A Pastor's Heartbeat
[10/24/2022]
Hello and welcome to Joy City, I’m your host, Stuart Welch the Lead Pastor of Life Connection Church located in Modesto, CA.
I am so excited about my guest, Pastor Rod Cochran who serves as the Pastor of Christian Love Baptist Church in Modesto, CA. I met Rod at the City Pastor Luncheons, and we clicked in talking sports, restorative justice and church and I can’t wait to get to know him a bit better today. I know there will be great takeaways here, some information you can use right away and some for later down the road called life and as a father, maybe even some parenting tips.
Let’s jump right into it, man Rod welcome to Joy City. I’ve been chasing you for months to get you on the podcast, brotherman, how are you, the family, things at the church?
Rod talks taking over a church after losing the only pastor they ever knew and after his first Sunday, we all experience the pandemic and a global shut-down.
Dr. Cornell West says, “Never forget, Justice is what love looks like in public.” We have a hard time defining justice, but we know what we mean by love. Majority of people understand love is being respected, accepted and valued. Rod shares growing up in the deep south and what justice means to him.
Lastly, hear Rod’s story on dying and being dead for over (4) minutes and his life transforming encounter and how he handles “survivor’s guilt.”
So, when God opens our eyes in Joy City, we can clearly celebrate others for our differences, we can support one another in our efforts, and we can cheer one another on in the spirit of unity and when One wins, we all win. Every tribe and nation under heaven, worshipping God as one. As the Apostle Paul says, “may we fight for the UNITY of the faith in the bond of peace…”
No one can come face to face with what God is like and ever be the same. Welcome to Joy City. Seeing His true image, touches the depths of our soul and beholding His glory will renew our minds, transform us and give us strength to live this life for Him. Come on in, where the table is spread and the feast of the Lord is going on. I want to invite you to be a part, a resident of Joy City. A place where the Body becomes stronger and our love for others only increases.
I’ve enjoyed being your host and you can comment below, or email me at pastorstuart@