Advertise on podcast: White Oak Christian Church

The God who sees, also sends. Exodus begins with a God who refuses to look away from pain. He sees His people's oppression. He hears their cries. And He comes down — not with a plan from a distance, but with rescue up close. Then God calls Moses. Not because Moses was ready, strong, or willing — but because God's rescue has always included His people's participation. The same God who sees you in your need is the God who sends you to bring His freedom to someone else. Next Steps: 1. Ask yourself honestly: do I believe God sees what I'm carrying right now? 2. Identify one place of need, injustice, or darkness God may be sending you into this week. Your next step starts at thewocc.com/welcome

Thomas spent years running at full speed. Job hopping, band hopping, saying yes to everything, it eventually caught up to him in the form of severe stress and burnout. A few years ago he walked away from a stable job to go all in as a full-time musician, and what followed were some of the hardest years. In this Formation Conversation, Thomas talks about the book that changed everything for him, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, and the rhythms he's built since: a daily digital detox, a weekly Sabbath with his wife Emily and son Adam, and quiet mornings alone with God in the White Oak building before anyone else arrives. "It was almost a sin to rest," he says. "My mind was convincing me of that for a long time." Now on staff at White Oak and still playing drums on the worship team at both campuses, Thomas shares what it's actually looked like to slow down, and how it's changed the way he shows up for his family, his work tuning pianos around the city, and the people he meets along the way. In this conversation we talk about: • Job hopping, band hopping, and the years God felt distant • The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry and why it completely floored him • A daily digital detox: no phone from 6-9am and again from 5-8pm • Building a weekly Sabbath rhythm with his wife and son • Finding silence and solitude alone in the church building before sunrise • Why slowing down has opened doors to share his faith with strangers ` Chapters 00:00 — Introduction: Meet Thomas Cheek 01:05 — Rapid Fire: Getting to Know Thomas 08:59 — Alone with God: Mornings in the Building 09:46 — Wandering: Job Hopping, Band Hopping, and Burnout 11:07 — The Turning Point: Betting on Full-Time Music 12:45 — Discovering The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry 15:20 — Digital Detox: No Phone Mornings and Evenings 19:16 — The Ripple Effect on His Marriage 21:12 — A Convicting Moment: Jesus's Burden Is Light 22:39 — Practicing Sabbath as a Family 26:23 — Hurry Sickness and Learning to Sit Still 29:00 — Silence and Solitude in an Empty Building 34:12 — No Screen Saturdays 38:19 — Becoming an Apprentice of Jesus 42:48 — Slowing Down Opens Doors to Share Faith 46:41 — Key Takeaway: One Day at a Time 52:27 — Closing Prayer — White Oak Christian Church Connecting people to Full Life in Jesus 📖 Explore spiritual practices with us: thewocc.com/formation 🌐 New to White Oak? Start here: thewocc.com/welcome Join us in person: Colerain Campus — 3675 Blue Rock Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45247 Ross Campus — 1500 Ross Millville Rd, Hamilton, OH 45013

Does God really see what I'm going through? The God who sees, also sends. Exodus begins with a God who refuses to look away from pain. He sees His people's oppression. He hears their cries. And He comes down — not with a plan from a distance, but with rescue up close. Then God calls Moses. Not because Moses was ready, strong, or willing — but because God's rescue has always included His people's participation. The same God who sees you in your need is the God who sends you to bring His freedom to someone else. Next Steps: 1. Ask yourself honestly: do I believe God sees what I'm carrying right now? 2. Identify one place of need, injustice, or darkness God may be sending you into this week. Your next step starts at thewocc.com/welcome

The God who sees, also sends. Exodus begins with a God who refuses to look away from pain. He sees His people's oppression. He hears their cries. And He comes down — not with a plan from a distance, but with rescue up close. Then God calls Moses. Not because Moses was ready, strong, or willing — but because God's rescue has always included His people's participation. The same God who sees you in your need is the God who sends you to bring His freedom to someone else. Next Steps: 1. Ask yourself honestly: do I believe God sees what I'm carrying right now? 2. Identify one place of need, injustice, or darkness God may be sending you into this week.

