Leaving the Matrix 😎

Welcome to the Friday Field Guide!

Hello friends.

Have you ever watched the Matrix? The basic idea of the movie is everything around us is part of a computer simulation that is effectively acting like a prison for humanity…. kind of heavy stuff. The main point of the movie is to save humanity by getting us all out of the Matrix so we could experience true life. The problem is, none of the people knew they were in this prison so they resisted. Of course, there is a lot more to the story, but that is the basic idea.

The other day, I was thinking about this movie and it helped me remember why I love LifeGroup season at RLC so much. Many of us get involved in our own lives, our jobs, and our social media world to the point that we do not see much else. We get lost inside the “prison” of our world and do not see the people all around us.

LifeGroups give us the chance to put down our phones and take time away from our normal schedules to truly see people. I have watched this happen over and over throughout the years. The first LG meetings are always the same. Everyone is nice and trying to figure it all out. Slowly, as everyone begins to get to know one another, the masks start to come down and we start to truly see each other. We see fellow humans working their way through the experiences of life. We sometimes even find a fellow friend and traveler.

Relationships are all around us, but we seldom see them because we have created a prison of 'efficiency.' Many of us have become good at squeezing every last drop of time to do so many great things. The problem is social media, technology, work issues, super tight schedules, and more have crowded out our joy. Let's do something about it.

The only way to do this is to take the chance of leaving our Matrix and stepping into someone else’s world. This past Wednesday was the first meeting for our morning men’s LifeGroup. I cannot wait to see what happens as we do life together over the next several weeks. I’ve added a weekly “Men’s Only” link at the bottom just for them… but you’re welcome to it too.

Here’s my question for

Do you have at least one friend who “couldn’t care less and couldn’t care more?”

Couldn’t care less- They are not bothered by the fact you are not perfect yet.
Couldn’t care more- They are interested in helping you as much as they can.

If so, let them know you are thankful for the gift of their friendship. If not, these people are out there. However, they rarely wander into our lives by accident. They must be sought out. This can be difficult and time-consuming, but it's worth it. So, make it a goal over the next week to leave your Matrix and strike up a conversation with someone. Who knows? You might be the next miracle God is sending their way. Maybe they will be yours.

To all my RLC family...

1. King Jesus is Here. Thank you to everyone excited about jumping into God's Word with us. King Jesus is off and running! We are also ordering some of the King Jesus shirts for everyone. I cannot tell you what it means to your pastor that you are so excited to learn about Jesus. Also, check out the commentary blog to study further.

2. Real Men | Real Women. I could not be more excited about the launch of two ministry hubs at RLC. We need each other more than ever. We need men to become a brotherhood and women to have a sisterhood. We need to grow together, challenge each other, and hold each other up. Check the worship guide this Sunday for the dates of the first events coming at the end of the month. (Psst. Men- Ours will be March 3rd at the Bowling Green Ball Park.) Also guys... text "rlcMen" to 94000 to get specific text alerts about the men's event details.

2023, Steady On!

This month's 📪 Letters to RLC>>>

🖤 My Favorite Things This Week

🕺 Men Only- Killing the Curse of Our Fathers. This link is from a podcast entitled, Order of Man." The host talks about how we cannot run away from the effect our father had on us... both good and bad. Knowing this helps us understand ourselves. It blew me away because he talks about the importance of understanding our past so we can move forward. I highly recommend checking it out.

💪🧠 Atomic Habits for Mental Health. Most people think you either have depression and anxiety or you don't. They don't think of such things as a sliding scale. If you deal with either, these issues can be resolved if we are willing to chip away at them slowly but consistently. I really enjoyed this video with practical habits for better mental health.

🎤 Extremely Embarrassing Moment!- Ever have one of those moments you would reeeeeally like to get back? In this link, I share about two times when it would probably have been better to have just stayed in bed that day.

🧂 A Salty Response to the Grammys- Did you watch the music awards this past Sunday? Me neither. However, there was so much chatter about the events of the Grammys that I had to see what was up. The result was the video in this link. While I think we need to be careful in giving this too much of our time, it does prove that the church is needed more than ever to be salt and light in the world.

🎧 Song- Famous For (I Believe) / Do It Again (Live). This week's song is from Tauren Wells. It's a bop! You'll love it!

🧐 Apologetics- Which Old Testament Laws Apply Today? Have you ever wondered why we even read the Old Testament? There are many reasons and we will cover some of those this Sunday, but this is a great video on the topic of which Old Testament laws apply today. This Sunday, we will only be able to talk through the extreme high spots. This goes deeper.