What If Faithfulness Matters More Than Comfort

We unpack Mark 6:14-29 through Herod’s guilty conscience and John the Baptist’s courage, and we face the ways truth keeps pressing on us long after compromise. We talk honestly about image, pressure, humility, and what real obedience looks like when faithfulness costs something. 
• Herod’s guilt and why truth unsettles compromised hearts 
• The weight of conscience and how sin distorts our thinking 
• Speaking truth to power and the cost of courage 
• Balancing conviction with humility instead of criticism and takedowns 
• Admiring truth versus surrendering to it and changing 
• Public pressure overpowering private conviction and why it happens 
• Ministry highlight with Families for Families and the foster care need in Georgia 
• Discipleship as faithfulness over comfort and preference 
if you guys are interested in joining um the volunteer list of our foster care ministry, being on that dream team um and helping out families for families with what they do, you can contact me or grab me on a Sunday. Or if you see Laura around on a Sunday or Wednesday, you can talk to her as well 

Transcript

Welcome And What Jet Fuel Is

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Jeff Fuel Podcast, a series of Concord conversations. In each episode, our lead pastor and a guest will sit down and dive a little deeper into what we learned as a church that week. These are honest, practical conversations to fuel your faith and help you live it out with purpose and consistency. Or, in other words, this is Jet Fuel for your soul.

SPEAKER_01 0:26

All right. Well, welcome back to our jet fuel podcast where we fuel faith for everyday life. And we have got a couple of folks here today. I guess Aaron just decided he never wants to be on the podcast again. He was only working on three. That's it. So we've got Eli, our college director, but we have one of our interns, Miss Claudia Russell, with us today. So glad that you're here. Hey, tell us a little bit about what you do here as an intern.

SPEAKER_03 0:54

So I'm an intern in our student ministry area, getting to work with our girls' ministry and go from group to group just pouring into girls. And then I also help do social media things.

SPEAKER_01 1:03

Oh, that is awesome. She's the reason our social media looks so good. That's right. So if you like our social media, you get information or get insight into it. This is all the screen. If you don't like it, it's Aaron's fault. Yes, that's it. Well, today

One Meal Forever Debate

SPEAKER_01 1:15

we're going to jump into Mark chapter six, verses 14 through 29. But we can't get there yet until we do uh our question. And so uh Claudia, I hear you are the bringer of the question today that usually comes from off-camera, but today we're on camera. So what's our question for today?

SPEAKER_03 1:33

Um the question is if you could eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

SPEAKER_01 1:39

Wait, like every day?

SPEAKER_03 1:47

I think a same meal.

SPEAKER_01 1:48

The same meal. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:50

So we're not talking like last meal.

SPEAKER_01 1:51

Not last meal. It's just one meal. One that you could do every day. For the rest of my life. Okay, Eli, what are you going here?

SPEAKER_02 2:00

See, my first thought is to like go something that can be dynamic, like kind of like some some quote of breakfast vibe. Because I love one, breakfast is a great meal. Two, breakfast for dinner hits really hard. Um, and you can like kind of so like say if I got like a stack of pancakes, bacon, eggs.

SPEAKER_01 2:18

You're speaking my language right now. I'm thinking breakfast.

SPEAKER_02 2:21

You can just like then if you want to switch it up, you can make like a little McGriddle kind of thing, put the thing in a sandwich. Okay. So I think I'm gonna go like some pancakes, bacon, eggs, and toast.

SPEAKER_01 2:32

Yeah. That's uh like a Waffle House All-Star. See, that's that's approved. I'm I'm I'm a big fan of that. What about you, Claude?

SPEAKER_03 2:38

Uh mine would probably be steak, broccoli, and mashed potatoes.

SPEAKER_01 2:41

Dang. All right. That leans a little bit more to the last meal vibe. So you're eating broccoli and steak for breakfast.

SPEAKER_03 2:48

I could eat broccoli for every meal, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:50

Oh my word. I do not have something you guys would do. You guys that are listening, you would eat a vegetable for breakfast every day.

SPEAKER_03 2:59

It's my favorite food.

SPEAKER_01 3:00

I struggle to eat vegetables with a lot of people. Could you eat a vegetable for breakfast? Yes. Uh because at first I was thinking like Captain Crunch cereal, but here in y'all's, I'm uh I'm gonna have to think through something different here. Now, many of you guys know this. I delivered pizza all through college, and I mean I've eaten more pizza. And then I was a youth pastor for like 13 years. So I'm basically a ninja turtle because I've had so much pizza between college and uh youth ministry. So, and I'm still not tired of it. So I think I'm gonna have to go with pizza uh because I can eat pizza for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and there are tons of variations with the pizza. So I'm gonna go pizza, although I respect the breakfast for dinner. I'm with the steak and potatoes. I I just not sure I could do broccoli for breakfast.

SPEAKER_02 3:43

We're allowing different kinds of pizza. Oh, it's just one kind of pizza? That's what my my thought process would have been it's one thing.

