Dems oppose yet again a bill that would protect babies who survive abortions, as well as a resolution passed in the House condemning the attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers. And then we have a very encouraging conversation with author Erica Anderson about the importance of going to church.
00:12:19.720By the way, who leaked the Dobbs decision?
00:12:22.140Interesting that we still don't know that.
00:12:24.520It says, whereas the Biden administration has failed to take action to respond to the radical attacks on pro-life facilities groups and churches
00:12:30.740or to protect the rights of these organizations,
00:12:32.600and whereas these attacks on pro-life facilities groups and churches have included vandalism,
00:12:37.180and so it's asking the Biden administration to do something about that.
00:12:41.040Interesting that they've done nothing.
00:12:42.460That's because our DOJ is completely ideological, completely political.
00:12:46.100The same people who say that they care about fascism apparently have nothing to say about the fascistic methods of our so-called justice department.
00:12:56.840You guys know how much these pro-life facilities do to actually give women a choice
00:13:01.280and to provide them the safety and security and the resources to choose life for their children.
00:13:05.880The most loving and supportive and incredible and God-glorifying places, I think, in this country.
00:13:12.740And here's what Democrat Ayanna Pressley has to say about them.
00:13:35.580Have you ever been in a pro-life pregnancy center?
00:13:37.620Have you ever talked to a woman in crisis who was served by a pro-life pregnancy center?
00:13:42.940Have you ever talked to someone whose life was saved because their mother walked into a pro-life pregnancy center?
00:13:50.560Have you ever talked to a woman who was given refuge, who was given a home, a safe place to stay as she was running from domestic violence because of a pro-life pregnancy center?
00:14:00.660Have you ever talked to a woman who got everything that she needed for her child, formula, parenting classes, clothes, diapers, cribs, strollers from a pro-life pregnancy center?
00:14:13.680Have you ever talked to a woman who only found hope and good news and love and acceptance for the first time through a pro-life pregnancy center?
00:14:21.840Has any woman ever gotten hope and resources and protection and parenting classes from a Planned Parenthood?
00:14:31.460No, of course, Ayanna Pressley is on the side of wickedness and evil.
00:14:36.280And so she has exchanged the truth of God for a lie and believes things that are the exact opposite of the truth.
00:14:44.300And if you out there, if you have not been convinced yet about the evil of abortion and that we all need to be doing something as Christians to fight against it and to serve and help the families who find themselves with surprise pregnancies or find themselves in crisis situations, you go to your pro-life pregnancy center close by.
00:15:01.420I promise you, I promise you, the work that you say needs to be done is probably already being done in your community by the faithfulness of Christians who are up against lies like the ones that Ayanna Pressley is promulgating.
00:15:19.820The work is already being done by faithful Christians and it's time for all of us to join in and do something about it.
00:15:26.740God is moving in spite of the stupidity and the corruption and the wickedness and the bloodlust of people in Congress.
00:15:35.380Now, the one criticism that I've got of Republicans before we close this segment out in all of this is that I wonder why maybe someone can tell me like maybe I'm missing something.
00:15:45.720But Republicans had the White House, the House and the Senate was the the why didn't the Born Alive Act pass then?
00:15:59.700Why, when we were in control of everything, could we not get the votes for that to pass?
00:16:05.280That seems like something that's important.
00:16:07.800But even if it is just to make a point about the wickedness and the depravity of where Democrats are and the extremism of where Democrats are when it comes to abortion.
00:16:17.780I think I think I think that is worth it.
00:16:21.440Remember, the two sides are not the same.
00:17:10.140So reason to return why women need the church and the church needs women.
00:17:16.280This comes at an interesting time when we seem to see a lot of people, the ex-vangelical kind of group, the deconstructing crowd.
00:17:29.480And then you've also got the whole, like, leave loud movement over kind of social and racial justice issues.
00:17:37.220So there are a lot of movements right now kind of saying, you know what, I'm going to leave the church because of how they believe the church has treated women or kind of denigrated certain groups of people.
00:17:47.960But that's the opposite of what you're calling for.
00:18:19.920So I definitely think that leaving church is not the way.
00:18:24.260And I dig into a lot of data about why that is, some of which you talked about on your show a couple of weeks ago in terms of, like, the generosity factor and the mental health factor.
