrappings. It's it looks great. Um, some other ideas I have. Is this okay? Can I just keep can I just keep rattling?
SPEAKER_00Oh, I'm loving it. I'm taking notes right now because we're church planting and I'm like, I'm thinking of calling it, you know, laundromat love. And we just go to a laundromat and I stand outside and during the holiday season just pray for people, share the gospel, love on them. I'm taking notes right now. Keep going. This is good.
SPEAKER_01Oh, that's good. Yeah, we uh one of the laundromats by our church is called uh the wash and place. So we actually made a sign called Wash and Pray.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_01For our outreach. Um guys are great. And this is just fun. You know, it's just what a privilege to exercise the creativity that the Lord has given us to get the gospel out. Like this is what we are made for. And there's just such enjoyment in putting all that God has given us to these purposes. Um, I think another great idea that that I've found successful in uh getting people the gospel is when we go to uh restaurants, you know, restaurants are a great opportunity. A lot of servers are really overloaded during the holiday season. They're discouraged. Uh, they see, you know, maybe other people uh getting lots of tips. And maybe they're the one who's has big parties but not lots of tips, and and they're just really discouraged. And and with all this, the volume during Christmas, uh, those are great opportunities to encourage people. Um, what I like to do is bring like a card. You can bring a Christmas card, like any greeting card that's that's gospel centered or has scripture in it. And um, after you're done eating at the restaurant, you can write in this card here are three things we loved about your service. And you could say something like, Thank you for being so attentive to us. Uh, thank you for giving us great recommendations, and thank you for making us feel so welcomed. You don't have to be long, just three, three things we loved about your service. And then you can either write out the gospel or include a gospel track, include your tip in there. You could tip generously and put that all in an envelope and give that to them. And what I love about like handwritten stuff, especially in that context where it's tailored to three things we are grateful for you, is people I've noticed with tracks, they tend to throw them away. But when you give them something like personal, where you're able to actually like write out three things we're grateful for you, and then write out the gospel on that card and just be prepared to do that. People keep that. Like you don't see tracks on the floor uh outside when you walk outside the restaurant. You know, if if it's a handwritten note that's personalized to encouraging that that person. And so I love like handwritten stuff for getting the gospel out. Like I think it's so important because a lot of times when you go out to hand out tracts in bulk, which there's nothing wrong with it, and we do it all the time. Um, but I do notice that a lot of people throw those away. Uh, but there's something so special about personalizing a tract to someone. Um, and I think it's important throughout all of this. We want to keep in mind pointing people to our local church, right? We're not just interested in getting them the gospel, we're interested in making disciples. Um, so we want to open up our hearts and the body for them to be discipled and to learn more about the gospel and to plug into what it means to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Uh, just a few more ideas, and I'll just power through these because uh these ones are shorter and I'll just I'll just rapid fire them out. Uh, I think free Christmas uh wrappings uh stations outside of malls or inside malls are really powerful ways to share the gospel. You could do this with, again, friends in your church, or you can do it with your family. Uh, what great discipleship opportunities for your family. And if your family is kind of nervous, like go alongside another family and you get to experience the body of Christ together doing ministry. Just set up a free wrapping station at a mall. You can even buy Christian themed wrapping paper, give away tracks, wrap presents, pray for people, share the gospel. You can even do this with the hot cocoa station. Uh, we can do That at a college university, set up free cocoa stations and share the gospel. Um, one of my favorites is evangelistic caroling. And one of the reasons I love this so much is sometimes in local church, like ministries are really divided, you know, in the sense that like worship is responsible for music. And you have like discipleship ministries, disciples, you know, it's responsible for discipleship, and