All Our Wealth Is in Our Relationships

About The Podcast

After starring as a wrestler and football player at Oklahoma and playing three seasons in the NFL, Leonce Crump Jr. heeded the Lord’s call to ministry. That calling led him to some unexpected places and difficult decisions, but it also brought him to pastor a diverse and growing church in north metro Atlanta. Leonce shares what he’s learned about heeding God’s calling, managing a vibrant multiethnic congregation, and always putting family first.

Show Notes

Timestamps

Discussion

1. Have you ever heard or felt a calling from God, but were resistant to it? What made you reluctant to follow, and what eventually inspired you to obey what God was telling you to do? In retrospect, how significant do your worries or objections from then seem now? John 15:16
2. Have you ever relocated to a city or place you didn’t really want to go to? What was the cause of that move—job, money, family considerations—and why were you reluctant to move there? Did you eventually make your peace with it, and if so, how? What were some things you grew to appreciate about that place that you hadn’t noticed or cared about at first? How do you feel that experience changed you for the better?
3. Do you feel like you’re “wrestling” with a call from God right now—like God is calling you to do something, but you can’t seem to figure out what that might be? Discuss the question Leonce poses regarding our calling: Where is the intersection of your passion, your pain, and your experience? What about your life—the things you love doing, the things you’ve been through, both good and bad—could you draw upon to be of service to others? Isaiah 6:8
4. Leonce recalls struggling with feelings of being a “sellout” when he decided to relocate his church from central Atlanta to a more suburban area in the north part of town. Have you ever struggled with similar feelings—like you were betraying one value to satisfy another? Were you eventually able to make peace with your choice? Did you find a path that gave both values the space to be respected?
5. Looking back over your experiences in church and other spiritual settings, were there ever times when you felt like the pastor, minister, or group leader was talking down to you, or like they were going way over your head? Now think back to the leaders who have made you feel like they were really speaking to you “on your level”. What were some things they did or said that made you feel like they knew where you were coming from and met you there?
6. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once called Sunday morning church services “one of the most segregated hours in America.” Have you ever attended a church or religious gathering that was noticeably diverse in terms of race, class, and/or background? What do you think you gained from being in that sort of environment? What were some things the leader of that congregation did to create a feeling of unity among such different perspectives?

Additional Resources:

Renovate: Changing Who You Are by Loving Where You Are by Leonce Crump Jr.

The Resilience Factor: A Step-by-Step Guide to Catalyze an Unbreakable Team by Ryan T. Hartwig, Leonce Crump Jr., and Warren Bird