SPEAKER_01 3:53

Uh fine. Pepperoni pizza. Here we go. Three meals a day, every day for the rest of my life.

SPEAKER_02 3:59

Because that would be a hack if we could do a different pizza for every meal because you don't need breakfast.

SPEAKER_01 4:03

Well, you know, I really think this question is whatever we make it. So I think that's we're splitting here. I think that's a a big deal.

Why Mark’s Dark Flashback Matters

SPEAKER_01 4:09

So well, let's jump into Mark chapter six. Now, this is a passage of scripture that I'm gonna be honest, I have not heard a lot of sermons preached on. I mean, this is not this is not the one that you're like, oh yeah, I've heard tons of sermons on the beheading of John the Baptist.

SPEAKER_02 4:27

Yeah, in the middle of our uh power and parable series. Let's just stop for a moment to look at John the Baptist being beheaded. Trevor Burrus, Jr. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:35

I mean, like like there's no miracle healing story, parable things. It's literally just an account in history, but it is very important. It is there's nothing just benign or happenstance for anything included in scripture because 2 Timothy tells us that all scripture is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. That this is not just an aside, an addendum. There is something to learn from this passage. And I really think it's it's very, very pivotal. So, Eli, start us off with this story.

SPEAKER_02 5:08

Yeah. So basically how it starts is King Herod, this is right after um Jesus sends out disciples to go and preach and teach and do all the things. Um he hears all this this famous news of Jesus and his his boys doing ministry. I like that you called the disciples his boys, like his his his crew. Jesus and his youth group. Oh goodness. Um yeah, they're going around, they're they're uh they're doing a bunch of ministry, they're they're teaching, they're preaching, they're healing, um, and Jesus' fame is growing more and more and more. Sure. And so then he he thinks, oh man, is this who I think it is? Because he doesn't really know who this Jesus guy is. He's heard a little bit about him, but there's someone that he's more intimately close with, which is John the Baptist. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 5:51

And he thinks that, you know, he's been risen from the dead. So we're really going to look at this passage and you kind of get the end first, and then it's almost like a movie where you go back and it's like the vantage point, right? It's a flashback, literally. This is why it happened. But um, Herod's really dealing with stuff because he's he's struggling to believe this, so there's some kind of regret that he's dealing with.

SPEAKER_02 6:12

Yeah, this whole story is uh it's really just kind of focusing on Herod's guilty conscience. He uh he's heard about this Jesus guy and he immediately goes, This is John the Baptist who has been risen from the dead. At this point, we've not seen John die. And then we're gonna get this flashback where apparently John has passed away in recent time.

SPEAKER_01 6:31

And by passed away, you mean murdered.

SPEAKER_02 6:34

Yeah, murdered, yeah, killed, beheaded. Uh, and the this flashback is gonna show us exactly kind of what happened and what played out and why Herod feels such a guilty conscience over John's death.

SPEAKER_01 6:45

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_03 6:46

Yeah, and this story is about conscious, conscience, compromise, courage, and consequences. Good C's.

SPEAKER_01 6:52

Oh, I'm just saying, as a as a as someone who preaches, that was strong. Four C's right there in a row.

SPEAKER_03 6:58

Which kind of leads us into our first question.

Guilt And The Weight Of Conscience

SPEAKER_03 7:00

So, Clint, why do you think guilty people are often unsettled by truth even long after the moment has passed?

SPEAKER_01 7:07

You know, that's a that's a really tough question. I mean, but it's something I think we're all kind of associated with, because I think, you know, when you've done something wrong, when truth confronts it, I I think there is for most people like this element of regret, like um going when you're confronted with that truth, you're like, I wish I would have handled this differently. Um, because that's where really regret comes from. Like you reacted in the moment, you did something, and you're like, I wish I would have done that differently. There's an old saying, hindsight is 2020. Um, and you know, if you don't know what that means, is like, I don't know, you know, for people who wear glasses or contacts, you go to the eye doctor and you have to take the test and they tell you, hey, you've got 2020 vision, which is perfect vision, or you've got 2030 vision, or if you're like some people, you're just like 10,000 and whatever, like your vision's really bad. But 2020 means it's so clear. And and what I mean by that is when when Herod's looking back, there's probably some clarity of what he should have done differently. And I think for us, a lot of times when when we've made a poor decision, we've made something that has serious consequences, that when truth confronts that, there's a bit of regret where we look and go, I wish I would have done that differently. Because I gotta tell you, man, your heart, you know, can wreck you sometimes when you know what to do and your flesh chooses something else for sure.

