The Transformative Language of Love: An Interview with Pastors John & Julie Sorrentino

What's the DNA of your church? In our local pastors' series, we've been hearing incredible testimonies of the unique personalities and focal points of the local churches in our region. Don't miss this week's interview with Pastors John and Julie Sorrentino of New Covenant Tabernacle Church, where the transformative DNA is the language of love. Learn more about NCT's tremendous work in the SouthBay community at nctministries.com.

And don't forget to mark your calendars for April 9, our next Visit Day at Chula Vista Christian University. Experience innovative, faith- based college education for all generations. RSVP or learn more at CVCU.us/visitday.

Discover how we are rescuing the next generation from the toxic traits of public education. When pastors and parents partner together, the culture shifts. Learn more at www.AcademicRescueMission.com. You can do this; we can help!

K to 12 Rescue Mission: https://www.academicrescuemission.com  

Christian Community College: https://www.veritascc.us

CVCU degree programs: https://www.cvcu.us

Book Dr. Lisa to speak: https://www.DrLisaDunne.com

@DrLisaDunne

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the show. I'm Dr. Lisa Dunn, a lifelong homeschooling parent, author, and president of Chula Vista Christian University, a four-year university that centers on mentor-driven, Bible-centric, debt-free higher education. We've got you covered from preschool to college. You can join us at CVCU for debt-free faith-based support that's not yoked to a woke government system. For preschool to eighth grade options, go to Academic Rescue Mission.com to find a support academy or start one of your own. Pastors, we can help you arm your congregation against secular indoctrination. Just click the Start an Academy tab at Academic Rescue Mission.com. For eighth to tenth grade options, go to Veritas CC to learn more about our dual enrollment program for high school and college programs at the same time. And of course, our flagship program, Chula Vista Christian University. We're starting in eighth grade, students can take a full load of college courses in our in-person, debt-free, faith-based model. Go to cbcu.us slash apply to learn more. You can find all of our books, blogs, and resources online at cbcu.us. That's Chula Vista Christian University. And now I am so excited to introduce today's guest in our local pastor series right here in South Bay. Please join me in welcoming Pastors John and Julie Sorentino, who are the senior pastors at New Covenant Tabernacle Church right here in Chula Vista. Thank you both for being on the show today, Pastors John and Julie. I'm so excited for our listeners to learn more about you and our work.

SPEAKER_02 1:30

God bless you. Pleasure.

SPEAKER_01 1:32

Thank you for having us. Well, let's talk a little bit about your background. We would love to learn about when you became believers, what your faith uh journey and testimony has been like.

SPEAKER_00 1:42

Um, I pretty much grew up in the faith. Um I grew up in Christianity through my mother. Uh, but my relationship with the Lord was fully established, I would say, when I went when I came to New Covenant at the age of 10. And ever since then, I've been growing and I've never arrived, and I'm still growing. Since 10? You've been in the same church. That's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 2:07

That's so uncommon today. Beautiful. Yes. Yes, it is.

SPEAKER_02 2:12

And uh my parents uh got saved when I was four. And uh, I'm not going to go into my parents' testimony because that could be a movie by Scorsese. Uh no, seriously. Uh but uh yeah, no, I I've been coming to church since I'm four years old, and um, you know, the Bible says that um sin is but for a season, and I wanted my season. Um and I drifted away. My walk with God was about a roller coaster ride until uh until I was about 20 something. And uh at 25, my uh father told me that he needed me. Uh I had a different plan for my life, and I started working for the church and got ordained, and I've been now uh pastoring um for 31 years.

SPEAKER_01 3:03

Absolutely incredible, and obviously it's so uncommon for we see a young generation today that's not raised in the house of God, and for you to both have the foundational experience of really growing up in the house of God is so unique and wonderful. What how about you, Pastor Julie? When did you really feel like that call to step into to get started in ministry?

SPEAKER_00 3:25

Um, I started really young. Um, I always had a zeal for the Lord, um, love for the Lord as a young girl. Um, and right now I'm the worship pastor, but that that was always on my heart to um to have a voice for the Lord. And um I just I think I matured very quickly in the things of God. I just had such a hunger. I would read my word every day, study for hours in my room. And um I just always had a burden for my peers. I always saw their struggle. And um as a young girl, I always felt uh the want to belong, just like any other young person. You want to belong. And so it just kind of started with me speaking to my peers uh before or after service, ministering to them. And that burden just grew. And then I became a youth helper. I joined the youth worship team, and then the main worship team. Um, and I just it just continued on through there, and my burden just got stronger for God's people and um and still remains and even more strong.

