Lisa Fields: Hello. Welcome to the Jew three Project podcast. I’m your host, Lisa Fields. I’m the founder of the Jew three Project. Well, thank you for watching another episode of the Jude three Project podcast. As always, I’m your host, Lisa Fields, the founder of the Jude three Project. And today, I’m joined by a very special guest, Christelle Acevedo. Is that did I pronounce her? Acevedo. You’re good. Acevedo. I’m sorry. I’m Acevedo. I’m so sorry. Can you tell our audience a little bit about who you are? Sure. So,
Kristel Acevedo: well, I guess the most important thing about me is I’m a daughter of god. Right? And I’m married to my husband, Alex. We’ve been married seventeen years. We have two amazing kids, Liam and Isabelle, and I work full time at my local church at Transformation Church, overseeing discipleship. It’s the best job in the world. And I’m also an author, and so I get to write books and bible studies, and it’s really a God dream.
Lisa Fields: Yeah. That’s awesome. And we’re here to talk about, your work, away in the wilderness. Is that right?
Kristel Acevedo: Well, I don’t know. I didn’t know if we were talking about that or if we’re talking about liberated at the cross.
Lisa Fields: We can talk let’s talk about both.
Kristel Acevedo: Let’s do it, girl. Let’s talk about both.
Lisa Fields: So Liberated at the Cross, what is, what was the reason for you writing that book?
Kristel Acevedo: Well, so this actually started a long, long time ago when, Made for PACS, an organization, that really centers the voices of people of color, reached out to me and asked me to write a bible study based off of the cross, based off of what what we learned from the cross, what what the cross means. And, and so I said yes. And that was back in 2021. So it was a long, long time ago, and it was such a treat to be able to partner with them. I love the work that they are doing. And it was a deep exploration of, okay, what is the cross? What does it mean? How does it affect us as believers in the ways that we live our lives every day? And and what does it mean for for our future as well? So that was really what caused me to write it, and I’m really I was really grateful for that invitation.
Lisa Fields: Yeah. So how how in light of this book, how how should we be thinking about the cross?
Kristel Acevedo: Well, I know that for me, when I first became a Christian, I looked at the cross and I looked at this this story of Jesus going to the cross and dying. I had a hard time. I write about in the bible study how I grew up Catholic and I would go to mass. And I would sit there, and there was a big crucifix on the wall with, like, Jesus hanging on it. And I remember thinking, like, this is crazy. Like, that is so graphic. Right? Especially I mean, I was a young child. It’s graphic. It’s violent. It’s bloody. It’s not pretty at all. And when you even read more about crucifixions, like, this was a way for the empire to show the people that they were ruling that we’re in charge, and we can do whatever we want. And if you step out of line, this is what’s gonna happen to you. And so it was not anything that was honorable at all. And yet, Jesus, who is God, went to the cross, and that is where we find our liberation. That is where we find our forgiveness for sin. And, and I I was looking at that just juxtaposition, and I realized that what the world and we find this in scripture. What the world deems as foolish is really a beautiful act of love. Mhmm. That Jesus did not was not forced to go to the cross, but he went willingly and died on the cross on our behalf. And through that, we now get to have relationship with God the father. We get to have relationship with the people around us. And so we live cruciform lives, and that’s not a state a word that I came up with. That’s a word that I think came from Michael Emerson. And I remember the first time I heard this this term, like, of of cruciformity, of living cruciform lives. It means that we daily die to ourselves and pick up the cross and follow in Jesus’ footsteps, which is a big ask when you really stop and think about it.
Lisa Fields: Mhmm. Mhmm. You know, I I I love how you say you went, and saw the cross and was thinking about how, like, bloody and I think sometimes because we’re immersed in Christianity, we don’t think about how much it how much of a jump sometimes it is for skeptics to think about. Like, we just say these things Mhmm. Like the cross, we say different things about the bible and we’re like, well, how would a skeptic that’s not immersed in the faith Right. Come to this and think through this? How hard would it be for them to, like, process it? It’s easy for us as Christians to think, oh, it makes sense. But, like, I I remember hearing, Will Smith say, like, when he was talking about Scientology one time, he was like, Christians don’t really think they were like, oh, Scientology is weird. But he was like, you also want me to believe that God was born of a virgin. Like Yeah. He was like, don’t you think that’s strange too? And I was like, you know, that is a a good, good question for people. We’re sometimes not thinking, like, how would skeptics view? Mhmm. So I like to just sit there. Yeah. And we and we should
Kristel Acevedo: know what we believe and why we believe it. You know? And that takes that takes work and reading and prayer and also knowing that sometimes we’re not gonna understand everything. And that’s okay, and that’s that’s where faith comes in. Mhmm.
