HeavenEarth Conversations: Denna Schoolcraft

What would it look like to start a community that was really,

it's for the people like Jesus would be for.

Welcome to Heaven Earth Church.

I'm Ross Stackhouse, the founding pastor of Heaven Earth Church.

From the start, our heart has been to be a church for people who

don't fit neatly into church.

We want to meet people where they are and know their stories.

Because in every story there is God's story.

And this podcast, podcast is just about that.

It's about inviting you into the stories of the people of Heaven

Earth Church.

So let's turn to the story.

Hello good people.

And we welcome you to the Heaven Earth Church podcast.

I'm the producer of the podcast.

Brad Miller is my name.

And this is the podcast for the church that looks to make a lasting

impact on our community and how it's lived out, how Christ has

lived out, where heaven intersects with earth.

And one of the things we love to do is talk to people who are connected

with the church life.

And right now we are just pleased to have Dina Scowcraft with

us here on our conversation.

Dina, welcome to our conversation.

Thank you.

Well, Dina, you always such.

I've got to know you, we've got to know you very small groups.

We're in and in church for some time here now.

And you just are a delightful person with a great smile and a great

easy laughter about you.

And those are one of some things I've noticed about you.

But let's.

Is there opportunity to find a little bit about you here?

So tell.

Let's start with where are you from?

What's hometown for you?

Barkersville.

Barkersville.

Yeah.

Good.

Well, tell me just a little bit about growing up in Bargersville.

Tell me about the family you grew up in.

I grew up with my grandma and grandpa on a 40 acre farm and my

mom was living there and my aunt and uncle lived there and we.

I helped out on the farm a lot with my grandpa.

Wow.

And he taught me a lot of things on the farm about how to get

the eggs from the chickens without getting pecked to death.

And then.

And then watch about the roosters and oh my goodness, the

roosters can be mean.

So you're a real farm girl then, aren't you?

Yeah.

Well, how about that?

Well, that.

Well, that's.

That's great.

Well, tell me then.

So you, you had this family environment there and then you.

So tell me, was going to church or things like that a part

of growing up for you?

Yeah, my grandpa was trying to find a church for us to go to and

he found it was called the Church of the Firstborn.

And they.

We went to that for a long time.

And then he was.

Well, we went all through the place and he finally found this one

and he liked it real well and how the people were.

They were full of love and.

And we can tell that they love, you know, everybody.

Yeah.

So that was a part of.

So sound like church was overall pretty good experience growing

up then that.

Yeah.

That's awesome.

Well, tell me a little bit about you.

Kind of like what you did after you grew up.

Kind of.

What kind of career, family, anything along that line that you

happened with you.

Well, I went to high school, graduated, and then I got married

when I was 22 and had my son when I was.

Or not 22.

Sorry, I was 24 when I got married.

Okay.

And I had my son and I moved away from there.

And his.

His family was church oriented too.

They were associated with the same church.

Okay, and by his you mean your husband at the time.

Yeah.

Okay.

And we tried to, you know, go to church so we can have our son

to grow up knowing God.

And he.

He did real good.

I mean, we.

We tried to teach him and everything like that.

And it's instilled in him now today.

Yeah.

And so you have the one son, right?

Yes.

And that's Paul, right?

Yeah.

And tell me just a little bit about him.

Tell me something cool about him.

Oh, he, he's real, real down to earth.

And he also is.

He's to the point too.

He will tell you in a minute, like, you know, putting his cards

on the table what he thinks.

And I mean, he does it in a.

In a kind way, but he just makes his point across.

It just seems like, as I observed, you two are pretty close,

aren't you?

Yes, we bond.

Yeah.

That's awesome.

So that's a good thing.

And then you went through life with your husband and then I know

you're no longer married.

That's the case.

Right?

Yeah.

So I didn't know if you've been married other times or anything

along that line.

No, he's the only one that I've been married to.

Yeah.

So.

So tell me a little bit about jobs or career, anything that you're

involved with in, in the, in the work world.

I'm.

I'm a warehouse worker.

I'm material handler.

I pack and I, I like it.

It's.