SPEAKER_01 4:39

I love that. I love hearing just the activation of those gifts early on in life. And a lot of people that don't have that church environment, they their gifts get skewed and twisted and pulled out into the world, but you were able to step into that irrevocable call of God early on in your life. And I just think about this, the people listening to this that didn't have that opportunity, that now they're they're gonna need to listen and lean into the Lord and step out in that. When you look back over your childhood and the experiences both of you having experiences in church, what are some of the leadership lessons that maybe you've taken away from childhood that are still impacting you today?

SPEAKER_02 5:18

Well, for that I have to I have to credit my parents. Um there if if there's a definition or a picture in the dictionary for old school, uh, there's my parents waving. Um you know, they they come we come from uh old school New York Italian very uh mafioso uh family and uh so loyalty and uh respect and honor, so all of those things were inbred in me from a very young age. So carrying that over into the kingdom uh was actually really beneficial to my walk with God because I was able to honor God uh because I learned honor. I was able to respect, you know, those in authority because I learned it as an ear in an early age. I learned to love uh because I was taught it very young.

SPEAKER_01 6:15

Phenomenal. And those are all the goals for parents right now. I just love thinking of the parents listening in that have young children and they're they're recognizing that again, activation early on in life. What about you, Pastor Julie? Early, early memories of childhood that are still kind of guiding you today.

SPEAKER_00 6:32

Yeah, I would say that would be um I the one thing that kept me grounded as a child was the stability of my mother's love. Um, as she was a single mom of five. I was a baby of five, so I was able to see a lot. And um I saw a lot of sacrifice, and I saw her work so hard for us cooking, cleaning, hand making our clothes, um, getting up early in the morning for school, and she would have our clothes uh warmed up by the heat or just little things like that you would notice. But more so, um just I will never have the picture leave my mind of her reading her word in bed. Um, and those kinds of things just stuck in my mind, anointing us with oil when we were sleeping made us feel so safe. Um so I think just things like that uh was so impactful. And I see myself emulating that, um, those characteristics in the body of Christ today. Um and just having that being grounded in my mother's love, um, I think that's what was more impactful for me.

SPEAKER_01 7:44

It's it's such an incredible point of stability when we have that secure base and that mother's love. That's that's such a beautiful testimony. I know both of you are a little bit familiar with CBCU. One of our focal points is mentorship. And I'd love to hear about the mentors, the people that have played a role in your life, not only in childhood, but obviously throughout life, we need to be reaching up to people who are speaking into us, and then obviously, as you do as pastors, pouring out to those around us. What are what roles have mentors played in your life, or currently do they play play in your life?

SPEAKER_02 8:15

Oh wow. Um that is such an important thing. And I it's not until recently that I can look back and realize, wow, the people who have been in my life. And first and foremost, I have to say my father was an incredible mentor, not just to me, I literally shared him with so many other young men that didn't have fathers, and and it it was amazing to watch my father uh raise up other men to become men. Um, but uh for me personally, I I was able to be around so many what we would call generals in the gospel. My father was the crusade director for a while for Morris Sorillo, and uh we uh we were uh around a lot of the people that would be in the conferences and stuff, and I was able to develop relationships with some of them. So people like Dr. Sorrillo, um Dr. Ed Cole, um and currently um Pastor Phil Muncie, uh, since my father passed, has been so amazing in my life and steering me in this new chapter of my life. Um without mentors, uh, I honestly would have been lost. Because no matter what anybody says, you know, I can do this, no, you can't.

SPEAKER_01 9:32

Incredible. Wow, powerful. How about you, Pastor Julie? Your mom obviously was tremendous, a tremendous influence.