Lisa Fields: As people are going through the study as it relates to the cross, what are some, like, reoccurring themes you’re hearing from them as they’re, like, diving into this and and getting more acquainted with their faith and understanding?
Kristel Acevedo: I think it’s, I think it’s really about taking a pause and lamenting the world that we live in because the reality is there is a lot of stuff that’s going on that is sad and Mhmm. Makes us angry or makes us confused. And instead of just sweeping it under the rug and saying, like, well, God is good all the time, you know, and and moving on with our days, it’s really about pausing and lamenting, taking audit of our world around us and and sitting with that. I think we have to sit with it. I think we have to be realistic about the the world that we live in and then taking that to the Lord. Like, once you’ve sat with, like, yeah, take it to the Lord and say, god, what is what is this mean, and where are you in the midst of it? And then, seeing through the study, you know, talking about Jesus and the cross, like, he went first in suffering. Like, he didn’t just say, oh, you know, you’re gonna have suffering in this world. Peace out. Good luck. Like, he went first in it, and he, he has that solidarity with us. He identifies with us in those ways. He has experienced pain and hurt and betrayal. And so it’s it’s helping people to see them be able to relate to Jesus in that way and trust him that he that he relates to us. You know?
Lisa Fields: Yeah. Yeah. The the suffering savior, component is so crucial, especially when you’re thinking about, like, the problem of evil. Like, we have a savior that can identify with our pain and he doesn’t, prevent us from, experiencing pain, but he is very present with us. And so I think that’s something that makes the Christian worldview very unique, that we have a savior that can identify. And that that lament piece, I think, is really critical, to, like, sit in and allow yourself to experience or process the pain you’re experiencing, which is very hard for
Kristel Acevedo: a lot of people. Because when we experience pain, we wanna get out of it as soon as possible. Oh, well yeah. And that’s actually what I write about in my other bible study that you mentioned, Away in the Wilderness. I went through a really hard time for years not understanding, feeling lost, feeling confused, feeling like God had abandoned me. And I came out of it, you know, eventually, like, you know, things started turning around in my life, and I felt like, okay. I’m I’m out of the wilderness now. Right? I’m I’m good. But I still had a lot of, petty feelings about the those years that I thought had been lost. And, it wasn’t until I was reading scripture one day and I read Luke one eighty, And it talks about John the Baptist, and it talks about him as a child growing up in the wilderness, and it says that he was spiritually strong. And I was like, wait a minute. You’re telling me that we can go through the wilderness, and we can come out of it spiritually strong? And that’s when I did a deep dive on on those themes. And I realized that the wilderness, like, sometimes we do try to get out of it as soon as possible. We true we do try to, like, find some some path that’s gonna get us out of there so that we can stop suffering, stop being confused, stop feeling lost. But, really, what God calls us to is to be in the wilderness, and he promises to meet us in the wilderness. And Jesus, again, identifies with us because he was in the wilderness for forty days. Right? And so knowing that God meets us there, we can sit in the wilderness instead of trying to get out of it, and we can allow those challenges in our lives to form us, to give us some spiritual grit, and to form us more into the image of Jesus. So, yes, we try to find our way out, but God has something for us even in the challenges and in the suffering that we experience in life.
Lisa Fields: Yeah. And it’s funny because we we grow more in the in the tough parts than we grow in the easy parts. Oh, a 100%. Yeah. And we and and if anything,
Kristel Acevedo: if nothing else, we grow more in our reliance on God through our challenges.
Lisa Fields: Yeah. Because it pushes us outside of ourself. We’re like, I cannot do this.
Kristel Acevedo: In and through my own self. I need something outside of myself to help me navigate this. Exactly. Exactly. And hopefully, we take those lessons with us when we leave the wilderness and we continue to rely on God.
