Editor’s Note: For today’s Q&A, Jamie Harms sat down with Pastor Brett Gilchrist. Below are the questions she asked him and a summary of his answers. Brett preached Sunday from Colossians 3:1-17. During the message, he highlighted eight characteristics from verses 12-17 that disciples must put on to function within the church community — compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, bearing with one another, forgiveness, and love. If you haven’t listened yet, here is the link. Just before the message, we had the privilege of hearing Romans 12:3-8 read in French by a dear brother, beautifully foreshadowing the diversity we will enjoy in the future as believers from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, worship the Lamb of God together (Revelation 7:9).
An Interview with Pastor Brett Gilchrist
What is a fun fact about or a memory with your family?
Brett and his family have a fun saying, “We all live in the same 10 square feet.” They always joke around that although they have lots of space around them they all like being together in the same room.
Lots of favorite Gilchrist memories come from family road trips. One of the most memorable trips was one spring break when the kids were young. They saw the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Zion National Park, and Mt. Lassen, while listening to tons of hours of Adventures in Odyssey on cassette tape.
With the holidays coming, do you have a favorite tradition?
Holiday traditions look quite different now than they did over the years as kids get married and divide time between families. Although holiday times look different from years past, the Gilchrists still enjoy gathering on Christmas morning to open presents, eat brunch, and relax together.
This fall, we are learning about discipleship. What does discipleship look like in your home (past or present)?
Discipleship in the Gilchrist home was not super structured in that they did not have a curriculum in place or engage in lots of extracurricular, spiritual activities like AWANA or books to read through as a family, yet they patterned the routines of their lives to intentionally walk with their children and point them to Jesus. They had the gift of Phares being able to stay home to be there when the kids got home from school, made sitting down to dinner together a priority to enjoy a meal, pray together, and process the happenings of the day. As parents, they would tuck their children into bed at night after praying with them and sometimes reading a Bible story, too.
Of the six characteristics of a disciple that we are studying (learning, communion, community, compassion, formation, and evangelism), which one do you enjoy the most? Which one would you like to work on?
Brett enjoys both learning and evangelism for different reasons. He loves the safety and ease of learning through reading or listening but is most rewarded by the fruits of evangelism and getting to see others fall in love with Jesus. No matter where we are in our walk with Jesus we are always learning and growing. Brett says that he will continue to work on areas like communion and formation, particularly in the areas of disciplined prayer time and Scripture memorization.
How can we be praying for you and your family this fall?
Brett would love prayer to provide good leadership to the church and staff team.
This week UFC Women is in I Thessalonians 2:17-3:13. Catch up on our posts and recordings here.