SPEAKER_00 9:39

Oh, yeah. Yes, um, Amy. Although I didn't have a specific mentor, I would say there were many women in my life and many people in my life that have poured into me. Um, I learned a lot by watching and doing. And I just I stayed teachable um and I allowed myself to be pushed. Um, I would say my mother-in-law was uh, she pushed me. She pushed me to uh to sing. You know, I I would back down a lot because I was shy or I was timid, and she was that force to push me, like, no, you gotta do it. And so that kind of helped me step out my comfort zone. And um, I think that was so important and crucial in my life because had she not done that, who knows where I would be. Um, but um, I think my in-laws, uh, they played a key role, um, just introducing me into the things of ministry and um and knowing that one day my husband and I would be standing in their place. I think that was very crucial for them just to kind of pour into us. And um, I'm just so thankful. I'm so thankful for them. Wow, absolutely incredible.

SPEAKER_02 10:50

Such a go ahead. If if I could, you know, the Bible says, um, Jesus says, unless you're faithful in another man's, you can't be faithful in your own. And mentoring is a two-way street. There's a lot of people that I can say that have poured into me. But if, like my wife says, if you're not teachable, then if you're not actively seeking someone to show you what you don't know, it really handicaps your spiritual growth.

SPEAKER_01 11:19

Yeah, it's a position of of humility. And if we're not teachable, that's one of the things I love about college students. They're there because they know they need to be taught something. There's nothing like sitting in a room of students who are hungry and ready to learn. And it is Yes, hungry.

SPEAKER_02 11:32

Yes, it's so I remember when I first got when I first got my black belt in uh martial arts. Uh, my instructor, after like 15 years of stuff of studying and training, he goes, Good, now you can learn.

SPEAKER_01 11:46

That's fantastic. Well, I know ministry is not for the faint of heart. It you carry a lot of responsibility. It's you do a lot of things behind the scenes that no one ever sees, a lot of tears, a lot of sweat, um, and a lot of intercession. And so when you look back over your years of ministry, let's talk about one of the most rewarding experiences that stands out and then one of the battles or some of the battles you face to get where you are. Let's start with rewarding experiences.

SPEAKER_02 12:14

Oh, I and I'm gonna be I'm gonna be a dad. When my watching my son get baptized, um, that was one of the most rewarding things. Uh, because again, it's it's I I love doing it for everyone, but when it's your own, I mean, there's just a specialness to it. Yes. So watching my son get baptized when I saw him go to the altar and dedicate his life to Christ, and now he's working with me in the ministry at the church. Uh, that definitely was rewarding. But yeah, and I mean, whenever I run into when I was a youth pastor, I run into one of the youth that are now, you know, 40 something years old. And, you know, and they've got a family like, man, that was one of the best, some of the best years of my life. And uh, that it's just rewarding to know that there is a reward for ministry. It's not just the hard work.

SPEAKER_01 13:08

Absolutely. So powerful, so powerful. Pastor Julie, what about you?

SPEAKER_00 13:15

Um, I can't say like specifics, but maybe I can give examples. Um just seeing the transformation take place in the lives of people. Um, we get so many people that walk through the doors uh from so many walks of life, and um, and each of them they kind of go through their journey, and just to watch them go from spiritual rags to riches is it's been that in itself has been so rewarding. It will never get old to me. And I always get excited to see the work that God is doing. Um, I would say a more recent example um was a woman uh named Kimberly, who who's in our church now. I believe she's in her 60s. And um she came in down and out uh into our church. And again, you're gonna have so many um of the same story, but it just again, it never gets old. But she came in down and out. She was an alcoholic, drug addict. And the moment I met her, I just lavished the love of Jesus on her. And she never felt condemned walking in through our doors. We always allowed her just to be herself and just to allow God to do the work. And every time she came to church, uh, she would give me the update. Well, I'm still struggling with this, but you know, um, I know I'm gonna overcome it. And I would just encourage her and I would pray with her, and I would just celebrate with her. Every little baby step that she would take, I would celebrate and um just kind of be her little cheerleader. And so we had a church picnic last August, and we had baptism. We have baptism every year. And she, at the last moment, you know, we're done with baptism, she decides to get baptized with clothes and all. And uh, she gave her testimony. She literally whipped off her wig and she decided, I'm I'm gonna do this. And even though it sounds funny, it was so it was just it was amazing. Yes, it was amazing. And um, so she got baptized, and now she's she's been coming faithfully to our church, she's joined our greeters, um, and she just she's growing, and that in itself is so rewarding. We have so many stories that way, and it it will never get old. We know that they're having a party in in heaven for her, and it's it's exciting.

