Knowing The Way

A sign in Minneapolis says, “The bus does not stop here,” and it exposes something many of us do without noticing: we define ourselves by the places we refuse to go. From the way churches talk about belief to the way we talk about each other, “no” can start to sound like the whole message. We take that moment and turn it into a clearer, more hopeful question: where does the bus stop, and what actually nourishes Christian faith? 

We then move into John 14 during the resurrection season, when Jesus prepares the disciples for his absence. Thomas asks what all of us ask at some point, especially in grief or change: how do we know where you’re going, and how do we get there? Jesus answers, “You know the way,” and then says the line that has launched a thousand arguments: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Rather than getting stuck in an exclusivity debate that goes nowhere, we look for what “the way” looks like on the ground, in ordinary decisions and relationships. 

That’s where the stories carry the weight. We talk about the Sierra Service Project, mission trips, learning to build and repair homes, and what happens inside you when you stop watching from a distance and start serving with your hands. We share a powerful act of generosity, a truck given to a teenager who couldn’t afford a car, and the quiet ministry of a church community supporting someone through medical recovery. These moments turn big Christian theology into practical discipleship, lived compassion, and a faith you can recognize by its fruit. 

If you’re hungry for a more grounded, less combative way to talk about Jesus, press play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs encouragement, and leave a review with your take: where have you seen “the way” made real?

Transcript

A Sign That Says No

Pastor Darren 0:00

Here now today starts with this story that actually came from some of our United Methodist material from Reverend Dr. Derek Weber, uh, who was talking about uh an experience he had in Minneapolis at a conference. Right? And he's moving in and out of the city as one does at a conference. And uh what he noticed in particular was this sign that said, the bus does not stop here. Isn't that an interesting sign to have up? Because there's like millions of places you could put that sign up and be accurate and correct. Yeah, you know, we're looking at sort of the logical part of this of saying, shouldn't we be naming the places where the bus does stop instead of this sign, the bus does not stop here? Uh, but he's using the story to talk about how a lot of us uh in the Christian church uh we're pretty good at focusing on what we're not, right? You start talking about a church, and how often is it when we talk about what we will not abide in a church as opposed to what we're looking for, what feeds us, what nourishes us. So this passage today walks into that dilemma uh in my mind, uh, kind of easily. All right, this Jesus here preparing these disciples for his absence, and we get a bit of um, well, this is the season in the Christian year where we're trying to understand the resurrection more deeply. And so it helps us to go to those passages where Jesus was talking about what uh it was going to be like when he was gone, because those are good descriptors, right? And Jesus tells them, uh, tells them that they, the disciples, are going to be able to join him in wherever he's going next. Right? And Thomas he says, Well, how can we know the place where you go? How can we go and join you? We've not been to that place. And Jesus gives an interesting answer. He says, You know the way. You know the way. It's an interesting answer to me, uh, given that these disciples have only known Jesus really in this earthly context, in their interactions with him. If they know Jesus, it's because they've been watching how he behaves, how he lives day to day. So when he says you know the way, it's easy for me to think, oh, I've been showing you the way now for three years. Surely you know the way, the way that is you are invited to walk in order to be with me again. So I like that as a it's just a curious question or curious answer to a difficult question, but ultimately what he's telling Thomas is, and I think he's talking to us too, I think that you know the way. This isn't an answer you do not know. He says, You know me. I am the way, I am the truth, and I am the life. Now many of us have heard this passage before, and it's a provocative passage. There are some people who love this passage. Why do they love it? Because it confirms an understanding, a belief that they have that Christianity is the main religion, maybe the only real religion. And it feels like Jesus is acknowledging that here. So people who think that way, well, or believe that way, they're like, there it is, black and white, here in scriptures, gospel of John. Interestingly enough, others don't appreciate that passage. And you know why? The same reason. Because it feels like Jesus is being un unnecessarily exclusive here. It sounds, or at least as people read it, they think, oh, well, Jesus is it looks like he's saying this is the only way is to go through him. Christianity is the only way to God. And so we end up in this dilemma. Christians on both sides arguing over whether or not Christianity is the only opportunity, the only option. It better not be this option. I'm not gonna go to that church, I'm not gonna believe this way, and the bus stops right, or the bus doesn't stop here. This is not a place the bus is going to go. Or maybe to it's the opposite, which is how it works in my head. The bus stops right here and it progresses no further. We land in that spot where we're debating this theological point that truly, at least in our capacities, has no answer. Stuck at a bus stop, bus not going anywhere else. So Jesus tells us that we know the way. That we know the way to be with Jesus, even in this new understanding of Jesus' life, even after crucifixion and resurrection, we know the way. I started in my journey with this passage this week thinking about a time way back when I was a youth director down at Laguna United Methodist Church. Has anybody been to Laguna United Methodist Church? I heard somebody. Oh, and well, my mom has. A couple of you others, beautiful church, right? They have cursed the pastor in this church because this one side is a big window that looks out on the Pacific Ocean. And this side is a big window, looks out on this beautiful meditative garden. Nobody hears a sermon in this place. Beautiful, beautiful church, right? And I remember as the youth director down there, so I don't know how old I am at that point, 21, 22, I get this advertisement for this uh program called Sierra Service Project, a project you guys have taken part in at certain points in the uh history of the place. It is a project where young people are invited to go work on Native American reservations, do little jobs for communities that maybe can't afford to do those themselves. So uh I'm looking through it, and this is really early on in the SSP history, and I'm reading through, and I'm thinking, this is cool. I'd been a summer camp guy, and so I thought, oh shoot, building, building as an act of mission and an act of faith. That sounds really, really cool, right? And I'm looking at what they do and who they're helping, and and uh I zero in on this number one hundred dollars. And my first thought was wow, that's not a lot for them to pay me to go work on their reservation. Doesn't that make sense? I'm gonna go work for a week. My gift to you, I'll do it for a hundred dollars. That's what I'm gonna do it for. Then I read further and I'm like, I think they want me to pay them. They want me to give them money to be able to go work for them and build their homes. Now, obviously, here we're like, well, no duh, they didn't have the money to build this stuff. That's part of the gift that you bring. But in my brain, I'm like, holy smokes! And then I'm in Laguna Beach, which is, you know, fairly comfortable economically, shall we say? And I'm thinking, how am I going to convince all these young people to go spend$100 to go do this work? And I took the brochure and I tossed it away. So this is not how this is going to work. So then as life rolls out, I end up at another church, this time as kind of the youth pastor. Uh, this is at San Ramon Valley United Methodist Church. Has anybody been up in the Danville, Walnut Creek, in that area? I spent seven years at the church up there. Really great church. Anyway, they already went to SSP. That was their tradition. So now I'm like, oh, okay, well, I guess we're gonna do it. We're gonna start spending$100. Get up there. I, you know, I've at this point I've probably been to 10 or 12 SSPs. So I've I've done many, many of them. And uh I had a really, really great experience. You know, you get up there, not only are you engaging with this culture that you don't always get to learn too much about, uh, you know, now you're living amongst them and uh uh having direct experiences. Uh, you get this experience of being able to do something kind for them. Uh uh that, you know, for Christians, that's how we understand the core of the beauty of being a Christian is getting that experience of helping somebody else out. I remember as a goofy experience, it was so early on in SSP, they got to where they would go to high schools for showers. But my first year, a big barrel that they had hoisted up about eight feet, tar all around it so it would warm the water inside. Yeah, that was the shower. We took a shower in this thing. I tell you what, it was one of the most meaningful experiences I've ever had, so much so that I went every year, obviously, for years and years. We grew into other missions where we were taking kids down to Mexico. And not only were we doing repairs, which is another cool part, we learned some construction, basic construction, but it's cool to learn how to roof, how to build a deck, you know, how to do drywalls, stuff like that, that not everybody gets to learn how to do. Then you go into Mexico and you actually build a full two-bedroom home. Usually the one we did, we had to do the foundation itself and then grow it up. Really meaningful experiences. They were so powerful to me, not only from what I learned, but the experiences of working with different cultures and the opportunity to be offering God's love to somebody else and to experience what that feels like in my heart. Makes me think to myself, yeah, we know the way. We know the truth, we know the life. Jesus was right. I remember later on in my life, I was in uh church in Austin, Texas, Bethany United Methodist Church. And that uh I took an adventure because uh um it was a big church. San Auron Valley was bigger than this church, God. So that was a big church too. This one worshipped 1,700 people. I was the youth pastor over there, and and uh my my roster just of young people of youth was 400 names. How fun is that? Nancy, was that fun? Yeah, yeah, but you know it was fun. That's kind of why I went. I wanted to see something like that. A story came to my mind this week as we're thinking through, getting prepared. Uh um, we had a young man in the youth program, didn't have a lot of money, turning 16. And what happens at 16? Get the driver's license, right? And we live in an age where so many 16-year-olds do get a car, they figure it out, you know, whatever the however the economy's working, it might not be the best car, it might be the best car. But usually that's how it lands. It wasn't gonna happen for this young man. One of my youth uh counselors, he uh had opportunity to get another car, but he still had his truck.