It's like, it's my calling.

And because I've tried other things.

I've tried restaurant and everything, and I just don't do good

with that.

Well, you say that you're calling.

I think that's very cool.

So what aspect of that, what part of that makes it a calling for

you?

I think helps me to associate with the.

With people better than in a restaurant and all.

Because a restaurant, it's so busy, you don't have time to really

talk with people.

So you kind of get along with your co workers and you share life

stories and family life, whatever with them.

Yes.

And also I can talk to God with them too, and not have a problem

with.

Because some places they won't.

They frown upon that kind of thing.

So you have a little bit of a deeper connection even about spiritual

stuff.

Yes.

Well, that.

Well, that's awesome.

Let's talk about your church life, things like that as an adult.

You're involved with churches as an adult as well in your life

experience.

Yes, And I found this church here a whole lot better than some

of the other churches that I have been because they.

They don't.

The other churches just doesn't talk about what we need to

know.

We need to know what the truth is about things.

Yeah.

Well, tell me about how you first.

How Heaven Earth church first got on your radar, so to speak, how

you first heard about it and maybe some of your initial first

impressions.

My son came here with a friend that he was working with, and then

he introduced me, which I told him to go and find to church on a

Sunday and find out what it's like.

And then I would decide to go then.

And when I first came, I found that there was love here.

People got together together a whole lot better.

And also we.

People communicated and that was lacking in some of the churches

that I've been to.

And also people helped out each other.

And I didn't find that in any other church that I've been to.

So sound like your first impressions were pretty.

Pretty positive.

They take you.

Did you feel like something kind of clicked right away or did

it take you a little while to kind of check it out for a while

before you felt at home?

I think it took a little bit because on account I was sort of

leery about different ones because I would start out at other

churches and they would seem like it would click and then all

of a sudden I get

disappointed later on there was something happened that was.

You felt a little uneasy or something like that.

I didn't feel spiritual.

Okay, Very, very good.

Well, let's talk about that spiritual thing then.

Have you had kind of any moments in your relationship with.

With God overall?

Maybe Here through the church where you kind of get, hey, this

is a God thing.

This is God's really in this.

Have you had any moments that are kind of like that?

Yes, I have.

My, My whole life I've.

Oh, I've come across where I was missing something in my life.

And then I finally, God was starting to work back in my life

again because, I mean, I'm not saying that he never left me, but

I had.

There was a few times that I turned my back on him and I finally

got back into the relationship with him and I feel a whole lot closer

to him since things that I've learned about him and he showed me.

Was there any specific moments or events or anything along that

line that as you can recall, they were kind of like an aha moment

kind of a thing?

Yeah, he showed me that I come across like in a wreck or whatever

that he showed me that he was covering me.

Oh, you were in a wreck?

Yeah, it was a deer hit my.

Hit my truck.

Oh my goodness.

And I heard the antlers go down my.

The side of my truck and I felt the nudge like that.

And it could have been worse.

Wow, that was a moment of stunning moment when you have an

accident, any kind.

So were you hurt or anything like that?

No, I felt that God had his angels protect me over that and stuff.

But it got your attention?

Yes, because, I mean, it was just like I was in shock for a little

bit.

God sometimes gets.

Events happen that sometimes can get our attention and kind of

help us make a.

Make a turn or make a transition to be a little closer

to God.

And I think part of the core teachings, what Jesus is all about

is to fill our lives with love.

But it's kind of a simple message, but it's not always easy

to do.

Yeah.

And so tell me about some of the challenges you may have in your

life in order to live a life of faith or to share your faith.

Do you have any challenges that.

That way?

I usually.

Well, I mean, it's.

It's hard sometimes because I don't know what to pray sometimes.

And I. I'm usually at it all on how to pray sometimes, but I try

to pray the best I can.

And fasting is another challenge.

It's hard because I tried to pray to him and try to tell him.

I mean, try to ask him, not tell him, try to ask him to help

me through that, because sometimes I get a weakness when it

comes to that.

Do you think being part of a community, part of a church is helpful

to your Spiritual life in the sense of you can kind of share your

life together.

