The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey Happy Hour #375 - Ross Lester
My guest for The Happy Hour #375 is Ross Lester. Ross is the Pastor of Preaching at The Austin Stone Community Church. He is originally from South Africa, and has now been in the states for three years with his wife, Sue and children.
I’m so thankful for Ross’ voice and his perspective on the world as a Christ follower who grew up overseas. In today’s episode, we talk about the American Church vs. American Culture, and his experience of learning what it looks like to be a pastor in the states through an international lens. Ross also dives into the problem of Christian nationalism, and lays out 10 signs of it at play. It’s not an easy or comfortable thing to talk about, but it’s so important to address as followers of Christ and be aware of what we put our faith into. Ross says, “The problem with Christian nationalism is that it is framed as a culture war, rather than a call to follow Jesus.” Oof. What I respect most about Ross is that he knows the potential cost of speaking on these topics, but knows his calling to obey and honor Christ is so much greater.
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