00:18:51.860Yeah, I mean, I think what's interesting is one of the most fascinating statistics I found was a Barna statistic that said that the number one way that women want to improve their life, that they want to see movement, is in their faith lives and spiritual lives.
00:19:07.720And yet, in the same survey, it said that it is actually the last thing that they're prioritizing.
00:19:14.320And so there's a disconnect between what women say they want and what they're doing to actually get that.
00:19:19.620And going to church would be a component of that.
00:19:21.760But also, I would say that, as you know, church has just become, we are becoming a post-Christian culture.
00:19:30.280And so it's no longer an expected thing.
00:19:32.900It's no longer something that as many people do.
00:20:18.900You don't technically have to go to church to be a Christian.
00:20:22.060I mean, if you want to get technical about it.
00:20:24.300But if you're a Christian, hopefully you take the Bible seriously.
00:20:27.540And what the Bible says is that we shouldn't give up meeting together.
00:20:30.760We should spur one another on with good deeds.
00:20:33.680And Jesus says, I will build my church.
00:20:36.640He doesn't say I will build you individual person, which, of course, we do grow in our own individual lives.
00:20:43.220But there is a strong emphasis on the church body coming directly from Jesus.
00:20:48.120And, you know, one of the verses that I was just reading the other day, it says, you know, be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
00:20:55.680And so to sort of disassociate or reject this church that Jesus bought with his own blood, I mean, that doesn't seem like a great idea.
00:21:06.840But at the same time, I understand that sometimes people have been through things.
00:21:10.680Sometimes people have had bad experiences.
00:21:13.400And so I want to ask people, can you open your heart and mind to envision another experience of church?
00:21:20.380Maybe one that's different than the one you've had in the past.
00:21:22.960I live in the Bible Belt, and a lot of my listeners do, too, which means there are a lot of options for churches.
00:21:29.940They are not struggling with a lack of opportunity to go to church, but it can be really overwhelming.
00:21:36.840They know, especially if they listen to the show, they've heard me say a million times,
00:21:40.580you need to find a church that is preaching God's word, the whole word, unapologetically.
00:23:28.660Some of the things are you need to have this.
00:23:31.420Some of the things are you want to have this.
00:23:33.620And sometimes that's a personal give and take, especially if you have kids and you might be looking for a church that has opportunities for them as well.
00:24:01.260This is not true for me, but just giving an example, like a kind of not important example,
00:24:05.940like I don't like this soloist voice who sings every Sunday or I didn't necessarily agree with what my Sunday school teacher said or different aspects like that.
00:24:14.600Like there is going to be a level of compromise, but there are things on which you don't want to compromise, like the doctrinal statements, like the theology, like the exegesis.
00:24:28.000Yes, like involvement in community and what they offer for community as well.
00:24:32.260And so it can be, it can take some time, but I do think it's important to, after a period of trying to figure out prayerfully, wisely, which local church to belong to, to pick one.
00:24:46.140Because I do think something that we see, especially among young people, my husband and I did this for a period of time too when we moved, is we just kind of dated a bunch of churches.
00:24:54.600And for a year, we went to church after church, after church, and after every church service, we would have some kind of complaint or some kind of way that the church wasn't perfect.
00:25:04.540And we finally just had to grow up and say, you know what, there's not going to be a perfect church that is meant for serving me in every way that I think I need to be served.
00:25:12.880I need to plug into a gospel preaching church and serve others and serve the church, as you said.
00:25:18.960And so I think that that's also something for people to consider.
00:25:21.920Even if you're going to a church every Sunday, you need to be plugged into a church and tithing to a church.
00:25:27.960And I would also say, you know, there's this sort of a stereotype or myth out in culture, you know, as we've seen, you know, stuff about church too and all of that out there.
00:25:36.640Like there's this pervasive myth that, you know, every church has this unhealthy aspect.
00:25:41.020And the truth is that there are unhealthy churches.
00:26:10.920But understand that the news picks up on the negative and not the positive.
00:26:14.780And there's so much more light than there is darkness when it comes to the church.
00:26:18.880Yeah, there are so many reasons to be plugged into a local church community, whether it's accountability or encouragement or you never know.
00:26:28.840Also, this is an aspect of the church that I've certainly seen recently in moments of crisis or acute loneliness or some kind of chaos where you find yourself reaching out for help and for support and for guidance and for wisdom.