evangelism is responsible for evangelism, but we don't we we don't see how we're all one body and how we all interrelate. So get your worship leaders involved, get their gifts that God has given them in music, and go door to door and sing Christ exalting carols outside of people's homes. I've actually done this. I'm not even a musician. Like all I can play is the ukulele and the kazoo, but it's all I need, and people love it. It's just kind of a fun, like silly act. And then we'll do even a cappella sometimes where we just sing uh hymns or Christian carols, and then we give away like many candy canes and we give a gospel presentation in between songs, and we give away gospel tracks, like go door to door and carol. People love that. And I think that's a great opportunity for us to do. Um one benefit of that too is I I actually have been handed money for doing that. Uh, so you might even get some extra money to bring back to the church and build God's kingdom. Um last few ideas. Uh, bake a bake some some goods and give them away to neighbors with with gospel tracts. That's so important. You can even write your testimony out on a on a on a piece of paper and say, hey, you've been my neighbor for 10 years and you don't even know the most important thing about me. Here's what it is. Boom, here's your testimony with some baked goods. Hand that off door to door. Um, if you're hosting dinner, uh and this is this is getting a little more into the obligations of Christians and what we exist for. Really, if you are hosting dinner, like don't eat without telling your family and your guests what Christmas is all about. Like that's so important. And you don't have to hold them hostage. You don't have to do a two-hour, you know, singing, come as you are for two hours until people run forward at the altar of your kitchen counter. Uh, that's not what we're talking about. But at a minimum, you know, share the gospel, tell them what this is all about. If you're hosting dinner, like don't forget that you that you are a Christian. And so you are responsible for not only giving people food and being hospitable, but you are you are responsible for giving people the bread of life. And so let's take that seriously. Um, I think one thing that couples can do together is invite unbelieving neighbors over for dinner. Uh, singles can do that too. If you're nervous, it's really awesome to do it together with another family from your church. And just you can invite like a couple neighbors over. And then that becomes this group effort that you're doing together with the with the body of Christ. Invite them over, share the gospel. And then lastly, and I don't want to forget this one because I think this really hits at the heart of what a lot of people are going through. Really be mindful during the season of non-believers who you know are suffering. Like, really be mindful of that. Like, don't get so focused on I've got to be here, I've got to be there, I've got to buy this gift, I've got to buy that gift, that you forget to see suffering people in front of you. You know, recently we just saw someone who was attending a Bible study that I lead on Thursday mornings. Um, he was struggling with drug addiction and he overdosed on drugs, passed away, and we just saw the suffering that uh his family was going through. His family was not connected to our church in any way, shape, or form, other than his grown son had been connected with our Bible study. And we saw that suffering as an opportunity to set up a meal train, to write handwritten cards that that uh tell them of the gospel, that tell them, look, this is this is the result of the fallenness of our world, fallenness that so desperately needs the redemption that comes through Christ alone, and just imploring them to share the gospel. And I got to talk with that family in person, deliver food in person, share the gospel in person, give them a handwritten card with the gospel in it, give them a book on suffering that that points to the gospel. And we've really got to be mindful of people who are suffering because those are opportunities to get the gospel out. So in the busyness of the season, don't forget those who are suffering right in front of your eyes. Use that to share the gospel.
SPEAKER_00Amazing. That list is probably one that people are gonna go over again and again. Um, I would encourage you if you're listening, uh, to hit a playback on some of this, take some notes. Uh, Greg, would you be willing to put you on the spot here to drop an article on some of this or even post you know those 10 somewhere that people can get that in a concise way so they can do that?
SPEAKER_01I was gonna suggest this I was gonna suggest the same thing. So by the time this drops, this will be out. Look for it on the blog.