SPEAKER_02 8:35

Yeah, that's what Paul talks about in was it Romans where he's like, you know, I know what I ought to do, but I don't do as I ought to do. Uh he's like the flesh that's in me is doing the things that I don't want to do. But what I want to do is righteousness. I just can't I'm aware of when he calls out who's gonna rescue me from this body of death. I think also part of part of it is like, you know, stems back from the garden of Adam and Eve taking the the knowledge the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil when they weren't supposed to, and like they knew it was wrong immediately afterwards because they now have received their own wisdom of I get to decide what's right and what's wrong. So we all kind of have an inherent knowledge of you know what is good, what is bad, what we should do, what we shouldn't do. And so whenever we go against the what we should do, we go, man, I'm just a turd.

SPEAKER_01 9:18

All right. Well, there you go. All right, give us another question.

SPEAKER_03 9:22

So, what does Herod's reaction reveal about the human conscience?

SPEAKER_01 9:26

Ooh, that's a good one. I'm gonna let you let you hit that one first, Eli.

SPEAKER_02 9:30

Of course. Um I think I think really part of it is is just how weighty sin is on our conscience. Of, you know, this is we don't know exactly how long has passed since this moment where he's hearing about Jesus and all of his friends uh and all the disciples versus when he beheaded John. But it's it's been a significant amount of time enough to where uh the rumor of of Jesus being John the Baptist is kind of sparked. Um and so it's it's obviously kind of holding on to him and latching on to him to the point where it he's probably losing sleep over this because of the the guilt that he is feeling in the sin. Um I I think it just it just really goes to show how how much sin affects the way we look at everything in our life and the way that we interact with everything in our life, and it's such a a poison to everything that we do, everything we think, everything we say, all these things.

SPEAKER_01 10:24

Yeah. Well, if you if you think about this, I mean Herod is now struggling. John has uh he's had him killed. Um, and then we get a little bit of the backstory here. And some of it comes from when John confronted Herod um about uh some sin in his life. He had called out Herod, who was the king, you know, he had called him to a moral standard. He's like, hey, what you're doing is not okay. Uh you cannot have your brother's wife. Um, and there was this element of, hey, there are things that are right, yeah, and there are things that are wrong. Um, and I think for us in our culture, we have almost lost that. There is this love of calling things that are right, calling them wrong. And things that are wrong, endorsing, loving, pushing, having conviction towards um, and there is a moral standard of truth.

SPEAKER_02 11:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:21

There absolutely is. God's given it to us in his in his word. And um, you know, John tells the king, you cannot do what you're doing. It is wrong. Um and so it it was just not right for him to have his his brother's wife.

SPEAKER_02 11:39

Yeah. Um, I mean, I I think it's like you're talking about we've lost this whole idea of this speaking truth to power, right? Because I mean, that's what really what John is doing here is he has seen sin, right? Not just a a dislike, not just a hey, I don't like the way you do things, but it's a this is an egregious sin that you're doing, and this is not the way to live, especially as our king, you should not be doing this. And so he is faithful to call it out, right? He he doesn't shrink back away, he doesn't shy away from it just because he's like, oh, what's gonna happen to me if I do call this out? Because John probably knew this is gonna be a death sentence if I go to King Harriet and be like, hey, you're living in sin, you need to quit.

SPEAKER_01 12:21

So what you're saying is speaking truth comes at a cost.

SPEAKER_02 12:25

Yeah, right. Like it it literally is costly. Um, and even in the world that we live in today, that truth is counter-cultural in a lot of a lot of situations.

SPEAKER_01 12:35

And I don't hear this terminology much anymore. Uh, but there was a while, you know, cancel culture was a big deal, you know. Uh I mean I think it still exists for sure, but I don't hear that terminology much. But it that's kind of it of going, you know, what John experienced was he understood this could maybe he understood, maybe he didn't, but what we see in the scriptural account is this cost him his life. Um and for us, sometimes it costs us followers on social media, it costs us friendships or platforms or things like that. But it is important to be faithful to speak truth and to um to have courage, yeah. Yeah, to have courage.

SPEAKER_02 13:12

Because ultimately, you know, courage, courage doesn't always look loud, but it is obedient. Um a lot of times people think that courage is the absence of fear, but instead it's actually going forward in spite of fear. Like you cannot have courage without fear. And so I think that's that's super impactful with you know this whole story for John. Um for our next question.

Speaking Truth To Power Today

SPEAKER_02 13:35

Why why do you guys think it is so hard to speak truth when someone who's in power may not like it? Why is it so hard to speak truth to power? Claudia, go for it.

SPEAKER_03 13:45

Um I think it's because just like you said with canceled culture, we can be so fearful of like the repercussions of what's gonna happen, of what people won't like, what we have to say, or judge us what we of what we think. And with especially with social media and how fast that news spreads, people can easily be fearful of being hated on and not being liked because ultimately, like we most people care about their image and care what other people think about them.

SPEAKER_01 14:08

Well, it's funny that you said that because that's exactly what I was gonna ask, because you were like fear, which I think all of us would go, yeah, of course. But fear of what? You know, like what is our fear when we we go, man, we need to speak truth, but it may come with a cost. Like, what are we actually scared of? Because I I I feel like your answer is something we would all answer. And anybody listening, I think you guys would would answer the same way. Um but but what are we really scared of? What are we afraid of? Um, is that you know just approval from people? Uh I mean, is it just a value of self or or your worth or something like that? Uh I just I I feel like that's what are we afraid of is my question.