00:26:45.640Like you have a whole pool of godly people to choose from whose job it is as members of your church to help you and to spur you on and to make sure that you're supported and taken care of.
00:26:58.180I don't know any other kind of community like that except for the local church.
00:27:06.080I have this vision in my mind of, you know, the more people that we have surrounding us in our lives, it's almost like this this huge safety net that just gets bigger and bigger.
00:27:13.640And it becomes this buffer and this encouragement and this comfort within this world, which is hard.
00:27:19.540And so the more people that we have around us caring about us, encouraging us, especially, you know, in the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit inside the church, like that is only going to be good for us.
00:27:28.920And then the second part of that that I love about the church is for my kids, because the more, you know, trustworthy, honorable Christian men and women that are surrounding them, the better for them.
00:27:41.000They're going to grow up surrounded by that, having lots of people they can trust.
00:27:44.440Kids do better when they have more adults, loving adults around them that they can trust.
00:27:49.560And so my kids have been a huge motivator in how I think about this.
00:27:54.800And considering that studies show a lot of people kind of rethink what they're doing with their faith when they have kids, because they are thinking, well, I want my kids to have faith.
00:28:05.160This is this is the time to be thinking about that, because people do make those decisions really before the age of 14, what they're going to end up believing for the rest of their lives.
00:28:19.560One obstacle that I know some of my friends have in going to church is that they don't have a supportive husband.
00:28:32.340Their husband doesn't want to go to church.
00:28:33.900They do want to send their kids to church.
00:28:35.360But I mean, trying to get all of their kids dressed by themselves, take them to church, and then you've got the whole issue of like, I'm going to this new church.
00:28:49.820Like, what encouragement or advice do you have for moms who are kind of doing this alone when it comes to trying to raise their kids in the church in a godly way?
00:29:03.220So, I mean, whether you're talking about a mom whose husband won't go or you're talking about a single mom, which a single single moms are like the highest demographic of women leaving or that don't go.
00:29:12.200I think there's an encouragement kind of built into my book because I talk about how my entire life, my mom took us to church every week without my dad.
00:29:23.160You know, I always caveat to say I have a wonderful father, so it's nothing against him, but he just didn't go.
00:29:28.260And my mom just made it this priority to take us.
00:29:31.780And I really believe that so much of the foundation of my life was built on her commitment and decision to do that.
00:29:38.680I mean, it certainly led me to where I am today to write this book.
00:29:41.940And looking back, I can just see how that habit, that practice of just going and faithfully being obedient to God by being at church made a huge impact in my life.
00:29:53.380But on the other side of things, I mean, I think it's thinking of your kids.
00:29:58.620It's thinking about how important this is for them and what they're going to get out of it.
00:30:03.900I mean, I think that you should go for yourself as well, but I think thinking about them is an extra motivator.
00:30:09.560And then lastly, I would just say that God created all of us Christians.
00:30:12.640We each have a spiritual gift that is meant to serve the church.
00:30:16.340And as the Bible says, the body is not complete unless we are all there.
00:30:19.980And so when you aren't in church, your gift is not being used.
00:30:47.620And I just want to encourage those women, too, that God is not impressed by how quiet or still your kids are in church or whether you are early or late or whether your kids keep their shirt tucked in the whole time.
00:31:00.360He is pleased by your obedience and your faithfulness, like even when it is difficult.
00:31:07.260And as you were saying, like your kids also benefit from that.
00:31:10.720My husband got me like a really sweet gift for Christmas.
00:31:15.180And it's really just a binder with all of these Southern Baptist hymns that I grew up singing and that I sing to my kids at night.
00:31:23.400And I posted on Instagram that I remember the tunes or the tunes and all of the lyrics to all of these songs.
00:31:32.100And it's not because I've studied them as an adult, but it's because my mom every night would sing to me from this Baptist hymnal.
00:31:39.700And I did not realize it at the time when I was growing up that those words were sticking in my heart and mind, that they would come to mind 30 years, you know, 20 years down the line, and that I would then from memory be singing them to my kids.
00:31:56.620And my mom was doing that because she was raised singing those Southern Baptist hymns, and she was doing that really just kind of out of habit.
00:32:06.140So something that she probably thought or maybe she just didn't know would make an impact on me would really stick because I probably wasn't sitting still.
00:32:15.100There were probably nights that I said, I don't want to sing those hymns.
00:32:18.100That made an impact on me for the rest of my life.
