Jerry Herbert joined us on September 14

We had a good dive into how our faith affects the election.

Just a few notes here but you can hear the whole talk below.

How we understand the role of government? By the rights: votes, freedom of speech, gather, press.

Why do we not punish people who worship idols? separation of church and state.

What we do every day is impregnated with what I believe. It's good and evil, not church and state.

What’s my faith have to do with the election? Nothing. What’s my faith have to do with the election? Everything. Why? As a follower of Jesus, he rules in every domain of my life.

How did the fall of the Soviet Union happen without tanks in the streets? Without bloodshed? No violence? There are plenty of theories: Jerry suggests that when you create a system that violates the laws of creation and God's will for his creatures, you have hell to pay. Literally. That kind of system cannot last. The only variable is time.

Listen in.

In April, TJ Ono spoke on the hefty topic of "The Pastoral Vocation in this Cultural Moment”

TJ is currently serving as Curate at Restoration Anglican Church in Arlington, VA. He’s also has taken leadership of the Alpha Course there this year. We were grateful to have him.

TJ Ono, Restoration Anglican Church, Curate

It was a great conversation, and we paid attention. He started out with making Apostle Paul’s point that pastors are gifts from God (Ephesians 4:11). And he followed that with the idea that many within the American Church have not experienced their pastors as gifts. He went on to strike the chord of spiritual manipulation and sexual trauma…as a wake of spiritual hurt continues to rush through congregations. We’ve all heard the stories and some of us have lived it. So, you can see he took a straightforward posture of his topic.

We hope you enjoy the recording.

Grant Hollis led a discussion on "Working with At-risk and Failing Projects" - a help in hard times

Grant Hollis, Chief Scientist

Grant’s discussion about what to do when a project is on a fast slide downhill and solutions or options have not emerged was hugely illuminating. Demonstrate love for your team. Gather context and draw out the feelings and the reasons behind them those emotional drivers. The grit is in this area and can be cleared. The project well may be restored and the same for the dignity for each team member involved. This is solid Kingdom work in the workspace of Defense Contractors.

We all need this encouragement to stay in the conversation even when it looks grim. If you’d like to have a conversation with Grant, click here. And now, listen to the whole thing. Click the button below!

Amy and Ammon Simon came for Brunch Jan. 20, 2024

And they spoke on Surviving in the Face of Futility

And here are some snippets:

Futility is one of the under-discussed and really important parts of living in the DMV. They meet and recognize themselves as highly ambitious and goal-oriented people come with bold dreams of changing the world and encounter a whole bunch of similar people with similar ambitions, although often on the other side of the issue.

And at the end of the day the question occurs to us, “Why is my energy not turning into results?”

How do we respond? Usually with sin…anger at God (acting out), despair/resignation (giving up), work harder and control more (overwork) and whatever! the end justifies the means (compromise values).

Lament and embrace the true desire: white knuckling isn’t going to work so start being honest about how angry, frustrated, or disappointed you are (but don’t stop there)….surrender your underlying desire to be transformed, not trashed. Involve body, mind, and spirit. Look: Psalm 62:8 - "Pour out your heart before Him."

You feel like you are in a wilderness, but God isn’t punishing you and hasn’t left you alone. You HAVE reached a place where He can work with you. We need to take a clear look at and tear down the idols. God calls us to be faithful, not successful. The success of our efforts is up to Him.

Our definition of futility is often in ultra zoomed-in view, but we need to remember that we can’t currently (or maybe ever in this life) see the zoomed-out version. What’s needed is the longer-time horizon.

Remember heaven: there is a promised land. The wilderness never lasts forever. Remember the story of Leaf by Niggle by JRR Tolkien?

We leave you with these questions:

  1. Where are you experiencing futility the most right now? 

  2. Where are you white knuckling life? 

  3. Does it seem possible to reframe as wilderness? Why or why not? 

  4. What pictures of grace during suffering are compelling to you? 

  5. If you knew right now that your life would be a series of difficult and disappointing episodes, how would you feel about that life?