SPEAKER_00Perfect. Yeah, we'll we'll um we'll get this to you, everybody who's listening. This this episode will be dropping um leading up to the holiday season. Even now, I'm looking at the schedule, and this should be posted by November 22nd, so that you can go into the turkey time with all these tips and say no turkey unless you turn to Christ. And well in advance of the Christmas season, so you could actually plan some of this uh this season. Greg, thanks for doing that, and thank you for always being so helpful and so practical. Um I got another question for you if I could just steal a few more minutes of your time. There's gonna be two groups listening that probably could use some wisdom on these areas, maybe either for themselves or to encourage others. Number one, how would you encourage someone who's in a new relationship? They're whether that's dating courtship or marriage, they're going to a family gathering. There's gonna be unbelievers and people there they've never met, in-laws or future in-laws, and they want to be a light for the gospel, but also there's that practical element of you get to know people, you form relationships, um there you may have less impact because no one knows you, and they're like, Who's the weirdo making a stand? We don't even know you. Like, why don't you just come in one time and actually tell us your name before you go on your your your mission or whatever you're doing? Speak to the person who's coming into that context, and they're really not sure how to take the long approach, or are they supposed to be right then and there just letting it fly as the newbie?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I I think uh sincerity is always key. You know, I think people people always like try to dichotomize, like, oh, I've gotta, when I meet new people, I I've gotta, I've gotta just make friends with them. And then somewhere along the line, I've down our relationship, whether it's you know, months from now, weeks from now, a year from now, then I'll share the gospel. I I really don't like that approach very much because I find that that approach, it some people call it friendship evangelism. It tends to be all friendship, all building new relationships and very little evangelism. And I have personally found that in evangelism, the longer you go without declaring to someone the most important thing about you, the gospel, like new life in Christ, the harder it is to do that, right? Like I think we all have people who are like, I've known you for a year, and it actually doesn't get easier to share the gospel with. It actually becomes harder because you're like, I our relationship has been built on me avoiding this thing. And now I don't even know, like, I have no context whatsoever to bring this up to you. So I have found truly the best thing you can do in meeting new people is to be sincere about asking them about like what are the most like meaningful events in your life? Like, what what are one question I love asking people that I meet for the first time is like, what is one thing that you have to do before you die? And just get into the sincerity of their heart. And then that gives you an opportunity to share your answer and to say, well, actually, the most important thing that I have to do before I die is actually already been given to me in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Like, like I'm a sinner. I'm a I'm a I'm someone who has rebelled against God's law. I deserve judgment, I deserve hell because his standard is righteousness, it's perfection. And I don't live up to that. And really no one does, the scriptures declare. But the gift that I have that I'm so thankful for is that Jesus Christ lived, died, and resurrected to take the penalty for my sin. He he died in my place so that I don't have to die. And he rose again. And because Jesus lives, I live. And and man, thanks for sharing the most important thing about you and the most important events that have happened in your life. Like these are the most important things that have happened in my life. And then you can dialogue, like, hey, have you have you really considered like the righteousness of God? Like, have you really considered like that there's one who owns you, who made you? Like you're made in the image of God, made to worship Him. Like, do you recognize that? Are you let's talk about that? And so I would say get it out as soon as possible and do it in sincerity, genuinely seeking to learn from the new people you're meeting and life and family, and then being sincere right back at them. Because I think to withhold Christ is to withhold sincerity. Like, if Christ is the most important thing about you, like you don't wait to share that. Nope. You share now, you share today.