Is it worth it to gather together? Community is practiced through shared experiences. Community is practiced through presence — and few things practice it like a shared table. Around the table we share our stories, our meals, and our faith. In those simple, sacred moments, we encounter Christ and one another. The table is where strangers become family, burdens are shared, and grace is experienced in real time. From strangers to family. From presence over outcomes to God at work among us. That's why we gather. Next Steps: 1. Host or join a shared meal this week — practice presence and gratitude. 2. Put one gathering on your calendar this week before the moment slips away. Your next step starts at thewocc.com/welcome

We were never meant to do life alone. Community is a six-week journey into what it means to live life with God, lived together—moving from an isolated, private faith into the kind of connected life that actually forms us. Following the ancient rhythm of worship, we'll walk from adoration to commission: learning to show up, to be honest about our brokenness, to give and receive accountability, to navigate conflict with grace, to serve one another, and to gather around the table where strangers become family. God shapes us most deeply through the people right next to us. This is an invitation to stop watching from a distance and step in.

We were never meant to do life alone. Community is a six-week journey into what it means to live life with God, lived together—moving from an isolated, private faith into the kind of connected life that actually forms us. Following the ancient rhythm of worship, we'll walk from adoration to commission: learning to show up, to be honest about our brokenness, to give and receive accountability, to navigate conflict with grace, to serve one another, and to gather around the table where strangers become family. God shapes us most deeply through the people right next to us. This is an invitation to stop watching from a distance and step in.

Lydia Bibb didn't expect the hardest season of her life to also be the one where she felt most surrounded. In the middle of a painful separation, she found a small group at White Oak that didn't just offer kind words. They showed up with a U-Haul and helped her move into a whole new life. In this Formation Conversation, Lydia shares what it looked like to keep showing up (as a mom, a teacher, and a follower of Jesus) even when she couldn't see the harvest yet. Her anchor became Psalm 126:5-6: "Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy." That promise carried her through a season she never expected to walk through alone, and ultimately didn't have to. "No matter how broken, no matter how much grief, God will redeem it." That's the confidence Lydia carries now, on the other side of a season she once thought would never end. In this conversation we talk about: A painful separation and starting over in a new community Walking into White Oak for the first time and feeling at home Psalm 126:5-6 and what "sowing in tears" looked like in real life The small group that showed up with a U-Haul instead of just kind words Grief and hope, and why they aren't opposites Forgiveness, and the moment it finally arrived What she'd say to anyone who feels alone in their own hard season Chapters 00:00 — Introduction: Meet Lydia Bibb 01:28 — Rapid Fire: Getting to Know Lydia 07:38 — Personal and Faith Journey 10:23 — Coming to White Oak in a Hard Season 19:35 — Stepping Into Community and Small Group 23:50 — Psalm 126: Sowing in Tears 30:26 — Formation Through Pain 34:42 — The Moment Forgiveness Arrived 36:46 — Encouragement for Someone Still in the Wilderness 39:51 — Key Takeaway: God Will Redeem It 40:54 — Best Final Question: Still Sowing in Tears 43:02 — Closing Prayer — White Oak Christian Church Connecting people to Full Life in Jesus 📖 Explore spiritual practices with us: thewocc.com/formation 🌐 New to White Oak? Start here: thewocc.com/welcome Join us in person: Colerain Campus — 3675 Blue Rock Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45247 Ross Campus — 1500 Ross Millville Rd, Hamilton, OH 45013

We were never meant to do life alone. Community is a six-week journey into what it means to live life with God, lived together—moving from an isolated, private faith into the kind of connected life that actually forms us. Following the ancient rhythm of worship, we'll walk from adoration to commission: learning to show up, to be honest about our brokenness, to give and receive accountability, to navigate conflict with grace, to serve one another, and to gather around the table where strangers become family. God shapes us most deeply through the people right next to us. This is an invitation to stop watching from a distance and step in.

Why is vulnerability worth the risk? Confession is the practice that turns community into connection. The hardest part of community is people. We're all a little messy — carrying our own stories, wounds, and defenses. Real connection asks us to lower our walls, and that feels risky. But we can't be known if we keep them up. Authentic community begins when we choose curiosity over criticism and honesty over hiding. Vulnerability isn't weakness; it's the soil where grace takes root. From guarded to known. From hiding to healing. That's what confession makes possible. Next Steps: 1. Share one real, vulnerable thing with someone you trust this week. 2. Choose curiosity over criticism in one relationship — ask a question and really listen. Your next step starts at thewocc.com/welcome

If faith is personal, why can't it stay private? Community is essential to our spiritual formation. We celebrate independence and self-sufficiency but from the very beginning, God said it wasn't good for us to be alone. We were made in the image of a relational God, created from relationship and for relationship. Isolation runs against our design. Community isn't optional to faith; it's essential to being formed by God. It's where we see how He moves in others, and where He refines and rekindles us. From isolation to belonging. From watching at a distance to showing up. That's where formation begins. Next Steps: 1. Reach out to one person today — a call, a text, an invitation — and take a step out of isolation. 2. Find your place in person this week: join a group or make a plan to gather with others. Your next step starts at thewocc.com/welcome

