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[WW] All Are Welcome · The Wesley Word

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Wesley Word.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back, everybody.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_01: If we haven't met yet, I think I've tried to run the most everybody, but my name is Steve Simino.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: I'm the campus minister here at Clemson Wesley.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: And many of you know that's my awesome family.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: They make me look good.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: That's Julie up there at the top.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: That's my wife.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: We've been married 18 years now.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_01: Like, that's crazy.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: Coleman, there's 12 now, seventh grade.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: Finley's in fourth grade.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: You'll see them around.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_01: Again, I say this often, but like if you can get Finley to like talk to you and smile at you, you've made it in life, right?
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: It took me four years in her life for that to happen to me.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_01: So that's that's real life.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: So but that's there, and that number up there, that's my phone number, that's my cell number, that's the one that you entered in for that giveaway.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I do that because I want you to have that.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um know that I am accessible, I am here for you.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes people say, oh, Steve's too busy, blah, blah, blah.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: No, I'm like my whole thing is to be here for students.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_01: And so if you uh need to grab some coffee, you know, grab some lunch, um, you want to chat, you want to celebrate, you got something deep going on, whatever, I'm here for you.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um so feel free to reach out, shoot me a text, be happy to meet up with you.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um again, I'm here.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: That's what I'm here for.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: And so um hope that you'll take me up on that.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: Remember that, put that in your phone, uh, Steve Simoneau, and anytime you need it, feel free to reach out to me.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um let's pray.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: Holy and gracious God, we thank you for this evening, for this time to come together and to share in a meal, to share in worship and to just share here in this community by saying yes.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, God, we want to know each other better.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, God, we want to know you more fully.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: And so we give you thanks for the holy expectation that you will meet us here.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_01: We pray that you continue to be with us throughout this night as we continue to worship you and all the good stuff ahead.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_01: We ask less in Christ's name.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: Amen.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: So I love campus ministry because every year there's a new beginning, a new start.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I've been living on the academic calendar for so long.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: I tell people if I had to go back and get like a real nine to five job, I don't know what I would do.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: And it's important as beginning this academic calendar, this academic year, uh, to re-remember.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: And I remember early on, I've told a story to a few of you.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, when I was in seminary, I got invited back to speak at um the Wesley retreat.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: Now you'll notice this, folks that are being graduating soon, um, like, we love you, but after like a few years, people are like, who that?
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: You're right?
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: Uh they all become Saints fans, right?
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: Who that?
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you all get that, my people.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I remember showing up and I was that person, right?
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: I was a retreat speaker, but I had been in seminary for um three years, and um people had already started to forget.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: And so I was doing what I was supposed to do, right?
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: You walk into a new room, you can either go, ah, or I'm like, I'm a retreat speaker, I gotta know some people, right?
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: And so I just went up and started talking to people.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: And I remember going to this one particular table, there was all this a whole group of freshman ladies, and I was sitting there talking with them, just trying to engage.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: And this one girl, she was just getting more and more uncomfortable, right?
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: I don't make people uncomfortable, but she was getting uncomfortable, right?
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: And uh I finally, after I was talking like five minutes and talking to everybody, she just like couldn't help it, right?
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: And she just slams her hand on the table.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry, but who are you?
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: What are you doing here?
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: I was the 30-year-old in the room, right?
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what are you doing here?
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: Who are you, right?
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: Why are you in my space?
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: And that question was a funny story, and I, you know, eventually when I came back, funny, I came back to be the campus minister years later, and she was a senior, one of the first leaders that I had, and so I told that story in those fun times, right?
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but to always be remembering that question, right?
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: Whether you are a grad student returning for the eighth year or a freshman who just rolled in, to be anywhere in between, to be thinking and to be reminded, who are you and what are you doing here?
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: Who are we as Clemson Wesley and what are we doing here?
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_01: Who are you as an individual on your faith journey and what are you doing here?
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_01: And so I want us to re-remember, maybe tell for the first time, but as a group, remember who it is that we are.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: What are we doing here?
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: Because it's important as we go off on this journey, right, and who we are.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: And we talk about this all the time as Clemson Wesley.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: We want to be a Christ-centered community where all people are welcome.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: And we say that and putting it on a slogan, we got some cool t-shirts, and Megan did a great job on the t-shirts again, right?
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, yeah, give it a further.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yep, yep.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: But the goal is to live more.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, someone really liked them, right?
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: To be more than just the t-shirt, right?
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: We can put all or welcome all day on the back of our shirts, but the way that we talk with our mouth and our lips when we're around people or behind people, all day will tell the story if we're truly welcoming or not.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: And we want to be a place where all people are welcome.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_01: And it's scripturally based, right?