00:32:20.820It is now being passed down to my kids.
00:32:23.040And I just want to encourage you moms, especially those who are trying to do this by yourself, you taking your kids to church, you sharing the gospel with your kids, you reading the Bible to your kids,
00:32:33.060you're singing those hymns to your kids or letting them listen to hymns on Spotify, whatever it is, even if that doesn't seem like it's making a difference right now, because your kids aren't paying attention.
00:32:44.380And right after you told them about the fruit of the spirit, they slapped their sister or something like that.
00:32:50.060You never know how God is going to water and grow those seeds that you are faithfully planting now.
00:32:57.320And the local church can play a huge part in that, right?
00:33:00.680Yeah, my kids are definitely the most rowdy at our church.
00:33:05.240It's they're just like known for, oh, it's the Sylvester kids.
00:33:07.980Well, my last name is Sylvester with my husband, but my author name is Anderson.
00:33:12.000But anyway, they are just known as like, those are the kids.
00:33:15.540And I've even I even had my pastor call me one time and he said, hey, I just want to let you know that we love your kids and they are not a disruption.
00:33:23.720And they make other people feel welcome to bring their kids.
00:33:26.560And so I am, you know, definitely the kind of person that knows what it feels like when your kids are like making noises and all of that.
00:33:34.080And then also what you were saying, Allie, it's you know, I've learned this so much of a seven year old and a four year old.
00:33:39.080And I take time to teach them theology.
00:33:42.120I take time to talk with them at home.
00:33:43.560And there is so much fighting that goes on.
00:33:55.340I interviewed recently the Christian singer.
00:33:58.220Her name is Ann Wilson, and she has this song called Sunday Sermons.
00:34:01.900And it's all about how she went to church as a kid and she felt like it didn't matter and she walked away from God.
00:34:07.100But when she really became a Christian later in life, she looked back at all those Sundays that she went to church and she saw all those seeds that were planted begin to bloom and to grow.
00:34:16.540And so doing this for your kids is literally the most invaluable thing that you can do.
00:34:21.880It could have an eternal impact on their lives.
00:34:24.400And so I just don't think there's anything more important.
00:34:27.480What can we do as women who are in church to make it easier for the women, especially the single moms, but all kinds of women who have left the church to return?
00:34:40.240How can we get those obstacles out of the way and just make it more accessible?
00:34:45.300Yeah, well, you know, the number one way people go to a new church is through a friend inviting them, which sounds so simple.
00:34:53.000But I think we neglect to do that sometimes because we feel like people will be annoyed, especially in this day and age.
00:34:58.200We feel like people might be even offended.
00:35:00.340But I think that's a good thing to keep in mind if that opportunity or the right time arises.
00:35:05.460I think also when someone does take a step into church or even a church event, another way that a lot of people get to church is through community events that the church sponsors.
00:35:15.360And so being involved in community events is a really big, big thing to do.
00:35:19.380But I think just ensuring that when someone walks through that door, that they are seen, that they are heard, that they are followed up with.
00:35:26.500One of the reasons that we stuck with the church that we did, we had been church dating, like you said.
00:35:31.840And after we left church the first time we went there, I was like, that was the most friendly church I've ever been to.
00:35:38.240It takes intention, but I think we have to really see people and be real and be vulnerable.
00:35:44.480I mean, one of the things that I did last year was I spoke in front of my church about my decision to quit drinking alcohol and how I had a drinking problem.
00:35:56.040And because of that, I had people come to me later and say, like, wow, I had no idea.
00:36:00.600And I think that vulnerability is something that we can have more of so people can realize you can walk in the door with all of your crap and we want you to be here.
00:36:09.160And we accept you as you are, where you are, and we just want to love you and bring you closer to God.
00:36:15.660Yeah. And, you know, I'm guilty of just kind of letting people go by the wayside that maybe God intentionally put in my path.
00:36:23.440Like I'm thinking of women who have come through our Sunday school class.
00:36:27.000And, of course, everyone's nice to them in the moment, but I never, you know, never really followed up.
00:36:31.940You kind of get busy, you kind of focus on your own things.
00:36:34.560And, you know, I look back sometimes with regret and I'm like, oh, that person, you know, doesn't come to our church anymore.
00:36:39.880And I wonder if we had just tried a little bit harder.