SPEAKER_03 14:56

Um I think for me in my life, it's sometimes I value man's opinion over God's opinion.

SPEAKER_01 15:01

Why?

SPEAKER_03 15:02

Uh because I like want to seek approval of the people that I'm physically with.

SPEAKER_01 15:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 15:06

Um and so sometimes like I want to um those people to approve what I say, and I'm fearful of saying the wrong thing um because I care more about man's opinion sometimes.

SPEAKER_01 15:18

Yeah, I think we can definitely all fall into that trap. And I think it it comes down to these like two words that sound opposite, but they're not insecurity and pride. Because there's this insecurity of going, am I enough? Will I be like, all that kind of stuff? But then that comes down to a pride that's kind of rooted in some kind of vanity of going, I need to be important for my own sake rather than doing what's right. And I think that's a that's a tough, tough thing that most of us just kind of we would acknowledge, but we just kind of bury down and go, well, I'm just gonna try to do better, which is wild.

SPEAKER_02 15:53

Yeah. What how do you guys think that you know we balance this conviction to call out sin with humility today? In other words, how do we how do we ensure it's not just a a witch hunt for leaders or people in power that we don't like versus actual calling out sin itself?

SPEAKER_01 16:12

Okay, well, I'm just gonna go out there and say it and I'm probably gate on this, but um, you know, there are a lot of people who just want to take other people down. And so they are looking for something. They are hunting for something. Uh there's, you know, this teaching in scripture that talks about, hey, examine your own eye before you look at someone else. You know, we're trying to pull specks out of people's eyes when we have our own stuff. I think, you know, a posture of humility when confronting someone is a must. A lot of times we go in big and bold, and man, we want to tell people what they've done wrong and how they've messed up. Can I tell you this just from being in leadership for a while? There are a ton of critics out there. There are people who want to point out, and it's so funny. Have y'all ever heard the thing like when you were a little kid, like when you point a finger at someone, you got three pointed back at you?

SPEAKER_02 17:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:05

I I just think some people forget that. And there are people that are quick to go, I don't like how you said that, and I don't like how you did that, and you did this wrong, and you made this person feel this way, and they never consider anything in their self. So I think one of the things, you know, when you have a conviction to call someone to a moral standard or deal with sin, you need to check yourself before the Lord. You need to make sure you're pure, you've dealt with your stuff, and you're doing it to bring God glory and to truly help that person, not just try to obliterate people. And I think sometimes we can so deceive ourselves that we are on that mission, we are on that mission to help, and you're going, no man, there's there's not purity in your heart towards this. And when I think about this text specifically, I gotta think that John was not trying to just tear the king down. He was going, hey, this is not right. You don't need to be doing this. And so I think for one thing, the posture of humility, the purity of your heart before the Lord, and the intention of your heart for the correction. Yeah. Um, I think those are all very, very important parts of it.

SPEAKER_02 18:13

And also like to Jesus' words talking about the the speck in the log, right? It's it's all about the measure with which we use. He talks about, you know, don't judge lest you be judged, because with the measure that you judge will also be judged to you, right? So I mean, we're all gonna be judged on the account of scripture. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_01 18:28

It's so funny. Every time I hear that verse, I go back to our series. Yeah, it's our out-of-context. Out-of-context series. Uh, yeah, such a good one.

SPEAKER_02 18:35

Go go look it up on the YouTube if you if you missed it. Um but yeah, so like sorry, didn't mean to cut you off, but like the measure with which we judge, like we're all gonna be judged by scripture, and so it's not up to us to put our own convictions on someone else, but it is up to us to hold our all of us, especially if we are believers in Christ, to a scriptural standard of living. And so it's all about you know, not only being hum humble and being in a position of humility, but also like judging rightly based on scripture, not just our own personal feelings, our own personal convictions, our likes and our dislikes.

SPEAKER_01 19:07

Yes.

Admiring Truth Without Obeying

SPEAKER_01 19:08

Well, let me jump into Mark chapter six, verse twenty. Um, you know, we get through this. Let me back up to 18. It says, for John had been saying to Herod, it is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife. Verse 19, and Herodias had a grudge against him, that's John, and wanted to put him to death, but she could not. Watch this verse 20. For Herod feared John. Like those are four big words for Herod fear John. This is one of the most powerful people of the time. He says, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly. You know what's crazy is he had this weird, like discerning thing of going, there's something different about this guy. And it caused a fear in him, going, There is something spiritual, there is something different that is connected to God that I know how to deal with. And it literally says he feared John. And so his response, even though his sister-in-law wife had a grudge against him, yeah, um, he kept him safe. I mean, I that's just wild.