Have you ever felt like your faith and your daily life are two separate things? From the very first pages of Scripture, the Spirit of God has been present moving, renewing, and making something out of nothing. And Jesus promised that same Spirit would live inside every one of his followers. Not as a feeling. Not as a concept. As a Person. This series is about learning to know him and letting him change everything. Our prayer is that you would walk out of here today not just having learned something about the Holy Spirit, but having encountered him. Next Steps: 1. Ask the Holy Spirit to make himself known to you this week 2. Read John 14:16–17 and sit with it for five minutes 3. Come back next week — this is just the beginning

A few months ago, Marie Kline was standing at a crossroads. In her first Formation Conversation, she shared how fasting, prayer, and spiritual mentorship were helping her listen for God's direction. Now she's back with an update — she left teaching, started her own business as an artist, and is learning what it looks like to follow God one step at a time. In this Formation Conversation, Marie catches us up on everything that's happened since: starting her own business as an artist, learning to run toward hard things instead of away from them, and discovering that saying yes to God is less about having a plan and more about staying on the path. This is Part 2 of her story—her first conversation is Formation Episode 5. "Buffalos are the only animal that runs toward the storm." That picture—charging in instead of running from it—became the theme of Marie's whole season. In this conversation we talk about: Leaving a steady career to pursue her God-given gifts Grieving an old life before you can step into a new one "Charging the storm like a buffalo"—running toward fear instead of away Staying on God's path instead of waiting to be told every step Fasting, Sabbath, tithing, and building a prayer closet Having honest, vulnerable conversations with the people closest to her Why following Jesus is about surrender, not having it all figured out "You don't have to have it all figured out. Keep showing up, because he's going to show up." Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome Back — Catching Up With Marie 00:01:36 Rapid Fire — Getting to Know Marie 00:09:38 Leaving Teaching to Start Her Own Business 00:12:00 Confidence, Fear, and People-Pleasing 00:14:49 Grieving the Old Life 00:15:25 Charging the Storm Like a Buffalo 00:18:03 Staying on God's Path Instead of Waiting to Be Told 00:19:45 "What Do You Want?" — Getting Honest With Herself 00:22:07 Being One Person — Honesty With Family and Friends 00:28:11 Finding Her People — Community and Women's Bible Study 00:30:30 Fasting, Prayer Closet, and Learning to Sabbath 00:35:17 Tithing When the Money Isn't There 00:44:20 Hearing From God in a Loud, Busy Life 00:48:46 Surrender, Timing, and Trust 00:55:48 Key Takeaway — You Don't Need All the Answers 00:59:56 Closing Prayer Your next step: 🔗 Watch the full Formation Conversation: www.TheWOCC.com/formation 📖 Explore spiritual practices with us: www.TheWOCC.com/formation 🌐 New to White Oak? Start here: www.TheWOCC.com/welcome Missed Part 1? Go back and watch Marie's first Formation Conversation — it's full of honesty, encouragement, and bold steps of faith. https://youtu.be/_NCudM06_K8

Have you ever felt like your faith and your daily life are two separate things? From the very first pages of Scripture, the Spirit of God has been present moving, renewing, and making something out of nothing. And Jesus promised that same Spirit would live inside every one of his followers. Not as a feeling. Not as a concept. As a Person. This series is about learning to know him and letting him change everything. Our prayer is that you would walk out of here today not just having learned something about the Holy Spirit, but having encountered him. Next Steps: 1. Ask the Holy Spirit to make himself known to you this week 2. Read John 14:16–17 and sit with it for five minutes 3. Come back next week — this is just the beginning Your next step starts at thewocc.com/welcome

Have you ever felt like your faith and your daily life are two separate things? From the very first pages of Scripture, the Spirit of God has been present moving, renewing, and making something out of nothing. And Jesus promised that same Spirit would live inside every one of his followers. Not as a feeling. Not as a concept. As a Person. This series is about learning to know him and letting him change everything. Our prayer is that you would walk out of here today not just having learned something about the Holy Spirit, but having encountered him. Next Steps: 1. Ask the Holy Spirit to make himself known to you this week 2. Read John 14:16–17 and sit with it for five minutes 3. Come back next week — this is just the beginning Your next step starts at thewocc.com/welcome