00:36:42.540And so it's not that we are responsible for every single person who comes to our church, but maybe there's one person.
00:36:49.840Maybe there's one person that you should text.
00:36:52.360Maybe there's one person that you should ask to go on a play date or one person that you should follow up with.
00:36:59.760We don't have the capacity to reach out to every single person and to follow up with everyone, but we all have the capacity to help one person.
00:37:07.500So maybe that's maybe that's a goal that that we can all have in the local church.
00:37:11.240Is there one person that we saw that was alone or new or stressed that we can follow up with?
00:37:17.100Yeah, I mean, I think one one thing that has really stood out to me and I need to do a better job of myself is like being a Christian means being inconvenienced.
00:37:26.100It means you have to have space in your life for the moments that God creates those divine moments.
00:37:31.420And if we're so busy that we don't even have time to notice them or don't have time to participate in those divine moments, we're missing out on the whole big story.
00:37:39.660We're missing out on the whole reason we're here.
00:37:41.820And so I would say make that space in your life to be inconvenienced and it doesn't have to feel like an inconvenience, but just like if you're so busy that you can't reach out to someone, maybe something needs to be eliminated.
00:37:53.080We have to be thinking intentionally about how we're shaping and forming our lives.
00:37:57.620My last question is you talk about that the church needs women.
00:38:14.820And I know you mentioned a few minutes ago that when any individual is not going to a church, any Christian is not going to a church.
00:38:21.080The church is missing out on the spiritual gifts that God has purposely given that person.
00:38:28.220What do women specifically contribute to the church that is so necessary and could be missing if women are not attending?
00:38:37.200Yeah, well, I think women, like many times, not in all circumstances, but I do think God has given women certain spiritual gifts, oftentimes that he doesn't give men.
00:38:45.960And, you know, men, God sees men and women as equal, of course.
00:38:49.880And so when women are not represented there in his church, it is not complete.
00:38:55.340And so those unique things that he is putting in them and it could, you know, it's a it's a whole variety of things, whether that, you know, be teaching or whether it be hospitality or whatever that gift is.
00:39:06.940We need each and every person, including women.
00:39:09.520And I also think that I'd like to see the perspective of women, just, you know, more input in what the church is doing, not because not not not a conversation about women pastors.
00:39:20.440I'm not going there in this book by any means, but just to say getting getting more women's perspective on what the church is doing on various programs and all of that, because actually more women than men go to church right now.
00:39:32.840And so it's just kind of interesting to see those numbers.
00:39:36.740But I just think there's so much we're missing when people are leaving, when women are leaving specifically, we're missing that component of the church.
00:39:47.400But that's yeah, that's interesting to be interesting also.
00:39:50.300And maybe someone has written a book specifically on why men don't attend church because, you know, my wheels are turning.
00:39:57.940There's, I think, a whole host of of reasons for that.
00:40:00.660But I appreciate you addressing women, women and men are equal in dignity, but different when it comes to the things that we bring to the table.
00:40:08.060And so the nurturing and the nourishing and the beautifying that women are so innately good at, of course, that contributes to the health and the well-being of the church in a way that it wouldn't if it were only men.
00:40:20.860And of course, the opposite is true to the the building and the initiating and the conquering and the fighting and all the things that come so innately to men are also necessary for the health of the church.
00:40:31.820So thank you so much for writing this book.
00:40:41.940And then where can they find you if they want to follow you?
00:40:45.060Yeah, my name is spelled E-R-I-C-K-A-A-N-D-E-R-S-E-N, as you can see on the screen.
00:40:51.080So you can find me on Instagram, Twitter, EricaAnderson.com, all the things.
00:40:56.620My name, you should find me if you Google it.
00:40:58.620And I would love to hear from you and also get you that How to Find a New Church 101 course on my website if you purchase the book.
00:41:05.780Yeah, and I will include in the description of this episode, I share this link.
00:41:10.160Now, it's only for Baptist churches, and I know there are a lot of awesome, like, you know, Presbyterians, et cetera, out there listening, too.
00:41:16.080But founders.org slash church dash search, I will put that in the description of this episode.
00:41:22.840I actually just had a friend text me yesterday and said that she found her Bible-believing gospel-preaching church through that link,
00:41:31.500and that it's been so formative and game-changing for her family.
00:41:35.180And that, of course, is the power of the local church.
00:41:37.720It can be game-changing for your family.