Lisa Fields: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Mhmm. As you were thinking about, this current moment we’re in, what do you want people to get from both of your works Mhmm. To help them navigate their current moment? Because 2025 has been hard for a lot of people, especially people of color. Yeah. And what we’re hearing from the news, the economic, disparities that we’re facing that is really, impacting, marginalized communities more disproportionately. Mhmm. People are just leaving this year feeling like they’re just, like, wounded and in despair, and they’re just, like, barely making it. It’s like, are you excited about 2026? Maybe. If is it gonna be more of this? Yeah. There is no difference. Yeah. A a feeling of hopelessness,
Kristel Acevedo: that is very pervasive in our culture right now. Sure. I mean, I hope that people would come to realize that we can’t find hope in anything or anyone else other than Jesus, that we cannot find salvation in anyone or anything else other than Jesus. And that we have a God of compassion, that we have a God who looks at us and sees his children that he loves and that he is for. And so I think empathy goes a long way. I think compassion goes a long way. I hope that because we have a compassionate god that we ourselves will be compassionate to one another, not just to people who look like us or think like us or have the same opinions, but to to everyone. To open the door to relationship because we have a god who has gone through so much. Like, he gave us his son so that we might have a relationship with him. Like, he really wants that. Not only does he want us to have a relationship with him, he wants us to have a relationship with our brothers and sisters on this earth. You know, we are God’s family. And so instead of fighting, instead of pushing away, why how about we draw near to God, draw near to others, open the door to relationship so that we can be together, pray for one another, celebrate with one another, cry with one another, and have peace with God and with the people around us.
Lisa Fields: Yes. That one another piece is so crucial. We were just having a conversation, with Abdul Murray about, AI. Mhmm. And one of the things we talked about in that conversation is the overreliance on chatbots is because we don’t know how to do relationships well. So we know we need communication, but we struggle with people, interpersonal relationships. So we’re like, I I need to talk to somebody. The easiest thing for people to do is talk to AI. They’re using AI for their therapists. They’re using AI for relationships, having romantic partners with chatbots and all those things because of the lack of skills in repair, relational dynamics. And so let’s lean in a little bit more about the impact of relationships on help us navigating the wilderness, help us understanding the cross because I think in a our country is where most people are in a loneliness epidemic. They don’t have community, which makes these hard times
Kristel Acevedo: even harder. Mhmm. Mhmm. Yeah. I mean, again, when you look at the cross, there’s two beams. There’s a vertical beam, and there’s a horizontal beam. And that tells that’s a symbol for us. First, when Jesus went on the cross, he created peace between us and God, vertical peace. So now we have peace with God. We and we have unity with God. Right? Mhmm. Then there’s that horizontal piece that now we could we because of the peace of God that we have and the peace with God that we have, we can now experience peace with others. And, actually, we have unity because God has gifted that to us in Jesus. The problem is that we have not learned to walk in unity. And I think sometimes we’re fighting to think about, like, well, what’s gonna unite us, and how do we bring people together? Jesus already did that. Jesus already united us and brought us together through his blood. And so we just need to walk in it, and that takes proximity. That takes, courage. That takes being willing to listen. That takes loving people. Like, loving people without condition just as they are. And will we do this perfectly? No. We’re still human. There’s still sin in the world. The world is still fallen, and we have not reached, you know, the new heavens and the new earth. But we, through the power of the holy spirit, can attempt these things. We can open the door. We can participate in communities of difference and have unity in our diversity. It’s not something we have to fight for or create. It’s something that has been gifted to us, and we can walk in it. Take that ownership, empowered by the spirit. And I think that is the piece is that sometimes we try to strategize and come up with formulas, but, really, God gave us his spirit, his spirit of love, his spirit of unity, his spirit of peace. When we say yes to Jesus, the Holy Spirit resides in each one of us. And so when we live by that, sorry, when we live by that holy spirit power, when we abide in Christ and live spirit led lives rather than, you know, striving to do it in our own strength, then I think it it there is something, like, to that makes that relationship possible. And that makes that, yeah, that closeness, something that we can achieve in this life.
Lisa Fields: Mhmm. Mhmm. Now you mentioned working in discipleship. What what are the differences you’re seeing in discipleship now? Like, what are the challenges of discipling people now than maybe you saw years ago?
