Should New Believers Minister on the Sidewalk?

0:00 I Am Yours, I am yours, I am yours. S and me, Lord, I am yours, I am yours. I'm welcome to the Gospel Center Pro Life Podcast, a podcast designed to equip, encourage and challenge you in pro life ministry, and always with a focus on the Gospel. Stay tuned. I felt show passish, touch your heart. Use Me. Welcome back to the Gospel centered pro life podcast. We appreciate you, guys, joining us and, as always, would appreciate if you guys would share this podcast episode with others that you think it would be a blessing too, and also leave us a review on whatever podcast service that you use. We want for others to see that these podcasts are a blessing, that they have been a blessing to you, and if you leave a review, a positive review of course, then others are likely to listen to the podcast and receive the blessings that you have. Now we do have a bunch of reviews, especially on, I guess, Apple Podcast, and like eighteen hundred and something reviews. Got More reviews and I think any prolife podcast that's out there.

1:19 Wow, yeah, yeah, the ones that I'll see at least, however, most perfect us are really, really bad, bad reviews. Not because this is a bad podcast, but because our pro abortion friends got a hold of it and I guess let tick Tock know that they should leave us a review and they left us all one star review. So if you want some entertainment, we did an episode about this a couple of months ago. We read through some of the reviews and just kind of laughed at some of the the foolishness sits there, just to show the ridiculousness of the people that oppose what we're doing. But if you want some entertainment, then go and read those reviews. I mean, well, don't read them with your children.

1:59 Some of them are pretty nasty and Raunchy, but some of them are are pretty comical. But to combat that and to get us more than one point two stars as far as a rating, leave us a five star review if you would. If you hate what we're doing, then you don't leave us in a review. Actually, that would be that would be great that there are people that commented leaving a review. What One Star Review? The PRO abortion people. They said, I wish I could leave zero stars and you know, I hate to point out that actually you can by not leaving any stars. By not leaving any review, that's that. The Equals Zero Stars. But anyway, that's a little too advanced thinking for folks like that.

2:42 Sometimes. Yeah, I considered a badge of honor, honestly, that we have all those negative reviews from that position. Yeah, it's pretty funny actually. But all that said, leave us a review, guys. We do want this to be a blessing to other people. We do want to, you know, let people know what we're doing and we have some experiences in the world of Sidewalk Ministry at abortion centers. It's kind of a unique angle, right, not, not very many people have an expertise, and maybe expertise is too strong a word, but not many people have an expertise in this area of ministry, Right. And so, basically, I think we've said in the past is we've screwed up and we want you to learn from our screw ups. We've made mistakes and we want you to learn from our mistakes. So we hope this episode will be in that same vein and just talk more about like we past two episodes we've talked about boldness, or at least you know. Last episode we had Jenna on WHO's one of our missionaries there in rowing O, Virginia, Young Lady who is bold and really well.

3:49 It's God through her and she knows that God working through her. And then the episode before that we talked about boldness. This episode, I guess it's going to be some similar things that we're going to talk about, but really we're going to talk about new believers, people that are brand new to Jesus and kind of, I guess, answer the question. Ask The question and maybe you guys can help answer it with us. How soon can a new believer be out on the sidewalk right? You know this is if you guys have been out there any length of time. You know, if you've lifted listen to this podcast any length of time, you know this is an intense ministry. You don't want to throw someone who is unequipped out on the front lines at an abortion center, kind of throwing them out to the wolves.

4:42 You want to make sure that that people who are out there are equipped and by that same notion, Gosh, we need people right. We need people out there on the sidewalk. There's seven hundred abortion centers that we've figured that a good number of those abortion centers. Maybe two thirds don't have a consistent Christian witness, and so we need people. And Listen, I think we'll get into some of this too. We've made promises to you guys. If you go out to the abortion center, babies will be saved, whether you find out about it or not, and you will grow spiritually in ways you would not otherwise grow. And so people that are new to the faith, they need to grow and we're saying this is a means for people to grow, and I believe that it is, and so we're going to talk about that. We're going to talk about is it appropriate for new believers to be out there on the sidewalk? Gosh, what are some things to be thinking about, to be considering if you're a leader on the sidewalk and you've got some of this brand new to the faith that wants to come out there and serve? What are some things to be aware of? What are some things to be careful of? And so we're going to talk through all of that. It's a unique subject, but a subject that we've faced and I think there's some biblical principles, but I'll just tell you this. There's no perfect answer to you know how long does someone need to be a believer before they can be out on the sidewalk and serve? Bible doesn't tell US exactly.