SPEAKER_02 20:29

Yeah, I I the funny thing is that at the end of it where it says he even listened to him gladly. The dude could preach, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:36

He's like, he's like, Man, that's ow, but that was good. Yeah. I mean, there's something to be said for good preaching, right? Like, uh, that's that's a big deal. But Harry respected truth, um, but Harry's problem is he wouldn't submit to it. He continued in the thing that John called him out against. Um, and and that's a thing we kind of see show up everywhere nowadays. We can give a nod to Christianity, we can give a nod to uh scripture, um, but still not submit to it, right?

SPEAKER_02 21:07

Yeah. Uh I mean, you could admire truth all you want to, but ultimately the call for all of us as humans is to surrender to it because Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Yeah. And so we can we can sit on the outside and go, man, that's that's a good truth, or I mean, that was a good sermon. But unless we actually surrender to that truth, then it doesn't matter.

SPEAKER_01 21:28

Can I tell you as a pastor, that's like one of the toughest things to hear is when people go, Man, that was good. And you're like, Yeah, what part? What hit you? Where did the Lord speak? But we can just go, just all of it. It was just good. And and we know something good is in there, but to really digest and go through. Well, let me ask a couple of questions. Claudia, let me start with you first, all right? Um, because I know Eli and I are just it's like we're playing ping pong across you right here and not letting you jump in. Um, but this why do you think that some people enjoy? Hearing truth but they resist obeying the truth they hear.

SPEAKER_03 22:05

I think kind of like what Eli mentioned with um the aspect of surrenderance. I think some people it's easier because they don't want to set aside their selfish desires. Um and so they want to hear the truth, take it in, but don't actually want to apply that to their lives because it means they actually have to change something about their lives.

SPEAKER_01 22:19

Oh, okay. Well, that's kind of deep because, you know, if you submit to it, you will have to change. And most people don't like change. Am I preaching to the choir now? Like people don't like change. Yeah. And so when you hear God's word and it sets a standard in your life and you're called to some kind of decision or change, that's why a lot of people are like, I like that, but I like that over there. I like that in theory.

SPEAKER_02 22:44

That's that's uh I think also sometimes it can come down to uh our dislike of the messenger as well. Of you know, they could bring a good message.

SPEAKER_01 22:53

I feel offended by that right now.

SPEAKER_02 22:54

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. It wasn't a shot across about the messenger. And so, you know, Pastor Joseph Dockery at YCC, he used to tell me back when he was my college pastor, truth is truth no matter where it comes from. And if we believe in ultimate truth, then people who don't know Jesus can also speak truth. Well he's like, so we can't just write off whoever's speaking, even if they're bringing truth, just because that's the one who's saying it.

SPEAKER_01 23:21

Yeah, man, that's a that's a good word. Well, Elon, let me throw the second question at you. How can spiritual interest be mistaken for spiritual transformation? Because Herod here, he liked what he heard. He was kind of wrapped up in this, like, oh man, this is mysterious and good, and he's a holy man and he's wrestling inside of himself, but that's a spiritual interest, not a spiritual transformation. So how do we get those mistaken sometimes?

SPEAKER_02 23:49

Uh, I think a lot of it is uh culturally one. I mean, you gotta think of the culture that Herod is living in where uh Judaism is that's the thing to do. I mean, if you are living in the land of Israel, you are most likely a Jew who is following Jewish practice, Jewish custom. But Jesus calls to a higher form of, you know, everything being fulfilled in him, a different way of living that's not bound to the law, but it is honoring the law. Um, and so I think a lot of times, especially for their context of I'm interested in this Jesus guy because it's something different. I mean, my my first thought is to think of the rich young, rich young ruler who comes up to Jesus like, man, you are a great teacher. How do I inherit eternal life? And Jesus goes, here's what you need to do. Completely change your life, sell all your stuff, follow after me. And then he goes, I don't really know if I really want to do that.

SPEAKER_01 24:43

Wow. That's a that's a great connection. Yeah, that's that's a big deal. So we got something coming up right now.

Ministry Highlight Families For Families

SPEAKER_03 24:50

Yeah, so before we we continue, we're gonna pause um and take a quick look at our ministry highlight.

SPEAKER_05 25:00

Okay, guys, we're here with another ministry highlight, and you might recognize this person next to me. This is Laura Thomas. Welcome, Laura, to the podcast.

SPEAKER_04 25:08

Hello, hello, thank you.

SPEAKER_05 25:10

So uh you are a Concorde member, but you're also one of our point people for our ministry highlight today. So tell us a little bit about yourself, just maybe a fun fact, and then how long you've been in Concord.

SPEAKER_04 25:23

Oh goodness. I've been in Concord for about three and a half years now. And a fun fact is I eat ice cream almost every day. Wow, that is a great fact.

SPEAKER_05 25:35

Um yes, you love Dairy Queen. Uh yes, they they know my order there. Yes. So um, our ministry highlight is Families for Families, which is who you work for. So, how long have you been with Families for Families? And tell us what you guys do.