Kristel Acevedo: Well, so something that is unique and really, really beautiful about our church is that we are an intentionally multiethnic, multigenerational church. We are multisocioeconomic. I mean, we have a lot of diversity in our church, which I am so grateful for, and it’s really, a picture of heaven on earth, honestly. Like, I think it’s a miracle. I I look around on Sundays, and I’m like, I cannot believe all these people are choosing to worship here. That’s that’s wild. You know? And it but as beautiful as it is, of course, there are challenges because when you have that many people from different backgrounds coming together, participating in small groups, or serving alongside one another, or, you know, listening to the sermon, they they might come away with different things or they might have conflict. I mean, not might. They will have conflict. And so I think that’s one of the challenges that we navigate at our church is how do we help people to see conflict not as as a point of departure or a point of, like, severance of a relationship, but how do we help them see conflict as an opportunity to practice compassion, to practice empathy, to practice listening and and loving, across difference. And so that’s always been a challenge at our church. I think it became more of a challenge when there was COVID and all the things happening. But I really have seen the majority of our church lean in and say, like, no. This is challenging, but we’re we’re gonna do it. And so we try to, create spaces where people can come together for that. Our small groups are very intentionally multiethnic. We try to encourage people to, you know, hey. You’re starting a group. Make sure you’re inviting people from across different spheres, you know, and not just trying to huddle up with people who are just like you. One of my favorite stories is that when our church began in, I think it was 2010, maybe a, you know, a year later, they were ready to start small groups. And so they made a call like, hey. If you wanna start a small group, you know, meet us here Thursday night, 07:00, and we’re gonna, you know, see how we do this thing. And so people came, but they were all, for the most part, people married couples, white married couples in their thirties, forties, and that was it. That was the entirety of the group. And so our our pastors, our leaders were like, listen. We are so grateful for your heart to want to, lead small groups and create community and create spaces for discipleship. But this is not, representative of our vision to be multiethnic and multigenerational. So we’re gonna ask you to go home and pray and and ask God to show you who you can invite to lead this group with you, someone who has a of a different ethnic identity, a different stage of life so that our groups can be more representative of our vision. And so they did that. They went home. They prayed. They met a couple weeks later, and they indeed did bring people to to serve alongside them, to lead alongside them who are different. And so our small groups were able to begin on that foundation of being multiethnic and multigenerational. And now fit this I think we’re about to turn 17 years or 16 years old. Now we we see that. Like, we we don’t have to make an announcement or ask people to do it because it’s been a part of our culture, a part of our vision from the start. It’s like God has been faithful to help our groups continue to be a picture of our of who we are, of our vision. And so, it takes work. It takes intentionality, but we’re willing to do that. You know?
Lisa Fields: Yeah. I I love the working not just across, racial, diversities, but socioeconomic. Mhmm. I remember, one of the the pastors on staff in my church, her name is Miata. Mhmm. And she and when she was doing a Wednesday night bible I mean, bible study teaching. And she was like, what would it look like for us to have a, a a janitor that’s a seasoned Christian discipling a CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Wow. Because we always think of if a person has higher socioeconomic status Right. We sometimes put them in a leadership role because we assume their socioeconomic status should elevate them. Right. But what would it be like to have a church of people who have lower socioeconomic statuses discipling those with higher socioeconomic status. You don’t often see that in church spaces. Yeah. But that is what the diversity actually pushes people to think differently. Like, just because I have more money doesn’t mean I have more wisdom. I just am skilled financially or have, you know, was born into money. There are so many ways people access wealth that has nothing to do with their spiritual and emotional health. So I I I love that because that made me just think about that, time in bible study. But but also to, you talk about the conflict piece. I was listening to some podcast and then secular podcast, and they’re like they were like rupture in relationship is inevitable. Mhmm. It’s the repair that’s the problem. The reason what the loneliness epidemic persists is because most people don’t know how to repair, and we don’t have a lot of books written on repairing brokenness. In our culture today, we have a lot on, like, protecting your peace, you know, all of these things that don’t lean towards repair. How was what are some things practically that you’ve seen help people repair relationships so they can do this work of navigating the wilderness well in community.