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: We look at the gospel of Luke, my favorite gospel, right?
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_01: All throughout, Jesus is telling parables about invite, invite, invite.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: The table is never full enough.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: Always go out and invite folks to the table.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_01: We see the story of the prodigal son, right, over and over again, where the one um child goes out and spends all his money, does all the crazy stuff, right?
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: And the father welcomes him back, right?
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: No matter what he's done, he welcomes him back.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: The older brother has issues with that, right?
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: Like I've been here to live my best life, the good life, right?
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: And they come back, how are we gonna let them, right?
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_01: That prodigal story, son's story reminds us that all are welcome.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: Whether you've been in church every single day of your life, whether you've gone off and done some stuff, come back somewhere in between, all or welcome, right?
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_01: No matter who you love, no matter how you love, no matter where you've been, no matter what you've done, we want you to be authentically you and to know that you belong here, that you are welcome here in this space.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: And that is who we strive to be, but it takes effort and constant reminding that that is who we are to be.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_01: I'm reminded often when you look at the gospel of Luke, Jesus is talking not to like like oftentimes he's talking to Pharisees and scribes.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: He's often talking to church people and reminding them and getting onto them and saying, you know how you feel like you've got all the answers?
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: You know how you keep putting up gates to my doors?
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: I want you to bust those open and I want you to open them wide, and I want you to be a person of grace that welcomes in all people.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: So we want to be people that welcome.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: We want to kind of remember that.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: We're also a place where all are treated like family.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: Now I know for some of you you're like, oh, my family sucks.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: No, thank you.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: I'm out the door, right?
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_01: Let's be real, right?
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um we're not text me, we'll talk about it, right?
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um I forgot that was thought there.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um I love my family as well.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: I disagree with my family, right?
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_01: But what happens with my family, and I guess maybe my perspective on this, um, is that I feel like I can be me with my family, right?
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: We disagree politically, right?
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: There's certain topics we don't talk about at my dinner table, right?
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_01: Not dinner table, Julie and I are cool, right?
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: But like my siblings and stuff, right?
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: I'll be clear, right?
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, if I go to New Orleans, saw you on the mission trip, right?
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_01: You went to my grandmother's house for some stuff, and I was like, do not talk about this, this, this, and this, right?
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but even though we disagree and sometimes vehemently disagree, we still love each other, right?
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: And we may not see each other for a long time, but I can be me, right?
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: When I'm with my family.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: If you're not there with your family, I'm sorry, I apologize on that.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: But the goal here is what I'm saying is all are welcome.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_01: And then we're gonna treat you like family, meaning you're gonna belong here, right?
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: Whether you are planning 2024 and you're like, I can't wait, let's vote for Trump.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_01: 2024 coming, I can't wait, let's vote for the Democrat, whoever that's gonna be.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_01: 2024, like, I don't even talk about politics to you, please be quiet, right?
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: Wherever you might be on that spectrum, all are welcome here, right?
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: Whether you are more progressive or conservative, whether you are new in the faith or you are deeply grounded and you know where you're at, wherever you're at along that spectrum, you are welcome here.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_01: And we want you to belong.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: And then that's gonna lead into that third part that's a little more difficult, um, where we want you to be uh welcome, we want you to treat like family.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_01: We also want you to grow, right?
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: If you are, I'm Bailey, I'm calling you out, man.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: My PhD student, right?
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: If you haven't grown one bit since you came in here as a freshman, like, hey, I'm Bailey, right?
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_01: We failed you, right?
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: We failed you, right?
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_01: We want you to grow in your faith here.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: We want you to be disciples here, not just be welcome, not just feel that you belong, but we want you to be welcomed and belong so that you can be comfortable enough to explore your faith and to grow in your faith.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: But discipleship, it requires intentionality.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_01: I talk about this all the time, right?
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: Or every year I feel like I'm a broken record on this.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: Being a disciple does not mean that you're busy.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_01: Being a disciple means that you are intentional about your growth, right?
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_01: It means that you make a plan, you set a time, you make a plan, and you make it happen.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: We have some awesome small groups.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: If you go to our website or the Wesley Link Tree, it'll put you um there and you can sign up.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: I encourage you to join a small group.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: If you don't join a Wesley small group, join a small group at FCA or wherever group you have a connection with, right?
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_01: Join a small group, right?
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_01: Be intentional with your time.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: If you want to grow in your faith, you have to be intentional.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_01: I did the math.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: I did this for Asbury Hills this summer, right?
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: But there are 168 hours in a week.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not asking you to commit 168 hours to Clemson Wesley or 168 hours to your faith, although you should always kind of be in your faith, right?
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: But if you want to be an intentional disciple, all it requires at a bare minimum, if you want to grow, is three hours a week.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: Three hours out of your 168, right?