unknown 13:40

Right?

Everyday Care In A Church Family

Pastor Darren 13:40

And you're thinking, oh yeah, well that's great. You can go sell that truck. Get a little bit of money, you know, who doesn't like a little bit of money? But what did he do? Just gave it straight to the young man who couldn't afford a car. Your first reaction is, whoa, hey, okay, settled down there. His name is Roman, Roman Smith. What are you doing, Roman? You're not a rich guy. Can you afford to be doing that? And it wasn't too long before I realized, no, no, he was the smart one. You could feel him bubbling up with the joy, the love in his heart to not only uh uh um be able to share that such a meaningful gift, because we knew how meaningful it was going to be to this young man, but to get to feel it inside of himself, the love of God just bursting at having done such a kind thing. We know the way. We know the truth, we know where life is. Here's another fun one. You know, as the pastor, I get in on uh certain uh text loops. Alright, alright. And this one, our good friend, Roy Brewbaker, recovering from getting his getting a new hip, and it was uh an emergency new hip. So it was a little bit of crazy. Right, and I bring you good news. He texted me last night. Here is the latest. Good first week at home with physical therapy and health, continued good progress. So yay for Roy. Roy, if you're watching us, praise to you. But see, I get other ones like this, and you don't get to hear these. Good week here. My daughter will be here. Sunday I'm going home on Monday, made good progress. Thank you for church community support. Boyd helped me greatly on Wednesday. I get to hear those. You don't always get to hear them, so it's kind of cool. We know the way, we know the truth, we know the life. Amen.