Kristel Acevedo: That’s so good. And, also, I need people to write that book. I need someone to write that book on repairing relationships, but I’d read that. That’s really, really good. Wow. I think I think there’s a lot to it. I think it’s helping people first, you know, pointing them upward Mhmm. And reminding them that we have a God of forgiveness, that we have, you know, you you read Philippians two, and it talks about Jesus humbling himself to the point of of death on a cross. You know, taking on the form of man. Like, he’s God, and he’s like, no. I’m gonna go down there, and I’m gonna be a baby. And I’m gonna, you know, grow up, and I’m gonna get my feet dirty, and I’m gonna have morning breath. And, you know, and, like, he’s like, he really did that. You know? Mhmm. And so we have a a God who is humble. We have a God who offers forgiveness. We have a God who has canceled our our debt of sin. So pointing them upward and reminding them of that amazing truth, I think, has to be the first step. Because when we really pause to consider of how much God has forgiven us for, who are we to withhold that from anyone else? Who are we to withhold relationship from others, especially if if there is a possibility to repair. You know? Mhmm. I, you know, I I just wanna give the caveat of, like, if if there’s abuse, if there’s, you know, if you there’s nothing wrong with having boundaries in your life with people who are toxic or who are intentionally trying to harm you. But barring those situations, if there is a possibility to repair a relationship, why wouldn’t we take that step when God has crossed chasms to do that for us. So I think we point people upward and and remind them of of that beautiful truth. And then I think we we help people to assess, like, you know, look inward. And and how has God you know, instead like, take it from, like, God did this for the world, but then take it personally. Like, how did God do that for you? And and how has God met you in your brokenness? You know? And so after you’ve assessed that inward, then then take it outward and say, okay. Now because I know this to be true of who God is, and I know this to be true personally because I have experienced it. How can I now offer this to others? And so, hopefully, it it it gives them courage to to take that step and make that awkward phone call and be like, hey. Can we meet up for coffee? Mhmm. Like, you can do that. You can meet someone for coffee and have a conversation and just see what God can do with that. And I think sometimes also we we take baby steps. Maybe we we do something. We we attempt that with a situation that isn’t so big. Like, maybe we just had a a disagreement with a friend, and then we we repair that and we see the fruit from that. And then, like, okay. You know what? Now I’m gonna attempt to reach out to my mom that I haven’t talked to in ten years and see if there’s fruit that can come from that. When we see God faithful in little situations, it builds up our faith so that we can now attempt the bigger things in our life that seem impossible.
Lisa Fields: Yeah. Yeah. I’m glad you mentioned that because I used to always when I used to do racial reconciliation talks, I used to tell people, if you’re not a good reconciler, you’re not gonna do racial reconciliation well. Right? If you haven’t done it with people you love, you’re gonna struggle with strangers. Right? That’s just the dynamic. It’s like it’s like the the karate kid. He he’s training. Mister Miyagi is training the guy. Like, you’re like, why am I why am I, like, doing the wax on, wax off? And then he realizes Yeah. When he gets into battle, like, oh, these are tools that I need. Right. And I I see reconciliation that way. Like, when you take those steps, like you said, with a friend, then you could go tackle the bit because you have developed the tools and the strength to enter in those conversations. You know, I I think one thing that we often forget in this conversation about repair is that usually what frustrates us about other people are things that we also do ourselves. Like, it’s humbling to realize, like, I’m offended at you, but the reason I’m offended at you is because sometimes that’s something about me that I’m not quite okay with. And so I get frustrated at you because you’re a reflection of me. And that is, I think, one of the most humbling things sometimes about conflict barring, like we said, the abuse and those things, that happens in just interpersonal dynamics. So thank you for sharing that. What other things do you want people to take from these resources that we have not already discussed?
Kristel Acevedo: Well, I think something that that might be obvious for people is that these are bible studies. Right? But you could do it by yourself, and that would be great. And I’m sure the Lord would meet you there. But my hope and my prayer has always been that people would go through these studies in community, whether it’s with a friend, with with your mom and your tia, whether it’s in your small group, like, that you would read these bible studies, watch these videos, answer these questions, pray these prayers in community so that you can grow together. I’m a church girl. That’s my heart. I don’t write bible studies because I want people to do them on their own. Although, again, there can be fruit in that. I really write I write bible studies specifically because I want people to do them in community. So I hope that people do that. Or if they do read it by themselves, they’ll be like, man, that was great. I’m gonna do it again with my small group or with my neighbor or with my best friend, and they can walk away with greater biblical community in their lives.
Lisa Fields: Awesome. How can people get in contact with you on social, your website, and also how can they get your resources?
Kristel Acevedo: Sure. So my website is crystalacevedo.com. All my resources are listed there, but they’re also available on Amazon. These two particular bible studies are available on ivypress.com as well. That’s my publisher. And I love me some Instagram. I’m a millennial. Give me Instagram. And so they can find me on there at crystal ace.
Lisa Fields: Well, thank you, crystal. It was a pleasure having you, and I enjoyed the conversation. Thank you all for joining us for another episode of the g three project podcast. As always, you could catch all our past episodes at g3project.org, wherever you stream your favorite podcast or your YouTube channel. We thank you so much for helping us achieve our goals this year. We could not do what we do without generous support from people like you, so consider being a one time giver or a monthly partner at you3project.org. Hitting that donate tab, you can mail in your gift or give online. We have merch available every week. You probably have seen me wearing something different. We have the listen, lament, legislate. All of those things are on our website curriculum, all the things. Until next time, grace and peace and God bless.