SPEAKER_01 15:42

I love your phrasing of lavishing the love of Jesus and just thinking about people come as you are, but be transformed and stay where you are. Let the love of Jesus change you, moving you from spiritual rags to riches. That's so, so beautiful. When we think about New Covenant Tabernacle, obviously, so many great churches in our city. What are some unique um ways that you're uniquely poised? What what's different about you? What is the ministry call and the DNA of New Covenant?

SPEAKER_02 16:10

How about you, Achabell? Well, and and and I and I I don't take say this to the exclusion of anyone else, but we know how to love. Um we have and and I have to say it it all starts with an Italian's version of love. We hug, we kiss. You can be the most harsh-looking individual walking through the doors. Yeah, and we don't just, you know, what my father used to call a dead fish. We don't hand you a dead fish and say, Welcome to Nukama. We throw ourselves on you, we kiss your cheeks, we walk in. Yes, we had a guest um last week, and we had a lot of um guests come in and and they're like, My God, everyone smiles here. What's wrong with you people? And um the the we love. We and if there's anything, you know, that we could be known for, it has to be love. And that's all that matters to us. I mean, again, you know, not saying that anything else isn't important, but that's how you'll know that discipleship by the love that we have. Yes, yeah. So that that's our that's our our that's our thing. That's our badge of honor.

SPEAKER_01 17:24

I love it. It's so fun hearing just the the fingerprint of each church in our community and something that you bring that's uniquely wonderful, who you are, your DNA as an institution. It's so beautiful. When you look out over the landscape of San Diego County and even our nation, what are some things that concern you the most right now?

SPEAKER_02 17:46

Uh you you you in your intro, you talked about college, you know, don't be woke, don't be broke, you know. Um, it's this in the church, instead of seeking information, instead of seeking revelation, I sadly see everybody looking for affirmation. Everybody looking for someone to agree with what they think and what they read and what they heard and what they learned on a on a podcast or on YouTube or what they heard online, and now they'll create their whole walk with God based on something that they think, and they'll look for scriptures in the Bible that affirm what they are instead of allowing the the word of God to change them, they use the word of God to affirm what they want. That is really scary for me.

SPEAKER_01 18:38

So good, so powerful. Pastor Julie, what about you?

SPEAKER_00 18:41

Yeah, absolutely. And and that that definitely uh is a concern um and with everything going on with the Islamic regime and uh the infiltration in the United States and how um impressionable that the young kids are these days. And I just see it as if you don't stand for something, you're gonna fall for anything. And um, and I see that happening, and that that is a concern. So we're doing our best to educate our young ones um in regards to standing on the right side, standing first and foremost for Jesus and for what is right, but standing uh with Israel and standing with the Jewish community, and that's been a big uh part of our church recently. And um I think it's so important to educate the young ones um and to prepare them for what they're gonna face um in college because it's so prevalent right now with the young people.

SPEAKER_01 19:44

Actively, yeah, there's an active agenda to undermine the identity, the kingdom identity of the next generation. Thank you both for the tremendous work that you're doing, the service that you're doing behind the scenes and in front of the scenes and the way that you are loving people into the kingdom. We're so thankful for you and thank you so much for being on the show today.

SPEAKER_02 20:04

Thank you for having us.

SPEAKER_01 20:05

Thank you for having us. Friends, we become like the company we keep. Community is vital. Our address is our assignment. You know that I'm very concerned about the attack on identity and the lack of authentic connection in American academia. On today's interview, Pastor John said it well. People are looking for affirmation instead of transformation. And one of the amazing offshoots we see in the CVCU model is not only academic support and structure, but whole student development, whole student discipleship. It comes from having mentors, from having your voice matter. Let's offer our children the relational, emotional, and mental fortitude, the skills that they need to thrive at home, in college, and in real life. For the continuance of the church and the faith, I'm calling on pastors and parents across the United States to be part of the solution. If you're local to San Diego, you can join us April 9th for our visit day. If you're in eighth to 11th grade, we will help you graduate high school and college at the same time. Why wait to graduate? Take a course once and count it twice. Don't forget to check out our latest book, The Mentor Method, as well as outstorced why America's Kids Need an Education Revolution. You'll find all of our books, blogs, and podcasts on the homepage at cvcu.us. Again, I'm Dr. Lisa Dunn. Thanks for joining me on today's show. And I'll be back next week with more tips and tools of the trade. We'll see you then.