6:06 Doesn't tell us a time frame for certain things, and that's why I think, more than anything, will encourage you guys to just look at some of the principles, some of the scriptures that we share, seek the Lord for wisdom and if you're leader in God, US put you in leadership. You know you have a charge to trust in the Lord, to seek his face and to proceed as you feel like the Lord is leading you. So that's a little bit of just beginning to this subject for us. Yeah, and and a corollary that we don't mention in the article that we're going to put out but that I think all of you out on a sidewalk will face this are the moms who choose life. oftentimes they will come to the Lord when they choose life for their baby, but sometimes they claim they were already a believer and had just been tempted to because of their fear or whatever, and many times they do want to come out on the sidewalk and speak and steer other moms not to do this, and I will say, I think there's a danger in that at the same time of you know, you don't want to say no to request like that either. So I think this will be a valuable podcast in in knowing what kind of there are safeguards that bit biblical safeguards you can you can be aware of and put out there when you've got new believers out there or maybe a mom who is. Maybe she's not a brand new believer, maybe she is, but she certainly is being thrown

7:39 into the lines denn going and in front of an abortion center, especially since she was so recently there herself. Yeah, yeah, so, I mean, I think just to said the stage, what is our main concern with with any of this stuff? Right, what does our main concerns? Money, might ask. Well, they're a new believer and they want to serve. Why do we even have any reservations? Right, like, we want them to serve. We need people. They're people that we need. Their brand new they're excited, they have zeal. So why wouldn't we want them on the sidewalk? Well, right, I'll tell you this. The main concern, above all concerns, is we want to honor the Lord. We want our presence to be honorable to Jesus and, you know, simply put people that are brand new to the faith that maybe they're in the process of sanctification, but maybe their tongue has not yet been sanctified, their mind is not yet been renewed in the way that would be helpful to really to really influence other people in a positive way. You know, I'll say thing.

8:43 For example, brand new people, people that are brand new to the faith, might experience some opposition from a pro abortion person right and cuss them out. I think about that. Here's someone in a love life Tshirt, hope, is here cussing out a pro abortion person on Ticktock, viewed millions of times over. Does that honor the Lord? No, that doesn't honor the Lord. But I think we have to recognize to that there can be a tipping point in which someone who's seasoned in the Lord, in seasoned even in this ministry, that their buttons can be pushed in such a way where they could do that same things as certain certainly we recognize it. Anyone can get in the flesh. But I will say just right away a new believer is more inclined to that. A less inclined to be seeking the Lord in a way that you know would bridle their tongue. Yeah, well, if you think about it as a new believers like a baby, you know, there are definitely situations an adult or a an older child can handle that that you would never subject a baby too. And these are new believers, are babies in the Lord. Yep, so there's zeal. Often Times, I know this was true of me. I think it's true of all of them.

9:58 Are Zeal and excitement over this new birth in the Lord certainly exceeds our knowledge and our discern meant and our understanding. And so there is a danger where truth must be spoken, because truth is the you know, that's one of the the spirit virtual armor that we put on when we go into battle. Truth is the you know, the Butler that goes downd our waste. Yeah, and if we don't have that because we're new, we have some truth as new believers, for sure, but our our knowledge is is not well developed yet. We are a baby in the Lord and if mistruth or flat out falsehood is spoken unwittingly by a new believer, it can do damage.

10:52 This is life or death. It's happening out there on the sidewalk. So so we want to be really careful that the people that are associated with us or that are in a position to influence very vulnerable people who have a life or decision before before them, are honestly speaking as the Lord would have them speak, not only from a not corrupt speech or an angry speech, but from the position, a position of truth. Yeah, yeah, also, I would say, for the sake of new believers. This is why, again, we need to be careful, because for their own sake is they're growing in the Lord. Like you mentioned a baby. Right. I'm not going to put a sword in a baby's hand and tell him to go out into battle, right, not just because they're not going to be very effect of, but also they're going to get pummeled, they're going to get destroyed.

11:52 Yeah, and I can tell you and now, I think different scenarios can lend themselves to different considerations. So, for example, in Charlotte, and it's gotten a little better from what I gather. Hadn't been there in a couple of months, but it seems like even as right before I left, it got a little better where the pro abortion opposition wasn't so so intense I mean there was a time in which we were out there on a Monday, Tuesday, during the week. Really, Saturdays are terrible, but during the week it was getting where these pro abortion people are following us around with cow bells, ringing them in our ears as we're trying to call out to the MOMS. They'd be yelling just obscenities and just terrible things. They were top of us and you know. So that scenario, I would say if you're a new believer, Nah, don't need to be out there unless year really really you've got some leadership. Myself for you or one of our team leads can really stay in really close to you really to protect you from what those pro abortion people want to do. is they want to they want to get you in the flesh, they want to get you kind of off the rails right, and so just kind of going back to my original point with this, for us as leaders we've got to consider of course we want to glorify Jesus. That's the main consideration. We want to make sure that you know we're not saying anything, or the people that are under our umbrella are not saying things that might be kind of latched on to by an abortion minded mom as a justification for abortion right. And then, thirdly, we want