I know you're involved with worship and then you're in small

groups and things of this nature.

Tell me about this aspect of community.

Is it a part of your spiritual life?

Yes.

I usually love to talk with people about God, and I feel that

if we're all at one with God, then we can help each other and lift

each other up.

Yeah.

So tell me about it.

I know you're part of some of the small groups here, small group

Bible studies.

How is that helpful to you?

It helps me to learn more of how I should be and how God can help

us and point out what things that we need to do to be in line

with God and his kingdom.

You're pretty much into the Word quite a bit, aren't you?

You're into the Bible in your personal studies and things like

that.

And that's.

That's a great thing that you're a part of that.

I've noticed that you really are into God's Word and it makes

a big difference, doesn't it, when you have.

Make it a kind of part of your discipline, part of your life?

Yeah, because I usually go on YouTube and there's a person that

reads and I learn from him by reading along with them and looking

up the different Bibles, the verses and stuff like that.

Let's.

Yeah, that's awesome.

Let's get back to your relationship here, to heaven or church.

When was the time when you kind of, after checking it out for

a while, you kind of felt like, okay, this is now my church.

This is where I feel like I can be a part of things and I can

make a contribution.

Was there time like that?

I felt like in the last couple months, I felt like that I felt like

that I could help the community, talk with people and.

And do.

And contribute to them a part of my joy and part of my experiences.

Yeah.

So you got something to share with others.

Yes.

So part of what we do here is this kind of this conversational

style in worship and also just other things.

You're pretty good conversational, sergeant.

You kind of enjoy that part of things.

Having.

Talking with people and being part of their conversations.

Yes, I like talking with people.

Yeah.

I, I don't.

I don't get, like, as shy as I used to.

I used to be real shy about talking with people, but I. I guess

because over the years I've been through it and, and talked with

different ones and all that.

I find God helps give me that ease because I Think that he, he

put that in me, that he wants me to spread the word and talk and

he's chosen me to do that.

Awesome.

Awesome.

Dina, one of the models or one of the things we say here at Heavenly

Church is if, if you feel like you don't fit in church, you fit

here.

Do you think that's an accurate statement and if so, how?

I think it's an accurate statement because like how you all

work with people and you try to include them in to a lot of things

and talk with them and help make it easy for them to get along

and to know what God stands for.

Yeah.

Some people say the church is kind of a collection of misfits in

a way, but who come to fit together and we don't.

And this church doesn't judge on who can fit and who doesn't.

Yeah.

So you feel sound like that's kind of an important thing to you,

the sense of being non judgmental.

Is that an important thing to you?

Yes, because I feel that only God can judge and people don't have

that.

Right.

There you go.

There you go.

Kind of along that same line.

One of the missions statements of the, of the church is it's on

banners we have and the website things that says heaven or

church exists to make a lasting impact in our community.

So I guess I'll ask you, do you think that's an accurate statement?

If so, how so?

I think it is.

It's.

And we, Ross and all of you show everybody what God means to

y' all and what he's done in yalls life and mine.

And also he.

He show.

He tries to do what God shows him.

And we all try to do what God shows us.

Yeah, I know you're involved with small groups.

What some other ways that you've been kind of observed or been

involved with the life of the church.

I'm trying to think.

You've been some of the events we've had, haven't you?

I think that what your wife is doing is teaching and what the other

ministers are doing and, and pastors, I mean and doing and what

spreading the word and trying to.

Trying to involve people into what we're doing and inviting people

to come and also online trying to show people what examples that

you go through.

One of the things I really noticed about you, Dean, is you have

an easy laugh and you have a big smile on your face a lot.

So much of the time.

What's something that brings you joy?

What's something that brings you joy?

It kind of makes you light up and laugh a little bit when, well,

I feel that God, he puts that smile on my face and otherwise, if

it wasn't for him, I probably would be otherwise.

And so I feel that he when I see a sunny day and I see hear the

birds sing and, and enjoy the nature of life that he brings and

the colors in the in the sky, that brings joy to me.

So you have appreciation for whatever the circumstances are.