SPEAKER_04 25:51

Yeah, so I've been with Families for Families for five and a half years, and we are a faith-based foster care agency, and we're located all over the state. We have 10 different offices across the state, started out in Loganville and has kind of spread. Um, and we partner with local churches to get foster homes to place children in throughout the state.

SPEAKER_05 26:13

That's awesome. Um, so tell me a little bit, what are some like key facts maybe that you have that can highlight your impact, like families for families' impact in the foster care system over the last year?

SPEAKER_04 26:24

Yeah, so we we have multiple different outcomes that can happen throughout a case. Um and so over the past year, within 2025, we had reunifications, adoptions, and different things. I did write down some numbers that I want to share. Um we placed 287 children in Christian homes in 2025. We finalized 44 adoptions and facilitated 120 reunifications with families. Um, however, there's also a sad fact with all of that that we had to deny 3,223 children simply because of lack of homes within our agency.

SPEAKER_05 27:01

Yeah, that's pretty crazy. Um how many foster care children are in the state of Georgia approximately?

SPEAKER_04 27:07

There are upwards of 12,000.

SPEAKER_05 27:10

Okay, yeah, that's a lot. Um, what would you say is one of your favorite things about your job? Just as you're working to do that, whether it's, you know, reunification with families or adoption or just placing them in good homes that can, you know, will take care of them and their time in the system. What's one of your favorite things that you get to do?

SPEAKER_04 27:31

I think it's seeing growth. The way the Lord works within the foster care system is so tangible. We get to see growth within the children that are placed. They come from very hard places, not knowing different things that they should know or knowing too much that they shouldn't know, and things like that, and getting to see them placed in a Christian home and get to grow and flourish, be children is really special. And then also getting to see our families grow. Um, you get a front row seat to the Lord's work. And the Lord does so much work within our families' hearts and our workers as we partner with him to do the work that we do, just getting to see his hand in all of it is definitely my favorite part.

SPEAKER_05 28:12

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I think the work that you guys are doing is very close to the heart of God because he commands us to take care of those who are helpless. And so that's something that you're doing pretty much every day. Um, and so why does this matter for Concord?

SPEAKER_04 28:28

Yeah, so this is something else I wrote down just to get these numbers specific. Um, but within a 15-mile radius of Claremont, Georgia, there are 70 children in foster care. So that may be from Hall County, White County, Lumpkin County, um, several counties, but there are 70 children, but there are only 18 active foster homes. Yes. So only some children are placed close to home. So 52 children within that 15 mile radius are placed outside of that radius. So they may be placed hours away from their biological family, from their school, from everything that they know. So it there it's a need. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 29:08

So they're being, they're not only being kind of taken away from their families for a temporary time, but they're pretty much being uprooted from everything that they know. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 29:17

So we've seen the number of months a child stays in care, whether it ends in adoption or reunification, the number of months in care decreases significantly the closer a child is kept home.

SPEAKER_05 29:30

Yeah, that's good to know. Um, so if people want to get involved, um, I know they can reach out to me or you um as Concorde seeks to partner with you guys for foster care ministry, but is the only way that they can be involved to be a foster home? No.

SPEAKER_04 29:46

So we joke as an agency, everyone's called to foster care. They just don't know it yet. Um we we all have a role to play. One of those is prayer. Um, like I said, the Lord is heavily involved in our agency and within the care system as a whole. Um prayer. Also, we do different date night events and are always in need of volunteers. Foster families need help. They need trustworthy people who sign up to do respite care. They also just need church family to wrap around them, to deliver a meal once a week, to ask them what they need to be the hands and feet. So it really is case specific on exactly what those needs may be. But getting connected with a foster family and with a church that connects you with foster families is so important so that you're able to serve them as they serve the children if you don't feel directly called to open your home to take children. Sure.

SPEAKER_05 30:43

Well, thank you so much for coming and just sharing a little bit about what Families for Family says and about what you do. Um, we are so happy to have you and Trey here with us at Concord, but we're so thankful also for what you do day to day outside of a Sunday or Wednesday, um making a difference for these foster families and kids. And so if you guys are interested in joining um the volunteer list of our foster care ministry, being on that dream team um and helping out families for families with what they do, you can contact me or grab me on a Sunday. Or if you see Laura around on a Sunday or Wednesday, you can talk to her as well. So this has been another ministry highlight, and back to the podcast.

SPEAKER_03 31:24

Hi, like

Herod’s Banquet And A Reckless Oath

SPEAKER_03 31:27

all right, back into Mark chapter six, and this is where we see the birthday banquet begin.

SPEAKER_02 31:34

Yeah, man. This is a powerful room, a room full of ego. I mean, you got Harry himself in there, but you also have his uh sister in law, sister-in-law wife, uh, who's also in there, and she uh, you know, people full of image, and there's just pressure with all the crowds in there, and it's a it's a it's it is a tinder box ready to explode.

SPEAKER_03 31:55

Yeah, and he makes this reckless promise in front of all these people.