13:26 to make sure, for the sake of this new believer that wants to serve, that we're not putting them out as sheep among wolves right, right now. At the end of the day, we've got to trust the Lord and we can never know everything perfectly and you know, I'll just say one of our experiences has been, and I think I've shared this on the podcast before, that we had a counselor who came out. This is the only time that I know that this has happened, but it maybe it has. Has Happened a couple of times. I'm not sure, but accounsel that came out with her sister initially, and she came out almost in self righteousness. She was raised in a in a cult pretty much, and came out with her sister, who was a believer who got converted, truly became a believer in Jesus, just came out with her, but really out of self righteousness that like I'm going to do something good for these babies or for these MOMS and realize in the progression of things in which I didn't know. I mean, she's she talked the talk and a lot of ways right. She carried herself well and, you know, didn't cause a lot of problems, her any problems. Really, she was real blessing. But as things progressed to three months into serving out there on the sidewalk, she realized that she wasn't even a Christian herself, that she never really came to a saving knowledge of Jesus.

14:43 And it's because of exposure to the men history on the sidewalk and the Gospel, the True Gospel that she was not raised under, and other people discipling her. Ultimately she came to faith in Jesus right, and so that's kind of a weird scenario. And she didn't as soon as she realized she wasn't a Christian and finally did really come to faith in Jesus, she didn't stop coming out to the sidewalk because in a lot of ways she was already seasoned, even had not been converted, already seasoned in the ministry and and really had, even though she was raising a cult, I believe, a lot of biblical truths and foundation sewn into her. She just was not a believer in Jesus. Yeah, so that's kind of a weird scenario. There's going to be things like that. We have to leave allowance for God to do whatever he wants to do. And and but as leaders, I'll go back to this, we want to make sure that we guard the integrity of the ministry for the sake of the name of Jesus and that those who are under us that we're doing right by them and not putting them out as sheep among wolves. Yeah, so that's it. That's kind of a good background on kind of the the positives and the negatives. Clearly we don't want to circumvent what God has planned, as he did with that young counselor where he ye, he really turned her life to him through sidewalk ministry. But let's look at at some of the verses maybe that that do guide us. And there's a lot in Timothy, because Timothy was young, he was a new believer. Yeah, and and the the Bible guides us in the first verse

16:15 that I looked at was in First Timothy Twelve. So I'll read that one to you that in general it's guiding. The Bible's guiding us that young new believers should not be intimidated in ministry just because they are young or you. So it says, let no one look down on your youthfulness. This is Paul, I think, talking to Timothy, Yep, that no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather, in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example for those who believe. So I think there's kind of a couple of things going on in that verse. In one Paul is encouraging Timothy. Hey, don't let someone look down on you, don't be intimidated. But then he's also giving this list, not and I'm sure not by accident, that there are things that can kind of guide us in whether a new believer is far enough maybe in the faith, that their conduct would indicate maybe they are ready for some sort of ministry, and that that list again their speech, their conduct, their love, their faith and their purity. So my take, calm, maybe you have a different thought, Daniel, was that we should not automatically disqualify someone based on their

17:45 youth or their newness in in the their walk with the Lord, but that they can actually even be a god, the example to others. But know that list and as you're kind of vetting those, those young believers or these new believers see how they stack up as best as you can. Yeah, yeah, and again we've got to trust the Lord and we can't know everything perfectly in our discernment is not perfect, right, but if you, if you've been walking with the Lord for long enough, you can kind of discern pretty quickly as you've been around someone, what their demeanor is through their speech and their conduct or right, and this is one of the reasons, not just for new believers but for just people interested in the ministry in general, that we do what we call shadowing. So someone wants to volunteer with us, we don't just train them and say come out right, but we actually have them shadow a team, a seasoned team that's been out there or seasoned counselors that have been out there and really that first time they come out in shadow it's just to prey and observe. We won't them to really to see the scenario, to see the ministry, to ask questions, and you can tell pretty quickly as you're talking to someone. So normally how it works is, at least in Charlotte, will have a team that's functioning, US say our Monday team. Somebody wants to shadow, so Vicky will kind of take

19:17 that person that shadowing and be right beside them basically the whole time, the whole two three hours they're out there, and be training them or just kind of giving them some general guidelines. Here's where you can stand, here's where you can't go. You can't walk across over there. That's the clinic property. Here's why that person is saying this, here's why that person is there handing out literature to just kind of explaining the lay of the land and then answering questions. So the question will be, do you have any questions, any concerns, anything that you see out here that you don't quite understand? And you can tell pretty quickly by the questions that people ask where they're at in some things right, if they're mature enough in their thinking and in their walk with the Lord to really handle the ministry and to be, you know, helpful to the team that's out there. Yeah, and so based on that interaction and shadowing, and so we typically have them shadow two three times actually, just to kind of see where they're at, to get a feel for, you know, are they are they really somebody? That would be a blessing through the team out here also to give them an opportunity to see, hey, is this for me or maybe I'm not ready for this.

