S5 Episode #17- Quinlan Lee
THE ONE With QUINLAN LEE
This week I’m honored to welcome my Discipleship Pastor, Quinlan Lee! Prior to working at Forest Hill Church, Quin was a children’s book author and worked in the publishing industry. It’s safe to say that she has always had a deep love for stories! In this episode, she reminds us that no story is greater and more life-changing than The Gospel of Jesus Christ! Join us as we dive into the broken and beautiful story that God is writing for humanity, the ways He is moving us toward redemption, and how to keep our eyes fixed on Him when all we see around us is confusion and chaos.
MORE ABOUT QUIN
Quinlan Lee is always on the lookout for good stories and God at work in the world. She became a Christian over 30 years ago, drawn by of the greatest story of all---God’s love for the world as told in the Bible. She’s a reader, writer, happy wife and mother of three adult children and lucky friend to many. Currently she works at Forest Hill Church in Charlotte, North Carolina as the Discipleship Pastor, helping people to take step closer to Jesus from wherever they are in their walk with Him.
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Quin came to know the Lord in highschool and she was fascinated by the story of Jesus. She shares that following Jesus has not always been easy, but it is always worth it.
GOD’S STORY
From a very young age, Quin always had a love for stories and books. The Lord has always used stories to shape how she saw the world. As an adult, she started writng children’s book and worked in publishing. About 10 years ago she started to feel a restlessness in her spirit.
Quin began to transition to working at her church, Forest Hill Church in Charlotte, NC. During this season, God revealed to her that each person is living in a story and God is writing a beautiful story out of each life. She realized that her true passion was to help people discover that God is the ture author of their story, that is is not haphazard or plot-less, but rather than God is constantly inviting us into some really beautiful events that will culminate in the ultimate story of God’s restoration of creation. She desires to help people see how The Gospel story intersects with their own lives. We are all a part of God’s grand story for humanity!
Part of following Jesus is understanding that there is a beautiful narrative that is being written in the world and in our lives. Jesus is inviting us to enter into the story and open ourselves up to all the ways that that He will use them in the story!
PLOT TWISTS
How do we walk through the difficult seasons of life?
When you are in the middle of reading a book, there are often points in the story where you can’t figure out what is going to happen next. You are often to immersed in the story. However, the author sees the full picture and knows exactly where the story is headed. The author knows how the struggles are necessary to develop the characters, and prepare them for what is still ahead.
Our stories are moving toward good and restoration. This is the beauty of The Gospel.
The Gospel holds both the beauty and brokenness of the world in the same space. The good God is putting the brokenness back together. He is working to bring things to a place of full restoration.
We must place our trust in the one who sees the full plotline. We can often only see one small part, but God sees the full picture.
YOUR OPENING SEQUENCE
When you watch movie like Mission Impossible, the opening sequence is often packed with action, explosions and intrigue… then the opening credits roll.
When we reach the end of life and we pass away, it seems like that is when we would cue the closing credits. Yet, Quin challenges us to view death as the opening credits. Your whole life is but the opening sequence, and life after death is where the true story and glory of eternity begins! Our time on this earth is so short when compared to the things that await us in Heaven.
Death is not the end… it’s the beginning!
WRESTLING WITH FAITH
We must all make a choice about who God is. We must all answer for ourselves a few questions:
Who do I want to live for?
What do I want to build my life around?
Don’t be afraid to ask God the tough questions. Jesus has the answers.
The world is both beautiful and broken, and Jesus provides a way for us to be put back together in our brokenness through the power of the cross.
People often believe that they have to get their life together before they can come to God. This is not the truth! You don’t have to have it all figured out or cleaned up. God sees you a long way off and he is walking toward you. He is waiting to welcome you, even in your brokenness… especially in your brokenness.
Jesus will never leave you on your own! He is Immanuel– God with us. When we keep leaning into Him, we will continually see all the countless ways that He is showing up and providing for us in powerful ways.
LIFE VERSE
After the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus says that He is the Bread of Life. May of the people gathered start to leave, and Jesus asks His disciples what they will do next. Will they leave Him too? In John 6, we see Peter’s response…
John 6:68-69
“Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.
He has walked with Jesus long enough to deeply know Him, and Peter responds by saying, “Where else would I go?” Peter recognized that no other option can compare to Jesus. Everything else in this life over-promises and under-delivers, yet Jesus does the opposite. Life with Jesus keeps getting better, whereas chasing after the things of the world will leave you with an emptiness that only Jesus can fill.
FINAL THOUGHTS
You are seen and known by God, even if you don’t acknowledge Him. If you open yourself up to Him, even a little bit, you will find that He is right there waiting for you with open arms. God is continually working in your story!
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The Collected Podcast is produced by Jes Biondo and edited by Jacob Early. Cover art designed by Ben Biondo.