“Fruitfulness”

·49 min·4 clips

Connor Ratliff's podcast investigates why Tom Hanks fired him for having 'dead eyes' over 20 years ago.

The episode is a sermon from Capital Church concluding a series called 'The Cycle of Grace.' It opens with a story about Connor Ratliff, who was fired by Tom Hanks from 'Band of Brothers' and now hosts the 'Dead Eyes' podcast investigating this failure, framing it as a humorous exploration of resilience. The speaker introduces the main theme: to discuss fruitfulness, one must address failure, paraphrasing Francis Chan's insight to fear succeeding at things that don't matter rather than fearing failure. The Cycle of Grace is reviewed, a model developed by Frank Lake and Emil Brunner after studying burnout in missionaries. The cycle includes four phases: acceptance (embracing identity in God), sustenance (spiritual practices), significance (embracing purpose), and fruitfulness (outcomes). The speaker notes that many feel unease about fruitfulness due to fear of failure, linking this to missionaries who lived in a 'cycle of works'—working to achieve outcomes to feel significant and earn acceptance, leading to burnout. The message argues that failure zaps energy when one circles the wrong way in the cycle. It references the speaker's PhD research on leadership and feedback, suggesting that fear of failure hinders receiving feedback. Insights from John Ortberg and Dallas Willard are shared, emphasizing that outcomes should be entrusted to God, not used as fuel. Biblical passages like Ephesians 2:8-10 and 1 Corinthians 15:58 are cited to support that grace is a gift and believers are God's masterpiece called to good works. A practical example is given with Ron Johnson, who integrated his faith at Apple by loving people at work, leading to high profitability. The sermon encourages using spiritual gifts, as listed in Romans 12:6-8, and announces church initiatives like Capital Cares, a partnership with World Vision and Costco to distribute goods. It concludes with homework assignments, such as letting go of outcomes, serving in the church, and resources like books and videos for deeper spiritual practice.

As heard by us

A pastoral closing message on faithful work without treating effort as the source of worth.

Capital Church's closing message in the Cycle of Grace series reflects on responsibility, faithfulness, dependence on God, and participation in God's work.

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Why you'd press play

If fear of failure has made you grip the balloon tighter, this sermon invites you to do your best, then release it.

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