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: It's like somewhere between one and two percent of your week if you want to grow as a disciple.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_01: Go to worship once a week, whether it's Sunday morning, whether it's Sunday night here or Wednesday night downtown, even tide, right?
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: Pick one of those and go to worship once a week.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: That's about an hour and a half-ish, right?
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_01: Join a small group, go with other people who might be like-minded, might not be like-minded, but you're all in there together because you want to grow in your faith and allow that iron to sharpen iron, allow you to grow in your faith.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: And then maybe spend an hour every other week, you know, doing some kind of fun fellowship type thing.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_01: What I'm saying is that you're part of Clemson Wesley does not mean that Wesley has to be your entire life, right?
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: So you're like, yeah, right.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_01: But spend time where it's important, right?
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: Be intentional in your discipleship, be intentional in your growth.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: Find a time to go to worship.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: You I'm not gonna take role and say you wanted even to have this week, you wanted even songs or Wesley worship, sorry, all the time front thing, right?
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but just focus on your time.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: All right, there's gotta be a protest here.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna be quiet.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_01: Move on.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_01: So grow in your faith.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: Know that you're welcome here, know that you belong.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: And lastly, I'm excited.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: Teresa's gonna be sending out some stuff.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna be looking at ways to serve.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: Know that we're called to serve, right?
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: That our faith isn't ours, that we hold on to and keep from others.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, this idea of belonging isn't something that we restrict and we keep from others, but that we're gonna find ways to be the hands and feet of Christ this this year, this semester, to go out and to serve and to love our neighbors.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: So if you've heard this four years, if you're your first time here, we'll be a place for all our welcome.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_01: We're a place peaceful, be a place where you will belong and treat it like family.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: We want you to grow in your faith.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: Join a small group.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: I can't tell you that enough.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: Whether it's on here or somewhere else, you will grow if you do these things.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_01: Go to worship once a week, go to a small group once a week, and let that just be a starting point and watch how your discipleship grows and your things will change.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: Next week, wrapping up.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: Next week we're gonna be looking at uh starting a several week series.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um we often talk here at Clemson Wesley about being welcoming, about belonging, about growing in our faith, and about um serving God, but we sometimes forget about that first part, about being a Christ-centered community.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_01: And so as I begin to think about what it means to be a follower of Christ, right?
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: Because you can find community in a lot of places.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_01: Wesley does not have like the corner, the market corner on that, right?
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um a lot of our um, a lot of you have different communities where you have friends, you have places where you feel like you belong and you fit in, right?
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: There's places where you're kind of growing as a person, you can go and serve, there's all kinds of service organizations, right?
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: But what makes us as a Christian community different?
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: And what does it mean to live into the character of Jesus, right?
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: And and not in a judgy way, but like this life-giving, breathgiving life of Jesus and this character of Jesus.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_01: And so we're gonna begin looking at what Jesus has to say, right?
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_01: And so we're gonna spend the next five weeks looking at the Sermon on the Mount.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_01: There's three chapters in Matthew, chapter five, six, and seven.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: And we're gonna look at what does Jesus have to say for us as a people of faith and how we can take on this character of Christ.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: As we get through those five weeks, Jesus says at the end, I'll mention this next week, in the last part of his Sermon on the Mount, um, he tells if you do all these things, do all these things that I just told you, you'll be like a person who builds their house on solid ground.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: But if you don't do these things, you're gonna be a person who builds their house on sand and it's all gonna kind of fade away.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: And so if you're interested in just building your faith, growing in your faith, looking at what it is that Jesus has to say to us, come back next few weeks.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_01: We look at the Sermon on the Mount and find out what life-giving words Jesus has for us.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_01: Let's pray.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_01: Holy and gracious God, we give you thanks again for this time of worship.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: I give you thanks for each and every person here in this room, oh God.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_01: Just continue to pour your Holy Spirit out upon us.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: Lord, help us to be filled and overflowing with grace that we might show that grace to others.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: Lord, help us to be a welcoming community.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_01: Help us to be a place where people belong.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_01: Help us as individuals find that sense of belonging deep within us, that we are made enough in your eyes.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: God, don't leave us where we are.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: God, I pray that you will help all of us to grow, even if it's just one step, one day at a time, into the disciples that you have called us to be.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_01: And God, may we take all that, all that which we have grown, all the welcome we've received, all that sense of belonging as a child of God, and may we go out into this world to love you and to serve our neighbors as you've called us to do.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: We ask all this in Christ's holy name.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_01: Amen.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: The Wesley Word is a production of the Clemson Wesley Foundation.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: For more information about Clemson Wesley, check out our website or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, get out there and love your neighbor.