20:33 And we've had people that have shadowed that have circled back around and said, I thought this was for me, but I don't think I'm ready for this. Yeah, and, and you know that's why we shadows. So that's good. We don't want to make the mistake of disqualifying someone that maybe really is ready. They're not as ready as they will always be. Who of us are. But but you know, a great example is we use this so much David and as he's facing Goliath's taunts. Yeah, and and even the the army is saying, wait a minute, we're not sure if David is ready. And but the Philistines look that that verse and for Samuel Seventeen Forty, forty two is where it starts, and there's several, several verses.

21:27 But when the Philistines looked and saw David, he disdained him. Okay, so they're talking about the Philistine Goliath. He disdained him for he was but a youth. And all of us can have that danger of just disqualifying someone just because they're young or because they're a new believer when indeed they are exactly who God has chosen to fight whatever that enemy or that battle, that battle is. Yeah, so, so anyway. So that's just a caution that youth can be definitely called by God. New Believers can be indeed called by God, and we want to be open to that possibility. Body sometimes they themselves don't recognize it. I didn't. No, I wasn't a new believer, but I definitely did not feel I was up to what the people on the sidewalk we're telling me I should be doing. When I was brand new, they appointed me a team lead and I said, wait a minute, I have no idea what I'm doing out here. Whether that was good or bad, I don't know, but I kind of disqualified myself, even though others who knew what it takes to be a sidewalk counselor we're saying no, you can do this. And I think a verse that talks about that a little bit is in Jeremiah, the book of Jeremiah, when he challenges God, presumably when because he's young and God is appointing him to go and

22:59 speak to to turn a very disobedient, wicked nation back back to God, and as God is speaking to Jeremiah, the Lord said to me, do not say I am only a youth, for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you you shall speak. So again here is Jeremiah saying, but wait, I'm too young, and God is saying, no, you're not. If I'm commanding you, if I'm sending you, then you go. Yep. So that's a guide for how now can maybe you've experience this where again, in all the zealous excitement of a new believer, they'll say I know God has sent me here to do this, when indeed sometimes I will think I'm not. I'm not sure if that's really what God has indeed sent you to do. Yeah, yeah, I mean I think there's some ways for us as leaders to help discern that, and I think shadowing is one of those ways, getting someone who feels excited about getting involved or whatever to come out and shadow, to see what this thing is all about, and then being intentional on our part to guide them through and to help them to see. ME, one of the strong warnings that we give to anybody is that this is intense spiritual warfare.

24:26 Be Ready. For it we go. We don't want to scare people off with that, but we certainly do want people to understand the totality what they're getting involved in, that being out on the sidewalk is not just being out on the sidewalk right. You're going to carry the spiritual warfare in the battle back into your home, back into your family because, like we've said, this is the devil's pride and joy. You're coming directly in opposition to the Kingdom of darkness and you need to be ready for that now. I think we do say that in stress that again, not with the purpose of scaring people off, but hoping that people will take that at consideration and if they're not spiritually prepared that they'll get scared all in, at least seek the Lord a little more and come back around. I mean, we've had people who've wanted to volunteer. They came out, they understood, okay, this is too intense for me, they backed away for a while and then they came back around and said, I think I'm ready for this as they got into the word more, got more of the word into them and they were spiritually prepared for it. So I think it's more than anything about spiritual preparation and about applying wisdom to the situation, for the person who's going to be involved, the new believer or, you know, not seasoned believer, and for the leaders too. So we have to be intentional about as people are coming to us saying hey, I want to be trained, I want to be out here, to really see if those folks are people that are going to be a blessing to the ministry and that the ministry is going to be a blessing to them, in light of how intense it is. Yeah, and

25:56 I think so. I think kind of to summarize what you're saying is we should be cautious, very cautious with with new believers, because we understand the enemy, having been out there in a fierce battle ourselves for so many years. We Tru we know the the power of the enemy. There's a perfect verse that that discusses that again in First Peter, and that's first Peter Five, five to nine. So it's a few verses but really talks, I think, very directly to what you have just said. So well, likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders clothe yourselves all of you with humility toward one another, for God to poses the proud and gives rot grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that that at the proper time, he makes aught you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be Sober minded, be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering your experience by Your Brotherhood throughout the world, so that that versus is warning these, these young believers, you need to be under the counsel of elders, of those who are firm and steadfast in the faith. And then goes on to explain why, exactly what you

27:26 said. Your enemy is powerful. Yeah, and and you need to know how to fight him. Yeah, and I'll say the point here's probably one of the most important points, as you're discerning. Let's say you've got a person who is a new believer and they're outshadowing you. Yeah, if you can discern that person's level of humility and submission to leadership, those two things are the most important. I would say, yeah, of what, whether or not that person is going to be a blessing or hindrance to the ministry. Yeah, that's one of the things that the Lord when you become a believer in Jesus, that's one of the things the Lord works on right away, is your pride. Pride is the downfall of so many right and pride for even new believers, and let will tell you, new believers, I know myself as a new believer when I came to faith in Jesus. I'm on fire, right, I want everybody to know about Jesus. Yeah, my pride often times, though, was a barrier for people knowing Jesus because I thought like, in one sense, like I'm the only person in the world that really knows Jesus because he saved me and he's doing that really that warning, and I talked to you about this before we started the podcast, that Timothy, that that Paul gives the Timothy and First Timothy, chapter three.

