For more information on this podcast, visit podcast.fellowshipknox.org

Email Rick at [email protected] or find him on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Email Lauren at [email protected] or find her on Instagram. 

In their topic of remembering, Lauren mentions her son and Project Gabriel that came out of his life and death.

Rick reminds listeners that it's not our story, it's God's story, and He always shows up.

For more on the importance of remembering, check out this article or this article from The Gospel Coalition.

For more information on this podcast, visit podcast.fellowshipknox.org

Email Rick at [email protected] or find him on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Email Lauren at [email protected] or find her on Instagram. 

 First off, our very own Rick Dunn recently celebrated a big birthday! Lauren wishes Rick a happy 60th birthday! Rick then expresses his gratitude for his 60 years and for what he gets to do in his life.
 
 Today’s episode is about moving into a new normal. We have all started to notice that a more normal way of life is coming or here already for some of us. Rick and Lauren talk about things opening back up and life looking more like it did pre-pandemic.
 
 They talk about how it is good to celebrate, but that we must also pause to see what God is doing in the new normal and pursue him in it.
 
For more information on this podcast, visit podcast.fellowshipknox.org

Email Rick at [email protected] or find him on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Email Lauren at [email protected] or find her on Instagram. 

Because both Rick and Lauren consider themselves to be a high-performance person, they disclose that there can be detrimental side effects to living like that. Rick takes time to reframe the negative things, and shows that it's not wrong to do your best, but, as Lauren points out, you have to have fun in life and not take yourself too seriously. The two also talk about how to appropriately parent a high-performance child.

Rick reads Ephesians 2:8-10.

Rick mentions Eric Liddell and "Chariots Of Fire." 

Lauren references "Operation Varsity Blues" on Netflix.

Rick brings up a quote from Chadwick Boseman.

For more information on this podcast, visit podcast.fellowshipknox.org

Email Rick at [email protected] or find him on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Email Lauren at [email protected] or find her on Instagram. 

After swapping Easter traditions, Rick and Lauren talk more about Rick's sermon at Fellowship on Easter 

Rick also reads a poem he wrote, which he says was influenced by a 'Hamilton' song and a Maya Angelou poem.

Rick and Lauren transition into talking about vulnerability, performance, and risk, and compare these to having to climb a rope in gym class at school. Rick conveys that meeting Jesus in these places is incredibly hard but rewarding because it's where Jesus most wants to meet us.

You can read Rick's poem here. 

For more information on this podcast, visit podcast.fellowshipknox.org

Email Rick at [email protected] or find him on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Email Lauren at [email protected] or find her on Instagram. 

After catching up on spring break, Rick and Lauren jump into their topic of Holy Week. Rick discloses that it's easy to skip the days leading up to Easter, but it's important to notice and appreciate each day because each day explains why we need Jesus.

Rick explains how we as Believers have two resurrections: Our resurrection when we first accepted Jesus, and the final resurrection when we get to be with Him fully. He references Peter stating that we were born again into a living hope. Rick shares a story about how his friends in Chicago have suffered, but realized the truth that God pursues us in the midst of our sufferings.

Rick brings up several passages in Psalms including Psalm 139 and Psalm 51. 

To understand how God meets us in our fears, Rick compares our fears to graves not yet resurrected. But, Rick says, we can feel secure in Jesus' resurrection, and know that through His death and resurrection, we have hope and courage to face our graves.

In closing, Lauren mentions Holy Week services at Fellowship Middlebrook.

For more information on this podcast, visit podcast.fellowshipknox.org

Email Rick at [email protected] or find him on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Email Lauren at [email protected] or find her on Instagram. 

Rick and Lauren start the conversation by sharing some things that have been going on in their own lives, like the birth of Rick's grandson Eli.

Lauren brings up how helpful reframing things in her own life has been for her. Rick agrees and mentions how we can meet God in the reframing; he also mentions his life verse.

The conversation moves towards routines, and Rick and Lauren share how different they are when it comes to routine, as well as how they both take time to sit in quiet or process through things.

After their discussion on the significance of reframing, Rick and Lauren take time to thank their team.

For more information on this podcast, visit podcast.fellowshipknox.org

Email Rick at [email protected] or find him on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Email Lauren at [email protected] or find her on Instagram. 

Rick and Lauren take the first few minutes to introduce Tommy Campbell, and explain their relationship with him.

Tommy shares some of his story and explains how he knew he was being called to ministry as a teenager, as well as how he knew he needed to step out of ministry work. Tommy references the book 'Falling Upward' that someone recommended to him when he was leaving ministry.

Lauren chimes in and talks about how scary uncertainty and trusting in God when you don't know the plan can be. Rick and Tommy add that when this happens, it's important to be present in the moment and listen for what God is up to in your life.

Tommy goes into more detail about what he did after ministry, and talks about how he got into the modeling and acting world and how he is able to share the Gospel in his work. Rick jumps in and says that ministry isn't just working at a church; ministry can be any place where you share Jesus with others.

For more information on this podcast, visit podcast.fellowshipknox.org

Email Rick at [email protected] or find him on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Email Lauren at [email protected] or find her on Instagram.

About Tommy Campbell:

Tommy lives in Knoxville with his wife Becky, and they have two sons. Find him on social media here. 

After introducing Greg, his position at Fellowship Church, and his podcast with RD (Off Stage), the group jump in to discussing what it's like to live with a chronic disease like rheumatoid arthritis.

Greg explains how his struggle with health issues started when he was a child, with severe allergies and asthma. He spends time telling how he ended up in Knoxville, and at Fellowship Church doing college-ministry things, before finding out he had rheumatoid arthritis and Sjogren's Syndrome in his mid-30s.

Greg also shares that not only did he receive these diagnoses, but he and his wife Jennifer began having trouble conceiving because of medicine he was taking, which was a whole other traumatic event to walk through together. Ricks adds here that what Greg and Jennifer were going through was largely unseen and very isolating because it wasn't an immediately visible suffering.

The group move to talking about how hard it can be for a spouse or your family when you live with a chronic illness; Greg reveals that his illnesses are tough on his wife and two children because he sometimes has to give all his energy to work and has very little left for his family, and he doesn't want them to feel cheated. Because of this, Greg says he has had to find alternate ways to spend time and love on his family.

Greg mentions that while some people might see him as aloof or conceded, he has had to learn how to properly spend his energy so that he doesn't hurt himself or drain himself completely. He discloses that his illnesses feel like his thorn in his flesh, but declares that God's grace is sufficient. He references Romans 3 to show that everything we experience and deal with is for God's glory.

For more information on this podcast, visit podcast.fellowshipknox.org

Email Rick at [email protected] or find him on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Email Lauren at [email protected] or find her on Instagram.

About Greg Pinkner:

Greg is the lead teaching pastor at Fellowship Church. He and his wife Jennifer live in Knoxville with their two sons, Jack and Luke. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.