Even if a deer runs in your car, you're still going to be celebrating

that.

That.

That is awesome.

Dina.

One of the things we one of the reasons we have this podcast,

one of the reasons we have our worship experiences or other things

that we do is to be open and invitational to others.

And one of the things I think is important is how that comes naturally

out of relationships.

So what I want to ask you about or share with you or ask you

about is, let's just say there's somebody in your life, maybe

a co worker or family member or someone who's having a bit of

a rough time, whatever it is, relationship issue, a spiritual thing,

maybe it's a, whatever, lose a job or any number of things, health

issues.

But I think you're the type of people come to once in a while when

they've got issues going on.

Is that a fair thing to say?

People once in a while come to you?

I've had people that come to me for advice and I mean, I tell

them I'm not perfect.

I can give you as much advice as I can.

Just pray about it.

I imagine you're a pretty good listener too, aren't you?

Yeah, I they come to me sometimes just for me to listen so

they

can rant or whatever it would be.

But you're a good listener and you are a good friend.

You've got this countenances vibe about you that you're a friendly

person and approachable is one of I guess that's the word I want

to say.

But along that line, do you think that if someone came to you

with an issue and you thought that maybe perhaps a One Response

to It could be, you know, I go to this church, having her church,

and maybe this could be helpful to you in whatever issue

you're going on with your friend or your co worker, is this

the type of place you'd feel comfortable inviting somebody to

come to, to be, help them kind of sort out what's going on with

them?

I do.

I I feel that I would say to them, you know, come with me and,

and see, I'm not pushing you to do it.

But I'm asking you if you want to come and see, to get your answers

or to talk with somebody that will help you with that, because

there's different.

Different classes and different people that you can talk

to.

So you feel like you.

This would be a safe place, so to speak, to bring somebody that

they wouldn't necessarily feel whatever.

Judged or anything along that line.

Yeah.

Yeah, I do.

Well, that's awesome.

Well, one of the reasons we even have this podcast, Deanna, is

to help people who are kind of checking us out, check out the church

in terms of if it's a safe place or a good place for them to

come.

So why don't you just.

What I'd like you to do is just to kind of share.

Let's just assume somebody's watching us right.

Right now, that you could be an encouragement to them.

So what would you say to a person who's kind of having.

They're kind of lost, they're kind of looking for something.

Looking for something spiritually or socially or they're

having some issue in life, health, or something else.

What would you say to them in terms of what heaven or church may

be a place where they can least check out?

I feel that they.

They could come to church and.

Or go on the pod on.

Go on the app and ask a question and if they wanted to ask

a question before they came and find out what it's like and learn

of the different classes and different worship that we do and

stuff.

Yeah.

So I think it's fair to say even before someone actually came

to worship in person, they could reach out to the pastors and

the staff here or through us through the podcast.

And.

And people would respond.

Yes.

And so we try to be very open to what people can experience.

Well, anything else you want to share?

Just because you want to share anything to the folks who may be

hearing us here today, just have a good

day, have a blessed day, and keep trying in contact with God.

Keep contact with God.

I love how you say that a lot of people have different sayings

that they have about be blessed or whatever, and those are

all awesome things.

But when you say keep contact with God, I love that.

Well, I want to thank you for being our guest here today.

And her name is Dina Schoolcraft.

She's part of the one delightful people we have here at

Heaven Earth Church.

And you can always check us out at our website, which is heavenearthchurch.org

where you can encounter some of the wonderful people we have here

at Heaven Earth Church, including Dean of schoolcraft and

radish.

This is the church.

If you don't feel like you fit in church, you will fit in here.

We're a church that makes a looks to make a lasting impact for

our community.

And my name is Brad Miller, the producer of the podcast.

We hope to see you soon here at Heaven Earth Church.

We want to thank you for spending time with us today.

My name is Ross Stackhouse, the pastor to Heaven Earth Church,

and you may think out there that your story is over, but in fact,

your faith story may just be beginning.

If you want more information about our church or you're interested

in the next step, you can go to heavenorthchurch.org Otherwise,

we look forward to being with you next time at the Heaven Earth

Church podcast.