(uplifting music)

- Banning Liebscher was just 25 years old

when he started what becamethe international phenomenon

known as Jesus Culture.

Today, he continues hispassion to see people thriving

in every area of their lives.

Take a look.

- [Narrator] Banning Liepscher

is a popular pastor, speaker, and author.

He founded Jesus Culture in 1999

at Bethel Church in Redding, California,

a ministry of worship, conferences,

and leadership development.

Banning says that manybelievers are discontent,

sensing there's more to the Christian life

than they're experiencing.

- My heart as a pastor isto come alongside people

and encourage them to engage the call

that God has on their life.

- [Narrator] In Banning's newest book,

"The Three-Mile Walk," he explains

how to live the life God wants for you.

- Please welcome to "The700 Club" Banning Liebscher.

Banning, welcome. It'snice to have you with us.

- Oh, it's so great to be with you.

Thanks for having me on.

- I love the book.

You in your role as a youth pastor

and then as initiator of the Jesus Culture

and your internationaltravels and conferences

say that many Christians arediscontented with their lives.

Why is that?

- Yeah, you know, myheart really as a pastor,

which I've been doing for 25 years now,

is to really come alongside people

and have them experience the fullness

that God has for them.

And I really think thefullness that God has for them

is connected to saying yes tothe call of God on your life

and that, ultimately,every single believer

has a call on your life, youhave a call to be someone

and a call to do something.

God's trying to shape you andmold you to look like Jesus

and He's asking you to partner with Him

in His plans and purposes in the earth.

So I think that we findourselves dissatisfied

when we're not actually engaging the call

that God has on us.

- Well, you have apassion to inspire people

to thrive in their faith.

So, you know, recognizing your call

can happen from day to day

as you move along in yourrelationship with God.

What do we need to do to cometo that place of thriving?

- Yeah, well I think you just have to...

Obviously, I think theChristian life is one big yes,

like that you would just say yes to Jesus

and all that He's asking for you.

And I think, as you take thisjourney, I think you're right.

As we walk with Jesus,what's He asking of us?

What's He wanting to do in my life?

Am I paying attention to those things?

Like am I on the journey with Jesus

and paying attention to the things

that He's wanting to do in my life

and He's wanting to do through my life?

And I think when we positionour life to walk with Him

and to be obedient and to pay attention

to the things that are in my heart,

to what He's asking of me, Ireally think that's the place

where we kind of find thatthriving and that abundance.

- I love the Old Testament story

that you use as a blueprint sort of

throughout what you write in the book.

It's the story of Jonathanand his armor bearer.

Tell us what the significanceof that story should be

for us as a believers.- Yeah.

Yeah, well you know how

there are certain stories in scripture

that just kinda resonatewith you from early on?

This is one of them.

And it's this incredible picture.

You know, if you grew up in church at all,

you'll know the story ofJonathan and his armor bearer,

how he goes to take on the Philistines.

But it's a pictureactually of this contrast

between Jonathan an his dad, King Saul.

And King Saul is content

to sit underneath a pomegranate tree

looking at a distance to the Philistines.

But Jonathan, something awakenedin the heart of Jonathan

where he just said, "I'm notcontent to sit any longer.

I am going to get upand I'm going to engage

what God's called us to.

I'm going to move forward."

So the reason why it'scalled "The Three-Mile Walk"

is that the Israelites were on one hill

and the Philistines were on the other,

and in between that,geographically it's a valley

and it's three miles.

It's a three-mile valleythat Jonathan had to go on.

So when Jonathan said,"Yes, I'm gonna get up

and move forward in whatGod's called me to,"

he started a three-milewalk to engage that.

And so much stuff is neededon the three-mile walk

that we unpack, but that'swhy I love the story

because it shows Saul and the army

who were somehow contentto sit from a distance

and look at their destiny and Jonathan,

who I really believe God put adivine dissatisfaction in him

that said, "I don't want to sit anymore.

I want to get up and go."

- I believe it's such a story for us today

as believers in the worldthat we are living in.

But you talk about three characteristics

that are necessary for us to develop

so that we can live the lifethat God intended for us,

the call that you suggest.- Yeah.

- Will you talk aboutthose characteristics?

- Yeah, well we kind ofput 'em as three miles

since it worked out.

But it's holiness, courage, and faith.

My heart was to reallyre-look at holiness again.

Holiness is the first call on our life.

We're called to be set apart.

If you're going to engagethe call of God in your life,

you have to engage holiness.

But try to unpack that a little bit more

and talk about, it's a relational concept.

I grew up in an environment

where it's a list of dos and don'ts

and it was more don'ts than dos

rather than this relationship with Jesus.

And then just courage and faith.

I mean, the reality is,

and for anybody who's gotup and gone after Jesus

and going after the call of God,

what you find quickly isthat it take a massive,

massive amount of courage.

It takes a huge amount of courage

to do what God's calling you to do,

both to become who He'scalling you to become

and to do what He's calling you to do.

And so my heart is just to come alongside

and put courage inside of people

and just to really tell 'em, listen,

the enemy comes to discourage you.

He's trying to disarm you of your courage.

And so we have to position our lives

to live full of courage and encouraged

if we're going to walk this journey out.

- And in the end, the goal, of course,

is to walk in the callof God on your life.

Do you think most people todayhave a sense of what that is?

- Yeah, you know what?

That's a good question.

I can't talk for everybody,

but I think a lot ofpeople are not fully aware

of what God's called them to.

I talk about in the bookeven dreaming again,

really allowing yourself to dream.

How do you know what God's calling you to?

How do you pay attention to this thing?

The world is so busy right now.

I think we've got our attentionon so many other things

that if we can just stop long enough,

get our internal world healthy,

and pay attention towhere God's leading us.

You know, we say all the time

that we're spirit-led believers,

but many times, I'm like,

I don't know if we'respirit-led believers.

I think we're just busy-led believers.

I think we're just chaos-ledbelievers and distracted.

And so my heart is really just to say

listen, you're gonna bemost alive, most thriving

when you're followingJesus on this journey

of engaging your call.

- Yeah.

Well you outline it so beautifully

in "The Three-Mile Walk."

And what believer doesn't want to walk

in the kingdom purposesthat God has for them?

And one of the things Banning says

in his book, "The Three-MileWalk" is this is everybody.

There's nobody that is following Jesus

that shouldn't and doesn'thave a call on their lives,

so be sure you don't waste time

without finding out what your call is.

This book is a greatway to walk that path.

And Banning, we thank you so much.

It's really been wonderfulto have you with us today.

- Oh, thank you for having me on.

- Wanna say, by the way,

"The Three-Mile Walk" isavailable wherever books are sold.