SPEAKER_01 31:59

It's one of those things where this is like a lesson. If you're looking for something, this is like the be slow to speak thing. Like, don't let your mouth get you in trouble. But after all of the shenanigans, let's just call it shenanigans that happen, just super weirdness uh that happens at this birthday party. Um, the request comes uh when he's promised this this young lady, his niece, um, all up to half his kingdom. Uh, he ends up having to do what Herodias wanted in the beginning, which is to kill and behead John. And he knows he knows this is not right.

SPEAKER_02 32:39

It goes right against his private conviction, but yet his desire for a public image completely overshadows the private conviction to keep John safe. Oh man.

SPEAKER_03 32:49

And that's the tragedy of pride, knowing what's right, but still choosing to do what looks easier. Um, which leads us into our next question. So, why can public pressure be stronger than private conviction?

SPEAKER_01 33:01

Man, I think we have hit this from every angle possible. It is really comes down to we care about what people think about us more than doing what's right. And and I know some of you are listening right now, you're working out or riding in your car or doing something, and you're listening to this and you're going, I agree, but have you evaluated yourself on this? Like, do we care what other people think more than the time we spend with the Lord? I mean, if you just think about the time that we spend perfecting the way we look, how we're perceived. Um, and I get this on Sunday mornings because I walk in and one of my goals is I try to have some point of connection with every single person in the worship center. Like I'm, I'm getting through, I mean, there's been multiple times that Michael has started worship and I'm still in the back of the room trying to connect. Very rarely do I get a real answer. You know, I try to be creative with my questions, but a lot of times it comes back to how are you? And everybody's like, good, fine, things are going great. And you're like, you are not telling me the truth. Your world is on fire, things are going crazy. But it is this like self-preservation thing, and we really care what people think. And so no matter what our conviction is that comes through the Holy Spirit or scripture or our walk with Jesus, so many times we are willing to sacrifice that for someone else's opinion of us. Um, and we do so much of that. So I just think that public pressure to perform, to be, to appear is so overwhelming. But I think an antidote to that is more time in the word, uh more time understanding that I would rather please God than man, and then literally pursue that.

SPEAKER_02 34:41

Do you think there's a a healthy level of you know wanting to be well thought of? Because I mean when Paul talks about the the elders should be well thought of by the community, right? So is there like a a level that you know doesn't go into the I'm letting this influence and drive every single one of my decisions, but also for God's glory, I want to be well thought of so that way it's how do you how do you balance that?

SPEAKER_01 35:05

Well, if we can figure that out, I think we could bottle it and sell it, right? Like, I mean, I I think it's one of those things where I do think there is something to having um the fruit of the spirit in your life where when people run into you, they find love, they find joy, peace, patience, kindness, you know, the these things that are um what the spirit produces in you. I think those are much more attractive than the works of the flesh. You know, the you know, the things that we see in scripture of anger and and just sin and immorality and all that kind of stuff. You you know people that you enjoy hanging out with, and it's usually not by what they can do for you, but it's their demeanor. And so I think there is something to being a person that people want to be around. You know, most people don't want to hang around people that are angry or sharp or um, you know, uh slimy, you know. I don't I don't know a better word for it. You want to be around people you can trust, you want to be around people that um encourage you to be that. So I do think there is something to being liked or having a welcoming personality, uh, a fruit of the spirit in your life. But I do think sometimes we take that to the nth degree and we go, I want you to like me, not what the Lord is producing in me, uh, that kind of thing. So I think there is a balance. A lot of people don't want to hang out with a jerk, um, but you know, not at the sacrifice of conviction or holiness or purity or the things that are associated with someone walking in the conviction of the spirit. Um, but uh yeah, don't don't be rude and mean to everybody. Uh, you know, be likable, but don't be fake and don't care more about what people think, you know, about what you wear or, you know, for me, I like shoes, you know. I I mean I had somebody uh on Sunday mention um, you know, take a shot at my shoes, and I was like, well, that hurt. I want you to like my shoes, but that's not a big deal. I'd rather be uh a holy man of God than than that. And so you respond with kindness and a smile, you know, that kind of thing. You don't rip somebody because they don't like you, but a lot of times we spend a lot more time on the outside than the inside, I would think.

unknown 37:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 37:16

Yeah, and that kind of directly ties with the next question of how do we keep image from driving our decisions.

SPEAKER_01 37:22

See, I went ahead and answered the second question I got ahead of us. Y'all let me just keep talking, which is wild.

