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Made for Mondays | STEPS

Step 1. The Problem: I Can't

This week on Made for Mondays, Heather is joined by Jamey, Adrienne, and Tyler as they continue the STEPS journey by unpacking Step One—the uncomfortable, freeing, and surprisingly hopeful place where real change begins.

After weekend chitchat and reflecting on this week’s Bible reading from Genesis 18 and Matthew 6, the conversation turns toward a truth many of us quietly avoid:
we are really good at managing appearances… and not very good at admitting powerlessness.

This episode explores what it means to stop pretending we have it together and start telling the truth about where we’re stuck—not in a dramatic collapse, but in the ordinary, Monday-morning kind of struggle where we keep thinking, “I should be further along by now.”

Here’s what they talk through:

• Powerlessness vs. image management
Step One invites us to admit we can’t control what’s broken in us—but most of us are far more fluent in curating competence. The group discusses where resistance shows up when the problem isn’t out there but in here, and why naming that honestly is harder than it sounds.

• “Not that bad” as a spiritual stall tactic
The phrase “it’s not that bad” gets exposed for what it often is: a quiet way of settling for less freedom than Jesus offers. The conversation explores why minimizing our struggles feels safer than naming our real withered hand—and how that safety actually keeps us stuck.

• Stretching what can’t stretch
Looking at Jesus healing the man with the withered hand, the group reflects on why Jesus asks him to do the very thing he cannot do. What does that reveal about how transformation actually begins—and how does it confront our instinct to fix, hide, or self-improve before showing up honestly?

• What makes honesty possible in church
Jamey shares the conviction that the church should be “the safest place in the world for a sinner.” The group wrestles with what helps create that kind of safety—and what shuts it down—both personally and communally.

• Whose eyes are we most aware of?
When we imagine being fully seen, whose gaze shapes us most: other people, our inner critic, or Jesus? The answer often determines what we’re willing to bring into the light—and what we keep hidden.

• A listener question worth sitting with
A faithful listener writes in asking where Scripture encourages that first small turn toward God—the 0.1-degree shift for someone who feels far away or powerless. The group reflects on biblical moments where God meets people not after the full turnaround, but right at the first honest step toward Him.

• Weakness as the doorway to power
Paul reframes weakness as the very place where God’s power shows up. The episode closes with a practical invitation: one small stretch of faith this week—a prayer you’ve been avoiding, a confession, a text asking for help, or simply showing up to a group.

And finally, the conversation lands on this image:
 Jesus with outstretched hands on the cross—not asking us to try harder, but inviting us to trust deeper.

Join Us This Sunday

We’re continuing STEPS as we move into Step Two

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