- joshuatongol
Santa Barbara – Questions, Challenges, and Being Stretched
Remy and I had an awesome time in Santa Barbara over the past few days. I was able to share and answer questions, spend time with a community, and even do an interview for an online ministry called The Golden Lampstand.
As for my speaking engagement, the audience/community was a pretty mixed group when it came to the people’s theological backgrounds. So, of course, there were different reactions to what I shared. But overall, it was a great experience for me.
On our last night, before Remy and left to go home, one of the guys who heard me speak thanked me and said, “Usually when we have a guest speaker we don’t ever get together [as a community] and talk about it. But after you spoke we did. It stirred something up.” Those words meant a lot to me.
Folks, my heart is for people to discuss important religious doctrines which have definitely affected people’s lives–especially the ones which have seemed to hurt people more than help them. I encourage people to respect others with where they’re at on their journey, but to also be honest with where they’re at as well.
Can we openly share our hearts, questions, and doubts?
Anyway, we appreciate the hours and hours of conversations we had over the past few days–especially the ones when people openly shared their struggles. Thanks for trusting us.
And thanks to Melissa and Ricardo Perez for hosting us. But most of all, we cherish your guys’ friendship. You two are awesome!
Let’s keep the conversations going.
