Show Notes — When You're Tired of Hiding

Ever come to the end of a long week of pretending and wondered if there's a version of faith that doesn't need you to polish yourself up first? In part two of the Jesus the Revolutionary series, Dave Connolly opens up John 4 and the story of the woman at the well — and what happens when Jesus goes out of his way to meet someone who's spent years hiding.

What this talk is about

Dave unpacks the story of a woman who came to draw water at noon, in the hottest part of the day, to avoid the very people she was ashamed to face. The talk explores what it means to be fully known and fully welcomed at the same time — and why shame pushes us into isolation while grace pulls us back into community.

Alongside the Talk, Will Patterson and Mike Harris host Conversation Street, picking up the threads with community questions, honest admissions about isolation, and some practical ways to stop hiding when life gets heavy.

Journey with us through

• [00:00] Welcome, introductions, and a red-shirt coincidence on a Merseyside derby weekend
• [05:02] Dave opens the talk — why he struggles with the word "revolutionary"
• [08:30] The divine appointment — Jesus waiting at the well for the one who's hiding
• [13:00] Five husbands and the number of incompletion — what real fulfilment looks like
• [17:45] Living water, dry places, and why "try harder" runs out
• [21:00] The water jar left behind — old identity gets outgrown
• [24:00] The challenge for Christians who are still hiding unsurrendered areas
• [26:30] "Come as you are" — an invitation for anyone exploring faith
• [27:39] Conversation Street begins — Will, Mike, and Dave go deeper
• [38:00] Nicodemus, Zacchaeus, and the shame that cuts both ways
• [42:00] Dave's testimony — aged 19, his friend Lee's dad Kev, and a visible transformation
• [48:00] Will on depression and the WhatsApp group of five
• [51:30] Alicia's comment — from shame-centred to Jesus-centred
• [53:30] "Come as you are" — the closing invitation

Key moments from the talk[05:02] The woman who came at noon

Dave sets the scene. Everyone else drew water in the morning — that was when the community gathered and the chatter happened. This woman came at the hottest part of the day, alone, on purpose. She wasn't there because it was safer or more convenient. She was there because of her shame.

"She's there because of her shame. So many people spend their life avoiding people, avoiding situations. They live a life around avoidance."

What the talk explores:

• Why shame drives us into isolation and keeps others at arm's length
• The difference between being alone and being hidden
• How Jesus deliberately crosses into the territory we try to avoid

[11:00] A conversation that should have ended five husbands ago

Dave walks through the exchange in verse 18 — Jesus naming the five husbands and the man she's with now. Six relationships. Dave notes the biblical numerology: six is the number of incompletion. The woman is talking to Jesus, the bridegroom, who is the only one who brings real fulfilment.

"Jesus didn't speak shame over her. He didn't lecture her. He didn't reject her. He didn't judge her. Instead, he reveals himself."

What the talk explores:

• Why Jesus's words of revelation never come loaded with condemnation
• The things we look to for fulfilment — approval, relationships, success — and why they run dry
• 1 Samuel 16 and the reminder that God looks at the heart

[21:00] She leaves the water jar behind

In verse 28, the woman leaves her water jar at the well. She came for water and forgot all about it. Dave reads this as a picture of what happens when we encounter Jesus — the old identity and the old fulfilment-sources stay behind because we've found something that actually lasts.

"When we encounter Jesus, our old identity and the things that we sought for fulfilment, we don't need to take them with us because we will find exclusively fulfilment in Jesus."[24:00] The challenge — you can follow Jesus and still be hiding

Dave lands a challenge for people who've been in church for years. It's possible to serve, sing, sway, know all the songs, and still keep areas of your life untouched and unsurrendered. And if they're unsurrendered, the life of God can't come in and redeem them.

"It's possible to follow God. It's possible to walk with Jesus. And still be hiding."[26:30] If you're exploring faith — come as you are

For anyone who is watching and feeling too far gone, Dave is direct. Don't try and polish yourself up to come before Jesus. Romans 5:8 — while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That's the starting point, not the finish line.

"He died with His arms outstretched. His arms are still outstretched to me and you."Conversation Street highlights

After the talk, Will, Mike, and Dave sit down for Conversation Street — the bit where, in Crowd's words, the talk ends and the real conversation begins. A few moments stood out.

[30:00] No exposure, just an offer

Will captures the posture of Jesus in one phrase. Jesus isn't interested in exposing the woman. He's offering her something. That's the same relationship Jesus offers us — he knows those things, and the conversation starts with an invitation, not an interrogation.

Will: "No exposure, just an offer. That he wasn't interested in exposing. And that's exactly the same with us."[42:00] Dave's testimony — Lee Davis and Kev

Dave shares his own story of coming to faith at 19 alongside his friend Lee Davis, and watching Lee's dad Kev get saved on the same night. The community noticed. The transformation was visible — how Kev spoke, how he treated people, the fruit of repentance. Dave adds, with characteristic honesty, that he himself was "a bit of a flake" and took a slower route.

[48:00] Will's WhatsApp-five for dark days

Will opens up about his experience with depression and the way isolation becomes the default. The discipline he's built is a small WhatsApp group of five guys. On a dark day he doesn't want to talk to anyone — but he can type one word: struggling. The group does the rest. Prayer, presence, connection, without the pressure of a phone call.

Will: "It's a real discipline when I'm having a dark day. I don't want anyone to phone me up, I don't want to talk through anything, but I just need to put a message on going, struggling, because I know these guys are for me."[51:30] Alicia on the shift from shame-centred to Jesus-centred

Alicia's comment in the chat lands the whole talk in a single sentence. The Lord moves the woman from the shame she's centred in herself to the larger view that centres him — and her new identity in him.

Alicia: "What's so beautiful about this story and this talk is that the Lord moves the woman from the shame she's centered in herself to the larger view that centers him."[53:30] Mike — he who knows you best loves you most

Mike closes with a line he's heard before and pulls it back out: he who knows you best loves you most. None of us are good enough. All of us are seen. All of us are known. All of us are loved.

Mike: "He who knows you best loves you most. We are all completely seen. We are completely known, and we are completely loved."Scripture referenced

• John 4 verses 1-42 — the woman at the well
• 1 Samuel 16 — the Lord looks on the heart
• Romans 5:8 — "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us"

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