SPEAKER_00Come on. Amazing. I that's so helpful for people and genuine and sincere. Last one, what are some unwise decisions that can hurt our witness this holiday season? Not being funny here, being serious. We've all, whether you're new to ministry or you're a pastor listening, or you're a congregant, a church member, um, you know, we've all been in those situations where at Christmas parties people drink a little too much eggnog or whatever, but they're drinking, crude humor comes up, uh, people act like the world, maybe people fit in too much. Even consumerism, like the happy Christian, that you know, the magic of the season is so exciting, and I want to deck my my halls out with bells of holly and I want to put Christmas lights up. I myself even, I promised my kids last year, they're like, Daddy, will you put up Christmas lights? I'm gonna put up Christmas lights. Um but maybe if I decide to put up like 10,000 Christmas lights and it becomes my obsession, um my neighbors are like, Man, this guy's really into it. Like they're I'm known more for my Christmas light effort than uh my asking them, Hey, can I pray for you this holiday season? How do you really do it to my neighbors? Um there could be a lot of good things during the holidays. When do those things get in the way of the great things and what are some unwise decisions that hurt our witness?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think very practically, you know, speaking to friends and listeners who are going to work parties, you know, we're probably you're gonna experience a lot of drinking and and family parties with a lot of non-believers, you know, Ephesians talks very clearly that we should not take part in works of darkness, but instead we should expose them. So I think it's very important that we maintain our witness, that we don't get pulled into drunkenness, that we don't get pulled into materialism. And we've got to expose those things, really. Uh, we've got to be careful that we're not pulled into drunkenness, materialism, discontentment, but just be mindful this season to be uh to be on guard. And also, like, yeah, what you do you do this giant light show, but no one hears the gospel. Like, kudos to you. You you you you blew up the light on on the neighborhood, but you failed, you failed to show the light of the world, you know. Like, let's not do that, you know. Um, and I I don't think it has to be like an either or. Uh, one thing that that I wish I I hope someone does this. Um, I've always thought, you know, those houses that are like really decked out and they have like Christmas songs playing that you could tune in on the radio station and like and they're like light show is synced with the uh with the radio and the music. And yes, imagine if somebody took either like a sermon jam of like Paul Washer. Oh, let's go, let's go, and it was just like in the mix, or took like uh, you know, just even a gospel presentation and and plugged it in to the lineup of the continuous loop. Like you have all these people coming outside your house. How amazing would it be if all those people heard the gospel? So I'm not even saying it has to be in either or, but don't forget your priorities. If you're gonna if you're gonna do the big light show, like talk about the light of the world, like leverage that for the kingdom and and get the gospel out. Give them the greatest gift. Your home decked in lights is not the greatest gift. Jesus Christ crucified and risen again is the greatest gift. So let's get it out and make that the priority of the season.
SPEAKER_00You just gave me my next dream, my next great project is anybody wants to come and volunteer to help deck out the hidden home. We go light show, we time it with like whatever, you know, 88.1 FM, and it's music, like bump in music with like J Mac or Sony, like Paul Walker, just absolutely unloading the gospel to to the beat in perfect time that lights the lights, and all the lights, all the lights are like the nativity scene and the gospel and your body.
SPEAKER_01I mean he talks about the atonement, the house gets red. When he talks about the resurrection, the house gets white.
SPEAKER_00Oh come on, let's go on. Oh, that's so good. That's the goal. Maybe one of these years you come out to Arizona or I come out to Tennessee and we we deck the house out with and just straight preach. Man, so good. Greg, thank you so much for the practical tips for the pastoral wisdom. Uh, we sure do love you, man. And honestly, keep up the great work. Where can people find out more about um local church ministry? You're you're pastoring with Pastor Matt Shackleford, who is one of our for the gospel contributors. You're also involved with Anchored North. You got some fun projects coming. Talk to us briefly about where people can find out more.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so centralchurch.com is that's where I'm stationed. That's my post. And the local church is primary. That's where we are. We're here equipping saints for the work of the ministry. And then Anchored North, our YouTube channel, we've got some exciting projects coming out in the next year. So you're gonna want to stay tuned for those. We we make media that helps you get the gospel out. Like we want to help you in this endeavor. We're not just saying, have fun, you go do this. Like, no, we we're here to help. And that's what Anchored North exists for, to give you resources that help you get the gospel out in a meaningful way.
SPEAKER_00Excellent. Well, we're so thankful for you, brother, and grateful for your work and partnership here at For the Gospel. Uh, we love you. We're praying for you, and we are in your corner. Thanks again for being here. Thanks, Costi. Well, thank you all for being with us today on the For the Gospel podcast for free video teachings. Go to our YouTube channel and subscribe to give tax-free donation and support our creation of new resources to check out more about our team, our contributors, their churches, and all of that. Go to furthegospel.org. We'll see you on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter. And we will be back next Monday with another episode. For now, keep on living for the gospel.