Welcome to the Journey Women Podcast. I'm your host, Hunter Beelis. Life's a journey we were never meant to walk alone. We all need friends along the way.

On the Journey Women Podcast, we'll chat with mentors about gracefully navigating the seasons and challenges we face on our journeys to glorify God.

On today's episode of the Journey Women Podcast, I'd chat with my friend and pastor from right here in Clarksville, Tennessee, Luke Banner. Luke serves as the assistant pastor in our local church.

It was so fun talking with him about how community really is the big seed church. He shared that the church is the body of Christ and how as members of the body, we make up the congregation of worshipping believers, aka the church.

Unlike secular community, Christian community isn't just the frequency of interaction that we have with someone, maintaining a shared passion or even sharing common interests, but the goal of Christian community is really for the church to be the church.

We got into the nitty gritty of what it looks like to genuinely love other believers who are really different than us apart from our shared desire to glorify God.

We discuss authenticity, vulnerability, hurt, and how our ultimate hope in the midst of even the hardest parts of doing life together is that the kingdom of God is near.

This conversation with Luke kicks off our series on the topic of Christian community. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast however you listen so that you don't miss upcoming episodes.

I cannot wait to share this one with you, but you know before I do, I want to tell you about our sponsors that actually help to make today's episode possible.

Apartment Life and Misa Homestyling. Misa Homestyling is a twin city's business founded by Heather Douglas that launched out of a passion to see women embrace their current circumstances, including their homes.

Heather serves homeowners by helping them create functional and cozy spaces that cultivate contentment and joy.

She created a guide to opening her heart and home that she wants to give every single journey women listener.

My friend Julie recently worked with Heather to redesign her living room and she said,

I have already spent a ton of time trying to make my living area more hospitable and functional, but I was getting frustrated when my ideas weren't matching up with reality.

Heather helped me identify my style and I was amazed at how quickly she came up with budget-friendly design ideas with items that I could purchase at stores near me.

Misa Homestyling offers in-home and virtual styling and you can find tips for cultivating the joy-filled home at misa-homestyling.com.

There are also on Instagram and Facebook at Misa Homestyling. Go to misa-homestyling.com slash journeywomen to grab your freebie on hospitality and to receive 20% off all styling services through May 1st.

Now, onto my conversation with Luke Banner.

Luke, welcome to the Journeywomen podcast. You are my pastor, you are my friend, and I just excited to get to share you with all of our listeners.

Well, Hunter, thanks for having me. I am so glad to join Journeywomen and this is a real treat for me, so thanks for having me.

Well, you're the guy who's been helping me process the realities of getting in front of people that I've never met face to face, so it's kind of funny because now you're on the other end experiencing that as well, which is just fun.

Yeah, it certainly messes with you a little bit. I certainly want to communicate well, but a lot of that may just be my own stuff coming out and seeking my own kingdom as opposed to the Lord's kingdom.

...