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Made for Mondays | Steps

The Problem: I Can’t

This week on Made for Mondays, Heather sits down with Joe and Adrienne to kick off a brand-new year—and a brand-new series—Steps. Together, they unpack Sunday’s message that reframes “new year, new you” away from willpower and toward Jesus as our Deliverer.

After catching up on Christmas break and introducing The Year of Practice Bible Reading Challenge, the conversation turns honest and deeply relatable:
Why do so many of us want to change… and still feel stuck?

The group explores how the patterns we struggle with run deeper than discipline and why real change begins not with trying harder, but with bringing our basement places into the light within safe, honest community.

Here’s what they dig into:

• Resolutions, reality, and starting the year honestly
From half-kept resolutions to abandoned goals, the group talks candidly about how the pressure to “fix ourselves” often sets us up for discouragement—and why this year is about practice, not perfection.

• “I can’t” statements and the power of naming reality
Jamey reflects on the opening pages of Steps and the familiar “I can’t” statements that resonate so deeply. The team shares what emotions surface when we admit our limits—and why that admission is actually the starting point for transformation.

• Romans 7 and the struggle we all recognize
“I do what I do not want to do.”
The conversation unpacks Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, exploring what “the Law” means, how it still enslaves us today, and why awareness without deliverance only deepens frustration.

• Discipline as a response, not a replacement
In a Year of Practice, how do we pursue discipline as a way of responding to Jesus rather than trying to substitute discipline for Jesus? The group talks about rhythms, grace-filled practices, and why effort alone can’t heal what’s broken.

• What the church can learn from recovery spaces
Jamey shares wisdom from time spent at AA meetings with his mom—including the powerful idea that while churches often celebrate miracles upstairs, the real miracles happen in the basement.
This leads to a raw conversation about sanitized faith, hidden struggles, confession, and what it would look like to build communities where honesty is safe and transformation is real.

• A radical Big Idea
“With Jesus, the worse your story, the warmer your welcome.”
The group discusses how churches can embody that truth—not just say it—and what guardrails help keep stories centered on Jesus instead of self-promotion.

• Sitting at a different table
Looking at Jesus calling Levi in Mark 2, the conversation explores what it means to practice grace like Jesus did—intentionally moving toward people others avoid—without confusing grace with enabling.

• Practicing community, not just talking about it
Before wrapping up Sunday’s service, the church practiced being in groups. The team reflects on why that mattered and how getting connected to a Steps group is a vital next step for anyone ready to pursue real change this year.

Join Us This Sunday

We’re continuing Steps by diving into Step One: The Proble

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