SPEAKER_02 37:28

Um so I think going back to what you're talking about of you know what people think about us, it it is kind of important, but it is not the utmost importance. And it shouldn't be for you know, I want you to like me as a person, but I want you to like what God is doing within me. My uh my mission professor Peter Kendrick, he uh he used to say he always asked his wife at least once a month. He's like he asked her two questions Have I changed? And do you like the change? And his whole thing was like, you know, as a person who's following Christ, the answer to the first one should be yes. And the answer to the second one should also be yes. Wow. It's like if you're not changing, then you're just stagnant in your faith. But people should also like the change that God is doing in your life. So I think it definitely comes back to what is the reasoning behind people liking you? Like, is it because you're just an enigmatic person that people love to be around and hang out with because you're just a a fun room filler? Or is it because they see evidence of what you're talking about? The fruits of the spirit in your life? Are they glorifying God because of your presence? Are they being challenged because of your presence? It ultimately just comes down to being a compelling person.

SPEAKER_01 38:40

Yeah. Well, if you go back to the scripture, you go back to the text, it it says this. Uh,

Faithfulness That Costs Something

SPEAKER_01 38:45

once he did the head on the platter thing, it says in in verse um twenty-six here, he says, And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oath and his guests, he did not want to break his word to her. And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head, and he went and beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head to the plat on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. Uh, when his disciples heard of this, they came and took his body and laid him in a tomb. Uh, I mean, you even see, we we see this this man Herod. You know, it sometimes we call people characters in the Bible. They're real people, but this this king who was walking the earth, you see this inner conflict in him, and he was so concerned about keeping his word. His words got him in trouble, but there was a sorrow inside of him. He knew that there was something that wasn't right, and it drove his decision to do something that he would regret. But I love this little verse at the end of it, and it says, And his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid him to rest. Um, you know, um, John's executed, but his disciples, they come and take care of it. They don't just abandon it and they're so, so faithful.

SPEAKER_02 40:00

It's kind of just a really like sobering ending of a lifelong of faithfulness where this guy has been living out in the wilderness, eating locusts and honey, wearing camel skins, speaking truth to power. It ultimately ends up with him, you know, dying because of that, because of you know, righteousness, like he is innocent, and you know, there's no uh there's no sin in him, but yet he still he still dies. And it's just a to see the faith of the people who followed after him and who listened to him, and just hey, this is it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 40:33

Yeah. And Mark concludes this because ultimately discipleship does have a cost in our lives.

SPEAKER_01 40:37

I mean, you gotta think about it. They the guy they've been following, they've been emulating. Um I mean, he was just killed. Yeah. I mean, who knows what awaits for them when they they get there. I mean, that's a that's a big deal. But I I think if you're listening today, you just have to understand that that God's kingdom isn't about you being comfortable. Um, it's about you being faithful.

SPEAKER_02 41:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:01

Um, and I think just maybe as the Western church, as Americans, we're very consumed with being comfortable, having our preferences how we like it, making everything as easy as possible. Um, and God's kingdom is about advancing and winning souls from death to life through the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have to be faithful more than we are comfortable. Yeah. Uh I mean, uh it's just a big, big deal.

SPEAKER_02 41:31

I just think of uh Jesus' words on Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, where you know it he never once says, Blessed are the comfortable. But he always says, you know, blessed are those who are in pos literally positions of uncomfort. You know, the the grieving. Discomfort?

SPEAKER_01 41:48

Uncomfort.

SPEAKER_02 41:50

Either or take your picture.

SPEAKER_01 41:51

Okay, all right. J. Iris. Oh man. That was that was a that was a low blow right there. We disagreed on our last podcast together over how to pronounce that name. I was I'm willing to say I might be wrong, um, but that hurt.

SPEAKER_02 42:06

Right. But yeah, like the positions of discomfort where you know you're you're grieving, you are having to be put in the middle to make peace, you you are thirsting for righteousness. These these positions that Jesus is talking about, this is a person who was blessed. None of them are a position of comfort.

SPEAKER_01 42:24

Yeah. Well, I

Final Takeaways And Closing Questions

SPEAKER_01 42:26

hope as as you guys have walked through this, you heard the sermon this past week, we've kind of opened it up. I hope you'll go back and study and look at Mark chapter six to a very um, I think a lot of people uh rarely peek preached passage. And I hope in this you can see some calling to conviction, to standards of truth, to uh faithfulness in in the you know what other people would think about you, willing to be faithful to the king in all circumstances. So Eli, would you do this? Would you give us a couple of takeaways to think about uh as we end this podcast time together?

SPEAKER_02 43:02

Yeah. Um just a couple of questions that you we are we're gonna ask you to think over, mull over. Um first one is do you merely admire truth or do you actually obey it? Is it is it an actual obedience to truth or just a that's a good thing? Uh the second one is where are you tempted to choose image over conviction? Or where in the past have you done so?

SPEAKER_01 43:27

Where are we not doing that?

SPEAKER_02 43:29

Where are we not choosing conviction over image? Um and then the last one is are you willing to be faithful even if it costs you something?

SPEAKER_01 43:37

Such a good question. So good for every believer to think through of going, am I willing to be faithful when it costs? I think that's a question we have to answer every day to do that. Faithfulness matters. So, well, thank you, Claudia and Eli, for being here today. And uh man, that's JetFuel. Hope you guys are filled up. We'll see you next time.