28:48 This is right before. That's that scripture that you're at before in verse six. The application is not a direct application. Paul's talking about overseers or elders in the church, but I think the principle is the same here, or at least is applicable, and it's talking about overseer. Must Manages on household well, keep his children under control with complete dignity. For someone who does not hold know how to manage his household, how can he care for the Church of God? So in it's kin that's talking about elders in the church. But I think this point in verse six is actually an important point. It says he must not be. This is the person who's being considered as an elder or considered for that position, must not be a recent convert.

29:34 Some versions say must not be a Novast, but must not be a recent convert, or he may becomes conceited and fall under the same condemnation as the devil. And so this warning is about putting people in leadership. And so I'll say in particular, guys, as you're leading in your city or leading a sidewalk ministry people that you we always encourage our teams to put someone in charge as a team lead, and so we have a team lead for a Monday team. We've kind of went through that with you guys. You guys know someone that leads that particular team for that particular time block, and I think this principle is very important there that when we put someone as a team lead, we need to make sure that person is not a recent convert.

30:17 I would not put a recent convert, somebody's brand new to the faith, as a team lead. I would certainly consider having them on the sidewalk, as long as they're humble and they listen and there they follow directions well, they can be developed and they can crew really, really quickly and really helpfully out there. But as far as putting them in a position of leadership, I want to make sure that you know they're not a recent convert. I want to make sure that they have let the Lord deal with their pride, they're humble and that you know, listen. The best leaders are people that know how to be led. Right, yes, a matter of fact, you can't be a leader unless you know how to be led. Yeah, and so your ability to listen to others and to be led by others really con dictate whether or not your you yourself, will be a leader.

31:06 But it says here if they're a new believer, they might be become conceited and fall into the same condemnation of as the devil. What's The concern here? Well, if you put someone in charge who's a new believer, they're going to start thinking it's because there's something special about them. Oh, there must be something special about me that puts me above and beyond anyone else because I just came to faith in Jesus and yet here I am in a leadership position. And so they start to think, like the devil, that they deserve to be exalted above others. Right, and it's not because of the grace of God, it's not because of the mercy of God, it's because of them. And that is the trap and that is how they become conceited in their head swells and and and they will not be good leaders. It'll be destructive for them and for the people that they're supposedly leading. Yeah, so that's a big caution for us. And and as you were talking, I was thinking about we have team leads, but there are other positions of responsibility that are not necessarily a leader but are very helpful for the team.

32:08 Someone who maybe is going to set up for us, set up the sound system, things like that, and that that might be positions that a new person, a new believer, could could take, because the advantage of being given responsibility as it tends to increase your commitment out there are so it can damage you if you become prideful, but it can also help you in that you've become you have become a really important part of the team. All of the team members are important, but if you're doing a really necessary job that, frankly, most people don't love to do, it makes you, you know, really valuable. Yeah, and it's also a way to test someone's someone's ability to lead. Listen again, if you can't be led, then you can't lead. Yeah, and leaders are called to be servants anyway.

33:02 And so if you can't serve in some of these basic ways, and you guys can get creative as you're building teams and as you're having people out there, there's things. I mean you can have someone we put stickers on the back of our literature. We have a sticker that has all of the different pregnancy centers in the area on that sticker, and a way that someone new can serve as slap stickers on the back of pamphlets. Right, set up signage, set up the sound system. Like you said, you can get creative and give them some responsibility and see how they respond to that responsibility and then maybe they will be ready for some kind of leadership position or to be kind of put on a team, maybe not leading, but at least put on the team to co lead with someone. We've done that before as well.

