Rick and Svea kick-off a five-part series on the Mission, Vision, and Values of Autumn Ridge Church.

Topics discussed in this Episode:

• 0:00 Intro
• 02:47 Why does Autumn Ridge have a mission statement? Knowing why we say "Yes" and "No" to various opportunities.
• 04:02 Most of life's hurts happen when we live in contradiction to our purpose.
• 07:10 Our vision: communicating the kind of church we desire to be.
• 09:15 Why is it important we have a vision statement?
• 12:18 Digging in: Every single word in our MVV has been labored over and is important.
• 12:23 Our Mission - Disciple vs follower of Jesus...
• 16:06 Fully devoted...
• 17:35 Three aspects: authority, identity, activity.
• 20:00 Our Vision - We want to be a church...
• 20:42 Of all cultures...
• 24:15 Where Curious people...
• 25:32 Where Skeptical people...
• 26:43 And where Hurting people...
• 29:30 Love to attend.
• 30:19 Why is it important for our congregation to know and understand our mission and vision?

Rick and Svea discuss the three major goals of the summer's Holy Lit series.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

• 00:00 Intro
• 02:46 Holy Lit - three goals
• 03:05 Goal one: Uncomplicate our relationship with the Bible.
• 09:59 If you have a simplistic understanding of the Bible you're going to have a more complicated relationship with it.
• 12:01 Goal two: Energize our engagement with the Bible.
• 15:33 Goal three: Expand our ability to understand the Bible.
• 16:48 Series thesis: This is a backstory to the story of the Bible.
• 19:36 Why is this important? Aligning with truth.
• 24:46 The Bible is overwhelming, I don't even know where to start.
• 28:11 What's coming up in the Podcast.

Pastor Caleb Smith joins Rick and Svea to close the Loaded Questions series. They discuss success and failure and how society's framework for success is at odds with the Gospel's framework for success.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:57 Reflecting on the Loaded Questions series.
• 04:42 What was it like preparing to speak on failure?
• 06:20 Svea to Caleb: Did your definitions of success and failure change or grow as a part preparing for this message?
• 09:46 Embracing the tension of the gospel's framework of success and the inescapable realities of life.
• 17:17 The rich, young ruler: a case study in questioning the framework of success.
• 24:39 What does it look like if everything is stripped away and we're satisfied with only Jesus?
• 30:20 How do we develop into being satisfied with having nothing but Jesus?
• 36:39 Micah 6:8 - act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.