33:50 Yeah, there's no within this particular scripture. Again, I don't believe there's direct application to this, because what Timothy are what Paul is talking to Timothy about, is establishing leaders within the church. So there's a lot of differences as far as leaders in the church, then there would be as far as leaders on the sidewalk, right. Yeah, but there's some similarities as well. And it doesn't give us a time restraint. It doesn't say they shouldn't be a new convert, they have to be saved more than six months or six years or, you know, a decade. It doesn't say that. It doesn't give us a time restraint. It doesn't give us a this person is ready after so many months or whatever. And to really I think it's really on us as leaders to seek the Lord, to apply Biblical wisdom in the Biblical criterias here and really I think again those two things are very important. The person's humility, willingness to receive correction and things like that and their ability to be led. One of the ways you can help discern that as well is if they're part of a local church. And listen, we don't let people volunteer under love life that that are not a part of a local church. So that's that's one helpful thing there. But being part of a local church, you could actually reach out to their church, reach out to their pastor ministry leader. Maybe there Sunday school teacher, whatever, whatever leadership. You can get ahold of their people that know them in that congregation

35:22 and just ask Hey, is this person been faithful? Have they been of blessing your congregation? Can you tell me a little bit about them? And so you know, that's helpful as well. Yeah, in another verse, in in Second Timothy, or three verses, and second Timothy I think gives us some guidance about what to look for on the negative side of like you've been talking about. What are some things that that really would help you to know that they're really ready for at least some roll out on the sidewalk. But so second Timothy, Chapter Two, versus twenty two to twenty five and I think that gives us some warning some of the things of youth that are very common aspects of youth, of and by youth I mean children, but also I'm thinking of believers as youth. They're young and in the faith, so so that those verses say so flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies. You know that they breed quarrels, and the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach patiently, enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God May hurt, perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth. So youthful passions, you know, youth are known for being

36:52 very passion at very emotional, which is great. We love it, we love that zeal and excitement, but it can be dangerous, those youthful passions, because and then they go on to say foolish, ignorant controversies and that breach corals. So that's the flip side, bad side of of that passionate nature is it can quickly flip into being quarrelsome or fighting for what you believe in in a way that is not whensome and is actually damna chain, as she as she kind of stated early on when we started, when we started this. Yeah, I mean, simply put, it can manifest itself and just being out on the sidewalk and arguing with a pro board or arguing with the dad that's going into the abortion center. And you know, that shows some real immaturity if we will go back and forth like that. Yeah, and it list that it can happen to anyone. Again, anyone can get in the flesh. It's really how someone reacts when they're because we're going to address that right. If that happens, if we see someone, it's a new person or a seasoned person, going back and forth and yelling back and forth with a pro bord or with, you know, someone at the abortion center, we're going to address it right. We're going to walk up to them and say, hey, how's not good, you might need to step, you know, across the street a little bit and pray or something like that. How they receive that really determines whether or not this person can, you know, are they going to be able to move forward, or they just really out here or because what it balls down to you, or they

38:23 out here for selfish means right, they out here with impure motives, or they out here just for themselves and make themselves feel good, or whatever it might be. And one of the things that I see right away if I go to correct someone, I do try to do it privately and I'm as gently and kindly as I possibly can. If I see a lot of self defense, if I see a lot of justifying, rationalizing or just trying to just selfdefense, a defensive posture, that worries me because again, that's not a humble accepting that they're truly could be an issue that they that they need to address. So so we've talked about a few verses we mentioned, as we often have. So we don't, I don't think, need to go further into the David and Goliath thing. But but in especially in that passage and in these other passages, we came up with some things that we think are dangers to be aware of in Ministry with new believers and some qualities to look for a new believers. We have this on the article that we're going to put out and I bullet pointed them. We and I think we may have mentioned all of them to some degree or another, but maybe I'll just summarize what what those are, starting with what the dangers are if you're if you're in a ministry as a new believer. These are the dangers that you need to watch out for. They can be easily influenced if not well grounded in the faith. And and what I mean by that is the pro apoorts

39:57 can be very convincing. Yeah, and for someone who's not well grounded, they could sway someone from a new faith to thinking maybe I'm wrong, that it can actually harm that new believers faith. Yeah, they can become prideful. We talked about that. They can under estimate the lure of evil. I think that is a common danger of youth. Youth feel invincible, right, I know you probably did. I know I did. Oh, I can drive anyway I want. I'm not going to do all the stupid things everyone else on earth does in a car. So the the enemy is very powerful and if you're a new believer, you you can under mess underestimate his power and therefore put yourself in danger. Yeah, improper understanding of the handling of the word of God, that God tells us that we are to be careful right in handling the word of God. And if you don't, you've never done it, you haven't done it much. You can do it improperly and actually damage Yep, the testimony. Twisting scripture, yeah, is a way. Just not being well grounded in the scriptures could twist some scriptures in certain ways that are not helpful to you or the people that you're trying to minister to. Right. Yeah, emotions again, we've touched on that many times. The emotions of youth are are often not really quite under full control

41:30 and that can be dangerous out there. You can get yourself hurt and and your team members hurt if you antagonize the the and already really volatile situation and zeal that's not tempered with wisdom is is another hallmark of youth. Not through their fault. Wisdom really truly does usually come through age. You're at least walking the you know, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but that's only the beginning of wisdom. I think walking with the Lord is how wisdom is is developed, and they just haven't had that experience yet. Yeah, is there anything else you can add in terms of dangers?

42:12 No, I think those are all great. I think those are all biblical and considerations that we need to have as leaders. Okay, people that would be new believers coming along. Yeah, so some of the key qualities to look for. Again, we've touched on many of these. Involved in a local church. You mentioned that, Daniel. We have found that to be so incredibly important. Regular Study of the Bible. If you meet someone who doesn't new believer, who is not enthralled with the Bible, there's probably something wrong, because I know I voured the Bible more than even now when I was a brand new believer. I could not get enough of it. Yeah, submissive to parent are rents. I think that is an important thing that we didn't really outright discuss, but but I do think that submissive quality not only to the church, you mentioned that, and to the people who are in charge, but to your own parents. If you've got a youth who is coralsome and fighting his parents and rebelling against his parents and then claiming that he loves the Lord and is you know, he knows clearly that God is directing him to do this, I would question. I would honestly have to conist. Absolutely. Yeah, yeah, after all, if you can't honor your parents, who you can see, how can you honor God a you can't see? Yeah, that's kind of the principle in the fifth command on your father and your mother. Now there are situations. This is just kind of covey out here. There are situations that I've seen with new believers whose parents are not believers and there's obviously some contention there. But how they handle

43:44 that contention? Do they do they handle that in a respectful way, or they just like almost spiritually rebellious, right? And are they handling the contention they have with their parents who are not believers in a way that honors the Lord? is their desire just to write their parents off or actually to bring them to the knowledge of the Lord through humility and Godly submission to their parents? Yeah, yeah, so humble and teachable. We mentioned that a few times. Responding to correction eagerly, without defensiveness. Eager is to explore the the Bible, a reliance and understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit, and I think that that does come more with experience, as you as you walk with God. Yeah, but if you think you're out there doing this all on your own power and not relying on on the Holy Spirit to guide you, then again that you won't last very long and that can be really dangerous. So the the last kind of major thing to talk about that is what's our responsibility as leaders when we have youth out there, young believers out there or literally young people? Yeah, yeah, I mean I think we throughout this whole podcasts of kind of conflated youth as far as like natural youth, young people with Youth in the Lord, and obviously those two things can go hand in hand. But you can have new believers who were fifty years

45:16 old, somebody just came to faith in the Lord, thirty years old, sixty years here's old. But again, the principles, I think, are still the same, right, they're still now you're going to have with a sixty year old person that's come to the Lord. Likely they're going to have some life experiences and things that help wisdom to be applied very quickly, biblical wisdom they can kind of like apply almost in a retro sense, right, and they understand some things that people who are young don't understand just about life and general but again, the principle still can apply that if someone's brand new to the Lord and they're in a position of leadership, they can get puffed up and then fall into the trap of the devil. Like it says, they're first Timothy Three. But as far as we're concerned, those who are looking at these new believers, people that want to volunteer, people that are coming out on the sidewalk, that want to get plugged into the ministry and some capacity. May I think, more than anything, we've got US seek the Lord, we've got to do our due diligence and when we see these things, the these key qualities that you talked about, and they're not going to be perfect, right, no one's perfect. We're not perfect, even as we've grown in the Lord and been walking with the Lord for, you know, twenty years or whatever. But yeah, you can see the beginning stage of these things. Humility, teachability, all these other things. As leaders we can help develop these things. We need to help encourage those who are serving under us or those who would serve under us in like reliance on the Holy Spirit, and the way we can do that is sharing our own

46:50 experiences right, sharing how we grew in the Lord in these certain areas. We need to help encourage these young believers that are wanting to serve to get in the word, even asking questions about when you're out there, they're shadowing you. Who asking the question? What do you think? What? What does the Bible say about life? Does the Bible teach that life begins at can inception? You? Can you think of any scriptures where the Bible talks about life in the womb, where he talks about the value of life in his word? And if they can't think of any scriptures, then point them out and say what consider this. You know, there's been even points where new believers and seasoned believers have come out and have said things to the effect of like well, you know, I'm a totally against abortion, but in the case of rape, like I'm I don't have a big problem with it.

47:49 And now really truth is they haven't thought that through consistently. Right, because we're against abortion because it's killing an innocent person. A baby who's a result of rape is an innocent person. You can help someone, you can kind of draw that out and get them to articulate their position and then show them biblically and logically how that's inconsistent, and we've had people change their minds in that particular instance. You don't want someone brand new that believes that, the believes it's okay in the situation of rape, to be out on the sidewalk. I mean you don't want anyone out there on the sidewalk that believes that, because you're going to have again, logically, inconsistencies. The PRO abort people. They always put that out there right as rape is an exception.

48:31 It should be an exception, but it's really they're just trying to debit you, to show that your position is not firm. Right, because if you believe that abortion is okay in the situation of rape, your whole argument falls apart. Because we're out there not just because abortion is bad, route there because, yes, abortion is bad, because it kills it in as a person. All right, it's anyway. That's just one example of how a new believer can really get looped in and how we, as seasoned in this ministry, would also season believers, can help walk them through. And so you know, I know you've done this before, but when we've had people that are new on the sidewalk, will send them some articles to read and we'll say we'll consider this, consider this scripture, consider what the Bible says in this situation and then get feedback from them. So what did you think? And we've had people literally a hundred eighty degree turn. I didn't consider that absolutely was wrong. That shows humility, teachability and that person can ultimately, if they're teachable, if they're humble, they can serve and openly kiss me themselves. To be why we read and parks on the sidewalk in North Carolina so much, because I was not a new believer when I came to the sidebuck. But what Daniel is describing as what he did for me, I I'm going to get TIRI. I'd thinking about it because I thought I knew the Bible really well. I thought I had some pretty firm positions and understanding of the whole pro life arguments and everything. And Daniel did exactly what he just described. He would just, you know, sidle up to

50:06 me and say, Hey, have you ever thought about any just go off into some theological disc gushion that directly related, though, with with what was going on there, and I learned so much and I looked so forward to being on the sidewalk. Isn't that weird? I couldn't wait because I knew I am going to learn about God and how he works and how he works through me out here, through Daniel helping so much to guide me. And, you know, in again using the analogy of a baby, which is what these new believers are. What do you do with a baby? You don't just like put the baby out on the street and and and have them grow up and do everything Huh on their own. You you never leave their side. You are there, that baby, right next to them, guiding my at first doing everything and then gradually, as that child grows, stepping back little by little, giving them more and more independence and as they grow.

51:16 So that's it. That's really exactly. I think what we are called to do is leaders, when we have young believers, new people out there, is remember that they are not ready to be independent yet and they may have all kinds of promise, but like a new like a newborn baby, we're gonna stay right with them and and help them through each stage of their development out there. Yeah, that's good, you're going to make my head swell a little bit. Yeah, I know, don't get pride fuller. We lose you. I want to get puffed up, but you know, all I've done in that situation is to do what's been done for me, as others have helped develop me and help me to grow in certain areas.

52:01 And listen, guys, that's what you can do. You can help develop new believers into very effective sidewall counselors ultimately to a very effective leaders themselves. But it takes, as we've talked about, some some intentionality. So one of the things that we've we've kind of, as a model, laid out, is the I do, you watch, I do, you help? You Do? I help? You Do, I watch. So it's like, you know they're coming out, they're shadowing, they're watching us in action. Then next thing you know they're helping. You know they're standing next to Vicki and you know she's calling out and then she said, Hey, you call out now. You know. So they're helping and then they're doing and then Vicki's saying, you know, they're doing most of the talking. This is for people that are calling out, but they're looking over at vickuate.

52:53 What else do I say? So she's helping them along, right. So that's the you do. I help, and then that you do, I watch. And so we're across the street at latrobe and we're watching the team. We're watching these new people that are developing grow and they're doing the stuff themselves. And so that's kind of that development model that we've kind of put out there as far as a training model for sidewalk counselors, and you know, with that I think we'll wrap this thing up. We hope that with these podcasts. But what we're doing is helping to develop you guys, helping to grow you guys and your ability to grow other people. This is a multiplication thing, they say. The math of the Kingdom of God is multiplication.

53:37 God's not just into addition, he's into multiplying, right. So we won't you guys to multiply yourselves, to see other people develop into leaders and develop other leaders and all of that so that ultimately these sidewalks are covered with season believers that know how to articulate what God says from his word, the Gospel, that know how to help these MOMS to get the help and the resources that they need. And you know, it does take time, it does take humility, and so we hope that these podcasts have been a blessing to you and you've taken time to listen to them and humility and and listen to some of the things that we've said. And in humility I will say we don't have it all figured out. So if you guys have other things you want to add to this conversation, things subjects and things like that, the you think that we should consider, then we are certainly open to that.

54:22 So you can reach out to me, Daniel Love Life Dot Org, reach out to Vicky, Vicky at Love Life Dot Org, if you've got subjects you want us to cover. Or again, you've listened to a podcast in the in the past and you're like, what did you guys consider this? or I've learned this. Some of you guys that are listening you've been doing sidewalk ministry longer than we have and we would love to learn from you and maybe we'll have you on the podcast. We can certainly learn some stuff from you, and we've had others on the podcast in the past that have been doing this for a long time, because you know, we can learn from each other. So anyway, hope that's a blessing to you guys. Don't know, Vicky, you have anything else to say now, just you will all face this and and basically are our answer to the question should new believers be on the sidewalk is it depends. Yeah, you be a good leader and you probably could have a brand new believer out there, but watch, On't watch him like a baby. Yeah, yeah, it's good.

55:13 All right, I guess we're going to wrap this thing up. Hope it was a blessing to you. Until next time. God, bless God, bless you all. Give me our love for love. Give me our love for gratitude. I know it will cost me my love. Nothing's too precious in some you